KVI Tower

This dive site off the east side of Vashon Island is very similar to other artificial reefs that have been established by the Department of Fish and Wildlife in Puget Sound.  Named after the large red and white radio tower that broadcasts KVI radio from Point Heyer, this site generally has light currents and the "reef" covers a very large area.

The reef is made up of large boulders and concrete slabs that are scattered over the bottom from about 35' down to 100' over a fairly steep slope.  This makes it easy to pick your depth as you swim slowly into the current, admiring all of the brown rockfish, octopus and anemones.  On your return to the boat, you can pick a shallower depth and see a whole new part of the reef.  We frequently see small red octopus and friendly ratfish at this site.

This site is popular with fisherman, so you're likely to find other boats near the site, however most do not seem to know where the actual "reef" is and seem to fish off the point more instead of just South where the reef actually. 

Parker used to dive this site from shore (see his comments below), which is certainly commendable, but I consider this a boat dive.  Launch at Redondo and its a short trip over to Vashon Island for some spectacular diving. 

GPS coordinates:   47°25.216' N  122°25.635' W

The piles of rock making up the reef are very obvious on a depth sounder and are scattered over a very large area, so there is plenty of room on this site for quite a few divers.  Have a great dive!

Maury Island Barges is just around the corner from this site and makes a great second dive.

Parker Says:

Description

The dive site off of KVI Tower is one of the many WDF (Washington Dept of Fisheries) sponsored rock piles that is so commonly called a public fishing reef. The rocks pile up in around 70fsw, and are on a mild slope. This dive site can be done by boat or shore, if it's a low tide.

Location

Take the West Seattle Ferry to Vashon Island. Once off the ferry, follow the main highway through 2 small towns. At the second town, turn left at the IAMS pet store. Also, you will find a Seattle's Best Coffee house on your right. Anyway, take your left and follow this road all the way down to the water. At the water, turn left. Head towards the tower. I can't name specific streets, but head towards the tower and down towards the water. It's not hard to figure out. Park near the gate that blocks the entrance to the tower.

Comments

I've only done this as a beach dive, so I'll give you some advice as how to successfully dive this site. Oh, this site was a feature on the TV Program called Rescue 911. (I love mentioning stuff like that!). First, dive this site on a minus low tide. You'll need to be able to walk on the spit, which only occurs at the real low tides. Anyway, there are two schools of thought on how to get you and your gear out to the end of the spit. My school of thought is to gear up at your rig, and simply start the death-march all the way out to the end of the spit. You'll see a skinny, tall, and white WDF buoy marking the reef. The buoy is only 100 yds from shore, when the tide is out. Oh, be sure not to dive this site in the summer time, when it's 90+ degrees outside - I did, and it was mighty _hot_ in my drysuit (sweatsuit!). The other school of thought is to hump your gear out to the base of the tower, put it on there, than proceed out the rest of the way. Once out, swim out to the white WDF buoy. Descend down the chain to the awaiting pile of rocks. Work your way back up the slope throughout the dive, and when it's time to return, simply follow the slope back to the surface. Again, you'll find the usual critters that habituate a rock fishing reef. I give it one Thumb Up on the Parker Scale.