Emerald Sea Photography
Boeing Creek
Boeing Creek Reef is one of many
artificial reefs created by the Washington State Department
of Fish and Wildlife as a habitat enhancement project for
rockfish. The reef was constructed by dropping large
piles of rocks and concrete slabs from an old bridge on
bottom just off of the outlet to Boeing Creek (North of
Seattle). This site makes an excellent boat dive and
could probably also be done from shore as the reef begins in
shallow water only about 200' from shore.
The sandy bottom at this site slopes steeply from a peaked sand dune in about 20' of water to well over 100' deep. The majority of the large rocks and slabs are found between 45' and 75' to the North of the creek outlet. The bridge over the creek serves as a good landmark for boat captains that are looking for this dive site.
Currents are this site are moderate,
but will be present during a large exchange. Taking
turns and doing a live boat pickup can make this site
diveable almost any time the weather cooperates. The
dive site is very exposed to a southwesterly wind and will
develop large waves if the wind is blowing strongly out of
the south. Pick a sunny day with moderate winds and
you'll be rewarded with a magical tour along a bright sandy
bottom as you navigate your way amongst scattered boulders
while admiring the stunning collection of critters.
We often spot lots of nudibranchs, greenlings, ling cod, rockfish and a wide assortment of sea stars at this site, which is located one mile south of Richmond Beach (about 3 miles south of Edmonds). This site is well marked on NOAA chart # 18466 as an Obstruction Fish Haven.