Emerald Sea Photography
Day Island Wall
Day Island Wall is one of the best wall dives in Puget
Sound.
The
site is home to a large population of Wolf Eels and
Octopuses that are comfortable around divers and frequently
come out to play. The site is in a high current area,
so careful planning is required in order to have a safe,
enjoyable dive during slack water. Diving this site during a
large tidal exchange is just about guaranteed to give you a
one-way ride down the Tacoma Narrows.
Day Island itself is just south of Titlow Beach in Tacoma.
Shore entry to the dive site is from a small public access
beach. Street parking is limited and the neighbors
aren’t crazy about all of the divers and traffic, so please
be considerate. I normally dive this site from a live
boat, which makes timing the currents less critical, but it
is a very popular shore dive as well. To find the wall,
swim out directly from the shore entry and you’ll find the
top of the wall in about 45’ of water.
The wall itself runs parallel to the shore, with the north
end shallower (25' to 50') and the south end deeper (40' to
100'). There are numerous nooks and crannies along the wall
that are dens to many wolf eels and octopuses.
You’ll also likely see dogfish, heart crabs, lingcod, as
well as the usual anemones and sea stars.
During
a low exchange, when diving the slack before ebb (high
tide), dive the South portion of the wall, entering the
water 50 minutes before predicted slack (Narrows North).
If timed right, the current should gently carry you south,
reverse and then carry you back north to the entry. The
southern wall starts in about 50' and drops down to 100' in
places.
When diving this site at slack before flood (low tide), dive
the North portion of the wall, entering the water 50 minutes
before predicted slack (Narrows North). The current should
gently carry you north along the wall, reverse, then carry
you back to the entry. The north portion of the wall ranges
from around 25' to 50' deep. There is also a nice boulder
field just a bit deeper than the base of the wall as you
head north, which is a great place to find lots of small and
interesting critters. However, if you are doing a long
dive on the north wall, do be aware that as the wall begins
to fade out, you are at the north end of the island and
approaching the bay that is home to two marinas, with lots
of boat traffic. Be careful not to let yourself be
swept around the corner into the Titlow area, as surfacing
in all of that boat traffic could really ruin an otherwise
beautiful day.