TRAVELSPECIAL
Giant plumose anemones at Sund Rock
Diving in a canal?
We should note that the Hood Canal, despite its name, is not really a canal; indeed, if it were in Scotland, we’ d call it a sea loch. Relatively long and narrow, thus sheltered in most weather, it is steep-sided( we regularly found 35m depths close to shore), open to the sea but with a shallow cill that creates a sequestered environment.
Two other sites here are worth mentioning: Flagpole Point features fields of tall sea pens and enormous cloud sponges at 30m, surrounding an intricate rocky reef formation. Here we had our closest GPO encounter, with an octopus fully out in the open and investigating us with its tentacle tips, as well as finding another in its home guarding hundreds of eggs, like little white clusters of berries hung from the roof.
Sund Rock is a family-run homestead, established in 1889, that for three generations has been a designated conservation area and now a carefullymanaged diving reserve. Entry is restricted to a small number of divers per day and the reserve is a strict no-take zone. The wall begins right by the shore entry point, runs both north and south and drops quickly to over 20m. Wolf eels and GPOs are almost a given, but the sheer diversity of marine life is just spectacular; my favourite find was the magnificent Dendronotus nudibranch. The entire trip, indeed, was nudibranch heaven: I saw many beautifully ornate and large specimens – including one Pacific sea lemon( Peltodoris nobilis) that was more like a sea grapefruit! I saw more new-to-me species than any other trip.
Young wolf eels are brown and spotted compared to the grey adults
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