Paul's Wall search

I've long suspected that a wall might exist beyond the standard divesite of Eagle Cove. Enticing rock structures at 100 feet suggested that something more could be there—far past the limits of conventional breathing gas and kicking. Today, Mike Wennerstrom and I boarded the San Juan ferry to test this hypothesis. We dragged scooters, deco bottles, and full twinsets of 18/45 up and down the enormous, pain-in-the-ass hill and beach at Eagle Cove County Park. I'm thrilled to report that our exploration paid off. There is a colossal, breathtaking wall, with life to match any S-tier Salish Sea site. We've christened it Paul's Wall, in honor of Paul Tompkins. Paul's Wall extends to at least 175 feet, but probably goes much further. It features huge, dramatic rock faces and overhangs, appropriately covered in critters. Thousands of rockfishes cluster the site. The marine life at Paul's Wall is utterly spectacular. Eagle Cove is a lovely dive, but Paul's Wall blows it away in scale, variety and sheer biomass. Basic sightings included wolf eels, Puget Sound king crabs, yelloweye and tiger rockfishes, a GPO, every sessile invertebrate under the sun, huge lingcod, and anything else one could possibly desire from a SJI dive. Shallow (0-60) visibility at Eagle Cove was a snotty 10, but improved thereafter. Visibility at the wall's start point (~115) was 30+. Past 120 feet, visibility opened up to 50+. A stunning dive, certainly worth the ferry ride and discomfort. My only regret is that we could not stay longer. HAZARDS: Paul's Wall is a technical dive. It is inaccesible without trimix and a suitable decompression gas. 21/35 is viable, but 18/45+ is much better. A DPV OR BOAT IS MANDATORY. This site lacks much of the protection associated with Eagle Cove, and can experience significant current and surface swell. An SMB is strongly advised in the event of premature surfacing. As a shore dive, the entry is long and exhausting, especially in technical equipment. Derelict fishing gear present. Discovered by Daniel Geldof and Michael Wennerstrom on 8/4/2022.