Review #26
Scott Van Hoosen (octopus at vanhoosen dot net) |
October 22, 2002 |
| Location: Tacoma, WA USA |
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Dive Type: Salt Water |
Facilities: Parking |
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| Hazards: |
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Entry: easy shore |
Surface Swim: medium |
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Difficulty: novice |
Typical depth: 30 |
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Dive site rating: 5 |
Max depth: 50 |
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Dive site description:
Still excited about our excellent first dive, we decided to finish the day with a relaxing dive at Arsenic Wall, a relatively shallow spot, protected from the heavy current of The Narrows. We didn't expect too much from this dive, but headed out to see what we could find. On the way out, I started to get a bit chilly, but we explored the rocks, rubble and litter that was scattered about the angled bottom. Soon I noticed a fish (not sure what kind, looked like a stretched out perch) swimming alongside Dan, just a foot or two from his tank. He seemed interested in staying right next to him. I approached to check out the strange fish, but when it saw me, it swam over and fell in beside me. I felt like I had a wingman. After a short time, he must have got bored and swam off. After 20 minutes or so, we turned around and headed back. I saw a small, strange-looking shrimp and was about to check it out when I saw Dan flashing his flashlight excitedly. He'd found a medium-sized octopus sitting out in the open, sitting up high, unafraid of us at all, looking like this was his domain and he was on his throne. His eyes showed no fear, and he looked a bit sinister staring at me with unblinking eyes, his fleshy horns rising from the top of his head. I quickly took off my right glove, and reached out to let him sucker my finger (an octopus tastes with its suckers) the same way you might let a dog sniff your hand. Well he stuck a couple of suckers to my finger, and seemed to like what he found, because within seconds half my hand was encompassed by tentacle and suction cups. I started feeling just a bit apprehensive, so gently pulled my hand back, but the octopus wouldn't budge. I suddenly realized that I was no longer playing with the octopus, but he was playing with me. Very strange feeling to realize it was in control of the situation. I just relaxed on the bottom, wondering what it would do next, but it just stayed there, hanging on like super-glue. After about five minutes or so, I decided to try to peel him off. I gently grabbed the slender tip of the tentacle wrapped around my hand, and began to unpeel him from me like a banana. This worked, and he let go of me. The whole time, he never changed color or texture, and never seemed the least bit afraid. I stroked him on the head and front of the face, which he seemed to tolerate without reaction. He then moved from his perch, and drifted slowly down to a couple of rocks, where he slid part way in, but still left half his body out in the open. Dan reached out to him, but he didn't seem interested in his gloved hand. He did, however, take an interest in Dan's flashlight, wrapping three tentacles around it and hanging on for a while. Maybe he likes warm things, which would explain why he only was interested in my hand and the flashlight. After a short time, we decided to head back because we were both freezing our butts off. Time seemed to go very fast when we were with the octopus, but when I checked the dive timer, I realized we'd been with it for around 15 minutes. I'm sure I'll never forget this experience, possibly my most memorable dive to date. |
Directions:
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