Being Spoiled by the New Management on the Deep Sea Charter (Anacortes, WA) (NW Dive Expo Review)
Deep Sea Charters (that would be the Emerald Sea) is a dive charter which departs out of Cap Sante Boat Haven, in Anacortes, WA. When we saw the Deep Sea Charters booth at the Tacoma Dive Show they promised that customers would be “spoiled rotten” with hot lunch and great care. Who doesn’t like to be spoiled? We scheduled our next weekend to try it out.
We personally prefer smaller “6 pack” boats and do not like crowds. So when we were informed that there would be 14 divers plus crew on this boat we got a little nervous. Owner Mark King gave us an option of switching to the next day with only 8 others booked. However, we decided to give it a try to see how the crew and the boat handled the larger group.
When we arrived, nearly all the divers were onboard, milling about in the back of the boat. At first glance, it looked like it might be a very crowded and chaotic day. But we were pleasantly surprised as we settled in. The boat, a 46 foot custom USCG Inspected dive boat, was very clean, quite wide (15′ dive deck) and had much more room and some very nice features that took us awhile to discover. The dive prep area was covered, as many are, but there is also a curved soft and transparent enclosure along the sides that keeps everything dryer and warmer and gave us the feeling like we were assembling gear in pleasant sun room or greenhouse. They also provide heavy duty hangers for everyone to hang up there drysuits (or wetsuits if you are an insanely hot diver). There is also a storage console with soft seating in the center of the dive deck. We usually bring our gear to a charter boat in a large rolling bin and then put the bin back in the car. I was stunned when the captains said we could store it up top. This boat has room to spare. On nice days, the 9′ x 25′ observation deck makes a grand platform for whale watching. The 3′ x 15′ swim deck and extremely well designed T-ladder make water entry and exits both easy and safe, even for double entries. The heated cabin was good size for around 8 passengers at any one time. The head was convenient and large enough. They do have high pressure fills on board but no nitrox.
We met the friendly and relatively new owners of the charter, Mark and Sandy King. Sandy especially has the heart of hospitality. They got us all onboard, gear stowed, dry suits perched on hangers overhead. Miscellaneous gear was stowed in tiny bins (more on this later) underneath the tanks.
As we prepared to depart, Captain Dan gave his briefing peppered with typical quirky captain’s humor, followed by Mark’s briefing on the dives and the boat. We were impressed that Sandy took roll here and after each dive. All staff seemed competent. Sandy regularly walked about the boat, making sure that all were comfortable and that all everyone’s needs were met. As we left the dock something interesting happened – the group dissipated to various places on the boat – a few on top of the boat on the observation deck, a few at the back of the boat, a couple in the galley – and it suddenly seemed like a roomy boat.
We engaged in banter while we approached the destination. When we neared Peapod Rocks, we all began to gear up. There was still plenty of room to maneuver around one another. Two by two, we dropped into the water near enough to the rocks that a short swim was all that was required to begin our descent.
When we emerged from the depth, we signaled the boat and awaited our turn to climb onboard. We had been told in our morning briefing to “let the boat come to us” and not try to swim towards it. We floated and waited. The boat started to come towards us and it was a little unnerving to see it come right AT us. We thought it would go to the right or left but no, it was aiming dead on, or so it seemed. I’m not clear whether it just pushed us out of the way or whether it did go a little to the left of us, but once it had nosed past us we quickly swam to the back and climbed aboard without incident. We suspect the captain knew what he was doing, but it was closer than on other dive charters and they should either change that or add it to the briefing. They did use a buoyed rope to assist when groups were gathered near the ladder, but we think they could use fixed ropes along the side also.
We went to the side to remove our gear. Here’s my one complaint. Remember that tiny bin I mentioned above? It was small and held approximately one boot with another on top and the regulator laid on the top of that with fins propped to the side in an untidy mess. And now my tiny bin was gone. I looked about for another tiny bin, grumbling that a larger milk crate type bin would have been greatly appreciated and would not have taken up too much extra room.
Lunch was a fine affair. We had told them ahead of time that one of us was a vegan. They purchased organic lentil soup which was welcomed by all, in addition to the meat filled ravioli that the other dive group had requested. A variety of hot teas, coffee, water, cookies plus the entrees filled us all.
The second dive proceeded as smoothly as the first. After climbing back on the boat we were greeted by a fresh water rinse from Sandy’s capable hands. Roll was taken (as it had been after the first dive). Overall it was a smooth day of dive adventures.
We give this dive charter 4.5 stars out of 5. Bigger gears bins and nitrox on board would have got them close to 5 star. Mark and Sandy, as the new kids on the block, are eager to customize your dive, whale watching, nature, or scenic trip to your dive trip to your specifications.
Pricing depends on dive locations as they can go anywhere in the San Juan Islands or beyond. The general two-tank dive is $79 plus $5 per air fill. A private charter is only $800 for up to 14 divers.