INNER BLUEFISH COVE

By Patrick Lovejoy ©1998
map illustration by Reiko Michisaki

During summer, Inner Bluefish Cove, smothered by the kelp canopy, is an environment similar to that of Whalers Cove, but with a good exchange of water. The increased water flow provides better visibility and more nutrients, supporting a much greater density of life. Most of the area is protected from the prevailing sea, and is often the only calm site outside of Whalers Cove. The relatively shallow depths make it an ideal dive for those divers seeking a less challenging site than the more advanced sites further outside the cove.

The rocky reefs at the southeast corner are an impact zone, and are covered in coralline algae, Corrallina, with an occasional protected pocket of hydrocorals and sponges. During the summer, many beautiful varieties of annual algae grow atop the ridges and boulders. Surfperch swim along the fifteen foot high wall at the base of the cliffs, and camouflaged cabezon, sculpins, crabs and snails hide in the Corrallina.

Further into the cove, there is an area of cobble and pinnacles, some rising to within fifteen feet of the surface. These pinnacles and the kelp forest around them are home to many species of sea cucumbers. The abundant orange sea cucumber, Cucumaria miniata, has a unique habit of feeding that I find amusing to watch. Each tentacle acts as a filter, capturing food from the water column. The sea cucumber feeds by stuffing an entire “arm” in its mouth, and withdrawing it as it scrapes off the food. No sooner does it remove one arm, than another is plunged into its mouth, in an endless banquet of microscopic seafood.

On a clear day, looking out from the shade of the thick canopy to the blue light of the clear water beyond, there is a quiet magic to this spot. The small beach at the south end of the sand channel is a harbor seal rookery, and you will often have a furry companion on the dive. In the sand channel are scattered pinnacles, each supporting a slightly different community. Perched in the sand at the base of the pinnacles are blackeye gobies, Coryphopterus nicholsii, and ronquils. Swimming beneath the canopy are schools of kelp surfperch, bluefish, and señoritas. Schools of juvenile fish hide in the dark, upper recesses. Several very large gopher rock fish rest at the base of the rocks. The numerous fish provide food for fish-eating anemones, Urticina piscivora, whose white tentacled, thick, reddish bodies are attached to the sides of the rocky substrate.

As you swim along Guillemot Island, toward the open ocean, the density of life increases and becomes more characteristic of an exposed location. The vertical face of the rock is covered in surge-loving creatures at the north end. In the northern split of the rock, there are many specimens of the stubby rose anemone, Urticina coreacea. The sandy bottom drops off quickly to over 100 feet deep.

There is a cavern large enough to swim through in a pinnacle east of Guillemot Island. To find it, position yourself about thirty feet from Guillemot Rock, facing west, so you can see Terminal Rock through the northern split. Descend to the pinnacle at the nearest kelp stalk. The top of the pinnacle is about 35-40 feet deep. The west entrance to the cavern is on a shelf near the southwest end at about 50 feet. It looks like a deep hole, but at the bottom, it turns 90 degrees east, and exits at the base of the eastern face of the pinnacle, where it looks like a tall triangular crack in the wall. It is usually filled with kelp blades, and because of the bend at the west end, little light shows. You cannot see one end from the other until you have penetrated a few eerie feet.

Bluefish Cove  |  Bluefish Wall  |  Cannery Point  |  Cannery Point Pinnacles
Cannery Point Wall  |  Coal Chute Cove  |  Granite Point Pinnacles  |  Granite Point Wall
Inner Bluefish Cove  |  Middle Reef  |  Outer Bluefish Pinnacle  |  Using Boats & Kayaks