Deception Pass

The narrow channel between Whidbey and Fidalgo Islands where Skagit Bay meets the Strait of Juan de Fuca, with tidal currents that can scream through at up to 8 knots. The huge water exchange feeds some of the most densely colorful invertebrate-covered walls in the Pacific Northwest, but the site is diveable only on a handful of minimal-exchange slack windows scattered through the year, and true slack can fail to materialize. Whirlpools, downwellings and instantly reversing current make this an expert-only dive, usually done with boat support and local knowledge.