My favorite way to take a break from computer or boat repair work is to head to the water with friends and explore a new dive site in the Puget Sound.

Located just south of downtown Seattle, Burien is a charming small town with a hidden gem for divers: the Three Tree Point dive site. This spot, nestled along the Puget Sound shoreline, is accessible by a quick drive off the main highway into a cute shoreside community. Three Tree offers a unique underwater experience, where you can spot an array of marine life including giant Pacific octopuses, nudis, plumose anemones, and the star of today’s dive, the Pacific spiny lumpsucker. This site is worth exploring for its biodiversity and easy beach access, making it a great dive spot for all skill levels.

Be sure to plan your dive around the slack tide for the best conditions, as the currents can pick up at other times. If you don’t hit it at slack, consider the water movement and plan for a slight drift dive, always aiming to drift toward your desired exit point. After diving, Burien offers cozy cafes, restaurants, and local shops to unwind and enjoy a post-dive meal.

Lucky for me, it was trivia night, so I had some fun with the locals, but also, it was a rude reminder that I am absolute crap at trivia. You don’t want me on your team unless topics include travel, music, or obscure sci-fi shows like Battlestar Galactica.

It is about time we have an app like this. The industry struggles to step into the modern era for most things. Still, the team behind Dive With Buddy is pushing us forward and creating a helpful space for divers. Here I can log and share my dives, connect with others, and even receive tips when I teach courses.

In this day and age, meeting people from the internet has become more socially acceptable and, for the most part, people know how to do it most safely, but let me share my process.

I do my best to sus out what kind of human you are. That means I’ll dive into your online presence and look for red flags. Obviously, everyone has different criteria for what counts as a red flag, so these guidelines will be hyper-individualized. Next, I chat and interact with the person as much as possible before meeting. Again, I’m looking for red flags and listening to my gut about how the person responds to my questions. Then, I make a judgment call and give myself the option of changing my mind once I meet them in person. If my gut isn’t 100% in it, I won’t get in the water with them.

My gut judgment isn’t always right. I’ve bailed on dives with people who later became my friends, but I always listen to my gut and it has kept me safe so far.

At first glance, this dive site may not feel like a standout, but the closer you look for critters amidst the sand, rocks, and human-made reef, you’ll be blown away. I adored this dive.

Straight away we saw one of my favorite Pacific Northwest residents, the giant Pacific octopus. It was so chill in its little home, not bothered by our cameras in the slightest. One of these days I’m going to see a fully grown GPO out and about hunting. Hopefully, this winter will give me that opportunity.

We also saw a handful of the white-lined dironas cruising around and later on, found a juvenile cabezon. Then, Brian was on fire and spotted our first pacific spiny lumpsucker. It was love at first sight.

The Pacific spiny lumpsucker is a quirky little fish native to the cold waters of the North Pacific, often found in rocky coastal areas. Known for its round, bumpy body and suction cup-like pelvic fins, it can “stick” to surfaces to ride out strong currents. These fish are usually small, reaching only a few inches in length, and have a lifespan of around 5 years. Their diet consists of small, slow-moving crustaceans, worms, and other tiny invertebrates. Lumpies are mostly solitary, spending much of their time hiding among rocks and kelp. If you’re on the search for these tiny fish on your next dive, slow way down and look for the eyeballs. The majority of these creatures are incredibly small, so it can be easy to miss them if you’re on a mission to swim through the dive site.

Lumpies and grunt sculpins are officially my current favorite fish in this part of the planet. They just don’t get any cuter.

As we surfaced, I was reminded why this diving community is so important and why I love connecting with new people. We need to welcome new people to our dive groups and make this sport more welcoming and accessible. So this is my invitation to you. Find me on the Dive With Buddy app and while you’re there, look around, and connect with people close to you through the Radar feature. Start messaging each other and schedule some dives.

See what trips are coming up. I always give my community first dibs on spots, so you can sign up for Patreon (and get trip discounts) or my email list to be the first to know about new expeditions in the future.