| In the Alaskan winter the glacial runoff and plankton | | | | railroad terminal, and marina occupy the majority of |
| bloom is diminished along the shoreline. For this | | | | coastline. Smitty's cove has recently been designated |
| reason, our winter diving transitions from | | | | by the city of Whittier as a marine sanctuary, but |
| Resurrection Bay boat diving, to shore-based diving in | | | | this status seems to remain somewhat tentative in |
| Whittier at Smitty's cove. Winter conditions include | | | | nature and subject to political influences. |
| water temps get as low as 38 degrees, but the | | | | To dive Smitty's cove, there is a small fee, but the |
| visibility can improve up to nearly 100 feet. Smitty's | | | | proprietor of the parking lot has provided a warm up |
| cove has debris which was dumped into the water | | | | shack for the divers to use before and after the |
| during WWII. This debris includes pipes, railroad | | | | dives. To get to Whittier, you'll drive south on the |
| tracks, pilings, an aircraft fusalage, a railcar tanker, | | | | Seward Highway from Anchorage for about an hour |
| and the parts of a crane which lie in water ranging | | | | to the Anton Memorial Tunnel. This is a unique |
| from 30 to 100 feet. | | | | one-way tunnel through the base of a mountain and |
| The bottom composition is primarily gravel in the | | | | allows traffic in and out of Whittier on an alternating |
| shallows, yielding to a deep "silt" arond 70 feet, | | | | schedule. Be prepared to pay about $12 for a |
| There are sea pens and whips in the deep, and ling | | | | round-trip ticket. Rental tanks and equipment is |
| cod, octopus, rockfish and a whole variety of | | | | available in Anchorage, with no support and very little |
| invertabrates and smaller fish. In the winter you'll find | | | | in the way of amenities in Whittier. The cove is |
| divers concentrated at Smitty's cove due to the lack | | | | protected against prevailing winds and waves most |
| of accessibility to other water front areas. Industrial | | | | of the time, and represents a convenient dive site |
| developement such as a marine ferry terminal, | | | | for winter time diving. |