The San Juan Islands yield a world of wonders beneath the waves

The octopus has been sitting right above the wolf eel the whole time, but it has camouflaged itself well, looking just like the rock. It has about an 8-foot span when it flares out, and weighs about 50 pounds.

Curious, it reaches out with its arms to check us out, as we do the same. But then it tries to get closer and seems more than just curious. In a short while, it becomes more aggressive and its suctions are all over me and my camera. I'm thinking maybe it didn't like having its picture taken.

Hoping to get it to release its hold, I start toward the surface. After I rise 15 feet off the bottom, the octopus drops straight back down and changes colors in an instant, going from all white to camouflage and then to deep red. Colors indicate the moods of an octopus and, from what I can determine, it isn't happy. It makes no attempt to flee the area.

At Sucia Island in the northern San Juan Islands, scuba diver Jason Bender scans a rocky face for interesting undersea flora and fauna. (JAMES JOHNSON / SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER)

I go back to the wolf eel to get a few more photos before heading to the surface. Over my shoulder, I see the octopus coming back at me. I decide it's time to go up.

Later I realize the octopus probably just wanted a handout. Since I'd been feeding the wolf eel right beside it, I should have known.

We were diving on one of those beautiful, crisp Northwest fall days. Earlier, we'd headed out from the Anacortes Marina aboard Lu Jac's Quest into the open waters toward the San Juans.

As the 42-foot boat, operated by Bill and Myrna Lucas, headed to our first dive destination, Long Island, just south of Lopez Island, we watched for eagles and deer. The water was calm and there wasn't a cloud above. A light mist clung to the islands.

In the summer months, scores of people flock to the San Juans to escape urban areas and seek solitude. But divers are drawn by beauty and a world teeming with life below the surface. And, as we were to learn later, diving in the San Juans can be an adventure -- and then some.

As we circled the dive site at Long Island, skipper Bill checked the currents. A diver dropped in the wrong place could be carried for a ride by swift currents. The dive master, who is in charge of organizing the dives, briefed us on the site as we suited up and put on our gear.

Kelp, above, flutters dreamily in the current. (JAMES JOHNSON / SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER)

With all the gear and weight, our time out of the water is a little uncomfortable, not to mention ungainly. As we flail around, we are eager to take the plunge. So, with a big stride off the stern of the boat, we hit the 50-degree water.

In the cold waters of the Northwest, we wear dry suits to keep warm. Wet suits work for some, but most Northwest divers prefer dry. Once in the water, we are neutrally buoyant, able to hover at any depth. It's the closest thing I have discovered to what I imagine floating in space would be like.

I guess there is a little Jacques Cousteau in most scuba divers. We have a love for the sea and the creatures below. A sighting of a Pacific spiny lumpsucker or a decorated war bonnet can give a diver a thrill.

Cousteau, who died in 1997, was an undersea adventurer and explorer who traveled to all corners of the Earth researching and photographing sea life. A true environmentalist, he brought the silent world below to us and emphasized saving the planet's oceans.

Myrna and Bill Lucas clearly love running their dive charter boat, Lu Jac's Quest, though this is their final season. (JAMES JOHNSON / SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER)

It's been reported that the San Juan Islands were his second most favorite dive location in the world. There, the terrain below the water is similar to its rocky shores. But below the surface is a whole ecosystem teaming with life that exists in complex harmony. The smallest fish and the most massive mammals live together, sharing the ocean's environment.

We dropped in where the kelp beds line the shoreline and enjoy finding some of those hidden creatures. The challenge is, you can be looking directly at a fish and not see it: It appears to be part of a rock.

As we descended the slope, we saw rock scallops as big as a hand. And pectin scallops danced in the water like butterflies. We spotted bright and colorful sea anemones, which catch any small food the currents bring their way. Today we even see a few Puget Sound king crabs. Today we see a few. Strawberry anemones blanket the rocks. Large lingcod have no fear of us as we pass them.

We drifted with the light current and after 50 minutes slowly made our way back to the surface from our 90-foot depth. The nice thing about diving on a "live" boat is it picks you up wherever you pop up.

A diver drops into the water off one of the San Juan Islands. (JAMES JOHNSON / SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER)

Between our dives, Myrna dished up some of her homemade soup and sandwiches. She is not a water person, preferring not to get wet. Bill has been doing dive charters for 21 years, getting started with a friend who owned a dive store, and has seen a lot of dive boats come and go. This is the final season that Bill and Myrna will operate the Lu Jac's Quest as a dive boat.

"I enjoy the camaraderie and people," Bill Lucas says of the divers. For 14 years he and Myrna have been running charter dive boats. This is their third and, they say, their last.

"It's one of those things you either love or hate," Myrna says, "and we have loved it. You meet people from every walk of life and you never see the same scene. We love to see the whales."

As we followed the west shore of San Juan Island for about an hour, we warmed up and got ready for our second dive site. At Pile Point we dropped into the water. At 80 feet we encountered a wolf eel in its den. It's a big, white male that looks a bit intimidating to many divers, but it reminds me of a puppy dog.

Wolf eels seem to enjoy interaction and don't mind a handout of a broken sea urchin. They are a unique and intelligent fish. It's at this point, while enjoying this wolf eel, that my less-than-comfortable encounter with the octopus began.

Later, as we headed back to the marina, the boat swayed with the waves and eyelids got heavy. Whales occasionally would make an appearance on these trips, which topped off the day.

And I had time to reflect on an amazing day of underwater exploration, including the episode with the octopus and wolf eel. I feel privileged to be able to dive and photograph the creatures of the San Juan Islands, and can understand why Cousteau loved this place so.

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