Blakely Rock

Blakely Rock is a boat-access reef and wall in central Puget Sound, sitting east of Restoration Point on Bainbridge Island. Divers typically launch from Don Armini boat ramp in West Seattle, roughly 5 nautical miles away, or occasionally kayak from Rockaway Beach Park about 0.5 mile to the west. Typical diving runs to about 75 feet on the reef, with rock structure continuing past 100 feet and the most compelling features between 45 and 90 feet. The adjacent Blakely Rock Wall carries rock faces up to 30 feet tall, with the top of the wall at 60 to 80 feet and the deepest section near 100 feet at the western end.

Blakely Rock is not a benign dive. The Seattle Times has documented a recreational-dive fatality at the site, in which a 48-year-old diver died and search operations were suspended when the body, briefly located by rescue divers, was lost. The record stands as context for the site's exposure and current profile rather than as an isolated incident.

Between the reef complex and the adjacent wall, Blakely Rock is a rocky reef biome, and it also sits within a kelp forest biome. Documented residents include wolf eels and giant Pacific octopus, with lingcod and rockfish across the reef; sea lemon nudibranchs and glass tunicates cover much of the substrate, and harbor seals are present at the surface. The site is very current-intensive: a strong back-eddy runs south over the reef on the ebb and deflects off Restoration Point, while flood tides are milder with light to no current inside the wall's protection. The target window is a light-to-moderate flooding current at 1.5 knots or less at its peak. Surface conditions are exposed to wind and can deteriorate quickly, discarded fishing gear is present throughout the reef, and summer sailboat regattas add moderate boat traffic around the rock.

Access is boat-only, with no shore entry. No marine preserve covers Blakely Rock, so Marine Area 10 recreational rules govern: rockfish retention is prohibited, yelloweye rockfish take is banned statewide, and lingcod may only be speared from May 21 to June 15 at a 36-inch maximum. Giant Pacific octopus and wolf eel are no-take under Washington state rules.