Day island

Day island is a shore dive in University Place, WA, US, from 14.6–27.4 m (48–90 ft). Current-dependent wall dive (50-90') best done on low exchanges—enter at flood tide end, drift south, and ride the current back; home to wolf eels and GPOs.

Site details

Entry
Beach/Shore
Depth
14.6–27.4 m (48–90 ft)
Environment
Ocean/Sea
Entry effort
Moderate (4 of 5)
Surface swim
62 m (203 ft)
Type
Wreck
Drift dive
Yes
Coordinates
47.24256, -122.56474

Site briefing

this site is a wall that extend from 50' down to around 90'. There are reportedly other walls in the area worth visiting but I have only been to this one. There are numerous wolf eel and GPO dens along the wall

Entry and route

This site is EXTREMELY current dependent. The idea is to enter the water at the end of a flood tide and drift south along the wall. If you timed this correctly, the current will slack and then turn around carrying you back to the entry. This should only be attempted on low exchanges, as a mistake could cause you to be swept out into the channel. Consult this site for further details: https://www.emeralddiving.com/day_island_frame.html

Tides and currents

  • Nearest NOAA tide station: Tacoma Narrows Bridge (9446486)
  • Nearest NOAA current station: The Narrows, South end (midstream) (PUG1528)

MyDivingSites forecasts tide, current, swell, and weather for Day island hour by hour.

Dive reports from Day island

1 logged dive, average rating 4.0 out of 5, average visibility 3.0 m (10 ft).

  • Oct 2, 2025 · Brandon · visibility 3 m (10 ft) — we entered the water 2 hours before slack before ebb at the south tacoma narrows current buoy. The forecasted max currents were 3.55 for the flood and 2.08 for the ebb. We found fairly strong current at the tail of the ebb, that did reverse, but was then pretty topsy turvy. We found 1 GPO and lots of wolf eels. This day was manageable but not ideal. I think a day with smaller current numbers would be better. Seen: Giant Pacific Octopus, Wolf Eel.

Marine life seen here

  • Giant Pacific Octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) — seen on 1 dive
  • Wolf Eel (Anarrhichthys ocellatus) — seen on 1 dive

Nearby dive sites

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