I've always been a bit disappointed with Cottam Point, but I noticed that the side of Cottam point facing Madrona Point is also accessible through Beachcomber Park. I tried it on Feb. 17, 2008. There is a trail leading down to the water from the road. I'd say this trail is about as long as the trail to Madrona Point, but steeper. It still wasn't bad. From the beach, I swam straight out, hoping to run into some kind of reef or wall. I swam out for quite a way, but only made it about 30 feet deep. There was a flat, sand/pebble bottom with tube-dwelling anemones, sunflower stars and lots of giant nudibranchs. I could see seabirds swimming on the surface above me. Visibility was around 40-50 feet. I then tried swimming to my right (towards the tip of Cottam Point. Eventually, I reached a flat-topped rocky reef that started at 30 feet and dropped to the bottom at 50-60 feet deep. I followed this wall out past the point into the channel. There were lots of rockfish (tiger, quillback, copper), lingcod guarding eggs, and schools of perch. Invertebrates included feather stars, cup corals, zoanthids and the occasional anemone (plumose, painted, crimson). There were some large boulders on top of the reef completely covered with those zoanthids. The reef seemed to end in a field of boulders at around 60-70 feet deep. There were large groups of rockfish and lingcod here. The lingcod were busy charging around, chasing off the other fish. There was also a pile of what seemed to be sheets of painted aluminum, maybe from a small smashed-up boat. I swam out farther into the channel. the flat bottom had lots of seapens, crimson anemones and swimming scallops covering the bottom. Usually when I see this much invertebrate life on a flat bottom, it means "watch out for current". I didn't feel any, but next time I'll expect it. There seemed to be a few smaller rocky areas scattered around off in the distance, but I didn't have the air to follow them. I actually had to ascend from the top of the 30-foot reef and swim back on the surface. I thought that this was a great dive, especially with the good visibility. I'll be back, but this time I think I'll head straight for the right-hand point and the reef/wall instead of wasting air on the flat bottom off the beach.
