Back in 1996 I realized the need for a boat diver's bible covering Puget Sound and Hood Canal. While several shore dive books were available, there was no dive guidebook for those of us who prefer to explore reefs unavailable to shore divers, perform drift dives and enjoy the ease of boat entry and exits. My wife, Rose, a PADI Divemaster, and I spent the summer of '96 diving the Sound and Hood Canal to research dive site locations. We dove five days a week, two to three dives per day for five months. Of course we had as many divers as we could get join us on our dive exploration so we would have varying opinions on each and every site. This book is a collection of 60 of the best boat dives in the Sound and the Canal. Each location is described as to what you can expect to see on the reef, how to get there, how to dive the site safely and other information regarding the site. Information is given for each site as to the nearest launch location, where to buy gas and where to get air fills. In addition to a description of how to find each site, the book contains many pictures of what you will see on shore to help you know you are in the right place. GPS coordinates are also given for each dive site and launch or marina in the area. GPS receivers are very accurate and inexpensive (around $100 for a hand held model) and will get you on the reef with a minimum of circling around while checking your depth sounder. Yes, there are some site in the book that are considered shore dives by some divers. However, only a few and those are sites with long surface swims or that require climbing down steep terrain with a load of scuba gear. I have personally dove every site in the book numerous times and am sure you will enjoy them. Northwest Boat Dives is available at most scuba shops in the Puget Sound area and at Amazon.com. It is also usually found at Barnes and Nobel and sometimes at B. Dalton Books. If you would like a signed copy, I would be glad to sell you one direct at the regular cost of $16.95 plus tax. If your favorite scuba shop isn't stocking them, ask them to do so and I will be happy to go to their shop and sign their shelf copies when they get them. Shops who are interested in stocking Northwest Boat Dives may contact me via email at diverdave@myhome.net for wholesale information. I also am glad to act as guest speaker at dive club meetings or other scuba get-togethers. Please feel free to contact my by phone or email if you have any questions or comments about the sites. Please dive safely! Dave Bliss, MSDT PADI Instructor