Okay, I don't mean to be confrontational (well, perhaps a little), but I was out with a few others today diving Whytecliff (and what a beautiful day for it) and as we were packing up our gear someone pointed out a boat in the bay. At first I assumed it was a misguided rental boat as occasionally happens (but this time of year), until I saw that it was substantially larger.
A couple of us went down to the beach to investigate only to find that they were doing a live-drop with divers (still in the bay, directly off the left wall). There had been at least one other, if not two other, groups of divers in the parking lot today and I wasn't sure if anyone was still in the water or not (likely not expecting to surface with a propellor churning overhead).
So I got their attention and informed them that no boat traffic was permitted in the bay to which they responded that they could not hear me. Uh huh, sure. Well, giving them the benefit of the doubt I repeated myself at a higher volume. They finished dropping the divers and sort of backed off. They circled once and eventually waited just outside of the bay.
Unfortunately, I had to get going, but I did want to stick around to see just what happened on the egress. The boat had no number on the side, only a name (which I don't need to share publicly).
I am posting this for several reasons. Firstly, to REMIND everyone that Whytecliff is a protected area, that this kind of activity is not permitted by law and that there is a serious safety concern to other divers (especially newer divers, that feel comfortable at Whytecliff). Secondly, to let everyone know that this has occurred and who knows if they will return, and to exercise more caution than might be typical within the bay (we all know we should always exercise caution, but it this is not a normal concern and we can often feel like we're in our own backyard in the bay) Thirdly, if you know these divers, perhaps you could enlighten them because next time I'll be making a phone call or two to the appropriate authorities.
Oh yeah, and finally, if one has a boat to dive off of in Howe Sound, WHY would one choose the BAY??? I understand it is sheltered, but I'm sure a little research would turn up something not quite so accessible from shore to try for a change, no? Boggled my mind.
A couple of us went down to the beach to investigate only to find that they were doing a live-drop with divers (still in the bay, directly off the left wall). There had been at least one other, if not two other, groups of divers in the parking lot today and I wasn't sure if anyone was still in the water or not (likely not expecting to surface with a propellor churning overhead).
So I got their attention and informed them that no boat traffic was permitted in the bay to which they responded that they could not hear me. Uh huh, sure. Well, giving them the benefit of the doubt I repeated myself at a higher volume. They finished dropping the divers and sort of backed off. They circled once and eventually waited just outside of the bay.
Unfortunately, I had to get going, but I did want to stick around to see just what happened on the egress. The boat had no number on the side, only a name (which I don't need to share publicly).
I am posting this for several reasons. Firstly, to REMIND everyone that Whytecliff is a protected area, that this kind of activity is not permitted by law and that there is a serious safety concern to other divers (especially newer divers, that feel comfortable at Whytecliff). Secondly, to let everyone know that this has occurred and who knows if they will return, and to exercise more caution than might be typical within the bay (we all know we should always exercise caution, but it this is not a normal concern and we can often feel like we're in our own backyard in the bay) Thirdly, if you know these divers, perhaps you could enlighten them because next time I'll be making a phone call or two to the appropriate authorities.
Oh yeah, and finally, if one has a boat to dive off of in Howe Sound, WHY would one choose the BAY??? I understand it is sheltered, but I'm sure a little research would turn up something not quite so accessible from shore to try for a change, no? Boggled my mind.
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