crazed_dolphin
Contributor
Has anyone dived off Vancouver Island, British Columbia? I hear the dive there is great. Your impressions please.
Diving Vancouver, BC
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There's been lots of other posts on this board that swear by BC diving--just do a search or look thru the old posts... Rondale listed it their #1 diving destination this year.
I've only dove around Nanaimo--including the Saskachewan and Cape Breton wrecks--but it's pretty fantastic. I hope to get up to Powell River and Barkley Sound before too long...
The diving is cold. Not so much when you're in the water (about 50 deg F), but in the wind when you're travelling back and forth by boat, it can be really bad for wetsuit divers. There's big lings, big octopus, seals, six-gills at Hornby (woo hoo!), wolf eels, and lots of colour if you bring your own light.
Winter diving has much better viz.
The US dollar still goes pretty far right now--it's a great trip.
cal
I've only dove around Nanaimo--including the Saskachewan and Cape Breton wrecks--but it's pretty fantastic. I hope to get up to Powell River and Barkley Sound before too long...
The diving is cold. Not so much when you're in the water (about 50 deg F), but in the wind when you're travelling back and forth by boat, it can be really bad for wetsuit divers. There's big lings, big octopus, seals, six-gills at Hornby (woo hoo!), wolf eels, and lots of colour if you bring your own light.
Winter diving has much better viz.
The US dollar still goes pretty far right now--it's a great trip.
cal
Hey Dolphin-
Yes, the diving is incredible. The wrecks (Saskatchewan and Cape Breton) are great dives. There are several other sites to dive in Nanaimo as well.
Campbell River/Quadra Island, about 90 minutes north of Nanaimo is absolutely incredible, probably the best dives I've done. The amount of life there can't be described by words. It's primarily all wall (except for the HMCS Columbia, Saskatchewan's sister), drift dives and the walls are literally carpeted with life. NWGratefulDiver posted a trip report from a trip we did back in June, definitely worth reading. If I remember correctly, and I could be mistaken, Jacques Cousteau said the diving in Campbell River was second only to the Red Sea. Barkley Sound, although I've never been there, is supposed to rival Campbell River as well.
Yes, the diving is incredible. The wrecks (Saskatchewan and Cape Breton) are great dives. There are several other sites to dive in Nanaimo as well.
Campbell River/Quadra Island, about 90 minutes north of Nanaimo is absolutely incredible, probably the best dives I've done. The amount of life there can't be described by words. It's primarily all wall (except for the HMCS Columbia, Saskatchewan's sister), drift dives and the walls are literally carpeted with life. NWGratefulDiver posted a trip report from a trip we did back in June, definitely worth reading. If I remember correctly, and I could be mistaken, Jacques Cousteau said the diving in Campbell River was second only to the Red Sea. Barkley Sound, although I've never been there, is supposed to rival Campbell River as well.
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Most of the diving on V.I. is on the east coast ... in the waters between V.I. and the mainland. As others have described, the wrecks in Nanaimo are excellent dives ... as are some of the walls and pinnacles such as Snake Island, Jesse Island, and Four Fathom Reef. You can do a search on those terms and find some good site descriptions in this forum.
Quadra Island is as far north as I've yet been ... and as earlier described, has more life-per-square-foot than anyplace I've ever dove (including places in the Caribbean and South Pacific).
Barkley Sound is on the west coast of the island. While it doesn't have the sheer abundance of marine life you'll find at Quadra, it more than makes up for it in variety and color ... in fact, overall I favor it over Quadra Island because it's more protected and therefore you get more opportunities to dive here. It's mostly pinnacles (underwater mountains) who's "peaks" are anywhere from 20 to roughly 60 fsw ... and from there you can plunge the depths to your heart's desire. There are also some great wall dives ... and "fingers" coming off some of the points in the Broken Group Islands that are incredible dive sites. Marine critters here are in some ways quite different from what you'll see on the eastern side of the island. Giant piscavora anemones come in many colors, providing red, orange, yellow, and green hues to a pink and lavender background of hydrocorals. Pale sponges compete for space on the rocks and walls with many species of cold water corals, hydroids, strawberry anemones, zoanthids, and long-needled red and purple urchins. Giant pacific octopus, wolf eels, and Puget Sound king crabs are abundant, as are many species of rockfish, ling cod (I saw one weighing perhaps 150 lb up there in early June), and massive schools of smaller fish species. Six-gill are commonly sighted at many of the pinnacles ... especially during the summer months. And I've seen as many as a dozen different species of nudibranchs on a single dive, including the giant dendronotis (both red and white) swimming nudi's and the gorgeous diversicolor and crassicornis.
I have dove off of Victoria, Nanaimo, Hornby Island, Quadra Island, and Barkley Sound ... and of those, the last is without question my all-time favorite cold-water dive destination.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
Quadra Island is as far north as I've yet been ... and as earlier described, has more life-per-square-foot than anyplace I've ever dove (including places in the Caribbean and South Pacific).
Barkley Sound is on the west coast of the island. While it doesn't have the sheer abundance of marine life you'll find at Quadra, it more than makes up for it in variety and color ... in fact, overall I favor it over Quadra Island because it's more protected and therefore you get more opportunities to dive here. It's mostly pinnacles (underwater mountains) who's "peaks" are anywhere from 20 to roughly 60 fsw ... and from there you can plunge the depths to your heart's desire. There are also some great wall dives ... and "fingers" coming off some of the points in the Broken Group Islands that are incredible dive sites. Marine critters here are in some ways quite different from what you'll see on the eastern side of the island. Giant piscavora anemones come in many colors, providing red, orange, yellow, and green hues to a pink and lavender background of hydrocorals. Pale sponges compete for space on the rocks and walls with many species of cold water corals, hydroids, strawberry anemones, zoanthids, and long-needled red and purple urchins. Giant pacific octopus, wolf eels, and Puget Sound king crabs are abundant, as are many species of rockfish, ling cod (I saw one weighing perhaps 150 lb up there in early June), and massive schools of smaller fish species. Six-gill are commonly sighted at many of the pinnacles ... especially during the summer months. And I've seen as many as a dozen different species of nudibranchs on a single dive, including the giant dendronotis (both red and white) swimming nudi's and the gorgeous diversicolor and crassicornis.
I have dove off of Victoria, Nanaimo, Hornby Island, Quadra Island, and Barkley Sound ... and of those, the last is without question my all-time favorite cold-water dive destination.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
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crazed_dolphin
Contributor
I think that was in Rodale's recently. I'm not sure if he meant the Campbell River or Vanouver Island in general.
Thanks for all the info
I did Vancouver Island up to Port Hardy on the Nautilus Explorer liveaboard back in August 2001. Spectacular diving and Mike Lever runs a tight ship. Great op!
Check them out at www.nautilusexplorer.com Really fantastic website too.
The diving is cold....water temps for us that year were 43 to 45 with air temps in the low 70's. Definitely drysuit diving. Diving on the NE is for advanced divers, not AOW divers....advanced divers...those with plenty of experience.
Good plentiful food, clean cabins, very pleasant lounge/salon for congregating.
I'd do it again in a heartbeat!
Check them out at www.nautilusexplorer.com Really fantastic website too.
The diving is cold....water temps for us that year were 43 to 45 with air temps in the low 70's. Definitely drysuit diving. Diving on the NE is for advanced divers, not AOW divers....advanced divers...those with plenty of experience.
Good plentiful food, clean cabins, very pleasant lounge/salon for congregating.
I'd do it again in a heartbeat!
- Messages
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- Location
- On the Fun Side of Trump's Wall
- # of dives
- 2500 - 4999
Vancouver Island has a very varied habitat from locale to locale. The best diving is in the northeast side ... from Campbell River north to the end of the island. This is the region that Cousteau was talking about. As someone mentioned, this is advanced diving. Lots of current (which is why there's so much marine life here) ... it takes experience to be able to handle it. But if you've got what it takes to dive here, it's total sensory overload ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
The diving on V.I. is awesome, with the exchange rate on the dollar you can't go wrong. We usually go up there once or twice a year, most of the time to Nanaimo. We are headed back on the 22nd of Aug for four days of diving.
etype
Guest
hello, ah... you are talking about my favorite diving destination! Well, actually i live here. And i really like nwgrateful divers description! However i want to give a tip to those who come up here occasionally for expeditions. After diving Nanaimo, on your way north....about 40 kilometres north at Parksville, get some directions to Madrona Point. It's a shore dive...about 200 meters off the beach..(best at slack just after ebb) is a stepped series of walls that extends from 10 to 50 metres. (Please no spear fishers or hunters..these are our pets!). The wall is habitated with many octopus and wolf eels...we have tamed them and they are all friendly. Do not be surprised to see a 2.5 metre wolf eel or two come out and say hello. They will do a crazy 's' shaped dance in front of you because they are used to being petted....tenderly grab a bend of their body and they will wiggle out of your grasp in order in hope you will grab them again...it's really unique...also the octupus will extend a tenacle and pet you.. because they love the feel of neoprene...and you will see their eyes widen in appreciation of the texture.
There are many fish there that will allow you to approach them. It is very beautiful and visibility is often 20-30 meters when the sun is in the eastern section of the sky (from 9am to 1pm) especially at slack just after ebb tide.
It is one of the most beautiful and relaxing places to dive anywhere around Vancouver island. There are upcurrents that are like thermals and if you have good bouyancy...it is more like flying than swimming. You launch yourself off the top of a wall section with a little negative bouyancy and the upcurrent will boost you out and up and then you can spiral down to the next wall. I dive there all the time solo because it is so easy and enjoyable.So check it out...but don't tell everyone...we don't want our pets to become bored with humans.
There are many fish there that will allow you to approach them. It is very beautiful and visibility is often 20-30 meters when the sun is in the eastern section of the sky (from 9am to 1pm) especially at slack just after ebb tide.
It is one of the most beautiful and relaxing places to dive anywhere around Vancouver island. There are upcurrents that are like thermals and if you have good bouyancy...it is more like flying than swimming. You launch yourself off the top of a wall section with a little negative bouyancy and the upcurrent will boost you out and up and then you can spiral down to the next wall. I dive there all the time solo because it is so easy and enjoyable.So check it out...but don't tell everyone...we don't want our pets to become bored with humans.
erichK
Contributor
During the summer, we drove up BC's Sunshine Coast and did a couple of shore dives at Cooper's Green Cooper's Green and Egmont, and chartered dives as Sechelt Inlet of the Chaudiere wreck and the Nine Mile Point wall. We the took the ferry across to Quadra Island to dive the wreck of the Columbia, and also "Row and be Dammed" and Copper Cliff. The wrecks were both good, with decent amounts of sea life, and CC is a nice wall dive, while Egmont is really spectacularly crammed with life, all of it thriving because of the high current. The same high current also means that one has to time dives precisely and stay out of the main channel.
Also, the great bloom of tiny marine life in the summer tends to limit visibility, especially at shallower depths. Water temperatures are better, at around 55 degrees F., but the drysuits most of us still need can be a sweaty nightmare in the 85-90 degree heat and broiling sun
In October, my daughter and I dove around the Port Hardy are and further north and found it an incredible experience. One of the most spectacular sites is the 600 foot Browning Wall, every milimetre of which is crowded with life. On night dives, we saw many wolf eals and octopuses, and the boat was sometimes flanked by dolphins, and once by a pod of Orcas.
This was demanding diving because water temperatures were in the mid 40's, and much of the diving was in areas of considerable current, but the water was much clearer.
The series of Straits between Vancouver Island and mainland BC, right up to the Charlotte Islands is dotted with wonderful sites which reward the planning and effort needed to dive them with an amazing panopoly of largely unspoiled underwater life.
Definitely worth checking out ...carefully!
erichK
saskatoon, canada
Also, the great bloom of tiny marine life in the summer tends to limit visibility, especially at shallower depths. Water temperatures are better, at around 55 degrees F., but the drysuits most of us still need can be a sweaty nightmare in the 85-90 degree heat and broiling sun
In October, my daughter and I dove around the Port Hardy are and further north and found it an incredible experience. One of the most spectacular sites is the 600 foot Browning Wall, every milimetre of which is crowded with life. On night dives, we saw many wolf eals and octopuses, and the boat was sometimes flanked by dolphins, and once by a pod of Orcas.
This was demanding diving because water temperatures were in the mid 40's, and much of the diving was in areas of considerable current, but the water was much clearer.
The series of Straits between Vancouver Island and mainland BC, right up to the Charlotte Islands is dotted with wonderful sites which reward the planning and effort needed to dive them with an amazing panopoly of largely unspoiled underwater life.
Definitely worth checking out ...carefully!
erichK
saskatoon, canada
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