How to plan a dive at Whytecliffe Park?

[MXGratefulDiver]

I'm heading back up to Vancouver on November 22/23, and am thinking to dive Whytecliffe on the 22nd (Saturday). Last time I tried the Cut I damn near got blown out to sea. Can one of you locals give me some info on how to plan this dive properly? I'll be heading up with a group of 7 other divers, and I'd like to make sure we plan a reasonable dive ... or choose a different site.

Any local knowledge will be appreciated.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[TheWetRookie]

Deepending on which way you were going and the tides you could have done a drift dive.

Did you descend at the cut and head left? If so I am assuming that you got the current below the day marker over the plumos garden. If so, go for the ride if it is going in your direction and head into the bay. If you were going into the current, I prefer to turn around and adjust the dive.

Now if you dropped at the cut and went right you could go all the way around to Lookout point on the north side depending on the tides and air supply. In this direction (to the right/north) I find that the current will change with depth, adjust accordingly. If going to the right, I expect that you got some current near the other plumos garden. This is normal for here and you just need to punch through it. It does vary with the tides though.

There is more than one "dive path" at Whytecliff so it depends on where or what part you want to dive.

At the end of November I am heading to the island to dive, the weekend is not set yet so if I am still local I that day I offer my services as a tour guide if you would like.

Sorry I can't be more specific, it depend on what you want.

Ansell or Kelvin Grove walls are good sites also.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Yeah, I'm not familiar enough with Whytecliffe to want to drift it as a shore dive ... too much potential for end up having a long hump back to the parking lot with a bunch of dive gear (or worse). That's why we opted to call the dive.

A local "guide" would be nice ... what I'm really looking for is some guidance about how y'all plan this site (which current table to use, time corrections, or even if it's something I should consider on a day with a more than moderate tidal exchange) ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[askdjasd]

So far, I've only done whytecliff. A good decision if you want to dive the cut (I feel sorry for you, that walk looks like hell.. ansell place hell.
apparently a good choice to do, is hit the cut, stay on the left side and go around to where the bay is, the bay is the middle of the dive site shallow water shore to 30'

I agree about the current, I went down on Sunday and it was harsh.. Was using smaller fins too, i started getting a headache and the overall dive was just way too much work.. dry suit flood didnt help either

But check out either wall, most likely you'll want to do the wall that'll be on your left side if you do the cut.
From there, you can nav to the bay and get a good look at what I call "the thousand fish farm" where it's just pure beauty.

if you do the right side (from the cut), check out the gardens approx 70'......... tons of lingcod and various rock fish and an octo has been spotted.

If you do the other side, from the beach, way towards to the left, over the rocks (this is just reports) you could encounter a six gill (night) and sea lions.

If you're looking for fish.. I'd suggest going during the week.
Weekends are deadly for new divers, too much silt... but if you go for a weekend, do a deep dive, the vis gets better.

 

[askdjasd]

If I was more confident in my skill.. i would soooo be your guide.
but i'm only OW

and I cant do the cut.. cert issues, they wont let me attend the future fun dive there.

 

[TheWetRookie]

Oh, are we supposed to look at tide charts...oops.. We honestly don't lok a the tide table that much. We just change the dive mid dive if need be since we are used to the site.


If you want a site that is not affected that much by currents, go to Kelvin Grove. I have only every felt mild currents here, none to realy mention. It is about 15 minutes north of WC and it is a very nice wall. Has parking, entry is not that hard and you will run out of air before you run out of wall. Plenty of crevices to look in. I will draw you a map of it and send it to you. You won't need a tour guide here.

 

[TheWetRookie]

If I was more confident in my skill.. i would soooo be your guide.
but i'm only OW

and I cant do the cut.. cert issues, they wont let me attend the future fun dive there.

If you stayed above 60' there is no reason why you can't go. I have known a lot of OW students that have just finished their check out dives go here.

Chances are they went deep on the cut.

 

[TSandM]

Bob, consider PMing jeckyll or creamofwheat for companionship and information . . . Also bpeake on DMX.

 

[r2t]

The cut to whytecliff bay is clearly one of my favorite dives. Easy parking, lots of life, no surface swim . Like Mike said I don’t look at the tides much for whyetcliff. Here is a link to the one I do use. Tide table for Vancouver, British Columbia (2)
I like to descend at the cut and go to the right, depending on which tank I use,(al 80 or hp 130) drop to 80 to 110 and go for about 10 to 20 minutes turn around and ascend to 60 to 40 and make my way back around the marker and into the bay. Total dive time of 50 to 80 minutes. If I do run into current at the marker I just turn around, exit back at the cut and do the hike back up the hill
A second dive on the islet is very nice as well. Descend half along and drop to around 90 and catch the pinnacle wall and slow make my way up to the 50’ and catch the end of the islet and turn around and swim slowly back to shore.
Kelvin Grove is another great dive you have the added cost of 8.00 per car for parking and a little bit of a hike down but the wall is so worth the effort.
I don’t have any plans for the Nov. 22 and would be more the happy to come out for a day of diving. Send me a pm with your traveling times and we can try and hook up for a dive.
Ron

 

[sschlesi]

You want to use Pt. Atkinson for the tide predictions. Here is my preferred link Tide/Current Predictor. No adjustments are neccesary. Pt. Atkinson is about 3 miles southeast of Whytecliff, I never paid attention but you should be able to see the light house from Whytecliff park.

I have found that currents around The Cut and Day Marker are generally "blustery". They come and go and change direction regularly certain corners are prone to current and others are much more protected. The currents are sometimes strong enough to be unpleasant to swim against, but I've never experienced anything impossible to swim against. Inside the Bay and out along the Islet there is usually very little current.

On the 22nd, there is about a 6ft. flood leading to a high tide around 1:30. My guess is that hitting the water any time between 11 and 1 will leave you with minimal current (assuming ~1hr. dives). Current will probably be a little stronger once the ebb gets going, but Whytecliff is very divable on a 10ft. exchange.

Here is a link to a google map zoomed in on Whytecliff with the various dive sites marked.

Google Maps

Driving around the winding roads leaves me confused but the overhead view is pretty clear.

You can easily walk from the beach at Telegraph cove to the parking lot at Whytecliff in less than 10 minutes. In the unlikely event of an unexpected trip to Telegraph cove drop your gear at the trail head and go get your car. If you unexpectedly get pulled offshore (highly unlikely), I guess you grab on to the next ferry into Horseshoe Bay .