Jan. 1, 2012 Madrona Point (Nanoose area) video
- Thread starter MarkH
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Wow, great video! Thanks for sharing!
I actually dove that site the day before you, December 31. I love your shots, especially the tiger rockfish together with the octopus, and the sea angel. Great footage!
I took a few photos that I posted here: Madrona Point
but I think your video does the site much better justice.
I actually dove that site the day before you, December 31. I love your shots, especially the tiger rockfish together with the octopus, and the sea angel. Great footage!
I took a few photos that I posted here: Madrona Point
but I think your video does the site much better justice.
OP
MarkH
Contributor
I thought that the tiger rockfish hanging out in the octopus den was a little risky, but the rockfish didn't seem to think it was a big deal. By the way, I noticed a photo taken at Argonaut wharf in your link. How is that dive? Worth doing up in that area? Max depth? Are there any problems with public access?
Yes, I did Argonaut wharf in Campbell River as a shore dive on Dec 30. It wasn't too bad, access is very easy, one of the locals told me where to go, just drive on Spit Road behind the Canadian Tire, and just past the large green building, pull over on the right, there is space to park a few cars almost right on the beach. Across the street is the Thunderbird RV park. You can gear up on the beach, and enter the water, and the wharf is a very short swim to the south. No problems with public access.
My friend told me to expect slack at a certain time, but when I got in, there was a fairly good flood current, and an hour later, it was ripping pretty hard. I had to wedge myself against a piling to do my safety stop. Nonetheless, it was fun to explore the stuff hiding amidst the pilings of the wharf. I was hoping for octopus and stubby squid, but did not see any. Maybe if done as a night dive, one would have better luck. I checked the tide table myself later, and couldn't figure it out, because even if I missed slack, it should have been ebbing, so I guess I am not very good with tide tables. It is quite shallow, my max depth was only about 12 m (I guess that's about 40 ft).
Truth be told, I think Madrona is one of the best shore dives around, and it's nice not to have to worry too much about strong currents. Argonaut wharf is worth a go if one happens to be in the area, but I've heard there is better shore diving if you take the ferry across to Quadra, although I didn't have a chance to check it out.
My friend told me to expect slack at a certain time, but when I got in, there was a fairly good flood current, and an hour later, it was ripping pretty hard. I had to wedge myself against a piling to do my safety stop. Nonetheless, it was fun to explore the stuff hiding amidst the pilings of the wharf. I was hoping for octopus and stubby squid, but did not see any. Maybe if done as a night dive, one would have better luck. I checked the tide table myself later, and couldn't figure it out, because even if I missed slack, it should have been ebbing, so I guess I am not very good with tide tables. It is quite shallow, my max depth was only about 12 m (I guess that's about 40 ft).
Truth be told, I think Madrona is one of the best shore dives around, and it's nice not to have to worry too much about strong currents. Argonaut wharf is worth a go if one happens to be in the area, but I've heard there is better shore diving if you take the ferry across to Quadra, although I didn't have a chance to check it out.
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OP
MarkH
Contributor
When I did those shore dives on Quadra I used the Seymour Narrows Current Table and had no problems. I don't know how different it is from the tide table.
Do you mean this link: Currents at Seymour Narrows, British Columbia
Yup, that looks good, better link than what I had used. My friend told me slack was at 3:30, but on this chart it looks like 2:38, so that would explain why it was ripping pretty hard by the time I got out of the water at 4:30 pm! I guess lesson learned, check the charts yourself! ;-)
How are those shore dives at Quadra, by the way? I forget the name of them, but it was just a bit north of where the ferry lands. Apparently you can even do it as a shore drift dive, although I am not sure how much fun it would be to walk back a distance to get back to the car.
Yup, that looks good, better link than what I had used. My friend told me slack was at 3:30, but on this chart it looks like 2:38, so that would explain why it was ripping pretty hard by the time I got out of the water at 4:30 pm! I guess lesson learned, check the charts yourself! ;-)
How are those shore dives at Quadra, by the way? I forget the name of them, but it was just a bit north of where the ferry lands. Apparently you can even do it as a shore drift dive, although I am not sure how much fun it would be to walk back a distance to get back to the car.
OP
MarkH
Contributor
