coldwaterlloyd
Contributor
My Dive Buddy and I headed out June 6 for a Mini three day dive trip . Get out of town and Dive , Eat , Sleep repeat.
Nootka Sound is on the Central West Coast of Vancouver Island . A five hour drive from our home in Victoria .
We stopped for a charter in Campbell River with Abyssal Charters . They cover Discovery Passage which is a narrow body of water between Vancouver Island and Quadra Island .
I have dove this area once before and rank it as world class . My buddy has only dove southern Vancouver Island which is great , but a little less colorful than Discovery Passage .
First dive was a spot called "Row and be Damned" . The current was just enough to carry us past the wall which has a background of strawberry anemones . The non swimming life in itself is enough to mesmerize a diver here , let alone getting in the middle of a school of large rock-fish of various species .
Fifteen years has past since I last dove off Quadra Island and it was as good as ever .
Best part was listening to buddy rave about the dive afterward .
It is like giving someone a colour TV who has only watched black and white .
Abyssal Charters is a first rate outfit , They know the area and its currents inside out , if you dive Discovery Passage these are the guys you want .
Second dive was Copper Cliffs which I have heard about before . The topside scenery in itself is amazing , again under the surface was the stuff we dream about .
The current had picked up and the back eddies had their way with us . It did not matter , anywhere the washing machine put us there was an amazing array of life to see . We both surfaced laughing , great dive no doubt.
After a nice lunch on the pier we headed for Tahsis for our next two days of diving .
The drive is 2.5 hours more or less , we saw four Black Bear and a huge herd of Elk . Crystal clear rivers and lakes , and a triple arm 1500 foot waterfall .
I am born and raised on Vancouver Island and the scenery blew me away . Like being in the Rockies on the west coast .
Tahsis is a great little village . Use to be a thriving logging and fishing community , is now reduced to summer fishing tourism , it is clean , friendly and beautiful , nestled at the foot of Nootka Sound surrounded by snow cap mountains and glaciers , and here is the best part , the diving is world class and stupid easy .
Tahsta Dive Charters handled our dive needs . We did two morning dives , back to town for lunch , and an afternoon dive .
Scott and Jude are as nice as you find anywhere , talk about accommodating . They know every nook and cranny in the area , in between dives was a scenic history lesson , what a gas .
I have near 1000 dives all over the planet , one spot there is as good as any dive I have ever seen . Scott knows the place , it is very special , a background of strawberry anemones , Cloud Sponges , cold water corals , Rock Scallop's clustered like grapes all in one small area you can see in a 45 minute dive . Very special spot .
Nootka Sound stretches 20 miles to the open sea from Tahsis , little arms and protected areas everywhere , each dive we did had its own personality , like diving 3 different seas on one trip . No such thing as a bad dive in Nootka Sound , but some are a little better than others.
I plan on going back to Nootka Sound and dive with Tahtsa Charters on a regular basis , to think I can drive to this place with no planes , ferries , trains ... priceless
Nootka Sound is on the Central West Coast of Vancouver Island . A five hour drive from our home in Victoria .
We stopped for a charter in Campbell River with Abyssal Charters . They cover Discovery Passage which is a narrow body of water between Vancouver Island and Quadra Island .
I have dove this area once before and rank it as world class . My buddy has only dove southern Vancouver Island which is great , but a little less colorful than Discovery Passage .
First dive was a spot called "Row and be Damned" . The current was just enough to carry us past the wall which has a background of strawberry anemones . The non swimming life in itself is enough to mesmerize a diver here , let alone getting in the middle of a school of large rock-fish of various species .
Fifteen years has past since I last dove off Quadra Island and it was as good as ever .
Best part was listening to buddy rave about the dive afterward .
It is like giving someone a colour TV who has only watched black and white .
Abyssal Charters is a first rate outfit , They know the area and its currents inside out , if you dive Discovery Passage these are the guys you want .
Second dive was Copper Cliffs which I have heard about before . The topside scenery in itself is amazing , again under the surface was the stuff we dream about .
The current had picked up and the back eddies had their way with us . It did not matter , anywhere the washing machine put us there was an amazing array of life to see . We both surfaced laughing , great dive no doubt.
After a nice lunch on the pier we headed for Tahsis for our next two days of diving .
The drive is 2.5 hours more or less , we saw four Black Bear and a huge herd of Elk . Crystal clear rivers and lakes , and a triple arm 1500 foot waterfall .
I am born and raised on Vancouver Island and the scenery blew me away . Like being in the Rockies on the west coast .
Tahsis is a great little village . Use to be a thriving logging and fishing community , is now reduced to summer fishing tourism , it is clean , friendly and beautiful , nestled at the foot of Nootka Sound surrounded by snow cap mountains and glaciers , and here is the best part , the diving is world class and stupid easy .
Tahsta Dive Charters handled our dive needs . We did two morning dives , back to town for lunch , and an afternoon dive .
Scott and Jude are as nice as you find anywhere , talk about accommodating . They know every nook and cranny in the area , in between dives was a scenic history lesson , what a gas .
I have near 1000 dives all over the planet , one spot there is as good as any dive I have ever seen . Scott knows the place , it is very special , a background of strawberry anemones , Cloud Sponges , cold water corals , Rock Scallop's clustered like grapes all in one small area you can see in a 45 minute dive . Very special spot .
Nootka Sound stretches 20 miles to the open sea from Tahsis , little arms and protected areas everywhere , each dive we did had its own personality , like diving 3 different seas on one trip . No such thing as a bad dive in Nootka Sound , but some are a little better than others.
I plan on going back to Nootka Sound and dive with Tahtsa Charters on a regular basis , to think I can drive to this place with no planes , ferries , trains ... priceless
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