Quadra Island Trip Report

[Darnold9999]

Did Quadra Island over the long weekend. Now that is cold water diving at its best.

Walls with stuff to see on every square inch, drift diving in current felt like flying, great food - great company and a hot tub to recover from the cold.

Have been looking forward to getting out of the local Vancouver waters for a while now and Quadra exceeded my expectations. The walls are spectacular. Carpets of strawberry anemonies, life on every square inch of rock. I could spend an entire dive and never move from a single spot.

We did one dive that was like a roller coaster ride - felt like flying. Put the camera away cause unless you were behind a rock or in a crack the wall was flying by too fast to focus and shoot. We all came up like a bunch of kids - can we go back and do it again!!!

The only down side is that with the current you have to dive in slack so two maybe three dives a day is the best you can do.

A selection of pictures:

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[Uncle Pug]

I've been to Quadra three times. Twice with Earl@Abyssal. Super diving. At the time I wasn't yet into taking pictures so I would really like to go back.

 

[Darnold9999]

I wish I knew how to use mine better, still trying to got the strobe, focus and exposure all working together. Have yet to get a good picture of a nudi - they are all overexposed if I get too close. Need to mute out the strobe somehow.

Just means I have to practice more!

 

[jeckyll]

Darnold: Man I wish I could have joined you. sounds like a blast!

 

[Les]

was this with Abyssal dive lodge? I have heard tons of great stuf about them. It is on my list of places to go this year. Just have to get some spare $$.

 

[Darnold9999]

This was DynaMikes. I gather he started Abyssal, retired and then started another dive operation a few years later. Will probably try Abyssal in September with the Ocean Quest charter. Might try to get up again this summer - seems that my music gig just got cancelled so I will be doing more diving this summer.

 

[Uncle Pug]

Darnold... that is opposite the story I heard. Earl started the business, sold it to Mike with a five year no competition agreement and then after five years Earl started Abyssal.

 

[Darnold9999]

This from Mike's web site, and got the same story from both of the LDS I use, one uses Mikes the other Earls. Also Mike's lodge and boat are obviously quite new and the Abyssal lodge quite a bit older and the boat is older, but does not look as old as the lodge. Now I am curious - there has to be a good story behind all of this.

After operating a successful BC scuba diving charters business on Quadra Island from 1980 to 1994, Mike and Darlene sold their diving business and retired for five years. Now with a new and improved dive boat and lodge accommodations (which Mike built himself) they are back in the BC diving charters business.

 

[Uncle Pug]

Now I am curious - there has to be a good story behind all of this.

Yeah... it might have something to do with my memory.

Switch that... reverse it.