questions about dive sites in Nanaimo

[the dud]

I am headed up to Nanaimo to go boat diving with an old friend next week. We have been planning the trip for a while but I did not find out until just this past week that he is only certified for OW. We are planning on doing 2 days of boat dives but my question is:

Is there going to be adequate dive sites for us to go to if we are limited by the depth we can go too? It seems that all of the wrecks are below the OW dive limits.

If there are not any quality boat dives that are less than 40 feet are there some good shore dives to do in the area up there?

Any info would be appreciated.

the dud

 

[TSandM]

The wrecks are below 60', but we did some wall dives where you could stay shallower than that and still have plenty to look at (they were wall dives off a boat). Jesse Island Wall was a good one where there was plenty to see shallow, and although the wall at Snake Island starts at about 70 feet, there was a lot of sea life on the slope down to it.

Our boat did the wrecks as a first dive and the walls as a second, though.

I'd check with the dive op, and tell them the limits you'd like to stay within, and see what they say. I think a lot of people go up there to dive the wrecks.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Depending on the dive op, they will most likely take you to Clark Rocks. If you're diving with Ocean Explorers, you won't be able to talk them out of it.

Clark Rocks is a very benign dive site ... perfect for less experienced divers. But about the only thing to see there is wolf eels. If you don't seen them often, it's a good choice.

They'll also most likely take you to the Rivtow Lion ... a tug recently sunk near the entrance to the harbor. It's very shallow, and put down there specifically to give newer divers a "taste" of diving a wreck.

Jesse Island is an excellent choice ... and one of my favorite dives in Nanaimo. The wall formations near the dock are full of life and very interesting. Spend some time in the sand watching the dendronitis nudibranchs feed on sand anemones ... it's fascinating ... here's a pic of one that I took there last month ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[wedivebc]

My recommendation is Jesse Island and Rivtow. Clarke Rock is a pretty good dive but the buoy anchor is sometimes hard to find in OW and so the diver must be comfortable ascending in open water and often in current.
Check out Diver Choice Charters and tell Ken your experience level and he will have some recommendations as well. He also can provide a DM for you if preferred.

 

[Peter Guy]

Well, I'll ask the question -- Is your buddy comfortable at depths up to 100 feet or so? Does he have a lot of diving experience but just hasn't bothered to get "the card" saying more? I didn't see any Scuba Police last month when I was up there.

 

[TSandM]

I'd sure second the recommendation for Diver's Choice. They took wonderful care of us in January, and the boat is extremely well set up for diving, with one of the most diver-friendly ladders I've seen yet!

 

[haze diver]

Jesse Island is a great place to dive, gobs of marine life, neat rock structures and you don't have to get deep.

 

[jim T.]

Ian Hall's Ocean Explorers is another charter boat operator that'll do a good job.
I've done 3 dives with them, last summer.
I'm going to try Diver's Choice for comparison.

Ocean explorers has their own shop (shanty) at the dock where you can rent tanks and get fills. (Should call ahead to insure availability though.) Does Diver's Choice have a compressor on board? What pressure can they
fill to? Nitrox? Their site mentioned fills...

Ian was instrumental in getting the artificial reef wrecks sunk. With advance notice he'll fix you up with a DM also.
The top of the radar tower on the HMCS Saskatchewan is at around 60-65' if you are interested and can "control yourself" about going deeper if it's not comfortable. Viz is often 40-70 fsw so it's possible (but not guaranteed) to see a fair amount of the wreck from a "birdseye view".


There's a shallow "Seal" dive/snorkel bight on Snake Island (next to the wrecks and home of the Snake Island Wall.) You can stay within your depth limits and hob knob with the seals. The "Riv Tow Lion" would be a sheltered/easy dive.
I was told that this tug was present at the D Day Invasion and was used as a clearance tug.

Calling ahead is a good idea. Some weekends the boats only go to the big wrecks. Other times if there's a wreck diving class scheduled, they'll go to the Riv Tow Lion. Other times they only go to Jesse Island, Clark Rocks, etc. so it pays to check beforehand.

 

[girldiverllc]

I'm heading up to Nanaimo with Divers Choice this coming weekend. (Snow, snow, go away...) Divers Choice does have a compressor on board and I dive HP's. They said the fills are no problem, so they must be able to hit at least 3500 with their set up. They also offer NITROX fills with custom blending.

I'll give a review of the operation upon my return.

Hey, any other members in Nanaimo this weekend? (March 3 & 4) Would love to get together for dinner or something. PM me...

 

[sunnyboy]

Are you just going to be boat diving? There's a lot of fantastic shore dives around the area as well.

Check out The Dive Outfitters - they have a good compressor, and the store manager DOES know his stuff. They also have a forum where you could join and post your message - I'm sure there are folks up for supper!

http://www.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=94874&p=1

Cheers,

-S