Nautilus LiveaboardsLooking back at my circumnavigation of Vancouver Island May 23 – June 1, 2009 So it was about 4:30 pm on Saturday when we arrived on the dock in Steveston for our dive trip that would take us around Vancouver Island. Our trip had been a long time coming as we had to book the […]
Read MoreOur morning dive on the wreck of the Transpac was outstanding as usual with visibility estimated at 80 feet or more. The Transpac is without a doubt the most amazing wreck I have ever seen – standing upright as it does with the transom of the 180 foot fish boat plunked down on a ledge at 285 feet with the bow at 110 feet and the wreck aligned almost perfectly upright on the sheer wall. Did a dock dive in the afternoon and those divers who stayed under the pilings had a fabulous dive with giant pacific octopus sightings as well as 20 plus ratfish (aka chimera). We’re off to Shushartie Bay (Dillon Rock) and Browning Wall tonight and then in to Vancouver to finish off this very fine trip.
Read MoreThe difficulty is that island is at the entrance to Chatham Sound and the dive conditions can be quite challenging. I’m only able to offer a dive there maybe 1/2 the time due to surge, current, sea fog or high winds. Challenging?? YES. Worth it?? ABSOLUTELY according to everyone that has splashed there.
Read MoreThe intense invertebrate life on Browning Wall is so thick and prolific and colourful that you cannot see the underlying rock at all. Until you’ve actually seen the brilliant reds, oranges, yellows, whites and all the amazing colours of the soft corals and other inverts, it is almost impossible to imagine how fantastic coldwater diving is. The tiny pinnacle of Dillon Rock is a story onto itself with 6+ wolfeels hiding in cracks and crevices, numerous giant pacific octopus, rarely sighted vermillion rockfish, a lovely kelp forest at the west side of the rock teeming with black rockfish, and dozens of chimera (ratfish in the shark family) cruising around on the sand bottom just off the rock. Great diving and a lovely day was had by all. Even the black bears cooperated with multiple beach appearances.
Read MoreDive #1 was on Browning Wall with it’s densely packed populations of soft corals, sponges and invertebrate life. It is just as colourful and dense as the best of the south Pacific. Dive #2 was on Hussar Point. Dive #3 was on Snowfall where all the white plumose anemones were “out” (rather than being retracted).
Read MoreDive 2 was on what I call the Red Wall portion of Browning Wall. The red soft coral (gersemia rubiformis) is so thick and abundant that the entire wall looks red and there is not even a square inch of bare rock on which to push yourself off with your hand! Visibility was spectacular (maybe some of the best of the year?) and we were able to quite nicely enjoy the dive from the deck of the skiff.
Read MoreDiving conditions are good although the visibility is still somewhat “bloomy” after a couple of weeks of clear skies and sunshine. Our guests are very happy and quite a few folks have commented that the wall at Rita’s Rock is better and even more interesting (varied?) than the world-famous Browning Wall (which was rated as the number one dive site in North America 2two years running by Rodales Scuba Diving).
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