Our 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 MoreIt is always a pleasure and a good time having Captain Phil Sammet, his lovely wife, beautiful daughter and all his friends onboard the Nautilus Explorer. Through his many scuba diving charters on the Nautilus, Phil has steadfastly stuck to 2 traditions (a) he will paint the toenails of any anybody that he is able to sneak up on if they are having a nap on a couch in the main salon (b) every trip must conclude with a game of Nautilus Jeopardy with questions based on the many (interesting?) facts presented during my various dive and natural history briefings throughout the trip.
Read MoreI made a fast 180° turn in the Nautilus to keep them in sight and was taken aback when I realized that they were swarming a large adult humpback whale. It was hard to see exactly what was going on because of all the splashing. I assumed that the orcas were actually attacking a humpback whale calf and that the mom was defending her offspring from the orcas. Despite all the excited splashing and fin slapping and all the other stuff going on, we weren’t able to see a calf and can only assume that the orcas took a run at the adult humpback. I’ve never heard of such a thing before!
Read MoreSome of the best wreck diving in southeast Alaska is on the old CPR steamships Princess Sophia and Princess Kathleen. The Kathleen is an exceptionally beautiful liner that is amazingly intact, lying on her side in 40 to 120 feet of water. The Princess Sophia is a much spookier wreck to scuba dive on – everything is either black or white or a monochromatic tone on the wreck. There is dense marine life but no colour whatsoever.
Read MoreThe amazing thing is that there is a ledge on the wall 285 feet below the surface and as the ship was sliding down the wall, the stern wedged itself on the ledge and the ship came to a dead stop in a vertical orientation! The stern of the 180ft ship is at 285 feet and the bow is at 110 feet! It’s not often one gets to see a large fishing vessel pinned vertically to a wall! I did one of my most memorable dives ever here when my instructor and I splashed to 285 feet on Inspiration rebreathers. The water was so clear that we could see from the stern all the way to the bow looking straight up towards the surface through a cloud of rockfish swimming around the mast (and no, I wasn’t narc’d!!).
Read MoreDive #2 was on the wreck of the freighter, Vanlene. This poor old ship was well off course when it crashed into Austin Island with a full load of Dodge Colts. A lot of the cars were salvaged by Okanagan Helicopters but you can still see lots of remains of the Colts that got left behind. Everything from tires and engine blocks lying in the sand to an intact red station wagon with a sticker on the windshield in the front of one of the holds (at least, it was intact last time I dove on the wreck).
Read MoreTalking about big critters, we did the whale shark snorkeling again and had 5 of them. Everyone saw them. But this time they where not staying and feeding at the surface but resting their tails on the sandy bottom like last time. And in just in 30 feet of water, a young Humpback whale came by!!
Read More