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WINTER 2017
Swiss precision. The safety window for slack water
does not last long — usually 15 to 20 minutes — so it
is essential to dive with an experienced operator and
follow the briefing closely.
CAMPBELL RIVER TO HORNBY:
MIDISLAND MAGIC
South of Queen Charlotte Strait, Vancouver Island
widens toward the British Columbia (BC) mainland. A
maze of islets and twisting channels separates the two,
with fast-flowing Discovery Passage as the bottleneck.
With the city of Campbell River on the left and Quadra
Island on the right, this corridor of current delivers
adrenalin-fueled dives in the Strait of Georgia.
Row and Be Damned
is a sloping rock pile buried
beneath bazillions of tiny ruby-red strawberry
anemones. Weird crabs (heart, scaled and rhinoceros)
are common here, as are tiger rockfish and a plethora
of nudibranchs, including both lemon and orange peel
varieties. Another marquee spot to be dived only at
slack is
Steep Island
, where at depths between 60 and
100 feet you’ll see bouquets of 2-foot-tall feather duster
tube worms with purple pom-pomlike blooms. If your
macro lens is mounted, peek underneath the tentacles
of the snakelocks anemones to find gorgeous candy-
stripe shrimp. Scoot over to the other side of Discovery
Passage to search for giant octopus in the forest of
pilings underneath
Argonaut Wharf
. For an off-slack
dive, try the
HMCS
Columbia
. Sunk as an artificial
reef in 1996, this retired destroyer rests in 120 feet in
a calm bay behind Maud Island. Its placement outside
the main current flow offers, regardless of the tides, a
mellow dive for the metalheads out there.
I’m more of a suckerhead and never miss an
opportunity to seek out one of the world’s largest
cephalopods: the giant Pacific octopus (GPO). A giant
GPO’s arm span can reach 12 feet or more, though the
average devilfish spans half that. No matter what the tape
measure says, they are fascinating, engaging, clever beasts
and rank highly on the wish lists of many divers who visit
Vancouver Island. Many GPOs are creeping about in the
Campbell River area. On our last trip, after finding two
of pipsqueak proportions, we finally happened upon an
8-footer that was curious enough to spend 30 minutes
interacting with us — yet another great BC memory I’m
certain will come flooding back to me regularly.
A must-do during winter months is
Hornby Island
for its Steller sea lions. You are unlikely to find more
welcoming ambassadors to the Emerald Sea than
these aquatic puppy dogs. Shambling hulks on land,
they transform underwater into playful sprites (albeit
multihundred-pound sprites up to 10 feet long) who
seem genuinely thrilled to entertain guests. They
gracefully twist and spiral around you, blow bubbles,
bark and generally get up to all kinds of mischief —
tugging your fins, giving you bear hugs with their
flippers, nibbling your camera and, not uncommonly,
nibbling you. Depending on your luck or karma, the sea
lions’ enthusiasm at having new playmates can develop
into full-contact wrestling. Some divers may find their
good-natured attentions a bit unnerving; others won’t
be able to get enough of them.
NANAIMO: SHIPWRECKS TO SHORE DIVES
Though it’s situated in the middle of our tale, Nanaimo
is by default the starting point for many Vancouver
Island drive and dive odysseys. Having crossed the
water via ferry from the mainland, you’ll find yourself in
the heart of the Harbor City. Why not test its sheltered
waters for a day or three before heading up island or
over to the west side? It’s a great place to reacclimate
to using your gills, get your shipwreck fix or dive on the
cheap from shore.
A main draw is undoubtedly Nanaimo’s wrecks.
Two of Her Majesty’s naval fleet, the
Saskatchewan
and the
Cape Breton
, were meticulously prepared
and then purposely sunk in 130 feet of seawater off
Snake Island for their new mission in service of the
dive community. What has transpired over the past 20
years is nothing short of exceptional. Both ships are
now superb artificial reefs, home to rich assemblages of
invertebrates and fish. On the
HMCS
Saskatchewan
, a
366-foot-long Mackenzie-class destroyer escort, orange
and white plumose sea anemones stand at attention
inside the easily accessible bridge and decorate the
radar platform, wreathing the wreck in an ethereal
glow. Rockfish and lingcod loiter about, while baitfish
shimmer above. Numerous passageways and rooms
tempt divers into the shadows.
Right next door is the larger
HMCS
Cape Breton
warship, truly massive at 442 feet long and about 10,000
tons. It too rests upright and is a pleasure to navigate.
Anemones are in attendance, of course, as are fat
cabezon, fields of feather stars and even small colonies
of deepwater cloud sponge.
Clark Rock
is regularly requested by those looking for
a little wolf-eel love. Hunting among the boulders at
40 to 60 feet almost always yields at least a few of the