Monday, July 8, 2013

Cape Breton and Riv Tow 06/07/2013

Jan and Kevin from the Sea Dragon called me and asked me to come along for a dive. NDO had a diver that was without a buddy, and they were stuck, so they asked me. I was happy to oblige.

I was diving with Jesse, who was used to diving in the cold waters of the Saint Lawrence. They were quite a good diver, and I was impressed.

It was a rough trip out to the Cape Breton. The wind was up and there were quite a few swells. Steve from NDO was out doing a class, as well as Christine from the Sea Dragon. Jesse and I had a good dive on the Breton, looking for the wolf eel that had been recently seen. We didn't find it, but did investigate the impressive cloud sponges and other life. There was a fried egg jellyfish that was caught on the railing. It was quite large and it looked like someone had thrown an egg at the side of the ship.

Since it was a bit too rough, we went back in and did the Riv Tow. I had never done it, so it was a welcome opportunity. We checked the starboard hull for the octopus den, and did find the octopus. However, he was very far back in the den, and a kelp greenling kicked up the silt right in front of the den so it completely obscured the octopus. Too bad!

The rest of the Riv Tow was quite nice. The prop was interesting, and the micro life was great. I found several large mosshead warbonnets in the deck channels. There were also rainbow shrimp that I did not see very often.

The weather was amazing, apart from the rough ocean, and it was a great set of dives.

Thank you Sea Dragon!

Tyee 01/07/2013

Heather and I went to Tyee to attend the Nanaimo Dive Outfitters Canada Day dive and barbecue.

When we arrived, we were a bit worried that it might be too hot to dive. It's funny that summer diving might be too hot! But when you had to get into such a lot of gear and undergarments, you could quickly overheat and hot days are a big consideration. The good thing was that there was a nice cool breeze, and the sun was hidden by periodic clouds.

Once in the water, it was a different story. There was a pretty decent thermocline, with the surface layer being quite warm. Under that, it was a lot colder than normal. It turned out to be a very good dive. The visibility was nice, maybe 30 feet. We went looking for the wolf eels on the right wall, but missed them. Later, I'd ask Steve from NDO where they were. If I recall, you should swim out south, following the sandy chute. Then look for a big rock like an anvil, and follow the wall down keeping it on your right. At the anvil rock go down to 80 feet and they should be right there.

We didn't see them, but did see a nice big puget sound king crab and some nice nudibranchs. Heather was trying out a new Sola dive light that worked quite well for video.

After the dive, we got a burger and some corn on the cob thanks to Nanaimo Dive Outfitters. Thanks guys!