GUE Project Baseline Halkett Bay consists of two stations, Station A and Station B. Stations consist of a PVC pipe float, a placard, and a Secchi disk. Recently test PVC pipe enclosures were also added for potential temperature logger installation.
Station A Location
Station A is directly on top of the main bridge, at about 15 meters / 50 feet of depth. It is very easy to locate.
49°26'56.70"N
123°19'50.58"W
Station B Location
Station B is more challenging to find. The most straightforward method is to head towards the bow. Upon reaching the circular area where the gun turret used to be, head to the starboard side of the deck. Descend down the ship hull, using the cut-out as a reference point. Another reference point are the Roman Numeral depth markings down the side of the hull in that area. Upon reaching the bottom at about 30m, take a compass bearing of 270 degrees. Proceed up the sloping bottom for about 1-2 minutes. You will pass over a line leading to an old crab trap. If you pass over the crab trap, you are too far to the right. Once you reach the 25 meter / 80 foot contour you should see a large outcropping of smooth rock. In the middle of that rock wall is Station B. If you miss the station, search along the 25 meter / 80 foot contour and you should find the station. Finally, if you have swam for more than 1-2 minutes, you have missed the station. The station is not far from the ship. Please note a further challenge: since this station is away from the reference point of the ship, it could be difficult to get back. Do not spend additional time searching if you do not find it immediately, and return to the known reference of the ship.
A potential (but untested) additional method that may be easier is to proceed directly to the bow. Descend there, and proceed north east to the 25 meter / 80 foot contour and follow this until you hit the rock wall.
49°26'56.56"N
123°19'51.86"W
See the below rough map for a more visual presentation.
It was a very productive weekend for GUE-BC on the Annapolis. Vlad, Kevin, and myself gathered enough information to put together the above guide. And it was a lot of fun! First, the video compilation.
Liz Tribe had a wreck class come over from Nanaimo to train on the Annapolis, so we decided to go along. It was a perfect weekend for it, maybe a bit on the hot side, but not bad. It also gave me a chance to check out the new Sea Dragon Charters office in Horseshoe Bay. They could do nitrox fills, right there!
On the first day, Vlad and I used our scooters to locate Station B, which had been moved previously. It didn't take us too long to find it, once we had some details from Dave and Sam. After we located it, Kevin Swoboda joined us to install some of Vlad's test enclosures, and to take visibility and temperature readings. I also noted quite a large sunflower star at Station B, and submitted the sighting to the Aquarium. It was the first sunflower star I had seen in over two years. This was Station B.
At Station A we did the same readings and installed the test enclosures. Unified team diving wins again, with the dive going off without a hitch, all work accomplished, and fun had by all! This was Station A.
And here we were on the way to Station B.
Vlad and I had a great time scootering around. Vlad got a good picture of me.
The Annapolis had even more life on it than the last time I had been. The anemones were really starting to take hold.
There was a swimming scallop in the helicopter bay.
And a rockfish on the smoke stack.
Vlad found a winged sea slug, very cool!
There were an incredible number of fried egg jellyfish out. Several were caught on the ship railings. Here was a neat picture of Vlad and his camera rig and a fried egg jelly. I know I got a tentacle over my lip, it stung, but not as bad as a Lion's Mane sting.
If you would like to see the rest of the pictures, they are here:
https://goo.gl/photos/rBcjAWgZ56nVYSmg8
We also had the opportunity to check out the second nearby dive site "Inner Sanctum". If you had enough of diving the wreck, the Sea Dragon crew could drop you off on a nearby wall. It was the best of both worlds really. Even better, there were reports of a resident wolf eel there.
Vlad and I started the dive, and began searching for the wolf eel. We were dropped at a rope hanging down from shore. From there, we descended to about 21 meters. We saw some very nice giant nudibranchs.
And a hairy lithoid crab out in the open.
But the highlight was finding the wolf eel. I had thought it would be much sooner in the dive, but it was a good 10 to 15 minutes before we came across the perpendicular log that we were told to pay attention for. Then, just beyond that in the jumble of rocks, we found the den.
So if you were looking for the den, stay around 18-21 meters, and look for the log about 10-15 minutes into the dive. We found a log very soon after descending, and that was not the right one!
All the video and pictures that I got were also submitted to the Vancouver Aquarium ABIS project page.
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