Vlad and I planned to do a Wednesday night dive at The Cut. Dave Williams was going to join, but got stuck in traffic and couldn't make it. There was some crazy traffic that evening on the Iron Workers bridge.
Living in North Vancouver again was really paying off. With Vlad living nearby too, it really made getting to the dive site a lot easier. The park was a lot less crowded since summer was over. The weather was quite good, sunny and not rainy. It was getting noticeably darker during the evenings, and this would be a real night dive!
We planned for a 70 minute dive with 10 minutes of deco on O2, and an average depth of 25 meters. The visibility was pretty good, but the current was pretty strong when we started to the right of the Cut. There were a great number of dead star fish. I didn't know what they were until later, though. They looked like patches of blue-ish slime. Not much like a star fish at all! There shear number of them was quite different, I had not seen something like that before. Later in the week I asked the Vancouver Aquarium staff about it, and they said that die-offs can happen for a lot of different reasons.
Apart from that, I don't think there was much else of note to report. It was a pleasant dive, and nice to get out of the water when there was no rain!
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Kelvin Grove 11/09/2013
Dave, Jim and I did an evening tech dive at Kelvin Grove. I didn't bring my camera along, and I ended up regretting it because we saw some really great stuff.
I led the dive, and we came across a stubby squid. I didn't take this picture, but this was a good representation of it.
The stubby squid was super cool. We watched it for a few minutes, and then left it alone. There were a lot of sailfin sculpins as well, which I had not seen that often in the past.
I led the dive, and we came across a stubby squid. I didn't take this picture, but this was a good representation of it.
The stubby squid was super cool. We watched it for a few minutes, and then left it alone. There were a lot of sailfin sculpins as well, which I had not seen that often in the past.
At the end of the dive, a salmon surprised us. I had never seen a salmon on a dive before. We were in the shallows and I saw something dart quickly to my right. The salmon swam quickly around us a few times, then vanished. It was very cool!
Sponge Bioherm 25/08/2013
Myself, Vlad, and Jim went out on the Topline to dive the sponge bioherm again.
It was an excellent day for a dive. There was a fair amount of surface current, so the descent was quick, and I was a bit worried that we might miss the bioherm. However, it worked out great in the end. Jim and Dave dove together and went first. We were going to stay as a group of four, but that didn't work out because of the current. We did end up meeting up on the dive, passing each other. The sponges were amazing as always. I remember seeing some of the biggest ling cods I had seen in a long time. Vlad got some good photos.
https://plus.google.com/photos/103220399355688115810/albums/5916839587767052033
The second dive we did was on the back side of Boywer Island. I'd never dove back there before, so it was quite cool. It was a nice wall, and Vlad and I had a good dive. I didn't find anything particularly interesting, but it was still a nice dive. All in all, it was a successful day of diving.
It was an excellent day for a dive. There was a fair amount of surface current, so the descent was quick, and I was a bit worried that we might miss the bioherm. However, it worked out great in the end. Jim and Dave dove together and went first. We were going to stay as a group of four, but that didn't work out because of the current. We did end up meeting up on the dive, passing each other. The sponges were amazing as always. I remember seeing some of the biggest ling cods I had seen in a long time. Vlad got some good photos.
https://plus.google.com/photos/103220399355688115810/albums/5916839587767052033
The second dive we did was on the back side of Boywer Island. I'd never dove back there before, so it was quite cool. It was a nice wall, and Vlad and I had a good dive. I didn't find anything particularly interesting, but it was still a nice dive. All in all, it was a successful day of diving.
Friday, August 16, 2013
The Cut 07/08/2013
Dave Williams, Jim myself and a GUE diver I had not personally met before, Valdimir, decided to do a technical dive at the Cut at Whytecliff.
It was great to finally meet Vlad, who had moved to Vancouver a few months ago. The parking was scarce at Whytecliff, summer had made it very busy. We didn't get great spots, but it wasn't bad. The evening was perfect. It was warm, but not scorching. I wore a thinner undergarment thinking that the water temperature would be quite warm with the constant sun we had been getting. I was wrong!
The dive went great. We planned for a 40 minute dive with an average depth of 39 meters. The visibility was not bad. It certainly wasn't horrible! Dave and myself dove together, but we did stay together as a "team" of 4. Vlad and Jim formed the second team. On the wall, I found a very nice golf ball crab who promptly got skittish and dropped off the ledge he was on into the abyss. Oops! I also found two very nice decorated warbonnets in crevices. We didn't come across any octopus, but we did find a giant giant ling cod. The glass sponges also looked bigger than normal.
It was a pretty cold dive, I must say. Deco at 6 meters was warmer, but not as warm as I was expecting. There was also quite a bit of current. We came back into Whytecliff bay to do our deco, so eventually we got out of the current. Dave had a problem with his deco reg and was low on deco gas. He ended up running out near the end of the deco, so it gave some good practice sharing deco gas with no real risk
All in all, a very fun dive!
It was great to finally meet Vlad, who had moved to Vancouver a few months ago. The parking was scarce at Whytecliff, summer had made it very busy. We didn't get great spots, but it wasn't bad. The evening was perfect. It was warm, but not scorching. I wore a thinner undergarment thinking that the water temperature would be quite warm with the constant sun we had been getting. I was wrong!
The dive went great. We planned for a 40 minute dive with an average depth of 39 meters. The visibility was not bad. It certainly wasn't horrible! Dave and myself dove together, but we did stay together as a "team" of 4. Vlad and Jim formed the second team. On the wall, I found a very nice golf ball crab who promptly got skittish and dropped off the ledge he was on into the abyss. Oops! I also found two very nice decorated warbonnets in crevices. We didn't come across any octopus, but we did find a giant giant ling cod. The glass sponges also looked bigger than normal.
It was a pretty cold dive, I must say. Deco at 6 meters was warmer, but not as warm as I was expecting. There was also quite a bit of current. We came back into Whytecliff bay to do our deco, so eventually we got out of the current. Dave had a problem with his deco reg and was low on deco gas. He ended up running out near the end of the deco, so it gave some good practice sharing deco gas with no real risk
All in all, a very fun dive!
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Madrona 28/07/2013
Heather and I joined Jim and Greg at Madrona for a very nice two dives.
On arrival, we noticed wedding party activity. Folks were cleaning the beach, shuttling in people and all manner of activity. We joked that we might end up being part of the wedding photos!
The first dive was excellent. We went to the big wall, and found three octopus. Jim and Greg found a wolf eel that Heather and I missed. The visibility was great, and the sun was awesome.
Heather found she had a bit of a leak in her suit, so she sat out for the second dive. Greg, Jim and myself went to the smaller wall to see what we could see. There was a nice buffalo sculpin, and another small giant pacific octopus. We also found an interesting rock overhang, and could not resist "cave" diving.
All in all, a very very fun day!
Here is a little bit of video. Heather's new light came in very handy making things look a lot less green!
On arrival, we noticed wedding party activity. Folks were cleaning the beach, shuttling in people and all manner of activity. We joked that we might end up being part of the wedding photos!
The first dive was excellent. We went to the big wall, and found three octopus. Jim and Greg found a wolf eel that Heather and I missed. The visibility was great, and the sun was awesome.
Heather found she had a bit of a leak in her suit, so she sat out for the second dive. Greg, Jim and myself went to the smaller wall to see what we could see. There was a nice buffalo sculpin, and another small giant pacific octopus. We also found an interesting rock overhang, and could not resist "cave" diving.
All in all, a very very fun day!
Here is a little bit of video. Heather's new light came in very handy making things look a lot less green!
Capilano and Gulf Stream 21/07/2013
I had really been looking forward to this dive. Jim Dixon had arranged to go to the Capilano and Gulf Stream with Bill Coltart from Pacific Pro Dive. The plan was to do two technical dives on these wrecks. Very exciting!
On the trip was myself, Jim, Greg, Dave, Guy and three folks from Pacific Pro Dive. Bill had made some changes to the boat, the Ata-Tude which I had been wanting to see. You could now stand up to put your gear on if you liked, and that made using doubles a much easier proposition than before. A great change Bill!
I car-pooled with Dave Williams and Jim to Comox. Dave was getting his last two experience dives in to complete his Tech 1. It was a perfect day, sunny but not too warm. When we arrived in Comox, we loaded up the boat and headed out. The tide was a bit against us due to a later start, so there was some question on whether we were going to be able to do the Gulf Stream at all. The first dive was on the Capilano, and the visibility was excellent. Greg and I did a 36 meter average dive for 30 minutes and did our deco on oxygen. The plan was to spend more time on oxygen, and have a two hour surface interval to maximize our time for the subsequent Gulf Stream. Sometimes you just couldn't do the dive you expected first, and that's where planning and applying your decompression knowledge was invaluable.
The Capilano was a lot of fun. Greg found a very nice giant pacific octopus in the wreckage of the forward hold. I don't have any video of that, but here is some of the video I did get.
We had a very enjoyable surface interval in Lund after. Nancy's Bakery there made the best cinnamon rolls around! We did have a small problem with a horde of wasps, but it was a great lunch.
We aimed for the Gulf Stream as Bill thought it was doable. There was quite a bit of current in the upper 60 feet of water, so it was very interesting getting down. We were hanging off the anchor line the whole way. The Gulf Stream was one of Greg's favorite wrecks, and it didn't disappoint. Once we were on the wreck, the current died down to almost nothing, so it was a great dive. I saw some of the biggest ling cod ever on that wreck. One was at least 6 feet long! According to Bill later, the really big ling cod were on the wreck of the Scepter Squamish. I couldn't imagine how big those could be! We also found a really nice puget sound king crab hanging out on the hull. The Gulf Stream was awesome. I didn't get any video, because I was busy taking it all in with my eyes. Our dive profile was an average of 45 meters for 25 minutes, and it worked out great. In theory you were supposed to be able to do your deco up the wall beside the wreck, but the current was too strong, so up the line we went. It was a great deal of fun doing a one-handed gas switch while hanging on to the line! Guy commented after that it was a great learning experience, hahah!
Dave passed his Tech 1, so that was an added bonus to a truly great day of diving. Congratulations Dave!
On the trip was myself, Jim, Greg, Dave, Guy and three folks from Pacific Pro Dive. Bill had made some changes to the boat, the Ata-Tude which I had been wanting to see. You could now stand up to put your gear on if you liked, and that made using doubles a much easier proposition than before. A great change Bill!
I car-pooled with Dave Williams and Jim to Comox. Dave was getting his last two experience dives in to complete his Tech 1. It was a perfect day, sunny but not too warm. When we arrived in Comox, we loaded up the boat and headed out. The tide was a bit against us due to a later start, so there was some question on whether we were going to be able to do the Gulf Stream at all. The first dive was on the Capilano, and the visibility was excellent. Greg and I did a 36 meter average dive for 30 minutes and did our deco on oxygen. The plan was to spend more time on oxygen, and have a two hour surface interval to maximize our time for the subsequent Gulf Stream. Sometimes you just couldn't do the dive you expected first, and that's where planning and applying your decompression knowledge was invaluable.
The Capilano was a lot of fun. Greg found a very nice giant pacific octopus in the wreckage of the forward hold. I don't have any video of that, but here is some of the video I did get.
We had a very enjoyable surface interval in Lund after. Nancy's Bakery there made the best cinnamon rolls around! We did have a small problem with a horde of wasps, but it was a great lunch.
We aimed for the Gulf Stream as Bill thought it was doable. There was quite a bit of current in the upper 60 feet of water, so it was very interesting getting down. We were hanging off the anchor line the whole way. The Gulf Stream was one of Greg's favorite wrecks, and it didn't disappoint. Once we were on the wreck, the current died down to almost nothing, so it was a great dive. I saw some of the biggest ling cod ever on that wreck. One was at least 6 feet long! According to Bill later, the really big ling cod were on the wreck of the Scepter Squamish. I couldn't imagine how big those could be! We also found a really nice puget sound king crab hanging out on the hull. The Gulf Stream was awesome. I didn't get any video, because I was busy taking it all in with my eyes. Our dive profile was an average of 45 meters for 25 minutes, and it worked out great. In theory you were supposed to be able to do your deco up the wall beside the wreck, but the current was too strong, so up the line we went. It was a great deal of fun doing a one-handed gas switch while hanging on to the line! Guy commented after that it was a great learning experience, hahah!
Dave passed his Tech 1, so that was an added bonus to a truly great day of diving. Congratulations Dave!
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!
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!
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
China Creek 16/06/2013
Greg, Jim and I decided to do China Creek again. We met at my place, and car-pooled up. Unfortunately when we arrived, Jim discovered he left his backplate and wing at home! Luckily he brought his own car, so didn't have to stick around all day.
Greg and I did the bigger wreck first. We brought O2, and planned to maybe use it if our average depth warranted it. We ran a line and did a short penetration of the wreck. It was a lot of fun, and good to put our cave training to use. It was a pretty short penetration, maybe 5 minutes. There really wasn't much to see since the wreck was quite small, maybe a hundred feet long. We poked around for a while, then headed back to the beach.
Chris and Kim met us for the second dive. We did the wall next. One thing I did notice quite a bit was how cold the water was. But when you got to the beach and into 20 feet of water, it felt like a hot bath, since the water there was so much warmer. Greg and I did some valve drills and s-drills in that warm water, to take advantage of it! The dive on the wall was nice. It was fairly barren of life, and I still thought it was more fun to scooter it, but it was still good. Greg found a very odd translucent formation. We had no idea what it was. It wasn't an anemone, possibly an egg case? It was not soft, but quite hard. At the end of the dive, we did some mask removal and backup mask deployment drills. Boy was that cold!
Here is a bit of video:
Greg and I did the bigger wreck first. We brought O2, and planned to maybe use it if our average depth warranted it. We ran a line and did a short penetration of the wreck. It was a lot of fun, and good to put our cave training to use. It was a pretty short penetration, maybe 5 minutes. There really wasn't much to see since the wreck was quite small, maybe a hundred feet long. We poked around for a while, then headed back to the beach.
Chris and Kim met us for the second dive. We did the wall next. One thing I did notice quite a bit was how cold the water was. But when you got to the beach and into 20 feet of water, it felt like a hot bath, since the water there was so much warmer. Greg and I did some valve drills and s-drills in that warm water, to take advantage of it! The dive on the wall was nice. It was fairly barren of life, and I still thought it was more fun to scooter it, but it was still good. Greg found a very odd translucent formation. We had no idea what it was. It wasn't an anemone, possibly an egg case? It was not soft, but quite hard. At the end of the dive, we did some mask removal and backup mask deployment drills. Boy was that cold!
Here is a bit of video:
Willis Point 09/06/2013
Greg and I did some scootering at Willis Point. We chose Willis because the visibility was supposed to be great. Unfortunately it wasn't!
It was a nice day for diving. When we arrived, there was ample parking. We took our time gearing up, and decided to do one longer dive instead of two.
Descending down, it was very soupy, and it didn't get better at depth. We did talk to a group of other divers who were using a rigid inflatable boat there, and they said that the vis cleared up. They must have been diving some other site! It was still a fun dive, because we were challenged keeping together while scootering. It was also a fun challenge not to run into anything. There were a lot of lion's mane jellyfish to avoid as well. I'd not seen so many ever.
The next Thursday, Greg reported that visibility at Willis was 50 feet. You never know!
It was a nice day for diving. When we arrived, there was ample parking. We took our time gearing up, and decided to do one longer dive instead of two.
Descending down, it was very soupy, and it didn't get better at depth. We did talk to a group of other divers who were using a rigid inflatable boat there, and they said that the vis cleared up. They must have been diving some other site! It was still a fun dive, because we were challenged keeping together while scootering. It was also a fun challenge not to run into anything. There were a lot of lion's mane jellyfish to avoid as well. I'd not seen so many ever.
The next Thursday, Greg reported that visibility at Willis was 50 feet. You never know!
Telegraph Cove 05/05/2013
My first dive back in cold water since Mexico! Jim wanted to
do practice for his upcoming Tech 2 course, so he, Greg and I went down to
Victoria to do some bottle practice. Originally we thought to go to Willis
Point, but visibility was pretty bad there, so we switched to Telegraph Cove.
This was very close to the 10 Mile Point dive site.
We arrived early, so Jim and I grabbed a tea at the Star
Bucks and took our time putting our gear together. Greg showed up, and we took
our time, talking about Mexico and just enjoying the fairly nice day.
The dive plan for the first dive was to go out, find a depth
around 20 or 30 feet, deploy a surface marker and tie it off, then run a line
out and practice bottle rotation on that line. I was leading the dive, and we quickly
found that Telegraph cove was shallow. Very shallow! The tide was on a large
swing as well to low tide. So we spent at least 15 minutes swimming out and
getting to about 15 feet maybe. There was not a lot to tie off to on the bottom
either. In the end we tied the SMB to a small rock. Running the line to a point
to tie off to was also frustrating. Blue gloves made my line skills not very
good! I would need to practice a lot more with that. Bare hands in Mexico was
quite different!
Once we got set up, we started to practice. The SMB creeped
along the line too, so there was some creative tie-down action using a spare
double ender to get it fixed better. Jim and Greg did bottle rotations for most
of the dive. I did a few gas switches and valve and gas-sharing drills too. We
spent almost an hour doing all of this, then it started to get a bit too cold.
Getting back to the beach was a bit of a challenge too. The bottom was so
shallow it made natural navigation using the depth change non-existent.
After a nice surface interval answering local walker’s
questions, we went back out again to see if we could find anything interesting
other than sand. On the first dive, that’s all we really found. We tried going
to the right, and did eventually find some rocks with nudibranchs and some
life. But it was a lot of sand still, and very shallow. Since it took so long
to swim to anything interesting, Telegraph Cove seemed not such a great dive
site. I do remember finding a huge number of gumboot chitons however. I picked
up several and we examined them. I also dropped a sea cucumber in front of Jim
from above, which scared him. There were quite a few shenanigans on this dive.
Greg stole my stage bottle at one point, but I noticed pretty quickly. We had
to do something to make the dive interesting!
In the end, it was nice to check out Telegraph. However, it
was only very good for training, and maybe not even that. Certainly you would
not want to dive there at low tide!
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Capilano and Vivian Island 26/05/2013
Heather and I were talking to Bill Coltart of Pacific Pro Dive and decided to take a trip up to Comox to go out with him on the Ata-tude. It was not a regular charter, it was just a few locals going out that day for fun.
The day was excellent for diving. It wasn't raining, it was sunny, and not too cold. It ended up being only 4 of us on the boat, so it was very comfortable. Bill's boat was in Comox for the summer, and it took us a little bit to find it. It was beside the boat ramp at the main docks. We toted all the gear down, and set out.
The first dive was on the Capilano. I found a good page on the history of the wreck itself. It was pretty interesting.
http://www.atlasomega.com/
Visibility wasn't the best, especially at the surface. It was about 20 feet maybe, so not terrible. On the wreck itself, we were confronted by at least 5 lion's mane jelly fish around it. It was like a small mine field. We steered clear of them, and had a pretty good dive. Back on the boat, we took quite a bit of time freeing the small anchor. It was hooked very well. Once loose, we took the small jaunt over to Vivian Island and had some lunch.
At Vivian, we had a nice dive between 30 and 40 feet. We saw some large nudibranchs, and very large rock scallops. In the video below, at the end, one of the biggest rock scallops is featured.
http://youtu.be/OVkNpRWgeZ4
The day was excellent for diving. It wasn't raining, it was sunny, and not too cold. It ended up being only 4 of us on the boat, so it was very comfortable. Bill's boat was in Comox for the summer, and it took us a little bit to find it. It was beside the boat ramp at the main docks. We toted all the gear down, and set out.
The first dive was on the Capilano. I found a good page on the history of the wreck itself. It was pretty interesting.
http://www.atlasomega.com/
Visibility wasn't the best, especially at the surface. It was about 20 feet maybe, so not terrible. On the wreck itself, we were confronted by at least 5 lion's mane jelly fish around it. It was like a small mine field. We steered clear of them, and had a pretty good dive. Back on the boat, we took quite a bit of time freeing the small anchor. It was hooked very well. Once loose, we took the small jaunt over to Vivian Island and had some lunch.
At Vivian, we had a nice dive between 30 and 40 feet. We saw some large nudibranchs, and very large rock scallops. In the video below, at the end, one of the biggest rock scallops is featured.
http://youtu.be/OVkNpRWgeZ4
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Equipment Course 18/05/2013
Alan Johnson of IDC ran an equipment maintenance course for myself, Daniel Wei and Greg. I had previously taken an equipment course at Oceanquest, but more practice was always good. Alan would also take us through more regulator and valve maintenance, as well as putting together a set of doubles. I took the opportunity to take my steel 100's and turn them into a double set.
Alan was great, as always. The level of detail and the ability to practice on real equipment was invaluable. We stripped down regulators, valves and other components, then assembled them all back together and tested them. This gave a great deal more understanding on how all our gear operated.
This course would not certify us for anything, but in terms of knowledge and comfort for field repairs, it was invaluable.
Hat's off the Alan for such a great experience!
Alan was great, as always. The level of detail and the ability to practice on real equipment was invaluable. We stripped down regulators, valves and other components, then assembled them all back together and tested them. This gave a great deal more understanding on how all our gear operated.
This course would not certify us for anything, but in terms of knowledge and comfort for field repairs, it was invaluable.
Hat's off the Alan for such a great experience!
Saskatchewan and Clark Rock 11/05/2013
The previous weekend I was supposed to go dive China Creek
with Greg, but I got a bad cold. I got over it during the week, and went out on
the Sea Dragon (Heather was away in Vancouver for Dragon Boating). I hadn't been out on the Sea Dragon for some time. They had moved spots from the
government dock by the pub near the ferry terminal to just below the new hotel
and restaurant complex that was built further along. They worked out a very
good deal. They got a reduced room rate at the hotel for divers, and were able
to build a shed under the restaurant for the compressor, and to dry gear. A
pretty nice setup!
I forgot that I had met the new captain as well, and vice
versa. We figured it out when we realized that we lived quite close together.
Dan was a great host. It was very interesting talking to him about his years as
a tug operator on Vancouver Island. Christine was the same gracious hostess as
well.
I teamed up with a couple visiting from Oregon, Dave and
Cindy I think. There was a big group down from Kamloops as well, who got
together and ran dive trips down to the Vancouver area. It was a full boat. It
was a good day for diving too, since it was overcast and not too hot.
Our first dive was on the Saskatchewan. Visibility was not
great, maybe 15 feet. There was some current as well, but not bad. Our plan was
to check out the deck guns and stay at an average of 70 feet. On the descent,
things went well. Once we hit the deck, we started forward with me leading. I
made sure to check behind me often, as I was diving with new buddies. I turned
forward for maybe a minute, then looked back and only Cindy was there! I asked
her if she knew where our third member was, and she couldn't see him either. We
did the standard look for a minute, then began to surface. Once we did, sure
enough, Dave had had a problem coughing, and didn't have enough time to get our
attention before he had to head up. Since we verified he was fine, we decided
to continue the dive. It was a good lesson for me to remember to pay even more
attention when diving with new people. It was also a very good reminder for everyone to take a light along on every dive (they didn't bring their lights). Cindy and I had a pretty good dive after descending back down. Nothing
spectacular in terms of life, but the deck guns were interesting, and they had
a large resident tiger rockfish living inside the turret. All in all, a good
dive.
Back on the boat, we had some lovely soup courtesy of
Christine, and some great home made banana bread courtesy of the Kamloops crew.
The second dive, we decided to go to a site I’d not done before called Clark
Rock. This was pretty nice, because almost always if you go out on the Sea
Dragon everyone wants to do both wrecks.
Clark Rock turned out to be awesome. It was near Piper’s
Lagoon, north of Nanaimo. The best part about it was all the wolf eels and the
octopus. Basically there was a rocky reef at about 60 feet that was full of
nooks and crannies. There was an anchor line too, and very close to that was
one of the biggest wolf eels I had ever seen. And next to that, was an octopus
den, and next to that was another wolf eel! It was so easy to find this den, it wasn't funny. All you had to do was drop down the anchor line, and then follow
an existing line along the bottom to a no parking sign (it used to be a stop
sign, and obviously was placed there as a joke). Right beside that was a pile
of rocks, and that’s where the wolf eels were. To the left of that was a big
boulder and under that was the octopus. The head on the male wolf eel was the
biggest I’d ever seen. We saw some nice swimming nudibranchs, and swimming scallops. Visibility was a bit better on this dive, but still only about 20 feet.
I didn't get any video on the dives, because the visibility
was just a little bit too bad. I just enjoyed leaving the camera in my pocket,
and keeping memories.
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