DUI is my favorite drysuit manufacturer. I've owned DUI drysuits since 2003, with my two favorites being my TLS350 suits. They also make a weight harness that I absolutely love and use on every dive. They also make undergarments for their drysuits.

In the past few years DUI has been working on heated undergarment that includes a one-piece suit with heating in the chest and kidneys, heated gloves and soon heated socks called the Blueheat system. This March DUI sponsored two 3 day trips in the Vancouver Island area aboard the Nautilus Swell livaboard. I was priviledged to be able to attend the second trip from March 16-20 which boarded at Anacortes WA on March 16.

Over the three diving days, we travelled from Anacortes to Victoria B.C., then to Cadborough bay and Mayne Island, diving at several phenomenal sites over the three days. Wednesday evening we returned to Anacortes for a Thurday AM debarking. There were 5 crew on the Nautilus Swell, two DUI representatives and 12 divers.

DUI brought enough of the Blueheat systems for all the divers, sufficient gloves for everyone to test them, plus additional light undergarments to showcase the power of the Blueheat system. The system uses a 150W canister and battery with an integrated controller which clips to any convenient point on the harness or BCD, and a replacement inflator valve that also houses the power bulkhead.

The system is easy to wear, comes in a variety of sizes to fit anyone, and is easy to use. Probably the most difficult decision was where to mount the canister. Some chose to mount on their tanks, while I chose the more conventional harness waist belt mounting. The units were easy to charge, easy to wear and fun to dive. I especially loved the heated gloves as my hands always seem to get very cold on dives.

The remainder of this page is coverage of the dives we did as well as the photos I took (and one video on the last dive).

Seas were very heavy on Sunday and Monday, delaying our departure from Anacortes and then forcing us to take the longer inside passage to avoid 7ft seas. We arrived at Victoria for customs check late on Monday, with time for only one dive. Due to the rough seas, we dove the inside portion of the Ogden Point breakwater. This also turned out to be a night dive.

Tuesday morning we arose, had a quick continental breakfast, then headed to the outer portion of the Ogden Point breakwater for a dive before a full breakfast. We then headed north to Cadborough Bay to anchor for our next two dives.

Anchored at Cadborough Bay, our next dive was at Strong Tide Island, followed by lunch. Right at the end of the dive I saw and photographed a really nice Red Irish Lord as well as another sculpin.

After lunch we dove 10 Mile Point.

The next morning we headed north and anchored near the ferry dock at Mayne Island. Our first dive of the day was the artifical reef G.B. Church. Unfortunately my camera lens housing was covered with condensation, preventing any photos. The dive itself was a lot of fun for me, as I love diving the artificial reefs. The G.B. Church was a cargo hauler (looked like an ore hauler to me underwater), with open holds in the front of the pilot house superstructure which was located right at the stern. Vis was not great, but it was still a fun wreck dive.

After breakfast our second dive was Matthew's Bluff, and unfortunately again my camera housing was fogged. Of course, the housing cleared up immediatly after the dive, allowing me to take a picture of some of the divers on the dive skiff "Indy", as well as a couple of photos of the Nautilus Swell as we returned after the dive.

Matthew's Bluff is a point near the middle of the Active Pass, a region that is quite narrow, highly current and tide sensitive, and the place where the B.C. Ferries between Tswassen and Sidney pass each other as they travel. Alex, the captain had to be in constant contact with marine traffic to ensure we didn't encounter a ferry during our dive.

The dive itself was again lots of fun, mostly due to the location (active pass) as much as due to the current.

Crane point was our afternoon dive. While not quite as tide/current sensitive as the other dives, it was quite fun - especially as my camera was again working fine with no condensation.

This was our last dive of the trip. It started late in the day, and ended after dark. Again a really nice current dive, capping off a really excellent dive trip. I also saw and documented the largest Pugeot Sound king crab I've ever seen - almost 17in across!

Nautilus Swell Trip Video