Headed out to Tyee today for a dive with the NDO crew. Lots of divers out today as well as a class from another shop. After gear checks it was out and over to the left to see Mrs. Grandpa. Spent some time taking video there, then back to the sea horses and over to the right to find the other wolf eels. Today I managed to finally find them after a few unsuccessful tries in the past weeks. Took video, then headed up along the wall. Found a ling cod on eggs at one point, which is always cool. Watched as the sea lions buzzed the open circuit divers on the wall. I tried to take video but always managed to miss the action. Finally headed in after a nice dive.

Overall a pretty good dive. Vis wasn't as great as some days, but still pretty decent.

Tyee Video 

Another great day for a dive! Met up with the divers from NDO to dive Madrona Point today. The newer divers headed off to dive the small wall while three of us headed out to dive the deep wall.

After gearing up and reaching the little V, we did our checks and headed out through the maze to the deep wall. There we found a large octopus out of her den and spent some time taking pictures and video. Then off to explore the main wall until it was time to head back. The visibility was very good today - maybe 30 ft so I was able to take video of the numerous rock fish swimming up and down the wall.

Overall an excelent dive!

Madrona Video 

Madrona Divers Video 

Madrona Octopus Video 

Pretty wild weather today! Wind warnings up and down the coast, power outages in many places, ferry sailings cancelled, medium rain overnight and all day, and WAVES. The entrance at Tyee was pretty windy today, with 2ft waves crashing in on a high tide.

After gearing up and doing all checks, time to splash. Mask on first today and fins on quick, then down under the weather. Visibility was mediocre at all depths today due to the weather, and the SURGE! The surge was running about 4 feet, making the shallows rather interesting. Eventually reached 80fsw and headed over to see grandpa and his lady. Took video until the lady got rather annoyed with me, so I respectfully headed back. Not much in the shallows due to the fierce surge, so headed back to a rather 'fun' exit. Ended up taking off fins and then straight out and up to the truck with bailout and camera still attached, as it was just a lot easier than fighting the surge to get things off.

Still, a great dive on a very 'weathery' day!

Tyee Wolf Eels Video 

The weather predictions had been for snow and cold temperatures for a while, but the day dawned bright and sunny in Ladysmith. As I headed up towards Parksville to join the dive, I could see that there had been a dusting of snow in Nanaimo, getting progressively more and more as I neared the turnoff to Tyee. Driving towards Tyee, the roads were still thick with about 3in of very slippery snow, requiring me to shift into 4WD for the final few km.

Arriving at the dive site without due incident, there was a thick carpet of snow on the ground, a very high tide and a fairly sharp, cold wind. Still, diving is wet and away from the weather, so geared up and prepared to splash.

Once underwater, all was calm and wonderful. Headed over to see grandpa. Decided to just 'hang out' for a while (love that about rebreathers), and was rewarded with the Mrs. coming out to see what I was doing. Eventually saw grandpa as well, so great fun taking their pictures.

Then back to Tyee and some time exploring the wall and taking pictures. Saw a group doing a drysuit course having a nice time on the wall. Eventually headed back in to the shallows to rest and take more pictures, helping Gerald keep eyes on an OW class for fun. Then back to shore where the wind had picked up (literally! - the OW diver's tent was blown over). The snow started to fall again as I was finishing up loading the gear, so I headed back south to the warmer (and sunnier) climate of Ladysmith.

The gear was fantastic today, and I had an absolutely awesome dive!

Tyee Wolf Eel Video 

The NDO dive today was Madrona, near Parksville. The sky was cloudy and rain was threatening, but not yet descending. The site was not bad; although it was quite windy, the waves were not severe and the 'little v' entrance looked good. Tides were high as we geared up and headed over to the entrance.

There was a good group today, including a few newer divers plus some rebreather divers. Other groups at the side included some rebreather divers from Finland as well as a small class from Comox among others.

After gearing up, we headed out from the little V past the maze and over to the wall. At the end of the wall we found one large octopus, which we photographed and videoed. Then along the wall looking for other octopi. As the newer group turned the dive to head back, the rebreather divers continued on for a bit longer, enjoying the quiet and the scenery. Eventally we all returned to the big V where we exited and chatted about the dive.

Overall an awesome dive! The more I dive with the new counterlung lower attachment, the more I really like it.

New Year's Day, 2012! As always, a good day for the first dive of the year. As with past years, Nanaimo Dive Outfitters hosted a dive event at Neck Point Park in Nanaimo. The day was cloudy and cool, but the rains held off. While the main group dove the near beach, a few of us headed over the hill to dive the wall at Neck Point itself.

Steve and I were on our rebreathers, with several other divers entering as well. After a bit of a hike to reach the entry point, we headed out towards the island, with bubble checks at 15 fsw. As we reached the island we headed down to follow the wall around the island. The current was quite strong, although not so stron that we couldn't manage. Several times I had to brace with one hand on a rock to take a picture, but it was all good times. At one point I encountered a small octopus exploring a small space in the rocks, and spent some time taking photos and video of the little creature.

After circling the island, we exited the water near our entry point (but for low tide creating a land bridge to the island). Then back to the vehicles and over the hill to where the main group had finished off most of the food. Fortunately there were some leftovers for us, and we all had a good time chatting about the dives.

Overall a great dive to start the new year!

Neck Point Video 

Neck Point Octopus Video