I wanted to do another dive in 2010, so made plans to meet Gord at Tyee during the week. I arrived to find Gord happily setting up his Meg rebreather as a newly certified Meg diver. In addition to Gord, three DIR types from Victoria were also at the site prepping their doubles and dive-x scooters.

The day was windy, and together with the record high tides the wave action was quite fierce. There was no beach to speak of; instead the usually "high and dry" logs were floating and moving about quite energetically in the wind and waves.

We geared up and headed down to the water, climbing over the logs (and getting bashed about pretty well by some) before donning fins and heading underwater to attach bailout and perform bubble checks. Once under the waves it wasn't too bad, althought there was some pretty significant surge.

Almost immediately I noticed a problem. My left glove was "weeping", and my hand was getting damp. I attempted to see if I could lessen the weeping, but instead was presented with a full glove flood. I quickly pulled off the glove to remove the equalization tube into my suit, but not before getting wet up to my elbow. Eventually I had the glove back on and further suit leaks prevented, but not before my hand was "sloshing" wet and my arm wet to the elbow. Still, after the work of the entry, I was reluctant to call the dive just for this.

Instead we headed down the cut and off to the left toward Dolphin. Passing grandpa wolf eel's den we continued on to the wall at Dolphin and headed down. Once at depth we swam along the wall exploring the nooks and crannies before seeing a small (approx 5') wolf eel swimming in the open. I immediatly turned on my camera and captured some nice video. Once he had continued on past us, we came upon a rat fish in the open and I filmed him as well. This was turning out to be a great day!

However, it was now about 40 min and my hand was pretty numb from cold, so we turned the dive and started back. When we reached grandpa's den, we had a look and I took some still pictures. Then we headed up the wall and back towards Tyee along the top of the wall.

Finally back at the cut, both Gord and I had some deco obligations to attend. Stops at 30fsw and 20fsw took care of that, so we then headed back to the entry where we again had to contend with the significant wave action and those marauding logs!

Overall, an absolutely excellent dive!

Post-dive note: inspecting the flooded glove revealed no cuts or other leaks, so I probably managed to catch some part of the new liners I have been trying out in the glove's o-ring, which caused the flood. I'll have to be more careful with these liners in the future.

Tyee Wolf Eel and Rat Fish Video 

A great day for a dive. Intermittant showers but the temperature was above freezing. We geared up and then splashed. Headed out to the cut and then down along the right wall. Came upon the wolf eel, whereupon I proceeded to take quite a bit of video footage as Sean fed the wolfie a small sea urchin. Then back up the wall and over, spending some time in the shallows taking some close-up photos. Overall a great dive.

Tyee Wolf Eel Video 

By highway, Wall Beach is roughly halfway between Tyee and Madrona Point. The dive site itself is located on the same bay as Cottam Point but on the opposite shore and just around the corner (so to speak) from Madrona. The dive starts with a shallow swim for about 10 min until you reach the first wall which goest to about 40fsw, then a second wall that drops to around 90fsw and then becomes a steep slope toward the center of the bay.

The NDO club dive saw two open circuit divers led by Gord heading out for a nice wall dive. Myself, Steve and Al were on rebreathers and decided to go for a max time of 90 min with a max depth of 130fsw and no more than 5 min deco.

After gearing up, we headed down the short path to the beach and a nice entry. After bubble checks, we headed out at 30 degrees to the wall. Just prior to the wall I halted the team as I had found an octo in her den, and stopped to take some photos and video. Then it was on to the wall, where we descended gradually to our max depth. At our turn point we reversed course and started heading back up, exploring all the nooks and crannys in the wall. Once back to the shallows we completed our decompression (very short) before heading back in. We had to do a short bit of shallow swimming to arrive back at our exit point, but it was all great fun.

We did have a few gear mishaps today. Al lost a spool and SMB, most probably on the shallow swim as we were swimming over the rocks with less than 18 inches of water in places. Steve and Al looked, but could not find either. I had two gear problems. At depth the light cord on my Greenforce failed, but the ambient light was so good that it was not a problem other than the frustration of the failure itself. However, my suit also leaked as I discovered in the shallows at the end of the dive. I was soaked on my right side from waist to heel. Afterward inspection revealed the leak most probably due to poorly tucked dryhood disrupting the neck seal allowing water in during the dive. As I was soaked, I did not participate in the SMB/spool search but rather started warming up the truck.

In spite of the gear problems, it was a great dive!

Wall Beach Octopus Video 

Wall Beach Video 

Snow came to Vancouver Island this week. We received 6 inches of wet, heavy snow Friday night. Sunday was a planned dive at Tyee, and I woke to light snowfall, but temperatures were above zero so I decided to head out anyway. Driving was not too bad, just a bit slushy in spots.

Arriving at Tyee, I found Gord, and soon Sean and Dayne arrived, all keen to dive. The plan was to head left and see Grandpa. Everyone had plenty of gas (I was on my PRISM rebreather), so we geared up and headed out.

Gord and I led the way and quickly arrived to find Grandpa in his den and unwilling to come out as usual. After a short while there, we headed back to the rocking horses and then over to see the other wolf eel. Once that was accomplished we headed up the wall to search for critters. We were soon rewarded as Gord found a 5' octo in it's den. Our time was almost up, so we headed back up the cut and along the rocks where Gord found a smaller octo. I managed to video both wolf eels and both octo, so I was pretty happy.

Back on the beach we found several divers getting ready for a check-out dive. The snow was still coming down as we loaded up and headed home. All in all an excellent dive!

Tyee 11/21/2010 Video 

Today was a great day for diving. It was sunny in Nanaimo and Parksville, but once past Cathedral Grove on the way to Port Alberni it turned rainy and foggy. By the time I reached China Creek, it was mostly just raining.

The campground was virtually empty, and everything was locked up, but we parked in the 'usual' spots for shore diving and geared up in the rain. The weather had moved quite a few large logs into shore, making the beach entry a little more challenging than usual.

Once underwater, we headed through the freshwater layer and deeper into the salt water. At 70fsw, turned right and headed parallel to the shore until encountering the trench made by the first migrant ship. This ship was sunk as the first artificial reef here at China Beach, but instead of merely sinking, it hit the bottom and started to slide down the almost 60degree slope and then just kept going. Divers have followed the trench past 330fsw and report 'no ship yet', so it's gone very deep.

Just past the trench sits the second migrant ship. It sits upright with the stern in 70fsw and the bow much deeper. The top of the deck is about 50fsw at the stern and 110fsw at the bow, giving a good indication of the slope of the bottom

I started filming the ship from the trench, then along to the rudder and propeller. Then carried on up the stern and along the deck. Over the wheelhouse and on to the bow of the ship. Then returned along the deck until just aft of the wheelhouse, where I explored one compartment. Moving aft and filming the inside of one cargo hatch, I moved aft into the next compartment where the engine supports and prop shaft could be seen. Then out the aft hatch and along to the stern, where the steering gear could be seen in an aft compartment.

Back again to the bow, filming the damage at the bridge, where whole sheets of steel have just peeled back due to deterioration. Then off to the port side of the bow to film the entire ship before again heading aft. Once aft it was over the starboard side to film the propeller and rudder again, finally finishing up in the trench of the first ship.

After this, headed parallel to shore back towards the wall. Found the small boat, then the wall including phone booth. Took pictures here of Dane as well as smaller fish and the phone booth. Much fun.

All in all a terriffic dive!

China Creek Migrant Ship Video 

China Creek Migrant Ship Video - (slightly longer and with music) 

Haloween has many traditions. One of the more fun for divers is the underwater pumpkin carving event. Nanaimo Dive Outfitters held their UW carving event on Sunday Oct 31. from about noon until after 3pm.

The day was not bad - fairly calm, cloudy with the occasional sunny break. Temperatures were around 8C on land. After the dive breifing, Amber and I splashed and headed out to our stations - Amber to photograph the "Mr. Potato Head" building and I to video the "Hoop Maze". I chose to dive my Prism today, with a 0.7 setpoint due to the shallowness of the dive (less than 30fsw). Once at my station, I submerged to the bottom and took up my video position.

As the dive progressed, I had an early visit from Steve White to check on things, then visits by the various dive teams as they came to try their skill at the hoops. The vis wasn't bad, except after the odd hoop attempt. After about 70 minutes, the camera batteries finally gave out about the same time as the vis. I headed in to complete an overall 80 minute dive.

Haloween 2010 Hoop Video 

Guiding for NDO - dive 3.

Guiding for NDO - dive 2.

I did three open circuit dives today as part of a guiding trip for Nanimo Dive Outfitters. We chose Tyee because I am most familiar with the site.

Dive 1.

This was a very nice evening dive with Nanaimo Dive Outfitters. We headed out to the small walls with Shirley leading and a small group of keen divers following. At the wall, we saw a great variety of marine life but he best was an octopus in her den, which I managed to get a picture of. Overall an excellent dive.

Another evening dive with Nanaimo Dive Outfitters. After gearing up, we trekked along to the far left entrance and headed out to see the small wall. Overall a very nice dive.

Another evening dive with Nanaimo Dive Outfitters and Diver's Choice Charters. This time the visibility on the Rivtow Lion was much better, making for a very pleasant dive. I had a look at the engine in the engine room, but no significant penetration. Overall a very nice dive.

After a great lunch (as usual) and a decent surface interval, we again geared up and headed down the anchor line, then west and over the wall. Again I headed left at 130fsw, pretty much repeating the first dive - even to the point of missing the anchor block again by perhaps 10-15 feet! Did my stop near shore in 20fsw, then surfaced slowly to find myself about 25-30 feet behind the boat this time!

Again, an excellent dive!

Today was hot and sunny, and a perfect day for diving. Headed out at the usual time for two dives on Snake Wall which "Dave & Dave" from the USA.

Geared up and splashed at the anchor point, then headed west to the wall and down to 120fsw, then left along the wall to view the anenomes. Took many pictures as I went. Headed along until reaching the large overhang, then headed back at 80fsw. Upon reaching the start point, headed back at 60fsw to the overhang and again returned. Visibility was generally in the 30 foot range, except right at 30fsw near the anchor block where it was maybe 10. I managed to miss the anchor block and so headed in to 20fsw for my stop, then slow ascent to the surface where I was perhaps 30 feet in front of the boat.

Overall, and excellent dive!

It's been a while since I did a dive to write about here, but I've been very busy since April working on my SDI Open Water Instructor certification. Last weekend (June 26 & 27) Gerald and I wrapped up our first OW certification course (team teaching) with the open water dives at Finn Beach (Sat) and Tyee (Sun) with our two students. It was a blast!

Today was the Nanaimo Dive Outfitters (NDO) Canada Day Club Dive, and seventeen of us assembled at Tyee for an 11am splash.

Sean and I geared up with the plan to head down to 80fsw to take some pictures and video of the wolf eel, and perhaps entice him out with a snack. As it was a club dive, I opted to dive open circuit with a single AL-80. After the SDI instructors course and the teaching, I'm getting quite used to single tank OC diving again. It's actually pretty fun, even if the gas doesn't last nearly long enough!

Sean and I splashed and proceeded with our plan. Arriving at the den, the wolf eel was indeed present and acting quite phototenic. After a while we headed out looking for an urchin, and finally found one after traversing the entire right wall and returning. We took the urchin to the wolf eel and immediately he came out of his den to feast on the snack. I obtained some excellent photos and video of him today. I also saw a female wolf eel nearby, but she was too shy and I didn't get a clear picture of her.

After the dive, we all headed to the Fairwinds golf course resuarant for a wonderful lunch. Overall, an excellent dive today!

Tyee wolf eel Video 

Dove the Rivtow Lion as an evening dive with the Nanaimo Dive Outfitters 'Dive Club'. Due to a number of circumstances NOT involving my Prism, I elected to dive this evening on open circuit, using my backplate & wing plus a rental STA (single tank adapter), OC reg set and aluminum 80cf tank.

No problems gearing up or splashing, but it was immediately apparent that the vis was utter crap. Decided to descend anyway, with vis perhaps 3ft all the way down the line to the aft of the wreck. Once on the wreck, the vis was no better - effectively making this a full night dive (but with crap vis). Could not see any of the divers once on the wreck very well, but we kept mostly to the outer rail of the ship - moving forward along starboard to the wheelhouse, then across the wheelhouse and back along the port rail. Not much to see either, due to the vis. Eventually my gas was getting low, so I headed up.

Overall, nice to be wet but a really mediocre dive due to the vis.

We left our mooring at the Saskatchewan to head to the other side of Snake Island to moor for lunch, but it was getting just too nasty - so we headed back in and moored instead on the Rivtow Lion. There we had our usual excellent lunch (thanks, Ken!) followed by a surface interval siesta.

Gearing up, Glenn and I again splashed first, and headed down the bow line to the Rivtow Lion. The vis was crap the whole time - maybe 5ft at best. We brailed our way along the deck to the port side, then headed aft. There were plenty of lingcod on the ship, but not much to see today except one real "rats nest" of yellow nylon rope that someone had abandoned on the starboard side. We checked out the aft hatch and rooms below, but the vis was pretty crappy and so we headed back out. After numerous tours of the ship, greeting the other divers, we headed back up and home.

An OK dive, except for the crap visibilty. Probably the worst vis I've experienced on the Rivtow Lion to date.

The morning was cloudy and the forecast called for rain later in the day - not at all what the prior forcast had been (sunny). Arriving at the boat, there was a keen wind keeping things cool. We elected to head out quickly as it was predicted to blow even harder in the afternoon.

Arriving on the bow marker of the Saskatchewan, we moored, quickly finished gearing up and headed out. Glenn & I splashed first, as we were planning a longer dive (me with my Prism and Glenn with doubles). Steve, Shirley, Robert and Henri would follow shortly for a nice recreational tour of the ship.

Glenn & I met at 20fsw due to the seas, and headed down. Once at the bow we headed over the side and along until we arrived at the port opening to the engine room. We entered and did a nice tour of the engine room, heading starboard then aft and around to the entry hole before heading up the hatch and onto the deck with burma road. Then over to burma road and aft to the mortar bay. Checking that all was well, we headed back up burma road to the second last cabin forward, then up through two hatches and onto the main deck at the bow. As Glenn headed up for his deco, I did a quick tour of the bow hatch and chain locker back to the deck we had just left, then returned the same way - to ensure my memory of the route from the chain locker to burma road. Then I too headed up the line to join everyone on the boat for lunch.

Overall an excellent dive!

The seas had gotten a bit rougher during our first dive, so I ended up just eating a bun and some soup. Then, after a decent surface interval it was back into the water.

I retraced my route from the last dive, and met the GUE-DIR group at the machine shop hatchway as agreed. They descended into the machine shop, and I had a look around but did not enter this time. Then I headed towards the bow again, this time exiting the bow hatch.

Then I headed aft on the main deck, looking at the ling cod and cabazon defending their eggs. There was a decent current running from aft to the bow today, so I had a little workout as I headed aft along the deck. At the end of the helicopter deck, I descended to the first level and had a poke around, then continuted to poke around as I worked my way back towards the engine room and the upline.

Overall, another excellent dive!

April 1 dawned cloudy and cool, but the winds were calm. It was forecast to storm later in the day (and boy, it sure did!!!) but for now things looked good for some wreck diving.

I joined three GUE-DIR divers from Seattle, Joe, Rory and Mike who had been diving with Ken for much of the week. With my Prism rebreather, I'm sure I fit in just fine! ;-)

We elected to do both dives on the Cape Breton, so after mooring to the midships buoy, we geared up and splashed. Once on the wreck, I entered the engine room, then on to burma road and headed past the steam tables and forward. At the hatch to the machine shop, I descended and had a swim about the room. Then back to burma road and forward to the bow washroom, where I did a tour and then back down the port side passages and then over past the steam tables and aft to the rear of the ship. Then up and over the helicopter deck to the engine room windows and over to the upline.

Overall an excellent dive!

After another excellent lunch and tank fills for the OC divers, we headed over to the Cape Breton, mooring over the newly re-installed mid-ships buoy.

After gearing up, we splashed. I followed a usual route - aft to the engine room, then starboard into burma road. Forward and into the serving room, then out and over the steam tables, then forward into the mess. From there, forward into the crew quarters before heading down the central shaft and into the machine shop.

After a quick tour of the machine shop, back up the shaft into the crew quarters, then forward to the washrooms and up the bow hatch. From there, back down the bow hatch and aft, retracing my steps along burma road and back out the engine room. From there a short tour aft along the main deck to the helicopter deck, then back around the wheelhouse and finally up the line to the boat.

An excellent dive.

Yesterday was full of rain and wind warnings. Today dawned and we wondered what the seas would bring. The day was cloudy but calm as we headed out towards Snake Island for some diving. Among us were Glen and Gord, finishing a deco procedures course, and four from Vancouver Washington for some fun diving.

We moored at Snake Wall, then geared up and headed down. Over the wall, most of us descended to around 120fsw while Glen and Gord headed deeper. I worked the camera, mostly taking movies of the wall and the anenomes. After a time, we turned the dive and headed back. In the shallows, I took some still pictures of various creatures. Then it was time for a short deco hang on the line and back in for lunch.

Overall, an excellent dive.

After Ken's usual terriffic lunch (today featuring clam chowder - yum!) we moved over to the bow mooring of the Saskatchewan. After gearing up an splashing, we headed down.

Once on the Saskatchewan, we headed along the starboard side just below the main deck, eventually coming to the engin room cutout. We headed into the engine room to have a look, over to the port side near the cutout, then back and up the hatch onto the deck with burma road.

Heading aft along burma road we entered the mortar bay, then explored the side and back rooms off the mortar bay before heading up to view the rear gun. Then back down onto burma road and forward. Just before the most forward room, we headed up a level and then out throught the chain locker and up the hatch onto the main deck again.

Then we headed aft again above the main deck, into the ops room and up to the wheelhouse, exiting throught the cutout in the ceiling. Then aft past the stack until we reached the aft gun again, and then along the port side above the decks and over the forward gun until we finally came to the bow mooring line and headed up.

Overall, another excellent dive today!

Saskatchewan Video 

The day was bright and sunny, and hardly any wind at all. We headed out to Snake Island to dive the wrecks, enjoying the scenery as we went. Once at Snake Island, we moored at the bow of the Cape Breton, as all other mooring buoys were gone.

Once we geared up, we splashed and headed down to the bow. I took some video of the divers, then we headed in the bow hatch and on into the forward washroom. From there we headed into the crew sleeping quarters, then exited out a side cutout.

We swam up onto the main deck and viewed the large wrinkle in the deck caused when the ship hit the sand as it sank. Then headed down the opening, past the crew mess and into the machine shop, where we could view the openings torn in the hull by the same landing.

Then back onto the main deck for a nice swim around before heading back up the line. Overall an excellent dive!

Cape Breton Video 

After a great lunch as always, we headed in to the Rivtow Lion. After gearing up, we splashed. I headed over the port side seeking the large Octo that was living in the sand, but again came up empty.

I then headed over to the port side to search the seabed around the wheelhouse, looking for a lost camera (not mine this time). Again, no luck.

I then headed up onto the main deck and took a nice tour of the ship, plus had a peek in the engine room. The vis was not super, so I stayed on deck today. After a nice tour I headed back.

Overall a very nice dive.

Rivtow Lion Lingcod Video 

We headed out today on a nice day. It was sprinkling, but the seas were calm and the wind was not present. It was nice to get back diving after two weeks off due to a head cold.

Mooring at Snake Wall, we geared up and splashed, I waited for the other divers at the bottom of the line, then with Aaron leading we headed off towards the wall. There was a nice Kelp Greenling to amuse my video camera, and plenty of Anenomes. After a nice tour we headed back for lunch.

Overall a very good dive.

Snake Wall Kelp Greenling Video 

Snake Wall Divers Video 

Snake Wall Anenomes Video 

After another fine lunch, we headed out to check conditions on the big wrecks. We tied to the Saskatchewan, but the seas were rough and getting rougher, so we elected to head over to dive Snake wall instead. After mooring at the new mooring line, we geared up and splashed.

I headed out and down to about 130fsw, checking on the various fish, small critters and boot sponges. There are numerous fish at this time of year, some defending egg masses, so quite a bit to see and film.

After a nice dive we headed back home. Overall a very good dive.

Snake wall Video 

It was a nice day - cloudy and promising showers, but still clear and calm. We headed over to the Rivtow Lion to give the fellows a nice place to check rental gear, weights etc.

Arriving at the Rivtow Lion, we geared up and splashed. At the top of the wheelhouse, I stopped to video a large lingcod, then headed over the port side to see if I could find the octopus. No luck finding the octo, but I did see it den and the shell debris field. Then up onto the main deck to check out the sunken line and float, then just general having fun on the ship.

Overall a very nice dive.

Rivtow Lion Video 

Rivtow Lion - sunken aft mooring line Video 

Today was bright and sunny - a perfect day for a nice shore dive at Tyee. After a nice drive to Parksville, I arrived at Tyee to find the skies overcast and a fog over the water. However, the tide was high and the waters still, so I geared up and splashed.

Heading out to the notch, I found numerous pipe fish in the eel grass, so took a couple of pictures of them. Then down past the rocking horses and over to see grandpa wolf eel. He was in his den, but seemed more curious than in past encounters. I took a nice video of him as he seemed rather curious about me today. Then it was back to Tyee and home.

An excellent dive today!

Tyee - Grandpa Video 

After another great lunch, we headed over to the Cape Breton, mooring on the midships buoy. Geared up, then managed to take a header off the swim grid (fin got stuck between two boards) and landed with a nice belly flop! Had to pause and get some gear sorted out thanks to the splash, but quickly done and down the line to the main deck.

After rigging my camera with the dive light, I entered the engine room skylights and headed down to the Burma road (starboard) entrance. Once on Burma road, I shot some video along the steam tables, then headed forward to the bow washroom. More video, then up and out the bow hatch. I returned along the main deck, having a look all the while for the video light arm I lost earlier in the week. After checking pretty well, nothing was found, so I headed back up.

Again, a most excellent dive.

Cape Breton Video 

The day was sunny and promised to warm up. Richard, Brian and Hannah (a small dachund), Ken and I headed out to Snake Island for some diving (well, the little dog stayed on the boat).

Once moored to the Saskatchewan, we geared up and headed down. I decided to start with a trip off the stern to see the rudder. Then up to the cutout into the rear of the mortar bay, through the mortar bay and down Burma road. At the first left I headed to port to see what's there, then back up and over to the port engine room hatch. Out the cutout, down and in the engine room cutout to start filming inside the engine room. I always like the large machinery in engine rooms! Then up the port hatch to the deck with Burma road, but along the port side until it joined up with the main corridor, eventually leading to the bow. I headed up a couple of levels and onto the main deck. Then back along the deck until I reached the ops deck (just below the bridge). I headed in the ops deck and wandered fat until I could go no further, then up and out a cutout in the roof and back over the main deck to the rear gun. I quite like that rear gun - with the plexi sighting windows and all. I took some video from inside the gun (and pictures from outside), then back to the aft line and up.

All in all, and excellent dive.

Saskatchewan Video 

After a nice lunch, we decided to dive Snake wall for our second dive. After moving the boat and mooring on the new line, we geared up and splashed.

My right heel and achilles tendon had been bugging me for several days, and finally flared up quite badly on this dive. Still, I headed over to the wall and down the cut, checking out all the "little critters" along the way. At 100 fsw, I turned and headed back up the way I had come, again filming various small creatures. Once back around 50fsw I explored the small walls around the anchor block as my heel was really starting to hurt. After only a short time, I elected to call the dive rather than limp about on the bottom.

Overall, a short but still nice dive.

The day was cloudy but calm. We headed out to Snake Island to dive the Cape Breton and found calm seas but a bit of a surface current.

After gearing up, we splashed. I heard an unusual sound (sort of a 'pop!') when I splashed, but the Prism cover was OK so I headed down the line. The current was still noticable even on the deck of the Cape Breton. At the stack I let go of the line and found myself being pushed into the bridge area. Getting myself together, I checked my camera only to find the home-built light arm was completely missing! As this was constructed of those 'milling coolant knuckles', that was the source of the surface sound.

I headed aft towards the engine room, and immediately spied a small octo just hanging out under the windows. I managed to get some video, even without my light arm, but lost him adjusting buoyancy (grrr!). Then I headed through the engine room skylight and down to video the boilers, which are quite impressive.

After filming the boilers, I headed through the door onto Burma road by the steam tables. I went into the serving room and videoed myself coming out over the steam tables and heading forward. Then I headed forward to the washroom, out into the corridor and back down Burma road on the other side of the engine room, finally entering the engine room via the port side door. After exiting the engine room via the skylights, I had a quick search of the ship around the bridge and forward deck, looking for my light arm - but no luck. After a quick search I headed back up for lunch.

Overall, a great dive - except for losing that light arm.

Cape Breton Octopus Video 

Cape Breton Engine Room Boiler Video 

Cape Breton Steam Table Video 

The day was overcast, with rain at times. We met near Moby Dick's to load the skiff with our gear. There were only two of us on this day - Tom from Vancouver here to film the seals at Snake Island, and myself.

After arriving at Snake Island (wall side), we found a new mooring line and tied to it. Then Tom and I geared up and splashed. We headed down the mooring line to find a large concrete block with the line chained to it (which I filmed), then headed towards shore. After only a short time Tom had to call the dive as he could not stay down. He headed back for more weight and I headed over to the mooring block to wait. Tom returned, and we were about to head off again when Tom noticed his video screen had reset and locked, so we called the dive and headed back on the boat to see to the camera repairs.

After a 22 minute surface interval, during which Tom inspected the camera and got the screen working again, we splashed. This time we just descended from the stern of the boat and headed towards the rocks. During the first part of the dive, we checked out the underwater life, and both became much interested in a "wall of crabs" that seemed to be both watching us and having various terretorial posturings. Both Tom and I filmed the crabs before heading in towards the rocks and (hopefully) encounters with seals.

We surfaced near shore and could not see any seals, so surface swam North along the island until we found a channe in the island with water (and seals). We proceeded to swim the channel on the surface and filmed the seals as they exchanged places in front and behind us, using a deep overhang under the rocks to skip past us.

After al long swim down the channel, we came out on the other side, South of where the boat was moored. Having been in the water almost 2 hours (counting the first dive), we were cold and so headed back to the boat. I submerged and headed in to the mooring block before surfacing.

Overall, a great day, though the skittish seals and poor channel visibility didn't allow for great video.

Snake Island Mooring Video 

Snake Island Crab Video 

Snake Island Seal Video 

The day was nice, and I planned to join the NDO club dive at Coffing Point (Elliot Park). Arriving, I found out the dive leader, Glenn, would not be attending as he had hurt his back the day before at work.

After gearing up, I headed out and to the left to find the wall around the point. It's shallow (8 fsw) for a long time, then drops to about 20fsw before rising back to less than 2fsw - then drops off for the remainder of the dive. I found a wall immediately at 25-30fsw, and decided to stay with it. Saw numerous large crabs engaged in turf wars, being eaten by starfish, and generally waving their claws at me from the sand. Later I found several large nudibranchs, which I videoed. After about 30 minutes, I decided to return as my mask would not stop leaking on this day. I found a nice school of sea perch to video, then gradually returned to shore. Just before entering the shallow bay, I saw quick movement to my right. I turned to see a cormorant (sea bird) swimming along the bottom, looking for food. It is incredible how they can "fly" underwater, even at 30fsw.

Overall, a good (if not great) dive.

Coffin Point Video 

After a great surface interval at Snake Island, we elected to head in to the Rivtow Lion for our second dive. As we geared up, Ed Singer pulled up with a couple of divers so we all splashed within minutes of each other.

We all headed over the side of the Rivtow Lion to look for the large octopus that has been spotted here. I did a circuit of the entire ship, but found nothing today, except the occasional "silt out" from other divers.

After this, I headed back up to the deck and explored the entire ship - entering the engine compartment from the large opening aft of the compartment, then swimming down past the flywheel and all around the engine block, then back out the same opening. I also explored the wheelhouse and other areas before heading up for the day. Overall a great dive.

Rivtow Lion Video 

Today marks the first dive of 2010. It was raining but warm as we headed out towards Snake Island. There was quite a wind, so we elected to dive Snake Wall for our first dive.

After gearing up, we splashed and headed down the anchor line, then west towards the wall. I headed down to 130 fsw, taking pictures and video of the life as I went. Once at depth, I headed north for a change. After 20 min, I turned around and headed up to 80fsw for the return journey. I overshot the starting point and found the cut, so headed up that. Then a quick orientation before heading back to the anchor line. Overall a very nice dive.

Imagine my surprise when I got back on the boat to discover the second group had FOUND the Prism cover I lost here several weeks ago!!!

Apparently, they followed me down the anchor chain, and the exact same route to the wall, and found the cover lying on it's back with the yellow word "Prism" clearly visible in a rock "clearing" just before the main wall. I must have passed within 10 feet of it, but was setting up the camera and so missed it. Anyway, I was very grateful to have it back, and bought the other divers their supper. Now and AWESOME dive!!!

Snake Wall Video