Dove today with Shirley and Steve White at Elliot Point for a nice Boxing Day dive. After gearing up, we headed off to the left side to 'round the corner' and find the wall. Tide was very, very high today, which meant the shallows were a little deeper, but not much. After rounding the corner, we came upon a very nice underwater rock bay surrounding a little dock and peir. We kept on but didn't find the wall. So we just toodled around in the shallows taking pictures of small critters until we got cold and headed back in. Still, a very nice dive.

Still testing the TLS350 drysuit for leaks and fixes. Overall a nice dive today, but the suit still leaks in the same place as last week. Really frustrating as this is one elusive leak.

After much 'fun', found and fixed another leak in the drysuit's right leg. It was a small 1/4 in. weeping spot just below the belows pocket. After aquaseal, it should be good to dive.

Geared up and headed out. About halfway along the line to the wall I saw a line of black 'puffs'. Realizing they were ink trails, I quickly spotted a small squid, of which I took some video. On the wall I saw a buffalo sculpin, and lots of rockfish. Overall a great dive, except the drysuit leaked again - but from a different spot than I had repaired. Time to perform the bubble test..."

Maple Bay Video 

Maple Bay is a great little dive for open circuit. It's not very deep (I hit 60fsw max depth) and invites a nice hour long dive. Today was really nice, as the snow has been rained off last week and it was clear and almost sunny today.

The suit is still leaking at the right knee, in spite of all attempts to fix the p-valve. I'm thinking now it must be another leak as well...

Maple Bay Video 

Although it snowed a couple of days ago and it was -8 this morning, I headed out to Maple Bay for an open circuit dive. Arriving at the parking lot by the government dock, it was very icy.

After gearing up and walking very carefully to the water, it was time to dive. Overall an uneventful dive, though the visibility was not very good - maybe 10 feet. Still, a very nice dive.

Went diving today with a fellow who just completed his drysuit certification this week. We headed out to Madrona Point for a couple of dives. It was on/off raining with the occational spot of sunshine. Tides were at the 'super high' level when we arrived and dropped to 'normal high tide' for the second dive.

Our first dive started to the left with the small wall, ending up at the big 'V'. Along the way we encountered a very small octo in a den, plus the usual assortment of nudibranchs, rock fish, greenlings and lingcod. Overall a very nice dive, just short of an hour.

Our second dive started at the big 'V', and we headed 0degrees to the maze. Once in the maze we toured about, ending up at the mid wall before heading in. Again, a great dive.

Madrona Point Video 

After a few weeks of shallow open circuit diving, it was time to head back to Tyee for the Tyee - Dolphin wall tour. It was cloudy with occasional sunny breaks, with temperatures in the low teens on land.

After gearing up, headed out and to the left to Doplhin wall, along the wall at a maximum depth of just over 120fsw, then back at 80fsw and eventually back to the walls at Tyee. Overall an excellent 2 hour dive.

Tyee - Dolphin Video 

A nice dive today at Maple Bay on open circuit. Visibilty was only about 10 feet, but the dive was still a very nice one.

I let the Nanaimo Dive Outfitter's club dive today at Elliot Point, Ladysmith. It was blustery and the waves were up a bit, plus it was starting to rain but I was joined by 3 other intrepid divers from the Ladysmith area for what turned out to be a very nice dive. As I was leading, I used my new steel HP 100 tank (bubbles) instead of my rebreather. Overall a very nice dive.

Nanaimo Dive Outfitters held their annual Underwater Pumpkin Carving at Neck Point park yesterday. In addition to pumpkin carving, there were underwater activities (dart throwing, hockey/croquet, 'make a letter' as well as good food and a silent auction for the Kidney Foundation.

Nanaimo Dive Outfitters held their club dive at Madrona Point today. We toured the deep wall and saw lots of critters. Overall an excellent dive.

The Nanaimo Dive Outfitter's club dive was at China Creek today, just outside of Port Alberni on the Bamfield road. Many divers were there, from the newly certified to the more experienced. Shirley led the new divers on a couple of tours of the shallow wall, while the more experienced divers either went deeper on the wall, or headed over to the wreck.

Iain and I were diving rebreathers, so entered near the wall, but then turned right at 70fsw to swim over to the wreck of the immigrant ship. This is an artificial reef, the ship being one of five ships from the far east that arrived on Vancouver Island some years ago; in such bad shape that it was a wonder they survived the crossing. This one was sunk at China Creek to provide an artificial reef for life to grow. The stern sits in 75fsw, while the bow lies at 140fsw. Decks are at 50fsw (stern) and 120fsw (bow). The ship sits at a very steep angle, making it an advanced dive. There are few options for penetration, and the wheelhouse has started to collapse.

After a short swim, we found the wreck and proceeded to tour the ship, looking at the life and the decay of the ship itself. After our tour, we headed back on the same route until we came to the wall. Once at the wall we headed out along the deeper part for about half an hour, then headed back. I saw a decorated warbonnet inhabiting one boot sponge, and nearby there was a small wolf eel inhabiting another. The wolf eel decided to leave and so I followed him for a bit as he swam around. He still had some juvenile coloring, but the adult colors were well evident. After touring the wall we headed back in. Overall an excellent dive.

China Creek Video 

Today was scheduled as the NDO club dive at Madrona Point, so I decided that revisiting a favorite spot would be nice. As it turned out, the club dive was cancelled, but Bill and Iain showed up so we all headed out for a nice rebreather dive on the wall.

After gearing up, we headed out from the big 'V' as the tide was incredibly high. Taking the usual bearing, I lead us towards the maze. There was a good current as the tide was starting to ebb, but we found the maze with no difficulty. At the start of the deep wall there is now a buoy anchored to an old scuba tank. We headed over the wall and swam along the bottom to the end, then returned about halfway up to see as much as we could. There was incredible life on the wall today, and both Bill and I got many pictures. After a nice dive we headed back and exited the same big 'V'. Overall an awesome dive.

Madrona Point Video 

Two weeks ago I was diving the wrecks with my good friends Greg, James and Dale. After a week of resting, it was time to exercise the rebreather on a long dive from Tyee to Dolphin and back.

The day was perfect, sunny but not too hot. After gearing up, headed out at a very low tide (full moon and all). Followed the standard 75-80fsw route past grandpa's den and over to the wall. Dolphin wall was full of rockfish, with many hovering over a boot sponge. Visibiltiy below 50 fsw was good, and excellent on the Dolphin wall. Above 50fsw, not so good. Overall a very nice long dive.

Grandpa's Den Video 

After a long absence from the rebreather due to teaching OW, it was a nice day to head back from Tyee to Dolphin. Weather was great, but the tide was quite low entering. After a leisurely swim to Dolphin and back, headed in to find the tide even lower! Still, a very nice long dive.

Tyee - Dolphin Video 

Another great long dive from Tyee to Dolphin and back.

Tyee - Dolphin Video 

Today was Nanaimo Dive Outfitter's annual July 1 dive and BBQ at Tyee. Arriving early to ensure a parking space, we proceeded to gear up and head out, following the usual route left to Dolphin, along Dolphin wall, then back to Tyee to puddle around above 70fsw for a while.

Overall an excellent 2hr+ dive, and excellent burgers afterward, thanks to Shirley and Steve White!

Tyee - Dolphin Video 

A great day for a dive. I chose to dive Saturday this weekend as Tuesday will be the Nanaimo Dive Outfitters annual Tyee dive and BBQ, and I like to have the extra day for gear drying and setup.

After gearing up, headed out. Visibility in the shallows going out was OK, and really opened up once deeper then 40fsw. Headed over to Dolphin, and along the wall going to just over 125fsw at the deepest point, then back up to 80fsw at the end of the wall before heading back.

Once back at the chute, headed over to the right side of Tyee for some sightseeing and photos. Overall another excellent long (2hrs+) dive.

Tyee - Dolphin Video 

Last week was PADI Instructor crossover, which was four very intense days of diving, teaching and stuff.

Time for a nice long rebreather dive at my favorite spot. After gearing up, headed out into terrible visibility. After briefly contemplating turning the dive, decided to see what vis was like a little deeper. Sure enough, below about 30 fsw the vis cleared right up, to the point where it was over 20 feet at 80fsw, and over 40 feet on the Dolphin wall.

Took lots of photos again, testing out the camera in various configurations. The video on the G16 is very good in low light, so the Sola can now run at '1' power instead of higher, which tended to wash out some details. The flash is just amazing to have as well. I'm definitely loving this new camera rig.

After just over 2 hours, headed back in. Another awesome dive.

Tyee - Dolphin Video 

Today was back to the rebreather, both to keep skills up and to continue exploring the new underwater camera system - a Caono G16 in an Ikelite TTL housing with an Ikelite DS51 strobe plus my Sola 1200 as fill/video light.

Decided to run my standard dive - from the chute at Tyee over to the Dolphin wall with a pause at grandpa's den, then along the wall looking for rockfish and boot sponges. I was not disappointed, as there were many rockfish of all sizes on the wall. Visibility out of the Tyee bay was quite good, with the best viz on the Dolphin wall approaching 30 feet.

Overall an excellent dive.

Tyee - Dolphin Video 

This was an open circuit dive using a steel 100hp tank, diving the Tyee right wall to test out the new Canon G16 and Ikelike underwater system.

After gearing up, headed out to the right wall and spent the dive trying out the new camera and flash with various settings and configurations. It was a most satisfying and successful dive.

Last week I was on open circuit teaching scuba at Neck Point and Tyee. Vis was pretty good, so came back today for what promised to be a lovely Tyee to Dolphin dive. I was not disappointed.

After gearing up, headed out and along the normal route to Dolphin. Stopped briefly to take video of the wolf eel in Grandpa's den, who now seems very skittish. Then over to Dolphin, where the wolf eel has not been in it's den for some time now. I suspect by the rock fish in the den that it's abandoned for another den.

Then along the wall below 100fsw and saw many rock fish of all sizes inhabiting or sitting on the many boot sponges on the wall. After a leisurely swim along the wall, returned at 80fsw and then back to Tyee for a tour along the right side. Overall an excellent long dive.

Tyee - Dolphin Video 

NDO club dive at Tyee today. The tide was very low and still going out when we headed out. Off to the left and over to Dolphin wall. Cruised along Dolphin wall at about 110fsw, then back up to 80fsw for the cruise back to Tyee.

Vis. was pretty good, maybe 15 ft at 80fsw, 20ft at 110fsw, decreasing with particulates as one rose above 50fsw. Still not too bad even up to 10fsw, but total muck above that, making for a fun walking to shore. Overall a great dive. Really nice to see all the divers at the site today.

Tyee - Dolphin Video 

Decided to go diving Saturday rather than Easter Sunday this week. After gearing up, headed out to the cut. Visibility was not bad in the shallows, perhaps 10 ft. Once below 40fsw the vis opened up, and was at least 20 ft. or more below 60fsw.

Headed over from Tyee to the wall at Dolphin, where I took pictures of rockcod on the boot sponges. After traversing the wall, headed back to Tyee at 75fsw and puttered about on the wall before heading back in. Overall a great dive, except for that weeping right dryglove. Something definitely wrong with the seal or cuff on that one.

Tyee - Dolphin Video 

After the Nautilus Swell trip I managed to pick up the flu, keeping me out of the water for a couple of weeks. It was very nice to be healthy again and back diving the rebreather at Tyee. Overall a very nice dive, heading out to Dolphin at 75fsw and returning the same way. Visibility below 40fsw was quite good, but above 40fsw the effects of the herring spawn were definitely apparent.

Tyee-Dolphin Video 

Yay. Whoopee. Daylight savings started this morning. Really, I think it's long past time to put this waste of the universe out of our misery forever. I really think the cows don't care anymore. Just END daylight savings for good!

So I slept in because who wants to get up at 6am? Even with extra sleep, I was at the dive site at the 'normal' time of 10am, ready to dive. It was a perfect day to dive - calm seas at high tide, sunny and warm (10C surface). Time to blow some bubbles

Today's dive was different... I was diving a 100cf steel tank instead of the Prism Topaz. Nothing at all wrong with the Prism, but I'm due to go on a 3-day boat trip soon, and the diving will be current dependent, up-and-down on walls, and not very deep. It's just so much easier to NOT take the Prism and all the associated supplies for dives like this. Instead I borrowed a steel HP 100 from NDO, and am diving it to see how my air consumption is, plus verify my weighting.

Last Wednesday I used the same tank to teach a drysuit course for NDO, so was confident of the weighting... even though my 2003 TLS350 exhaust valve malfunctioned (would not auto-vent). Turns out that was a simple orientation-on-reassembly problem that was easily fixed on Friday. Today was simply to test my bubble-blowing duration.

After gearing up, headed down to the water and splashed. Decided on a modification of the typical Tyee dive - out to grandpa's den and then back via the shallows. Two wolfies in grandpa's den today, so some nice video. Then up to 40fsw for the shallows return trip. This is an abbreviated version of the Tyee-Dolphin return trip, but was still new as I was starting from the mid-point.

Once at 40fsw, saw some rock features that will allow me to find grandpa's den when I'm returning from Dolphin at 40fsw in the future. Lots of large lingcod. Had a really great time.

Once back at the Tyee cut, headed right and spent some time taking pictures of the life on the wall before heading in. Overall a nice dive, just shy of an hour. Given the first half was around 80fsw and the last half around 40fsw, not a bad time.

Tyee Video 

Weather was crappy again today as it snowed Saturday evening and night. Still, not too bad for driving so headed south to Maple Bay near Duncan rather than north. Overall a nice dive at Maple bay, although the visibility wasn't great, especially near the end of the main wall.

In between the rain and the wind we had a great Sunday morning, so off to Tyee for a nice long dive. Pretty much a repeat of last week's dive, including the octo down deep. All in all an excellent dive, with the weather just starting to turn nasty again as I was heading home.

Tyee-Dolphin Video 

After last week's misadventure, time for my favorite dive. It's been cold all this past week, with overnight lows around -5C and below, and daytime highs at or just above 0C. Still, if there's no blizzard, then it's a good day for a dive. As it turned out, the day was clear and pretty bright; not sunny, just bright. The path was frozen but bare so things were green for a long dive.

After gearing up, headed down to 80fsw and then over to grandpa's den, then over to the Dolphin wall. Today's wall traverse went down to 120fsw and along,seeing items I haven't seen in a while. Lots of boot sponges, most 'owned' by yellow fin rock cod, but one with a different inhabitant. Had a great time filming the wolf eels and taking pictures of the ling cod egg masses in various places.

After a nice long headed back in to freeze getting out of the nice warm Thermalution heated vest and back into street clothes. Glad the truck heater works so very well. Overall an outstanding dive.

Tyee-Dolphin Video 

Last week I taught a drysuit course, so didn't dive the rebreather. Today was supposed to be warm and sunny, but turned out to be quite cold and foggy instead. Still, underwater it doesn't matter nearly as much. Time for a dive between Tyee and Dolphin to see if we could retrace the route back from two weeks ago and to test the repair on the drysuit exhaust valve.

After gearing up and checks, it was down to 80fsw and over to grandpa's den (only one wolfie in today) and then over to Dolphin. After an excursion along the Dolphin wall to about 90fsw, returned to the end of the wall, then shallow to about 50fsw for the trip back. It turned out to be not that difficult a nav, and once back at the cut headed over to the right wall for a while before heading in.

All the gear worked excellent, including the drysuit exhaust valve. On a cold day like this I sure do love that heated vest.

Tyee - Dolphin Video 

Did a nice long dive between Tyee and Dolphin today with Bill O'Brien on our rebreathers. As we both love taking pictures, we certainly took our time getting to Dolphin from Tyee. Found all the creatures we love to see, as well as a Pugeot Sound king crab and a decorated crab.

After the Dolphin wall, instead of heading back at 80fsw, Bill took us up along the Dolphin wall, then we headed back following the 40fsw line along a really nice wall all the way back to the cut at Tyee. When Bill asked if we should head in, I did a double-take because I did not realize we were already at the cut!

It was a really great dive at a super-busy Tyee. Had a great time with Bill.

Tyee - Dolphin Video 

With the great vizibility we've been having in the area this winter, I thought it would be the perfect time to dive Maple Bay. Maple Bay is down near Duncan on the island, and as an active harbor the viz is frequently much poorer than at the quieter dive sites. The weather was sunny but cold upon arrival, but the seas were calm. There were an abundance of boats moored offshore in the bay as well.

After gearing up, headed out following the pier to the end of the dock where the line to the wall is usually found. Was not disappointed, as the line is almost attached to the last piling. Followed the line towards the wall, but it seemed to end much sooner than in times past. Visibility was OK but not great. Explored the very small wall, and was preparing to turn back when I spotted the rope extending off at an angle and heading out into the bay. Followed the rope and indeed it proceeded to the main wall. Followed the main wall along it's length, with vizibility deteriorating along the way.

My suit exhaust valve, which I had hoped was working after performing minor maintenance on it since Neck Point, continued to disappoint. It started to weep at the small wall, and by 10 minutes in my left arm was quite flooded. By the large wall my left glove was flooded as well. By the end of the main wall I was sufficiently annoyed with the valve to start heading back. Still a nice long dive, but shorter than normal. If not for the heated vest I would have been very cold by the end.

However the wall did not dissapoint in terms of photographic subjects. Many small decorator crabs, lots of shrimp and small rockfish, plus several decorated fish and a very patient, larger pipefish to round out my satisfaction with this dive.

Maple Bay Video 

***Nanaimo Annual New Year's Day Dive at Neck Point Park***

Headed out with Bill O'Brien to see and follow the outflow pipe at Neck Point. We followed it for quite a distance on a very long dive. Something in my right arm/hand leaked - I think it was the exhaust valve - flooding my whole arm from near the start of the dive, but with the Thermalution vesting running on low I never really noticed (except a sharp bit of cold in my elbow at the start of the dive). Love the vest. Great small life to photograph, and Bill & I took tons of photos. Overall an excellent longer, if shallow dive.