Scooter dive today. Lots of divers at the parking lot, all doing the first dock. Scootered all 4 dry docks, the boom boat (twice) as well as the small wall and the deep wall. Came back at 210 from the deep wall. Rainy and cold on land, cold in the water. Still, a very good 'end of year' dive.
Chemainus VideoBig swim today. I left the P1 at home and instead swam all four dry docks as well as the boom boat. Lots of fun; another awesome long dive.
Chemainus VideoSwam the regular wall at Maple Bay to see what was happening. Mostly just small rock fish. I did test out my Inon macro lens on the front of the NA-G16 housing with the magnetic quick clips. It worked very well. Overall a great (if cold) dive.
Maple Bay VideoUsed the scooter to visit all four dry docks as well as the boom boat. I also recovered Meredith's goodie bag that was lost on our last line laying expedition some 3 years ago. Someone found it on the mud flats and clipped it to our line from #1 back to shore, near the block. It was intact and the clip still worked! Awesome dive.
Chemainus VideoBig swim today. I left the P1 at home and instead swam all four dry docks as well as the boom boat. Lots of fun; awesome long dive.
Chemainus VideoToday was decent; scattered showers and cloudy, again with decent visibility from shore. Overall a very nice dive on the four dry docks and the small wall. Trying to find the boom boat today to see if it could be seen from the top of 3/4 I discovered it's really centered on #4, not #3 as reported last week. Overall it was a great dive.
Chemainus VideoOne great thing is the removed huge tires; the bottom was undesturbed by the removal. You can clearly see the impression of the three tires in front of dock #2 which was awesome.
Today was decent; scattered showers with some sunny patches, and decent visibility from shore. Overall a very nice dive on the four dry docks, the small wall and the deep wall. New information about the boom boat placed it shore-side of #3, so I tried that direction and found it almost immediately. Overall a great dive.
Chemainus VideoI arrived at Chemainus to find it overcast, cold and very windy. There were whitecaps on the water which were quite large. Added to that, visbility in the shallows was less than 6in, so I called the dive and went home.
Another great dive today at Chemainus on a sunny Sunday morning. Based on map information, I tried to find the boom boat off number 4 dock, but was not successful.
Chemainus VideoGreat dive today at Chemainus. It was cold this morning, but sunny at the dive site. Visibiltiy was really excellent, so it was fun to zoom about the dry docks and the two walls. Overall an excellent dive.
Chemainus VideoNice dive today. Threatening to rain, but didn't. Tide was medium, and visibility was pretty good overall. Toured the dry docks, *think* I saw a seal on the top of #4 who then swam away before I could video him. Then toured small wall and finally the deep wall before heading back home. Overall a very good dive.
Chemainus VideoA good dive today on the right side of the Gov't dock, again seeking the deep rocks. Today on open circuit, and hugging the shoreline so I could surface to see landmarks.
At 15 min I was at the home side of the point.
After going deeper and finding the rocks, as well as deep (55ft) pilings, took some video and headed straight up to shore. I surfaced in a 'nest' of moorings, and very close to the south marina.
After heading back for about 10min, surfaced on the far side of the point. Another 15min put me back at the Gov't dock pilings.
Overall a pretty good dive. I'm not sure this is a dive worth repeating too many times as it's a long time on the trigger.
Surface was OK at the start, and visibility was 20ft+. By the end of the dive the wind had come up, and it was raining.
Maple Bay VideoToday was an exploration dive, to try and find the deep rocks to the right of the governent dock at Maple Bay. I knew from the dive report by Mark H. that it was quite a ways away, and starting at between 50 and 70 ft deep.
After gearing up, headed out at 25ft at a 150deg bearing (parallel to shore). Visibility was crappy. You could *see* 10 feet, but it was like swimming in a showstorm. Not the nicest visibility for an exploration dive. Once on the way, the the bottom quickly rose to 10ft or less, so I headed deeper. I continued along between 120 and 150 at 25-30ft for 10 min, then started heading deeper. I thought the bottom was just a single slope from shore to deep, but it turns out to be more like a series of 'gullies', as I would be at 70ft, then 100ft, then 70ft all in the space of a very few minutes, always on the same heading.
By 27 minutes of continuous scootering, I was getting ready to bail and head home, but decided to wait for 30min. At 29min I started to see the big rocks Mark had reported. The rocks go down to 100ft, but then it's mud bottom after that.
There were schools of rock fish. I've never seen schools of rock fish before. Also numerous schools of what might be herring; certainly a free swimming fish. My gopro clone failed (card not found) so I could not take wide angle video, but I got a quick clip with the G16.
After getting the 5min NDL warning, I headed up the rocks. They continue to between 45 and 50 feet. From 45feet I started back home at the 44 min mark.
Again the strange bottom contour caught me. At 60 min I came upon a spine of rock and followed it until it rose to 8 ft. I surfaced and found myself only about halfway home - a very long way when viewed on the surface. I continued at 30ft depth until the 70 min mark, when I thought I should see the dock pilings. Instead, I found myself on top of a wall, that dropped sharply. I followed it down, thinking it might be the main Maple Bay wall, and finding the line to shore confirmed this.
Now that I was on the main wall, I conducted an normal Maple Bay wall dive followed by some under dock time. After 90 min I surfaced.
Overall a pretty good dive. Better vis would definitly help. The 30min travel time is definitely off-putting, as no other dive requires such long travel time. Still, in better visibility I will try this dive again.
Maple Bay VideoLow tide, poor vis in the shallows but OK on the actual dry docks. Same dive as last week except no excursion from the reef to the chain due to the poor vis. Overall a very good dive.
Chemainus VideoStrange day today with respect to visibility. Vis in the eel grass was under 5ft, but opened up to around 20ft deeper. Coming up to the first dock it was still great. Rounding the first dock and heading toward the second, it dropped to 5ft again and remained poor until I went up the crack of doom between 3 and 4, where it was again 20ft on top of both. Dropping over the side at the front, it was 5ft again. It was poor heading over to dock 2 after descending the crack of doom, but on top of dock 2 it was again 20 ft!
I figured the top of the wall would be poor, but decided to head over anyway. The entire wall from top to bottom was 20ft visiblity. I headed over the deep side at the tree and found the red can chain again, and continued down to about 65 ft seeing what else I might see. Turns out not much, but it was fun and great vis. Back up to the chain, then back to the wall.
From the cleat/block I headed back to dock 1, and again the bottom vis was around 5ft, even under the first dock. But once on top of dock 1, the vis was again 20ft.
Finally I headed back in via our line to the shore. As long as I stayed below 22ft the vis was fine, but that last bit heading in throught the eel grass was quite murky. Overall an excellent dive; first one on the Prism Topaz since June 6.
Chemainus VideoGood dive on the dry docks today, in spite of the smoke overcast everywhere. It was a cool day (15C) and very overcast due to the wildfire smoke from the USA. Lower but incoming tide meant lower visibility as well. It was 5ft above 20ft and 10ft below. Pretty much a night dive, but really good anyway.
Chemainus VideoGreat dive today on the dry docks. Starting with a medium tide (well up the boat ramp), visibility was excellent at 10-15ft with little particulate in the water. After heading to 1, then past 2, around the back of 3 to the crack o' doom and up, the top front of 3/4 is a great place to take photos.
Then around the top front of 3/4 and back down the crack o' doom, then over to #2. Up to the top of #2 for a quick exploration, then down the back corner. Again no warbonnet. Off the back of #2 to the small wall, and along the top of the wall until the block/cleat near the line back to #1. Headed over the back side of the wall following the NE bearing as in prior weeks, and managed to find the chain again. This time I followed it back to a block/cleat in about 40ft off the back side, then back along the chain until it headed up. It's a big chain, so I figured it might be the red can. Imagine my pleasure upon surfacing to find I was right beside the red can itself. Since I was taking video of the entire wall excursion, I took some video of the can and the shore. Then back down the chain, back to it's mooring block, and then followed SW bearing back to the wall. The bearing takes you to a rocky bit of the wall top, with (currently) a small tree/pole vertically stuck in the wall. That won't last, but I found a few rock markers that should be useful. I headed back along the top of the wall to the cleat/block, then back to the estimated turn-off point to find the chain. After heading down the back side at NE bearing, I found the chain again, so score one for navigation!. Back SW to the top of the small wall, and the skinny tree, then back along the top to the cleat/block and along the line back to #1. Visibility near the cleat/block had degraded appreciably since first pass, signalling a tidal change.
We spent some time taking photos and video on the top of #1 and noticed a bit of a current on #1. After that, we headed back to shore along our line. Overall an awesome dive!
Chemainus VideoGood dive on the dry docks today. It rained overnight, but sunny at the dive site. Water level was very low - off the end of the ramp at the start and end of the dive. Visibility was about 10ft but OK. Again, time was spent exploring the back side of the small wall. Overall a great dive.
Chemainus VideoReally good dive today on the dry docks and small wall. I spent some time over the back side of the small wall exploring as well. Lots of people at the dive site today diving, which was great.
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Chemainus dogfish VideoOnce again it was super low tide. Visibility was quite good however, so the dive was great. The camera was awesome, now that I've removed the one handle and shortened the lens cap tether. It performed as expected and rode perfectly.
We always wondered what was on the back side of the small wall, so today was exploration day. As it turns out, the granite shelf only descends to about 30 ft (remember, this was low tide) and then flattens out to a mud flat. I know the channel eventually drops off, but not here, at least not for some ways. The life on the top of the wall is great as well. Overall an awesome dive.
Chemainus VideoToday tides were in the mid range, so nicer entry and exit. It was a bit windy but nothing too bad. Visiblity was decent, perhaps a bit less than last week but fewer big floaters. I explored the back of the wall again today and found the block with shackle from last week is very near the line back to #1, which is a great reference. The back side is pretty cool.
Today was the first test of my Nauticam NA-G16 housing. Bought Jun 26, it took until this past week to arrive - spending 99% of that time at Richmond customs. Oh well, it came, which is the important part. I've set it up with the tray I've had for a while, which I was using with the Olympus. It doesn't quite fit with both handles, so I'll have to change that. My tether on the lens cap was way too long, so I had to keep a watch on that. Howver the G16 is a delight to use... it always was, but in the NA-G16 housing it's even nicer. The housing has proper optical sync ports so I was able to take my Inon S2000 light, and it worked perfectly. Overall an awesome dive.
Chemainus VideoHeaded back to Chemainus again today. I sold my Olympus TG-6 and housing back in July, so am using the Canon G16 in the Ikelite housing. However I'm not using the strobe (Ikelite DS51 with electrical sync cord) and so am restricted to natural light photography. The Big Blue spot/flood light does really help, but it's still different.
Todays dive was again at super low (1ft) tide, but visibility was decent on the docks and wall. I spent some time exploring the back side of the wall today and found a cool concrete block with big iron shackle. Overall a great dive.
Chemainus VideoLovely hot day today. Tide was middle at 10:30am (10ft tide), so a nice entry and exit. Visibility was 10+ feet in the shallows heading out, and 15-20ft on the dry docks and wall. Coming back in visibility was maybe 4ft due to the tide change. Overall an excellent dive.
Chemainus VideoLots of people out diving today, an OW course, sidemount skills and either doubles skills or a tech course. It was super low tide again today, and surface visibility looked horrid. However, once below 12ft it opened right up to 20+ ft with 'snow' in the water.
No gear issues today (gloves fine, camera fine) and lots of photo subjects. Overall an excellent dive.
Maple Bay VideoPretty good visibility today. Tide was average low tide (not super low). On entry my right glove immediately started to leak. After the dive examination showed no issues so probably a caught liner in the seal. The Canon 7D gave some trouble as well, but it turned out to be a control that was partially between two settings. I was still able to get some nice photos. Overall a very good dive.
Maple Bay GPO Video
Maple Bay Ruby VideoIt was super-duper low tide today (0.19m or 7in at noon), so I chose to dive bubbles instead of rebreather. The best entry and exit at this low tide is Maple Bay, so that's where I went. Vis reports from Saturday were encouraging - 30ft with 'snow' in the shallows. Today the vis did not disappoint. It was murky at the top 5 ft, but then opened out to 30ft at depth. It was wonderful to be able to take photos from further than 1ft away from a subject.
In the flats I encountered a curious 2ft dogfish (shark) that was not skittish at all. I managed to get some nice video and photos of him before he took off towards the wall.
Overall a very great dive today. Bonus: It was sunny and warm (but not too hot) on the surface.
Maple Bay Dogfish Video
Maple Bay Shallows Video
Maple Bay VideoGood dive, though visibility was not great. You could see 5ft, but particulate in the water meant you needed to be much closer to take photos.
Good dive with decent visibility.
Maple Bay VideoToday the visibility at Maple Bay was quite good. In the shallows it was 10-15ft, getting a bit less on the far end of the main wall. Still I was able to get quite a few nice photos using the big camera (Canon 7D). Overall an excellent dive.
Maple Bay Octo Video
Maple Bay VideoToday the visibility at Maple Bay was quite good. In the shallows it was 10-15ft, getting a bit less on the far end of the main wall. Still I was able to get quite a few nice photos using the big camera (Canon 7D). Overall an excellent dive.
Maple Bay Octo Video
Maple Bay Lingcod Video
Maple Bay Shallows VideoTotal braille dive. Visibility maximum 1 foot.
Slightly better visibility than last week, but still nothing great.
Diving on a slack tide, visibilty started at 3-5ft and got worse as the dive progressed. No photos worth saving at all. It's nice to get wet, but not the best dive I've had.
Decent visibility on the drydocks today, maybe 15-20 ft at depth. Swam all four and spent some time on top of #4 as well. Overall a good dive.
Awesome visibility today. Easily 20-30ft in the shallows and only fading at the end of the main wall. Overall an awesome dive.
Maple Bay VideoA good dive on the dry docks today. Visibility was between 5ft and maybe 15ft.
Chemainus VideoA great dive today at Maple Bay. Social distancing was in full effect, but the parking lot was almost empty. After gearing up, we headed out to the right over top of the reef, then turned at the big anchor and went down the wall before returning to the shallows. Lots to see today, so it was great in spite of rather poor visibility.
Maple Bay VideoThe day started out promising until my tank fell of the back of the truck tailgate and sheared off the valve. I decided to drive home and get another tank as I really wanted to dive today. After the round trip, I was back and ready to dive.
The dive itself was quite fine. Visibility was 5-7 ft and very murky. However this was OK as my plan was to take a lot of shots with the Olympus TG-6 working on close-up and macro photos. In that regard the dive was quite a success. I also saw quite a few pipe fish and took some nice video as well. Overall a good dive.
Maple Bay VideoBig group of divers out today for the dry docks. It was below zero with a very cold wind gearing up and tearing down, but underwater it was not too bad. A nice long dive in maybe 10ft visibility.
Nice dive at Maple Bay today. Visibility was excellent and it was a fun dive.
Maple Bay VideoScootered around all 4 dry docks today as well as the reef. Great dive.
Chemainus - Dry Docks VideoNice swimming dive in the eel grass and on the dry docks today.
Chemainus - Dry Docks VideoNice swimming dive on the dry docks today. Testing a new Prism mouthpiece which worked well.
Chemainus - Dry Docks VideoCold gearing up, cold diving. Crummy visibiity (3-4ft). Still, it's always nice to get out.
Maple Bay VideoNice dive on the dry docks today. Testing a replacement Prism switch and HUD, which worked well.
Another great dive at Elliot Point on the deep wall to the left. It only took 5 min to find the wall today, following a 120deg bearing. Once on the wall a combination of swimming and scootering allowed one to see most of the wall, at least until the sandy bit. The wall itself runs almost exactly E/W (E going out, W coming back). Once near the 'home' end of the wall, a bearing of 300 found the entry point after what seemed like a longer scooter run, but was in reality about the same as going out. Overall a great dive.
Elliot Point (compass) Video
Elliot Point VideoA rather fun scooter dive today, heading out from Elliot Point park to find the deep wall that sits out and to the left from the main entrance. It was a rainy day, but still much better than the snow that fell recently. The parking lot was mostly bare and the path to the water clear.
After 10 minutes on the trigger, the depth and bearing were correct and the start of the wall appeared. The wall continues on for some distance and gets to more than 80 feet deep. After 30 minutes (20 swimming), it was time to move up to 40 ft and head back in. It's a long scooter ride back along the top of the wall but eventually the exit was realized. Overall a very good dive.
Elliot Point VideoThis was my first dive of 2020, so I asked Phil & Nancy to take me to the back side of Elliot Point where the deep wall is located. I've been there once before many years ago, but haven't been back since and wanted to see it again.
Today was windy and chilly, but next week is supposed to be wicked cold for Vancouver Island. It was a good day to go as it was occasionally sunny as well. After a long swim at 20ft or so, we started down and found the wall. It's really quite long and fairly deep. We hit 80ft at one point before heading back up shallower. At 45 min we turned the dive and headed back at about 40ft. After another long-ish swim we were back at our starting point.
We didn't see any wolf eels today, but it was still a really great dive. Nice to be back in the water again.
