Hornby Island Diving with Steller Sealions - Jan 2018

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dlh
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Hornby Island Diving with Steller Sealions - Jan 2018

Post by dlh »

I just returned from a great week long trip up the Hornby Island BC, about an hour north of Nanaimo. Hornby Island Diving is a top notch operation with really friendly and capable operators in John and Amanda. Their family has been operating the lodge since the 70's. The main attraction in the winter is the opportunity to dive with the resident colony of Steller Sealions. There are hundreds of them on site, and especially in the morning it's a wild experience. Imagine being in a small room with excited, friendly puppy dogs that want to climb all over you, licking and nibbling. Now replace the puppies with 600 - 1500 pound aquatic mammals! Mostly harmless fun, however several dry gloves and one dry suit fell victim to the sea monsters...

This trip was organized by Richard Sallas, and filled with a great group of folks. Several PNW folks you may know, and a pretty diverse group of other from all of the US, Canada, and Germany. Richard also runs a photo workshop on the trip, with great opportunities for critique and feedback. I've been on a few of his trips now, with some others in the queue. Highly recommended!

The diving was mostly great, but we had a couple of weather days where the winds kept us off the water. But we had a few sunny days and great visibility the whole time. Hornby has some great locations for hiking and bird watching for non-diving days.

Here are a few of my favourite photos from the trip:

Hornby Is Jan 25 2018 (249 of 255)-Edit-Edit.jpg
Hornby Is Jan 22 2018 (92 of 283)-Edit.jpg
Hornby Is Jan 20 2018 (524 of 602).jpg
Hornby Is Jan 22 2018 (61 of 283).jpg
Hornby Is Jan 21 2018 (151 of 238).jpg
Hornby Is Jan 22 2018 (124 of 283)-Edit.jpg
Hornby Is Jan 22 2018 (153 of 283).jpg
Last edited by dlh on Tue Jan 30, 2018 8:16 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Scubie Doo
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Re: Hornby Island Diving with Steller Sealions - Jan 2018

Post by Scubie Doo »

Super cool! Great shots.


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Tangfish
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Re: Hornby Island Diving with Steller Sealions - Jan 2018

Post by Tangfish »

Love those cute pups!
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Re: Hornby Island Diving with Steller Sealions - Jan 2018

Post by RoxnDox »

Wow! All great shots, but #2 is perfect - her expression is priceless as the marine beastie nips at her hood!!
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dlh
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Re: Hornby Island Diving with Steller Sealions - Jan 2018

Post by dlh »

RoxnDox wrote:Wow! All great shots, but #2 is perfect - her expression is priceless as the marine beastie nips at her hood!!
I agree, definitely my favourite photo from the trip. A perfect expression of wonder, joy, and WTF!!!! :)
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Re: Hornby Island Diving with Steller Sealions - Jan 2018

Post by Penopolypants »

Great shots! And what a great experience! Love the whiskers, and they have such expressive faces, which you captured beautifully.
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Re: Hornby Island Diving with Steller Sealions - Jan 2018

Post by Tom Nic »

Cute little buggers... but not on my bucket list. :toimonster:
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