Nanaimo Trip Report - 9/22 and 9/23 - and Dive 300 :-)
- Scubie Doo
- I've Got Gills
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Nanaimo Trip Report - 9/22 and 9/23 - and Dive 300 :-)
Looks like this past weekend was the time to hit Nanaimo :-) Headed up via the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria on Friday the 22nd with Penders. We met 4 others from the UWS in Olympia including Zack, Janet, Mike, and Bill.
Dive 1 was to Cape Breton Wreck. This was a very cool dive and the ship was massive. I would imagine that one could spend 20-30 dives there and still not see everything. We stayed near the anchor line and relatively shallow (for this wreck) at 97' max depth with 47 minutes of BT. The wreck was full of life. Many of the same critters in the Puget Sound, but several critters in abundance. I had my macro rig with me, so I didn't get any WA shots. Here is my favorite from the first dive.
Dive 2 was to the Saskatchewan Wreck. This was an amazing wreck dive. If you are not familiar with this wreck, it is huge. The gun turrets were especially cool. This was Warbonnet heaven. They were hidden all over the wreck. The highlight was a huge sponge with a crab and rockfish that was located inside a window. I could not get an image of it as I would have needed a WA setup. It was so cool that Mike and I simply looked at it for a few minutes with our cameras to the side. We maxed out at 92', spending a lot of time on the deck, with a BT of 45 mins.
Dive 3 was my 300th dive. We went to the Rivtow Lion Wreck for this dive. It was the shallowest dive of the day at 73'. We only spent 45 minutes on the wreck because I had to borrow a 80cf tank :-) The dive was pretty cool, but did not come close to the first two wrecks. The highlight was a deck covered in brittle stars. I know brittle stars are not exciting, but they were swarming all over the deck and were fascinating to watch crawl around.
Day 2 Dive 4 was to Snake wall. We wanted to get some critter photography in and see something new. Snake wall was incredible and probably my favorite dive. It was very similar to Lake Crescent from a topography standpoint. Sheer rock wall jetting down to the depths. On the wall I saw my first Tiger Rockfish. We also saw a bunch of your typical characters, ottos, lings, and anemones. It was a very cool dive. We spent 61 mins on this wall with a max depth of 103'.
Dive 5 was to Duncan Rock for some critters. Right when we descended we saw a pair of beautiful wolf eels. We spent the rest of the dive poking around for other critters. It was a very cool dive. We spent 60 minutes with a max depth of 70'. I did lose my mask while removing my fins on the ladder. Oh well, could have been worse :-)
All in all, we had a great time in Nanaimo. Good dive buddies and great diving. Here is the album of my pics for this adventure. Have a good week! http://jessemiller.smugmug.com/Travel/N ... &k=zHcpVC6
Dive 1 was to Cape Breton Wreck. This was a very cool dive and the ship was massive. I would imagine that one could spend 20-30 dives there and still not see everything. We stayed near the anchor line and relatively shallow (for this wreck) at 97' max depth with 47 minutes of BT. The wreck was full of life. Many of the same critters in the Puget Sound, but several critters in abundance. I had my macro rig with me, so I didn't get any WA shots. Here is my favorite from the first dive.
Dive 2 was to the Saskatchewan Wreck. This was an amazing wreck dive. If you are not familiar with this wreck, it is huge. The gun turrets were especially cool. This was Warbonnet heaven. They were hidden all over the wreck. The highlight was a huge sponge with a crab and rockfish that was located inside a window. I could not get an image of it as I would have needed a WA setup. It was so cool that Mike and I simply looked at it for a few minutes with our cameras to the side. We maxed out at 92', spending a lot of time on the deck, with a BT of 45 mins.
Dive 3 was my 300th dive. We went to the Rivtow Lion Wreck for this dive. It was the shallowest dive of the day at 73'. We only spent 45 minutes on the wreck because I had to borrow a 80cf tank :-) The dive was pretty cool, but did not come close to the first two wrecks. The highlight was a deck covered in brittle stars. I know brittle stars are not exciting, but they were swarming all over the deck and were fascinating to watch crawl around.
Day 2 Dive 4 was to Snake wall. We wanted to get some critter photography in and see something new. Snake wall was incredible and probably my favorite dive. It was very similar to Lake Crescent from a topography standpoint. Sheer rock wall jetting down to the depths. On the wall I saw my first Tiger Rockfish. We also saw a bunch of your typical characters, ottos, lings, and anemones. It was a very cool dive. We spent 61 mins on this wall with a max depth of 103'.
Dive 5 was to Duncan Rock for some critters. Right when we descended we saw a pair of beautiful wolf eels. We spent the rest of the dive poking around for other critters. It was a very cool dive. We spent 60 minutes with a max depth of 70'. I did lose my mask while removing my fins on the ladder. Oh well, could have been worse :-)
All in all, we had a great time in Nanaimo. Good dive buddies and great diving. Here is the album of my pics for this adventure. Have a good week! http://jessemiller.smugmug.com/Travel/N ... &k=zHcpVC6
Re: Nanaimo Trip Report - 9/22 and 9/23 - and Dive 300 :-)
Realy like the pic of the ling cod congratulates on dive 300
Re: Nanaimo Trip Report - 9/22 and 9/23 - and Dive 300 :-)
Sound like a great trip! Congrats on the milestone dive!
More Pics Than You Have Time To Look AT
"Anyone who thinks this place is over moderated is bat-crazy anarchist." -Ben, Airsix
"Warning: No dive masters are going to be there, Just a bunch of old fat guys taking pictures of fish." -Bassman
"Anyone who thinks this place is over moderated is bat-crazy anarchist." -Ben, Airsix
"Warning: No dive masters are going to be there, Just a bunch of old fat guys taking pictures of fish." -Bassman
Re: Nanaimo Trip Report - 9/22 and 9/23 - and Dive 300 :-)
Glad you had a great trip! That wolfeel shot is wicked!
Snake Island is my favorite too. Did you find the overhangs?
Did you mean Clark Rock for the last dive? Duncan is in Neah Bay.
--Eric
Snake Island is my favorite too. Did you find the overhangs?
Did you mean Clark Rock for the last dive? Duncan is in Neah Bay.
--Eric
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- Scubie Doo
- I've Got Gills
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- Joined: Mon Oct 26, 2009 3:13 pm
Re: Nanaimo Trip Report - 9/22 and 9/23 - and Dive 300 :-)
Yes, Clark Rock. You are correct. We did find the overhangs. That dive was too cool!YellowEye wrote:Glad you had a great trip! That wolfeel shot is wicked!
Snake Island is my favorite too. Did you find the overhangs?
Did you mean Clark Rock for the last dive? Duncan is in Neah Bay.
--Eric
Re: Nanaimo Trip Report - 9/22 and 9/23 - and Dive 300 :-)
I would really love to go back and do the wrecks in Nanaimo, with some helium. My memory of my dives on them is a pervasive, mild paranoia, and checking my gas all the time . . . I hear there are cloud sponges on them now!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the wolf eel picture. That's photo contest material.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the wolf eel picture. That's photo contest material.
"Sometimes, when your world is going sideways, the second best thing to everything working out right, is knowing you are loved..." ljjames
Re: Nanaimo Trip Report - 9/22 and 9/23 - and Dive 300 :-)
I've been waiting for this trip report. Sounds awesome guys!
Re: Nanaimo Trip Report - 9/22 and 9/23 - and Dive 300 :-)
I haven't gone through all my pics from the trip yet, but here's some video I took.
http://vimeo.com/50243612
http://vimeo.com/50243612
- Scubie Doo
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Re: Nanaimo Trip Report - 9/22 and 9/23 - and Dive 300 :-)
Thanks Buck! Dive 300 is pretty exciting for me :-)bucknaked wrote:Realy like the pic of the ling cod congratulates on dive 300
- Scubie Doo
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Re: Nanaimo Trip Report - 9/22 and 9/23 - and Dive 300 :-)
Thank Tom. Wasn't as cool as the surface swim at Salt Pier, but I'll take it :-)Tom Nic wrote:Sound like a great trip! Congrats on the milestone dive!
Re: Nanaimo Trip Report - 9/22 and 9/23 - and Dive 300 :-)
Had a chance to get through my pics from last weekend's trip to Nanaimo.
Re: Nanaimo Trip Report - 9/22 and 9/23 - and Dive 300 :-)
Great pics! Wide angle is awesome, of course, but I really love the Decorated in the cloud sponge, two of my favorite things!
More Pics Than You Have Time To Look AT
"Anyone who thinks this place is over moderated is bat-crazy anarchist." -Ben, Airsix
"Warning: No dive masters are going to be there, Just a bunch of old fat guys taking pictures of fish." -Bassman
"Anyone who thinks this place is over moderated is bat-crazy anarchist." -Ben, Airsix
"Warning: No dive masters are going to be there, Just a bunch of old fat guys taking pictures of fish." -Bassman
- Scubie Doo
- I've Got Gills
- Posts: 3027
- Joined: Mon Oct 26, 2009 3:13 pm
Re: Nanaimo Trip Report - 9/22 and 9/23 - and Dive 300 :-)
Nice pics mike. I agree with Tom, the warbonnet in the cloud sponge is cool.
- Scubie Doo
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Re: Nanaimo Trip Report - 9/22 and 9/23 - and Dive 300 :-)
Thanks, for the compliment. I have been wanting to get a close-up of some wolf eel teeth for some time.LCF wrote:I would really love to go back and do the wrecks in Nanaimo, with some helium. My memory of my dives on them is a pervasive, mild paranoia, and checking my gas all the time . . . I hear there are cloud sponges on them now!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the wolf eel picture. That's photo contest material.
- ArcticDiver
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Re: Nanaimo Trip Report - 9/22 and 9/23 - and Dive 300 :-)
Excellent! Thanks for a great report and images of one of my favorite dive places. Lots of good memories.
The only box you have to think outside of is the one you build around yourself.