Coll ad I invited a few friends (Bob and Jody) to stay with us in Victoria and dive at both Nanaimo and Victoria. We left on Thur and dove Fri - Sun. On Friday we drove up to Nanaimo and the first dive we did was Madrona Point Wall. The viz was poor until around 45 fsw then opened up a bit to around 25-30 fsw. Coll and I found a very large GPO (Coll spotted it in a crevice on the drop) and we saw a smaller GPO in the open. This GPO was trying to take down a very large wolf eel (see vid) but then the wolf eel turned on the GPO. It was very cool! We found another wolf eel at about 89 fsw and then it was time to turn around. The wall has tons of life on it with several different forms of rock fish and Nudi's all over the wall. The shallows are a great place to find sea fans and several types of nudis along with gunnels and pipe fish.
The 2nd dive we did was at Tyee (about 5 mins from Madrona Pt). This was another great dive with tons of nudis and rock fish. We found a rhino crab. There were jellies everywhere and the sea kelp was beautiful with the sun shining through. The viz was still pretty low in the shallows but cleared up again around 35 fsw to 35+ fsw. At the end of the dive we found a very nice section of wall with tons of crevices and crannies for critter finding!
The next day we dove 10 mile pt in Victoria however it appears you must really know this dive site to time it right. The current was very unpredictable and there was a very large halo cline. Coll and I called this part of the dive but Bob and Jody finished. There was a pretty long surface swim and they had another long swim on the end of the dive to get back to the parking lot. They said the wall is very colorful however and they were glad they did the dive. They did a 2nd afternoon dive at Willis Pt in Victoria.
On Sunday we all dove Willis Point which is a pretty easy entry however the last few feet is a rock entry so Jody and I staged our gear on the rocks. This wall is VERY sheer and pretty deep. Because it is so sheer there is no much life. We did find another large wolfie on the drop at around 95 fsw. The moon jellies and egg yolk jellies were out in force. This is a cool dive to see the massive rock structure but it does lack a bit of life. It was still a cool dive and viz was pretty good at over 35 fsw.
Nanaimo and Victoria June 6-8
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Goodt_godiving
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Re: Nanaimo and Victoria June 6-8
Nice report and video! Thanks!
I'm assuming these were shore dives?
I'm assuming these were shore dives?
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
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Goodt_godiving
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Re: Nanaimo and Victoria June 6-8
Yep all shore dives - sorry shoulda put that in the report
Re: Nanaimo and Victoria June 6-8
Awesome.Goodt_godiving wrote:Yep all shore dives - sorry shoulda put that in the report
I SO need to plan a trip up there for some shore diving. See if I can't round up a dive buddy or two to head north this Summer.
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 and Victoria June 6-8
You also got a shot of a young yelloweye rockfish around 1:00 of the first video! That's really cool!
Re: Nanaimo and Victoria June 6-8
What a rare catch to video a GPO and wolfie together! Outstanding find! Thanks for sharing.
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Grateful Diver
- I've Got Gills
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Re: Nanaimo and Victoria June 6-8
What a great trip! Coll & Janney were wonderful hosts, and my dive buddy Jody was a blast to dive with and hang out with. Five dives in three days ... here's a few of my favorite shots ...
Good times ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
Good times ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
Threats and ultimatums are never the best answer. Public humiliation via Photoshop is always better - airsix
Come visit me at http://www.nwgratefuldiver.com/
Come visit me at http://www.nwgratefuldiver.com/
Re: Nanaimo and Victoria June 6-8
Very cool video, Janney! In all my years of diving, I don't think I've seen a red eye medusa (the first jelly in your video) -- it is definitely on my must-photograph list! And you had some great octo-wolfee-yelloweye interaction, how fun. What was your favorite site of the trip?
Looks like Bob also found a cool jelly too that I don't think I've seen (his 3rd pic). Love it!
Sounds like a great trip!
Looks like Bob also found a cool jelly too that I don't think I've seen (his 3rd pic). Love it!
Sounds like a great trip!
Visit pnwdiving.com for viz reports, slack planning, galleries and more! Your fellow diver will appreciate any viz reports you can add!
Re: Nanaimo and Victoria June 6-8
I've seen octos and wolf eels quarrel over den sites before. I guess they like the same kind of hiding places.
I really liked the large juvenile yelloweye rockfish just after the octo leaves the eel.
Looks like a fun trip!
I really liked the large juvenile yelloweye rockfish just after the octo leaves the eel.
Looks like a fun trip!
"Sometimes, when your world is going sideways, the second best thing to everything working out right, is knowing you are loved..." ljjames
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Goodt_godiving
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Re: Nanaimo and Victoria June 6-8
My fav site is Madrona Pt for sure but Jody liked Tyee the best. The juvie yelloweye rockfish are everywhere on those 2 sites and those jellies abound up there. Very cool shore diving with very easy entry. It's worth a trip for sure. We were told Dolphin Beach is another great shore dive but you've gotta enter on high tide to get in from shore. We use SOS Scuba for info on their local sites - great folks and if you are staying local good for air fills. Highly recommended.