Dive Review of
Ocean Explorers/Buccaneer Inn in
Canada/Nanaimo, Vancouver Island

 All over the Carribbean, Central America, Hawaii, California, Palau, Yap 

Dive Conditions

No restrictions were enforced.  

Camera rinse bucket provided on boat on request.  No separate camera table
or facilities.  

Overall Rating

This was our first Pacific Northwest diving and it met all our
expectations.  The water was cold and the visibility was not the best
(summer not great for vis).  Visibility ranged from 5-10 feet to 40-50 on
our best dive.  Was normally bad until down about 50+ feet.  We were
wearing Mobby's Twin Shell drysuits with thinsulate undersuits:  kept us
fairly warm, though colder towards the end of the week.  But much better
than wetsuits!

The invertebrate life was incredible:  all sorts of anemones, nudibranchs
(huge!), starfish (huge!), flying scallops, jellyfish, sea cucumbers, sea
pens.  Everything was large!  8 inch nudibranchs!  Most of the small fish
we saw were different varieties of rockfish, some greenlings.  Larger fish
included lingcod and cabezon.  Only saw one wolf eel, no octopus.  Forests
of plumose anemones (metridiums).  

Did two dives on the Saskatchewan:  first was lousy w/ 5-10 ft vis, second
was great with 40-50 ft vis.  Ship is covered with invertebrates!  Other
dives we enjoyed were around Snake Island (metridium forest, nudibranchs),
Jessie Island (metridium forest), Clark Rock (tube anemones, basketstars),
4 Fathom Reef (swimming scallops) and Neck Point (sea pens, huge
nudibranchs).

Terry the divemaster was very helpful: put on our fins after we waddled to
the rear ladders.  The larger boat was nicer, with a nice heated cabin.  A
smaller boat had small cabin, both had heads.  Two days there were only 2
or 3 of us, so the small boat was used.  The divemaster normally doesn't
dive, so you are on your own.  Need fairly good navigation skills to get
back to the anchor line, otherwise difficult to do safety stops in that 0-5
foot soup at 15 feet.

The Buccanneer Inn was nice and a great value!  Diver friendly with a
monitored storage room for gear and an outside rinse station.  Lots of good
places to eat in and around Nanaimo. 

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