Dive Review of
see below in
Canada/Vancouver Island

[Unspecified]

Dive Conditions

[Unspecified]  

[None]  

Overall Rating

Last summer, my niece took a high-school earth sciences course through
Ocean Educations out of Victoria, BC; she got her advanced open water
certification as well as studying marine biology for three weeks. After her
ourse was over, I met up with her and we dived Vancouver Island. I dived in
a dry suit, and my niece dived in a 7 ml wetsuit. 
First stop was Great Ocean Adventures, in Victoria, BC. The shore diving
included Henderson Point and then Ogden Point Breakwater, a kilometer of
granite seawall sticking out into the Pacific; lots of macro critters. The
dive shop was helpful and easy to deal with when booking the dives before
the trip.
Next, we headed up to Nanaimo, BC and dived with Ocean Explorers Diving;
their boat went out to HMCS Saskatchewan, a destroyer sunk as an artificial
reef. Big cabezons, tons of plumose anemonies, rockfish and lion's-mane
jellies. The second dive was to Snake Island, with a seal basking area and
lots of ledges with critters. We ened the dive snorkelling with the seals.
These two dives were great, and the captain gave an entertaining and
informative pre-dive briefing. 
We went further north to Quadra Island, home of Abyssal Dive Charters. Big
current diving; I've never seen so much life even in tropical waters. Orcas
sighted on the ferry back.
Lastly, we dived with Relax Zen Dive Inn, near Duncan, BC. This was service
at its best, a small operation serving delicious local food, with
Zen-inspired accommodations and fantastic shore and boat diving. The
highlight was a boat trip to Saanich Inlet to dive Senanus Island and the
fragile cloud sponges at 100 feet. Unfortunatly, these good people are not
in the dive travel business at present.
This was my first Vancouver Island trip, and certainly not my last. 
Last word from my niece: get a dry suit and dive here every year! 

What others have to say about Undercurrent
And get immediate access to ALL 55 dive reviews of Canada
and all other dive destinations immediately!