British Columbia

MV Clavella, August 1994. "Nine longtime, dive buddies booked the 61­foot live­aboard boat Clavella for an 8­day charter to Queen Charlotte Islands. On arrival in Sandspit Airport no arrangements had been made to transport us and dive gear by ground and ferry to the boat. Arriving by 9:00 p.m. at the dock, we found the 57­year­old, 61­foot wooden Clavella. One head, 300 gallons of fresh water, one shower, three sleeping cabins, no on­ deck storage space ­­ we knew it was going to be a tough trip for nine divers and three crew. . . . On board accommodations were the tightest any of us had ever squeezed into. The galley seats only six, the salon seats six and there is no place to gather. Jim and Jim, the skipper and divemaster, were quite good and got us into the water during the daylight slack current times each day for outstanding dives with sharks, big rock fish schools, soft corals and great kelp forest scenic offshore pinnacles and reefs. . . . Clavella anchors or drifts from the dive sites while the 22­ foot­wide beam skiff remains over the dive sites. Dive gear stayed in the skiff for the week, tanks handled by crew were filled to 3000+ psi on Clavella. Camera table holds two u/w photo systems and there is nowhere else to mess with cameras. 300­ gallon water tanks allowed no showers after a dive day, but we stopped several times to refill tank from a stream and to soak in the hot springs baths. . . . Dive conditions: 10­foot to 50­foot visibility; 52°­57° water, 55°­70° air and only one rainy day. . . . Low points: a surly, burned­out cook who tried to share his attitude with everyone around; the inhospitable living conditions (the boat should handle five or six max). . . . High points: Almost virgin dive sites, excellent divemaster and skipper, and the visits to the hot springs pools. When Northern BC gets a real live­aboard dive boat, it will be a world­class dive destination." Leon Garden, Monterey, CA

MV Clavella, May, 1995. "Great crew. Load all camera gear, dive gear into skiff, get all gear off and help you back into skiff. Wear dry suit; chance to see orcas (we didn't), Pacific octopus (we didn't), lots of wolf eels (we did). Large nudibranchs; white metridius anemones; large ling cod; abundance of small and large anemone - photographer's delight. Most dives current drift dives, including Tremble Rock; the world's fastest current (22 knots). Food plentiful, better than average, but not great. Boat 60 feet but narrow, small bunks; not much room for lounging. Weather cool, rain off and on - to be expected for Northern Canada (north tip of Vancouver Island). Different type of diving. We're planning to return to get photos of octopus and orcas. Shouldn't put more than six or seven on the boat -­ eight was crowded; 10 would be impossible with photo gear, etc. Water 45­47, vis 10­20 ft, no rules." Tom Millington, Thousand Oaks, CA

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