1999 Chapbook

Canada Live Aboards

This is dry suit country. If you can take the cold water, the rewards include an incredible array of filter feeders and marine life that you'll never dive with in warm waters. Vancouver Island, reachable by air or ferry from Seattle or Vancouver, BC, is a remarkable wilderness destination, both on land and in the water. A traveler may encounter anything from eagles to orcas, sea lions to bears, while diving with a remarkable range of critters such as sea lions, seals, wolf eels and giant Pacific octopuses. There are dive resorts in the Campbell River area, and a few liveaboards such as the well-respected Nautilus Explorer plie these waters. Diving is controlled by the enormous tides that dictate when and where the water is moving, so choosing an experience operator is important. Undercurrent readers have reported on other Western Canada dive operations located on Victoria Island and in Whitehorse (Yukon Territory), plus St. Albert and Edmonton (Alberta). Wreck diving is the big draw in Lake Ontario. Truly hardy souls can try ice diving at Baffin Island near the Arctic Circle. There's some diving off the Eastern provinces, such as Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. British Columbia Lady Gooddiver/Extasea Charters, January 1998, Barry Lipman, Brookfield, CT. Great diving: lots of invertebrates: anemones, nudibranchs, crabs, shrimp, mollusks, sea stars. Lots of fish, kelp, ling cod, Red Irish Lords, sculpins and many others. Vis: 40-50 ft, water: 45 degrees. Lot of Boomerang drift dives, entering the water 25 minutes or so before slack tide and riding out and back on the changing tide/current. This is not for warm water wimps! Verleen cooked plenty of good hot food and Capt. Bill knows when and where to drop in the divers. Nautilus VII, August 1998, Thomas Lippert, Los Alamos, NM. Sunny, water calm, strong currents, Water 49-55 F (dry suit), vis: 10-45 feet. Dive own profile but restricted dive times, because of the tidal exchange that causes extreme currents. Saw two sharks and from the boat Orcas, Whales, porpoises, dolphins. Diving in BC is definitely not for beginners, especially on a live-aboard (Nautilus VII is 80 feet). For experienced divers, who are willi ng to accept the cold water, it is a must. Colorful walls, full with life, great drift dives, on the same level as diving the wrecks of Truk, the corals in the Red Sea, the fishes in Maldives and Palau. Started in Vancouver and went North as far as Seymour Inlet. Famous sites: Browning Wall (full of life and colors), Nakwakto Rapids (fastest salt water in the world with up to 20 knots of current), which you can only dive in slack times (to see the colorful gooseneck barnacles) to Hornby Island (to look for six-gill sharks, wolf eels). Dive from a smaller boat with ladder for easy entry. Fresh water rinse tanks for photographers. 3-4 dives a day (including night dives), which is plenty with the heavy cold water conditions. Good briefing from Mike about the conditions. Encouraged to dive our computers. Normal dive times of 50 min. are long enough and the 30 min. at Nakwakto rapids are also long enough, especially when you feel the current build at the end of the dive. Nitrox for diving and oxygen for emergencies. You need discipline here: tides dictate the diving times, therefore you need always to be ready on time and come to the surface on time. It is your own responsibility to dive safely. . . . Food (which you really need) is plenty and excellent; always snacks and drinks available. State rooms have enough space and a small head. Warm showers on board and the shower time is limited to 5 min/per person and only after 7:00 p.m. Crew helpful and friendly. Well-run operation with enthusiastic "diving people." PS: Keep up the nice work. Undercurrent is really different (positive) from the other dive publications. (Ph: 888-434-8322 or 604-657-7614, Fax: 604-266-3285, e-mail: mike@divebc.com, Website: divebc.com)   Previous Year's Chapbook Find in All of Undercurrent All Public Area (PA) Public: -- PA: Recent Issues -- PA: Recent Reader Reports -- PA: Issues -- PA: Reader Reports -- PA: Dive Destination Guides -- PA: Diving News All Members Area (MA) Members: -- MA: Recent Issues -- MA: Recent Reader Reports -- MA: Issues -- MA: Reader Reports -- MA: Dive Destination Guides   Advanced Search | Online Members Home | Public Home | My Account | Renew | | Travel Index | Reader Reports | Mini Chapbook | Latest Chapbook | Seasonal Planner | " target="_blank">Current Issue | Back Issues | Dive Gear Index | Health/Safety Index | Environment & Misc. Index | | Blogs | Books | News | RSS | FAQ | About Us | Contact Us | Links |  Copyright © 1999, 1998 by DSDL, Inc., publisher of Undercurrent. All rights reserved. No portions of this report may be reproduced in any way, including photocopying and electronic data storage, without prior written permission from the publisher. For more information, contact DSDL, Inc., P.O. Box 1658, Sausalito, CA 94966.