Nanaimo is a great place to Dive. We try to get to
the coast a least once a year to go diving. We used to go as a family to
the Seachelt Inlet but Larry who we used to charter through ran into some rough
times. It was in 1998 at a Divescapes that I met Ian of the Nanaimo Dive
Association. Ian had just resurrected his business after a bit of difficulty
with a business partner. Ocean Explorers had been reborn and Ian was
promoting Nanaimo as a destination dive spot.
The HMCS
Saskatchewan was sunk there as an artificial reef in 1997? There are however,
numerous great places to dive. Our first trip to Nanaimo was excellent. We
stayed at the Buccaneer Inn which is well equipped for divers. The rooms
come with kitchenettes and storage rooms for dive equipment. Ocean Explorers is
also very well equipped. They have a number of dive boats in a variety of
configurations as well as a place to hang gear.
Clarke Rock, This dive is great if you like
octopus and wolf eels. I have three dives on Clarke Rock. The first was in
Oct 99 with Cathy. We went down with another person from Calgary and there was
so much to see. I came across a couple of wolf eels at the same time our buddy
from Calgary came across an octopus. We both frantically waved at each
other to come over with Cathy in the middle wondering which way to go. We
finally saw what was happening and managed to get some good pictures of each.
This unquestionably ate up the dive and soon it was time to go. My next dive in
Oct 01 was done with Dianne from Calgary. Cathy had decided to skip the dive.
Dianne and I managed to come across an octopus but no wolf eels on this dive. I
will leave the third dive until later.
Dodd's Narrows, The tide rips through the
narrows at up to 15 knots and with the circulation provides for a variety of
sea life. Naturally it can only be dove at slack tide. The other difficulty in
the narrows is the large amount of boat traffic transiting through. This means
you must be very careful as to where you surface. We went in and it was a great
wall dive. The intended direction however, was slightly different. The
current changed half way through the dive which took us back through the channel
and making it a little bit more of a challenge for a pickup from the boat.
After the dive we went over to check out the seals on the log booms.
Jessie Island. This is a very simple dive. The
Island parallels the ferry channel although you actually dive the other side. It
can be a simple drift dive and the depths are well within beginner range.
Now lets get to the sinking. Cathy and I joined the
first dive on the Cape Breton package when we were in Nanaimo in 99. In
Oct 01 we took a week off to go diving and watch the sinking. We got together
with Warren and his group from Calgary. We did a number of great dives and
fortunately the weather was generally cooperative. For our Dive Charter we
had Terry as our boat captain.
Roberta was essentially running the business at this point because Ian was well
involved with the sinking preparations.
The Cape Breton is a Cape B Victory class WWII freighter.
It was built however, at the very end of the war. It was decommissioned and
purchased by the BC artificial reef society in 1996. Ian and the Nanaimo Dive
Association took over the project of getting the ship ready for sinking. Ian had
originally intended on sinking it in Sep 2000 however, through a late deal they
decided to save the stern and engine room for the maritime museum. This delay
resulted in holding the sinking in 2001. A number of additional problems
were also encountered. New environmental restrictions were introduced between
2000 and 2001 which resulted in it being approved for sinking only at the
eleventh hour. The ship was so clean you could eat off it. Even the bird
feathers were removed.
One of the great dives in Nanaimo is the Saskatchewan.
Sunk in 97 it has quickly taken on new life. The Saskatchewan sits at about100
ft. The conning tower and upper decks are well within beginner depths while its
bottom decks are advanced dives in the 120 ft range. The ship sits upright and
is about 90% accessible to divers. Cathy and I first dove the Saskatchewan in 99
and we have noticed a huge difference in the amount and size of the life now
living on the Saskatchewan. The artificial reefs are certainly an ecological
success story. On our second dive on the Saskatchewan in 99 we had a very
interesting entry and exit. The seas were rather rough. The boat could not tie
up to the mooring buoys. Fortunately it was only Cathy and I on the boat
so we were dropped in the water near the mooring buoy and immediately we descended
about 15ft to get below the surge. The dive itself was excellent however,
a little short. We ensured we came up with about a 1000lbs in case we had
difficulty at the surface. Re-entry into the boat was interesting but
manageable. On the Saskatchewan is a token that apparently is very accessible
however, no one has found it yet. This token is for a prised expensive dive
watch which is being held by a local jeweller. On our most recent dive in Oct 01
we were with the Calgary group and a couple of other divers. On this particular
dive Cathy and I concentrated on the stern of the ship along the upper decks.
One of the divers was a Saskatchewan diving fanatic. All he came for was to dive
the Saskatchewan. He currently has over 200 dives on the ship.
Cathy and I stayed at the Howard Johnston for the first
few days of the trip. We then stayed at my cousin Luke's house for a few days
before returning to the Howard Johnston as part of the sinking package. Luke and
Tracy have a great place overlooking the Georgia Strait towards Sea-Schelt.
They live with their two dogs Jake and Russell. Jake really loves to play ball
and to mark his territory. I discovered this when I put my suitcase down on the
driveway while unloading the car. My cousin Mark also lives in Nanaimo as
well as my uncle Phil. We visited a few times typically at the Ricky's
restaurant which appears to be the local hangout. My uncle Phil is doing well
and his sociological pursuits are starting to pay off. He has been a
keynote speaker on a couple to workshops and it is good to see his work is being
recognised.
Dave and Connie and the Faas kids came out on the Thursday.
From my previous chapters you have probably already read about Dave being a
good
friend of mine. We went diving with the Faas's on the Thursday before the
sinking. This was Mark, Jamie and Kevin's first ocean dive. I remember Bryn's
first ocean dives and his dive on the Chaudiere and the same look of amazement
were on the kids faces. They were also very fortunate to be on an excellent
dive. We went to snake Island on the West side. The East side is where the Cape
Breton and Saskatchewan are. The dive starts off as a wall dive and then for the
later half you go into a small bay near the island. On our first dive earlier in
the week at snake island the tide was out and you could almost walk in the bay.
The idea of being in the bay is that there are numerous seals. The first dive
however, the seals were getting out of the water as we passed through and
looking down at us from the rocks. It was likely because the water was too
shallow. The dive with the Faas's however, the seals were everywhere. I
got a picture of a seal nibbling on Cathy's fin and apparently there was one swimming
along right by the back of my head. I did not see it though because the field of
vision is not that great with the dive mask. For the first ocean dive however,
it was a real treat for the Faas boys and certainly rates as one of my top
dives.
Our second dive with the Faas's was at Clarke Rock. This
dive was awesome in comparison with the dive earlier in the week. Cathy and I
were diving with Connie and a couple of the kids when we came across some wolf
eels. Fortunately I had seen a sea urchin nearby which is a favourite food of
the wolf eel. What is amazing is that they will eat right through the urchin
spines and all. With the urchin we were able to get them out of their
dens. We found four in all. Naturally our dive seemed to pass very quickly and
it was soon time to go up. For the Faas kids however, they were extremely lucky
to have such excellent dives on their first time out in the ocean. They had
about 30 dives previous in the lake and I am not sure if they will want to go
back.
On the night before the sinking their was a dinner and
dance. This was a big city event. A number of other people from Alberta
showed up and a few that were already there partied hard. We stayed until just
after midnight. It was a good feast and everyone had a good time. One
particular individual did not like it that the Faas boys were there. I guess he
thought they maybe in violation of their liquor license. The fact is that they
were paying customers and it was previously approved. Also the Faas boys
tend to be abnormally well behaved so I had no idea where this guy was coming
from. As a parent this can be very upsetting because you are not sure if
you did something wrong and it can put a dampener on the evening. Given that he
came to me I thought it appropriate not to burden Dave or Connie with such trivia
so I politely told the individual where to go.
The day of the sinking was upon us. We parked early and
headed to the ferry terminal where we were to watch the sinking from the
ferry. As we waited to get on the boat there was a never ending stream of
boats heading out to sea to watch the sinking. It appeared as though there
was going to be mass mayhem on the ocean. After some wait we got on the ferry
and took up a good viewing spot on one of the car decks. When the ferry got out
there between the RCMP, Coast Guard, Navy and Ferry staff they had a pretty good
grip on the flotilla of small boats. One of the more humorous boats was
the Media boat which looked like it would capsize because everyone was naturally
on one side. The sinking was fairly well put together, the pyrotechnics
were set to go and there was an Aurora patrol aircraft doing flypasts. Finally
at about 12:33 the ship went up. The explosions are entirely for visual
effect. There are actually shaped charges that blow strategically placed
holes in the hull. They are designed to sink the ship so it stays as upright and
in the right position as possible. If it were not for the pyrotechnics there
wouldn't be much of a show.
The ship went down and we headed back to the terminal.
Being the keen divers that we were we raced back to get our gear ready. We were
all set to go down at the boat when we got word that the clearance divers had
been down and found unexploded ordinance and therefore we could not dive on the
ship until they had cleared it. Dejectedly we packed up our gear and went
back to the hotel for the post sinking party. In the pub the camera crews
had their cameras recovered and were showing the raw footage of the sinking from
the cameras on the ship. Some worked some did not. One of the more funny pieces
was just as the sinking started the wind blew a banner over one of the camera
lenses. So much for that footage. At the party we finally had a chance to
talk to Ian who was much relieved. Ian had been working on the project for
five years and intensely over the last two. We did not make it a late
night and prepared ourselves for the dive the next morning.
The next day it was pouring rain. This is not a major
problem other than it is irritating but once in the dry suit it is not so bad.
It is the getting in and out without getting wet that is difficult. We
assembled down at the boat and Terry took us out. We stopped for fuel first as
Ian was supposed to be the first to the site. Ian went by and we headed out. As
we transited through departure bay, the engine over heated and died. This was
not good as we were stuck in the ferry lane. Terry checked it out and a hose had
split and needed to be replaced. Ian is lucky to have such a fine individual
working in his company. I am always amazed at the mechanical abilities of
some people and how they are able to work in such adverse conditions. Terry was
able to fix the problem by rotating a number of the hoses and soon we were on
our way again.
We arrived at the dive site and prepared to go down. The
wind had picked up and now it was rainy and windy which made conditions at the
surface difficult. Cathy and I went down the decent line to the ship below. The
Cape Breton is huge underwater. Cathy and I were at the mid section and
were only able to explore a very small part before we had to come up. I
normally let Cathy lead the dive because I am able to concentrate on taking
pictures and few arguments occur later about the leader leaving his buddy
behind. I was not sure where Cathy was going when we descended. We
ended up at about 120ft near the bottom deck at which point Cathy went inside
one of the diver cut-outs. This is very uncharacteristic as Cathy normally
does not like to penetrate the ship. We looked inside at what appeared to be a
large room but only stayed a minute and went up to the upper deck. We swam
around a bit at about 100ft and looked into one of the cargo holds. There was
still a fair bit of particulate so we could not see the bottom. It was
soon time to depart and we returned to the surface. Upon returning to the
dock the weather had gotten worse so we had little interest on making a second
dive.
On packing up our gear Diver Dan appeared on Nancy's
truck. Diver Dan left Nancy the AUC president during the Divescapes in
Edmonton earlier in the year. Diver Dan has been traveling the world ever since
but I think this is the first time that Diver Dan and Nancy have both been in
the same location. After Diving we met Luke Tracy, Phil and Mark at the Ricky's
restaurant. Dave, Connie and the rest of the Alberta group ended up joining us
for lunch so we had quite a crowd there. We had our pictures developed and
exchanged the duplicates. Cathy and I spend the last night of our vacation at
Luke's place.
The next day we had breakfast with Phil before we left and
we headed out. Before catching the plane back, Warren had arranged a tour of the
Whites exposure suit factory. Whites was a family business that was sold a
number of years ago. The new owners had the products made overseas which
resulted in huge quality control problems and the name of Whites products were
quickly associated with poor quality. A few years back the family took back the
business and changed the way business was done. Standard sized wet suits and
like products are still made overseas but dry suits and special sizes and orders
are done in their factory in Victoria. When we toured the facility they were
extremely busy with large orders from both the Canadian and US military.
Their suits are now extremely well prepared bringing quality back to their
name.
Another vacation had come and gone but I am sure we will
be back. Nanaimo offers some of the best dive sites in the world and we will be
looking forward to our next trip. If you are interested in diving in
Nanaimo check out Ocean Explorers and the Nanaimo Dive association. The trip is
well worth it.
Nanaimo is a great place to Dive. We try to get to
the coast a least once a year to go diving. We used to go as a family to
the Seachelt Inlet but Larry who we used to charter through ran into some rough
times. It was in 1998 at a Divescapes that I met Ian of the Nanaimo Dive
Association. Ian had just resurrected his business after a bit of difficulty
with a business partner. Ocean Explorers had been reborn and Ian was
promoting Nanaimo as a destination dive spot.
The HMCS
Saskatchewan was sunk there as an artificial reef in 1997? There are however,
numerous great places to dive. Our first trip to Nanaimo was excellent. We
stayed at the Buccaneer Inn which is well equipped for divers. The rooms
come with kitchenettes and storage rooms for dive equipment. Ocean Explorers is
also very well equipped. They have a number of dive boats in a variety of
configurations as well as a place to hang gear. 
and wolf eels. I have three dives on Clarke Rock. The first was in
Oct 99 with Cathy. We went down with another person from Calgary and there was
so much to see. I came across a couple of wolf eels at the same time our buddy
from Calgary came across an 
octopus. We both frantically waved at each
other to come over with Cathy in the middle wondering which way to go. We
finally saw what was happening and managed to get some good pictures of each.
This unquestionably ate up the dive and soon it was time to go. My next dive in
Oct 01 was done with Dianne from Calgary. Cathy had decided to skip the dive.
Dianne and I managed to come across an octopus but no wolf eels on this dive. I
will leave the third dive until later. 
Now lets get to the sinking. Cathy and I joined the
first dive on the Cape Breton package when we were in Nanaimo in 99. In
Oct 01 we took a week off to go diving and watch the sinking. We got together
with Warren and his group from Calgary. We did a number of great dives and
fortunately the weather was generally cooperative. For our Dive Charter we
had Terry as our boat captain.
Roberta was essentially running the business at this point because Ian was well
involved with the sinking preparations. 
quickly taken on new life. The Saskatchewan sits at about100
ft. The conning tower and upper decks are well within beginner depths while its
bottom decks are advanced dives in the 120 ft range. The ship sits upright and
is about 90% accessible to divers. Cathy and I first dove the Saskatchewan in 99
and we have noticed a huge difference in the amount and size of the life now
living on the Saskatchewan. The artificial reefs are certainly an ecological
success story. On our second dive on the Saskatchewan in 99 we had a very
interesting entry and exit. The seas were rather rough. The boat could not tie
up to the mooring buoys. Fortunately it was only Cathy and I on the boat
so we were dropped in the water near the mooring buoy and immediately we descended
about 15ft to get below the surge. The dive itself was excellent however,
a little short. We ensured we came up with about a 1000lbs in case we had
difficulty at the surface. Re-entry into the boat was interesting but
manageable. On the Saskatchewan is a token that apparently is very accessible
however, no one has found it yet. This token is for a prised expensive dive
watch which is being held by a local jeweller. On our most recent dive in Oct 01
we were with the Calgary group and a couple of other divers. On this particular
dive Cathy and I concentrated on the stern of the ship along the upper decks.
One of the divers was a Saskatchewan diving fanatic. All he came for was to dive
the Saskatchewan. He currently has over 200 dives on the ship. 
Cathy and I stayed at the Howard Johnston for the first
few days of the trip. We then stayed at my cousin Luke's house for a few days
before returning to the Howard Johnston as part of the sinking package. Luke and
Tracy have a great place overlooking the Georgia Strait towards Sea-Schelt.
They live with their two dogs Jake and Russell. Jake really loves to play ball
and to mark his territory. I discovered this when I put my suitcase down on the
driveway while unloading the car. My cousin Mark also lives in Nanaimo as
well as my uncle Phil. We visited a few times typically at the Ricky's
restaurant which appears to be the local hangout. My uncle Phil is doing well
and his sociological pursuits are starting to pay off. He has been a
keynote speaker on a couple to workshops and it is good to see his work is being
recognised. 
good
friend of mine. We went diving with the Faas's on the Thursday before the
sinking. This was Mark, Jamie and Kevin's first ocean dive. I remember Bryn's
first ocean dives and his dive on the Chaudiere and the same look of amazement
were on the kids faces. They were also very fortunate to be on an 
excellent
dive. We went to snake Island on the West side. The East side is where the Cape
Breton and Saskatchewan are. The dive starts off as a wall dive and then for the
later half you go into a small bay near the island. On our first dive earlier in
the week at snake island the tide was out and you could almost walk in the bay.
The idea of being in the bay is that there are numerous seals. The first dive
however, the seals were getting out of the water as we passed through and
looking down at us from the rocks. It was likely because the water was too
shallow. The dive with the Faas's however, the seals were everywhere. I
got a picture of a seal nibbling on Cathy's fin and apparently there was one swimming
along right by the back of my head. I did not see it though because the field of
vision is not that great with the dive mask. For the first ocean dive however,
it was a real treat for the Faas boys and certainly rates as one of my top
dives. 
Our second dive with the Faas's was at Clarke Rock. This
dive was awesome in comparison with the dive earlier in the week. Cathy and I
were diving with Connie and a couple of the kids when we came across some wolf
eels. Fortunately I had seen a sea urchin nearby which is a favourite food of
the wolf eel. What is amazing is that they will eat right through the urchin
spines and all. With the urchin we were able to get them out of their
dens. We found four in all. Naturally our dive seemed to pass very quickly and
it was soon time to go up. For the Faas kids however, they were extremely lucky
to have such excellent dives on their first time out in the ocean. They had
about 30 dives previous in the lake and I am not sure if they will want to go
back. 
and everyone had a good time. One
particular individual did not like it that the Faas boys were there. I guess he
thought they maybe in violation of their liquor license. The fact is that they
were paying customers and it was previously approved. Also the Faas boys
tend to be abnormally well behaved so I had no idea where this guy was coming
from. As a parent this can be very upsetting because you are not sure if
you did something wrong and it can put a dampener on the evening. Given that he
came to me I thought it appropriate not to burden Dave or Connie with such trivia
so I politely told the individual where to go. 
that we were we raced back to get our gear ready. We were
all set to go down at the boat when we got word that the clearance divers had
been down and found unexploded ordinance and therefore we could not dive on the
ship until they had cleared it. Dejectedly we packed up our gear and went
back to the hotel for the post sinking party. In the pub the camera crews
had their cameras recovered and were showing the raw footage of the sinking from
the cameras on the ship. Some worked some did not. One of the more funny pieces
was just as the sinking started the wind blew a banner over one of the camera
lenses. So much for that footage. At the party we finally had a chance to
talk to Ian who was much relieved. Ian had been working on the project for
five years and intensely over the last two. We did not make it a late
night and prepared ourselves for the dive the next morning. 
The next day it was pouring rain. This is not a major
problem other than it is irritating but once in the dry suit it is not so bad.
It is the getting in and out without getting wet that is difficult. We
assembled down at the boat and Terry took us out. We stopped for fuel first as
Ian was supposed to be the first to the site. Ian went by and we headed out. As
we transited through departure bay, the engine over heated and died. This was
not good as we were stuck in the ferry lane. Terry checked it out and a hose had
split and needed to be replaced. Ian is lucky to have such a fine individual
working in his company. I am always amazed at the mechanical abilities of
some people and how they are able to work in such adverse conditions. Terry was
able to fix the problem by rotating a number of the hoses and soon we were on
our way again. 
Nancy the AUC president during the Divescapes in 
Edmonton earlier in the year. Diver Dan has been traveling the world ever since
but I think this is the first time that Diver Dan and Nancy have both been in
the same location. After Diving we met Luke Tracy, Phil and Mark at the Ricky's
restaurant. Dave, Connie and the rest of the Alberta group ended up joining us
for lunch so we had quite a crowd there. We had our pictures developed and
exchanged the duplicates. Cathy and I spend the last night of our vacation at
Luke's place. 
factory. Whites was a family business that was sold a
number of years ago. The new owners had the products made overseas which
resulted in huge quality control problems and the name of Whites products were
quickly associated with poor quality. A few years back the family took back the
business and changed the way business was done. Standard sized wet suits and
like products are still made overseas but dry suits and special sizes and orders
are done in their factory in Victoria. When we toured the facility they were
extremely busy with large orders from both the Canadian and US military.
Their suits are now extremely well prepared bringing quality back to their
name. 
Another vacation had come and gone but I am sure we will
be back. Nanaimo offers some of the best dive sites in the world and we will be
looking forward to our next trip. If you are interested in diving in
Nanaimo check out Ocean Explorers and the Nanaimo Dive association. The trip is
well worth it. 
