British Columbia; try some fantastic scuba diving
UPDATED September 2nd, 2010
Forget snow. While the area is known as the absolute mecca for skiers and snowboarders, what so many outdoor enthusiasts don’t know is that BC has some superb scuba diving. The mountains provide a great backdrop but for real adventures, it’s the waters you want to head to.
British Columbia – beautiful on land and underwater
Considered a top cold water dive destination, BC will have something to offer for any diving enthusiast. Whether it’s seals, porpoises, sharks or beautiful anemones that turn your fancy, BC diving won’t disappoint. Jacques Cousteau called it the “best cold water diving in the world” and a few dips will convince you as well.
British Clumbia is a big province with great road trips – so a great deal of the fun is in getting to your dive sites. With a network of roads and ferries, it’s easy to get around British Columbia and the journeys themselves will be beautiful and memorable.
Port Hardy is the gateway to northern British Columbia. With heavy concentrations of sea anemones and soft coral and currents swishing about, it’s a great challenge for the more experienced diver. This area – like so many others in BC – can be dived all year round and Orca sightings are common.
Denman Island and Hornby Island host Six Gill Sharks. Although these fish are elusive, many lucky divers have encountered these strange creatures in this area. Sea lions is another attraction for the diver and off Hornby, there is a wreck of the Alpha, a 67 metre vessel sunk in shallow waters.
Many dives close to Vancouver
Vancouver is the metropolitan hub of BC. It’s where travellers land, stay and play. For those who don’t want to venture too far from the convenience and thrill of the city, they can still dive some choice sites.
Sechelt Peninsula – is a ferry ride away from Horseshoe Bay and there you’ll find Sechelt Rapids, known as the Skookumchuck. It’s the fastest-flowing tidal rapids in the world with abundant marine life – a great dive for the more advanced diver.
Howe Sound - a 30 minute drive from Vancouver, Porteau Cove, it hosts some small wrecks and artificial reefs that give home to many species of marine life (including some large cod, octopus and maybe the resident seal).
There’s a lot more to come and we will be bringing you reports and highlights soon as our team of keen divers venture out into the chilly waters off BC’s coasts.
My thanks to Clarke Rowe at Vancouver Area Scuba Meetup Group for the nice photos.
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You are right – British Columbia is considered to have some of the best ‘cool’ water diving in the world, and it’s a great dive destination for visitors from around the world.
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