mvermill:
My girlfriend and I are doing a 1.5 week long road trip up to the Puget Sound and Vancouver Canada from Southern California. We need some help in finding a good dive shop up in Vancouver Canada for some boat diving (wrecks or wrecks). Does anyone have any suggestions for a dive shop/dive boat to use up there? Any can't miss dive sites? We need help in filling 2 dive days in late November. We already plan to shore dive Porteau Cove one day up there. We have heard good things about Vancouver Island. Any help would be GREATLY recommended!
FYI: We dive in So. California every weekend, so we are used chilly water. We both are A.I or above, with over 500 dives around the world. We just want to dive!
Thank You!
Marc
If you're going to Vancouver (the city), try B.C. Dive Adventures. They used to run a small charter operation out into Howe Sound that was quite good. Haven't dived with them in about 3 years now, but I was very happy with the places they took us and the way they ran the charter.
For shore diving options, Whytecliffe Park, Ansell Point, and Porteau Cove are all good dive sites.
As others have suggested, taking a ferry over to Vancouver Island is (IMO) a better bet for diving. In Victoria, Ogden Point Dive Centre runs charters regularly out to Race Rocks, and to the HCMS McKenzie and Church ... as well as several other great sites. For that matter, the Ogden Point breakwater is a great dive ... in fact, you can do two or three dives and not see it all. Just be careful getting out of the water ... my recommendation is to swim back to the beach rather than attempt to get out onto the breakwater.
Further north in Nanaimo you have the HCMS Sasketchewan and Cape Breton, Snake Island Wall, Jesse Island, and the Rivtow Lion ... as well as a bunch of other great places. Diver's Choice is my preferred charter service there, although Ocean Explorers is also a good charter operation. My preference for places to stay in Nanaimo is the Buccaneer Inn, which is right across the street from the docks. If you go with Diver's Choice, they offer a package that includes an overnight at the Painted Turtle in downtown ... which is also quite nice.
You mentioned Puget Sound ... on your way north, if you have the opportunity go check out the San Juan Islands with Deep Sea Charters. Cap'n Dave has a great stash of dive sites to choose from ... I highly recommend Cone Island, Strawberry Island, and Sares Head.
Best of luck ... if you've a chance to sneak in a dive in the Seattle area on your way north, let us know ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
.. but she has great food. Good info on the wrecks and conditions and they'll pick you up from the ferry in Nanaimo so you can walk on (read: save $$ !!).
