Skoock
Registered
Aug 9
My dive buddy and I decided to take a trip to find the old VT-100 wreck in Bedwell Bay, Belcarra. The wreck is a bit difficult to find but with a little guidance we were able to find it for our second dive. But first, a little background on the wreck itself: It’s actually the remains of an old minesweeper, the HMCS Cranbrook. After the war, it was re-designated as Vancouver Tugboat 100. In the late 1950s, someone started a fire on board and the boat burned and sank in Indian Arm.
The site doesn't look too much like a boat anymore but still lots of structure and marine life.
To find it from the road you will drive north on Kelly road then left on marine Ave for about 150m until you come up to a small gate on your right
The entrance to the shore is just a few feet to the north of this gate.
DO NOT PARK ON THIS SIDE. You will be ticketed and towed. Instead park on the opposite side of the water and make sure all your tires are off the pavement. Ideally you could catch one of the residents here and politely ask to park infront of their house. I was told that the landside of the road is city property. Just don't be a dick and take up all the space or we could lose the ability to park here, so carpool if you can.
Blue dot is a good place to park
Red line is trail to shore. It's a bit narrow, steep and loose so be careful.
To find the wreck itself, enter the water next to the fallen tree and use it as an arrow to swim yourself out about 80 feet. The goal is to be roughly 30ft north of the tree when on the water. Drop down and head 330° on your compass until you're in 50-60fsw.
Hopefully you'll run into the wreck with a bit of luck and determination. We had a local give us some guidance from his yacht after we failed miserably on our first dive.
In the picture, if you follow from the back of the yacht, it was roughly halfway to the next dock north(not pictured).
Visibility was roughly 10-15 ft at the wreck and a little worse closer to the top. We ran into swarms of moon jelly, lions mane jelly, and some exploded brain looking guy that was large and interesting along the way.
At the wreck itself we found all sorts of crabs, ling cod, schools of some smaller fish, anemones, and lots more that I wish I knew the name of
Recommend going at slacktide or else you won't have much of a beach to set up on.
Shore is rocky to start but once in the water it's nothing but sand. And more sand. And more sand. We spent a lot of time looking at sand during the first dive but the second dive definitely made up for it!
Cheers
PS. I got some footage of the wreck from my gopro, however the site won't let me upload it . If anyone has any insight on what I need to change please let me know!
My dive buddy and I decided to take a trip to find the old VT-100 wreck in Bedwell Bay, Belcarra. The wreck is a bit difficult to find but with a little guidance we were able to find it for our second dive. But first, a little background on the wreck itself: It’s actually the remains of an old minesweeper, the HMCS Cranbrook. After the war, it was re-designated as Vancouver Tugboat 100. In the late 1950s, someone started a fire on board and the boat burned and sank in Indian Arm.
The site doesn't look too much like a boat anymore but still lots of structure and marine life.
To find it from the road you will drive north on Kelly road then left on marine Ave for about 150m until you come up to a small gate on your right
The entrance to the shore is just a few feet to the north of this gate.
DO NOT PARK ON THIS SIDE. You will be ticketed and towed. Instead park on the opposite side of the water and make sure all your tires are off the pavement. Ideally you could catch one of the residents here and politely ask to park infront of their house. I was told that the landside of the road is city property. Just don't be a dick and take up all the space or we could lose the ability to park here, so carpool if you can.
Blue dot is a good place to park
Red line is trail to shore. It's a bit narrow, steep and loose so be careful.
To find the wreck itself, enter the water next to the fallen tree and use it as an arrow to swim yourself out about 80 feet. The goal is to be roughly 30ft north of the tree when on the water. Drop down and head 330° on your compass until you're in 50-60fsw.
Hopefully you'll run into the wreck with a bit of luck and determination. We had a local give us some guidance from his yacht after we failed miserably on our first dive.
In the picture, if you follow from the back of the yacht, it was roughly halfway to the next dock north(not pictured).
Visibility was roughly 10-15 ft at the wreck and a little worse closer to the top. We ran into swarms of moon jelly, lions mane jelly, and some exploded brain looking guy that was large and interesting along the way.
At the wreck itself we found all sorts of crabs, ling cod, schools of some smaller fish, anemones, and lots more that I wish I knew the name of
Recommend going at slacktide or else you won't have much of a beach to set up on.
Shore is rocky to start but once in the water it's nothing but sand. And more sand. And more sand. We spent a lot of time looking at sand during the first dive but the second dive definitely made up for it!
Cheers
PS. I got some footage of the wreck from my gopro, however the site won't let me upload it . If anyone has any insight on what I need to change please let me know!