shore diving vancouver island

Hi,
Does anyone know the best places to shore dive off of vancouver island? My husband and I are planning a trip up to kayak and dive in mid september and would like to do a few shore dives mixed in with the boat diving ( you know the old" save some money thing!"). We are planning on camping so could go just about anywhere! Any info would be great !
Thanks
Sportsgirl

10 Mile Point in Sydney is a super dive ... a wall that extends around the point. The entry is a bit tricky, as you have to negotiate rocks in your gear, but nothing too difficult. The best exit is around the south side of the point. There's a boat ramp between two of the houses that the homeowners told me to feel free to use (they said all the locals use it).

I think there's a good description of this site in one of Betty Pratt-Johnson's books ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I dove both Madrona Point and Dolphin Beach, both were excellent shore dives. They are located just south of Parksville. Both require a little hike from the road to get to, but I think it is worth the walk. I had a harbor seal follow me around one of the Madrona Point shore dive, as I was solo diving at the time with my wife on the shore she kinda freaked out until she discover the black animal following me was a harbor seal. I saw numerous wolf eels at Madrona Point. The Dolphin Beach dive was a night dive and I saw wolf eels there as well. You will have to get your air fills at Naimino (I used Oceans Explorers Diving - they have a web site) due to no dive stores in Parksville (unless things changed since May). Also, the dive shop can draw you a map of both sites. On the Dophin Beach site the locals try to do a night dive every Thursday. I can send you a contact name if you are interested... If you want more info I can look at my log book in the next day or so... Let me know how your shore diving goes as we will be visiting Vancouver Island again in the near future...

sportsgirl98052:

Hi,
Does anyone know the best places to shore dive off of vancouver island? My husband and I are planning a trip up to kayak and dive in mid september and would like to do a few shore dives mixed in with the boat diving ( you know the old" save some money thing!"). We are planning on camping so could go just about anywhere! Any info would be great !
Thanks
Sportsgirl

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Try my website for photos and descriptions of several shore dives (and boat dives) mostly in the Victoria area, but also a few from other places in B.C. I've been doing alot of exploring on Pender Island lately and there are some excellent shore dives there if you are comfortable with some current. There is camping at Prior Centennial Provincial Park (but you will probably have to reserve ahead of time) or at Port Browning marina (crowded on summer long weekends).

sportsgirl98052:

Hi,
Does anyone know the best places to shore dive off of vancouver island? My husband and I are planning a trip up to kayak and dive in mid september and would like to do a few shore dives mixed in with the boat diving ( you know the old" save some money thing!"). We are planning on camping so could go just about anywhere! Any info would be great !
Thanks
Sportsgirl

Click to expand...

I live about 15 minutes from the the dive sites wsparks described and I have a compressor. PM me if you want to hook up.

s****enstein,
Darn nice web site you have there.
It was really a good read.
I'll be using it as a guide next time I'm in the area (probably Christmas).
Thank you.
My wife belongs to a very large family from the Broadmead area.
I've seen that monster ling at Ogden along with the largest octopus I've ever seen...words just don't do them justice.
mech

Wow they edited your name.
Odd.. I spelled it correct.

mech:

Wow they edited your name.
Odd.. I spelled it correct.

Click to expand...

I guess they are all too familiar with the adult literature that has a similar name, but I was using it's meaning as "high class, stylin', in a cheesy, 70's kind of way".

Anyone up for a dive sometime out of Vic? I went to school there years back and I come up there sometimes for a visit. I'd love to meet some other divers from Victoria so PM me if you're an islander!

Be sure to check out Ogden Point. There is a reason it's the most popular dive site in Victoria. Some other good sites are Ten Mile Point (or Spring Bay if you want a more sheltered entry), Henderson Point or Willis Point. If you're planning on kayak diving around the Saanich Inlet, you could easily make it to Senanus Island. I'm not sure whre you could find a dive kayak though.

If you're looking at charters, most places will take you to Race Rocks. There are tonnes of great reefs and many sealions. There is a fair current, so be prepared for that. There are some artificial reefs north of Sidney that you may want to check out if you're a wreak diver.