Nanaimo or Campbell River ??

[HeatCker]

to all you local divers, where would you dive .. nanaimo or campbell river?
there may be better places to dive on the island but i'm planning a combo "dive / visit with family" vacation.
which of these two dive areas offer the best all around fall/winter diving.
since i'm from ontario i would be diving with a local shop and or boat charter.
the big plus is i have family in campbell river and therefore a place to stay.
if nanaimo has more to offer then i would consider staying in nanaimo and visiting family on non dive days.
thanks for your help / input

 

[coldwaterlloyd]

Both are excellent choices for diving our Island .
Campbell River / Quadra Island Island is some of the best diving on the planet . The colur is outstanding .
Nanaimo offers so many different sites , you should try to do both if possible .

 

[Gecko JK]

When will you be on the island?


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[HeatCker]

thanks guys ..
hoping for mid october but it depends on work, home life, etc.
its easier for me to get time off in jan, feb, mar but i understand the weather / diving is iffy at that time.
glad to hear campbell river has good diving, makes choosing my home base easier.
is there any decent shore diving in the CR area?

 

[Hawkwood]

I do not know anything about Campbell River.

Naniamo offers nice wrecks if that is what interests you: the Rivetow Lion, Saskatchewan, Cape Breton

If you are up in February and March, you can take advantage of diving with the Sea Lions of Norris Rocks - must do dives. I do not know who goes out of Naniamo, but I do know that UB Diving out of Courntney runs Sea Lion charters during those months. The boat is in Fanny Bay, just a 45 to 50 minute drive north of Nanaimo.

 

[coldwaterlloyd]

thanks guys ..
hoping for mid october but it depends on work, home life, etc.
its easier for me to get time off in jan, feb, mar but i understand the weather / diving is iffy at that time.
glad to hear campbell river has good diving, makes choosing my home base easier.
is there any decent shore diving in the CR area?

On my few trips to CR I have not found many shore sites , there are a couple of good spots on Quadra Island but current is always a factor ,
Lots of shore option in the Nanaimo area , you need to check out the book 99 Dives by Betty Johnson , details on all your options .

 

[Wannabedivebum]

Campbell river has amaaazing diving, and bill coltart of pacific pro dive has his boat up there in the winter season. Some of the best diving i have ever done is up and around CR. Argonaut is an amazing shore dive right in CR as well, must be dove on slack with small return though. Quadra has a few shore dives that are good as well. Nanaimo has some decent diving, madrona and tyee are both decent dives as well. The nanaimo wrecks are always cool, however the wrecks up in comox/CR and around powel river i think are better.

 

[HeatCker]

Unfortunately I was not able to get out to enjoy diving BC last fall, trying again for this year
All of my drysuit diving has been in fresh water, Ontario
My tolerance to cold is low, I wear lots of layers to dive for 60 minutes
When diving in 45 - 50 F fresh water I use about 30 lbs
I am assuming BC fall water temperatures to be in the 45 - 50 F range .. mid Sept to mid Oct
Planned diving area would still be the same, Nanaimo and Campbell River
I am wondering about the salt content / buoyancy characteristics of the local waters
I am wondering how much extra weight I will need to dive the salt waters out there

 

[Skookumchuck]

I would strongly recommend seeking local knowledge before shore diving off Quadra. The couple of dives on the East side have never been an issue but descend in Discovery Passage at the wrong time and you could be in for the ride of your life.

 

[KodyWalley]

Seek out Bill at Pacific Pro Diving for great diving in Campbell River, or Shirley at Nanaimo Dive Outiftters for great diving in Nanaimo ... I would say the diving is a little more challenging and rewarding in Campbell Rivers, but logistically easier and more relaxing in Nanaimo... the island is just amazing in general. Nanaimo there is a bunch of great shore dives in North West Bay near Parksville, Madrona Point and Tyee to name a couple.