Emerald Sea Dive event

[wolf eel]

We would like to acknowledge our sponsors and supporters for the event:

P.R. Visitor Info. Centre - prize sponsor, return trip and accommodations package (Donna Kaye Hobbs & Andrew Pinch)

Scuba Press Magazine - sponsor, 1 year free subscription to every registered Canadian diver

BC Ferries - prize sponsor, free ride home certificates

DUI - prize sponsor, weight belt (Susan Long)

Scuba Hides - prize sponsor, tank covers (Todd Hasz)

Kent's Beach - accommodation (Clive Kent)

St. John's Ambulance - on site

Nautilus Explorer - prize sponsor, discount certificate (Judith Fleming)

P.A.D.I. (Randy Giles)

Powell River Divers - Air - (Ken Stevens & Shane)

Desolation Sound Boat Tours - prize sponsor, 2 for 1 boat dive certificate
(Chris Young)

Diver magazine - prize sponsor, subscriptions

The Patricia Theatre / Synergy Frame Shop - prize sponsor, mermaid print (Anne)

Knight News - prize sponsor, mermaid t-shirts

Willow Hollow Bakery - catering - (Moe)

Pacific Pro Dive - Courtenay - our dive boat (Bill & Sharon)

BC Dive and Kayak - Vancouver - prize sponsor, 2 for 1 boat dive certificate (Brent)

Dive and Sea Sports - New Westminster - prize sponsor, various items
(George & Bill)

Nuytco - use of underwater lights (Jeff)

NW Diver News (article)

West World BCCAA Magazine (article)

Alithea Smith (for delivering underwater lights) BC Dive and Kayak

Ryan Bennet (our right hand)



A special Thank you to the Mermaid's creator Simon Morris and legendary diver Jim Willoughby for being with us on Saturday.

And a very big thanks to all the divers that attended the event without you it would never have been. Thank you


Hope to see you next year!

Kathrine & Derek

 

[deepdiverbc]

Hi Derek & Kathrine too,

I want to thank you for a great time had by all at the mermaid's birthday party. If anyone is interesting in checking out my slide show you can view it at this link.

7megs
http://www3.telus.net/public/a6a09335/Mermaid Sweet Sixteen.exe


For those that didn't make it to the event this year here is my trip report.

On March 11 sixteen years after the Saltery Bay mermaid was placed on the ocean floor I left with two friends for the Emerald Sea Diving Event to celebrate the mermaid's sweet 16 birthday. The event was held at Saltery Bay which is located north of Vancouver on the BC coast between Sechelt and Powell River. Getting there involves two 50 minute ferry rides and a one hour car trip but it is worth it.

The mermaid is a 3 meter (10ft) bronze sculpture created by local artist Simon Morris. He attended the event and I had the opportunity to talk to him about the mermaid and his other projects. There are some beautiful designs on his web site http://www.aquaarte.com/ . He told me about how they anchored the mermaid to the rock wall and we discussed the second casting of the mermaid titled Amphitrite that was placed at Sunset House Grand Cayman on November 2000. He had visited Grand Cayman for some cave diving and to do some research for the technical diver statue that is on his web site. One of my personal favorites.

The event was organized by Derek Bodner and Kathrine Meier to celebrate the 16th birthday of the Saltery Bay mermaid. I have to say that Derek and Kathrine did a great job and it was clear that the focus of this event wasn't to make money, it was to celebrate the mermaid and local diving. Our sign up fee was recovered as air fills were free. The dive boat that came 45 miles from Pacific Pro Dive in Courtney http://www.scubashark.com/ was discounted and took divers to Ball Point and the artificial reef HMCS Chaudiere. There was a treasure hunt for prizes which included a limited edition print of the mermaid. I won a decorative tank wrap. They had free bottled water, a birthday cake and snack truck on site. There was even an ambulance on site and I noticed the attendant counting divers as they entered and exited the water. I was very impressed and it was obvious that Katherine, Derek and their assistant Ryan were giving this event 110% effort and only wanted happy divers in return.

The mermaid dive site is located at the Saltery Bay Marine Park only a few minutes drive from the ferry terminal with accommodations and two boat docks located close by. At the Marine Park you will find change rooms, toilet, a small parking area and a wheel chair ramp leading to the entry point. There is also a rinse area but the water was turned off most likely due to the potential for freezing up although spring has come early for us this year. For a shore dive, the ramp made this entry a dream come true. The mermaid is marked by a buoy that is an easy surface swim from shore just around the point. Once down the buoy line take a bearing of about 155 degrees from the concrete anchoring blocks and you will find the mermaid about 50 feet away. I have only done the dive once and it was a night dive so don't hold me to this but it is close.

Accommodation in this area consists of mainly cabins and there are some motels. We stayed at Hummingbird Cove www.discoverpowellriver.com/visitors/hummingbirdcove.htm. The cabin offered what we needed including a few satellite TV channels, ,washer/dryer, wood stove, kitchen, BBQ and the ocean was at our door step. We were too busy but if I had wanted I could have done a nice shore dive from the cabin and could see the mermaid marker from the deck. The rest of the dive group stayed at Kent's Beach Resort www.kentsbeach.com which is located only a couple of minutes drive away. I didn't get to see the inside of the cabins at Kent's Beach but did drive through the area and it looks quite nice.

Diving in this area has a lot to offer. For shore dives the group dove the mermaid which offers both shallow and deep wall dive areas. My second dive on the mermaid was my favorite. It was a night dive and just before entering the water that night Derek saw a meteor shoot through the sky and crash into the oceon. We then swam through phosforescant water and descended the line to find the ocean floor covered in spot prawns. It took a bit to find the mermaid but when we did I was struck by her beauty. I had wondered if it made sense to bring my camera on a night dive but was glad I did. I missed the shore dive Sunday morning as we had to leave early but was told it had lots of boulders that made great hiding spots for Cabazon and many other types of marine life. If you can arrange for a boat charter from outside the area there are two boat docks nearby to meet the boat at and you can dive many points and walls in the area that offer everything from reefs to walls with cloud sponges. We dove Ball Point on Saturday which was two miles away. It is a sloping rocky wall covered with chimney sponges as well as crabs, nudibranch and anenome. The Sechelt Rapids is fifteen miles away by boat and is a spectacular dive if you can get a favorable tidal exchange. Nine miles farther down the Sechelt Inlet you will find the artificial reef HMCS Chaudiere which was the second boat dive for this trip on Sunday. There are also numerous boat dive sites located around Nelson and Texada Islands.

Derek and Kathrine are hoping to make this an annual birthday celebration. The Duncan Dive club will probably come back again and I hope that even more divers show up next year.

 

[wolf eel]

Thanks so much Eric that is just too cool. The lights would have been great !!!
Like I said you all made the event be and thanks soo very much to all who came and to the sponsors and to Bill and Sharon of Pacific Pro for the boat dives and a lot to God for the great weather and the night show.
Hope to have you all back and more. Its all about diving and having fun.
Thanks again Eric and fantastic photos.
Cheers