BC Liveaboard by Charles Nelson

BC Liveaboard, 1999
Author: Charles Nelson

Posted by C.T. Ole'! on September 12, 1999 at 19:50:35:

I dove with ExtaSea Charters Marine Group, Inc. 1-888-398-2733, fax (250) 755-9146 e-mail: info@extasea.com web site: http://www.extasea.com We went on their 53 ft. boat, the "Sea Venturer" which takes up to 10 passengers and 3 crew. There were 8 passengers and 2 crew on our trip. We dove out of a 21 ft., forward mounted center console chase boat where we kept all our dive gear set-up and ready to go. We hung drysuits on the "Sea Venturer" and changed there. I must admit that I was a bit apprehensive about the trip due to some difficulties contacting or delays in responses from ExtaSea. That was due to the fact that they are a bit "lean" and everyone is usually on the boats, (they have 2 live-a-boards). But I had heard praise about them second hand and from other divers on the board. Then I found out a local instructor I know used to live in Seattle and used the "Sea Venturer" and it's owner, Al Spilde, regularly. She had nothing but glowing praise about the trips and Al, and after having experienced it, I have to echo those remarks. More on the boat/s and stuff later. First, the diving:

Up until this point, the furthest north I had dove was Lake Huron. I had always wanted to see a giant octopus and wolf eel, (actually an eel-like fish), but went also for the opportunity to re-unite with a dive buddy friend from NJ. I heard before I left that the life in the Pacific North West had colors that rivalled South Pacific Coral Reefs, but I wasn't prepared for just how colorful it was. Visibility tended to average 30 ft. The 1st day was sunny as was the last 2. On these days, the visibility was @ 50+ ft. The other days were overcast and drizzly. I carried a 30 watt light on every dive and found it to be invaluable for bringing out the brilliant colors and all their hues. We left out of Port Hardy, where the boat is docked, on the northeastern side of Vancouver Island and headed north. The area is punctated with numerous rocky islands and coves studded with lush fir forrests. The backdrop was the snow-capped Rocky Mountains. Bald Eagles and unfortunately seagulls, (I live on the S.E. U.S. coast, they're a**hole birds), were everywhere as were fish breaking the surface of the water. The diving is largely tidal dependent so the 1st dive of the day could be early or a few hours later into the day depending on where we were and the tide tables. We left port on Sunday morning to start diving and finished diving and returned to port on Friday afternoon. I did all the dives, a total of 21, that were possible. The 1st dive was relatively easy and shallow, (42 ft.), at Browning Inlet, to let everyone get accustomed to the proper weight and trim of their gear. For my buddy, it was only her 5th drysuit dive. She was the least experienced at drysuit diving on the boat that day, but handled it like an old pro. Everyone on the boat was highly experienced with 3 people being repeat customers. For one, a Canadian instructor, it was her 12th trip on the boat. For one woman on the boat, a repeat customer and the person who had talked my friend and me into going on this trip, it was her second week on the boat. We were immediately taken with the white giant plumose anemones that grow up to 1 meter tall. As we learned later, they are almost everywhere up there. As were the orange sea pens we saw and were to later find out give off a brilliant, greenish flashing light show on a night dive as you rub them due to bio-luminescence. At this part let me point out that the typical look, but don't touch rules that apply to fragile corals don't apply in the PNW. It does not mean you have free rein to crawl all over everything. However, for the most part, we were diving on rocks that were covered with hearty sponges, anenomes, some soft corals, and kelp. We all observed proper buoyancy, (we were all in drysuits diving around some incredibly huge, spiny sea urchins), but there were some times the need was there to latch onto a rock or kelp during safety stops---remember the tidal diving?

To avoid going over all the dives, let me say that most of the spots were along walls and mounts where you could find yourself over 2,000 ft. drop-offs. Everyone dove their own profiles with time limitations only being enforced when we dove Nakwakto at Tremble Rock, site of the worlds fastest currents and some quite impressive whirlpools. Can only be dove at slack tide and site of one of those rock-hugging safety stops. On the 1st dive of the trip, we saw some small nudibranchs. Little did I realize that we would find nudibranchs on almost all dives. And the variety in colors and size! Some were all white with some being almost transluscent. Some had a few gills, some covered with gills so they looked like spiked porcupines. Some were all orange or had gills of various colors from orange to red to violet. Some were a few centimeters in size, some as big as my hand, (I'm 6 ft., 190 lbs.). There were sea cucumbers as big as my arm and a variety of starfish of all sizes and colors, some more than 1 meter in diameter. Some of the anenomes were simply breath-taking with theirs brilliant shades of reds and whites and pinks. Orange and yellow were colors that were predominant in a variety of sea life.

There were other large sea critters I'll get to later, but for a macro photographer, the PNW is Heaven! Some areas were so covered in life, you could litterally spend an entire dive in a couple of sqare meters taking it all in. You realize it's good to be high up on the food chain when you see all the little claws and stingers at your nose tip. Snails were everywhere at times. Particularly impressive were the Purple-Ring Topsnails with their banded shells of shiny purples, whites, yellows and greens. There were numerous hermit crabs with a variety of colorful shells. Little crabs, sometimes hidden with only their arms with tiny claws visible. Small colorful shrimps, my favorite being the mostly transluscent Candy Stripe Shrimp with blue and red bands living on some vividly colored anenomes. Mollusks and clams abounded with abalone and colorful sponge encrusted scallops, 2 of which swam into me one dive. There were chitons on the rocks, small inch long marine animals that remind one of a prehistoric trilobite. They have plates and can roll up like a land dwelling "roley-poley". There were numerous sculpin camoflagued amongst the sponges and anenomes. They are like the PNW version of scorpionfish with broad heads and some brilliant colors such as those found on the Red Irish Lords and Buffalo Sculpin. At times we were checking out colorful snails and anenomes only to realize we had a sculpin laying perfectly still under our noses. There were some tube worms and hydroids. There was just an amazing amount and variety of life in these cold waters---46 to 53 degress F.

There were rockfish about 1 to 2 ft. of various color combinations and patterns of reds, blacks, yellows and whites. The Painted Greenlings were great. Ling Cod up to a meter would let divers approach to within a foot. One of my favorites was the Ratfish, something that looks like a shark-want-a-be throw-back to prehistoric times. They are tannish or brown with white spots like a leopard. Their mouths are underslung and they hold their pectoral fins out like wings and swim with them. They have huge, deep ocean eyes, that reflect light on night dives like some greenish death ray coming out of them. They're a curious fish and I had one swim into me several times after letting me drop down to it on a dive. As he later started to swim away, I brushed him and he turned around and swam up against my chest like a cat a couple of times. (@1.5 ft. long). As for cats, Al had a saying on the boat. "Wolf Eels are like dogs and the Giant Octopus like cats. Feed a Wolf Eel an urchin and it will come out and play with you like a puppy. The Giant Octopus will only come out and play if it feels like it." How true. On several dives we got to interact with Wolf Eels, both male and female. They mate for life and may even be found in the same hole together. It's kind of hard to describe them. They look like the 2 grumpy old men in the balcony on the muppets show. Except they have some impressive spiked teeth. They are just so damn ugly, they're cute and irresistable. Once they start to interact, they come out and like to be rubbed and handled. They let you scratch them and hold them and may act like a rubbing cat. It's also neat to just take them in while in their hole, those huge, massive rubbery light grey faces with the huge rubbery lips, just sitting there with their heads sticking out of the hole, taking it all in. As for the Giant Octopus, we only had a couple of people on the trip who were fortunate enough to interact with them. And these were smaller ones. We all at times found Giant Octopus in their dens. These mostly appeared to be 6 to 8 ft. guys, but none would come out. On one night dive, I found a large verticle crevice longer than me and stuck my head inside. After doing a double-take and pinching myself, I got my buddy to show her so I had a witness. About 20 ft. back into the crevice was a full 6 feet of one octopus arm. And it wasn't the full arm. We had found the "Mother of all Octopus'", but she was also the "Mother of all Cats" and we couldn't do anything to coax it out. Also saw some huge Puget Sound Crabs on several dives including a molting one a couple of feet across tucked back into an overhang.

As for mammals, we were not fortunate enough to dive with any including the Pacific White Side Dolphins. We did have Dall's Porpoise ride the bow of the "Sea Venturer" one day. One morning, before our 1st dive, we sighted orcas and all jumped into the chase boat to catch up with the pod. It was a large one spread out over a large area with a group of females and a couple of calfs in the middle. We would get ahead of them and let them swim up to and by the boat. We had one male breach for us. One diver had grabbed his drysuit and we deposited him on snorkel in front of one huge male and a female a couple of times, but they would always dive under well in front of him and come up well beyond him. Another day, we sighted a Minke whale and her calf and did the same thing with the "Sea Venturer" as we'd done with the orcas and the chase boat. We even deposited the same diver on snorkel with a video camera, but the Minke whale would either dive under or curve away from him herding her calf. It was neat to see their "footprints" on the surface, the area where the flukes of the tail doesn't break the surface, but disturbs the surface of the water on the upstroke. One day, we sighted a pod of Pacific White Sides. This time everyone dressed in suits and got ready to gear up as we raced to catch up to the pod in the chase boat. As we got near, they veered to intercept us and some started riding the bow, others the wake, and others just raced alongside the boat; all moving fast and leaping out of the water. A couple of times we would stop to see if the dolphins would do likewise and let us dive with them. But they always continued on their way so we were denied this thrill. It's not unusual for the Pacific White Side Dolphins to stay and play with divers on scuba for 1/2 to an hour. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be so on this trip. We also had Harbour Seals present on several dive sites. They would check us out from the safety of the water but invariably disappear once we got in.

I know I've left out some stuff, but I could just go on and on and on about this trip and the life in the Pacific North West both above and below the waves. The diving here does require some experience. Drysuit diving is a must. We did have one diver who missed her flight and came a day late. We went back to port to pick her up Sunday evening. She was very experienced but had never been in a drysuit. She rented one. After the 1st dive the following morning, she didn't dive it, Al anchored the boat in a shallow protected area and took her diving in the drysuit. Of course, there was some "adventure" to it, but he wound up diving with her 3 times and basically giving her a free drysuit diving course. Nitrox blending is availble on the boat at an extra price and my friend took her basic Nitrox course from Al, an IANTD instructor, for $100 US on the trip. She being small, (>5 ft., 110 lbs), is succeptable to getting cold. After starting to get cold 15 minutes into the 1st dive, I gave her my argon bottle for the rest of the trip----that worked. I was diving the same undergarments and suit I dove in 36 to 42 degree F waters in Michigan with air so can only use this example to praise the effects of argon gas for your suit. The argon bottle, mount and reg. are extra, ($25 US for the week), and must be requested ahead of time. The trip was $150 US per day with one being counted as a free day---$900 US total. All food and non-alcoholic beverages are included, but if you have a taste for brand name sodas or a brew or two, buy some in Port Hardy before departing.

The 21 foot chase boat had a 200 hp Evinrude with a platform and ladder on the stern. Entry is via backroll on either side of the boat near the stern. There are 2 long metal benches running the length of the boat on either side. There are 5 positions for strapping geared-up tanks at each bench with lids for storage of your gear within these benches. There are wooden hand-holds near the stern of the boat at the waterline to assist in diver retrieval, weightbelt and fin removal before climbing back into the boat. You just lay back and let Al do the work. You have to climb yourself back in, though.

The "Sea Venturer" has a covered stern and ladder leading up to the covered area above with drysuit hangers. Forward of this is the pilot house with 3 bunks for the crew. There is a household dryer on the stern for damp undergarments as well as a rinse tank against the transom. Entering the boat from the stern, you find 2 bunk-style berths with curtains to your left. Storage is under the bottom bunk as it was for all berths. To the right is a single berth running parallel to the transom, (the only one so positioned), in a small room with a curtain. Forward of this is another "room" with a double berth and curtain for a door. Across from this is the stern head with a freshwater sink and a saltwater handpump head and a door. Heading forward, you step up to the galley on the port side and dining table with L-shaped bench seating and stools. Forward of this is the sliding door to go outside onto the bow. Heading forward from the dining/galley area, you step down to the only room with a door on your left. It has a single berth above and double berth below. Across from this is the forward head/shower. The shower has a curtain and is hand-held. There is a freshwater sink and saltwater handpump head. Door also. Finally, further forward is a curtain that leads into berthing in the bow, 2 bunk-style berths on either side, (4 total), with curtains for the top 2. All berths have their own reading lamps mounted in the wall. There are 110 V. wall outlets mounted throughout the boat for rechargers and hairdryer, etc. 10 passenger berths total whether single or double, for 10 passengers total. No this is not your typical Peter Hughes/Aggressor Fleet boat. But this is not your typical diving up there. It's for someone who is comfortable in the water and can deal with a harsher environment than what you'll find in the Caribbean or South Pacific. But, the rewards are well worth it!

As for Al and Kelly, his 16 year old cook/deckhand daughter. The kid knows how to cook!!!, as does Pa. There was always plenty of food for 2nds, 3rds, or whatever! Al's baked Chinook Salmon on the grill was fabulous. On dive trips, I tend not to eat so much during the day and actually lose a few pounds. It took 2 days to convince Kelly that there was nothing wrong with me or her cooking. She just wanted to make sure that I was OK and having a good trip. Al Spilde is a bear of a man with a gentle nature. His hands make mine look like XS. The only way to sum it up is that as for diving, seamanship and knowledge of the area and dive sites---The Man Knows His Stuff! My friend has been on numerous around the world and says that Al is the best "Captain" she's known. And she's not one to BS about that. There is a mounted TV and VCR in the dining area with a compact 3 CD stereo. The library and video selection are a bit limited so you may want to bring something along for topside. My friend and I brought CD's along which were continually employed. One drawback may be the water supply. We returned to port on Thur. to top our freshwater tanks. Dinner the 1st day, Sat. and on Fri. are your own responsibility in port. The boat docks at the fishermans marina where IVs' Pub is located and a hotel. IVs' has some excellent food at very reasonable if not cheap prices and the portions are humongous like most of the wildlife in the area. All in all, it was a trip we really enjoyed and one I will plan on doing again in the future. Al will hopefully be spending some more time landside, (hopefully more accessibility to ExtaSea Charters), as he prepares to purchase a new 72 ft. custom built boat to add to his "fleet" of live-a-boards in 2001. I intend to try this one out. By the way, from what I understand, my description of the "Sea Venturer" is fairly typical of the other live-a-boards in the Pacific North West off British Columbia.

Hope I haven't been too boring or long winded. If anyone has any particular questions about the trip or the area, feel free to drop me a line via e-mail.

Safe and Enjoyable Diving to All, DSAO, C.T.