Campbell River, 1999
Author: Tim Ayres

Friday, Oct 29: We leave the Diving Locker in Vancouver at about 1 pm or so to catch the 3pm ferry in Horseshoe Bay. After a 1.5hour ferry ride we arrive in Nanaimo BC on Vancouver Island. We drive North on the Island Highway for about 2 hours until we arrive in Campbell River, BC. It was PISSING rain and WINDY WINDY OH SO WINDY the whole trip up. After Dinner at the White Spot (MMM BC'S FAVOURITE RESTAURANT!!!) We took yet another ferry (a lot smaller) to Quadra Island, about a 10 minute crossing. It was 'interesting' at best in the rough seas and wind, and I have to admit that I wondered if we'd be diving at all the next day in a much smaller dive boat! We arrived at the Ferry Terminal in Quathiaski Cove and drove literally up one hill less than a minute from the ferry dock and arrived at Ian and Joanne's Abyssal Diving Charters and lodge (http://www.abyssal.com). It's a nice lodge, nestled on the hill overlooking the water, with a creek running through the back yard. We were greeted by Ian, who helped us with our gear and showed us the wet room and where we could hang our drysuits and whatnot for the morning. He then showed us to our living area which was basically the whole bottom floor of the cozy lodge, complete with roaring wood burning fireplace and a hot tub. The sleeping arrangements were taken care of next. There were 11 of us. Two couples, and then 5 more guys and 2 more girls. So naturally the couples got the two rooms with the bigger beds, and then the guys bunked in one room and the girls in the other. The lodge has a big area with couches for relazing, a plethora of dive reading materials, and ample areas for charging lights and preparing camera gear, etc. Upstairs is the dining room and TV room with a HUGE screen TV with Satellite and BEAUTIFUL hardwood Floors. Sheri, the friendly big dive dog greeted us upon arrival as well, and was very good at keeping feet warm during meals. Also, Ian and Joanne's 15-month old son Angus was happy to see us all as well. So, after a good night's rest and a great breakfast we were out for our first dive. Joanne piloted the custom aluminum dive boat in the rain out to the HMSCS Columbia, an ex-canadian naval Destroyer. It's 366 feet long. Very Impressive wreck. It was sunk about 3 years ago, and it's amazing how well the aquatic realm has taken hold of it. Life Everywhere! The whole thing is covered in swimming scallops and other types of scallops, with different anemones, and big ling cod, kelp greenlings and sculpins as well. Before it was sunk it was prepared by the Artificial Reef Society for divers to penetrate, so it is very safe to penetrate, that is of course if you have the proper training and equipment!!! The visibility was excellent as well. We surfaced and headed back to the lodge to fill tanks and have a snack. Our next Dive was at an old ferry dock. This was cool. Many urchins, very tame Kelp Greenlings, Anemones, crabs, etc. Beautful Vis once again. After this we went back to the lodge for lunch. Our third dive was the best of the trip. We did a drift dive (Campbell river is in the middle of Discovery Passage, which has some of the strongest tidal currents in the world) The strong tidal currents sweep the walls of Steep Island where our drift dive took place. The nutrient rich and highly aerated waters make for some of the most amazing wall dives in the world. EVERY SQUARE INCH of this wall was covered in life. The whole thing was carpeted in beautiful Strawberry Anemones, with all sorts of encrusting sponges and soft corals in between. Different Anemones also were present. The current wasn't too fast so we were actually able to get a good look at everything. Puget sound king crabs, decorator crabs, kelp crabs, you name it, this wall had it. Tons of Rockfish, sculpins, greenlings. Beatiful Kelp Forests near the surface. Very Cool. Back to the lodge for a nap and a wonderful pasta dinner. Back to the boat for the night dive at the old ferry dock. It was totally different down there than in the afternoon. Still beautiful vis, but lots of different fish came out. Got a great shot of a sailfin sculpin and some other sculpins and greenlings. Very Cool. Back to the lodge for a good nights sleep after a nice hot tub! Sunday Morning, got up had breakfast and then out for our final dive. We did another wreck dive on an old sunken ferry boat. This was cool because it's in shallow water (only about 55 feet max!) and is covered in life. Right when we dropped down we saw a giant pacific octopus, out of its den, crawling around. I'd never seen one out of its den before. Took some cool pics of it, it changed color a couple times. Fascinating creatures! The wreck had this wacky current going around it that enabled us to almost drift all the way around it. So much fun. Saw seals too, he came and swam by and I snapped a picture of him and then he took off. Hope it turns out, this was my first time with an u/w camera. So we circled the wreck a couple times, went and visited our 8-legged friend again and surfaced and went home. All in all an excellent trip. Great diving, great accomodations, great people, great food. The whole weekend was cheap too, and if you happen to be american, it's even cheaper with the exchange rate and all. You can book in for as long as ya want too. I would reccomend this trip for anyone and I am planning to return sometime soon I hope! Check out Ian and Joanne's Website www.abyssal.com and come on up to Beautiful BC and see what Campbell River has to offer.
Regards, Safe Diving.
Tim

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