Port Hardy BC and Browning Pass Hideaway
Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 8:01 amValerie (Zen Diver) and I returned yesterday from a week spent up at the Browning Pass Hideaway near Port Hardy, which is at the northern tip of Vancouver Island.
I have dived all over the northwest, all over the Caribbean, all over both coasts of Mexico and Central America, in Thailand, in West Malaysia and the Sea of Japan.....I have never, NEVER, NEVER seen anything that would rival the dive sites that we hit this week. I now have a new "favorite spot in the world" to dive, and it's right here in our little corner of the world.
All of the dive sites were great ones, but sites such as 7-Tree Island, Browning Pass Wall, and the Nakwakto Rapids quite simply took my breath away. I have WELL over 500 images to wade through, but I'll post a few shots in the future.
Here's a link to the "Hideaway": http://www.divevancouverisland.com/s/hideaway.php
It's most certainly NOT for those needing luxury of ANY kind. It's like visiting your Uncle Joe's fishing cabin in the back woods....bunks made of plywood and 2X4's.....no phones....no TV....wood stoves for heat.....no electricity once the generator is turned off at 11:00 PM.....you have to drink bottled water....you need a flashlight to locate the bathroom in the middle of the night.....but the diving and friendship are simply superlative. John deBoeck, also fondly known as "Clavella John", has been leading dive trips for over 27 years up there and has hosted film crews from around the world, including the crew that shot the "Blue Planet" footage in BC. He really knows where the best sites are and when to drop divers off on them to see fantastic sights underwater.....he is an amazing and knowledgeable man that I hope now to number among my friends.
This is some of the absolute finest diving in the world. I'm kicking myself for not going up there sooner in my life, and plan to return again and again. I'm quite certain that Valerie will echo my comments.
- John
I have dived all over the northwest, all over the Caribbean, all over both coasts of Mexico and Central America, in Thailand, in West Malaysia and the Sea of Japan.....I have never, NEVER, NEVER seen anything that would rival the dive sites that we hit this week. I now have a new "favorite spot in the world" to dive, and it's right here in our little corner of the world.
All of the dive sites were great ones, but sites such as 7-Tree Island, Browning Pass Wall, and the Nakwakto Rapids quite simply took my breath away. I have WELL over 500 images to wade through, but I'll post a few shots in the future.
Here's a link to the "Hideaway": http://www.divevancouverisland.com/s/hideaway.php
It's most certainly NOT for those needing luxury of ANY kind. It's like visiting your Uncle Joe's fishing cabin in the back woods....bunks made of plywood and 2X4's.....no phones....no TV....wood stoves for heat.....no electricity once the generator is turned off at 11:00 PM.....you have to drink bottled water....you need a flashlight to locate the bathroom in the middle of the night.....but the diving and friendship are simply superlative. John deBoeck, also fondly known as "Clavella John", has been leading dive trips for over 27 years up there and has hosted film crews from around the world, including the crew that shot the "Blue Planet" footage in BC. He really knows where the best sites are and when to drop divers off on them to see fantastic sights underwater.....he is an amazing and knowledgeable man that I hope now to number among my friends.
This is some of the absolute finest diving in the world. I'm kicking myself for not going up there sooner in my life, and plan to return again and again. I'm quite certain that Valerie will echo my comments.
- John
At least we know where we rank on the totem pole...)
