Sechelt area dives (Sunshine Coast, BC)

[whatevah]

Later this month (April 23rd through 26th) I'm heading up to dive the Sechelt area with the fine folks at Porpoise Bay Charters. Tidal conditions will be excellent, and I've heard good things about places like Agamemnon Channel, Skookumchuck Rapids, Sechelt Narrows etc. I know they put divers on the wreck of the Chaudierre too. I'm pretty excited about the drift dives, the Cloud Sponges, the Gorgonians, the kayaking and the hot tub. There'll be plenty of flexibility about choosing sites when we get there and discuss the plans as a group, so I'm hoping to get some input from others who've visited the area: which sites did you enjoy most and why? Any tips on how to maximize the dive fun while we're there? Any cool and unusual critters I should be on the lookout for? Last I heard there was room for a couple more divers - can put you in contact with the lady who is figuring out the logistics if anyone is interested. Thanks in advance!

[enchantmentdivi]

Agamemnon Wall is in my top ten favorite dives, and in my opinion, it is a "must do." The cloud sponges are surreal, and you'll feel like you are on another planet. We were last there in October, and the gorgonians were as shallow as 75-80 ft...small ones.

The Skook is awesome! Life everywhere.

Stag Wall is another favorite. More cloud sponges, and the topography is amazing!

[whatevah]

Agamemnon Wall is in my top ten favorite dives, and in my opinion, it is a "must do." The cloud sponges are surreal, and you'll feel like you are on another planet. We were last there in October, and the gorgonians were as shallow as 75-80 ft...small ones.

The Skook is awesome! Life everywhere.

Stag Wall is another favorite. More cloud sponges, and the topography is amazing!

Thanks! Stag Wall is one I hadn't heard about yet - will remember to ask Kal about that one. Did you dive air or nitrox? And did you do any kayaking? My pile of stuff to take is already getting a little ridiculous, and I'm trying to decide whether to bring my kayak gear or not. Just ordered some new bits and pieces for my camera - praying for wide-angle visibility

[coachrenz]

I second the Stag Wall recommendation. There are places where the wall is actually inverted, meaning you look up and all you see over your head is wall.

When we were there 2 Octobers ago, there were people white-water kayaking in the Skook during an exchange.

I would also suggest doing a dive right off the resort dock. We were told that we were the first divers to dive that spot and found it to be a pretty cool and easy dive. We found bottles in about 40 fsw or so and the sea life was very similar to all the other sites we dove.

I dove air. Some of the best stuff is in the deeper range that nitrox wouldn't allow you to get to (cloud sponges especially).

[enchantmentdivi]

Just air for me. We've never done any kayaking up there, but during this last trip, we got to see the Skook in action. It was running FAST, and those crazy kayakers were out on the standing waves that the current create. It was NUTS! If you go onto youtube, and search kayaking on the Skookumchuck, you'll hit on a lot of videos of that stuff. Not for me, thank you!

We've been up there about 8-9 times now at various times of the year, and we've almost always had at least 40-80 ft of viz once you're under the top 15-20 ft or so. There was a weird landslide once that brought viz down to about 2 inchs all the way down to 140 ft on Agamemnon, but that was a freak occurrence.

Have a good time, and post some pics when you get back!

[whatevah]

Really appreciate the input - thanks! I will definitely explore the handy shoredives Tim - couple of night dives just might allow me to strike another species off my list - there are a few sculpins I'm still on the look out for. I'm just a beginner when it comes to whitewater kayaking - better at swimming than boating apparently Not going to take my river boat - I'm more inclined to get some between dives relaxation in a touring kayak while I'm up there. I have some friends who are very much into whitewater kayaking though, and when I talked to them about some plans for putting them in to surf the standing waves at Deception Pass they got excited and showed me some youtube videos of their buddies up at Skookumchuck Rapids. Very very cool stuff!

Stag Wall does sound awesome - totally agree on the inverted structure - really gives you the full 3D freedom experience - and your bubbles run along above you like mercury. I am thinking I might take along a couple of cylinders with weak EAN mixes to give me a slight advantage on the deep stuff where I really want just a few more minutes to take photos. Mostly I get 30 to 32% in my cylinders, dive them once, and have them topped up with air. The result is typically something like 25 to 26%, which is good enough to get me where I want to go with brief excursions to PPO2 not exceeding 1.6 - I think it takes the edge off the narcosis for me too. Other than saving those for dives where they'll be useful, I'm thinking air will be just fine. Sounds like visibility is like I've seen in Hood Canal - very stratified - sometimes mucky on top but often wonderful below. I am getting super excited!!

Oh yes, there will definitely be photos...

[enchantmentdivi]

Oh, and enjoy Ann's eggs benedict.......oh my goodness!!!!

[-Aaron-]

whatevah,

Looks like I am going to be a last minute addition to your trip. I'm heading up solo, so I look forward to having a chance to meet some new people and make some new dive buddies . This will be my first timing getting a chance to dive in Canada, so I am pretty excited for the trip. Plus, my new canister light should be arriving just in time to come along.

Thanks, to everyone for all the great information in the thread. When I first read it a few weeks ago I didn't realize that I was going to be getting to use the advice everyone was posting :P

[whatevah]

whatevah,

Looks like I am going to be a last minute addition to your trip. I'm heading up solo, so I look forward to having a chance to meet some new people and make some new dive buddies . This will be my first timing getting a chance to dive in Canada, so I am pretty excited for the trip. Plus, my new canister light should be arriving just in time to come along.

Thanks, to everyone for all the great information in the thread. When I first read it a few weeks ago I didn't realize that I was going to be getting to use the advice everyone was posting :P

Hey Aaron - glad you're coming along. I've met most of the folks who are heading north with us and I think it'll be a good mix. Let's try to get at least one dive in as buddies - and be prepared to answer a bunch of Oregon diving questions as I've got some tentative plans for a dive adventure down that way and very little details so far I'm finishing up EMT class this week and my day job is really not making me happy right now; so, I've already decided that I'm going to have a blast this weekend. Can't wait to get together with the rest of the gang and talk dive sites with the Porpoise Bay Charter folks. See you Friday!

Stag Wall sounds like a must-do. Eggs Benedict also

[-Aaron-]

whatevah,

Sounds like a plan. I am very excited for the trip, should be a great time. I will answer as many Oregon diving questions as I can, though I have to admit the bulk of my dives have been up in Washington or on various trips. I've dove a few places around Oregon though 3 Arch Rock, Netarts, Newport, Walport, Florence, Clear Lake, North Santiam River, etc. Happy to pass along any information I have.

See you soon .

[whatevah]

We had a great time! I said I'd post my photos so here they are...

http://photos.geckoworks.com/g/sechelt_inlet_april_2010

I'm starting to experiment with the video mode of my camera - took some wide-angle footage in Sechelt Rapids - results show I've got a lot to learn about video, but still fun I think...

http://www.youtube.com/user/geckoworks

We never did get to Stag Wall - just didn't fit with the other dives. We did Sechelt Rapids (twice), under the power lines in Agamemnon Channel (twice), the HMCS Chaudiere, and a number of other really great sites. Thoroughly enjoyed the whole trip and will definitely be going back for more.

[sheahanmcculla]

We had a great time! I said I'd post my photos so here they are...

<http://photos.geckoworks.com/g/sechelt_inlet_april_2010>

I'm starting to experiment with the video mode of my camera - took some wide-angle footage in Sechelt Rapids - results show I've got a lot to learn about video, but still fun I think...

<http://www.youtube.com/user/geckoworks>

We never did get to Stag Wall - just didn't fit with the other dives. We did Sechelt Rapids (twice), under the power lines in Agamemnon Channel (twice), the HMCS Chaudiere, and a number of other really great sites. Thoroughly enjoyed the whole trip and will definitely be going back for more.

Just an FYI...your links aren't working. And you can post your youtube video right into the thread.

[Jan K]

Just an FYI...your links aren't working. And you can post your youtube video right into the thread.

They work fine on my Mac ... Beautiful colors, love the Cloud sponge series, coral ....And fish. And anemones. etc etc

[whatevah]

I snuck back and fixed those links. Thanks for the feedback Jan - hope to see you in the water sometime soon!