By Rick Stratton
Publisher, Dive News Network
Howe Sound, located just North of the City of Vancouver British Columbia offer some of the best access to scuba diving on the BC mainland. Once devastated by the industrial base of logging, pulp mills and mining, combined with the loss of fish stocks, the area has had an incredible rebound in recent years.
For divers needing adventure, Howe Sound is your spot. The Sound stretches along mainland Vancouver’s northwestern shore, to the foothills of the Coastal Mountains. Howe Sound is triangular in shape and is a network of fjords. There are several islands in the sound and three are large and mountainous.
While out in the Sound on boat dives you will discover sea life and terrain you just can’t find anywhere else in the world. This is where underwater photographers will find wolf eels, octopus, cabezon and lingcod all waiting for their turn in front of the camera. Orange and white swimming anemones, small crabs, hydroids and frosted nudibranchs welcome divers to the area. This is a dive destination that will call you back over and over again.
Dive boat operators pick up their divers in Horseshoe Bay for 2-tank charters. One such charter is Sea Dragon Charters which is based in Vancouver, BC but operates two boats, one out of both Howe Sound and one out of Nanaimo. Owner Kevin Breckman has been captaining these waters for over 12 years and he knows where all the good dive sites are. “Howe Sound is a fjord so the water is deep,” says Breckman. “We have exquisite sea mounts and pinnacles.” Breckman adds that although the water is often a mix of salt water and fresh water run off the viz is still good. “It often makes a difference if there is a lot of run off,” Breckman says. “However the diving in Howe Sound is not much different than most ocean diving. There are times when there is a cloud layer on top of the water but you can dive 20 ft. and come out into crystal clear viz.”
Breckman says that the sea life in Howe Sound is marching back and it makes for some pretty amazing diving these days. “We have huge fields of cloud sponges as well as wolf eels and everything else you can expect to find in the waters off British Columbia. The truly amazing thing is the color, which BC is known for; Howe Sound has that incredible array of colors too making it a great place to take underwater photos.” Locations good for close-up photography are Bird Islet, where you can find yellow sea pens, small sculpins and brittle stars. Cowan Point is equally good for zoanthids, hairy-spined crabs and crimson anemones and groups of sea lions are fun to dive with during winter months, creating great video.
There are approximate 30 dive sites that the Sea Dragon crew will take divers to. Breckman mentions the “Dragon’s Den”. “We just discovered this dive site,” Breckman says. “It is a steep, sheer wall that is more for the experienced diver but what a great place it is to dive. At 65 ft. you come across deep caverns and sea anemones that are actually growing upside down giving the dive a cave-like feel. There are an incredible number of war bonnets in this area.” Breckman also mentions the “Stairway to Heaven” dive site. “We also just discovered this dive site and it is also a wall dive,” Breckman says. “There are a large number of rockfish here, and I do mean large…and some very large lingcod who snack on them.
There are a number of other dive sites in Howe Sound that bear mentioning. Porteau Cove Provincial Marine Park is a popular spot for weekend divers. Porteau Cove was set up just for divers with a series of tire chains, concrete blocks and steel ‘H’ Beams that were sunk as an artificial reef. This site attracts a wide variety of marine life, including octopus, plumose anemones, lingcod, and shrimp. There are also 3 small wrecks, The Granthall a 28m, steel-hulled CPR tugboat, the Centennial III, an 11 meter steel dredge tender, and a 15 meter sailboat hull. The Nayaka, a 125 ft. minesweeper is also in this area however it is for more experienced divers. Another popular dive site is Pam Rocks. This is a boat dive and is a mix of rocky outcrops and sandy slopes, descending to depths of around 30 ft. The area is known for the colony of seals that play here as well as a group of tube-dwelling anemones, sea firs, short-spined stars, and clams.
There are a number of dive sites around Gambier Island. Halkett Wall is a steep wall to over 100 ft. Gambier Island East Wall is a deep wall and a shallow wall, with a sloped sand ledge between. Ekins Point offer a gentle slope with some rolling hills and a max depth around 33 ft. There are plenty of other sites not included in this summary, just a short list includes Hutt wall, Hutt Rock, Worlecombe Island, Christie Islett, Passage Island, Seymore Wall, Reefmaster, Salmon Rock, Keats Island Wall, Dorman Bay, Royse Rock, and many more.
Breckman says that all of these sites as well as some 25 others offer divers a unique look into the marine life off the shores of British Columbia. “The dive sites are so different in different areas that a diver could spend weeks here and never dive the same site twice,” Breckman says. “We have walls, pinnacles, sea mounts, wrecks, easy dives, advanced dives…to be honest, no matter what level of diver you are, Howe Sound can accommodate you.” Breckman adds that his charter service crew doesn’t have a problem doing some traveling to get to the dive site you want either. “Our primary vessel is a big, fast boat,” says Breckman. “We have traveled as much as 30 nautical miles in a day to accommodate divers. We are not afraid to do a little traveling.”
According to Jan Breckman –co-owner of the Sea Dragon, one of the key benefits to coming to Howe Sound is that the area can be easily be explored without having to get on an expensive and time consuming ferry. “ There is a nice hotel right in Horseshoe Bay in walking distance of the boat, restaurants, pubs, etc. The Sea Dragon has an on-board compressor for diver’s convenience and is a wide, roomy, diver-friendly vessel, fully protected from the elements for winter diving in Howe Sound.” said Breckman.
If you haven’t considered heading to Howe Sound for diving; this might be a good time to change your mind. The diving offers sea life that is both plentiful and colourful and the dive charters are ready and willing to take you where you want to go. So pack up that gear and head north…it appears to be where all the fun is. ■
Special Thanks To:
The Breckmans
Sea Dragon Charters
Roy Mulder
President
Marine Life Sanctuaries Society of British Columbia
Michael Meagher
Michael Meagher Productions
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