Alberthead Lagoon in Metchosin, B.C. Bear Cove in Port Hardy, B.C. Bob's Spot in the Plumper Island Group, B.C. Braemar Ave in North Saanich, B.C. Breakwater Island near Gabriola Pass, B.C. Browning Passage near Port Hardy, B.C. Browning Wall near Port Hardy, B.C. China Creek near Port Alberni, B.C. Clover Point in Victoria, B.C. Copper Cliffs near Campbell River, B.C. Daphne Islet near Brentwood Bay Deep Cove near Sidney, B.C. Discovery Island near Victoria, B.C. Dolphin Beach near Nanoose Bay, B.C. Elliot's Beach Park in Ladysmith, B.C. Five Fathom near Port Hardy, B.C. Forest Island (north end) near Sidney, B.C. GB Church [ship to reef] near Sidney, B.C. Gowland Point on South Pender Island, B.C. Henderson Point near Sidney, B.C. Madrona Point in Nanaimo, B.C. Maple Bay near Duncan, B.C. McKenzie Bight near Victoria, B.C. McNeill Point aka Kitty Islet in Victoria, B.C. Neck Point in Nanaimo, B.C. Northeast Pearse Wall, Telegraph Cove, B.C. Ogden Point in Victoria, B.C. Porteau Cove Marine Park, B.C. Port McNeil, B.C. Rocky Point in Nanaimo, B.C. Row & Be Damned near Campbell River, B.C. Saltery Bay near Powell River,B.C. Saxe Point in Esquimalt, B.C. Sidney, B.C. Ten Mile Point in Victoria, B.C. Wall Beach near Nanoose Bay, B.C. Whytecliff Park near Vancouver, B.C. Willis Point near Sidney, B.C. International Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii, USA Kaui - an Island of Hawaii, USA Aquatic but Non-Marine Life Vancouver Island, B.C.

Scuba Diving Pictures from Deep Cove near Sidney, B.C. Canada on Vancouver Island. These are medium quality jpegs. But I have the RAW images as well. Email tjfidler@telus.net Directions to the dive site are located at the bottom of this page. Type of dive: shore dive Rating for this dive site: south entry 8/10, north entry 6/10 Parking: south entry 7/10 for about 6 cars/trucks/vans, north entry 7/10 for about 8 vehicles Boat ramp: none Ease of entry: south entry 7/10, short distance to walk, but solid rock entry can be tricky [Wheel chair access: No] north entry 7/10 as you have to walk about 150 feet [45 metres], good at high tide, some slipper rock at low tide [Wheel chair access: No] Abundance of life: south entry 7/10, north entry 5/10 Accommodations:  There are several places in Sidney or even Victoria that you could find lodging at. Including Hotels, Motels, Inns and Campgrounds. Attractions: south entry - some wall structure, so holes for life, north entry - mostly sand Bottom and depth: south entry - 90+ feet [30+ metres], north entry - fairly shallow area my maximum depth was about 45 feet [13 metres] Facilities: none at either site Hazards/Obstacles: boat traffic possible at both sites Sensitivity to tide/current: protected from current, Terrain: south entry - rocky near shore, solid rock wall structures with sand at bottom, north entry - mostly sandy Tides, transportation and weather: Fisheries and Oceans Canada Tide Page., BC Ferries Schedule and Sailings. , The Weather Network If you like these pages, and wish this web site to continue, please remember to check out some of the Google Ads. Just clicking on the ads helps pay for the web site.

The following images are thumbnails. If you click on them a larger image will open up and the picture will take up most of your screen. Again these are medium qualifty jpegs. Higher quality images can be purchased directly from me via paypal using my email address tjfidler@telus.net And many of these photos can be found for sale on Cafepress through the Calendar link and Photo CD link.

A few people have already asked me about "What is that pink stuff on the rocks in some of the pictures?" Well, they're usually Pink Rock Crust (aka Encrusting Coralline Algae) or in some cases might even be Encrusting Hydrocorals. They're eaten by a variety of animals - apparently as a good source of calcium.

The parking lot of the southern part of Setchell Drive / Deep Cove. Very small. At best it might hold 6 cars.

  

Solid rock beach. Can be tricky getting into the water. Use caution.


Deep Cove / Moses Point - north parking area, and view of the rock beach. Can be tricky getting into the water. Use caution.
  

Cephalopods

Stubby Squid (Dec 30, 2006)	Stubby Squid (Dec 30, 2006)
Red or Juvenile Pacific Giant Octopus ? (January 13, 2007)	Red or Juvenile Pacific Giant Octopus ? (January 13, 2007)
Red or Juvenile Pacific Giant Octopus ? (December 30, 2006)

Crustaceans

Kelp Crab (Feb 11, 2007)	Red Rock Crab (Jan 13, 2007)
Red Rock Crab ~ 12 inches [30 cm] wide. They like to hide in the sand. And if you check out the Saxe Point web page you will see they even like to dig holes in what appears to be a search for food.  (February 11, 2007)	Prawn ~ 6 inches [15 cm] long. (Feb 18, 2007)
Northern Kelp Crab ~ 14 inches [35 cm] wide with the legs. (Feb 18, 2007)	Red Rock Crab ~ 12 inches [30 cm] wide. This one seems to be extra tough or strong looking.  (Feb 18, 2007)
Scaled Crab - juvenile. This is the only one I've ever seen up to this point. I don't just mean as a young one. Until this time I had never seen this species. (Feb 18, 2007)	Prawns ~ 6 inches [15 cm] long. On this day I saw more prawns then I have ever seen before. In the thousands. (Jan 25, 2009)
Tanner Crabs ~ 5 inches [12.5 cm] across the head/carapace. With legs these were closer to 20 inches [50 cm] wide with legs in there normal positions. This seemed to be a male and female pair that were about to mate. I left them alone. (Feb 18, 2009)	Snow Crab ~ 20 inches [50 cm] wide across the legs. It is sitting at the base of one of the largest Giant Plumose Anemones I had ever seen. About 4 feet [1.3 m]  tall. But the water conditions were too poor to take a picture of the entire anemone. (Apr 7, 2009)
Kelp Crab ~ 10 inches [25 cm] wide along legs. The Hooded Nudibranchs were so plentiful that there was almost a shortage of space for them to hang out on. This crab did not seem to mind having 3+ of them riding on it. (Aug 18, 2009)	Helmet Crab ~ 10 inches [25 cm] wide. (Aug 18, 2009)
Red Rock Crabs mating. ~ 10 inches [25 cm] wide on the male. Note the small female that it has held within its arms. The females are also usually molting during this process and so also gain the protection of the male while its new shell hardens. (Aug 18, 2009)

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Fish

Sculpin [of some kind] ~ 4 inches [10 cm] long. (Feb 11, 2007)	Spiny Nosed Sculpin ~ 4 inches [10 cm] long. (Dec 30, 2006)
A young Buffalo Sculpin ~ 12 inches [30 cm] long. (Nov 13, 2006)	Not sure what species ~ 4 inches [10 cm] long. (Nov 13, 2006)
Rock Sole ~ 12 inches [30 cm] long. (Dec 30, 2006)	Ling Cod sitting with eggs ~ less than 3 feet [1 m] long. Based on its size this is a young male for this type of fish. (Feb 18, 2007)
Copper Rockfish ~ 14 inches [35 cm] long. Common here. (Feb 18, 2007)	Sculpin of some kind but not in my books. ~ 8 inches [20 cm] long. Perhaps these are breeding colours.? (Feb 18, 2009)
Sailfin Sculpin [Nautichthys oculofasciatus] ~ 6 inches [15 cm] long. The side  profile picture I took did not turn out and the back scatter this day was quite high.  (Feb 18, 2009)	Silver Spotted Sculpin ~ 6 inches [15 cm] long. I thought this was just an odd coloured Sailfin Sculpin. But apparently this is a unique species. First time I've seen one of these. (Feb 18, 2009)
White Spotted Greenling [?] ~ 18 inches [50 cm] long. Not common at this site. (Apr 7, 2009)	Pacific Snake Prickleback ~ 18 inches [50 cm] long. First I've ever seen. (Apr 7, 2009)
My first shark image. Ok - some say the Spiny Dog Fish is not a real shark just because its small. But at 5 feet [1.6 m] it looks like a real shark when its coming to you. : )  Note how close I got. But I was not able to get it back for a better photo. (Aug 18, 2009)

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Mollusks

Chitons ~ 1.5 inches [3.25 cm] long. (June 23, 2007)

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 Nudibranchs ( Sea Slugs ) and Snails

Red Flabellinas attacking a baby Sea Pen. Each of these nudibranchs are only about 1 inch [2.5 cm] long. (Feb 11, 2006)	Giant Dendronotid ~ 12 inches [30 cm] long. [odd colour] (Dec 30, 2006)
White Lined Dirona or maybe a Gold Dirona ~ 6 inches [15 cm] long.  (Dec 30, 2006)	Sea Lemon ~ 4 inches [10 cm] long. (Feb 18, 2007)
Sea Lemon ~ 4 inches [10 cm] long. Not that common here, but I usually manage to spot one on every dive. (June 23, 2007)	Hooded Nudibranchs. ~ 4 to 5 inches [10 to 12.5 cm] long on average. I've never seen a hooded nudibranch [sea slug] in Deep Cove before, but today there were literally tens of thousands of them. This video gives you an idea of how many there were. Check out my Bear Cove page for some other high quality images of these animals near Port Hardy. Two more videos below. Feeding and swimming. (Aug 18, 2009)
Hooded Nudibranchs. ~ 4 to 5 inches [10 to 12.5 cm] long on average. (Aug 18, 2009)	Hooded Nudibranchs. ~ 4 to 5 inches [10 to 12.5 cm] long on average. (Aug 18, 2009)
Hooded Nudibranchs. ~ 4 to 5 inches [10 to 12.5 cm] long on average. Note that the far right their mouths [like a venus fly trap] are open. Next image they close them. (Aug 18, 2009)	Hooded Nudibranchs. ~ 4 to 5 inches [10 to 12.5 cm] long on average. Now the same two animals mouths are closed. (Aug 18, 2009)
Video of Hooded Nudibranchs feeding. With two of the ones in the background deciding to swim away. (Aug 18, 2009)	A short video of a Hooded Nudibranch swimming. Also note that when they are swimming they are on "their backs." So, in effect they only swim upside down. This could be due to the size of their mouths. Forcing them do this. (Aug 18, 2009)
Red Flabellina ~ 2 inches [5 cm] long. One of the larger ones I've ever seen, but according to the book they can reach over 5 inches in length. (Aug 18, 2009)	Hooded Nudibranchs. ~ 4 to 5 inches [10 to 12.5 cm] long on average. I like the way the images look when the nudibranchs are on green kelp. I was hoping to get some better images, but I had an equalization problem with my right ear and had to cut the 2nd dive short. (Aug 18, 2009)

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Sea Anemones & Jellyfish ( Cnidarians )

Buried Anemone ~ 6 inches [15 cm] wide. ( Aug 12, 2006)	Short Plumose Anemone? ~ 6 inches [15 cm] tall.  (Feb 18, 2007)
Under side of a Giant Plumose Anemone ~ 14 inches [35 cm] wide. (Feb 18, 2007)	Orange Cup Corals - not very good but only one for this site. These are about 1 inche [2.5 cm] in diameter. (Feb 18, 2007)
Swimming Anemone - juvenile ~ 2 inches [5 cm] in diameter. I spotted a couple of them today, and last weekend at Willis Point. There seems to be more juveniles around. And in fact I have not seen many adults here near Victoria-Sidney region.	White Anemone ~ 3 inches [7.5 cm] wide. Not very common. I've only seen about three of these in all my dives. (Apr 7, 2009)
White Anemone ~ 4 inches [10 cm] in diameter. Note the baby sea cucumber behind it, the arm of a painted starfish and of course several Hooded Nudibranchs. (Aug 18, 2009)

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Sea Cucumbers & Starfish ( Echinoderms  )

Rose Star - about 8 inches [20 cm] across (Jan 13, 2007)	Rose Star - this starfish about 8 inches [20 cm] widde. Quite common at this location. (Feb 11, 2007)
Brittle Star and a Vermilion Star ~ 6 inches [15 cm] wide. Both of these types of starfish are common at this location. (Dec 30, 2006)	Rose Star ~ this starfish about 8 inches [20 cm] wide. (Dec 30, 2006)
Spiny Pink Star ~ 2 feet [60 cm] wide. (Dec 30, 2006)	Spiny Pink Star ~ 3 feet [1 m] wide. And a Red Rock Crab (Dec 30, 2006)
Spiny Pink Star ~ 3 feet [1 m] wide. And a Vermilion Star. These starfish are very common here.	Giant Sunflower Star ~ 2 feet [60 cm] wide. (Feb 11, 2007)
Six armed Spiny Pink Star ~ 3 feet [1 m] across. This is quite a unique mutation and its obvious that it is a mutation compared to the four arm one to the right of this image. (Feb 18, 2007)	Four armed Spiny Pink Star ~ almost 3 feet [1 m] wide. Another unique mutation although some would say its arm was probably bit off by a Puget Sound King Crab but that is not likely since there is no stump of an arm. (Feb 18, 2007)
Juvenile and adult Spiny Pink Stars. The larger one was almost 3 feet [1 m] wide. They are sitting on a large concrete block used for buoys. (Feb 18, 2007)	Maybe a Mottled Star but not sure. About 14 inches [35 cm] wide. These are common here. (Feb 18, 2007)
Purple Star ~ 14 inches [35 cm] across. Quite common here. (June 23, 2007)	Painted Star ~ the whole starfish was actually over 2 feet [60 cm] wide. Quite common here. (June 23, 2007)
Vermilion Stars ~ 6 inches [15 cm] wide. Note that the one on the right is a more rare one that has six arms. The other two may be fighting or mating.	Orange Sea Cucumber ~ 14 inches [35 cm] wide. Common at this dive site. Also sometimes known as the Red Sea Cucumber. (Apr 7, 2009)
Orange Sea Cucumber ~ 12 inches [30 cm] wide. If you look at the center of the animal it appears to be giving off sperm. I notices this at another dive site for the same species, but for that picture it was not as obvious. Also a Pale Sea Cucumber to the lower right of the orange one. (Apr 7, 2009)	Purple Stars ~ 14 inches [35 cm] wide. With several Hooded Nudibranchs to the right of them. (Aug 18, 2009)

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Sponge

Orange Finger Sponge ~ 4 inches [10 cm] tall. Not very common. (Feb 11, 2007)	Yellow Boring Sponge on a dead Giant Acorn Barnacle (Dec 30, 2006)
Yellow Boring Sponge ~ each sponge body is only about 1/2 inch [1.25 cm] wide at best. They seem to be common on the large barnacles. (Feb 18, 2007)	Yellow Boring Sponges again on a large dead Giant Acorn Barnacle.  (Feb 18, 2007)

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Tunicates

Transparent Tunicate ~ 4 inches [10 cm] long. (Feb 18, 2007)	Stalked Hairy Sea Squirts ~ 4 inches [10 cm] wide. (Feb 18, 2007)

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Worms

Marine Worm on a Painted Star  (Feb 11, 2007)

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Miscellaneous

Sea Pen - this is pretty much a baby. Less than 3 inches [7.5 cm] tall. They were very common here at the north end of Deep Cove. (Feb 11, 2007)	A pair of young Sea Pens. Note that one is in protected mode. Again each are less than 3 inches tall. Closer to 2 inches [5 cm] for the closer one to the bottom. (Feb 11, 2007)
Jellyfish ~ 4 inches [10 cm] wide. (June 23, 2007)

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If you want to locate this site on a map, or print out a map, you can user either:

Google Maps :  enter: Setchell Road North Saanich BC
Or
MapQuest : Street: Moses Point, City: North Saanich, State/Prov: BC

South entry is Setchell Road in North Saanich which is near Sidney, B.C.

North entry is Moses Point Road in North Saanich which is near Sidney, B.C.

Rating for this dive spot:
South End:
Ease of entry: 7/10 as getting in and out here on the solid rock is ok, but can be tricky.
Parking: 7/10 Enough parking for about 5 to 6 cars.
Path: It is a short walk down to the water but this is Not wheel chair accessible. Their are stairs going down and then you must naviage over solid rock and grass growing on it. It is only about twenty metres [~ 66 feet] to the water.
Current: Current is Not an issue here as is true for most of the locations within the Saanich Inlet.
Abundance of Life:  5 out of 10. There is lots of solid rock structure straight out from shore, but not a lot of life on it due to the fact that their is little to no current here.