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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 Sidney, B.C.
Canada These are medium quality jpegs. But I have the RAW images as well. Email tjfidler@telus.net Directions to this dive site can be found at the bottom of this page. Type of dive: shore dive / boat dive Rating for this dive site: 6/10 as sensitive to current Parking: 8/10 for parking if you don't mind walking Bathroom/Washroom/Toilet: Stores nearby have them. Boat ramp: Ease of entry: 9/10 [Wheel chair access: Yes one of the few dive spots with wheel chair ramp. Best at high tide.] Abundance of life: 6/10. Lots of eel type fish and nudibranchs - depending on the season. Accommodations: There are several places in Sidney or even Victoria that you could find lodging at. Including Hotels, Motels, Inns and Campgrounds. Attractions: Ease of entry, and wheel chair access at high tide. Bottom and depth: Mostly sand, but there is also the artificial reef balls here, but they don't seem that good to me. I'm guessing the concrete is too smooth and hard. Maybe they should mix in some steel, or iron, nodules that would rust away and provide a more porous surface later on. Facilities: dive shop, washrooms, picnic tables, Hazards/Obstacles: boat traffic, and current Sensitivity to tide/current: best done at slack tide as current can be very strong Terrain: mostly sand with some rocks, bit of an artificial reef and the piers attract some life Tides, transportation and weather: Fisheries and Oceans Canada Tide Page., BC Ferries Schedule and Sailings. , The Weather Network
Just clicking on the ads helps pay for the web site. And I'm not earning enough yet for the web space. |
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 pier in downtown Sidney:
Me at the stairs just coming out of the water
Crustaceans
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| Decorator Crab (?) - ( March 11, 2006) | Northern Kelp Crab ( March 12, 2006) |
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| Northern Kelp Crab ( March 19, 2006) | Northern Kelp Crab (?) ( March 19, 2006) |
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| Helmet Crab ~ 10 inches
[25 cm] wide. Its hanging out an opening on a reef ball. These concrete structures are used to create an artificial reef. To learn more about them check out the Artificial Reef Structures Ltd web site. From what I've seen I think they need to make the surface a little more porous. Perhaps add some iron nuggets to the outside when they pour the concrete and then when they rust away they will provide a better surface. It seems to be too hard and smooth. ( March 11, 2006) |
Helmet Crab ~ 10 inches [25 cm]
wide. Very common at this scuba diving site. ( March 19, 2006) |
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| Helmet Crab covered in small
barnacles ~ 10 inches [25 cm] wide. ( March 19, 2006) |
Helmet Crab covered in small
barnacles ~ 10 inches [25 cm] wide. ( March 19, 2006) |
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| Red Rock Crab ( March 11, 2006) | Red Rock Crab ( March 19, 2006) |
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| Decorator Crab - Covered in bits
of brown kelp (March 19, 2006) |
Decorator Crab ~ 6 inches [15 cm] wide. (March 12, 2006) |
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| Decorator Crab ~ 6 inches [15
cm] wide. Very common at this dive site. (March 19, 2006) |
Decorator Crab ~ 6 inches [15 cm] wide. (March 19, 2006) |
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| Shrimp living on Yellow Sponge covering a beer bottle (March 19, 2006) | Yellow Sponge covering a beer bottle (March 19, 2006) |
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| young Decorator Crab (?) (March 12, 2006) | Decorator Crab (June 10, 2006) |
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| Decorator Crab (June 10, 2006) | Decorator Crab (June 10, 2006) |
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| Closeup of a Dungeness Crab (June 10, 2006) | Young Red Rock Crab on the side
of the sunken sail boat. This is a small sail boat that is easy to miss. (June 10, 2006) |
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| Closeup of a Red Rock Crab ~ 10 inches [25 cm] wide. (June 10, 2006) | Three Shrimp ~ 4 inches [10 cm] for the largest one. (June 10, 2006) |
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Fish
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| Great Sculpin ~ 12 inches [30 cm] long. Note that it is
sitting amongst a few bottles that have been piled up at one location. And they are pink because of the Pink Encrusting Algain growing on them. ( March 11, 2006) |
Great Sculpin ( March 11, 2006) |
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| Sculpin ( March 11, 2006) | Penpoint Gunnel (June 10, 2006) |
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| Saddleback Gunnel ? There were
several of them here on this dive, but they were not that keen on staying still to have there picture taken. (June 10, 2006) |
Sole ~ 10 inches [25 cm] long. Quite common here. (June 10, 2006) |
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| Sculpin of somekind with a Longfin Sculpin behind it (June 10, 2006) | Same two fish but centered (June 10, 2006) |
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| Pacific Snake Prickleback ~ 6
inches [15 cm] long. Note the shrimp that is just above it in this digital image. (June 10, 2006) |
Saddleback Gunnel (June 10, 2006) |
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| Saddleback Gunnel (June 10, 2006) | Saddleback Gunnel (June 10, 2006) |
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| Two Saddleback Gunnels (June 10, 2006) | Some kind of sculpin (June 10, 2006) |
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Sea Slugs or Nudibranchs
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| Clown Dorid ( March 11, 2006) | Clown Dorid ( March 11, 2006) |
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| White Lined Dorid ( March 11, 2006) | White Lined Dorid ( March 11,
2006) This image also appears on the ocean-life calendar 2010 for Underwater Life of the Pacific Northwest. North America 2009 Calendar v02 |
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| Sea Lemon Nudibranch ~ 8 inches
[20 cm] long. (March 19,
2006) |
Sea Lemon Nudibranch (March 19, 2006) |
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| Sea Lemon or maybe a Tar Spotted
Nudibranch ~ 8 inches [20 cm] long. (June 10, 2006) |
Not sure what species - my book is not detailed enough (June 10, 2006) |
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Sea Anemones ( Cnidarians )
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| Sea Anemone ~ 8 inches [20 cm] wide. ( March 19, 2006) | Sea Anemones (June 10, 2006) |
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| Sea Anemones (June 10, 2006) | Sea Anemones (June 10, 2006) |
Starfish & Sea Cucumbers ( Echinoderms )
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| Blood Starfish ~ 8 inches [20 cm] wide. ( March 11, 2006) | juvenile Sunflower Starfish ~ 12 inches [30 cm] wide. ( March 12, 2006) |
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| young Sunflower Starfish eating
a Crab (March 19, 2006) |
Sea Cucumber (March 19, 2006) |
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| Young Sunflower Starfish (June 10, 2006) |
Chitons
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| Giant Pacific Chiton (aka
Gumboot Chiton) ~ 14 inches [35 cm] long. Quite common here. (March 19, 2006) |
Underside of a Giant Pacific
Chiton (aka Gumboot Chiton) They actually feel much harder to the touch than what you might expect. (March 19, 2006) |
Miscellaneous
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| Yellow Sponge covering a beer bottle (March 19, 2006) | Yellow Sponge on the side of the
small sail boat that was sunk in this bay. (June 10, 2006) |
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If you want to locate this site on a map, or print out a map, you can user either:
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Or
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