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Alberthead
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Scuba
Diving Pictures from Willis Point
near Victoria, 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 Rating for this dive site: 7/10 for the great rock wall that starts close to shore and goes well past 100 feet [30 metres] in some parts Parking: tight for parking, maybe four cars, trucks at the entrance to the fire lane. Do Not block the fire lane. Boat ramp: none but there would be one near Brent Bay in the Saanich Inlet. Bathroom/Washroom/Toilet: Not on site. Ease of entry: 7/10 as the last 10 feet down is a bit challenging and the algae covered rocks can be dangerous [Wheel chair access: No] Abundance of life: 4/10, unless your into tube worms & creeping petal sea cucumbers then I'd say its more like 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: great place for a deep wall dive. And the world famous Bouchard Gardens is nearby. Bottom and depth: Small rocks, and sand above and below the wall. Facilities: none Hazards/Obstacles: some boats, and the road here is a bit narrow in spots, but not much traffic Sensitivity to tide/current: protected from current at this location Terrain: solid rock walls that start at a depth of about 30 ft [10 m] and decend to more thatn 100 feet [30 metres] The surrounding terrain around the walls is a mixture of sand and rocky areas. Tides, transportation and weather: Fisheries and Oceans Canada Tide Page., BC Ferries Schedule and Sailings. , The Weather Network
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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 entrance to Willis Point:
To the right of the firelane is a black iron fence.
Cephalopods ( Ocotopi and Squid )
My first picture of an adult Pacific Giant Octopus. But I could not coax it out of its den.
The eye and surrounding area is around 2.5 inches [6 cm] wide. (March 25, 2006)
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| Ruby Octopus ~ 3 inches [7.5 cm]
for its head/mantle length. Another think I like about this photograph is if you look to the bottom left of the octopus you will see the smallest Squat Lobster I've ever "seen." (Jan 18, 2009) |
Ruby Octopus ~ 3 inches [7.5 cm]
for its head/mantle length. Here the octopus is in its hunting mode. Note how it spreads out its arms and forms an umbrella-like area with its arms. To catch prey. (Jan 18, 2009) |
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| Ruby Octopus ~ 3 inches [7.5 cm]
for its head/mantle length. Note the small baby orange Swimming Anemone. This type of anemone is not very common here. (Jan 18, 2009) |
Ruby Octopus ~ 3 inches [7.5 cm]
for its head/mantle length. This is the same one as is in the other pictures but now it is sitting on kelp, and made a color change as well as made its skin look rougher. (Jan 18, 2009) |
Crustaceans
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| Decorator Crab ~ 6 inches [15 cm] wide with the legs. I've
drawn a red border around it. ( March 25, 2006) |
Decorator Crab - Same picture without the border. ( March 25, 2006) |
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| Kelp Crab ~ 6 inches [15 cm] long including its legs. (June 18, 2006) | Red Rock Crab beside a Spiny
Tunicate. Surprised to find this crab on the main wall here. Perhaps looking for Lingcod eggs. (March 9, 2008) |
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| Decorator Crab ~ 8 inches [20
cm] wide including its legs. It was hanging on the rock wall. (March 9, 2008) |
Note the Decorator Crab sitting
on the bottom right of this egg mass. Quite the food supply. Even though a male Lingcod was protecting these eggs, perhaps the crabs don't get noticed by the fish. (March 9, 2008) |
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| Squat Lobster ~ 3 inches [7.5
cm] long with the arms. (Jan 18, 2009) |
Squat Lobster ~ 3 inches [7.5
cm] long with the arms. Note that a smaller one is hiding under the rock. (Jan 18, 2009) |
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| Squat Lobster ~ 4 inches [10 cm]
long with the arms. Unlike most of them this one actually stayed still for a few pictures. This is the best of them. They are more commonly seen at night, but sometimes during the day you can spot a few of them. (Jan 18, 2009) |
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Fish
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| Sculpin - beside the Octopus den ( March 25,
2006) |
Sculpin - same one as in left image ( March 25, 2006) |
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| Painted Greenling (June 18, 2006) This photo also appears on the marine-life calendar 2009 for Underwater Life of the Pacific Northwest. North America 2009 Calendar v03 |
Painted Greenling - about ten inches [25 cm] long. (June 18, 2006) |
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| Copper Rockfish - about ten inches [25 cm] long. (March 9, 2008) | Male Lingcod guarding an egg
mass on the wall. This one was at a depth of about 80 feet [26 m]. (March 9, 2008) |
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| Great Sculpin [?] about a foot
[30cm] long. It stayed perfectly still while I took around 5 pictures of it. (March 9, 2008) |
Scalyhead Sculpin - these fish
will often come right up to me. Which is a reason that I love seeing them, as most fish run away. But the smaller species of sculpins appear to be curious about divers. (March 9, 2008) |
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| Ling Cod ~ 4 feet [1.3 m] long.
This fish was guarding a large egg mass. Around the volume of 3 to 4 american footballs. (Jan 18, 2009) |
Possibly a juvenile Great
Sculpin fish ~ 5 inches [12.5 cm] long. Sitting next to a regular sized Vermilion Star. |
Sea Slugs or Nudibranchs
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| Bicoloured Nudibranch ( March 25, 2006) | Giant White Dorid. ( March 25, 2006) |
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| Sea Lemon ( March 25, 2006) | Yellow Margin Dorid (June 18, 2006) |
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| Opalescent Nudibranchs - about
1.5 inches in length. The chain links that you see here are like 4 inches [10 cm] long. (June 18, 2006) |
Opalescent Nudibranch (June 18, 2006) |
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| Opalescent Nudibranch - about 2 inches [5 cm] long. (June 18, 2006) | Giant White Dorid - about 8 inches [20 cm] long. (March 9, 2008) |
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Jellyfish & Sea Anemones ( Cnidarians )
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| Giant Plumose Anemone ~ 14 inches [35 cm] wide. Just a
picture of its feeding appartus, without the body showing. ( March 25 , 2006) |
Giant Plumose Anemone ~ 4
feet [1.3 m] tall. With a scuba diver behind it. ( March 25 , 2006) |
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| Tube Dwelling Anemone ~ 12
inches [30 cm] wide with the arms. (March 25, 2006) A favourite food of the big nudibranchs |
Tube Dwelling Anemone ~ 12 inches [30 cm] wide. (June 18, 2006) |
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| Water Jellyfish - Odd Name -
about 3 inches (7.5cm) across (June
18. 2006) |
Water Jellyfish - Odd Name (June 18. 2006) |
Starfish and Sea Cucumbers
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| Pale Sea Cucumber ~ 6 inches [15 cm] wide. ( March 25, 2007) | Creeping Petal Sea Cucumbers ~ 4 inches [10 cm] wide. (March 9, 2008) |
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| Leather Star ( June 18, 2006) This photo also appears on the marine-life calendar 2009 for Starfish of the Pacific Northwest. North America 2009 Calendar v01 |
Mottled Starfish - about 2 feet [60 cm] across. ( June 18, 2006) |
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| Purple Starfish ~ 10 inches [25 cm] wide. ( June 18, 2006) | Spiny Pink Star ~ 12 inches [30
cm] wide. Given its size this is obviously a young one as they are typically close to 3 feet [1 metre] across as adults.( June 18, 2006) |
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| Vermilion Starfish ~ 8 inches [20 cm] wide. ( June 18, 2006) | Vermilion Starfish ~ 8 inches [20 cm] wide.( March 25, 2006) |
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| Young Sunflower Starfish about ten inches [25 cm] across. ( June 18, 2006) | Sunflower Star about 2 feet [60 cm] across. (March 9, 2008) |
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| An adult Sunflower Star almost three feet [1 m] across. (March 9, 2008) | A juvenile Orange Sun Star about 4 inches [10 cm] across. (March 9, 2008) |
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| Creeping Petal Sea Cucumber about 4 inches [10 cm] across. (March 9, 2008) | Creeping Petal Sea Cucumber beside Yellow Boring Sponge. (March 9, 2008) |
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| Morning Star - about two feet [60 cm] across. (March 9, 2008) | Morning Star - almost 3 feet [1 m] across. (March 9, 2008) |
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| Mottled Star - over 2 feet [60 cm] across. (March 9, 2008) | A baby Sea Cucumber ~ 4 inches
[10 cm] long. With a Longfin Sculpin fish just a few inches to the right of it. (Jan 18, 2009) |
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| Spiny Pink Star ~ 3 feet [1
metre] wide. Note the scuba diver just to the top right of it. This looks like a night dive, but it was not. I was manually over riding the aperture settings [F stop] and forgot to turn it back. (Jan 18, 2009) |
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Tunicates
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| Transparent Sea Squirts - only
about 2 inches [5 cm] long (June
18, 2006) |
Fused Orange Social Ascidians on
a tree branch that has sunk into the bay. Sometimes I see them forming a layer on kelp or seaweed. This mass was about 6 inches [15 cm] long. (March 9, 2008) |
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| Sea Vase - a sea squirt that is
often by itself. One tube takes in water and is ejected out of the other tube. The filter feed in the manner. About 3 inches [7.5 cm] long. (March 9, 2008) |
Worms
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| This is a Calcareous Tube Worm.
Or at least its feeding apparatus. ~ 2 inches [5 cm] across. Note there is a second worm in this picture just to the lower left of the first animal. But its feeding apparatus is mosly white. (Jan 18, 2009) |
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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: Best to enter one of the side streets: Steamer Drive Brentwood Bay BC - then look for the fire lane as you are driving along. Its beside a black iron fence.
Or
MapQuest: looking for actual address....