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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 the beach at
the end of Braemar Avenue in North Saanich, B.C. Canada 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 the page. Number of dives I've done at this scuba diving site: 2, yes only 2. Others nearby are much better for the most part. Type of dive: shore dive - easy Rating for this dive site: 5/10, but still worth it if you want an easy entry. Parking: 7/10 with room for about 6-8 cars/trucks/vans Boat ramp: none Ease of entry: 9/10 one of the best entries as it is also a short walk down concrete steps [Wheel chair access: No] Abundance of life: 5/10 poor in the amount of life here. But it does change with the seasons. So, you never know what you might find at another time. Attractions: easy entry, protected from current Bottom and depth: starts out shallow, then gets deeper gradually, maximum depth I've done here is 57 feet [<20 metres] Facilities: none Hazards/Obstacles: can be a lot of sea weed on the beach Sensitivity to tide/current: no current issues here, only have to deal with how far to walk at low tide Terrain: rocky, sandy, solid rock - all three here, but once off of the shore it is mostly sand 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.
Cephalopods (Octopi and Squid)
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| Octopus ~ 2 inches [5 cm] along
the head/mantle. 1 of 3 images. It is hard to say whether this is a juvenile Pacific Giant Octopus, or a normal sized Red or Ruby Octopus. (Mar 10, 2009) |
Octopus ~ 2 inches [5 cm] along
the head/mantle. Same Octopus as in the image to the left of this one. 2 of 3 images. (Mar 10, 2009) |
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| Octopus ~ 2 inches [5 cm] along
the head/mantle. Same Octopus as in the images above this one. But now it is running away from me. This is what they look like when they are swimming. 3 of 3 images. (Mar 10, 2009) |
Stubby Squid ~ 2.5 inches [6.25 cm] long. (Mar 10, 2009) |
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| Stubby Squid ~ 2.5 inches [6.25
cm] long. When I came up to this one it was as you now see it. But a few seconds later, as shown in the image to the right of this one, it has made itself quite dark. 1 of 3 images. (Mar 10, 2009) |
Stubby Squid - same one as the
one to the left of this image. If you look closely you can see a shrimp of some kind in front of it. In the Crustacean section I have made a close up of this. 2 of 3 images. (Mar 10, 2009) |
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| Stubby Squid ~ 2.5 inches [6.25 cm] long. 3 of 3 images. (Mar 10, 2009) |
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Crustaceans
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| Red Rock Crab ~ 6 inches [15 cm]. They seem to be
fairly common here. |
Red Rock Crab ~ 6 inches [15 cm] (Feb 21, 2008) |
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| Prawn ~ 5 inches [12.5 cm] along
the body. Very common here. (Feb 21, 2008) |
Tanner Crab ~ 18 inches [45 cm]
with the legs.
I was surprised to see one of these here. The only other place I've seen these and have pictures of them from are from Porteau Cove north of the Horsesho Bay Ferry Terminal. (Feb 21, 2008) |
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| Just to the left of the Stubby
Squid is a shrimp of some kind. I think this is a Horned Shrimp [aka Spike Shrimp] ~ less than 1 inch [2.5 cm] long. (Mar 10, 2009) |
Tanner Crab ~ 18 inches [45 cm]
with the legs. It is missing a few legs, and in fact from the top you could see that one leg was being replaced and was quite small compared to its other legs. Probably takes a few molts to get back to normal size. |
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| Red Rock Crab ~ 6 inches [15 cm]
wide. This is a female who is carrying eggs. If you open up the larger image, by clicking on this thumbnail, you should be able to see the eggs better. (Mar 10, 2009) |
Helmet Crab ~ 3 inches [7.5 cm]
along the main shell. A fairly young one based on its size. (Mar 10, 2009) |
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Fish
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| I think this might be a baby
Buffalo Sculpin, It was around 2 inches [5 cm] long. (Feb 21, 2008) |
English Sole ~ 10 inches [25 cm]
long. Note what appears to be a tumour on the fish. (Feb 21, 2008) |
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| Tubesnout fish. ~ 6 inches [15
cm] long. There was a few of these at the beginning of this night dive, but I did not see any on my way out of the water. Note the White Lined Dorid behind it that is climbing up the grass. (Feb 21, 2008) |
Roughback Sculpin ~ 6 inches [15 cm] long. Very common here. (Feb 21, 2008) |
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| Roughback Sculpin ~ 4 inches [10
cm] long. These fish were common at this dive site.(Mar 10, 2009) |
Sailfin Sculpin ~ 6 inches [15
cm] long. This was the only specimen of this species of fish that I saw at this dive site. (Mar 10, 2009) |
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| English Sole ~ 12 inches [30 cm]
long. There was several of these at this dive site. (Mar 10, 2009) |
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Mollusks, Nudibranchs [or Sea Slugs] & Snails
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| White Lined Dirona. ~ 4 inches [10 cm] long. (Feb 21, 2008) | Geoduck Clam ~ 6 inches [15 cm]
sticking out of the ground. Common at this dive site. (Mar 10, 2009) |
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Sea Cucumbers & Starfish ( Echinoderms )
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| Spiny Pink Star ~ 10 inches [25
cm] wide. Given its size it appears to be a juvenile. (Feb 21, 2008) |
Spiny Pink Star ~ 2 feet [60 cm]
wide. I've seen them up to 3 feet [1 m] across. (Feb 21, 2008) |
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| Sunflower Star ~ 6 inches [15
cm] wide. Also a juvenile, and climbing up the seagrass. Perhaps in search of food. (Feb 21, 2008) |
Sunflower Star ~ 18 inches [45
cm] across. Note that this is also still a young one as the adults get to around 3 feet [1 metre] across. (Feb 21, 2008) |
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| Mottled Star ~ 16 inches [40 cm]
wide. Note the marine worm crawling on its the bottom most leg in this image. (Mar 10, 2009) |
Sunflower Star ~ 10 inches [25
cm] across. Based on its size this is almost just a baby starfish for this species. Which as adults are 3 feet on average.(Mar 10, 2009) |
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| Rose Star ~ 4 inches [10 cm] across. (Mar 10, 2009) | Pale Sea Cucumbers ~ 8 inches
[20 cm] wide. I did not realize there was any rock structure at this dive site, below the water, until I was coming out. (Mar 10, 2009) |
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| Orange Sea Cucumber ~ 8 inches
[20 cm] wide. Not a very good image but it was the only one I was able to get on this night dive. We were getting low on air. (Mar 10, 2009) |
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Worms
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| Marine Worm crawling on a Painted Starfish. (Mar 10, 2009) |
If you want to locate this site on a map, or print out a map, you can user either:
Google Maps: enter Braemar Avenue North Saanich BC and then navigate to the western end of this street for the entry point into the water.
Or
MapQuest: enter Braemar Avenue for Address, North Saanich for the City, and BC for the State