Back from Nanaimo.
We carpooled up in two vehicles, catching the 07:30 ferry to Cancouver Island from Horseshoe Bay. Tsawassen is closer, but the ferry there didn’t leave early enough on Sunday. Anyway, the marina is just outside the ferry terminal at which the Horseshoe Bay ferry lands. We unloaded our gear at the dive shop and collected our tanks, which were provided with the charter. We used carts to take everything to the 40-foot boat. Once we were loaded, it was a ten-minute trip to Snake (Woman) Island. The first dive was a “deep dive” to 90 feet. There were lots and lots of jellyfish. I hated jellyfish when I was a kid because the big white purple-striped jellyfish meant I couldn’t swim without being stung. These were little clear gossamer things ony about 10cm in diameter at the largest. Very, very pretty and quite fascinating.
We dove on HMCS Saskatchewan, a destroyer that was scuttled as an arificial reef. It was covered with metridium, which grow everywhere in these parts. White ones, orange ones, big ones, and little ones. There was a three-foot lingcod hanging out on the deck, and the decks were covered with little brittle stars that scuttled about with impressive speed. Also resent were a few orange and white rockfish, which were called “quillbacks”. Too soon, we hat to head for the surface. 90 feet for 22 minutes, I surfaced with 1,000 psi remaining.
Our surface interval was almost two hours. I ate a Vegemite sandwich and a cheese sandwich that I’d brought along, and had a few cups of hot cocoa. Chicken noodle soup was available, but I didn’t have any. I found out that the reason more substantial food was not provided on the boat (i.e., why we were told to bring our own lunches) was that Canadian law allows boat owners to serve pre-packaged foor; but if they actually cook something, then they have to have certain (expensive) galley equipment that would not really be necessary on such a small vessel. That is, they would have to have equipment that would never be used, so that they can meet the letter of the law. They’re thinking about getting a propane grill that hangs over the side so that people can bring their own steaks, burger, etc. and cook them themselves.
It was cool and overcast in the morning, but it became sunny during our surface interval. I tried to catch a couple of Zs on the foredeck, but it was too hot in the sun.
We decided to dive Saskatchewan again, and moved amidships. There were more “quillbacks” there, and they seemed unafraid of divers. (No wonder, since Saskatchewan is the most popular wreck in the area.) Too soon, the fivemaster signalled for me to join up with one of my buddies and go to the surface. Wha… huh? I still have 1,200 pounds! We headed up and did a safety stop at 15 feet, then reboarded the boat. I found out later that he had suffered a little vertigo whilst looking into a large open hatch. It cleared up when he ascended, but the dive was over for us. Well, we had been down for 23 minutes (at 72 feet), so we only had a few more minutes anyway.
When a few of us said, “We need bigger tanks!”, the ADM proudly said that she still had 2,200 pounds. We need to learn breath control. Perhaps. But I think one reason she had so much air left is that she fills her drysuit with argon, while the rest of us use our breathing air. I used a lot more air filling my drysuit than I did at shallower depths.
Since I was one of the first back on board, I took advantage of the open space to get out of my gear and stow it in its bags. No scurrying about on the trip back to the marina for me! I just sat back and enjoyed the ride.
We didn’t get back in time to catch the five o’clock ferry, so we drove down to Duke Point to catch the ferry to Tsawassen. We had an hour to kill, so I tried poutine for the first time. Not bad, but not something I’d like to eat every day. The DM, ADM and I (we carpooled together) went back to the car and filled out log books. Going by the tables, I busted the no-deco limits by one minute. But we were going by the DM’s computer, so we were okay.
While everyone else was doing their logs on the ferry, I found a sunny space on the upper deck to stretch out. Home by nine, I rinsed equipment and was in bed before ten. Seven hours later, I’m working on this post.
Boat diving is the way to go. With my knees, and with the amount of weight I carry, shore dives are a bit of a pain. The boat is much easier. Just take a giant stride off the stern platform. Getting back aboard, there are guys there to help by taking your weight belt. They stabilize your tank/BC as you get out of it. And there’s no sand to get into your gear. Sweet.
And I still have a Vegemite sandwich and a Nutella sandwich left for lunch today. 