In quest of adventure
Exploring the Majesty of British Columbia's
Queen Charlotte Strait aboard Sea Venturer
By Jett Britnell
It was surely the last thing we ever expected to see at 110 feet. My favorite underwater model was lined up perfectly in my camera's viewfinder. Hovering neutrally buoyant over an expansive garden of tiny gorgonian corals, Rita was posed and ready. The water was gin clear with underwater visibility easily in the 100 foot-plus range. We knew that we were alone as we were working deep and had purposely finned some distance away from the other divers in the water. So I was understandably puzzled when I detected another vague shape had materialized in the corner of my viewfinder.
Rocketing in from out of nowhere, a massive stellar sea lion burst on the scene. She was a magnificently large specimen, probably tipping the scales at about 750 pounds. Rita and I were absolutely delighted to find ourselves in the unexpected company of such a fascinating marine mammal. Twisting and pirouetting, the playful pinniped made several close passes before departing. Judging from its' inquisitive posturing, we just might have been the last thing this fury torpedo expected to see at these nitrogen narcotic depths.
We were diving in current-swept Ripple Passage, off the northern tip of Vancouver Island, at one of Queen Charlotte Strait's many spectacular dive sites. Topside, Barry Islet appears as nothing more than a desolate, guano-crowned, granite rock. However, underwater it assumes an entirely different character. Barry Islet's subsea terrain is strewn with living tapestries of color and diverse and unusual species of marine life. Pink and orange brooding anemones grow in such profusion that they practically conceal the amber holdfasts of the giant bull kelp plants. Also obliterating the rocky substrate are lacy basketstars, nuggets of canary-yellow sulfur sponge, purple ring-top snails, and several different species of sculpin, shrimp and crabs. The kaleidoscopic reeftop quickly drops away to a sheer drop off that plunges to well beyond 100 feet.
Thickly encrusted with invertebrate life forms, the vertical wall is overgrown with a living rainbow of pink soft corals, clumps of feather duster tubeworms, billowy white plumose anemones and colonial ascidians. Florid bouquets of yellow finger sponge mantle the drop off like candelabras on top of Liberace's grand piano. The precipice eventually slopes out into a vibrant seascape of huge boulders and broad ravines that are festooned with opulent fields of orange and white of deep water gorgonian corals. Sparsely distributed in local waters, these fragile gorgonians are thus far known to occur in only three places along the B. C. coast. Breathtaking encounters with Pacific giant octopus and wolf eels are better than average here as they are often encountered out in the open or are observed peering out from their rocky dens.
Such is the majesty of diving in Queen Charlotte Strait, an immense waterway with narrow, constricted passages, fjord-like inlets, large islands and a tangled maze of scrawnier weather-beaten islets. Seasonal upwellings, combined with extreme tidal water movement produces an enriched planktonic broth that supports a endless profusion of exotic marine life. At last count there were more than 500 species of fish and thousands of marine invertebrates. These waters also support a large population of marine mammals and are deemed to be one of the best places on earth to observe them in the wild. More than a dozen species are here, including, seals, sea lions, dolphins, porpoise, Minke whales, grey whales, humpback whales and a resident pod of more than 100 killer whales.
All of which explains why Queen Charlotte Strait is often proclaimed to be one of the world's best cold water diving destinations. The emerald waters offer boundless opportunities for both underwater sightseeing and marine photography. Underwater visibility averages 40 to 50 feet year-round and many times often exceed 100 feet. The celebrated dive sites are widely scattered, and miles away from the small town of Port Hardy. Therefore, I would recommend that you dive with one of the established live-aboard dive charters or dedicated shore-based operations. They are most knowledgeable about local conditions and are best equipped to transport you to the dive sites and get you safely in and out of the water.
On our most recent trip to the region we were guests aboard Exta Sea Charters' live-aboard dive vessel, Sea Venturer. Cold water diving is seldom more comfortable than it is from the Sea Venturer. A familiar site in these northern waters, the 53-foot vessel is equipped with all the amenities to carry up to twelve divers, including a dive skiff with individual storage compartments, two compressors, TV, VCR, videos, clothes dryer, shower, rinse tank for cameras, and 110 volt power. Toss in a very experienced and attentive crew, some hearty meals and you have all the necessary ingredients for a very relaxing dive trip.
The daily diving routine involves making three to four dives that are scheduled to capitalize on the most optimal current, tide and weather conditions. I would add that the diving timetable remained flexible and was always subject to abrupt change and swift rescheduling whenever killer whales, dolphins or grey whales were sighted.
We had several marine mammal sightings during our surface intervals that provided ample opportunity to shoot topside pictures. One afternoon we even came across a grey whale feeding near the edge of a kelp bed. We would have jumped in but we did not wish to disturb the animal while it was feeding and the underwater visibility was exceedingly poor here due to a seasonal plankton bloom.
Other highlights of our trip included making several descents in legendary Browning Passage. Hunt Rock also lived up to its noble reputation, providing us with a long slack interval and lots of bottom time with its resident pair of muppet-faced wolf eels, Hunter and Huntress. We also journeyed over to Slingsby Channel and logged two incredible dives at Tremble Island, the tiny islet that sits squarely in the middle of the notorious Nakwakto Rapids. With maximum tidal exchanges of up to 16 knots and recorded speeds of 22 knots, Nakwakto Rapids is listed in the Guiness Book Of World Records for having the fastest navigable tidal currents in the world.
While we were in Slingsby Channel, Sea Venturer anchored overnight in Treadwell Bay. The bay's shallow sandy bottom has always been a superb place for a night dive. Several of us suited up after dinner and went for a splash. The marine life always seems to change with the season here. Among the nocturnal cast of characters that night were hagfish, sailfin sculpins, sturgeon poachers, giant nudibranchs and broken back shrimp. The absolute highlight of the dive for me was when Rita waved me over with her light and pointed out a juvenile longnose skate. With a wingspan of no more than twenty centimeters across, the skate was a perfect subject for my 60mm macro lens.
Surprisingly, despite the numerous dive charter operators that presently service the region, there still remains a tantalizing assortment of potential dive sites that have yet to be explored. One site we dived in particular, I would consider to be a successful exploratory dive. Harris Islet proved a superb site for shooting macro as I found a small wall coated with fiery orange sea squirts. Fist-sized orange peel nudibranchs were foraging amid the giant barnacles and patches of soft coral. Mosshead warbonnets were plentiful and easy to photograph.
On our very last dive we were dropped in at a new sight that I had never dived before. Situated on the west side of Browning Passage, Snowball is an appropriate name for this dive site given the predominance of white metridium anemones here. Though it has been on the itinerary of local dive operators for several years, we just never seemed to get to it before.
Life growing upon life cascades over Snowball's steep wall and dissolves into the deep abyss. If you could name the critter, it was there. Punctuating the drop-off were soft corals, sulfur sponge, crimson anemones, decorated warbonnets, red Irish lords, octopus, candy-striped shrimp and nudibranchs galore. To say that I was completely awe-struck would be an understatement. Equally amazing, this riotous profusion of marine life was no more than a skipping stone away from some of the other fabulous Browning Passage sites that we have been routinely diving for years. Snowball earns my vote as being one of Browning's best dive sites, and it's certainly one of the most exciting new sites we've been shown.
Put Queen Charlotte Strait on your list of "must see" diving destinations. The diverse scope of this ocean domain never fails to wow or amaze. For those in quest of adventure, you can find it here in abundance.
For more information about experiencing some of the finest live-aboard diving in British Columbia, contact Exta Sea Charters Ltd., at (250) 756-0544 or fax (250) 753-3741.
The author would like to thank Al Spilde & Exta Sea Charters for their services and assistance.