Located near Sidney, on Vancouver Island’s southeastern side, Saanich Inlet is a fantastic place to dive all year round. During the winter months, cold temperatures are offset by exceptional visibility, and during the summer, kelp and plankton blooms, decrease visibility somewhat, but add to the already vast abundance of marine life. Here, you’ll find plenty of boat dives along with a great number of shore dives, some of which are easy enough even for novices to enjoy. These seven favorites are a good representation of all the area has to offer.
Bamberton Cement Factory
A big site that is much different from many of the scenic sites you’ll find all around British Columbia, the abandoned Bamberton Cement Factory sits across from Brentwood Bay. It has been shut down for several years, and is now owned by a development company that has so far not done anything with the property. Best done as a boat dive in order to prevent trespassing charges, the site features a long waterfront near some old silos. A disused dock shelters schooling tube snouts, perch, and a few gunnels, and there are some nice sunflower stars clinging to the pilings, which rise up from a depth of about 10 meters. A sandy slope where you’ll find a few more sunflower starfish leads down to a depth of about 15 meters, and is followed by a rocky reef that extends to a depth of about 30 meters. Along the way, you’ll find some copper rockfish, a few cloud sponges, and more sea stars, plus quite a bit of interesting debris left over from the days when the cement factory was in operation. There are rumors that factory seconds were often dropped off here, including gargoyles and statues; if you’re lucky, you might be the first to pinpoint their location. The entire site is covered in grey silt as a result of the now defunct cement operation. Visibility in the shallows is about 10 meters, and while it improves to a bit over 15 meters in the deeper areas, the silt is easily kicked up and hangs in fog-like clouds when disturbed. Watch for jellyfish and keep an eye out for dogfish as you explore; this is a fun and easy dive site.
McCurdy Point
Topside, McCurdy Point is a place of rugged beauty, with towering pines perched atop lovely grey rock formations. A waterfall pours its white, frothy bounty into the green sea below, creating a fantastic halocline which is sometime as deep as ten feet. Once you’ve made your way down through the layer of fresh water, visibility opens up, usually to about 15-20 meters. An excellent place to see layers of cloud sponges, including new sponge growth, the site is also home to a fantastic array of rockfish, including plenty of juveniles that like to take shelter inside the sponges. The point begins in shallow water, featuring rocky fingers interspersed with patches of dark colored sand, and eventually makes its way to a wall that starts at about 30 meters. The wall drops away into the depths, and between 40 and 45 meters, the cloud sponges are very large. There are a few old bottles down here, probably dropped by boaters, but for the most part, the site is in excellent shape. Another extensive site, this is one you’ll want to dive at least a few times.
The White Lady, or Repulse Rock
While locals call this site the White Lady, nautical charts refer to it as Repulse Rock. Located on the east side of the inlet, just off Finlayson Arm, the site features a halocline near the surface, where fresh water mixes with salt water. Once you’re through the slightly murky top layer, visibility improves drastically, particularly during the coldest months of the year. A very popular site marked with a buoy to prevent boaters from colliding with the shallow reefs and walls, it is swathed in a carpet of orange plumose anemones, cup corals, and sponges. Beyond the shallow reef, you’ll find a steep wall that plummets down to about 30 meters, ending in a rubble-strewn bottom where rockfish hide. A fantastic site in both the shallow and deep portions, this is a great boat dive for intermediate divers and up. It’s such a large site that you’ll need to do at least two dives to take it all in.
Henderson Point
Situated at Brentwood Bay’s northern end, Henderson Point is easily accessed from shore, although the trail from the parking lot to the water is a bit steep. With shelves and reefs, plus layers of water with varying levels of salinity, the site is home to an amazing array of life including fish, invertebrates, and crustaceans. Schooling perch are abundant, as are lionsmane jellyfish, rockfish, and many different nudibranch species. Look for greenlings and Irish lords, and keep an eye out for six gill sharks; these rarely encountered deep sea dwellers have sometimes been encountered here. Depths vary, from shallow shelves in 10 meters of water, to maximum depth at 120 meters, making this a site which is popular with all levels and excellent for training. Be sure to dive with a flag and listen before surfacing as there is quite a bit of boat traffic in the area.
Senanus Island
An incredible site where masses of white cloud sponges provide stark contrast with the black rocks and sand that make up the substrate, Senanus Island is outside Brentwood Bay. The reef is just off the island’s northwest side, and is marked with a buoy. At the bottom of the descent line, 26 meters below the surface, a huge cloud sponge marks the beginning of the underwater trek, which is almost like being on a different planet. Most of the sponges are at depths of 30 meters or a bit more, and the entire area is oddly devoid of any other kind of life. Be sure not to touch or collide with these sponges as you can damage or kill them; they take decades to grow to this size. While you can dive here all year, the best visibility is during the late summer through the beginning of spring; during plankton blooms, the visual impact is just not as impressive.
Willis Point
An easy shore dive suitable for all levels, located a little south of Brentwood Bay, Willis Point is at Mount Work Regional Park and is accessed via a fire road that leads right up to the water. You can park on either side of the road, but if you block it, you’ll surface to find your vehicle has been towed by authorities. The site features a sheer wall that starts at about 10 meters and drops away to meet the seabed at a depth of 40 meters. Here, you’ll find cracks and little grottoes covered in lightbulb tunicates, anemones, and encrusting algae, plus some lovely sponges. Look for red Irish lords and other sculpins, a few different varieties of rockfish, and even the occasional passing dogfish. Be careful of boat traffic and dive with a flag.
Wain Rock
A shallow reef located near the entrance to the inlet, which drops away to about 20 meters beneath the surface on its west side, and which is much less steep on its east side, Wain Rock is a popular site for fishing, probably because of all the quillback, brown, and copper rockfish that are here in abundance. You’ll find quite a few Irish lords and other sculpins here, along with a few lingcod; unfortunately, there are also bits of lost fishing tackle that present an entanglement hazard, so be sure to carry a sharp knife with you. Besides the fish, you’ll find some big bouquets of plumose anemones, along with plenty of colorful cup corals and some orange colonial tunicates. Pacific Octopus have lairs here, rarely emerging during the day. Watch for dogfish and crabs as you explore; the site is huge and takes a few dives to fully investigate.
Absolutely fantastic, and a great place to become better acquainted with British Columbia’s marine life, this is just one of the many areas you could spend weeks exploring without seeing the same site twice. With outstanding wildlife topside, friendly residents, and a relaxed pace, it’s easy to understand why this is quickly gaining popularity as one of BC’s best places to dive.