Inside Vancouver

Hunting for Octopus at Porteau Cove

by Inside Vancouver in Outside on September 23, 2011

By Stephen Pearce. Another installment of our series on diving near Vancouver. This time Stephen checks out the octopuses at Porteau Cove.

No skeleton, perfect camouflage skills and high intelligence is already an interesting combination. Add in eight arms, three hearts, and a weight of up to 600 pounds (272 kg) and you have something truly extraordinary.

The Giant Pacific Octopus is the largest species of octopus in the world. It can have an arm span up to 30 feet (9 m) and a mantle 8 inches (20 cm) in width. It’s one of the treasures of the west coast and finding one is a special treat that’s sure to turn any dive into a great dive.

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Hunting for Octopus at Porteau Cove

Diving for Clouds at the Cut

by Inside Vancouver in Outside on August 11, 2011

By Stephen Pearce. Another installment of our series on diving near Vancouver. This time Stephen visits Whytecliff Park.

“And shades of deep-embattled clouds were seen,
Spotting the northern cliffs with lights between…
“An Evening Walk”, W. Wordsworth: 1793

When William Wordsworth penned those lines to his sister, he probably wasn’t thinking about diving for cloud sponges in British Columbia. Yet, with a little luck, recreational scuba divers can discover fluffy “clouds” of sponges in colours of snowy white, ivory and pale orange that hug the underwater cliffs.
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Diving for Clouds at the Cut

The Wreck of the Nakaya

by Inside Vancouver in Sports on May 25, 2011

Copper Rockfish

By Stephen Pearce. Another installment of our series on diving near Vancouver. This time Stephen visits the wreck of the Nakaya.

Pale, ghostly, it appears suddenly in the darkness. The Nakaya – a confusion of wood and metal, shards of white paint, timbers sharp and menacing like dragon’s teeth.

It started life as the USS YMS-420 – a minesweeper – commissioned by the US Navy and built for service during WW II. In the 1950’s it was purchased by the Royal Canadian Navy and renamed the HMCS Cordova before being acquired by Harbour Ferries Ltd. of Vancouver. It was there that it was renamed the Nakaya – and that was the name it still held when it slipped beneath the waves at Porteau to become one of British Columbia’s first artificial reefs.

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The Wreck of the Nakaya

Diving around Vancouver – Eagle Rock

by Inside Vancouver in Outside on February 22, 2011

By Stephen Pearce. Another installment of our series on diving near Vancouver. This time Stephen visits Whytecliff Park.

The first time I saw Eagle Rock was an accident.

I was exploring the Day Marker side of Whytecliff Park, just past the plumose gardens, when I stumbled upon a concrete block about one meter high. It looked like the fitting from an ancient harbour, sitting fairly level a few meters back from the edge of the cliff wall. Its base was a square meter and it tapered up to about half a square meter at the top.

Aside from the fact that we were deep underwater, the real surprise was when I looked closer at what I had assumed was a metal cleat and found instead a small brass eagle.

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Diving around Vancouver – Eagle Rock

Dive into BC at the Vancouver Aquarium’s Divers’ Weekend: Jan. 22 and 23

by Remy Scalza in Events on January 19, 2011

Attention scuba pros, aspiring divers and lovers of the deep blue sea: This Saturday and Sunday the Vancouver Aquarium is hosting the 12th annual Divers’ Weekend, a two-day marathon of exhibitions, seminars and demonstrations all about the world of diving.

The event is free with admission to the aquarium and certified divers get in for half-price. 35 diving exhibitors will set up throughout the aquarium’s galleries, including representatives from the Canadian Coast Guard, RCMP and Canadian Diving Unit.

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Dive into BC at the Vancouver Aquarium’s Divers’ Weekend: Jan. 22 and 23

Hunting for Octopus at Porteau Cove

Diving for Clouds at the Cut

The Wreck of the Nakaya

Diving around Vancouver – Eagle Rock

Dive into BC at the Vancouver Aquarium’s Divers’ Weekend: Jan. 22 and 23

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