Continuing north on Highway 101 from Sechelt, Powell River can be reached by taking another ferry from Earls Cove to Saltery Bay (50 minutes). From the mouth of Jervis Inlet, along the Malaspina Strait coastline to the northern community of Lund, divers can explore a range of exceptional shore diving with little worry of currents.

A nine foot bronze mermaid can be found in the protected cove at Saltery Bay Provincial Park along with a small open boat hull, bright crimson anemones, octopus, swimming nudibranchs and an assortment of sea cucumbers. This park also offers camping and wheelchair access to the water.

Another easy shore dive is the wreck of the Malahat, located next to the log mill’s breakwater (old ships), in northern Powell River. The ship’s skeletal remains provide superb habitat for nesting lingcod, cabezon, greenlings and young wolf eels.

On one of the local boat dives, leaving from Powell River, I was treated to a site where the bottom resembled the top of a city filled with chimneys of all sizes and shapes! They were actually boot sponge with patches of cloud sponge scattered about. Soon great masses of cloud sponge were everywhere!

Sechelt Inlet is located on the lower portion of the Sunshine Coast, accessed by ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale (40 min) followed by a 30 minute drive north to the town of Sechelt. The land forms a peninsula between the Strait of Georgia and Sechelt Inlet. Due to the ease of getting here, divers can spend one-three days shore diving on the Strait of Georgia side or venture out from Porpoise Bay with a dive charter/resort operator.

Tuwanek Point offers excellent night diving with wolf eels, nudibranchs, assorted anemones and crabs. In 1992 the 366 foot (110m) Canadian Destroyer Escort, HMCS Chaudiere was sunk by the Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia (ARSBC) creating a gigantic habitat for marine life.

For divers wanting to pick up the pace, Tzoonie Narrows offers a drift past colorful sea stars, tunicates and rockfish. There are several sites in Skookumchuck Rapids, all crowded with invertebrate life. Wall and technical diving are both done at Stag Wall and below the power lines in Agamemnon Channel where huge clusters of yellow and white cloud sponge live. Red and pink gorgonian sea fans can also be found in Agamemnon at depths greater than 150 feet (45m).

Howe Sound is North America’s southern most fjord located northwest of Vancouver between the lower mainland and the Sunshine Coast, accessed via Horseshow Bay, at the end of Highway 1. Highway 99 skirts around the eastern shoreline from Horseshoe Bay to Squamish for 28 miles (45km).

Shore diving is possible at several sites, but the most popular are; Point Atkinson, Whytecliff Park, Copper Cove and Porteau Cove. Watch for boats and be sure to dive at slack current at Point Atkinson. Both recreational and technical divers like Whytecliff Park for its deep wall running along the outer perimeter of the cove (ideal for training).

Porteau Cove Marine Park is full of enhancements which are identified by marker buoys. Perhaps the most interesting is the wooden 136 foot (41m) long minesweeper Nakaya.

Over a dozen good boat dives can be found in Howe Sound around Bowen and Gambier Island and numerous other small islets. Both macro and close-up photography are ideal at Christie Islet, while wide-angle works well on the seals at Pam Rocks.