Wreck
down to 44 m
HMCS Cape Breton
Recognized as the world's largest artificial upright reef, HMCS Cape Breton is a dive off Nanaimo.
- Advanced
Advanced≤30 m
HMCS Saskatchewan
Dive site in Salish Sea (Vancouver, Victoria & Nanaimo), Canada
A 366-foot Mackenzie-class destroyer scuttled off Snake Island in 1997 that still has her forward and aft guns, home to cloud sponges, plumose anemones, wolf eels and octopus.
- Usual dive
- 30 m
- Deepest point
- 40 m
- Level
- Advanced
- Best months
- Sep–May
- Entry
- By boat
The story
The hulk of HMCS Saskatchewan was bought by the Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia and scuttled off Nanaimo on 14 June 1997 as an artificial reef.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
The dive
A wreck and artificial reef dive from a boat. Known for octopus.
Who it's for
Advanced≤30 mSource: sundowndiving.com
Recommended minimum: Advanced (PADI Advanced Open Water, N2).
- The site goes deeper than 30 m: Advanced divers stay above 30 m.
Conditions
- Dive type
- Wreck, Artificial reef
- Environment
- Open water
- Water
- Sea water
What you might see
- Octopus
- Wolffish
- Glass sponges
Season in Salish Sea (Vancouver, Victoria & Nanaimo)
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Good
- Possible
- Closed
- Not documented yet
Best months: Sep–May.
Source: dan.orgWhere is Salish Sea (Vancouver, Victoria & Nanaimo)?
The point shows the Salish Sea (Vancouver, Victoria & Nanaimo) area, not the exact dive site.
More dives in Salish Sea (Vancouver, Victoria & Nanaimo)
Wreck
down to 18 m
Porteau Cove
Shore-dive a buoy-marked area of man-made reefs and two sunken vessels in 6-18 m of water in a BC provincial park.
- Open Water
- Lingcod
Wreck
down to 34 m
HMCS Annapolis
A destroyer sunk in 2015 that rests upright in the sand of a protected Howe Sound bay, with most of its structure between 15 and 24 m.
- Advanced
Reef
down to 30 m
Ogden Point Breakwater
Victoria's most popular shore dive, day and night: tiers of stacked stone blocks stepping down to 21 m, with wolf eels and nudibranchs.
- Open Water
- Nudibranchs
Wall
down to 30 m
Whytecliff Park
Canada's first saltwater marine protected area, where Vancouver divers learn in the shallows and cloud sponges appear from 26 m on the wall.
- Open Water
- Glass sponges
Wreck
down to 44 m
HMCS Chaudière
A 366-foot destroyer escort lying on its port side, its railings adorned with orange and white plumose anemones from bow to stern.
- Experienced
- Lingcod
About this page
Values marked “Estimated” come from our original catalogue and are being checked against published sources one by one. Sourced values link to where they come from. Conditions change with the season, the weather and the tide: confirm with a local dive centre before you dive.