Campbell River: World-Class Diving

The current flows through Seymour Narrows, the smallest portion of the 25 mile long Discovery Passage at speeds up to 15.4kts (Canadian Tide and Current Table). This is slightly faster than Nakwakto Rapids which holds the Guiness Book record! This current provides an incredible amount of nutrients and oxygen to sustain an huge array of marine life, especially those that feed by filtering the water. Many different species of colourful anemones, sponges, tube worms, and other invertebrates compete for the available space and wait for the food to come to them. In the cracks and crevices, wolf eels, huge lingcod, tiger rockfish, and the elusive giant pacific octopus find a home that is sheltered from the current. The many varieties of colourful nudibranchs will catch your eye. Close to the surface, huge schools of tiny fish find safety in numbers from spiny dogfish and salmon.

Forests of bull kelp near shore manage to survive hundreds of hungry sea urchins. Harbour seals have taken up residence in Gowlland Harbour and are always curiously investigating any visitors in the area. A small island called Steep is also located in Discovery Passage. For her book 99 Dives, Betty Pratt-Johnson visited Steep and wrote; "Steep is one of those dives I label as having "star" quality. Divers who want to visit the most special places in the world will want to go to Steep."

Scuba diving at Discovery Passage's world class sites can only be safely done during slack tide intervals. Approximately every six hours the current slows until it finally reverses direction, the boats are kept live during the dive and will ensure other vessel traffic stays well clear. Please note that times for slack tide and slack current are related but different.

We offer divers everything from a single boat dive to all-inclusive packages of varying lengths. Most dives are made during slack tide intervals in Discovery Passage, one of BC's most popular diving areas. We can tailor dives to suit varying skill levels, from beginner to advanced.

Just look at the places you'll be diving!

Row and Be Damned

Rated one of Rodale's top 10 dive sites in BC. A favorite of divers no matter where you start your dive. One of the best scenic, drift diving experiences you will ever have on the West Coast.

This site is truly abundant with life, including colourful corals, strawberry anemones, octopus, sponges, Puget sound king crabs, fish, and more fish.

Copper Cliff

The sheer wall falls 300 feet into the water where you’ll see cormorants, mule deer and eagles along the edges. Then over another 100 feet below the surface to a series of ledges where it drops again to the bottom.

Everything underwater is huge because of the tide exchanges, Puget sound king crabs, schools of black rockfish, dog fish, tiger and copper rock fish, red snapper, wolf eels, mosshead warbonnets, giant plumous anemones, orange cup corals, cloud sponges, feather duster tube worms, nudibranchs of many kinds, sea squirts and curious seals.

HMCS Columbia

Our largest wreck, HMCS Columbia is a decommissioned Original Non-Modified Restigouche Class Destroyer Escort that was sunk after more than a year of preparations, on June 22, 1996.

This spectacular 366-foot vessel sits at a 35° list to port with the bow at a maximum depth of 120 feet. The superstructure and wheelhouse reach approximately 60 feet. This allows dive profiles to match your skill and comfort level.

Now over five years later, it is well on its way to becoming a thriving artificial reef. Due to the rock bottom the bow of the 2800 tonne ship crumpled like an accordion when it hit the bottom. Many access holes have been cut to open up most of the interior's six decks to properly trained and equipped wreck divers. Due to shifting debris within the ship we do not recommend penetration. Although the interior may be brightly lit, with lots of ambient light when you first arrive, sediment and silt will be lifting and reducing the visibility around you to zero. This is just one of many mistakes that can be made around wrecks by novice and experienced divers alike. Please respect this warning.

This will definitely be one of the largest and most intact vessels you will ever see under water! Unlike our other sites it is sheltered from the main current flow to allow dives at any time of day.

Whiskey Point

A dive full of colour and life. Clean swept rocks tier down from 30-90 feet. Strawberry anemones, purple algae, tennis sponges, yellow encrusting sponges, snakelock anemones, giant barnacles, abalone, scallops, ling cod, red Irish lords, kelp greenlings, hairy cancer crabs, octopus and even visiting seals.

Steep Island

A popular dive. Dive among the feather dusters-purple tube worms, an experience too fantastic to describe. Some are over three feet in diameter. On this dive you can reach depths of 120-130 feet.

Orange, yellow and white sponges provide a rainbow of colour to the dive. Cloud nipple and trumpet sponges are few of the sponges you will see, rock scallops, swimming scallops, cabezon, ling cod, octopus, kelp greenlings, yellow eye rock fish, scally head sculpins and dog fish.

April Point

A terrific wall dive where you’ll see tealia anemones, basket stars, funnel and cloud sponges, soft and hard coral, abalone, Puget sound king crabs, giant nudibranches and ling cod.

Argonaut Wharf

Covered with clouds of plumose anemones and a haven for the giant pacific, featured in National Geographic Magazine, 1991. A great night dive. Decorator crabs, red, pink dahlia and white plumose anemones, flounder, red Irish lords and cabezon can be easily seen on your dive here.

Grouse Island

A good dive, no matter where you enter the water around the island. Look for wolf eels, octopus, Puget sound king crabs, decorator crabs, colourful cup corals, sponges, plum anemones, sea lemon nudibranches, abalone, crabs, scallops, shrimp and yellow eyed rockfish.

Ferry Wreck

Located off May Island, the ferry wreck is a nice easy dive to end the day. Octopus can be found around the wreck and along the shallow wall with brightly coloured cup corals, sponges, kelp greenlings, ling cod and a few golf balls you can pick up as a souvenir from someone practicing their swing top side.