Port Hardy

Rand McMeins · Issue 63, Nov/Dec 2011 · pp. 50–53

Products mentioned: Nikon D2x, Subal D2 housing, Inon Z220 strobes, Tokina 10-17mm FE lens, Zen mini dome, Nikon 105mm macro lens, Subsee +10 diopter

Port Hardy is located at the north end of Vancouver Island and is an underwater photography paradise. The waters off northern Vancouver Island feature amazing invertebrate life, wolf eels, and octopus. The dives also include walls covered with colorful anemones, a variety of sponges and starfish, and loads of fish including black rockfish, seals, and sea lions. Also, it is not uncommon to see killer whales on the surface. On our way up to Port Hardy we did two dives at Race Rocks. This was on a day-boat out of Victoria, B.C. with Ogden Point Diver Centre. The boat Captain said that the vis was just about as good as it gets the day we dove. I’d put it around 30-40’. Race Rocks was a wide-angle dive for me. The Stellar sea lions are the main attraction and they have some big ones. Some were well over 2,000 lbs. I was first in on the first dive and was surrounded by about 10 of them for the…