One Dive at Race Rocks, BC

Here's a few from one of my favorite spots - Race Rocks (see: Race rocks Marine Preserve) near Victoria, BC Canada. The best site is West Race, a wall covered head to toe (about 85') in amazing growths of invertebrates, fish and more. A few of these are from Great Race, better for fish and kelp forests.

This is an intense current dive that has to be timed perfectly off a rocky reef in the middle of the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Water temp was a balmy 49F, sunny and decent seas. Viz was decent but a bit murky at times. we nailed the current catching the end of the flood and then a nice slack.

Thanks to my good friend Erin at Ogden Point Dive Centre, he has a specially designed aluminum 8 pack boat especially made for this dive (with a 225HP Yamaha!).

All shot with Nikon D80, Fantasea FD80, 60mm Macro with/without a Woody and one Inon z240, as my second one has died (crap!).

Barnacle Amid Strawberries

Keeping My Eye on You - Hermit Crab

H. Crassicornis - Trailing (I've never seen this particular one do this before)

Puget Sound King Crab

Female Kelp Greenling

Giant Pacific Octopus

Jack

Great stuff Jack.

I have done that dive with Erin also. Usually you hear about the Sealions, so nice to see you showing the other side. And, a GPO always makes the dive great.

We head to Port Hardy in August so this has gotten my juices flowing.

Cheers

Todd

All beautiful shots! I really like the Kelp Greenling, and you can never go wrong with a nice Octo.

Todd, who are you diving with in Port Hardy this year?

It has been years since I have done that beautiful location. Great pictures. I also like the kelp greenling picture.

really nice shots Jack, great job... who says you need 2 strobes? # 1,3,5,6 are my favs. how big was the octopus?

All beautiful shots! I really like the Kelp Greenling, and you can never go wrong with a nice Octo.

 

Todd, who are you diving with in Port Hardy this year?

Dan and the Mamro.

Very nice. We have similar diving, minus the octos, on the Bay of Fundy but one of these days I'm going to get out to BC.

Nice shot on the kelp greenling. That is a tough one to get. They are usually quite skittish!

Steve B

Thanks all!

Octo was about 40-50#, volleyball-sized head. Very mellow, out in a crack on a sunny afternoon taking a snooze.

Yes, the Kelp Greenlings generally are quite skittish, but this is the second time I've dove there that they've come right up to me and cruised around divers. I'm guessing that somebody feeds them, or that they've learned that diver stir up food for them. I didn't feed them for sure.

It did take a while, and a lot of shots, to get the one head shot like that I was looking for.

Jack