Hey Everyone!

I hope you all have been enjoying this lovely weather, while getting some amazing diving in too. Being Febuary, that ment that the Sea Lions are a blast to dive with. Just imagine going into a room filled with excited Labrador Puppies, very interactive. They are more concerned about having fun than anything else, but they are not afraid to remind you who the boss is under the water.

So like most Dive Trips out to the wonderful diving on the Island, it starts with some Ferry rides. It was lovely bunch of folks yet again with this past Trip, so there was never a dull moment. As we boarded the last Ferry from Denman Island to Hornby Island, you could feel the excitement build for the exciting weekend ahead.

We arrived at Hornby Island Diving Lodge around 5pm. Got our things settled and had a lovely dinner before or evening night diving activities. We had a delicious meal, then it was of to set up our gear that nights dive and to prepare for the boat dives the next day. Fortunately the shore entry for our night dive is only a short jaunt from the compressor house. So we geared up there and headed down to the water.

During our dive we were briefly greeted some of the local Sea Lions, while enjoying the plentiful schools of Tubesnout fish. In the shallower we enjoyed not only the bioluminescence, but also our other regular fun friends like Graceful Kelp Crabs, Urchins, Nudibranchs, Anemone, Lingcod, and such. Making sure to note any Lingcod Egg Mass's we came across (you do your part to by following this link). After the dive we hung up our gear and relaxed until bed, because The next day we had the Sea Lions to prepare for.

After Breakfast on the Saturday we donned our gear and boarded the Dive Boat. We were very fortunate to have such outstanding weather during our stay, the water was relatively calm and the visibility was quite nice. Our first day of Sea Lions was a nice taste for what was to come the following day. During the first dive with the Sea Lions they were a little less inquisitive, although still interactive. They love playing with fins and nibbling on anything the protrudes from your gear. So it does require a bit of attention to make sure they don't make off with your hood or snorkle. Most of all they love to show off for the camera. When diving with Sea Lions, it is a humbling experience because you really realize how cumbersome us Divers are under the water. I will hopefully have some video footage of us underwater to post for you all to view soon. Very unique experience!

After the first exciting day of diving we settled down for dinner, again delicious. We later headed out for another night dive from the shore. This dive was a nice treat because we were lucky enough to be spectators of the Sea Lions Hunting and playing. At first the Sea Lions came by to check us out like the night before, although this time they stuck around and gave us a show. Very cool!

We woke up a little earlier on the Sunday so we could avoid being rushed to the Ferry at the end of the day. Of course another scrumptious breakfast followed by some phenominal Sea Lion diving. On the Sunday they were much more involved and very playful, to the point that when we were leaving the water to the boat, they almost followed us. After we said goodbye to the Sea Lions, we went back to the Lodge for lunch. Followed by our 6th and last dive for the weekend. The dive was packed with Lingcod, Puget Sound King Crabs, Yellow Eye Rock Fish, and the other usual suspects.