Garrett Clement has returned to Vancouver Island after spending a year exploring Newfoundland and the East Coast of Canada. Tyee Cove was his first dive in Nanaimo, British Columbia and is home to the famous wolf eel “Grandpa.” Garrett says he returned a better diver and videographer, but also with a more balanced perspective on our oceans and the life that inhabits them.
The Scuba News Canada has been pleased to feature Garrett’s East Coast videos:
It Snowed Last Night, Let’s Go Diving Today In Harbour Main, Newfoundland
Hermit Crab Shell Exchange – Nanaimo, British Columbia
Tyee Cove
Tyee Cove, located 1 hour north of Nanaimo on the Island Highway to Nanoose, British Columbia, is a renowned shore diving spot. It is one of the top dive sites in the Central Island area, based on the number of visitors it receives and its popularity among dive clubs for instructional purposes. Tyee Cove’s dive entrance is very straightforward. Walk down to the water, about 100 feet away. There are restrooms at this dive facility, which are located to the right of the parking area. This is the “go to spot” when all others are unavailable because it is reachable in almost any wind or tide condition.
The dive site begins with a stony bottom and gradually transitions beneath the surface to eel grass, kelp, and sand. Although you can go out even further, the rocky wall begins shallow and drops to about 100 feet. It’s a dive with a lot of small cracks (rocky wall) to look for smaller creatures hiding in the cracks. If you dive it during the day, make sure to come back at night because the two sites are very different. “Night and Day”! Most of the diving takes place to the right of the beach. The site gets a little deeper if you swim straight out from the beach, but divers prefer to dive the wall and have longer bottom times.
Dive Report:
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