Garrett Clement investigates the Rivtow Lion shipwreck this time on Uncharted Odyssey. The Rivtow Lion dive site was created as an artificial reef for the Nanaimo harbour, (sunk 2005) and despite the heavily impacted water, it remains a haven of life.
The Rivtow Lion is a 150-foot (47-meter) World War II tugboat. She served many years for the British as a support vessel in the North Atlantic. Its primary mission was to tow torpedo-damaged ships back to port.
The dive is a 5 minute boat ride from Brechan boat ramp, near the BC Ferries terminal and the ship dive starts at 50 feet and the diver can descend to 86 feet depending on the tide. The ship is completely covered in plumose anemones, and sea vase tunicates cover a large portion of the starboard side. There is access to the wheelhouse and a few other areas of the ship, but penetration should be limited to those with the desire, equipment, experience, and training.
Before being known as the RivTow Lion, she was also known as HMRT Prudent and the HMRT Cautious.
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