Dive Traveler
crab shells that give it away. Hidden in dark shadows near the back of a small undersea cave I spot a strange elongated fish that I’ve never seen before, and photograph, later to ID as an Alaskan Ronquil. Northern BC is the southernmost edge of its range and for me it’s a kick to observe a new species after more than 30 years of exploring all the nooks and crannies of this convoluted coast. It’s a lush marine world we’re
enjoying in Haida Gwaii. As the sun ricochets through the kelp canopy I see that along with the usual Bull kelp there are some dense undersea groves of Northern Giant kelp, a slightly smaller version of the giant kelp found off California. Here and there we see also a few small patches of Red Soft Coral. It’s tantalizing to think that somewhere in this sprawling marine archipelago there may be a hidden pass loaded with the stuff, a place to rival the legendary soft coral of Browning Wall at the top end of Vancouver Island. It’s springtime in the Pacific
Northwest and the sunshine has blown the plankton into full bloom making our visibility a variable commodity ranging from 10 to 30 feet (3-9m), depending on the dive site. But we couldn’t care less. It’s the plankton that fuels the abundance of life we see at every turn. Ever since my first and never forgotten visit to Haida Gwaii years ago I’d been itching to return and now, aboard Nautilus Swell, I’m back and I’ve got a ringside seat. As we ascend from our first
dive we transit surge-swept shallows where blue mussels are hungrily helping themselves to the microscopic cereal of the sea, and then we’re done, our heads pop up and our dive skiff appears with plenty of helping hands to pluck us from the water. Back on deck we’re greeted by the never wavering smile of our hostess Tiare who plies us with favorite hot drinks and goodies to warm body and soul.
Gwaii Haanas National Park We’re cruising and diving the rich waters of Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, a vast protected area that takes in the entire southern half of Moresby Island - 1,300 square miles/3,400 square kilometers - as well as the hundreds of surrounding smaller islands, islets and rocky reefs. The park’s name means ‘Islands of Beauty’. First protected in 1988 after years of anti-logging
34 Magazine
The ancient cedar totems of SGang Gwaay transport you back in time
I’d been itching to return to Haida Gwaii… aboard Nautilus Swell I was back with a ringside seat to the show
protest and land negotiations, it was declared official in 1993. Today, the park is managed by Parks Canada and the Haida people in a unique partnership. Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve and Haida Heritage Site, comprise some 1,950 square miles (5,000 square kilometers) of land and ocean. The Nautilus Swell is the first
live-aboard dive boat to ply these waters in nearly 20 years so this is
truly adventure diving at its finest. Each day offers the real chance of diving a site where no one has set fin before. And with each visit the Nautilus Swell adds to its growing list of charted sites. The diving will only get better! And when we weren’t diving
we explored a number of Haida Heritage Sites scattered across the archipelago, guided by our own onboard licensed Gwaii Haanas interpreter and naturalist Laura Pattinson, and by the Haida Gwaii Watchmen, who live and work at the sites May through September. At the abandoned village of Skedans or K’uuna Llnagaay on Louise Island, once home to several longhouses, we watched blacktail
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