I was meaning to dive somewhere else today (Giant Kelp Beach), but the swell rolling up the Strait of Juan de Fuca was stirring up the bottom and making access there difficult so I came back to nearby Cornelius Road instead. Coincidentally, the Sooke tide table was showing a long slack at high tide. This was on Nov. 9, 2024. There was a layer of fresh water on the surface from the nearby creek and all the rain lately, but below a foot or two deep, visibility was a reasonable 15'.
As usual, I swam out to the left, past the docks towards the rocky slope.
Just past the docks, I reached the rocky "wall" area. My maximum depth today at its base was 39' at high tide. There were the usual areas of small, brownish plumose anemones and more nudibranchs than I could take photos of (although I tried my best).
I had reached the end of the steep, solid-rock slope. This is where I usually turn around, but today I continued swimming farther along the shoreline. The bottom here was rocky rubble with a few larger boulders.
Eventually I came across another big solid-rock area dropping down from shore. The topography, marine life and depths were pretty much identical to the previous rock slope that I usually dive.
I swam back the way I came towards the docks near my entry-point.
Under one of the docks, there was a tree branch hanging down that was covered with small, orange anemones.
