Elbow Point is the spot in Saanich Inlet where Finlayson Arm turns into Squally Reach. Repulse Rock ("White Lady") is just off the point. I came here on July 26, 2009. I chose the South side because it was in the sun. The North side looks steeper on a chart, but with the sun blocked by the high bluffs, it would have been much darker underwater. I anchored in a tiny, rocky bay. The shallows were nice and clear. Visibility here was maybe 30 feet. Between 20-60 feet deep, there was a plankton layer that reduced visibility to about 10 feet. Below that, it started to clear and by the time I passed 100 feet, visibility was a dark 40 feet or so. I swam North towards the point. The topography was no surprise here. It was the usual Saanich Inlet series of walls, ledges, rocky slopes, etc. going down deeper than I felt like going. I went down to about 130 feet. I was surprised that I didn't see any sponges (boot or cloud). There were several swimming anemones, but not much obvious fish life compared to most Inlet spots. Most of the fish (usually copper rockfish) were in the bad visibility band above 60 feet deep. The last half of my dive was spent in the shallows above 30 feet deep where it was clearer and there seemed to be more than the usual coating of invertebrates on the rocks. There were the expected lightbulb tunicates, but also lots of cup corals and large opalescent nudibranchs. I think next time I'll try the North side of the point in my quest for sponges.
