I usually don't consider diving in Saanich Inlet in May because of the plankton blooms, but the wind and current were too strong on the Juan de Fuca side of Victoria so I came here on May 25, 2016 for a local dive. I dove the area below the parking lot. Visibility was pretty terrible in the shallows (maybe 6'), but it cleared to maybe 30-40' below 60' deep. It was dark down deep (max depth=125'). I visited 2 cloud sponges. Last time I dove here (at least a year ago), one of them had a couple of broken-off pieces a bit farther down the slope from the main sponge. Today, these pieces were still alive. Hopefully they are developing into new sponges. I took some long-exposure (1 second) photos of them. I also visited the wolfeel den and saw the male peeking out. Back up in the murky shallows, a harbour seal grabbed my fin thinking it was a fish.
I came back to McKenzie Bight 2 days later (May 27, 2016) and dove out to the left from the popular entry-point. Visibility was a bit better in the shallows (maybe 10') and down deep, it was much clearer and brighter. I could see maybe 50'. I took some more long-exposure photos down on the wall (around 90' deep).
