In the past, I have had good luck with visibility in this area in early July so I came up on July 2, 2016 to have a look at another part of Mistaken Island. I had to launch at the Schooner Cove marina since the closer Beachcomber Marina no longer allows launching. After a very nice dive with the gorgonian corals in my usual spot at the Southern tip of the island (taking video) I anchored at the Western side to see what it was like underwater there.
In the shallows, visibility was a bit murky (maybe 10'). There was a flat, rocky area stretching out from shore. It was covered with green urchins. It gradually sloped down to a wall that ended in a wide, boulder-covered ledge 60' deep. The visibility was excellent down here, maybe 80'. There was very little marine life here compared to the Southern tip of Mistaken Island.
At the edge of the 60'-deep ledge, another wall dropped away. I went down to about 120' deep and I could see much farther down the walls and ledges. The chart shows this area going down past 200' deep. I was disappointed by the lack of marine life down here. I saw 3 boot sponges and a crimson anemone. Despite the good visibility and the reasonable distance I covered, I didn't see any cloud sponges. There were only 2 or 3 feather stars.
I worked my way back up the slope and boulder ledges (60-80' deep). There were a few rockfish (mostly quillback and a tiger), small lingcod and kelp greenlings.
I spent a bit of time back up in the shallows getting rid of nitrogen. Other than the green urchins, there were lots of black-eye gobies and tube worms.
Except for the good visibility, I wasn't impressed with this dive. It really can't compete with the Southern tip of Mistaken Island, which I think is the best dive in the Nanoose area.
