This is a site I've wanted to dive for years. It's a current-swept pinnacle just South of Gooch Island off the Sidney-area. In Greg Dombowski's book Dive Guide Vancouver Island South, he ranks this spot as the second best dive site off Southern Vancouver Island (after the wall at West Race Rock). I don't know if there used to be lots of rockfish here ("cod" is the generic term fisherman use for any fish other than salmon or halibut), but the area is now a Rockfish Conservation Area, so hook-and-line fishing and spearfishing are illegal. I finally came here on a SEA Dive charter on March 26, 2022. It was an overcast day, but there was hardly any wind (North Cod Reef is exposed to the wind as well as the current).
When we arrived, I was surprised that there was no marker warning of the top of the shallow reef. I could tell that the visibility was going to be good. When I looked over the side of the boat I could see the bottom over 20' below. I descended to a large, flat area about 30' deep. There were scattered plumose anemones and red urchins on the rocks. I followed my compass West towards the drop off.
I reached the top of the dropoff. If I remember right, it was about 45-50' deep.
I swam North along the wall. Visibility here was as good as I've ever seen it off the Sidney area. I'd guess it was 40-50'. My maximum depth was 115' and I could see the white wall of plumose anemones dropping down as far as I could see. The marine chart shows this drop going down to around 180' deep.
This was a dive where I was torn between looking at the big, dramatic drop-off covered with white anemones and looking up close at all the tiny things living on the wall. Maybe I was biased by the good conditions, but I think this is now my favorite Sidney-area dive site.
