The Rivtow Lion is a 150'-or-so long, steel tug. According to the Internet, it started out in the British navy, towing damaged allied ships during WW2. It ended up working on the Canadian West coast before being sunk as an artificial reef near Nanaimo in 2005. I shoved my boat on my car's roof and drove up from Victoria on Dec. 4, 2011. I launched at the Brechin Boat Ramp (free, but you pay for parking) and motored the short distance (probably less than a kilometer) to the West side of Newcastle Island, where the Rivtow Lion is sunk. There's a yellow bouy marking the wreck maybe 150 meters from shore. I anchored about 2 feet deep near the beach and swam out on the surface. I went down the line, which was attached to the stern. Visibility was about 40 feet. I swam around the rudder and propeller about 70 feet deep. I saw a few small sea pens in the mud. Orange and white plumose anemones are the most obvious invertebrates growing on the wreck although I also saw a few small feather stars. I swam back up the stern and forward along the open deck, past the funnel and a few large holes leading inside (to the engine room I think). I swam through the bridge area and then down towards the bow (60 feet deep). A couple of ropes lead down from the "point" of the bow. These ropes are covered with tube worms. The bottom here was 85 feet deep. I swam back along the wreck and saw a few copper rockfish and 2 or 3 lingcod. I spent just over an hour on this dive, but you could tour the wreck in less time than that. Much of my dive was spent taking photos from endless angles and setting up for my usual self-portraits. This wreck reminds me of a slightly-smaller G.B. Church, but with better visibility and less life (so far).
