SUMMARY: A shallow, "mini wall" shore dive. LOCATION: At the end of Fraser St. in Esquimalt. You can either rappel down the rocks straight out from the parking lot or enter from a gravel beach to the right. Swim out to the point in front of the park. WHAT TO SEE: Despite being mentioned in all the local guide books, this site doesn't seem to be all that popular. I've never seen another diver here. I assume most people are put off by the shallow depths. This site is great though for divers who like an abundance of small life and long bottom times. There are small walls and overhangs covered with zoanthids, sponges, hydroids, tunicates, etc. This is a great spot for nudibranchs. There aren't many large fish, but lots of small sculpins, shrimp, hermit crabs and octopus dens. There are also lots of boulders with fish-eating anemones and sunflower stars draped over them. A lot of the life looks like it should be in a high-current area, but current here is actually minimal. In the summer, kelp growth makes it hard to see all the life on the rocks. In the winter, there are just a few bits of ragged kelp and you have a clear view. CONDITIONS: You can't get much deeper than 25 feet here. Because of the shallow depths, visibility is not the greatest. I get excited when I can see 30 feet. 10 - 20 is more typical. This site is pretty exposed if the weather is rough.
I came back in late March, 2007 to test a wireless remote control for my camera. Unfortunately, it didn't work unless it was within a few feet of the camera. -Maybe something to do with the transmission (or lack thereof) of infrared light underwater. I also realised that one of the camera settings wasn't adjusted right (and I couldn't change it underwater since my $35 camera housing's controls don't all match up) so most of the pictures were pretty dark. Visibility was around 10 feet.
