There are "Smuggler's Coves" all over the coast of B.C., but this one is in the Ten Mile Point neighborhood at the end of the delightfully-named McAnally Rd. The cove itself is flat and shallow underwater, but once you leave the protected little bay, you are in Baynes Channel, which has currents up to 6 knots according to the chart. Across Baynes Channel from here is Strongtide Island, which is covered with invertebrate life. I didn't expect the Smuggler's Cove area to be that dramatic, since if it was, divers would be ignoring nearby 10-Mile Point and diving here instead. I still wanted to have a look so I showed up on Jan. 10, 2010. I swam out of the bay on the surface and descended near a small island that sticks out near the right-hand point. The rocks in the shallows were covered with the usual Oak Bay-area red seaweed and the occasional anemone. Visibility was about 15 feet. Out past the tip of the island, I followed a stalked kelp-topped rocky reef straight out. The North side of this reef went down to about 30 feet deep. The deeper parts of this reef were covered with purple urchins. There wasn't an obvious display of current-loving invertebrate life, just a few patches of encrusting sponge on the reef and boulders. There were a few breaks in the reef and when I swam out farther across the rubble bottom, the reef started up again. My maximum depth was 45 feet. Even though I was diving near slack on a morning with minimal current, I could feel a slight pull so I didn't swim out too far. I hardly saw any fish, just a single copper rockfish, a small lingcod, some kelp greenlings and a few perch. near the entrance to the bay I saw a fish-eating anemone on the flat, small-rock bottom surrounded by more of that red seaweed. This dive seems to be similar to many of the places I've visited in this area, in that you have to get below 50 feet-or-so to see the kind of marine life you'd expect with reasonably strong current. The reef reminded me of the top 30 feet at Ten Mile Point.
