I mentioned that in one of his local shipwreck books, Fred Rogers describes the wreck of the steam tug Restless which burned and sank in the bay just North of the Turgoose Point government dock in the 1930's. He said all that's left is a few metal scraps on the beach. I didn't see anything on the beach at low tide and a few different satellite images didn't show anything either. The Capital Regional District has an online mapping system with satellite imagery. The most recent updated version seems to show a wreck-shaped outline that's the right length (about 80 feet) at the outer edge of the bay. It looked to me like what would be left of the ribs and hull sticking out of the sand. The American NOAA marine chart shows a wreck in this exact spot. I've been meaning to have a look for awhile, but the winds and rain have turned the Saanichton Bay area into a mud puddle. Finally it was calm for long enough to let the water settle so I showed up for a dive on Feb. 9, 2012. Instead of entering at the government dock like last time, I entered in the bay at the end of the Arthur Drive public access. I snorkeled out to where I was hoping the wreck would be. It was a semi-low tide (5 feet on the Sidney tide table) and the bay was shallow for a long way out. At the outer edge of the bay it was only 6-10 feet deep. The flat, sandy bottom was covered with eel grass, but I didn't see any sign of a wreck. I crisscrossed the area a few times while snorkeling on the surface and then I descended and had a look at the deeper area just outside the bay (10-15 feet deep). I still didn't see anything. I figured if there was an 80-foot-long wreck, it would be hard to miss, but with the limited visibility (about 10 feet), maybe I kept swimming past it just out of view. I gave up and swam around Turgoose Point towards the government dock. There was a reasonably strong current flowing around the point. I swam about 15 feet deep along the rubble slope. There was a surprising amount of plumose anemones on the rocks and under the private docks. I finished my dive under the government dock, where there were lots of sinister-looking bones scattered around (I'll assume they were from a seal).
eelgrass in the bay
anemones near the point in the bay
eelgrass, sunflower star and nudbranch in the bay
anemones and seastar on the rubble slope
under a private dock
under a private dock
under a private dock
buffalo sculpin
under a private dock
under a private dock
under a private dock
under a private dock
under a private dock
under a private dock
under a private dock
under a private dock
large sea star
school of perch
gun from an ancient lost battleship
under the government dock
under the government dock
under the government dock
under the government dock
under the government dock
under the government dock
under the government dock
under the government dock
under the government dock
under the government dock
under the government dock
under the government dock
under the government dock
under the government dock
under the government dock
under the government dock
under the government dock
pile of shaggy mouse nudibranchs
under the government dock
ladder on the govt dock
under the government dock
under the government dock
under the government dock
under the government dock
bones
bones
bones
scattered ribs
under the government dock