When I went to Saltspring Island, I wanted to try diving somewhere on the Northern side too. I picked Vesuvius Bay because it has shore access and the chart shows a drop to over 300 feet deep. On the Northern side of the bay there is the Vesuvius B.C. Ferries dock. On the south side, there is a long reef sticking out from the point. The drop off is on the other side of this reef. I went in mid-March, 2005. I parked beside the public access point, walked down some steps and out to the left side of the bay. It was low tide and the sandstone/mud beach was covered with oysters. A sign warned that the area was closed to shellfish collecting due to PSP. I swam out for about 5 minutes, found a narrow passage through the reef and descended to see what I could see. I didn't see much, because of the nasty visibility (6 feet or so). What I could see was sandstone and the kinds of seaweed you see in Saanich Inlet. As I went deeper, it cleared up a bit (maybe 15 feet) and I saw huge crabs everywhere. I've never seen this kind before. They had long legs like "spider crabs" and the big ones were about 2 feet across. Most of them were in mating pairs, with the big one carrying the little one around. The bottom was a slope of white sand with sandstone outcroppings, small walls and boulders here and there. Of all the places I've ever dived, this must have been the bleakest landscape I've ever seen. The rocks were bare, brown and silty. There were a few large plumose anemones here and there, and one rock was covered with zoanthids, but I've never seen such a lack of invertebrate life. There were a few copper rockfish, but they wouldn't let me get close enough for photos. I went down to 120 feet looking for sponges (I don't know why I'm always looking for sponges down deep), but saw just more of the same brown rock. It was dark like a night dive down there. On my way back up, I caught a glimpse of a red brotula swimming into a crevice. The first time I saw one was just the day before at Sluggett Point in Saanich Inlet. I thought it was a pretty neat sighting at the time, and here I see one the very next day. I spent the rest of my dive hunting nudibranchs with my camera in the shallows (always a dive saver). I wouldn't come back here again, but at least my curiosity was satisfied. I wonder if the lack of life had anything to do with the pulp mill across the channel in Crofton, or if it was just a lack-of-current type thing.