Sunshine_Coast

Canada

Mermaid Cove is a wonderful destination with all the campground facilities you'd expect.  Named for a mermaid statue sitting on the bottom at about 15 meters, you'll find a wide variety of sea life lurking nearby.  You will most likely see an octopus or two during your dive!

From the ferry terminal at Saltery Bay, the entrance is less than 1km to the North on 101.

Mermaid Cove

Enter on the south side of the jetty.  The jetty itself has a lot of small invertebrates and fish, but the most interesting stuff is the two small wrecks located south of the jetty.  The easiest way to find the wrecks is to swim south from the jetty and keep yourself in water ~30' deep.  Both wrecks lie between 30-40', and the slope is steep enough here that following the depth contour will take you straight to both wrecks.  There is little current in the area, but lots of boat traffic.

From Powell River, head north on highway 101 towards Lund.  About 5km before Lund is a turnoff for Okover Provincial Park (Malispina Road).  Turn right (east) onto this road and follow it to the park.  The best diving is by the jetty found just south of the wharf.

Okeover Provincial Park

Brooks Cove is for the more advanced diver.  You'll have quite the swim to get to the prime diving spots, but the effort will be worth it.  With depths to over 100 feet, the water clarity will be spectacular!

At 1.3km North of Halfmoon Bay, turn left onto Brooks Road, and follow the signs to Smuggler Cove.

Brooks Cove (Smuggler Cove Marine Provincial Park)

Do not go to this site for abundant life, underwater scenery, or amazing wrecks.  All you'll find here is a flat plane of sand with a strip of eel grass in the 4m to 7m (15'-25') depth range.  So why dive here?  Crabs.  A $5 1-day fishing license will let you gather 4 of the buggers (i.e. about $150 worth at any restaurant) - both red rock and Dungeness can be found at this site.  Make sure you take only legal sized crabs, and try to take only males.  This launch is not heavily used, but none-the-less fly a flag and keep clear of the boat launch.  Due to the shallow nature of this dive, and the complete lack of anything worth looking at, this makes a good place to empty the last few hundred PSI out of a tank used on another dive.

Finding this location is easy - from Sechelt follow East Porpoise Road (AKA Sechelt Inlet Road) north 4-5km.  You'll see a large blue sign on the left side of the road reading "Sandy Hook".  Turn onto this road (left/west), and follow its contorted path to the east (don't turn off at any of the junctions; stay on the main road).  You'll find yourself at a boat ramp with a few mooring buoys off in the bay.  Enter at the boat ramp.

Sandy Hook

Sargeant Bay Provincial Park is a nice area for picnicking and easy diving.  The shallow dive allows plenty of time for exploration, and the park offers a great place to relax between tanks.

About 7km North of Schelt on 101 make a left on Redrooffs Road, you'll see the park entrance sign below.

Sargeant Bay

Are you looking for a good beginning dive?  How about an advanced dive?  Coopers Green has it all in the protection of Halfmoon Bay!  Simple entry into the shallows allows easy exploration of the small island just meters off shore.  Beyond that, the depth drops off rapidly.

About 7km North of Schelt on 101 make a left on Redrooffs Road.  Wind your way about 8.5km to the entrance below.

Coopers Green

This is another fine entry to the Sechelt Inlet, and an ideal place to camp for the night.  Check-in with the marina, and discuss your dive plans with them.  They'll have plenty of recommendations for you!

At the North end of the Sechelt Peninsula, just South of the Earls Cove Ferry, take Egmont Road East for 9km.  Turn left on Maple Road, and travel for a short distance until the sign below.

Egmont Marina Resort

The Powell River area offers such spectacular diving, and Dinner Rock is no exception.  Basic campground facilities are available, so take a couple of tanks and plan on spending the evening.

Drive 4.5km South of Lund, or 15.5km North of the Powell River bridge, then turn Southwest on Dinner Rock Road.  The preceding roads you'll encounter from Lund are Malaspina, then Dinner Rock.  The preceding roads you'll encounter from Powell River are Wilde, Southview, Gifford, Atrevida, Craig, Emmonds, then Dinner Rock.

Dinner Rock

Ole's Cove is a well kept secret, so don't tell anyone!  Located in a beautiful bayside neighborhood, experienced shore divers will find a simple dive.

At 7km North of Halfmoon Bay on 101, turn left on Mercer (this is the Northern access to Mercer).  Follow the directions below.

Ole's Cove

For another remote neighborhood dive, Martin Cove offers plenty to explore.  The beach entry makes this dive suitable for all experience levels

In the Pender Harbor area, 14.8km North of Halfmoon Bay on 101, turn left on Frances Peninsula Road.  Be prepared for a wonderfully winding road!

Martin Cove

A small island, unofficially known as "lone tree island" (because it has one tree), makes up this dive site.  Looking from the entry point, the left side of the island has a small reef with some wolf eels.  The middle of the island has some oyster beds and lot of fish.  The site has little current to worry about, but boat traffic can be heavy.

From Powell River, take highway 101 north towards Lund.  Before you get to Lund you should hit a gravel turnoff, with a school and signs for Lund trailer park on the corner.  If you hit the turnoff for Lund itself you've gone too far.  Turn left onto this road, and then turn right at the fire station.  Follow the road until it ends (less then 1km); park at the end of the road.  To the left of the parking area is a trail through the trees which goes down to the water.  Follow this trail to the entry; be careful to avoid walking onto the private properties which line this pathway.

Lone Tree Island

Great dive site and facility. The site has easy shore access.

Mermaid Cove

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Mermaid Cove