Next Article Seattle Camping Examiner Explore Canada: Check out Porteau Cove Provincial Park

Even though Washington State has plenty to offer to the outdoor enthusiast, there is even more to experience with our neighbors to the north. British Columbia may get overlooked when planning weekend camping trips, however it is only a couple hours from Seattle and unfolds new cultures and terrain. Porteau Cove Provincial Park is one of many Provincial Parks in Canada that has something for everyone.

Located only 38 km north of Vancouver, B.C. on Highway 99 this park features a scuba diving area that contains a series of man made reefs and sunken ships that are marked by buoys. Depths vary from 20 to 60 feet. Marine life can be spotted as various types have made the area it’s home. Diving from a boat is prohibited. Steps leading down to the waters edge are recommended to access the nearby scuba park...[Link]

Artificial-reef balls sunk near Ogden Point

They look like giant wiffle balls, but you'd have a little trouble hitting one with a bat -- in fact, you probably wouldn't get the 136-kilogram balls off the ground.

This weekend, the first of 100 artificial reefs -- known as "reef balls" -- are being dropped in waters just east of Ogden Point. They're part of a project designed to study reef ecosystems, and to help replace natural reefs disappearing because of coastline development.

The dome-shaped cement structures, about the size of a large exercise ball, are designed to mimic the shape and texture of naturally occurring reefs...[Link]

Our neighbor to the north: Welcome to Canada

...Scuba-dive

Where: Swim with elusive six-gill sharks off Vancouver Island.

How to get there: Access to dive sites is available along the east coast of Vancouver Island from Victoria all the way to Port Hardy and throughout the northern and southern Gulf Islands.

When to go: Winter is the peak season for diving, as the temperate waters provide optimum visibility.

For more info: Abyssal Dive Charters and Lodge offers diving in the waters surrounding the Campbell River.

www.abyssal.com...[BND.com]

Escaping Winter....Underwater

A stiff winter wind is blowing at the Ogden Point Breakwater.

A churning, grey, moody-looking ocean is lapping up against huge stacked granite and concrete blocks that anchor the 800-metre breakwater marking the entrance to Victoria’s Inner Harbour.

These are perfect conditions for a winter dive, an activity that seems to defy common sense but draws tourists to explore the rich undersea world on Canada’s West Coast.

Topside — the word divers use to describe everything above water — it may be rough and stormy, but down below it’s all splendour, light and full of life.

The clouds of plankton and algae that float through the water at other times of the year disappear as the water cools down slightly in winter, leaving divers with a better view of the undersea topography and wildlife, says Victoria dive shop manager Erin Bradley.

“The winter and summer water temperatures only vary about two to four degrees,” he said. “It might be snowing or raining or blowing, but underwater we’re still comfortable.”

Dry suits worn underneath the traditional diving wet suits keep out the cold, Bradley said...[MetroNews.ca]

Octopus, wolf eel among underwater attractions for winter divers off Victoria

A stiff winter wind is blowing at the Ogden Point Breakwater. The temperature is threatening to drop below zero and the clouds are getting darker by the minute.

A churning, grey, moody-looking ocean is lapping up against huge stacked granite and concrete blocks that anchor the 800-metre breakwater marking the entrance to Victoria's Inner Harbour.

These are perfect conditions for a winter dive, an activity that seems to defy common sense but draws tourists to explore the rich undersea world on Canada's West Coast.

Topside - the word divers use to describe everything above water - it may be rough and stormy, but down below it's all splendour, light and full of life.

The clouds of plankton and algae that float through the water at other times of the year disappear as the water cools down slightly in winter, leaving divers with a better view of the undersea topography and wildlife, says Victoria dive shop manager Erin Bradley.

Bradley stands on the breakwater in a T-shirt and ponders how best to respond to questions about the water, its temperature and the reasons why warm-blooded people dive in the winter...[TheCanadianPress]

Dive Into Scuba

Calgary has three well-established scuba-diving schools that offer a full range of courses: - AquaSport Scuba Center Inc. (403-686-6166; aquasportscuba.com); - Adventures in Scuba (403-299-7751; adventuresinscuba.com); - The Dive Shop (403-243-4616; diveshopscuba.com).

Coming next Thursday in Outside: Get your muscles and mind in shape for surfing --a six-week exercise program perfect for those spring break getaways.
Scuba instructor Ken Pon does a giant stride entry into the pool, as Herald reporter Trent Edwards looks on.View Larger Image View Larger Image
Scuba instructor Ken Pon does a giant stride entry into the pool, as Herald reporter Trent Edwards looks on. Heaving my breakfast over the boat's side in spurts, I tried to at least keep my fears down.

I knew the concept of "the bends," a horribly painful expansion of nitrogen bubbles in a person's blood caused by surfacing too quickly after a deep dive. This decompression sickness can kill you if you aren't put on pure oxygen and rushed to a hyperbaric chamber where your body can slowly depressurize.

I struggled to remember: how deep can you dive with-out having to worry about the bends? Is vomiting one of the first signs? And if so, how long do I have to get to a hyperbaric chamber on shore?

Cursing myself for my stupidity, I realized I had put my-self in a possibly deadly situation. Here I was, a decade after my last dive, sitting on a boat rocked by 1.5-to two-metre swells near a reef in Belize. Beside me was a boat driver who didn't dive and a tourist who didn't want to dive in rough conditions.

Anyone who could answer my questions was still under water...[CalgaryHerald]