Nanaimo has long been known as the wreck diving capital of the Pacific Northwest. Not only are the artificial reefs amazing, the walls, drift dives, and rocky reef areas are awesome to behold.
Sea Dragon Charters operates the dive vessel “Sea Dragon” out of Departure Bay Marina, which is the closest marina to the Departure Bay ferry terminal. With the Sea Dragon’s slip conveniently situated beside the dock ramp, loading and unloading scuba gear is easy and convenient.
The Sea Dragon in Nanaimo can accommodate up to 10 divers. Amenities include standing and seated tank racks, swim grid, walk-through transom, great dive ladder, head, galley, and nice upper decks for sunny days.
Dive instructor Christine Brophy, previously of Rowand’s Reef Scuba in Vancouver is our Nanaimo divemaster.
For further information, you can call us at (604) 329-3486, or email info@seadragoncharters.com.
Dive locations from our Nanaimo base include:
Clarke Rock
A rocky pinnacle located in Hammond Bay, with a wide variety of marine life
Dodd Narrows
Fast currents bring an abundance of nutrients into the Narrows, and that means an abundance of marine life. Diving is done at slack.
Gabriola Bluffs
A sheer wall to 270 feet. Nooks and crannies galore.
Gabriola Passage (extra option)
A marine life sanctuary, currents up to 8 knots bring an abundance of nutrients to this passage. Contact us for details.
HMCS Saskatchewan (artificial reef)
A 336 foot destroyer escort placed here in 1997, in about 130 feet of water. Saskatchewan is diver prepared, teaming with marine life, and is BC’s most popular reef.
HMCS Cape Breton's tower - Photo by Barb Roy
HMCS Cape Breton (artificial reef)
A 442 “Victory” class ship placed here in 2001. The Cape Breton is the 2nd largest diver prepared artificial reef in the world, sitting upright in 142 feet of water.
Jessie Island
You’ve probably seen the lighthouse on Jessie Island as you take the Nanaimo-Horseshoe Bay ferry. The island is sandstone and erosion over the years has resulted in unusual topography and lots of marine life.
Orlebar Point
A wall dive off Gabriola Island, with shallows leading to a sheer wall and overhang dropping to 200 feet.
Rivetow Lion (artificial reef)
Originally a deep sea rescue tug for the British Navy, she later worked the BC coast as a commercial tug boat. The vessel was placed Departure Bay in 2005, is 157 feet long and sits in 85 feet of water.
Snake Island (wall and seal dives)
The Snake Island wall drops to over 600 feet – with an overhang just past 100 feet. Lots of marine life in the wall. We also do seal dives at Snake Island. The local harbour seals are always curious and fun to dive with – great photo opportunities. We can arrange for snorkel diving here in depths of 10 to 20 feet.
Diver Wayne Grant on HMCS Saskatchewan - photo by Barb Roy
To obtain more information about British Columbia’s artificial reefs, you can go to the Artificial Reef Society of BC’s website, at www.artificialreef.bc.ca.