Nautilus Explorer 2004

This year I had an opportunity to travel on the Nautilus Explorer from Steveston, BC to Sitka, AK scuba diving all the way. It was certainly a trip to remember and I highly recommend both the trip and the boat.

The Nautilus Explorer is easily the most comfortable liveaboard dive boat on the BC coast. With a length of 116 feet and a 27 foot beam she is spacious and well appointed. You can look on the Nautilus Explorer website for full details and interior views.

You can view a log of all the dives I did during the trip here, and you can view a selection of photos from the trip here.

We boarded the Nautilus Explorer in Steveston, BC on June June 17th at about 10am. I was immediately impressed with the interior room and the overall "feel" of the boat. We checked in, got our cabin and stowed our gear. We then set up our dive gear on the skiff.

Now the skiff is quite impressive at 38 feet it rates as a dive boat by itself. With a maximum of 24 diving guest it is roomy and well thought out. The skiff has 4 water entry points and 3 exit ladders. An addition added safty feature is three engines, two for cruising to and from the dive site and one jet drive for manuvering while divers are in the water.

Once everything was stowed and ready I was pleased to lean we would be doing two dives that day, I had assumed we might get one only. We sailed just after noon and headed north. During this time we got a briefing on how things would work during the trip and had the mandatory cruise ship lifeboat drill.

Around 5:00pm we arrived at the southern tip of Texada Island and anchored. The Crew launched the skiff and we set off for our first dive. While we were off diving the non-divers in the group set off to explore Jedadiha Island. Our dive was on the nearby Shear Island. Then back to the boat and a great supper and out for another dive this time at Mount Dyck Wall. Both of these dives went smoothly and were a great way to start off the trip. We pulled up the anchor and headed north throughout the night.

We woke up not far from Telegraph Cove, BC and Proceded to do two dives in the area at Pearce Island and Haddington Island. We also had the opportunity to look around Telegraph cove for a while and visit the whale museum there. Then it was off north again.

Day three found is anchored just off Hussar Point in the Port Hardy area. This was to be a very busy day. We did three dives had a beach bonfire and hotdog roast and there was the opportunity for a sightseeing flight with Pacific Coastal Air on a Beaver floatplane. Our dives on this day were Browning Wall, Hussar Point and Browning Pass in the other direction. Some people also went kayaking (the Nautilus Explorer carries quite a selection of watercraft).

We left the Port Hardy area around midnight heading for Hakai Pass. In the morning we were greated with beautiful scenery as we headed north. We entered Hakai Pass and encountered a pod of transient Orcas. This sighting delayed our planned dive a bit but that is one of the advantages of a small ship, you can change the itinerary to suit what your passangers want. After we had our fill of the Orcas we anchored just off a great beach in the Adam's Harbour area of Hakai Pass.

While the non-divers in the group when kayaking and beach exploring the rest of us set off for our first dive of the day, an exposed rock called Hakai Rock. We were a little off slack due to our whale watching but the lee side of the rock was certainly fun to dive, with great invertebrate life and schools of rockfish. Our second dive in the Hakai Pass area was a spot called Adam's Wall, now this dive could well be the best dive I have ever done, I just plain loved it. it was a shallow dive along a small island that was covered in life, I could have spent the entire dive in 20 feet of water and been quite happy. I am glad however I went deeper, in the 40 foot range there was a large surge channel ending in a swim through. All the surfaces of the surge channel were covered with invertebrate life. I can't wait to return to this area and explore more.

I was sorry to leave this area, but late in the day we headed up to Namu, an old abandoned cannery town on the BC coast. Our purpose for stopping there was to pick up one of the crew Kat (Katrina) whose family are the caretakers of the townsite. Kat was kind enough to give folks a tour of the abandoned town. It was really quite sureal, much of the equipment and supplies had been abandoned in place when the cannery closed. Kat was a great tour guide and a welcome addition to the crew.

The next morning found us arriving at Butedale another abandoned cannery town, this one population one. We had the opportunity to go for a hike around the town site and then it was off for our dive. We were to be diving the wreck of the MV Transpac. Now this dive deserves a bit of discussion since it is considered by some to be THE technical wreck dive in BC. The Transpac was involved in a collision at night in Royal Princess Channel while heading north to Alaska in 1986. The 175 foot converted Gulf oilrig supply vessel made a run for shore but did not quite make it. She sank in a very unusual spot. Only a few hundred feet off shore is a 1500 foot near vertical wall and there she sits stern down vertical on the wall with her bow in about 120 feet of water. Since she starts at 120 feet and is 175 feet long on a vertical wall that makes her stern just shy of 300 feet down. It is pretty odd to see a wreck in such an orientation. Mike and Peter (one of the guests) did a rebreather dive to the stern while the rest of us did recreational (more or less) limit dives on the bow and wheelhouse. The area where the wall slopes up to shore was also an interesting dive. This is probably a good time to mention that the Nautilus Explorer is very Tech. and Rebreather friendly.

Our next day had us starting by clearing US customs in Ketchican, Alaska and spending some time exploring the town. Weather was beautiful (as it was the entire trip) so walking around town was fun. We spent a bit of time in the tourist area and then walked around the docks. We then set off for some more diving starting at McHenry Ledge a site that Mike said they had not dived before. It was a great dive and included my first ever sighting of dusky rockfish. We also saw stellar sealions and an odd palagic animal we later identified as Limacina helicina. From there we went to meet the Nautilus Explorer which had tied up a short distance away at a small town called Meyers Chuck. After yet another great meal it was off for another dive this time at a spot called Meyer's Rock. This was another great dive, lots of invertibrate life and a small octopus out near the end of the dive.

The next morning found us sailing past the cannery town of St Petersburg on our way to the Leconte Glacier. The great thing about a small ship is it can go places large cruise ships can not. Shallow depths at the entrance restrict entry to the Laconte Glacier to all but the smaller vessels, large cruise ships just can't make it. Mike was very aggressive and patient as he picked his way right to the glacier face, much closer than I had been to tother glaciers on a "regular" cruise ship. Luckly we got to see some large pieces calve off of the main glacier As an added treat on the way out we stopped by a large iceburg and did some diving/snorkeling and climbing around and on it. Definately a once in a life time experience. It was an amazing day.

Even the most perfect trip has to have a few problems and this day was our day for problems. Unexpected surface current cased most people to abort the first dive the next morning at Sail Island. Our next dive was planned at Yasha Island to dive with Stellar Sealions. Yasha has a breading colony of Stellars and there is nothing like a one ton or more animal to get your attention underwater! We saw a couple of sealions on the dive but they did not seem too interested in playing. At the end of the dive the surface current again played havoc with folks and some required the skiff to go off and retrieve them. After this dive we anchored briefly at the small town of Baranof which allowed the non-divers in the group a chance to visit the hotsprings there. The rest of us went off to do a dive and ended up at another un-named spot, although "Al's Crack" seems to be a popular choice. This was a great dive with lots of Nudibranchs, small gorgonian corals and basket stars. I also saw another new species on this dive, the Alaskan Ronquil.

The last dive day of the trip and definately a sad time but great diving. We sailed up to Lazaria Island not too far from Sitka. On the way we were again greeted by Humpback Whales, our fourth or fifth sighting of the trip. Lazaria Island is a bird sanctuary and we were greeted by swarms of Muirs and Tuffted Puffins, I rarely get ot see Puffins so this was a great sight. The dive here is quite interesting, there is a large sea cave that extends 60 to 70 feet back into the island and this is where we atarted our dive. The cave is full of invertebrate life and was a great spot. As we left the cave the life and the surge picked up. I always enjoy riding the surge and here was no exception. The wall at the opening to the cave was amazing soft corals, anemones, all kinds of life. It was such a fun site that the group opted to do a second dive there as well.

We ended the day by sailing into Sitka where we spent the night on the boat prior to flying home the next morning. Well like I said it was a great trip and i would do it again in a minute. The boat was comfortable the crew friendly and very helpfull the dive well organized and simply amazing, I mean what more can you ask for. i talked a bit with those people on the trip who were not diving and they wer all very happy with the activites they got to do while we were off diving, in fact I almost skipped a dive or two to allow me to participate in the shore activities, almost...

Created on ... July 19, 2004