Big Blue Planet - Queen Charlotte Strait/Port Hardy dive location holiday destination information for SCUBA divers who want to go diving.

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Queen Charlotte Strait/Port Hardy

Location: Queen Charlotte Strait/Port Hardy (Canada (west))

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On this page you can see an overview of the location, including interactive maps, climate data, and photos. You can also see what other divers thought, the top dive sites, what fish to see, and what wrecks there are. We also have detailed listings of dive centres, resorts, travel agents and helpfull websites.

No buddies are currently registered for this location!

The diving- Superb! The scenery- Incredible wilderness islands and passes. The marine life- as diverse and abundant as anywhere on the planet. This area combines rich marine life with unusually clear waters almost year-round. Average vis -Spring 20 to 40 meters, Summer 10 to 25 meters, Fall 20 to 40 meters, Winter 30 to 40 meters. The prime dive areas are:
BROWNING PASS with mild currents washing nutients to more than a dozen spectacular sites, including Browning Wall- 200' of vertical by 600' long-all covered in soft corals, sponges, and tunicates, many with rockfish, sculpins, crabs and nudibranches sheltering beneath them. 7 Tree Island is if possible, even more spectacular! Hunt Rock and the wreck of the SS Themis both have resident wolf eels. North Wall, HideAway Wall, Rock of Life, Hussar Point are additional spectacular sites within this pass!
DESERTERS iSLANDS has several great dives including Barry Islet, Whistler Pass, Toy-Man Gap, Rita's Rendezvous, Fantasea, and others.
NAKWAKTO RAPIDS/SLINGSBY CHANNEL offers several unique dives in this high current area. Sites include Tremble Rock (listed in Guinness as the fastest tidal current on earth, so use caution!), Cliffhanger, Cotton Channel, Lou's Hole and the Jason Seamount are great sites.

The diving's great, but Queen Charlotte Strait also supports some of the highest concentrations of marine mammals in BC and on the planet- resident populations of Orca whales, Dall's porpoise, Harbour porpoise, Stellar sealions, Sea otters, and Harbour seals are joined in summer and fall by migratory populations of Grey, Humpback, and Minke whales and Pacific white-sided dolphins. Further offshore are Fin and sperm whales... and then there are the eagles and seabirds... Browning Pass has at least 8 active Bald Eagle nests, and an estimated 600,000 seabirds nest within the Duke of Edinborough Ecological Reserve in mid Queen Charlotte Strait...

It's important to go with a very knowledgeable local dive operator, because the tides and currents are 'local knowledge'. with slacks occuring every 4 to 7 hours. The best marine life concentrations at most sites is generally between 10 and 25 meters, so not very deep, but the 'dive window' is limited to the period of 'slack water', which the local operator will know. Water temps range from 6 to 11 C (42-52 F) year-round, at the surface and at depth. Most divers use drysuits but a good wetsuit is satisfactory.

Full service, including airfills, equipment sales and rentals, and guiding are available in Port Hardy and at the dive resorts located in the area- Browning Pass HideAway and God's Pocket Resort.

This area is also noted as a prime sea-kayaking and whale-watching destination, with a multitude of good paddling areas and of course all the marine life noted above... Bring lots of film, or extra memory if you're digital!

ACCESS: Daily flights from Vancouver, BC to Port Hardy, or drive from Nanaimo, Victoria or Comox up spectacular Vancouver Island to it's top (about 400 km) to Port Hardy to meet your dive operator. Most dive services including charters and rentals in this wilderness area must be pre-booked!

Location Photos: