To get to Hornby Island you drive north to the Canadian border at Blaine, then go to the ferry to Nanaimo. Some folks head up to Horeshoe Bay to get the ferry but there's a better option on a slower but more scenic boat from Tswwassen to Nanaimo. From Nanaimo you drive about 90 minutes north to the ferry to Denman Island. Drive the length of Denman to the ferry to Hornby.
The Hornby Island Dive Resort is a family business now in its second generation of owners. Rob and Amanda have run the business for a number of years since Rob took over from his father. There are some good reasons why this is one of the best dive locations around. The viz is incredible (60 feet on our visit). In the summertime one has a good chance of seeing six gill sharks, in the winter and early spring however Steller Sea Lions are the main attraction.
The Sea Lions congregate in this area to feed on herring. The main colony is on a large flat rock just a couple of minutes from the dive resort.
Rob advised us on how to deal with Sea Lions. First, don't get shallower than 20 feet, otherwise they'll think you're a predator. The ones that come down to check you out will be juveniles that are curious about you. They will use their mouths to 'check you out' by tugging on you and your camera gear. And keep your body motions in control as flailing around just gets them more excited.
Even these instructions didn't prepare me for the frenzy that followed. At first there wasn't much action, then we were assaulted in a number of waves. They proved to be difficult subject at first, as they flew at us from all sides. A favorite game was grabbing hold of a dive hood and tugging. Most annoying.
But after I got dizzy from spinning around with the camera I decide to lay low for a bit. That's when the Sea Lions decided to come down and check out my lens port. They could see their reflections in the curved dome port! So I was able to get some pretty good shots of them looking into the lens.
Lots of fun, for sure! As divers we're used to animals fleeing our presence. What makes this experience so fascinating is that these animals are so intelligent they come flocking to check you out.
For the underwater photos here I used a Nikon D80 with a 10-17mm fisheye lens and two Ikelight strobes.
