This was the first dive of the day when I went out on a charter on the dive boat "Ata-tude" (March 7, 2009). We left the dock in Campbell River early in the morning to dive during the slack interval. Since the currents were looking good, the boat captain decided to take us To Richmond Reef (named after local dive industry pioneer Mike Richmond) which is usually a tricky dive due to the currents. Unlike most Quadra Island dives which are right next to the steep shore, this place is a pinnacle that pops up to a depth of about 20 feet a short distance from Quadra Island in Discovery Pass. We jumped in and could clearly see the top of the pinnacle 20 feet below. Visibility was around 50 feet. The top of this reef was mostly-flat and covered with stalked kelp. We swam to the edge of the reef, where it dropped down on one side as a wall that bottomed out at 75 feet deep. The wall was covered with an almost-confusing variety of sponges, hydroids, anemones, soft corals, hydrocorals, etc... As at most local dive sites, strawberry anemones covered large areas of the wall. The base of the wall had a slope of rocks and boulders that were just as colourful as the vertical rock surfaces of the wall. We saw a few Puget Sound king crabs and several quillback rockfish and kelp greenlings. The topography was impressive, but it was difficult getting the kind of photos I wanted since there wasn't much available light (we were diving early in the morning and the sun was blocked by Quadra Island). The shallower depths at the top of the wall didn't have as much yellow sponge or strawberry anemones, but there were areas dotted with pink soft corals and brooding anemones. We didn't feel much current during most of the dive, but by the time I went back up to the top of the pinnacle, there was enough to sweep me off into open water. -And this was on an unusually good day for current. It's easy to understand why the "live boat" system is used on most Quadra dives.
