Diving into the world of God’s Pocket, Vancouver Island, Canada
Greeted with chilly water temps but clarity and visibility made of dreams, God’s Pocket is a remarkable dive destination off the north end of Vancouver Island that the late underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau listed as one of the world's best cold water diving destinations.
Conditions can be difficult, however, due to currents and vertical walls that descend into the hundreds of feet, and all diving is done from a boat, so going with a trusted operator who knows the conditions and how they affect diving is best (I’ve always had an amazing experience with God’s Pocket Resort). This area comprises a group of islands at the entrance to Queen Charlotte Strait, including Hurst (where the off-grid resort is based), Bell, Boyle, Crane Islands, and numerous smaller islets. Because of the nutrient-rich waters due to the Pacific currents, the wildlife we saw included white-sided dolphins, humpback whales, sea otters, sea lions, bald eagles, various rockfish and nudibranchs, Puget Sound king crab, soft corals, sunflower stars, basket stars, bull kelp and more.
April & August 2023

Puget Sound King Crab

Cold water soft corals and anemones

Basket star

Sea nettle

Giant Pacific Octopus

Orange peel nudibranch

Leather and ochre stars with plumose anemones

Bull Kelp and Herring


Mature Bull Kelp

War bonnet inside a barnacle on a scallop shell

Two humpacks

Humpbacks


The bay at God's Pocket resort

Hooded nudibranchs

Dive boat

Dive boat

Cold water soft coral and white anemones

Opalescent nudibranch

Bull kelp

Bull kelp

Seven tree dive site

Ochre star surrounded by Giant Plumose Anemones

Anemone with forest above

Sea lions

Opalescent nudibranchs

Opalescent nudibranch




Dive gear

Diver
