Barkley Sound · Canada · Pinnacle · Muck & macro
Chup Point
Twin pinnacles crowded with anemones, nudibranchs and sea pens
Chup Point, also called Chuck Point, sits in the far eastern corner of Barkley Sound. It is a pair of rock pinnacles covered in anemones and small invertebrates, and macro photographers come for the density of critters packed onto a shallow reef.
Also known as Chuck Point.
Where it is and how deep
48.9550° N, 125.0317° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The two pinnacles rise from a bottom at about 18 m (60 ft). Their rock carries bright green surf anemones, massive clusters of strawberry anemones and intensely orange fish-eating anemones. Nudibranchs, sea pens, scallops, purple ring top snails, dorids and orange peel nudibranchs are commonplace, and the shallow depth gives longer bottom time and more natural light for photographs.
Marine life and season
- Nudibranchs
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
Season follows Barkley Sound: Dived year-round; autumn is the prime window, winter brings the clearest water and June a plankton bloom near the surface.
Dive videos
mugged by sealions · Rendezvousdiving on YouTube
Pacific West Coast Scuba Diving with Giant Plumose Anemone Colony · Penticton Carriage Tours on YouTube
Sources
- Scuba Diving Barkley Sound — Scuba Diver Life
- Barkley Sound Diving — Rendezvous Dive Adventures
- Emerald in the Rough — Scuba Diving
- OpenStreetMap geocoding — OpenStreetMap
More dive sites in Barkley Sound
Wreck
A 1950 Japanese-built freighter broken in two on the Austin Island reef
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Rock pillars and a great canyon cut into the outer Broken Group
Wall
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Reef
A shallow circuit around a sheltered Broken Group islet
Reef
A canyon lined top to bottom with giant white plumose anemones
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