Cold Water · Canada
Comox Valley & Hornby Island
A sea lion colony at Norris Rocks and summer sixgill sharks off Flora Islet
Hornby Island sits off the east coast of Vancouver Island in the Strait of Georgia, and charter boats from the Comox Valley run out to the rocks, reefs and islets around it. Norris Rocks holds a large population of sea lions, while Flora Islet drops as an almost sheer wall and is the only place in the Strait with sixgill sharks. Cold, colourful rock and big animals bring divers here.
About diving in Comox Valley & Hornby Island
The diving is all by boat. Boats leave Deep Bay for a 30–40 minute run out to the sites, and a day is two dives of up to 60 minutes each, with at least an hour on board between them. The boat stays out all day and is back in the afternoon, with the timing set by conditions and tides. The Strait is wide and deep around Hornby, so the tides rarely shape dive planning, though some spots carry a mild current.
Underwater the terrain runs from shallow exposed sandstone reefs to steep walls that drop off to depths of hundreds of metres. Layered sedimentary rock to the south makes the best diving, giving colourful marine life a stable surface to settle on, and Maude Reef and Heron Rocks hold underwater gardens and caves. Norris Rocks is loaded with rockfish and huge lingcod, and the area also has wolf eels and giant Pacific octopus.
Hornby suits divers who are comfortable in cold water. Drysuits are the standard, though a two-piece 7 mm wetsuit with a hood is enough for all but midwinter. Some dives are deep or run along sheer walls, so buoyancy control and watching no-deco time matter, and Flora Islet is recommended for advanced divers only. Divers should keep an eye out for boats, and discarded fishing line and gear turn up on some sites.
Best time to dive Comox Valley & Hornby Island
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime |
Boats run all year. November to February brings great visibility and the sea lions. In March the herring spawn close to shore; the spawn draws sea lions, but the milt clouds the water to zero visibility over a large area. April and May bring spring diving with baby jellies, nudibranchs and crabs, and from May through September sixgill sharks are routinely sighted off Flora Islet. June to August is easy summer diving with schooling herring, octopus and wolf eels. September and October give the best visibility of the year, a good time for the walls. The surface runs from 5 °C (41 °F) in winter to over 20 °C (68 °F) in summer, but at 20 m (60 ft) the water stays at 8–10 °C (46–50 °F).
Dive types & marine life
Steller and California sea lions are seen around Hornby, with a large population at Norris Rocks, at their best from November to February, and the March herring spawn draws them in again. Sixgill sharks, which can exceed 4.5 m (15 ft), are routinely sighted off Flora Islet from May through September. Octopus and wolf eels are summer regulars, and spring brings nudibranchs.
- Wall
- Seals & sea lions
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Nudibranchs
Best dive sites in Comox Valley & Hornby Island
- 1
Norris Rocks
Rocks just south of Hornby Island with a large population of sea lions, rockfish and huge lingcod.
- 2
Flora Islet
Boat-only islet off Hornby's south end, an almost sheer wall dropping from a shallow shelf.
- 3
Maude Reef
Reef off Hornby Island with underwater gardens and caves.
Site guides
Wall
Sixgill sharks cruising a terraced wall in mid-summer
Reef
Sea lions sharing the reef with rockfish and huge lingcod
How to get to Comox Valley & Hornby Island
Comox Valley Regional Airport (YQQ) has direct flights from Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton; from the mainland, the best route is a ferry to Nanaimo and the drive north. Charter boats leave from Deep Bay. BC Ferries runs from Buckley Bay to Denman Island, then from Gravelly Bay to Shingle Spit on Hornby Island.
Questions divers ask
Is a drysuit needed to dive Hornby Island?+
Drysuits are the standard. A two-piece 7 mm wetsuit with a hood is enough for all but midwinter, since at 20 m (60 ft) the water holds at 8–10 °C (46–50 °F) all year.
What level of diver is Flora Islet for?+
Advanced divers. It is reached only by boat, and the dive drops over an almost sheer wall from a shallow shelf, so buoyancy control matters.
Is Hornby Island diving from shore or boat?+
Boat. Charters leave Deep Bay for a 30–40 minute ride, then make two dives with at least an hour on board between them.
Sources
- Scuba Diving Charters - Big Animal Encounters — Big Animal Encounters
- Hornby Island Dive #5 — UB Diving
- Hornby & Denman Islands — Vancouver Island Dive Sites
- Hornby Island — Vancouver Island Tourism
- Courtenay — Wikivoyage
- UB Diving Ltd — HelloBC
- FAQs — Hornby Island Diving (archived)
- Local Diving Conditions — Hornby Island Diving (archived)
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