The Former HMCS Cape Breton Wreck

Scuba Diving in Nanaimo - courtesy of ARSBC The former HMCS Cape Breton Wreck, located near Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, is Canada's largest diver-prepared artificial reef and the second largest in the world (the Speigel Grove in Florida is the largest.)

This is a very nice dive for those with proper experience and training.

The Cape Breton sank almost perfectly upright, with just a slight list to starboard, and is located just a few hundred feet away from The Saskatchewan.

The engine room was one of the first made accessible to divers, and consists of a beautiful open space with pipes and catwalks twisting throughout.

Scuba Diving in Nanaimo - Cape Breton Wreck, courtesy of Dive Nanaimo This former WWII Victory ship was sunk on October 21, 2001, and the keel sits at 42 meters (140 feet) and the top of the deck is at about 20 meters (70 feet).

Since this ship has only been under for 8 years, there is not as much life as on the Saskatchewan.

However, every day and every dive brings new creatures so you will want to dive this each year to see how fast things change under water.

Click for a great PDF dive site map of the Cape Breton wreck dive site, courtesy of the ARSBC.

Scuba Diving in Nanaimo - Cape Breton Wreck, courtesy of Dive Nanaimo Diving to the keel at 140 feet and penetrating this carefully prepared wreck should only be attempted by advanced divers who are properly trained and certified, while all trained divers can visit the crows nest at about 40 feet.

As always, for Nanaimo scuba diving and anywhere else in British Columbia, I recommend diving the Cape Breton artificial reef with a local Nanaimo dive shop or as part of a Nanaimo dive charter group.

And as always, especially when going this deep, I definitely recommend wearing a scuba dry suit!

Let us help you to find a recommended Nanaimo dive shop, or a dive charter operator that is familiar with the HMCS Cape Breton.

Or, if you want a divemaster to accompany you on the dive, we can help with that too.

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Diving the HMCS Cape Breton, Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia