On January 12, 2023, divers pictured above prepare for a winter night dive at Queen’s Marque Landing, descending the stairs to Halifax Harbour. The event, organized by East Coast Scuba & Watersports, drew over a dozen divers, who entered the water with the help of an underwater light drone, glow sticks, and headlamps.
Nova Scotia’s Ocean playground holds many wonders for divers to explore, you just have to be willing to dip below her coastline and you’ll understand why divers fall in love with the waters here.
East Coast Scuba & Watersports hosted its regular Thursday evening group dive on January 12, 2023 but this dive was even more special, it was a first for recreational divers. We looked at the weather and thought this was the perfect time to dive the Queen Marque :: stairs to the Halifax Harbour.
More than a dozen divers showed up for this dive and they certainly were not disappointed; visibility was amazing; as far as your light could reach. Divers buddied up and went exploring the area. There was much to see; sea ravens, scallops, nudibranchs, star fish, small rock gunnel and much more to see underwater.
Diving in the Halifax Harbour is a lot of fun this time of year because boat traffic is next to nil, parking is easier and visibility tends to be at its best with a wide variant of marine life. At the start of winter diving, you might see small shrimp and by the end of the season those same shrimps have matured; it is awesome to watch life change over the winter months.
Divers are already keen to dive this spot again during the day and do a clean-up dive (remove debris left by humans). Tracy Gregory, co-owner of East Coast Scuba & Watersports was diving by the steps when she spotted an odd shape object, which turned out to be a wallet. Tracy felt it could have been there for a month or two. She was able to track down the owner and returned it with all its contents. It’s an amazing feeling to be the first ones to dive a site and pay it forward by finding something lost and returning it to its rightful owner.
Dive Report
Water temp 42f (6c), Camera used was TG-6 in Kraken housing with a Bigblue 10,000 video light. Underwater time approximately 40 minutes.
Tracy Gregory
Story and pictures submitted by Tracy Gregory, co owner of East Coast Scuba and Watersports.