A stiff winter wind is blowing at the Ogden Point Breakwater. The temperature is threatening to drop below zero and the clouds are getting darker by the minute.
A churning, grey, moody-looking ocean is lapping up against huge stacked granite and concrete blocks that anchor the 800-metre breakwater marking the entrance to Victoria's Inner Harbour.
These are perfect conditions for a winter dive, an activity that seems to defy common sense but draws tourists to explore the rich undersea world on Canada's West Coast.
Topside - the word divers use to describe everything above water - it may be rough and stormy, but down below it's all splendour, light and full of life.
The clouds of plankton and algae that float through the water at other times of the year disappear as the water cools down slightly in winter, leaving divers with a better view of the undersea topography and wildlife, says Victoria dive shop manager Erin Bradley.
Bradley stands on the breakwater in a T-shirt and ponders how best to respond to questions about the water, its temperature and the reasons why warm-blooded people dive in the winter...[TheCanadianPress]
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