HMCS Columbia

The ship was built in North Vancouver and commissioned in 1959, then served as a stationary training ship before the Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia sank it in 1996. The stern is the shallower end and the bow reaches down to the seabed, so it is often recommended as a first deep or wreck dive. Three buoys mark bow, midship and stern. The wreck has become a nursery for sponges and young fish, and large lingcod, greenlings, rockfish and octopus are common, the octopus often near the vent stacks. Its sheltered position also makes it a good night dive.