🐍 Mysterious and Curious Vol. 2 The Sea Serpent of Cadboro Bay
Local cryptid lore meets surf-town strangeness.
Cadboro Bay is the kind of place that feels like a dream: mist drifting across the water, driftwood scattered like bones on the shore, and the occasional seal poking its head up just to see who’s watching. It’s quiet here — peaceful even — but beneath the waves, something strange has been surfacing for nearly a century.
Locals call it Caddy — short for Cadborosaurus. Descriptions vary, but the story is always the same: a long, serpentine creature with a horse-like head and humps rolling just beneath the water’s skin. Usually described as somewhere between 10 and 20 meters in length, with flippers and a thick, eel-like body, Caddy is the West Coast’s most elusive myth — part sea serpent, part hometown mascot.
One of the earliest and most detailed sightings came in 1933 from Mr. and Mrs. Cadboro, who reported seeing “a creature with a head like a camel and a body that rose and fell in the water like a series of oil drums.” That same year, a whaling station on Naden Harbour pulled an unidentified creature from a sperm whale’s stomach — it had a long neck, flippers, and smooth skin. The specimen was photographed, then mysteriously vanished. Some say it was Caddy.
In the decades that followed, more sightings rolled in:
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In 1968, a group of students from the University of Victoria claimed to see a long, undulating shape moving through the bay — too slow for a seal, too smooth for driftwood.
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In the early 80s, a local fisherman swore Caddy’s head surfaced near his boat, “the size of a deer, but darker — with eyes that watched me before slipping back under.”
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As recently as 2009, a father and son kayaking off nearby Oak Bay reported seeing a large, humped shape moving steadily just below the surface — keeping pace with their paddles.
What makes this legend linger isn’t just the mystery — it’s the setting. Cadboro Bay isn’t flashy. It’s a tucked-away spot where stories settle into the sand. Surfers wax their boards. Kids hunt for beach glass. And somewhere out there, maybe just past the kelp beds, Caddy watches it all.
🧭 Want to explore it for yourself?
Cadboro Bay is nestled between Oak Bay and the University of Victoria. The beach is calm and crescent-shaped, framed by thick trees and sleepy surf. You’ll find good coffee nearby, and a local vibe that feels untouched by time. It’s the kind of place that invites you to slow down — and look a little longer at the water.
No sea serpents were spotted in the writing of this piece. But we were watching.
