Dry Suit cert in BC

[Wannabedivebum]

Having gone and dove with quite a few shops on the mainland and the island I can say you wont be disappointed with any of them. Lots of good instructors and helpful people at all the shops. That being said, the best diving is hands down on the island, particularly mid and north island area. If you are flying all this way, might as well go to the best spots!

 

[bradells]

The local shop (in Victoria) I use for fills and odds and ends is Wilson Diving. Everything I have seen tells me they would be great to learn with.

+1 for Wilson, just did my drysuit course last week, using them as a home base (with an independent instructor who works there).

BRad

 

[leeboy8500]

Whytecliff and Porteau Cove are the beginner sites used for training in Vancouver. Good dives, but once you get a bit more experience you will want to come over and dive Naniamo, or go North to Quadra Island, Barkley Sound or Browning Pass for spectacular dives.

Agree with your assessment of Porteau Cove, but The Cut at Whytecliff is not for beginners. The cloud sponges at 150' down there are extremely impressive.

 

[xdjio]

Agreed. The cut can be a demanding dive.

 

[spc751]

Did my Deep course at the cut. Nice site.

 

[snozberry]

Thank you everyone for your replies and advice, it's much appreciated! Sorry I haven't replied sooner- I got busy with work.

if you're planning a dive vacation to the West Coast, I'd suggest you take a look at Rockfish Divers in Victoria. They're attached to the Brentwood Bay Resort and run dive charters off their own dock, so you can do a combo hotel / training course / charter all from one spot and the resort is in a pretty nice spot on the Saanich Inlet. And I think Greg from OQ trained the owners so you should be in good hands.

It's also close to Willis Point, one of the better shore dives around Victoria. Check out Swankenstein's page - victoriadiving.awardspace.com to see some of the local sites. And if you're feeling bold - take the time to do the Cape Breton and Saskatchewan wih Seadragon Charters.

Many great options for the course - it really depends on where you want to dive. Reasonably priced accommodation may be a little easier to find over on Vancouver Island too but it depends on what other activities and placed you want to experience while you are here.

Having gone and dove with quite a few shops on the mainland and the island I can say you wont be disappointed with any of them. Lots of good instructors and helpful people at all the shops. That being said, the best diving is hands down on the island, particularly mid and north island area. If you are flying all this way, might as well go to the best spots!

I'm fine with just diving from the island instead of off of Vancouver,and diving is the main priority... I probably won't be sight seeing much. I just didn't know where the best diving was and the island seems to be the best from what everyone is saying. Would I be better just kinda skipping Vancouver side and going to the island for limited dive spots? I was looking at going for 7 days-ish, from what people have mentioned I don't know if I'll be better sticking to the island.

Hi Snozberry, welcome back.

First of all, if you're just wanting to get a few dives in here or there, a dry suit isn't mandatory, it's obviously a great option for the cold waters of BC, but a 2 piece (14mm total, 7mm a piece) wetsuit will work just fine too, you'd save a bit of money that way as well. But, if you're set on taking the course, there are definitely some good shops in and around Vancouver that are worth visiting. Like others have said; Ocean Quest / IDC / The Edge, are great. At Langley Diving, we offer the dry suit course for $229 + tax, which includes your rental suit, all the dives, all gear except mask/fins/boots/snorkel, AND your cert card, which I don't believe the other shops include. I've got a lot of respect for all the others, and know you're in good hands wherever you may choose to go

Regarding dive sites; there's tons. If you haven't been to Porteau Cove, it's worth checking out. After a few dozen times it starts to get kind of boring, all the dive-shops tend to do training there, along with Whyte Cliff Park which is another great site (especially The Cut). Other places close to Horse Shoe bay like Kelvin Grove offer a lot of things to see. The town of Sechelt has Tuwanek (favorite), and like others have said, the wrecks over in Nanaimo are good too.

You've got a lot of options! I'd try them all if you can. People on here are always looking to go out, even just pop into a shop, and you're bound to find a buddy.

Thanks for the advice regarding the wetsuit. I'm really not familiar with cold water and a newbie at it. That seems like a good deal through Langley if I were to stick to the mainland.

There are a lot of good shops in the Vancouver area and the island. Maybe make a few phone calls and send some emails. You will find a shop that will work for you.

When will you be here in March? I may be in Burnaby in March diving with Ocean Quest. Maybe we could meet for a dive.

I have no idea on the dates yet- was just throwing the idea around. I need to look at flights/accommodation and prices prior to going. From what I've been seeing on here I'm not sure if I'll just head to the island... However if we are diving around the same area at the same time that'd be cool to meet for a dive.

Good dives, but once you get a bit more experience you will want to come over and dive Naniamo, or go North to Quadra Island, Barkley Sound or Browning Pass for spectacular dives.

Unfortunately I don't really have any experience with the training provided over here as all my training was done when I lived in Vancouver so my recommendation is based on talking to people. The local shop (in Victoria) I use for fills and odds and ends is Wilson Diving. Everything I have seen tells me they would be great to learn with.

Is the diving very difficult at the Cut, Nanaimo, North Quadra, Barkley sound and Browning Pass? I'm not sure how much experience you mean. I'm still quite new as I only have 45 dives and cold water is new to me, but I'm not completely new.
I'm surely going to check out those areas you mentioned... there's so much to learn about the different areas to dive around there. I also don't own my own gear (except mask/fins/snorkel) so I'd have to rent the rest. I am going to look at buying my own gear- but I need to do a lot of research prior to doing that as I don't know if I'll be sticking to a colder or warmer climate for the majority of the rest of my diving.

Again, thanks so much everyone for responses and opinions... I got some researching and e-mailing to do, but I'm glad I now have a starting point.

 

[sunnyboy]

Some great diving around Nanaimo. Easily use up a week's vacation. There's really good shore diving (Tyee, Madrona) and some pretty nice wrecks and boat dives as well.

Accomodation is quite reasonable and if you call the local shops they can hook you up with dives going on, guides (if needed), rentals and even drysuit course if the wetsuit is just too cold for you.

Disclaimer: I teach for Nanimo Dive Outfitters but am more often seen shore diving with my Prism Topaz rebreather.

 

[Darnold9999]

If diving is the reason for coming out here then Vancouver Island is where I would want to dive. Vancouver diving is just not as good, particularly diving near the city. You need to get away from the Fraser River delta which pushes you north of the city, and you quickly find there is not much there. A bit further north on the Sunshine Coast it starts to get more interesting, but if you are going to travel that far you may as well just go to the Island.

For your first trip and first dry suit dive trip I would probably dive out of Naniamo to get comfortable. Lots of wrecks, some shore diving and a dive to Dodds Narrows is worth arranging if you are outside of boating season. I would possibly add a few days at the end of the trip at Andy Lamb's place on Thetis Island. Do one of the more challenging trips on a second trip.

Both Quadra Island and Browning Pass have significant vertical walls and current from mild to ripping. Browning Pass will likely have kelp at some sites.

Barkley Sound at Rendevous Lodge would possibly be a good beginning trip depending on what else Peter has going on. There is just about any kind of diving you want in that area, but if he has a group of advanced divers they may want to be on the more challenging sites. You might talk to him to see what he can do for you. Rendevous is a lodge in the middle of nowhere. On the face of a cliff on the ocean with no neighbours at all. A spectacular wilderness diving experience that is worth doing.

While you can dive with a wet suit here, you will be very uncomfortable doing multiple dives in a day. First dive you will just be cold and that is very manageable - by the third dive you will be freezing and it just isn't fun anymore.

 

[DaleC]

It depends on what you want to spend on rentals and charters and what your comfort level is in regards to diving unknown sites and depths. The island is great for diving but many of the sites are charter dependent, deepish or current sensitive. Not all of course, but considering travel to and fro, getting and returning rental gear, boats, guides etc... it can be a bit pricey.

If you just want to do straight forward dives without a lot of cost or hassle the mainland might be worth considering. You can pick up your gear and reach most sites within an hour or so. The sites are easy shore access and most can be done without undue concern to tide/current etc... You can dive wet if you wish and even take a break between dives to go for coffee etc... A lot of times I do one long dive wet in the summer rather than two to avoid resuiting cold. You can also do a drysuit course and spend the rest of the week gradually increasing your skill level in safe depths with hard bottoms.
I don't get the over rated comments. I've done Porteau many many times and see something new quite often. I guess it just depends on what you expect or how much effort you put into looking. At two dive sites (Porteau and Britannia) I can look at 13 boats and a lot of life in between, 12 of those boats being at 50' or less. For a week one can dive per day: Whytecliffe Bay, Porteau, Furry Creek, Britannia Beach, Back to Whytecliffe for the cut (if the buoyancy skill is there) and top it off with Kelvin Grove.

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[hideawayjohn]

Hi Snozberry
Disclosure: I run Browning Pass HideAway Resort (in Browning Pass near Port Hardy). We offer excellent diving (and lots of it) in the area considered by many to be among the best diving, photography & marine life areas to be found in BC. Skill requirements for sites range from 'beginner' to 'very advanced' with lots in between.
I have dived all areas of British Columbia. I picked Browning Pass as the place to build my resort because I felt it offered the very best diving available in BC, and it would allow all skill levels of diver & photographer to enjoy the area.

Previous posters have given you some very good info!
You mention 'buying gear': I'd suggest trying out different drysuit designs & styles of gear before you make purchases. Get a sense of what feels comfortable & works for you, as each of us is different. Some styles & designs work better on some body types, and in different conditions & skill levels. Try it first!
Shore diving vs boat diving; Shore diving can be good, but sites are limited. Boat diving is often much easier, and there are many more & better sites available. It's also much easier to do multiple dives per day. For example, at HideAway we offer 4 great boat-dives each full day and your gear never has to be disassembled or even removed from the boat, just remove your reg. Fills are done onboard with long whips.

If you have good basic wetsuit dive skills, it usually takes 3 to 5 additional dives after a drysuit course to get into a reasonable 'comfort zone'.
In your course you'll learn lots. Over the next few dives, you'll fine-tune and can practice what you learned. Once your buoyancy skills are strong, you'll then be ready to dive slightly more advanced sites and continue to build proficiencies..

As you said, it may make more sense to just go to the island where the diving is generally ranked a bit higher, instead of going back & forth.
I'll also mention that all areas on Vancouver Island are not created equal. The diving & marine life does tend to get better the further north you go on the island. And in Spring, visibility on the north Island far exceeds that on the south Island because of Georgia Strait's spring melt & river run-off. Browning Pass near Port Hardy does not have any rivers...
So, you may want to plan your course plus a couple of days of 'getting comfy' diving in a well-serviced area on southern Vancouver Island, then take a few days to dive a more 'Wow!' area with great viz like northern Vancouver Island.
Here's a bit more info on 'Vancouver Island' since you seem to be leaning toward diving there.
People have mentioned some good operators on the south island- You won't go wrong with any of them, or with these.
Sundown Diving in Nanaimo & Pacific Pro Dive in Courtenay also offer good drysuit courses & rentals, plus operate a good local boat charter.
You may be able to build a package including rentals, your drysuit course and a couple of days of 'boat dives' all with one company. You could also work out a longer gear rental package- a week-long rental package is almost always cheaper than 2 half-week rentals- to carry on your exploration & diving elsewhere.
Best of success getting your trip organized.
Wherever you choose to go, you'll have fun I'm sure!