Ontario Diving, Reg Techs and Misc :)

DiveMedMD · Jul 22, 2013

Hi Folks!

I am ready to get back in the cold Canadian waters after a 2 year break and would like to meet some locals for some serious diving. I am in the process of moving from Vancouver Island to Hamilton, ON which is a bit unfortunate as far as diving goes but I remain optimistic about the opportunities

Thus far, I have done zero research (does watching a Youtube video on Tobermory qualify?) but I plan to do so when I arrive in August. Can anyone comment on the quality / quantity of dive sites available within an hour or two of Hamilton? Can you dive year round or for most of the year?

Also, I am in the process of buying new kit. I am looking at the usual options for regs - Apeks, SP etc but I wonder about the tech servicing availability in the area? I assume that in the GTA all options will be available but I would really like to give all my business to a local shop (air, servicing, odd parts) if possible. Any recommendations?

Thanks and hope to meet some of you guys soon

-DiveMedMD

elan · Jul 22, 2013

Ontario and Erie dive sites are within 2 hour drive, Toby and St Laurence are at least 3.5 hours away.
There is a strong GUE community in Toronto area. you can get registered on ontariodiving.com and you will get dive buddies including technical
SP and Apeks are both recognized and widespread brands here and can br serviced. Shoot me a PM and I can recommend you a shop with a good tech.
The upside of diving here is that you do not need to rinse your gear after dive - especially Toby. Unless of cause you dive Humber Bay in which case you will need to do decontamination. For that reason Viking suits are very popular amongst HB divers

nadwidny · Jul 23, 2013

DiveMedMD:
Also, I am in the process of buying new kit. I am looking at the usual options for regs - Apeks, SP etc but I wonder about the tech servicing availability in the area?

The only guy that I trust with my regs. Indepth Scuba Service .

He's not "Local" to you but sometimes local does not equal best solution. That's why I ship my stuff to him from Edmonton.

patpicos · Jul 23, 2013

Niagara region has many drift sites
Upper niagara river - Thompsons hole, train bridge, frenchmens creek, barge, netherby
Lower niagara river - navy hall
Chippewa creek - kinsbridge park, boat launch, stanley bridge
Quarries - gullivers towards guelph, sherkston in port colborne, windmill point in fort erie

Welland canal - scuba park, swing bridge, ontario bridge

Further away:
Tobermory 3.5hr
Wiarton 3hr
Brockville 4hr
Kingston 3.5hr

Favorite shops: Dive Academy in oakville, Dans Dive shop in st. catharines.

Feel free to ping me for a dive (im in hamilton)

DiveMedMD · Jul 25, 2013

Thank you very much guys. PM inbound

pugdiver · Jul 28, 2013

Regs and equipment check out The Dive Academy in Oakville. Not far from Hamilton and the store has a great vibe and Dean takes a lot of care.

shoredivr · Aug 15, 2013

AquaSub in Richmond Hill is also pretty good. Charters too.

mikeycanuk · Aug 15, 2013

Aquarius Scuba on Dundas st is where you need to go. We got our 3 Apeks regs (along with everything else) there. Guy has been servicing regs for years. It's a busy shop unlike others.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

shoredivr · Aug 19, 2013

Lots of choices.

Michael Gerhartz · Aug 20, 2013

Hi, there are Santi Demo Days on Saturday, September 7th in Morrison Quarry and on Sunday, September 8th in Kingston. Most likely a good chance to meet new potential dive buddies ( and to check out the complete line of Santi gear...)

Ontario Diving, Reg Techs and Misc :)

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