Advice needed for August 18-20 (Vancouver Island or other location)

[dbittner]

I'm teaching summer school at the U of A this summer. After that class is over, and before the ramp up to the new academic year I'd like to get some diving in. I'll be able to fly from Edmonton on the afternoon of Sunday, August 17. I need to fly back to Edmonton on the afternoon of Thursday, August 21. That gives me three days for diving. I'd love to be able to get in two tanks per day.

My problem is that I have no dive buddy. That hasn't been much of a problem in the past, since most of my dives have been to places like Hawaii or the Florida Keys where boats go out pretty well every day. I've been searching online for similar kinds of dive ops on Vancouver island and coming up empty. The fact that I can only dive on a Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday seems to be the problem.

Any advice? I really want a chance to get underwater before the new academic year begins. I'm willing to do boat dives or shore dives, salt water or fresh, with a dive op or with a diver willing to take me as a buddy. Most of my experience has been in warm water locations. I do have some cold water dive experience, and I own my own dry suit. However, I haven't dived dry since last November, so my dry suit skills are a bit rusty. (Thus, I'm hoping for a relatively easy first day in order to get the rust out and get my weight right.)

Additional Info: I'm trying to keep costs down. I'll be flying on points; I have enough points to fly to Vancouver, Victoria, or Nanaimo. I tend toward Victoria as a destination because I've dived there before and know of reasonably priced accommodations in the Saanich area.

Thank you in advance for any help you can give.

Peace,
Dave

 

[cooldives]

We have been able to hook up single divers who haven't had much cold water experience with divemasters who can guide them to some dive sites and also arrange their gear if need be. The experienced divemaster acts as a buddy and also helps them get used to our cool water. It may not be what you need given your experience, but might be worth considering. Three days may be tough though as they usually work at dive shops in-between.

Have you talked with any employees at the shops near where you want to dive - most of them are itching to get out and show people the great B.C. dive sites, and know lots of other local divers that you could hook up with as well?

Good luck.

 

[TSandM]

I don't know if you are planning on renting a car, but if you are, and are willing to drive down to Seattle, I have weekday availability. I don't know the diving in Vancouver at all, and Nanaimo is quite a trek for us. But if you can't find anybody to dive with up there, you can down here!

 

[Lightning Fish]

I'm flying in to Vancouver on Aug 16th for a couple of weeks. If you end up in Vancouver and I can dive on those days, then I'll be able to show you some good dive sites. However, I won't know if I can dive on your days for a while yet - possible family commitments to take care of first.

Cheers,
Bill.

 

[dbittner]

Thank you for your help and advice. While my trip plans are, unfortunately, now up in the air, it is still good to know that there are indeed options for a buddy-less diver to get underwater during the week!

Peace,
Dave

 

[KrisB]

Hi Dave,

I'm going to be home in Prince George during that timeframe -- if you haven't yet figured out a trip to Southern BC, let me know... I'm sure I could find a spare bed, and we should be able to get some diving in (though I'll probably have to coerce the local shop into opening to allow us to get tanks).

 

[dbittner]

The day after my previous post, the stars all aligned for my trip. I'm flying to Victoria on Sunday evening (Aug 17), staying at a motel in Saanichton until Thursday (Aug 21), and diving with Rockfish Divers (Brentwood Bay) for at least two of the three possible dive days. One of the days is still up in the air, since Rockfish Divers requires a minimum of two divers, and so far I'm the only one who has signed up.

I'll have to take a rain check on the Prince George area diving. (Just out of curiosity, where do folks dive in the PG area?) In any case, I'll see you in Maui in February!

Peace,
Dave

 

[KrisB]

The day after my previous post, the stars all aligned for my trip. I'm flying to Victoria on Sunday evening (Aug 17), staying at a motel in Saanichton until Thursday (Aug 21), and diving with Rockfish Divers (Brentwood Bay) for at least two of the three possible dive days. One of the days is still up in the air, since Rockfish Divers requires a minimum of two divers, and so far I'm the only one who has signed up.

I'll have to take a rain check on the Prince George area diving. (Just out of curiosity, where do folks dive in the PG area?) In any case, I'll see you in Maui in February!

Peace,
Dave

The multitude of freshwater lakes around PG are very popular among the locals, some being clearer than others. As I understand it, Purden Lake (about an hour east of PG) typically has 70' viz... and as long as you stay above the second thermocline (~70'), you can be toasty warm in a 2mm compressed neoprene drysuit with no undergarment.

 

[dbittner]

The multitude of freshwater lakes around PG are very popular among the locals, some being clearer than others. As I understand it, Purden Lake (about an hour east of PG) typically has 70' viz... and as long as you stay above the second thermocline (~70'), you can be toasty warm in a 2mm compressed neoprene drysuit with no undergarment.

Wow!! That has Twin Lakes (south of Edmonton) beat. I've very much enjoyed my dives at Twin Lakes, but the tannin in the water means that all the dives have effectively been night dives -- once you get about 10 or 15 feet down. My only other experience with Alberta lake diving was an UW Navigation dive at Lake Edith in Jasper National Park. The bottom of the lake is glacial silt, which has the consistency of talcum powder. The slightest touch causes a silt out -- the viz. immediately drops to zero.

In any case, it sounds like I'm going to have to plan a road trip to Prince George one of these (summer) days!

Dave

 

[cooldives]

That's great to hear - Elly and Rockfish have a very nice operation at the Brentwood Bay Lodge and Spa. Let us know which of the Saanich Inlet sites you get to dive?

Have a great trip.