moving to Vancouver (area) soon

[Beyond_Diving]

SO I'll be moving to the Vancouver area in the next few months (3-4 months till I'm there). Any tips on good diving areas, good dive shops, etc?I teach Rec, dive Tec (though hopefully I'll also teach it soon). Also, any tips on good custom drysuit makers (My old DUI died after only 9 years!! - note the sarcasm). So yeah, hope to hear from at least some of you, and hopefully put a name to the face as well soon :beer:.

dive safely!

erik

 

[BradnerBoy]

Hi Erik,

Helluva change from Cancun, eh?

From local diving perspective (within the Lower Mainland), the typical haunts are Whytecliff Park, Porteau Cove, Whiskey Cove, Kelvin Grove, Ansell Place, etc. They are all within a 10-30 minute drive of Vancouver. They can be relatively simple dives or as technical as you want to get.

On any given weekend, year-round, you'll find numerous divers at Whytecliff and Porteau Cove, but you'll also find a number of classes, as well.

There is a large tech community here, so I'm sure you'll find lots of buddies looking to do technical dives with you.

My LDS is in Langley, so I'll let the "city boys" suggest shops for you to deal with in town. From what I've read, they're all pretty decent shops.

When you're here, you should try and grab 151 Dives or order it from her online. It's a great resource of many local dives.

My suggestion is to keep reading and posting and get to know a few people. We all meet from time-to-time for a dive and many of us dive together fairly regularly and we'd be happy to have you join in when you're up here.

Todd

 

[Beyond_Diving]

Thanks Todd! Yeah, to say it's going to be a huge change would be an understatement, but I've had enough of tropical waters and yearlong summer. I need a place where the temp. actually drops during winter, no hurricanes, and where my professional credentials (other than SCUBA) are an asset instead of a hindrance. I've been reading up on the spots you mention.. they look very nice. But yeah, I'll have to do a bit of rec diving to get acclimated before doing tec in colder climes..

 

[TheWetRookie]

For tech diving, check out Ocean Quest in BBY. I do most of my diving with them and they have good tech instructors. Granted I am also taking courses through them but I find them a good shop for tech divers and they have helium

For a dry suit, check out the White's Fusion with the tech skin, very nice self entry suit which has an affordable price tag.

As mentioned we have lots of sites to dive here and when you have dove the local sites you have Bowan Island, Sechelt, Salt Spring Island, ALL of Vancouver Island (way too many sites to list) and then some. Oh and you can also head down to Washington to dive. And yes we do have wrecks up here (artificial reefs)

We also have a couple of local boat charters and a number of SB members have their own boats.

So for the most part you should not have much trouble getting out diving. The hardest part will be adjusting to our cold waters and low vis. We are happy when we have 20' of vis.

 

[TheWetRookie]

Where abouts are you moving to as that will also help in pointing you towards a good shop near where you live?

 

[Jason McK]

I Agree I really Like Ocean Quest in Bby. Great instructors and staff.

J

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Hi Erik,

Helluva change from Cancun, eh?

From local diving perspective (within the Lower Mainland), the typical haunts are Whytecliff Park, Porteau Cove, Whiskey Cove, Kelvin Grove, Ansell Place, etc. They are all within a 10-30 minute drive of Vancouver. They can be relatively simple dives or as technical as you want to get.

On any given weekend, year-round, you'll find numerous divers at Whytecliff and Porteau Cove, but you'll also find a number of classes, as well.

There is a large tech community here, so I'm sure you'll find lots of buddies looking to do technical dives with you.

My LDS is in Langley, so I'll let the "city boys" suggest shops for you to deal with in town. From what I've read, they're all pretty decent shops.

When you're here, you should try and grab 151 Dives or order it from her online. It's a great resource of many local dives.

My suggestion is to keep reading and posting and get to know a few people. We all meet from time-to-time for a dive and many of us dive together fairly regularly and we'd be happy to have you join in when you're up here.

Todd

Interesting my version says 141 Dives:shocked2: guess you guys found 10 new ones hmm?

One day I will have to get back there and connect with someone to get some dives in. :daydreaming: Langley ... sometimes I miss Canada a lot but diving here is great!

 

[DaleC]

Welcome to our side of the street Erik. Let us know when you touch down and we'll use it as an excuse for another SB meet and greet dive.

 

[Beyond_Diving]

Thanks for the warm welcome guys! To answer the question as to which area I'm moving to, I don't know yet.. Wherever I can find somewhere affordable.. haha! I don't mind so much the cold water and low vis. I'm just happy when I am underwater... Been checking out the whites fusion for a while.. It is a nice DS, so I might just go with that one.

 

[TheWetRookie]

Interesting my version says 141 Dives:shocked2: guess you guys found 10 new ones hmm?

lol, those are just the ones in the book, where there is access to water there is diving. As to the quality of these other dives, well, that's another story