Tobermory Dive Operations

[shoredivr]

You could do your shallow night dive at the Tugs Diver's Den which would be on your own time not the charter operators (just need a buddy). The Tugs are right in town, there's a gearing up deck and steps, near the parking lot, it couldn't be easier.

There is usually a 9 am two tank dive, then a 1 pm two tank dive, so you can get your other dives by choosing what depth wrecks you want to see:

Divers Den
G+S Welcomes Walk-Ons

Good wreck descriptions on the Divers Den site.

There are now three dive operators in Tobermory, the new one at the south end of town
Tobermory Aquasports

While I've been on Toby charters that had divers wearing doubles and divers in single tanks, there seemed to be no problems finding a buddy that matched one's diving skills in regards to doing no penetration/tech dives if that was what you wanted. Note that wearing doubles does not automatically mean tech diver, There are Great Lakes divers wear doubles and are not tech trained.

The "caves" should probably be called "the caverns" as the swim throughs are not more than 150 ft long with no daylight. The topography of these caverns: there is a central area that is open to the sky in places, (swimmers and snorkelers access this area when the water's warmer), then there are two underwater swim throughs that go out to Georgian Bay. For me, once was enough, but it is a kind of signature dive of the area.

In terms of penetration, the only one I can think of realistically is the purposely-sunk Niagara II. As Webmonkey mentioned, it has been "sanitized" for divers: open holds, etc. but if you don't have training, why go inside?

If I'm around on that weekend, I might be up there anyway. PM me closer to the date if you like.

 

[Coldwater_Canuck]

You can call Diver's Den or G+S (see link below for links to their sites) in Tobermory and ask what they have planned for a given day. A typical outing for them (I MUCH prefer Diver's Den) is a dive on the Niagara II and then a dive at The Grotto/The Caves. That is a Deep ~100' / Shallow ~40' dive configuration. The night dive will likely depend on turnout for the rest of the boat. Too few divers = no dive.

That's actually the pairing that looked the most interesting to me and why I was asking about it. G+S seems to have night Niagra dives pretty regularly, but with my experience I don't want to combine deep and night yet (in the future it would probably be a fun one though). Right in summer though, I'm hoping they may have one to the shallower sites.

By the way, why do you prefer Divers Den?

For the night dive you could also do a shore dive. There are some great shore dives such as the Lighthouse which makes a great night dive.

If I have someone to go with, that would definately be a good option.

 

[Coldwater_Canuck]

You could do your shallow night dive at the Tugs Diver's Den which would be on your own time not the charter operators (just need a buddy). The Tugs are right in town, there's a gearing up deck and steps, near the parking lot, it couldn't be easier.

There is usually a 9 am two tank dive, then a 1 pm two tank dive, so you can get your other dives by choosing what depth wrecks you want to see:

Divers Den
G+S Welcomes Walk-Ons

Good wreck descriptions on the Divers Den site.

There are now three dive operators in Tobermory, the new one at the south end of town
Tobermory Aquasports

Thanks for all the info.

While I've been on Toby charters that had divers wearing doubles and divers in single tanks, there seemed to be no problems finding a buddy that matched one's diving skills in regards to doing no penetration/tech dives if that was what you wanted. Note that wearing doubles does not automatically mean tech diver, There are Great Lakes divers wear doubles and are not tech trained.

That's good. I suppose doubles doesn't atuomatically mean tech dive (although wouldn't it be difficult to stay within NDC?), although I doubt they'd want to be diving with a single tank diver anyways.

The "caves" should probably be called "the caverns" as the swim throughs are not more than 150 ft long with no daylight. The topography of these caverns: there is a central area that is open to the sky in places, (swimmers and snorkelers access this area when the water's warmer), then there are two underwater swim throughs that go out to Georgian Bay. For me, once was enough, but it is a kind of signature dive of the area.

So I'm still a little confused here. Is this something that you should have specialized training for, or is it truly a 'novice' dive as Divers Den says?

In terms of penetration, the only one I can think of realistically is the purposely-sunk Niagara II. As Webmonkey mentioned, it has been "sanitized" for divers: open holds, etc. but if you don't have training, why go inside?

Okay so if most can't be penetrated I guess most people there won't be planning to do this type of dive anyways.

If I'm around on that weekend, I might be up there anyway. PM me closer to the date if you like.

Alright cool.

 

[bleeb]

The "caves" should probably be called "the caverns" as the swim throughs are not more than 150 ft long with no daylight. The topography of these caverns: there is a central area that is open to the sky in places, (swimmers and snorkelers access this area when the water's warmer), then there are two underwater swim throughs that go out to Georgian Bay. For me, once was enough, but it is a kind of signature dive of the area.

So I'm still a little confused here. Is this something that you should have specialized training for, or is it truly a 'novice' dive as Divers Den says?

I think when shoredivr said 150 ft, he was talking about general definitions of caverns, and not specifically about "The Caves". IIRC (it's been a few years) the swim throughs between the open air central area and the Bay are maybe 10-20' depth, 20-30' long, 10'ish wide, with hard granite/large gravel bottoms (no possibility of silt unless there's a major storm in progress washing it in from deeper waters out on the lake), and I don't think real cave divers would consider this as having any restrictions. Daylight visible throughout.

Lots of non-divers hike into the area and go swimming from the nearby shore or by walking into "The Caves" from the land-side entrances and jumping into the natural pool in the open area in the middle. (They also seem to find the divers swimming around on the bottom pretty entertaining - bring a light and shine it around, even during the day.) One of the bigger hazard to divers can actually be from some kid not paying attention and jumping off the rocks. IIRC, some boats have recommended staying towards the sides (overhung) or deep.

Novice? IMHO, pretty close to that. I vaguely remember hearing that the local shops have occasionally done checkouts on the adjoining "beach", which would suggest they're comfortable taking beginners there.

 

[helimvee]

Like any dive destination, you are going to find a wide range of divers and skill/training levels. If you are going up there without a buddy just be prepared for that.

As for the Caves/Caverns, aside from the swimmers jumping into the water the only other "hazards" are diver congestion in one swim through - you may have to back up or squeeze to the side - and Seadoos in the area. On one trip there were several operating right near the entrance to the Caves/Caverns where the water is not very deep.

As you are probably aware, Toby can be a very busy place in the summer, so be sure to make reservations if you are planning on staying in a hotel.

Have a good trip

BTW I suspect that ScubaSteve's preference for Divers Den was due to the charter boat being a llittle more diver friendly.

 

[shoredivr]

Thanks for all the info.


That's good. I suppose doubles doesn't atuomatically mean tech dive (although wouldn't it be difficult to stay within NDC?), although I doubt they'd want to be diving with a single tank diver anyways.

You could treat your doubles as having enough gas for one NDL recreational dive, then enough gas for the next NDL recreational dive. I've been on charters where that's the case, in fact I did that myself last week

The 150 ft comment I made about the toby caves is covered in a couple of post above, yes I meant that the swimthroughs are nowhere near the tech definition of a cave (more than 150 ft to daylight).

And I second scubaSteve's comments to Divers Den, they seem to like divers a bit better there plus i like their boats better.

 

[Coldwater_Canuck]

I think when shoredivr said 150 ft, he was talking about general definitions of caverns, and not specifically about "The Caves". IIRC (it's been a few years) the swim throughs between the open air central area and the Bay are maybe 10-20' depth, 20-30' long, 10'ish wide, with hard granite/large gravel bottoms (no possibility of silt unless there's a major storm in progress washing it in from deeper waters out on the lake), and I don't think real cave divers would consider this as having any restrictions. Daylight visible throughout.

Okay thanks. So even though it's technically an "overhead environment" it doesn't sound like it has all the threats PADI tries to warn us about (no real possibility of getting lost, running out of air, etc.)

You could treat your doubles as having enough gas for one NDL recreational dive, then enough gas for the next NDL recreational dive. I've been on charters where that's the case, in fact I did that myself last week

You mean you use the same set for both dives? I guess I can see a couple advantages to this (probably less wasteful (air left over) and not having to change gear between dives) but doesn't the extra weight outweigh these?

The 150 ft comment I made about the toby caves is covered in a couple of post above, yes I meant that the swimthroughs are nowhere near the tech definition of a cave (more than 150 ft to daylight).

Ya I wasn't sure what you were referring to. But even if it doesn't meet the tech definition, even some recreational cavern diving should have special training (I think the main concern is even in daylight it's possible to get lost). But this specific case doesn't sound like something anyone would use a reel or whatever for. If it's just a simple one end to the other swimthrough in a large area in shallow waters, this seems pretty safe.

 

[Coldwater_Canuck]

Like any dive destination, you are going to find a wide range of divers and skill/training levels. If you are going up there without a buddy just be prepared for that.

As for the Caves/Caverns, aside from the swimmers jumping into the water the only other "hazards" are diver congestion in one swim through - you may have to back up or squeeze to the side - and Seadoos in the area. On one trip there were several operating right near the entrance to the Caves/Caverns where the water is not very deep.

As you are probably aware, Toby can be a very busy place in the summer, so be sure to make reservations if you are planning on staying in a hotel.

Have a good trip

BTW I suspect that ScubaSteve's preference for Divers Den was due to the charter boat being a llittle more diver friendly.

Thanks for all the info!

 

[ScubaSteve]

Helimvee is in fact correct. I found the boat that I have dove off of through G+S to be very uncomfortable to "exit". I believe I have seem Ber Rabbit (an SB Staffer) refer to it as the "Tobermory Twist" because it is unlike anything that you have likely been taught or ever seen. Picture yourself having to step over a 2 foot (dimension estimate) high wall while completely suited up (fins included) so that you are straddling the wall and precariously stepping on a 3" wide (dimension estimate) ledge on the outside to perform what can best be described as a cartwheel out of the boat into the water. The shop themselves is good, the air fill station is good, the people are god.....I just do not enjoy diving off their boat but others do. IMO Diver's Den has it all going for them but then that is just my opinion.

 

[shoredivr]

Helimvee is in fact correct. I found the boat that I have dove off of through G+S to be very uncomfortable to "exit". I believe I have seem Ber Rabbit (an SB Staffer) refer to it as the "Tobermory Twist" because it is unlike anything that you have likely been taught or ever seen. Picture yourself having to step over a 2 foot (dimension estimate) high wall while completely suited up (fins included) so that you are straddling the wall and precariously stepping on a 3" wide (dimension estimate) ledge on the outside to perform what can best be described as a cartwheel out of the boat into the water. The shop themselves is good, the air fill station is good, the people are god.....I just do not enjoy diving off their boat but others do. IMO Diver's Den has it all going for them but then that is just my opinion.

Don't like that sideways flop entry mode off the Mamie, huh?
The Mamie is a converted-to-dive-use old Great Lakes fishing boat, and the exit ScubaSteve is mentioning is though openings in the metal hull a third of the way from the bow and half way down the sides, and about 5 ft above the water. It makes for quite a splash and you'd better be holding your mask correctly when you hit the water from the side.....

To be fair, G and S has other boats, too.

But my favourite dive boat in Toby is still the Deep Obsession. http://www.diversden.ca/charter.html


*edit*
Here's a link to a pic of the Mamie, scroll down and you'll see the unique Great Lakes fishing boat shape on the right. There's probably a specific name for that style of boat. In the pic the front entry window is partially obscured by a white cover. However, no pic of a sideways flop entry....

http://www.gswatersports.com/Boats.htm