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v(250) 716-8867 v toll free:1-866-716-8867 v aadrian@telus.net 

ADVANCED COURSES FOR DIVERS

When it comes to diving we really do have it all. British Columbia has been named the top scuba diving destination in North America for the third year running, gaining an unprecedented perfect score in a recent survey of “Rodale’s Scuba Diving” readers.  “Rodale’s Scuba Diving” is the largest scuba diving enthusiast magazine in circulation.  Readers of the US dive magazine awarded the coastal waters of Vancouver Island, otherwise known as the Emerald Sea, as number one.  Moreover we were cited as providing the Healthiest Marine Environment worldwide.

Your Hosts Ken and Carolyn Adrian have been diving and exploring the local waters for the past 7 years.  We know the difference between a Good and a Mediocre dive site.

With the addition of two new Artificial Reefs bringing the total to four we have become a world-class dive destination.

This not a live-aboard charter but we would be happy to help you find suitable lodgings no matter where we go diving.

• We operate year-round, 7 days a week
• We do not limit Dive Time or Surface Interval
• Hot lunch and snacks on all charters
• Head and hot shower onboard
• Onboard air fills from our bank, no noisy compressor, no tank switching
• Nitrox, Trimix, O2 fills available
• Free O2 for re-breathers
• Covered and heated gear up area
• Complimentary Ferry pickup

Every diver has his or her own preference in dives and diving. At Divers choice we specialize in custom charters so you can have the dive you are looking for. We provide the best dives for the divers not the best dive for the boat. The following is a brief list of Ken's personal favourite dives (in order). There are far to many to list them all so give us a call and we can plan your dive day.

• #1 - Dodd Narrows

• #2 - HMCS Saskatchewan

• #3 - Gabriola Passage

• #4 - Carlos Island

• #5 - HMCS Cape Breton

• #6 - Thrasher Rock

• #7 - Clarke Rock

Photos, Wayne Weidner

Photo Carolyn Adrian

#2 HMCS Saskatchewan

The Saskatchewan was sunk on June 14th 1997. She lies upright in approximately 130 feet of water. She is a 366-foot Ex Mackenzie Class Destroyer Escort. There is little or no tidal current on this wreck and the marine growth since her sinking is amazing. This is a diver prepared wreck and is very wide open.

• Since her sinking she has seen over 55,000 divers
• She sits upright with a slight list to the port side
• Radar Platform 45'
• Bridge 65'
• Top of guns 85'
• Fore and aft decks 95'
• Aft mortar bay 105'
• Keel on the bottom 130'

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photo, Martin Levy

photo, Martin Levy

photo, Martin Levy

#4 Carlos Island

This Dive is also in the Northern Gulf Islands about one and a half hours by boat from Nanaimo. This small island is just outside of Siva Bay and is an unforgettable wall dive. Odds are you will dive with the local friendly seal population. The bottom steps down in shelves from 30 feet to 180 feet. Due to the out side exposure to the Strait of Georgia the marine life is colorful and diverse.  

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photo, Glenn Strong

photo, Glenn Strong

# 5 HMCS Cape Breton

The HMCS Cape Breton was sunk off Snake Island very close to the Saskatchewan on October 20th, 2001.  This makes her the second largest diver prepared reef in the world. The Cape Breton went down with an awesome pyrotechnic display in 3minutes while thousands of onlookers watched.

The Cape Breton is a 440' WWII Victory Ship.

• She sits upright with a slight list to Starboard

• Crows Nest 40'

• Top or Funnel 50'

• Captains Quarters 85'

• Main Deck 100'

• Engine Room 142'

• Keel on the Bottom 145' 

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photo Martin Levy

Advanced Courses

All courses have a minimum of two divers and include all Charter Fees. All courses are done from our 50’ dive boat and include a hot lunch.

	Padi Advanced open water requires 5 dives Wreck diver 4 dives Boat Diver 2 dives Nitrox diver 2 dives [combine with other specialty] Drysuit diver 2 open water dives plus 1 pool session Deep diver 4 dives Night diver 3 dives Rebreather 4 dives Rebreather Rental
	TDI Courses Advanced Nitrox 4 dives Decompression Procedures 4 dives

*Many courses can be combined as a package

Solo Diving; Two Dives:

Solo Diving has finally come out of the closet.  SDI has recognized the fact that many divers are diving solo whether intentionally or not.  Many photographers choose to dive solo; divers in poor visibility and current, drift divers often find themselves alone during their dives.  This course teaches the skills required to make you a safe and confident self-sufficient diver.  The program is not for everyone and is directed at very experienced divers who are comfortable in the underwater environment.  You must have at least 100 logged dives and be 21 years of age prior to taking the course.

NEW!
PADI Dolphin Rebreather Course:

Have you ever thought about how it would be to dive and make little to no noise, or to be able to slip up on fish and other marine animals without frightening them with your bubbles? Have you ever wondered how a rebreather works and how you can have long dives on small amounts of air?

The PADI Rebeather course for the Dräger Atlantis/Dolphin units will explain and answer your questions on rebreathers. These two units recycle the air you exhale, add a little nitrox mix and re-supply you with breathing gas suitable for your planned depth.

Course Highlights - During the PADI Rebreather course you will learn the theory of operation on the Dolphin unit, how to set the unit up for diving, perform pre-dive safety checks, and dive safely with a rebreather. The theory of operation will cover basic nitrox principles, dive planning, inspired gas calculations, and equipment component nomenclature. Hands on exercises setting up the equipment will walk you through pre-dive tests and calibrations necessary before submerging. Proper care, maintenance, cleaning and storage of the units will also be covered.

The course consists of two nights of academic sessions, a final exam, a pool orientation session and three open water dives on the Dolphin unit.

Prerequisites - PADI Enriched Air certification or equivalent, and at least 15 years old.

Instructional Equipment - The students will be supplied with a manual on Semi-closed circuit rebreathers, the Dolphin units are available for rental. Scrubber compound and nitrox fills are included in the course package. Students are required to bring their normal diving equipment.  (During open water sessions there may be a necessity to share the rebreather equipment, therefore you may be making some dives as a buddy while on open circuit.

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Extreme Drift Diving

This isn’t for everyone. If you want to see some fast water and suck up some adrenaline this is it.

These dives are for divers that are very comfortable in the water and have had experience with drift dives as buoyancy control is a must. This is not the place to try out new equipment!

We do these dives at both Dodd Narrows and Gabriola Passage in currents from 2 to 6 knots depending on your comfort level most divers will elect to start out at slower speeds and work there way up. (Warning this is addictive).

As we cannot safely operate the big boat in these currents we anchor it nearby and we are using the Tuffer 180 for drop and pickup.

We start out in a back eddy on one end of the narrows and drop down to the bottom where the current starts to pickup. Everything is quite slow at the beginning until you hit the Jaws of the narrows, then it’s like a kick in the pants and away you go.

The Tuffer 180 is a no fooling welded aluminum 18’ open cockpit boat built by Jidco Welding in Nanaimo She has wash off decks and is virtually unsinkable.

www.jidcowelding.shawbiz.ca

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The best dives I have ever done were at Dodd Narrows between 3 and 6 knots.  It is impossible to describe the excitement of a high-speed drift dive.  We dropped in the big back eddy at the south end of the narrows and it was very calm, no current to speak of.  As you start to descend you feel a little pull and the adrenaline starts.  The dive is quite slow for the first ten minutes.  You are committed to the current as it picks up speed you are concentrating on not getting too close to the wall as speed keeps picking up.  Just as you think you may not want to go any faster you hit the back eddy at the bottom and it is like throwing out a parachute.  Next thing you know you are gently moving upstream and it’s time to surface. 

Here are the comments of another diver who has done Dodds at 3 and then 5.6 Knots.
He actually did the first dive without a drysuit whip. Yes I think his voice was a little higher when he surfaced.  

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Hi Ken.  That was an AWSOME dive - even for an old fart.  I've done drift dives before but never had the kick in the pants you get when you reach the throat of the narrows.  I was still thinking about it last night.  It definitely spoils you for ordinary dives.

I've got some suggestions that you could pass along to the other crazies that want to drift dive Dodd's Narrows:

1. Don't do the first dive without your dry suit whip.
2. Don't have any hoses or equipment dragging.  If a diver ever snagged a piece of gear in a rock crevice, they'd be in real deep doo doo.
3. Dive heavy.  My guess is that you should be 5 pounds heavier than your normal dive weight.  That would apply to dry suits anyway.
4. Once the current starts to seriously pick up, back away from the wall and the rocks.  I'm thinking about 30 feet instead of the 10 to 15 feet we were running at.  It will feel a bit spookier but I think that will be the trick to not getting spit out immediately after you go through.  That would allow you to get carried into the big back eddy the way you were on the first pass.
5.  Don't let novices into this dive.  At one point on the downward slide there was no way I could gain elevation and that might spook a novice real bad.

Anyway it was a FANTASTIC dive Ken and Carolyn's hospitality was first rate as usual.  Find another we can explore.

Cheers .... Shaun

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v Divers Choice Charters v
v(250) 716-8867 v toll free:1-866-716-8867 v aadrian@telus.net