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One of the prime diving spots in Victoria has a pub, literally, steps from where you surface and park. Needless to say there's a very real danger of adding another $30 - $40 to the cost of your dive, whenever you go there.

I've got the ocean within walking distance on three sides of me - so I've been fortunate to be able to continue diving during the pandemic. Not wanting to take significant risks, we (my buddy and I) do it all from the shore, at well known easy to navigate sites with lots of parking and open...

I'm almost always a little cool when I dive. I did a whole year off Vancouver Island in a 9mm wet suit. That wasn't fun, or smart, and I definitely used a lot more air diving that way. Now that I have a dry suit, and decent thermals, I might get a touch of a chill when the water is around 7 -...

I typically dive dry - and while my drysuit is absolutely name-brand / bought through an LDS, I'm not as picky about my insulating layers. I know a companies sell fleece and it's usually high-quality and very warm. But for me, I've found that a good pair of jogging pants and a decent top work...

I guess I'd add, that, yeah. As others have said - it depends on what you mean by being in tip-top shape. If you're devoting your whole life to maximizing physical performance - that means a ton of time in the gym and exercising. And you can't really combine that with being a dive pro (or...

I see where you're coming from - respecting off gassing, and exercise. I recall reading in my 'deep course' that the general recommendation is that you shouldn't do any strenuous exercise right after a dive - especially one where you went particularly deep, or otherwise got close to your...

Oh man, I rarely use the dump valve. Usually, I just have to rotate a little bit to my right, and hit the air purge valve on my BCD, and enough goes out to easily adjust buoyancy. I've occasionally used the dump valve, but on my BCD (a Halcyon wing), it's fairly inconveniently located. And...

I'm guessing many of them probably look like the ones I keep! But, I'm starting out - and still (points to dive count) figuring out a number of things underwater. Not just imaging. But it's really inspiring to see how good underwater photography can get - one of the reason I'm happy I joined...

Fantastic! Are those your shots? Beautiful. Any slideshow with that many nudibranchs in it, is automatically good in my book. Definitely reminds me why I love diving here so much...

I popped in to recommend the Garmin as well. I've been diving with it for about 8 months now, and it's been phenomenal. Dig the fact that it uses GPS to show you (fairly precisely) where you started and ended your dives - drifts look cool! - and the fact that you can pretty much use it to...

Yeah - I see where you're coming from. And I think in part my comfort with the way the instruction occurred has to do with how abundantly clear the instructors made it that a safety stop in ordinary diving isn't mandatory. It's a 'nice to have' thing. It's something they recommend that you...

If one buddy wants to end a dive - the dive ends. I thought that was a fairly sacrosanct part of diving. Particularly when it's a dive leader leading a far less experienced beginner. I think it's perfectly reasonable to have been uncomfortable in that situation - not just because of the fact...

Nice! Something to supplement the Facebook updates. Love a good vis report. Tuesday night had some decent vis at Henderson Point (which has been, I think, generally pretty good for a while now).

Cool - thanks! I should have mentioned what I shoot with. The first anemone, the urchin, ling cod, and second anemone were all shot with a point and shoot in an Ikelite underwater housing. No external lights - just the internal flash. Hence the very limited lighting on the left side of the...

I don't think that's entirely fair to say. They were very clear that there was no hard medical evidence to suggest that a safety stop was essential, or even something that reduced injury. Just that - in theory - it makes a good deal of sense, and should make the end of your dive safer. So - 3...

Starting in September, I've been back into diving. It didn't take much longer for me to start taking a camera under the waves off of Vancouver Island. There are only the ones I think are worth posting - but there are lots of bad ones on my computer too... Anyway - tips, tricks, thoughts - all...