New Diver in Ontario

[Luke99]

Hi There,

I am new here so hello everyone!

Thought I would poll you guys on your thoughts for how a newer diver could/should get into the diving scene in Ontario.

Background:
Padi OW Certified in Grenada in Jan 2022.
Padi Nitrox June 2022 and dove twice on nitrox up near Penetanguishene Ontario on the Maple dawn and Marquette as part of that cert package.
Padi AOW in Roatan Sept 2022 plus quite a few fun dives.
6 Basic fun dives in Puerto Plata, Dominican Jan 2023
25 Total Dives including training dives.

I am definitely hooked on diving at this point. I prefer diving in the warmer waters of the Caribbean but I do want to experiment diving locally more as well, especially Tobermory. I have up to this point been diving with my wife but my interest is a bit more obsessive then hers I think lol.

I don't own most gear, have warm water fins, computer, and mask. So diving locally is expensive having to rent gear every time, and I don't have a local dive buddy. The cost of renting gear locally really has been the main barrier to diving more here, so I might have to just bite the bullet and spend what I need to dive in here and in cold water (wetsuit(or if i really want to invest, drysuit + cert), BP/W, reg, etc), but I need a buddy that wants to dive with me since the wife likely wont.

So what's the best way to find a like minded/experience level dive buddy for the odd weekend dive in Ontario? (within a few hours of the GTA). If anyone has recommendations that would be appreciated, or anyone here in a similar situation and skill level and would be looking for a buddy now come summer!

 

[Marie13]

Are you on FB? There are plenty of FB groups in the US for local divers to plan dives. Sure there are some in your area.

 

[jvanostrand]

Find a dive group. There are fomal, non-profit organizations, there are more ad-hoc ones, and dive shops sometimes run their own. I'm in Waterloo and we have an informal group, mostle centred around a quarry just north of Cambridge. One of our local divers also runs the KW Scuba Social, who meet monthly for a meal and/or drinks at a local restaurant. We talk about local diving, make plans and even form weekend dive trips and tropical ones too.

Dive shops often run a schedule of weeknend dives, usually around training but new divers are encouraged, they might also arrange weekend dive trips and fly-aways too.

If you mention what city you're in I might be able to point yoiu somwhere.

 

[jvanostrand]

I should also give you a head's up for local diving. Shops generally recommend you do your first cold water dive with a dive professional but are happy to arrange something like that. You'll need tank fills, rentals likely, and new equipment so they're happy to have you in the shop and they often insist that you do a checkout on your first rental of gear.

The "check-out" dive is really just to make sure you have a good buddy for gearing up (a 7MM wetsuit with hood and tick gloves can limit flexibility,) The extra lead you'll need makes your gear heavier too. And finally getting around in lower-than Caribbean viz can sometimes be a little hard. There are also specific cold-water skills to practice, like breathing off a free-flowing reg.

The best time of year to dive is mid to late summer. The air is still warm and the water it at its warmest. Then I suggest you dive every weekend or two to gradually see how cold you want to tolerate. I dive almost every weekend all year long and under ice in the winter.

 

[Luke99]

Find a dive group. There are fomal, non-profit organizations, there are more ad-hoc ones, and dive shops sometimes run their own. I'm in Waterloo and we have an informal group, mostle centred around a quarry just north of Cambridge. One of our local divers also runs the KW Scuba Social, who meet monthly for a meal and/or drinks at a local restaurant. We talk about local diving, make plans and even form weekend dive trips and tropical ones too.

Dive shops often run a schedule of weeknend dives, usually around training but new divers are encouraged, they might also arrange weekend dive trips and fly-aways too.

If you mention what city you're in I might be able to point yoiu somwhere.

I am located near barrie at the moment.

Thanks for the info on the cold water experience for some dive shops, this is good to know. I had planned to rent gear from Divers Den in Tobermory on a weekend this summer and do a few shore dives with the wife, but sounds like they might not rent the gear without first this checkout dive.

Any recommendation's when attempted to learn diving in lower vis then the Caribbean? The 2 local dives I have done had pretty decent vis still, 20-30ft so being in lower vis then that would definitely be outside my comfort zone at the moment.

Also, are you aware of any more affordable places to rent gear from? Compared to dives in the Caribbean, local diving seems very expensive if you don't have your own gear. The daily rate for gear I have not seen lower then $120-$175 range, typically on the higher side). Add on a charter and air/nitrox fills were talking in the range of $150 per dive.. it almost makes more sense for me to just go back to the Caribbean to dive haha, $40-50 bucks a dive

 

[Luke99]

Are you on FB? There are plenty of FB groups in the US for local divers to plan dives. Sure there are some in your area.

I did take a look last summer for some local groups, non seemed to be active honestly, non of the ones of posted messages on anyway

 

[Tournesol2000]

Hi @Luke99 and welcome to SB.
Depending on where you are, I have found several options. My LDS and dive clubs offer local trips. My LDS offers dry suit course and the cost of the course can be used as a discount to buying a suit, so the course is basically free.
I still can’t get myself back into cold water diving. I went to Lake Simcoe. I prefer warm water.

 

[jvanostrand]

I am located near barrie at the moment.

I have dive buddies in that area, several. They routinely dive the J.C. Morrison wreck (25 ft depth) just off Centennial Park. they also dive Shanty Bay where they have lots of stuff placed in the water (depths to 100 ft or more.) I'll see who they dive with.

Thanks for the info on the cold water experience for some dive shops, this is good to know. I had planned to rent gear from Divers Den in Tobermory on a weekend this summer and do a few shore dives with the wife, but sounds like they might not rent the gear without first this checkout dive.

In the past, Diver's Den would rent gear and suggest you go dive The Tugs before booking a boat dive, perhaps they still do. The Tugs has one of my favourite wrecks, the Alice G. It sits in 15 ft of water but you may find yourself as deep as 50 ft on the way.

Any recommendation's when attempted to learn diving in lower vis then the Caribbean? The 2 local dives I have done had pretty decent vis still, 20-30ft so being in lower vis then that would definitely be outside my comfort zone at the moment.

Go over your lost buddy procedure with your buddy frequently. What I learned was to spend 2 minutes looking for the buddy, then surface and wait for them to surface as well. When looking around look much shallower than your buddy should be. Their exhale will have expanded and being closer to the surface light will bounce off the bubbles. If you are using a light, act like a lighthouse slowing panning your light in the direction you think your buddy is at and look for him doing the same.
To prevent being lost maintain a consistent formation. Keep your buddy on the same side and if you need to change do so as little as possible. Divers have huge blind spots so never be above your buddy, they'll never see you. And if you lad a lot behind then move away laterally as well. If you're using a light make sure you pass your beam in their field of few often so they know you're there.
If you're leading and change direction do just a couple kicks and then make sure your buddy saw your direction change.

Also, are you aware of any more affordable places to rent gear from? Compared to dives in the Caribbean, local diving seems very expensive if you don't have your own gear. The daily rate for gear I have not seen lower then $120-$175 range, typically on the higher side). Add on a charter and air/nitrox fills were talking in the range of $150 per dive.. it almost makes more sense for me to just go back to the Caribbean to dive haha, $40-50 bucks a dive

I haven't rented in over a decade, so no. Prices for things do tend to be more expensive than the Caribbean where they operate most days. Here with the short normal dive season and lower volume they have to price a little more. So it's more for air fills, more for rentals, a little more for boat dives.

So rent as little as possible and when you've decided you're going to be a regular local diver buy your dive gear. You may even need the basics. Open heel fins aren't as common in the tropics, but they are needed here where you want to wear neoprene boots to keep warm. Regulators for cold water (<15C) are different than tropical regs. You can dive above 15C here in the summer, but you'll be limited to shallow divers or specific areas. Even in the summer we can find 4C water at depth in the Great Lakes.

If you're on Facebook, there are lots of used sales, usually closer to the season, so groups like Ontario Scuba Swap. You can find stuff there that's really old (likeBCDs without weight pockets, or regs that aren't supported any more) but there is also newer stuff too. And there's nothing that new with fins or wetsuits so they can be good used. If you'd prefer having new gear and the better guarantee of quality, visit some local dive shops and ask about clubs or shop dives while you compare. If you're going to be an avid diver it helps to have a home shop where you do most of your purchases. Having a good relationship is helpful.

 

[davecampbell]

I'm in Hamilton, and have several Toby weekends already booked. How can I help?

 

[Luke99]

I have dive buddies in that area, several. They routinely dive the J.C. Morrison wreck (25 ft depth) just off Centennial Park. they also dive Shanty Bay where they have lots of stuff placed in the water (depths to 100 ft or more.) I'll see who they dive with.


In the past, Diver's Den would rent gear and suggest you go dive The Tugs before booking a boat dive, perhaps they still do. The Tugs has one of my favourite wrecks, the Alice G. It sits in 15 ft of water but you may find yourself as deep as 50 ft on the way.

Go over your lost buddy procedure with your buddy frequently. What I learned was to spend 2 minutes looking for the buddy, then surface and wait for them to surface as well. When looking around look much shallower than your buddy should be. Their exhale will have expanded and being closer to the surface light will bounce off the bubbles. If you are using a light, act like a lighthouse slowing panning your light in the direction you think your buddy is at and look for him doing the same.
To prevent being lost maintain a consistent formation. Keep your buddy on the same side and if you need to change do so as little as possible. Divers have huge blind spots so never be above your buddy, they'll never see you. And if you lad a lot behind then move away laterally as well. If you're using a light make sure you pass your beam in their field of few often so they know you're there.
If you're leading and change direction do just a couple kicks and then make sure your buddy saw your direction change.

I haven't rented in over a decade, so no. Prices for things do tend to be more expensive than the Caribbean where they operate most days. Here with the short normal dive season and lower volume they have to price a little more. So it's more for air fills, more for rentals, a little more for boat dives.

So rent as little as possible and when you've decided you're going to be a regular local diver buy your dive gear. You may even need the basics. Open heel fins aren't as common in the tropics, but they are needed here where you want to wear neoprene boots to keep warm. Regulators for cold water (<15C) are different than tropical regs. You can dive above 15C here in the summer, but you'll be limited to shallow divers or specific areas. Even in the summer we can find 4C water at depth in the Great Lakes.

If you're on Facebook, there are lots of used sales, usually closer to the season, so groups like Ontario Scuba Swap. You can find stuff there that's really old (likeBCDs without weight pockets, or regs that aren't supported any more) but there is also newer stuff too. And there's nothing that new with fins or wetsuits so they can be good used. If you'd prefer having new gear and the better guarantee of quality, visit some local dive shops and ask about clubs or shop dives while you compare. If you're going to be an avid diver it helps to have a home shop where you do most of your purchases. Having a good relationship is helpful.

Thank you for all this information! this is really helpful.

Looking into the Tugs and the light house dive in Tobermory, if they do rent the gear without the checkout dive then this might be 2 easy shore dives I can do to practice some skills in the cold water with less pressure of a charter to have time to go slow and just get more comfortable in fresh cold water instead of the warm salt water i am used to.

I'm in Hamilton, and have several Toby weekends already booked. How can I help?

Hi Dave! are you going with a group? If you are open to a newbie tagging along id definitely be interested in joining you perhaps. Depending on dates of course and if I can get up to Tobermory to do a few shores dives as practice on my own before hand.