Where to dive?

[ScubaShaneVB]

Hey all!

Well I will be traveling to Montreal, QC in about a month to visit my girl friend. I am not from the area, and my girl friend does not dive. With this being said where in the area would you fellow scubaboarder's recommend I dive?

I will be in Montreal for a month. I have no problem driving an hour or more. However this is my problem. I will be a solo diver. This means I will need to get on a boat with other divers, or find a group of divers to dive with.

Do you all know of dive charters or escorted dive tours in the area that I could join? Or maybe even an active dive club? Any suggestions on how I could get some local QC dives in while I am in the area would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Shane

 

[MichelG]

At this time of year there's not a lot of charter boats on the water, the only one I can think of is Dive Brockville Adventure Centre - bicyle kayak fishing rod rentals gift shop 1000 islands scuba diving swimming vacation trip leisure enjoy It's a 2h30 hours drive but it's well worth it, there's not much within an hour of Montréal. As for Montréal dive shops, they don't do a lot of dives at this time of year. The best way to hook up with divers is this Facebook page www.facebook.com/groups/299630726723005/ but it's in french. The shop I recommend that you give a try is Centre de plongée Nepteau - Le spécialiste de l'équipement, des cours et des conseils en plongée sous-marine au Québec
I'd go dive with you but I just moved to California. Good luck!!

 

[gcarter]

Some good info here Neptune the world of silence

Some really good diving in Ontario on the St Lawrence not too far away, including some easy shore dives - the Conestoga (Cardinal) and Rothesay (Prescott) for example. Morrison's Quarry in Wakefield QC seems to attact a bunch of Montreal divers fairly regularly as well for some reason.

Be aware of the FQAS - might be an issue diving with Montreal based shops, but you can get a temporary one. FQAS --> Accueil

Assuming you have the right exposure gear? If you are coming up in a month you should be prepared with 2 piece 7mm + hood or a drysuit. You could do a 1 piece 7mm in the river right now but I am not sure the temperature will last. I did a dive in the quarry last weekend and the temp dipped to 53*F @ ~ 60'. Montreal area would be no warmer.

 

[MichelG]

I forgot, there's another board in Ontario that will be easier for you, unless you speak french Ontario Diving
The best dives near Montréal are in Ontario so give it a try.