Ontario waters offer a rainbow of colours, all of it brown and green. By far, the greatest attraction for divers are the hundreds of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway waterways. Merely floating nearby and only viewing the wrecks from a distance can wear thin quickly. Most divers have the overwhelming urge to explore and penetrate into the wrecks.
To accomplish this requires very specialized techniques and considerations for safety. In an over-head underwater environment, divers can no longer swim directly to the surface. Finding a way out, avoiding excessive silting of the site and the use of lines is discussed and demonstrated. Training will be conducted with an on-site briefing and three open water dives on different wrecks.
Whether purpose-sunk as an artificial reef for scuba divers, or lost as the result of an accident, wrecks are fascinating windows to the past. Ships, airplanes and even cars are fascinating to explore and usually teem with aquatic life. Each wreck dive offers a chance for discovery, potentially unlocking a mystery or spying something others have missed. The Wreck Diver Specialty course is popular because it offers rewarding adventures while observing responsible wreck diving practices.
If you’re at least 15 years old and have earned a Adventure Diver certification or higher, you can enroll in the Wreck Diver Specialty course.
Course materials required.
Shark Conservation
$100.00
Sharks are an essential part of a healthy ocean. This course explores why they are vulnerable, the importance of a healthy shark population, managing threats and how to take action to protect them. You can complete this course as a diver or a non-diver.
Full Face Mask Diver
$150.00
The Full Face Mask course prepares you to dive with a full face mask. The course covers basic safety, technical and practical knowledge necessary to be a competent full face mask diver and feel comfortable using your system. You will participate in an academic session to learn the features of full face masks, gain familiarity with the system in the pool, and finish by demonstrating skills in the open water to gain your full face mask certification specialty card.
If you’re a (Junior) Open Water Diver who is at least 12 years old, you can enroll in the Full Face Mask specialty course.
Course materials not included.
Full face mask rental: $100
Ice Diver
$100.00 – $399.00
If extreme, unusual and challenging scuba diving scenarios appeal to you, try diving under the ice. Ice diving is one of the most adventurous scuba specialties because you confront conditions and see beauty few others ever experience. Plus, you might get a chance to play with your exhaled bubbles on the bottom of the ice. Flash your Ice Diver certification card to get instant respect, and usually a lot of questions from other divers about what it’s like under the ice.
You need to be an Advanced Open Water Diver who is at least 18 years old to enroll in the Ice Diver course. Six divers minimum required for safety reasons.
Sidemount Diver
$299.00 – $499.00
Having scuba tanks on your back isn’t a requirement for exploring the underwater world. Many scuba divers have discovered the joy of mounting cylinders on their sides. Sidemount diving gives you flexibility and streamlining options. Plus, you don’t have to walk with heavy cylinders on your back – just enter the water, clip them on and go. Sound interesting? Sign up for the Sidemount Diver Specialty course.
If you’re an Open Water Diver who is at least 15 years old, you can enroll in a Sidemount Diver course.
The TDI Sidemount Diver Course is the ideal specialty for any diver wishing to use this increasingly popular equipment configuration; either as a stand-alone course OR in conjunction with one of TDI’s other open circuit technical specialties such as Decompression Procedures, Extended Range, Trimix, Advanced Trimix, and Advanced Wreck. If this course is combined, the requirements for BOTH courses must be met. The TDI Sidemount Diver course teaches students how to utilize side-mounted primary cylinders as an alternative to the traditional back-mounted method.
Extra Costs
Sidemount Manual: $69.99
TDI Sidemount Manual: $69.99 Sidemount System Rental (BCD, regulators, 2 Nitrox tanks): $300
Deep Diver
$200.00
The lure of the deep. There’s something exciting and mysterious about exploring deeper dive sites while scuba diving. Sometimes it’s a wreck that attracts you below 18 metres/60 feet, and on wall dives it may be a giant fan or sponge. Whatever it is, to scuba dive with confidence at depths down to 40 metres/130 feet, you should take the Deep Diver Specialty course.
If you’ve earned the Adventure Diver rating or higher, and you’re at least 15 years old, you can enroll in the Deep Diver course.
Course materials required. Boat charter additional.
Digital Underwater Photographer & Videographer
$150.00 – $287.00
Underwater photography and videography is one of the most popular diving specialties, and with so many underwater cameras to choose from, it has become easier and more fun than ever to capture images and videos of your underwater scuba adventures. The Digital Underwater Photographer & Videographer course gets you going quickly, whether you use a point-and-shoot camera, a GoPro, or a sophisticated DSLR like the pros. Video is the best way to share the sights, sounds, motion and dynamics of the underwater world. If you want to get the best clips and also learn to edit your scuba diving stories to share with friends through social media, then this specialty course is for you. Learn to create underwater videos that are interesting, entertaining and worth watching again and again.
(Junior) Open Water Divers who are at least 10 years old are eligible to take the Digital Underwater Photographer & Videographer course.
Because underwater photography and videography is also popular with snorkelers, there is an option for avid snorkelers and skin divers to complete the course. Check with our dive shop if this interests you.
Apeks – XTX50 Sidemount Regulator Set (Imperial)
$2,595.00
The Apeks sidemount regulator kit delivers the necessary hardware and accessories for sidemount diving, along with two award-winning XTX50 regulators. Everything a diver needs for a sidemount breathing system is found in this set.
Apeks – MTX-R Sidemount Regulator Set (Imperial)
$2,945.00
The MTX-R sidemount set is a super tough, rugged, high performance, go anywhere sidemount regulator configuration designed to meet the rigors of cold water and extreme sidemount diving. The MTX-R is highly reliable and also very easy to service out in the field which make it an ideal choice for the expedition and exploration diver.
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