Tobermory Dive Weekend
2025-08-02 14:00 - 2025-08-03 13:30 (Africa/Abidjan)
We are running a Tobermory Dive Weekend to combine a Tobermory shore dive with a boat charter. To help the transits for those coming from GTA better, we take the morning to drive up to Tobermory and then meet on the Saturday afternoon to do our shore dive at Lighthouse Point. Then we’ll do the advance deep dives on the boat charter the next morning on Sunday.
To go on this dive weekend with us, note that the advance boat charter requires all divers to have at least TEN cold water (15 degrees C or under) deep dives (at least 60 feet depth and over) during the last 18 months. An Advanced Open Water certification alone is not enough for this boat charter. If you are short on these ten logged dives, try to come out to our local dives throughout June and July as we can usually get at least 60 feet at both Cedar Hill Park and Shanty Bay. So maybe by the August weekend you will have the ten deep dives required.
We will be organizing our own shore dive for Lighthouse Point for Saturday afternoon meeting there for 2 pm. The next morning boat charter leaves at 8 am with the dive shop Blue Heron Adventures recommending we get there between 7 am and 8 am. Divers can stay overnight on Saturday either in Tobermory or in the region like at Owen Sound. Some of us might be staying in the Collingwood area and driving in extremely early.
To get on the boat charter, book directly with Blue Heron Adventures (who took over Divers Den). Book for the morning advance dives boat charter for Sunday August 3, 2025. There are only 12 spots available and it is a long weekend during peak season so book your spot now.
Directions To Tobermory Shore Dive

follow Big Tub Way in Tobermory all the way to the end where Lighthouse Point is for our first dive, a deep rock formation wall to 75 feet.

Here’s a video of the shore dive at Lighthouse Point (which in my opinion is a better dive than the Tugs)

VERY IMPORTANT= all our group divers MUST complete a liability waiver form in advance which covers you for the entire 2025 dive season for diving with our group (download at link, sign and send back to us or bring it to your first dive). Divers who do not sign this liability waiver form will not be diving with our group this season.
Also, don’t be late as we will not be waiting for any latecomers after 15 minutes past the posted start time. We will start the dive without you. Best to get there early to get a parking spot.
If you are planning to come to this dive event, please indicate so in the comments section below and vote for your first choice on dive location for our Saturday morning.

Scuba Dive At Shanty Bay
2025-07-26 10:00 - 13:00, 2025-07-12 10:00 - 13:00, 2025-05-10 10:00 - 13:00, 2025-04-27 10:30 - 13:00 (America/Toronto)
We will dive Shanty Bay which is considered to be the best dive site in the Lake Simcoe area with different features including wrecks in the water for divers to see. As shown in the photo, this shore dive is easily accessible for the beach and pier. The dive site is a slow gradual slope with varying depths to beyond 100 feet for those who want to venture deeper but most attractions are much shallower.
Here is a video of a dive at Shanty Bay to get an idea of what it’s like there.

Here are directions to the Shanty Bay dive site;

take highway 400 to highway 11 north
exit at Line 2 south
continue all the way to the end where the Shanty Bay wharf is
turn left on Bay St as we don’t want the smaller pier right at the end of Line 2
look for the bigger wharf just after you make that left turn on Bay st – will have some postal boxes there too.

Important Note On Parking
The township of Oro-Medonte which controls Shanty Bay has made it difficult for non-residents to park there. There are parking spots at Shanty Bay but permits are required – non-residents of Oro-Medonte must pay for a permit costing about $100 for a six month period and the parking lot is enforced regularly with parking tickets of $60 issued for those parked there without a permit. So we suggest just stopping at Shanty Bay upon arrive to drop off all your dive gear plus tanks and then drive back to a side street called Melissa Crescent about half kilometre away back on Line 2. You can also try parking at the baseball diamond on Ridge Rd just east of Line 2. The side streets close to the wharf are all marked no parking. This of course is a big inconvenience but as a dive group we’ll try diving Shanty Bay at least once to try it out even if we have to walk a bit to our cars. Depending on group feedback, we may or may not return for subsequent dives.
Since this is an open water single tank dive, this event is for certified scuba divers only. Those who are not certified yet should do Discover Scuba or take the full certification course.

For post diving group social, there is Tim Horton’s, McDonald’s and other eateries right off the 400 at the Cundles exit which is the first main exit as you approach Barrie. It’s an easy entry back onto 400 on your way back home.

VERY IMPORTANT = all our group divers MUST complete a liability waiver form in advance which covers you for the entire dive season (download at link, sign and send back to us or bring it to your first dive). Divers who do not sign this liability waiver form will not be diving with our group this season.

Also, don’t be late as we will not be waiting for any latecomers after 15 minutes past the posted start time. We will start the dive without you. Best to get there early to get a parking spot.

If you are planning to come to this dive event, please indicate so in the comments section below

Scuba Dive At Cedar Hill Park
2025-07-19 10:30 - 14:00, 2025-05-24 10:30 - 13:00 (America/Toronto)
This is a shore dive site that rivals Humber Bay with a lot of attraction features to see for divers with easy shore access and parking is free. There is also opportunities to go deeper to 100 feet if desired but most features will be at shallower depths. Being in Georgian Bay, the visibility might be superior to what we normally get at Humber Bay and Welland.
Here is a video of what Cedar Hill Park diving is like;

Directions To Cedar Hill Park

turn left to Highway 6 N/ON 21
turn right on 2nd Avenue W and continue onto Grey Rd 1
follow Grey Rd 1 all the way to Cedar Hill Park

Since this is an open water single tank dive, this event is for certified scuba divers only. Those who are not certified yet should do Discover Scuba or take the full certification course.

VERY IMPORTANT = all our group divers MUST complete a liability waiver form in advance which covers you for the entire dive season (download at link, sign and send back to us or bring it to your first dive). Divers who do not sign this liability waiver form will not be diving with our group this season.
Also, don’t be late as we will not be waiting for any latecomers after 15 minutes past the posted start time. We will start the dive without you. Best to get there early to get a parking spot.
After our dive, we’ll go to Minh’s Vietnamese restaurant (or another place to be announced) for an optional dive group social lunch.
If you are planning to come to this dive event, please indicate so in the comments section below

Dive Sipidan Island From Seaventures Dive Rig
2025-06-04 12:00 - 2025-06-09 17:00 (America/Toronto)
Sipidan Island in the Borneo region of Malaysia much like Raja Ampat in Indonesia, is one of the most pristine dive locations in the world. The Sipidan waters are so protected that the Malaysian government requires special permits granted to only 200 or so divers per day there. So expect marine life in terms of both diversity and sheer numbers to be much higher here than anywhere in the Caribbean.
For this dive trip, we are staying at Seaventures which is the only former oil rig turned into a dive base in the world. This in itself makes this trip very unique in addition to being able to dive Sipidan and surrounding areas. In addition to boat dive trips daily, there is a house reef right underneath the dive rig which can be dived any afternoon as part of dive packages at Seaventures.
As expected for such an amazing dive location, the travel will not be straight forward compared to the typical Toronto to Caribbean destination trip. One would have make a long journey to Asia landing in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia with connections along the way. Then from Kuala Lumpur, a regional flight from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau in the Borneo Sabay region of Malaysia. From Tawau, there will still be a land transit as well as a boat transfer to Seaventures all provided by their staff as part of dive packages. So it’s a long journey to the dive rig.
I will be doing a five night dive package at Seaventures arriving June 4 and departing June 9, 2025. Anyone interested in coming on this big dive trip can contact me. I am also staying in southeast Asia for most of June and will not return back to Canada until June 29.
For more information along with photos of Seaventures and Sipidan, see their website (even if you are not going on this trip but just curious)

Scuba Dive At Humber Bay - CANCELLED
2025-05-17 10:30 - 13:00 (America/Toronto)
Today we’ll do an easy open water dive at a very convenient spot right in GTA where many dive schools use — Humber Bay West. Since it’s a shore dive, there’s no boat nor entry fees and the only costs will be any scuba gear rentals you need as well as your transportation to get there.
There are rope lines installed at the bottom to take us to a few things like a small sunken boat and a concrete swim through pipe among other items down there. Much of the dive is at around 20 feet deep until an optional drop off to 40-50 feet deep which we rarely do since there’s not much to see that far out. We only occasionally go deeper to help those going for their AOW get more deep water experience (by request only).
Here’s a video from one of our past Humber Bay dives.

Granted it’s not the Caribbean but it’s an easy (and cheap) open water dive close by for those who want some more diving experience. And since it’s a shore dive, it’s easy to get back to shore.
Since this is an open water single tank dive, this event is for certified scuba divers only. Those who are not certified yet should do Discover Scuba or take the full certification course.
VERY IMPORTANT = all our group divers MUST complete a liability waiver form in advance which covers you for the entire dive season (download at link, sign and send back to us or bring it to your first dive). Divers who do not sign this liability waiver form will not be diving with our group this season.
Also, don’t be late as we will not be waiting for any latecomers after 15 minutes past the posted start time. We will start the dive without you. Best to get there early to get a parking spot.
If you are planning to come to this dive event, please indicate so in the comments section below. If we do not see any names in the comments section by Friday, we might cancel this dive event since Clint has a four hour return drive trip to make in order to come lead dives at Humber.

Scuba Dive At Cedar Hill Park
2025-05-03 10:30 - 13:00 (America/Toronto)
This is a shore dive site that rivals Humber Bay with a lot of attraction features to see for divers with easy shore access and parking is free. There is also opportunities to go deeper to 100 feet if desired but most features will be at shallower depths. Being in Georgian Bay, the visibility might be superior to what we normally get at Humber Bay and Welland.
Here is a video of what Cedar Hill Park diving is like;

Directions To Cedar Hill Park

take whichever route makes sense from your location to Owen Sound
turn left to Highway 6 N/ON 21
turn right on 2nd Avenue W and continue onto Grey Rd 1
follow Grey Rd 1 all the way to Cedar Hill Park

Since this is an open water single tank dive, this event is for certified scuba divers only. Those who are not certified yet should do Discover Scuba or take the full certification course.

VERY IMPORTANT = all our group divers MUST complete a liability waiver form in advance which covers you for the entire dive season (download at link, sign and send back to us or bring it to your first dive). Divers who do not sign this liability waiver form will not be diving with our group this season.
Also, don’t be late as we will not be waiting for any latecomers after 15 minutes past the posted start time. We will start the dive without you. Best to get there early to get a parking spot.
After our dive, we’ll go to Minh’s Vietnamese restaurant (or another place to be announced) for an optional dive group social lunch.
If you are planning to come to this dive event, please indicate so in the comments section below

Scuba Diving At Shanty Bay = CANCELLED
2024-10-26 10:00 - 13:30 (Africa/Abidjan)

Open Water Dive At Tobermory TUGS
2024-10-19 11:00 - 14:00 (America/Toronto)
Today let’s try the Tugs shore dive at Tobermory since we already did the Lighthouse one earlier this summer. With a full tank, we should be able to see all of the wrecks at this dive site.

Directions To Tobermory Tugs Shore Dive

we’ll meet at The Tugs on Bay Street across from Grandview Motel near the harbour. There are four wrecks at depths ranging from 10 feet to 40 feet

Note that there will be parking charges at about $10 per hour so it has become cost prohibitive to dive both shore dive sites in a single day.

VERY IMPORTANT= all our group divers MUST complete a liability waiver form in advance which covers you for the entire 2024 dive season (download at link, sign and send back to us or bring it to your first dive). Divers who do not sign this liability waiver form will not be diving with our group this season.

Also, don’t be late as we will not be waiting for any latecomers after 15 minutes past the posted start time. We will start the dive without you. Best to get there early to get a parking spot.

If you are planning to come to this dive event, please indicate so in the comments section below and vote for your first choice on dive location for our Saturday morning.

Scuba Diving At Shanty Bay
2024-09-28 10:00 - 13:30 (Africa/Abidjan)

Brockville Scuba Diving Weekend
2024-08-24 09:00 - 2024-08-25 17:00 (Africa/Abidjan)
We are going to Brockville to dive the weekend there on the St Lawrence Seaway which is one of the best scuba diving locations in Ontario. The water is usually warmer than both Georgian Bay and Lake Ontario since it’s a river. This trip will involve one overnight stay in Brockville.
Divers are welcome to bring their non-diving family members as they can check out Brockville town or hang out at shore while we dive.
Trip Itinerary
Saturday August 24, 2024

depart during morning for Brockville to arrive for 2 pm shore dive
we will dive the Rothesay wreck which is 30 feet depth meeting right off the County Road 2 about 15 minutes east of Brockville
after the first dive, we will drive another 20 minutes east to Cardinal where the Conestoga wreck is which is an exciting 30 feet depth drift dive
at both dive sites you might see some big pike and muskie fish along with bass
after the two wreck dives, we will drive to Brockville and check into our hotels
meet for a group dinner and of course non-diving guests are more than welcome

Sunday August 25, 2024

check out of hotel and meet at Centeen Park which is just 1-2 blocks east of Dive Brockville Adventure Centre at 12 Water St – get there by 8:30 am to grab a parking spot either on the street or the small parking lot
if you need a tank refill, get it at the dive shop as soon as they open
we will do 1-2 dives at the sculpture park where there are about 30 life size sculptures underwater at 35-40 feet starting at about 9 to 9:30 am
after our dives we’ll go for a group lunch before driving home

These are some of the best shore dive sites in Ontario where the wrecks and sculptures are super interesting with opportunities to see some big fish. Since we’ll be doing only shore dives as a group, our diving costs will be minimal. Dive Brockville Adventure Centre also runs some boat charter trips (which are not cheap) and if you are interested, just go to Brockville either a day early or stay later. As a group, we won’t be doing these charter trips.
Here are some videos of past dives we did in Brockville.

Accommodations
In the past, our divers have stayed at the Travelodge, Days Inn and Super 8 in Brockville. The summer months are quite busy and room rates do go up towards summer so best to check for rates now and book your rooms well in advance.

VERY IMPORTANT = all our group divers MUST complete a liability waiver form in advance which covers you for the entire 2024 dive season (download at link, sign and send back to us or bring it to your first dive). Divers who do not sign this liability waiver form will not be diving with our group this season.
Also, don’t be late as we will not be waiting for any latecomers after 15 minutes past the posted start time. We will start the dive without you. Best to get there early to get a parking spot.
If you are planning to come to this dive event, please indicate so in the comments section below
