It all starts with a dream….

I have always loved the water; my parents have often been heard telling the stories about our pool in the backyard.  As the story goes, by the time the winter cover was off, I was in the pool.  60 degrees, green with algae and filled with bugs, it never bothered me, it was all about the adventure under the water.  Over the years I have been a little slower in getting in, the water feels a bit colder and I’m a little keener than I used to be to jump in the shower to wash off the grime.  But despite my love for the water, and my search for adventures, diving is something I never looked into seriously… until now!

It wasn’t long ago one of my closest friends Scott returned from a trip to Hornby Island where he had an opportunity to swim with the sea lions, and see the abundant and spectacular life that lays beneath the waves, that no one ever truly experiences unless they are there, 30 - 60 feet under water.  After hearing of Scott’s experiences and seeing the photos and videos, the spark was set in place, the thought, however distant, that I too, could experience the vast wonders of life below the waves.

It has now been a few months, and that little spark has grow to a dream, a dream that I could combine my great passion for photography with my new found excitement for diving and capture the images of the deep.  Now through much research into Organizations, Certifications, Shops, staff, equipment, etc and the dive sites of BC, I have decided to get my training and certification through Ocean Pro Diving in White Rock.

Not only is the owner of Ocean Pro, Shannon Kozak, one of only 1200 people in the world to hold the designation of Course Director for PADI (the world’s largest dive organization) but the store staff are incredible as well.  Every staff member is very highly trained and each were willing to take all of the time necessary to ensure I had all of the details about equipment, how the program runs and how to get started.  Both of the staff (Ashley Graham and Stewart Hoyt ) that I met on my first visit to Ocean Pro emphasized one major key to the Ocean Pro philosophy, and that is the importance of not just great instruction but getting back in the water as much and as soon as possible following your course to really ingrain the knowledge and skills learned.  They did not try to get me to sign up for anything nor buy anything, I hadn't even committed to diving with them, yet much of the time spent was in inviting me to their free group dives, letting me know about the discounts on rentals available for those group dives and even encouraging my family to join them for the barbecues that occasionally follow the dives.  It was apparent that it was less about pumping through as many new divers as possible and more about introducing individuals to an amazing new world. Little time was spent trying to convince me they were the best shop to dive with... maybe they realize that the shop, and their attitudes, speak for themselves, and that is why, in early August I will start my Open Water course with Ocean Pro and they will get me “In over my head."