5 Year Anniversary, 12 Days of Rockfishmas, New Loyalty Program and much more....By Alisa S. Preston, Director and Master Instructor Still having fun after 5 years as Rockfish Divers! Photo credit: Ron DeVries While the business has actually been in operation for 15 years, it was 5 years ago today when Tyler and I shook hands, closed our eyes, and leaped into the icy cold December waters of Saanich Inlet as the new owners of Rockfish Divers. So much has happened in what appears to be such a short time, but in some ways we can hardly remember what our lives were like before Rockfish. However, the pace of our existence has been more akin to a roller coaster ride with all sorts of exciting ups and down, and it just keeps getting better. In small family businesses, continuing to be in operation after 3 years is a small miracle given the challenges of finances, relationships, economic stability, and unknown risks. Making it to 5 years is pretty special. What we are especially proud of is the values we outlined in our very first business plan are very much the core behind our continuing business today: Community
Our goal of integrating education opportunities, equipment availability both for rent and purchase, and offering lots of opportunities for fun and rewarding experiences was achieved early, and has been continuing to build ever since. However, we couldn't have done this without the incredibly supportive Rockfish Divers community that we are very thankful to have. This segues into our latest announcement! We are very excited to kick off this year's "12 Days of Rockfishmas" with a new initiative that gives back to our customers. For every dollar spent at Rockfish, 5% of the pre-tax value will be added to our new "Charter Bucks" loyalty program (used equipment purchases and dive travel external to Rockfish excluded). These funds can be applied at any time towards the diving or snorkeling charters available through Rockfish Divers, or towards dive equipment rentals (based on availability). With our enhanced charter program, and new Rockfish Divers Charter Membership, this is the gift that continues to give back over and over. However, our staff at Rockfish all agree that "Charter Bucks" is a really lame name! Please help us choose a better name for our new loyalty program. You can submit your suggestions through the entry page below for your chance at a special door prize to be announced at the end of Rockfishmas 2017 along with the chosen revised name for this program. From Tyler, myself (Alisa) and all of us at Rockfish Divers, Merry Fishmas and thank you for your continuing support. #RockfishDivers #Rockfishmas #ScubaDiving #DiveCharters #LocayltyProgram #CharterBucks #Community #Education #ProtectTheEnvironment #DiveCharterMembership #VictoriaBC #BritishColumbia #BestBCDiving
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Top Ten Dive Sites in the Greater Victoria AreaBy Tyler R. Preston, PADI Course Director I've held off writing this kind of blog for many years as I always knew the West Shore had great diving and without experience in that area, it would not be an accurate representation of the diving off Greater Victoria. Sometimes it's difficult to make Top Ten lists like this; doing a dive with 100' of vis and having a giant pacific octopus join you out of its den can skew personal experience. Should the next person come along in 5' of vis with little more than a sandy bottom, they may have a completely different dive. My personal opinion is that you need to do a dive many times so you can take the overall sum of all of your experiences in order to properly assess the site. Take the following with a grain of salt: some divers like wrecks, some like walls, some like the challenge of tech diving. Your opinion may differ from the next divers'........ this is the dive industry after all.
Honorable mentions: Beechy Head - I haven't done this site enough to experience its potential. It is very subjected to current, but as I was blowing across at a knot or so, the wall was packed with life - the 6 or 7 pacific sea nettles didn't hurt either (I avoided the sting, but they were incredible to see)! McCurdy Point - a Saanich Inlet favorite, especially when the vis is poor in the inlet. For some reason, McCurdy always seems to have the best visibility when everywhere else is like soup. The boot sponges along this wall are very impressive. Moon jelly dive - the Saanich Inlet near the mouth of Tod Inlet hosts millions of moon jellies in the summer into late fall. Accessible by shore or boat, diving with countless moon jellies is always good fun. Lunch at Portland Island - There is nothing like stopping for lunch and a pee break after diving in the Southern Gulf Islands, especially sites including the GB Church, Arbutus Island or Schute reef. I love pulling up on the beach and picking fresh apples for a snack in late summer, and driving home as the sun sets with spectacular colours. My list is never complete! Really, we could make this the top 20, or even 50, but you have to cap it somewhere. More extensive lists would definitely include:
#RockfishDivers #DiveCharters #Scuba #HopeSpot #SaanichInlet #SouthernGulfIslands #WestShore #RaceRocks #SeaLions #MacroLife #Ocean #Charters #Diving #GreaterVictoria #VancouverIsland #BritishColumbia |
AuthorRockfish Divers is focused on community and educating divers on safety and environmental issues that impact the aquatic ecosystem. If you have an idea for a topic you would like us to feature, please submit it through the link below and stay tuned. Archives
August 2021
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