Wet and Wild at Kelvin Grove

Lets go diving (and snorkeling)!

It's lake August and water is nice and warm! Join us for a snorkel, dive & picnic at Kelvin Grove Park. A favourite spot among scuba divers, with plenty to offer for freedivers and snorkellers also!

We will be meeting at 11:00 AM, with rising tide until 12:40PM which should offer us the best visibility. We are not expecting much current.

Scuba divers and freedivers are welcome, as well as snorkellers, and beach friends. After we are tired of the water, we will have a little picnic. Some of us might go for another dive afterwards.

What will I need?

Late August we expect temperatures of around 17 degrees in the water.

You will need the following kit:

Wetsuit/Drysuit with Hood - we recommend at least 4/3mm wetsuit for snorkelers and freedivers, and at least 6.5mm 2-piece for Scuba Divers. You can purchase or rent a hood if you don't have one. Thicker is always better as you can always flush it. Cold-tolerant snorkelers might get away with a 3/2mm wetsuit or a thick wetsuit but no hood.

Gloves and Socks/Boots - 3mm at least recommended

Mask and Snorkel - Any will suffice. On a budget you could use swimming goggles and a nose-clip in place of a mask for snorkeling.

Fins - Fins are recommended for getting around and safety. Fins allow you to easily fight current while snorkeling. Though we don't anticipate strong current, we cannot guarantee this.

What can I rent?

For snorkellers and freedivers, we recommend the following rental packages:

Sea Dragon Charters Freediving Package - $74.95 - fins, 7mm wetsuit \w hood, 2.5mm gloves, 2.5mm socks, mask, snorkel, weights.

Diving Locker Freediving Package - $80 - fins, 8mm wetsuit \w hood, 5mm gloves. You will need to buy socks, mask and snorkel

Diving Sports Freediving Package - $56 - fins, 7mm wetsuit \w hood, mask. You will need to buy socks, gloves and snorkel.

The freediving packages also include weights, but you can leave those if you don't plan to dive underneath the surface.

Rowands Reef Wetsuit Rental - $30 for 6.5mm 2 piece wetsuit. Hood and gloves rented separately for $10 each. Neoprene boots availabe to rent for $10. You will need to buy mask and snorkel.

Rowands Reef can rent 5mm neoprene boots for $10 which can help you avoid buying neoprene socks. Additionally IDC can rent Personal Gear Package (Boots, Glove & Fins) for $22.

Ocean Pro Divers in Surrey can rent mask and snorkel for $20.

All dive shops in metro-vancouver rent drysuits, tanks and all scuba gear.

Dive shops will want you to come over and get measured up for the rental kit prior to renting on the day of the event.

Discounts

Our Discord server has a whole section on gear rentals in metro vancouver with lots of recommendations and advice. We additionally have some discount codes at local shops (including some of the ones listed above).

Quality of life gear and advice?

Sandals/crocks/flip-flops - these can be worn over your wetsuit socks, preventing you from ripping holes in your wetsuit socks. Kelvin Grove has a gravel path we need to walk down to the rocky beach.

A large towel/poncho can help with changing in and out of the wetsuit.

Wearing swim suit under wetsuit helps with changing in and out of wetsuit in public.

Spare change of clothes. Just in case.

Water bottle is important as you can become quite dehydrated! Kelvin Grove does have running water.

Kelvin Grove does have 2 individual washrooms (gendered). These have space for changing, but are generally quite dirty. There is a wooded area around the parking and the park.

A snack for before and after the snorkeling will help you stay energised.

Camping stove with some tea bags is a good way to make some freshly brewed hot tea. We love ginger tea as it helps to increase body temperature. A thermos with brewed tea works great too!

If you are prone to sea sickness or car sickness, consider taking Gravol or other motion sickness medication. This might be particularly useful as we are diving between slack tides and so there may be some surf.

If you own a large thermos (1.5L or more) you are in luck. Fill it with hot water to flush your wetsuit before and after going in the water. It will help you warm up!

A beanie or warm hat to wear afterwards is good if you are prone to ear infections/problems.

A waterproof bag to put your wet gear in. Ikea bags or those reusable shopping bags work great.

Waterproof torch/light is useful for looking deep into cracks or holes. Kelvin Grove is famous for octopus which often hide in cracks!

A paddle board or a boogie board for visibility as well as having an extra place to rest and relax if you are snorkeling. It will need to be attached to you in some way otherwise it will drift away into the Ocean!

A whistle in case of emergency.

Wetsuit lube makes it easier to put on your wetsuit. A good alternative is water mixed with natural hair conditioner. Dive shops sell wetsuit lube also.

A gopro or other waterproof cameras to capture and share what you find!

Safety

We are a loosely organised diving and snorkeling community, rather than a club with staff and a safety team. You should plan for and consider your safety to be entirely your responsibility. We will be sending out liability release waivers closer to the event.

The diving and snorkeling is unguided, but many of us have been to the location before and can offer advice about specific areas.

We will encourage attendees to group up into buddy groups of 2-3 people and stick together during the event. We will also run a quick briefing about hazards in the area and what to be mindful of.

Do I need to be a strong swimmer?

No. Wetsuits are bouyant so you will naturally float on the surface. While snorkeling, you will also tend to be in shallow water. Likely you will be able to touch the bottom with your feet and walk out to the shore if needed.

Breathing through a snorkel can take some time to get used to as you must breathe solely through your mouth rather than your nose (which will be in the mask/clipped closed). You can pactice on land before the event!

You will be wearing powerful fins which make it easy to get around using just your legs. Being comfortable flutter, breast-stroke or even dolphin kicking will help you make the most of your fins.

As always we recommend staying within the range of your abilities. We can recommend shallow and safer areas you can explore if you are worried.

Anything else?

Carpooling, parking and other questions - We have a thread for the event on our Discord server. We recommend joining to coordinate details like carpooling. Kelvin Grove has plenty of parking, tends to stay quier, but its expensive. Carpooling can help save some cash and helps the planet!

Snorkeling/Diving Ethics - VQD is a no-exploitation and no-harm community. This means we do not exploit or harm the ocean in any way during our events. Please avoid touching, picking up or handing marine life. Just watch and enjoy!

In BC it is illegal to approach or interact with large marine mamals. If you see some curious sea lions, seals, dolphins or whales, you may be approached and interacted with by the animals, but you risk very serious legal consequences if you attempt to attract or approach these wild animals yourself.