Dan's Dive Shop, Inc.
329 Welland Ave. L2R2R2 Saint Catharines, ON, Canada

One of the great things about diving a shipwreck is that no 2 wrecks are the same. The way it sank, the features of the build, the artifacts inside (if any), the environment, the depth and dive planning that goes into diving some of the bigger, deeper, more logistical aspects of diving far away or remote sites. Here’s a pic of the boiler of the Alice G. Tug in 20’ of crystal clear Georgian Bay Water in Tobermory, ON. This is a popular site for Open Water Divers, snorkele...rs and a great place to do a shakeout dive if you haven’t been in the water in a while.Some of the ships we dive are like a warm fuzzy blanket, you can dive them any time, it’s familiar, it’s fun and easy, while other shipwrecks you do are intense, cold, low visibility, strong currents, deeper, etc. Every diver can pick their dives based on comfort level and experience, but diving shipwrecks is a phenomenal adventure and if you want to see different sites, you have to make the commitment to getting out and seeing all the good wrecks in your range of certification and experience and maybe, just maybe, you’ll find out about another shipwreck that peaks your curiosity, so you can pick a goal for yourself, train up and explore the next goal. Setting goals as a diver is important to keep the interest level high and to give you a training path moving forward, whether it’s wrecks, caves, reefs, pictures or creatures. There’s always a next best dive waiting for you. #scubadiving #goals #wreckdiving

We had a fantastic day diving off Humber Bay yesterday. It was so nice to have some of our favourite dive friends join us and see some of our Toronto friends as well. There was a great turn out of Divers on a beautiful windy day in Ontario. Water was crystal clear, we cleaned up a lot of garbage filing several sacks with trash and shared some great laughter and fun. We definitely needed a fun day like this to recharge. The Covid times have worn us all down, so it is so important to get out de-stress with a dive or another activity you enjoy. Diving for us just realigns the body and the mind. #destress #scubadiving #scuba

Have you ever dreamed about having a dive computer that was a smartwatch? How about a smartwatch you loved but wished it had scuba diving functionality? DDS has made an official commitment to @garmin to bring you their amazing line of dive computers and some of their other accessories and products. GPS, functionality, running, swimming, golfing, scuba, free diving, trimix, rebreather, air integration, compass, altimeter, pulse oximeter, Bühlmann ZHL-16C Deco Algorithm, no lockout, and a ton more. #garmin #scubadiving #smartwatch

Have you ever swam with the biggest fish in the sea? Even though whalesharks are name whale they aren’t a mammal but in fact the biggest fish with sizes as big as 62’! Some of our staff have been lucky to swim with them, while others have been denied. Would you be as awestruck as us?... Photo by @jjosiak Today is his birthday. Happy Birthday Jim we love you! Wikipedia says: The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of 18.8m (62ft).[8] The whale shark holds many records for size in the animal kingdom, most notably being by far the largest living nonmammalian vertebrate. It is the sole member of the genus Rhincodon and the only extant member of the family Rhincodontidae, which belongs to the subclass Elasmobranchii in the class Chondrichthyes. Before 1984 it was classified as Rhiniodon into Rhinodontidae. #whaleshark #sharks #whaleshark

If you love sharks you’ll love this article. For some new info, for others a great review of why sharks are awesome and how people can be less awesome at times: https://www.theage.com.au//what-do-sharks-want-and-why-do-

How’s everyone enjoying their lockdown? We’ve been updating our hours lately. Currently we are open Monday, Thursday, Saturday 12-4 but always best to check our hours on google or message us on here or google my business. It’s been a crazy year. Just happy we get to update out dive theme and use it again. Definitely one of our favourite themes ever. Don’t worry, next years is already in the works. Maybe it’ll be entitled 28 Days Later.... Happy New Year to our DDS Divers near and far. We miss you

Sending out warm hugs and the most loving thoughts to all of our DDS divers, family, friends, we are thankful for you for such a uniquely wonderful and epic year of diving. While not everything panned out the way we all expected, you made this one of the strongest years ever, and we sold more gear and drysuits than ever before! Thank you for taking a chance and embracing more local diving. You weren’t disappointed and when we take you on the better wrecks and more iconic trip...s it will all make sense even more why we dive here so much....its the best. Thanks to all the people who supported your diving addiction with gift cards and awesome presents too!! Even Santa Diver Dan was impressed. We are so looking forward to seeing you soon. Hours are changing with recent lockdowns. We will be available on call and have a few days a week in store. Hours will be posted soon. Stay safe, and thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Without you there would be no DDS and we love that you keep us near and dear. Now is the best time ever to bring regs, tanks, bcds, drysuits and more in for service....we have time and apparently do will you. Merry Christmas and Thanks to You all!!!!!

From one small business to another, as we go down into lockdown it’s important to remember to think about the hero’s in your community that support community outreach efforts and make your area a better community. One of our most favourite local businesses is FightFit in St Catharines. If anyone’s looking for dumbbells to stay strong like bull, FightFit has black steel and and polished steel finished ones available in all populars sizes as well as weighted bars to use in th...e interim while we go back into lockdown. For a last minute gift or present for yourself, these weights are $2 a pound and delivery is quick. Help support small business buy local. Beautifully weights made in Canada support local. Email: [email protected] Order today.

Between the high wind storm last weekend and the snow yesterday these drysuit students sure got the full benefit of their drysuit course! Well done - enjoy the extended dive season in warm comfort. Thanks to our DMT Aaron for providing support!

...and in other news, Saturday Nov 7 is underwater selfie day! PADI and GoPro are challenging divers to share their best underwater selfie (or video selfie) to put a spotlight on our connection to our lakes and ocean. Post on Saturday and tag #PADI and #GoPro with #underwaterselfieday or your social media of choice and you’ll have a chance to win $2,000 US and three new GoPro HERO9 cameras! ... This Saturday Nov. 7 make a statement with a selfie (on FB, IG or twitter) that shows your love for adventure and the underwater world. For details check out: https://www.padi.com/underwaterselfieday

With travel limited and pool access currently not possible, we’ve had to cut hours and staff. Starting 11/24 we will be closed Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s, open Thursday, Friday 12-6, Saturday 9-5, Monday’s 12-6. While These Hours are in place, we are and have always been Open By Appointment Any Time We Can. We offer After Hours Drysuit Fittings, Custom Wetsuit Fittings, BCD/Regulator/Computer Fittings and More. Please Call or Email us if you can't meet us during regular busine...ss hours (but please give us notice, as we will be teaching more in open water). Subscribe to our Newsletter List as our Black Friday and End of Season Promotions are coming your way a matter of hours. Don't Miss Out and maybe you'll be able to meet new DDS puppies like Grace's Joey (pictured here) or Cooper the Pooper (Carl's awesome doggy) if Carl's getting tanks filled for some diving adventures.

Finding some time to finish editing some dive videos and found this treasure in the process of the C.B. Benson which is a great wreck off Gravelly Bay, Lake Erie in 75ish feet of water. She was a 3 masted barquentine schooner that faltered in a storm. The Benson is a great wreck for divers advanced certed and beyond. Have a peak: https://youtu.be/Uj92FJxLwRY

Get drysuit certified and stay warm and dry even as the weather cools. Drysuit diving is a great way to extend your dive season into the colder months and to keep expanding your diving experiences. Shore dives and many dive sites generally have improved visibility as the weather cools down and when you're warm, you're more comfortable and can enjoy the dive even more. Sign up for a drysuit course - October 24th or November 15th! Call the shop today to grab your spot!

You may notice our website is posting a alert saying the connection isn’t private. We are simply transferring our SSL certificate to a different host, so the site may be inoperable for tonight. Thanks, The DDS Staff

Apparently there are 2 grades of diving helium. Diving helium and Technical Diving Grade Helium :) nice to have some better priced helium for our technical divers #helium #mixedgas #trimixdiving #technicaldiving #trimix #helitrox #heliair #ddsdivers #dansdiveshop #tdidivers #nauitec #techdiving #gasup #diversedge #canadasfavouritediveshop #ccr #rebreather #closedcircuit #penniesaglass #roadtrip #expedition #explorer #roadtrippin #letsgo

Some pics from our long weekend diving the Northwind wreck out of Little Current Ontario. Thank you to Captain Rick Lymer for taking great care of our divers, to Ian Morley and Nikki for their hospitality and sharing their local knowledge, for Kalea being the best dive doggy and to Aaron Speare and Grace for some photos from their dives. It was a fantastic weekend!

Christmas at DDS today wow! Lots of cool new stuff from a lot of our favourite brands. Which colour of the new wetnotes do you like best? Flare EXP is lighting it up, Tall backplates, carbon fiber sta’s!!! Lots of new fourth element and Santi undies, Some custom BCD’s, lots of oxygen analyzer’s and so much more. #halcyondivesystems #fourthelement #fourthelementdiving #analox #santidiving #divegear #newtoys #scubagear #newgear #light #lux #shoptillyoudrop #lumens #divelight #ddsdivers #dansdiveshop #canadasfavouritediveshop

Congrats to our very own Matt Mandziuk as today is his 20th year anniversary as a TDI technical diving instructor! Many students over the years have learned the skills to enjoy longer, deeper and more challenging dives in a variety of underwater environments with his instruction. Here he is today up in northern Ontario right now with a group of our divers. The fun never stops!

Just over a week left for you to take advantage of the DUI Drysuit Trade in program. Trade in your old drysuit or wetsuit and save some $$ off a new beautiful DUI Drysuit. The DUI Trade-Up Program is Ending Soon! The special that has been offered for many years is coming to an end on September 30, 2020. Take these last months to take advantage of the discount. You can get up to $350USD off your new Premium DUI drysuit or up to $150USD off your new Yukon or Cortez. Don't wait... until it is too late! DUI DRY-2-DRY TRADE-IN PROGRAM Trade in ANY used, intact and serviceable diving drysuit and receive the following... DUI WET-2-DRY TRADE-IN PROGRAM Trade in ANY used, intact wetsuit and receive the following... $100 CREDIT towards a: CF200X / CF200SE / CLX450 / FLX EXTREME / TLS350 / Yukon II / Cortez Stop in and see us this week, winter dive seasons approaching, stay warm, stay happy, dive dry. THE FINE PRINT * Trade program credit not eligible in conjunction with any other discounts or offers. * Only one (1) wetsuit OR one (1) drysuit may be traded per new drysuit. * Trade Programs valid in the US and Canada. DUI will not be issuing shipping labels for suits sent in for trade. * Key People are eligible for trades at 50% of above stated credit values. * The trade suit must be received by the ship date to receive the discount. * Qualifying wetsuits and drysuits only: 7mm (or thicker) wetsuits, or intact and serviceable diving drysuits. * The trade program applies only to new suit orders. * Public Safety suits (CXO, H2O Ops, TLS Public Safety) may be eligible at dealers discretion. * Offer Expires September 30, 2020.

Good times doing some wreck diving this weekend out of Picton with a great group of divers! Thank you to Captain Helen Cooper and Captain Rick Lymer for taking care of our divers as always! And thanks to Jonathan Zalger for some underwater pics from a couple of the wrecks - the Annie Falconer and the Katie Eccles.

Fun times diving Penetanguishene wrecks this weekend. We got blown out today, but 4 solid dives yesterday makes it all worthwhile #scubadiving #scuba #diving #shipwrecks #penetanguishene #wreckdiving #georgianbay #georgianbaylife #feedtheneed #roadtrip #summer2020 #summer #diveboat #ddsdivers #dansdiveshop #canadasfavouritediveshop @ Canada

BARE VIP Drysuit Fitting Event with DDS Join Us this Saturday for a VIP Drysuit Fitting Experience with DDS as we help you choose a great BARE Drysuit for your recreational diving or technical needs VIP Style with some FREE manufacturer incentives. A well-performing drysuit conforms to the shape of your body. But it can be hard to find the perfect fit, so we decided to offer you an opportunity to receive a bespoke fittingVIP style.... Interested? To pull the trigger, head down to see us on Saturday, August 8, for a VIP fitting and get some perks and expert advice. We sell more drysuits than anyone and we offer the best knowledge, information and service. All drysuit purchases will come with a Free SB Duffel Bag, 5mm Gloves or 3mm Gloves, a 9mm Elastek Dry Hood or 7mm Ultrawarmth Dry Hoodover $200 value, yours for free! To reserve your spot, call or email us and schedule your appointment today. Appointments will be first come, first served, so dont hesitate to get on the schedule and lock in your spot.

Congratulations!!! Great day completing junior and adult open water checkouts with a great bunch of future DDS Explorers now the real fun begins. We are so fortunate to have so much diving to offer people around Ontario, East and West coast snd the rest of the country. #ddsdivers #dansdiveshop #newlycertified #paditv #openwater #openwaterdiver #openwaterdiving #scuba #diving #divers #futureexplorers #underwaterworld #divelife #lifestyle #livethelittlethings #enjoythelittlethings #trim #buoyancy #backplate #doitbetter #doitright #canadasfavouritediveshop #welcometotheparty

For those of you who missed our latest newsletter because youre not a subscriber You should subscribe to our newsletter because they are amazing and we dont bombard you with them every single week its more like a quarterly or by monthly sort of endeavor. The latest one has some updated trip information. Some new gear. Some updated course dates and much more. Coming up we have a couple of available spots for our Picton weekend, diving the finest shipwrecks in any great la...ke, as well as Tobermory and 1000 Islands. Have read, get involved! https://mailchi.mp/dansdiveshop/summer-time-dives

Did you see the news that @diveshearwater revealed today? The new Shearwater Peregrin dive computer is a advanced nitrox recreational dive computer that offers features and quality a cut above the rest just like their other offerings. We have a pile of them coming, who wants one? #newtoys #divegear #shearwaterresearch #peregrine #divecomputer #newgear #nitrox #recreationaldiving #advancednitrox #eyecandy #youwantthis #checkitout #ddsdivers #dansdiveshop #getyours #canadasfavouritediveshop #pricepoint #pricedright #comeseeus

Up and down the 401, Hwy 6, and QEW makes for some fun times lately. Wheres everyone diving this weekend? Do you want a great dive course? Specialty? Technical Class? We are mobile and can come to you very easily., or meet us somewhere awesome too. Our trips are a great way to meet some new potential team members that you can learn and improve you skills with together. The calendar is pretty full. Lets make you a better diver this season.

Just a heads up as of tomorrow youll need a face mask to enter the shop. We can also sell you dive flag or Halcyon ones :) both were out of more coming.

Nothing says awesome like a buttload of new gear. Huish boxes are some of the happiest boxes of scuba in the world as they have Hollis, Oceanic, Zeagle, Stahlsac, Suunto, BARE and Atomic Aquatics. What would you want most out of a big box of goodness like this?? #newgear #divegear #whatsinthebox #huishoutdoors #atomicaquatics #oceanic #hollisgear #suunto #stahlsac #zeagle #baresports #presents #whowantssome #comegetsome #wetsuits #drysuits #regulators #bcd #divecomputer #bag #masks #fins #dorkel #dansdiveshop #ddsdivers #santacameearly #canadasfavouritediveshop

Stunning photo of the Birmingham crane off of Oakville. Its a fantastic technical dive in 145 and visibility like most days on Lake Ontario often exceeds 100 of water clarity. This is why we dive local, to see amazing sites like this. Train up with us and be the best diver in the water you can be. Repos by @devan_rawn #wreckdiving #birmingham #crane #lakeontario #scuba #diving #explore #wedivelocal #divecanada #greatlakes #bestdiving #dansdiveshop #ddsdivers techdiving #technicaldiving #nauitec #divedry #coldwaterdiving #underwaterphotography #underwater #underwater_world_ #scubadiverslife #twintanks #canadasfavouritediveshop

Happy fourth of July to our favourite USA DDS Friends and Divers. We miss you and look forward to some above and below fun and adventures together soon.

Its a different sort of Canada Day this year but it only makes us appreciate this great country even more! HAPPY CANADA DAY EVERYONE from the gang at Dans Dive Shop!

We added a bunch of new dive computers to rental as customers have been raving about the DeepBlu Cozmiq + Gen 5 computers we sold them. We figured youd like big numbers and a full colour display. Have you seen these units yet? Affordable and fun. Rec, tech, free dive, bluetooth and firmware upgradable = no brainer rent one today, buy one tomorrow from us. #newtoys #divecomputer #divegear #newrental #air #nitrox #freediving #mixedgas #trimix #greatvalue #affordable #testdive #rentals #trybeforeyoubuy #ddsdivers #dansdiveshop #canadasfavouritediveshop

One thing for sure, everyone has been chomping at the bit to get back to diving. Weve been selling regs, tanks and BCDs every single day weve been back and a ton of drysuits. 9 suit measurings in the last week! Thank you for supporting the cause and shopping local @dansdiveshop we appreciate everything you do for us. Those who have gear dive more. Those who dont dive rarely. Knowledge, Skills, Equipment and Experience the 4 things a diver needs. #ddsdivers #dansdiveshop #scubagear #newgear #oceanicworldwide #atomicaquatics #huishoutdoors #buythebest #dive #scubadiving #diveshop #quality #madeinusa #doitright #doitbetter #regulator #letsgodiving #divelocal #wedivelocal #greatlakes #shipwrecks #tobermoryontario #thousandislands #llakeontario #lakeerie #letsgo #canadasfavouritediveshop

Busy weekend for the shop with charters on Lake Erie and the Tiller, an open water class, and Matts advanced class. Thanks to captain Rick Lymer for taking good care of our divers as always aboard the Runtime and thanks to all our great divers and students for spending the weekend with us. Congrats to the newly minted Open Water and Advanced divers who successfully completed their training as well! Welcome to the DDS Dive family.

Weather looks great for boat diving Saturday in Lake Erie Sites TBD. 1 spot left for morning Afternoon and Night Dive has space... Sunday Tiller 1 spot morning, 1 spot night dive. Sign Up Now.

Dive Charters are resuming this weekend socially distanced 4 Divers Max! Lake Erie Wrecks Saturday morning, afternoon and a night dive option. Fathers Day Tiller Wreck morning, afternoon, night dive option. Sign Up Now! Even more limited space than normal. Lets Go!!

So we didnt do a Mandalorian themed dive schedule this year but we think we did one even better suited for the times. Anyone ever see 28 Days Later? Were living it right now. It was 68 days from lockdown to reopening. What do you think? Did we hit this one out of the spectatorless ballpark or what? ... Our latest newsletter dropped last night. Great responses and charter sign ups. Join us in Lake Erie and Lake Ontario next weekend as we socially distanced dive charter it up. Maximum 4 divers per charter. Scheduled am, pm and night dives both days.

Looking for new areas to dive can be a lot of fun. Heres one of our favourite Northern Ontario sites Moose Mountain (whispers Moose Mountain) its an old mine good for open water, advanced, technical training. Located in the Greater Sudbury region, the site offers great visibility most days. Watch out for black fly season they can be nasty. #scuba #wedivelocal #localdiving #shorediving #divedry #ontariodiving #shorediving #shoredive #openwater #techdiving #sudbury #ddsdivers #exploreyourworld #dansdiveshop #canadasfavouritediveshop

No power closing early

The only people who understand how bad the world gets are the people who have to clean it up. Underwater that job is sadly ours. On the shoreline and beaches it should be everyone. Do your part moving forward to clean up your playgrounds above abd below. Parks, ditches, streets, sidewalks, yards, etc. If you see people dumping garbage, tossing wrappers, masks, gloves, cans, etc. Nicely point out that its unacceptable and ask them to pick up their mess or report them. Licen...se plates are a wonderful thing. https://www.scubadivermag.com/covid-19-masks-and-gloves-li/

If theres one thing were excited for this season other than just getting in the water on some great dives, its the fact that we are going to be able to really focus on developing our core group of newer divers through a lot of skill development sessions and opportunities as they start climbing the ladder of experience and certifications and logging many many hours of underwater time. Join us for some Foundational Skill Development classes like NAUI NTEC, Intro to Tech, Advanced Nitrox/Deco, Wreck, Deep, Sidemount, CCR or Pscr, DPV, Self Reliant (Solo Diver), Trimix and more. We are working on reshuffling the last 2+ months of classes and will be working to get everyone back in the water, as well as introducing the new wave of DDS Divers to the greatest experience in the world.

Join us today as we share with you one of our most fun and exciting dives as we take you to the Navy Hall to the Lower Niagara River in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Big fish, several depth ranges, the different ways to dive the site and a great tour by Cave/Technical/Rebreather Explorer and Instructor, DDS Owner Matt Mandziuk as he walks you through Navy Hall its a wonderful dive site. This will conclude the current series of videos with our next series in the works on shipwrecks o...f Lake Erie focussing on the Eastern Basin of Lake Erie out of Port Colborne. Discover Local Diving with DDS at Navy Hall and all of the areas local dive spots in the very near future and thanks for all the engagements and shares. Lets go out HOT!! Love, Share and share some more

Join us today as we share with you one of the more unique local dives in the Upper Niagara River at Frenchmans Creek. This Niagara River Shore Dive features some shipwreckage belonging to a ship of 1800s era lineage if you swim upstream, or you can drift downstream towards the Frenchmans Creek Barge which we also featured recently. Join a beard in the works Diver Dan as he shares some information about one of his favourite Local Shore Dives. Please Share, Please Like, or Love.

It feels so good to be Open Again officially. We are having a super fun and productive day at DDS with a lot if pickups and drop-offs of gear for service, loads of gas fills and a lot of packages going out to you guys whove been supporting the shop online. We are having some fun socially distanced adventures for sure. Hope to see you soon

Join us today as we share with you one of our favourite local dives in the Welland Recreational Waterway. Our Favourite Summer Student from the past 2 seasons and Cavern Diver Lucas Shares with you some information on his favourite Welland Shore Dive. Just South of the Welland Swing Bridge is the Ontario Street Bridge. This dive has some fantastic features, like old machinery from the bridge, cars, wood, cables, and a cool series of dock pilings with often times fabulous Visibility. Discover Ontario St. Bridge with us this summer. Please Share, Like or Love

Join us today we share with you one of our favourite local drift diving sites, the Frenchmans Creek Drift at the Fort Erie International Train Bridge, as DDS Carl outlines a little bit about this great site. This site is a great dive for divers of any skill level and is often times a Graduation Dive Spot for our Open Water Students when they finish their PADI Open Water Diver Class. Maximum Depth is around 22, there are often some big fish, bottles and a gentle ride with a dramatic entry and start as you do a GIANT Giant Stride Entry to start the dive. Please Like, Love and Share