Oct 211 min read

Canada: Okanagan Lake v

BC | July 2024 |

I did my PADI dry suit certification training with Double Arrow Dive Company at Okanagan Center, BC, 60 minutes from my hometown of Salmon Arm, where I was back for the summer.

Getting dry suit certified is essential in BC. In 2021 I dived in Nanaimo in a 7mm wetsuit and it was ok, not too cold. But, ultimately you need the dry suit cert, and a dry suit. As there is no longer a dive center operating in Salmon Arm or Shuswap Lake, I needed to look to nearby Vernon or Kelowna as the fastest and easiest way to do the course. I found Double Arrow online, had a good connect and did the training the same week. They are a husband and wife team, good folks, very experienced divers, and provide excellent training and equipment.

This was my first time diving in a lake. Expectations were not high, obviously diving in a lake is not going to be like diving a coral reef in SE Asia. But overall, it was enjoyable, we did see more fish than I expected, and there are many POI in the water set up by and for the dive community. We even helped salvage a boat engine.