My Story

 

Thirty-nine years, and thousands of dives later, I still remember those precious first few minutes off the coast of Galiano Island like they were yesterday. What I found just off that short leap of faith, is what has kept me diving ever since.

 

The sheer amount of wildlife under our waters is incredible. I’ve seen hundreds of crabs crawling across the sea floor just off Ladysmith, had cleaner shrimp dance on my hand in Malaysia, swam with whale sharks in Utila, fell so deep that light was only memory, and dodged apex predators as galapagos, tiger and hammerhead sharks swarmed around us off Cocos Island. But it’s not just the creatures that fascinate me.

 

Our oceans – both close to home and further afield – have many other wonders to show us. Mile upon mile of pristine, brilliantly colored coral stretching out under the sea like a living Monet. Forests of what look like white Christmas trees shooting up from the seabed. Sheer walls, mysterious pinnacles, and unexplored labyrinths beckon. Caves like cathedrals and stalactites 30 metres high.

It’s endless.

 

The thrill of dropping beneath the waves on Canada's West Coast into the emerald deep - following the descent line to the wreck, and then seeing the HMCS Chaudiere loom out of the darkness is unsurpassable. At first everything looks grey – dull even, then you play your light across the surface, and barnacles and anemones that have grown on the massive hulk over the years spring to life in pinks, greens, yellows, blues – like an underwater rainbow. Wolf eels, giant pacific octopus', rainforests of sheltering giant kelp, elegant nudibranches, rockfish, dogfish and the occasional six gill . . .all wait discovery just beneath the surface.

 

It’s the sheer majesty and serenity of the ocean that appeals to me. The moment you leave the boat, you’re submerged into a different world, an utterly silent peaceful cerulean plane; my world becomes quiet down there and all the havoc of everyday life slips away in quiet surrender.

 

The deeper you go, the more you leave your cares behind. Your frenetic lifestyle is left on the surface, to be replaced by one where everything moves in slow motion with purpose and principal.

 

All that matters is you and your dive buddy: pointing things out, covering each other’s backs and communicating without saying a word.

 

Home.

 

Al Roemer

PADI MI 211474

 

Credentials

 

Master Instructor

Master Scuba Diver Trainer

IDC Staff Instructor

 

 

Certification Levels Taught

 

PADI Open Water Diver

PADI Advanced Open Water Diver

PADI Rescue Diver

PADI Master Scuba Diver

PADI Divemaster

PADI Rescue Diver

PADI Advanced Open Water

PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor

 

 

Specialties Taught

 

Wreck Diver

Deep Diver

Night Diver

Enriched Air Diver

Ice Diver

Underwater Navigator

Peak Performance Buoyancy Diver

Underwater Naturalist

Dry Suit Diver

Altitude Diver

Boat Diver

Digital Underwater Videographer

Digital Underwater Photographer

Project Aware Diver

AWARE Coral Reef Conservation Diver

Emergency First Response w/AED

(Standard First Aid equivalent)

Care for Children w/AED