A Farewell to Sidney

I would like to thank my friends and customers abroad for supporting my dive store Liquid Heaven for the last 3 years. I'm Closing the doors Wednesday 18th of June due to a very bitter, vengeful marriage that is now costing me my business. We have had 4 great years in business in Sidney because of a great diving location and huge loyal customer base we developed. Sidney Dive n Surf closed in February 08 and now we close in June 08. Just to let our readers now. The dive industry is a tough market to break. There is not enough comroderry amogst the dive stores and local township asscociations in the community. If local people continue to buy products online, or support the big box stores, dive stores or any other mom and pop stores will never exist to serve the local community. Try buying a tank of air on line.

For your information I was very saddened when Dan of Sidney dive n Surf closed his doors. Unfortunately people listen to rumours and that's sad. On the contrary I like Dan and his wonderful wife. I think he is a fun individual despite what differances we have in business we should have marketed together and made Sidney a pleasure destination for divers versus a town to avoid because of internal fighting amongst assocations, whale watching companies and simliar businesses. Dan and I had our differances, we sold different product, offered different services but we were on the same team. If the dive stores worked together in the local community more the whole area will profit dramatically.

The town of Sidney has no idea what they are doing as far as marketing and what a shame that is. No place to park, stiffling small business growth, too high rent and no team work, not to mention absolutely nothing for young people who are our future. I look at Sidney BC as a wheel, and diving, whale watching, eco tours, biking, sailing and boating, Snowskiing, west coast trail are all spokes or vehicles in which attract people to our gorgeous West Coast of BC. Think of Sidney as the above and below water experience, gateway to the Gulf Islands. People come here for the experience. Families that come from Europe and abroad will pay premium dollars for an experience. People always remember experiences, not dinners and hotel accomodations. We are crazy to think marketing Sidney as a BOOK TOWN that were going to attract people from the world to visit Sidney. People that visit are attracted to outdoor activities that Sidney offers. We attract these tourists here using these vehicles of outdoors activities (diving, whale watching, eco-tours) and then while they are here they eat at our first class restaurants, and enjoy huge choices of book stores and enjoy world class accomodations right on the waterfront. I don't know why people are not working together so all people could make a living and really support each other as community should. I moved here with the intention of giving to the community for the rest of my working life. I have tried to stay open long hours seven days a week to accomodate people and influence the local businesses to stay open later than 5 pm. I have seen so many good people lose their business locally in Sidney and it seems no one cares in the township, the powers that be. The mayor, and his crew along with the Chamber of commerce, Sidney Business asssociation should work as one unified voice thinking outside the box for the betterment for the community, not for personal gain. This is not a letter of hate but more of disbelief of what I have seen in 4 years being in Sidney as a resident.

I wish great success for the remaining businesses in Sidney. I hope I have influenced some people in Sidney in a good way. I know I will miss you all very much, all local busineses, friends and excpecially my diver buddies. I will miss the stunning veiws, the best restuarants anywhere. I have been touched and overwelhmed by you people supporting me through so much these last few months. You will be missed beyond understanding. You will soon hear of my next life adventure and desination shortly...............okay it's Mexico. I will talk to you all soon one day. Listen for my name because I know you'll visit me.

Your Scuba Instructor, your friend, your servant and your local Sidney merchant.

"Dream deep, Dive Inspired"

Darryll Harasemow

Padi GranDadi

New Dive Club in Victoria area

Good day divers. I hope all of you are enjoying a beautiful May long weekend in Sidney and area. The sun is out and man, so are the divers. Our store "Liquid Heaven"has been over-welmed this weekend with tourists wanting to dive and charter a boat. A new dive club called "Sunday Divers" has been run by local divers of the victoria and peninsula area has been very succesful in the last 2 months it has been operating. Divers that dive with this club have expressed their experience with the club as great dives, laughter and a great sense of belonging. Sunday divers have acquired a fine boat (just recently) I might add. They have the ability in taking out 20 to 26 divers at a time to the most favorite spots. Sunday divers accepts anyone to dive with them. It has no concern where your from and who your home dive store is. This is simply another way to bring divers from different stores together for the great cause of commradery and developing knowledge of dive sites, equipment and each other. Where else can divers get together to take pictures and just have a blast during the trip out and back from the dive sites listening to music? Everyone is aware that there are some clubs locally in Victoria that are in existance but not really active with a dive boat. There is another reasonably new dive club named South Island Divers who also have a very nice boat moored in the Brentwood Bay area right next to my Yacht where I live. They cater to divers from the Victoria area as well. It is so nice to see more clubs being established to service the large number of divers that are out there. Call Liquid Heaven for more information regarding these clubs and we'd more than happy to get you in touch with the dive club leaders. Put your alliances with dive stores aside and just have fun diving with fellow divers. Safe diving to you all. Have a great summer.

"Dream Deep, Dive Inspired"
Padi Grandadi

Victoria & Area Favorite Dive Spots

Good day to you all. Todays topic ..... Diving. It's always diving. I would like to share with you my favorite local dive spots: shore and boat dives. I have been asked by several visitors from abroad to name just a few that I like. Lets start off by just naming the sites as my web site will give you more detailed information on the sites themselves. In Sidney, we have the awesome beginner dive spot being Glass Beach /ReefBalls. Located just 150' from the back door of Liquid Heaven. We have approx. 750 reefBalls out front that have been placed in 10' to 35' of water over the last several years by many volunteers. Liquid Heavens' volunteers are today still placing the reefBalls one by one in exactly the location we desire them to go. We now have a ReefBall highway from the Bevan Peir to the 35' wreck and then to the Sidney Wharf. The marine life that it has attracted is very exciting as we see more life by the week. Ling Cod, perch, shrimp, eels, crabs of all sorts and sizes and many beautiful anenomeos. I dived here 25 years ago and have never seen it so wonderful. After you do your dive, enjoy the 3 headed shower in the parking area near the dive site to rinse off your dive gear. And hey, air fills for $5.

Just a hop skip and jump from Sidney we have the protected Saanich Inlet that offer many many dive sites within a few minutes walk from the parking areas. The sites that are most commonly used by divers are Moses Point, Deep Cove, Warrier point, Braemar, Dyer rocks (near Coles Bay), Henderson Point, Willis Point, Mackenzie Bight, The Lord Jim in Mill Bay just to name the most popular sites within 5 to 40 minutes a way from the store. These are all great beginner dive sites except maybe Willis point which drops off sharply into the depths and advanced experience is needed. Of course, anywhere you should dive, it should be with a buddy.

As far as boat dives, wow there are so many. First lets talk about the protected area of the Saanich Inlet. Some dive locations are Christmas point, the White Lady, McCurdy Point, the Cement plant, Marauders Wall, Senanus North, Senanus South, Sponges at Senanus, Dyer Rocks, Tozier, Patey Rock, Quibley Rock, Mackenzie Bight #3 and Whatcom Ledge.

As you move out of the Saanich Inlet you have Sansum Narrows, Cheery Point, Octopus Point, Burial Inlet and areas around Maple Bay are fantastic. If you head over towards Swartz Bay you have Arbutus Island, some nice diving around Peirs Island (which for your information use to be a type of prison/ concentration camp years ago).

Most dive stores can be of great importance to you for compass coordinates to areas of interest such as octopus dens or wolf eel caves. Most seasoned instructors from any store are always willing to share their special locations to all student divers that show an interest in diving new areas. As an instructor since 1989, I am still so excited to teach and dive in any chance I get. Liquid Heaven has a group every sunday that go out to new locations to scope out new areas of interest. The group is called sunday divers and they meet at Liquid Heaven every sunday at 9 am and depart for 2 to 3 dives. This group gets larger by the week and now has become quite a topic to write about. You can find them on facebook, like everything else. You should try make it one weekend and see for yourself if this is a group that would interest you. There are many groups throughout the Victoria area some through dive stores, some not. Their all good because they promote diving to the seasoned and beginners divers. I thank all the groups that are in existance in the Victoria region. As a diver, you want to find a store, a group or network of people that you will fit into to. Some like to wreck dive, some deep dive and some just like to explore different areas. Most people in the Victoria, Sidney area do not know that we have two world war 2 planes in our waters in close proximity to our store, a munitions dump as well and a few large natural wrecks that are rarely dived on. There is so much to explore here in Sidney, come on in and sign up for a course or weekend excursion..
More to come in the next few blogs...


"Dream Deep, Dive Inspired"
Padi Grandadi

Winter diving in Victoria BC

Hello divers and wanna be divers. This little blog is going to be a bit more directed to fair weather divers and wanna be divers so don't take offence to the comments given below. People, do you realize that the West Coast of British Columbia has the most awesome diving anywhere? We have more life per square inch than anywhere in the world and YES, we do have the colours. This is one of the most exciting places to dive anywhere. We have wall dives, natuaral wrecks, artificial wrecks and some very rare things only found here in the Sannich Inlet and certain parts of the BC West Coast: like giant sponges. The sponges for your information are unknown anywhere in the world. Sponges are fused strands of glass. They shatter like glass when touched, so don't touch. Theses giants are up to 12 feet across and are decades old. The ones at the Queen Charlottes are up to 9000 years old.

We have bragging rights to the biggest giant octopus of the world. We have six gill sharks, wolf eels, and huge array of fish species and anenomeos galore. It is an absolute paradise for photographers or vidiographers. I am quite amazed that the West Coast does not get its right to more coverage on TV and dive magazines. I guess for national photographers they like to see the ladies in bikinis in warm bathtub water versus Canadian divers all dressed up in drysuits. Diving here is not really a fashion statement, well maybe a little. Canadians are proud to be the best taught in the world, and we also love the better equipment that you can purchase her for extreme climate diving. Warm water divers have no advantage to us cold water divers. Their skills for the most part are not as polished as ours. Most Canadian divers have mastered skills like buoyancy and communication. I have dived since 1977 and I have been most places around the world and have yet to see a more beautiful place to dive than our West Coast. The waters of Victoria and surrounding Gulf Islands, the Barkely Sound, the northern tip of Vancouver Island offer every type of desired diving to the most experienced diver and novice diver in the world. We not only offer world class - diving but you can experience whale watching, eco- touring, lounge around some world class hotel and motels and of course, eat fanatastic food in some quaint little restaurants in these areas. The Victoria area is known as the most desired place to live in Canada with the most mildest climate in the country. We don't have the cold weather like Alberta or the Yukon so the diving here is not as cold as you think it might be. If you have a desire to learn to dive, come see us at Liquid Heaven. We have top quality gear and top quality instruction that is tailored to each persons ability to learn at his/her time. You will be looked after like your my own child in the lessons. We have special winter rates for beginner scuba courses and a special for Valentines this week for rental gear. Come on in for a coffee and discuss your future in diving with us. Don't save all your money to be taught in warm water destinations, you will be unhappy with those results as I hear it all the time from customers. I look forward in seeing you soon.

"Dream Deep, Dive Inspired"

Padi Grandadi

Darryll

Seasons Greetings

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of our customers. I hope all the best health and wealth for the upcoming year of 2008. Please drop in for refreshments and snacks during the day of the 24 Christmas Eve 9 am till 4 pm. We also will be doing a Christmas Day dive 11 am followed by a small party (yea, right small party) at my residence for those customers that do not family or friends or a place to go. Merry Christmas to all.I thank you all so much for supporting me for the last incredible year.


"Dream Deep, Dive Inspired"
Padi Grandadi
Darryll

Liquid Heaven is Honored to Receive a PADI 5 Star Rating

The PADI 5 Star Dive Center membership level is awarded to progressive PADI Dive Centers that excel in providing dive consumers with a full range of diver education programs, equipment selection, and experience opportunities and that actively promote aquatic environmental awareness. A PADI 5 Star Dive Center is active in its community presenting a professional image consistent with, or better than, the norm of the marketplace. These dive centers embrace the PADI System of diver education and are committed to providing customers with quality products, services and experiences.

Incorporated in Aug 15, 2005 Liquid Heaven Diving Experience Inc. is a PADI 5-Star Training Center. Liquid Heaven Diving Experience Inc. was awarded this prestigious award only after 1 1/2 years in business. PADI is the world's largest and most recognized scuba diver certification agency. A 5-Star rating means that you are taking advantage of our ability to issue the exclusive PADI 5-Star Certification Card. The PADI 5 Star Training Center membership level is awarded to progressive PADI Dive Centers that excel in providing dive consumers with a full range of diver education programs through the professional instructor level courses, equipment selection, and experience opportunities and that actively promote aquatic environmental awareness.

A PADI 5 Star Training Center is active in its community presenting a professional image consistent with, or better than, the norm of the marketplace. These dive centers embrace the PADI System of diver education and are committed to providing customers with quality products, services and experiences. The greatest benefit you receive, though, is service --- the kind of high quality and personalized attention to detail that we enjoy and keep in order to maintain our PADI 5-Star Training Center rating. Here are just a few specialty services we have to offer: Full technical bench with Flow Analyser for regulator service, On-site oxygen aroma therapy bar, full clothing line, video library of world dive sites, sunglasses and many warm water selections for snorkellers.

Code of Ethics

Liquid Heaven provides our customers with well maintained, new, state-of-the-art rental and instructional equipment. We ensure that our staff members provide you with honest, in-depth advice on the equipment we sell. Scuba Service Center - "Liquid Heaven Services What We Sell" means what it says: you'll be able to get fast, convenient, local service by manufacturer-qualified in-house service specialist on all the breathing equipment you buy from our dive center. We also maintain many other manufacturers’ equipment.

Pure Air Station

We have our air analyzed by an independent testing agency (twice as often as needed to provide the best air anywhere), a minimum of once every three months. In order to achieve and maintain this award, our air supply must always meet or exceed the CGA Type E regulations for sport diving standards. We have a 21cfm. Bauer compressor with an 18 horse motor capable of pumping 5500 psi. with 8 air storage cylinders.

Community Involvement

Maintaining a positive image for diving among the people in our community goes a long way toward assuring continuous community support for you and your diving activities. A positive image for diving also helps bring more people into the sport, which in turn helps create more diving opportunities for all divers -- including you. We publish newsletters, sponsor public diving events, promote diving education and activities, and offer Emergency First Response courses to the general public. Liquid Heaven is currently working directly with the founder of Canadian Reef structures placing cement reefballs on the ocean floor at the Sidney Waterfront, building it to be a world class playground for all level of divers. Darryll W. Harasemow also is a director of the Dive Industry of British Columbia working diligently in the marketing, web site data collection and sponsorship committees to assist in bringing people from all over the world to our west coast for the best diving in the world.

Educational Proficiency

This is your assurance that whenever you take a course from us, you can expect to be taught by highly qualified PADI Professional Instructor with many years of experience and receive a PADI certification. We teach our scuba classes using a multi-media classroom. We have a huge 44 inch plasma TV for your viewing enjoyment. Your Safety and Enjoyment is Our Job number One.

Classroom Time

Unlike many other PADI training centers which are only open during office hours, our classroom is open until late. You can also use this opportunity to watch all training videos and read some useful PADI manuals in your free time to familiarize yourself with all of it. Your Instructor Darryll Harasemow and PADI staff are always available for assistance after classroom time to guide you and help with whatever questions you might have.

Team-work

You will not be alone! In our PADI facility, you are not just another customer; you are part of the Liquid Heaven team, for the same reason and with the same goals! You will have the chance to make new life long friends or find a diving partners!

Complete and up to date PADI Library

We have them all ! All the manuals, all the videos and all the digital products, for Discover Scuba Diving right up to PADI Instructor Development Course! You are encouraged to use them to make your PADI training more meaningful, and to familiarize yourself with all the available PADI materials for learning or teaching PADI courses in the future.

Courses for Scuba

Good day to you all. Today's topic, Scuba Courses in beautiful Sidney BC.

We have people come into Liquid Heaven dive store everyday to shop for scuba courses. Everyone today that is interested in scuba lessons might think all courses are equal in all stores. This is absolutely incorrect. Each stores course prices are different, course materials vary and schedules are different. Just remember, you get what you pay for! Courses are not equal in all dive stores. You might have 2 or more Padi facilities in the same city that offer Padi beginner scuba courses, but they are indeed different. Padi (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) is the worlds largest scuba diver certifier. All the Padi facilities must adhere to strict Padi guidelines and standards to keep divers well taught and safe. The guidelines keep the dive store honest and reputable in the industry. Eg. Dive store instructors must have personal liability insurance. When conducting ocean dives, the instructor must have a dive flag in the water letting boaters know that there are divers in the water. The instructor must have oxygen and first aid supplies at the dive site, just to name a few things.

When students sign on the dotted line to enroll in a scuba course, they should be anticipating the following: An explanation on the course, academic, confined pool and ocean dives requirements, what equipment is provided, what equipment must be purchased prior to the course, and of course, an explanation and briefing on what is entailed in the ocean dives portion of the course. Liquid Heavens scuba beginner course consists of 5 to 7 classroom sessions, 5 to 7 pool sessions and and a minimum of 5 open water ocean dives. All of our courses are 100% guaranteed. Liquid Heaven believes in building great divers. So that's what we do: build great divers.

OPEN WATER BEGINNER COURSE

Confined Water Dives:

Confined water training serves two purposes. First, it establishes the basic skills that all divers need (or may need in the unlikely event of a problem)in a relatively low stress environment. Second, it reinforces and supplements Knowledge Development training by having student divers practice and apply what they learn from reading the manual and watching the videos. There are five confined water dives that correspond to the five knowledge development sections.

Knowledge Development:

The Knowledge Development portion establishes a foundation of principles, procedures and general information fivers need. There are five sections, each of which is normally accomplished through independent study with the PADI Open Water Manual and Open Water Diver Video, or with the Open Water Diver Multimedia. Liquid Heaven students answer exercise questions within reading, and complete a Knowledge Review for each section that you check for completeness and understanding. Students demonstrate mastery by completing the appropriate PADI Quiz, or, following the fifth section, a comprehensive (but easy) Final Exam, then they receive a brief elaboration during which you answer questions and apply the material to specific student needs and local environments.

Open Water Dives:

The Open Water Dives complete the integration of the principles learned in Knowledge Development and the skills learned in the Confined Water Dives by having student divers apply both in the open water dive environment. By practicing skills mastered in the Confined Water Dives, students continue to learn as they use these skills in the open water.

Scuba Equipment (NEW) is provided for Liquid Heaven students except for mask, fins and snorkel as this is considered personal gear and must be purchased and professionally fit for the utmost comfort and enjoyment prior to the course start up. We have the largest selection of masks on Vancouver Island and Liquid Heaven professionals will spend much time individually with you to get the best fitting mask for comfort. Please stay away from cheap knock off masks that appear to look the same as a name brand mask. They are not, they usually are made of inferior products that give a very short life span and usually leak. Stick with reputable name brands that have been in the dive industry for a long time. These name brands have exceptional warranties and life spans. You get what you pay for!

Accommodating Motor Skill Development Abilities and People with Disabilities:

To earn the PADI Open Water Diver or Scuba Diver certification, student divers must demonstrate mastery of each performance requirement. As in the confined water dives, we have the latitude to accommodate individual needs by modifying techniques to meet requirements. In the open water environment, we may need to assist individuals with physical challenges to accommodate access to boats, shore and other facilities.

PADI Open Water Divers are qualified to:
Dive with a buddy independent of supervision while applying the knowledge and skills they learn in this course, within the limits of their training and experience.
Obtain air fills, scuba equipment and other services.


Plan, conduct and log open water no stop (no decompression) dives when properly equipped and when accompanied by a buddy in conditions with which they have training and/or experience.
Continue their dive training with a specialty dive (Adventure Dive), in the PADI Adventures in diving program or in PADI Specialty courses.

Part of the Liquid Heaven PADI Open Water Diver course includes informing student divers that they are responsible for diving within limits of their training and experience. Students read and sign the relevant PADI Safe Diving Practices Statement of Understanding and by explaining to Scuba Divers the limitations of their certification. The minimum age for Open Water Diver or Scuba Diver Certification is 15, which must be reached by the end of the course. We also train individuals under the age of 15 according to the Junior Open Water Diver and Junior Scuba standards given by Padi. Student divers in the Junior Open Water Diver and Junior Scuba Diver courses must be 10 years old prior to the start date of the course.

Performance Based Training.

The PADI Open Water Diver course builds upon the concept of performance-based learning. This means student divers progress through the course demonstrating that they meet measurable learning objectives. The courses instructional design sequences these objectives from simple to complex, so students built upon previous learning as they progress. Attempting to learn something without mastering prerequisite objectives can complicate and interfere with development and development and learning. For this reason, students must satisfactory demonstrate meeting knowledge development and water skills performance requirements (objectives) in their required sequences. Satisfactory demonstration is called “mastery”.

This is done by building good safety practices as there are no short cuts in diving safety. If you do not like the way your taught in the course you will receive 100% refund on the course as mentioned earlier. Just because a person pays for the course and goes through 1 week of lessons doesn't mean they will get certified if they know they have struggled with skills in the pool or ocean. Liquid Heaven will allow that student to re-enroll in scuba lessons for FREE to continue to develop diving skills and good habits building confidence in the diver. We are so confident about the way we teach. We are the only dive store that offers this guarantee to assure customers that were here to educate with no short cuts. Dive stores we feel put to much emphasise on selling not educating. It is true that buying customers are very important to the dive store for survival. How a dive store gets rewarded with selling scuba gear is to build consistency with their patrons, is to offer more than gear sales. Offering International dive trips, daily local dives, diving projects and events, selling quality name brand scuba gear, quality instruction and honesty. Go visit all the dive shops in your area and you be the judge. Liquid Heaven could be your second home as it is for many. Come on in and have a coffee on us and talk to us about your passion of diving.

Liquid Heaven offers so much more than just gear sales. Were committed to excellence in education. Get to heaven while you're still around to enjoy it.

"Dream Deep, Dive Inspired"

Darryll

Padi GranDadi