“My passion is exploring historic shipwrecks”

I grew up underwater. My dad owned a dive shop, so I had my own tiny oxygen tank at the age of four and was diving in the Caribbean by the time I was 10. I took over the business in 2012, and when I’m not manning the shop, I’m probably exploring Second World War–era shipwrecks in the Pacific, or maybe I’m 400 feet down in a tea-coloured lake in Bon Echo Provincial Park. Of all my favourite dive sites, however, Tobermory, a harbour town on the Bruce Peninsula, is the one place that draws me back.

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Nicknamed the scuba diving capital of Canada, Tobermory is famous for its clear blue waters, which are part of both Georgian Bay and the northern reaches of Lake Huron. Tobermory’s limestone bedrock contributes to the incredible visibility—that area is far clearer than the green, murky waters of Lake Ontario. For pure geological wonder, there’s Bad Neighbour Rock, a massive limestone formation that plunges 300 feet below the surface. When I bring my diving students to Tobermory, their minds are blown by the quality of the water—and by how cold it can get early in the season!

Among scuba divers, Tobermory is best known for its shipwrecks—no two are the same. One of the most famous wrecks is the Arabia, a three-masted 130-foot-long barque that went down in the late 1800s. Some people think it looks like a ghostly pirate ship. The anchor chains cascading down from the bow are still intact, making that particular dive a popular choice for underwater photographers.

Another incredible wreck is the Forest City, a wooden steamer that sank in 1904, when it ran into an island in the dense fog. It lies on a slope from about 60 to 150 feet, so you can explore different levels as you swim.

Many ships from this era never made it back to port, and diving down to the Arabia reminds me of how resilient those sailors had to be. They faced so many dangers—sudden storms, thick fog and treacherous rocky shoals—without the navigational aids we have today.

Even after nearly 30 years of diving in Tobermory, I never know what I’ll find—maybe a new detail on an old wreck. Each dive promises an adventure.