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Dive Review of 1000 Island Pleasure Diving/Brockville Best Western in
Canada/St. Lawrence River, Rockport

1000 Island Pleasure Diving/Brockville Best Western, Aug, 2008,

by Jeanne & Bill Downey, PA, US (Top Contributor Top Contributor 54 reports with 17 Helpful votes). Report 4304.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 3 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 3 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 4 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments The Rockport area of Ontario is beautiful. The term “1000 Islands” is apt due to the numerous islands in the St. Lawrence River. Many have houses built on them; some houses take up almost the entire island. Owners build little light houses, suspension bridges, boat garages, etc. that make the properties unique—we even saw the world’s shortest international bridge (the same person owned one island in the U.S. and another, about 20 feet away, in Canada). The famous Boldt Castle on Heart Island is where we went through customs to dive a couple wrecks in the U.S.

We based our diving with 1000 Island Pleasure Diving in Rockport. Wayne, the owner, has four boats and was very accommodating, and his captains know what they’re doing. The most convenient place to stay would have been Cagier’s, right at the dock, but since that, plus other nearby lodging, was booked by the time we knew this trip was a “go”, we stayed at the Best Western in Brockville, about 25 minutes away. Brockville, one of the oldest cities in Ontario, has an active cultural schedule, some great restaurants, terrific views, shore diving, and Canada’s first train tunnel.

We made eight dives at 6 different sites in five days, including the Keystorm, the J.B. King, and the Kinghorn. The highlight was diving the wheel house, at a depth of 170’ on the Roy A Jodrey, a 640’ self unloader cargo ship. The wreck begins at 150’ and goes to 240’.

This is a great area for technical diving and learning to do it. Dive Technical Training Centre seems to be the center of all the action, with instructors, classes, and all necessary equipment. It was like walking into a tech divers candy store.

The St. Lawrence River is a great diving destination for several reasons. Its an easy drive from many locations (eight hours from our house in Pittsburgh), the water is clear due to the zebra mussels, weather is seldom a factor, boat rides are relatively short, the water is in the mid 70’s in the summer, all skill levels can be accommodated, there’s great support for technical diving, and there are many other interesting things to do in the area. The only possible negative might be the current, but it’s not a problem if handled properly.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Bahamas, Caribbean, Caymans, Cozumel, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Micronesia, Cocos, Galapagos, Socorro, etc.
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas choppy, currents
Water Temp 73-0°F / 23--18°C Wetsuit Thickness 7
Water Visibility 30-70 Ft/ 9-21 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions [Unspecified]
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 1 stars Tropical Fish 1 stars
Small Critters 1 stars Large Fish 1 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments [None]
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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