Skip to content

Underwater adventures a passion for dive shop owner (16 photos)

Meet the 'gentle giant' who can help you learn to scuba dive

Editor's note: This story originally ran as part of NewmarketToday's What's Up Wednesday feature. To find our What's Up Wednesday stories about Bradford West Gwillimbury businesses, click here

*************************

Wannabe scuba divers take note, if you have ever wanted to unleash your inner mermaid and learn to swim in fins, you don’t have to live near a body of water to do so, you can learn right here in Newmarket.

The local scuba diving school, Adventure Sports Newmarket, offers an introductory class, Discover Scuba, Mondays from 6 to 9 p.m.   

Classes are taught by shop owner/operator and dive master Jody Smith.

Smith became a certified professional diver in the early 1990s and decided to buy the shop from the previous owner six years ago in the hopes of making a career out of the sport he loved.

The shop’s website identifies him as a “gentle giant” who feels most at home at the bottom of a lake or ocean.

His wife, Jill, shares their story on the website, “And what an adventure! The hours were long for a small business guy, and Sam and I seldom saw Jody at all. He worked seven days a week, and didn't come home before we went to bed. I worked and drove our son to his activities in the evening, and sometimes we visited Jody at the store.”

While he still pours much of his time into the business, he now has full roster of staff, and his wife and son join him in diving adventures.

“Through the shop we have been blessed with some pretty amazing diving experiences — swimming with whale sharks, watching sea turtles hatch, helping with ocean conservation efforts, diving in cenotes and awesome shipwrecks, and so much more,” writes Jill, also a professionally certified diver and skilled underwater photographer with a specialty in sharks.

“We never expected our lives to take this adventurous turn, but we are so grateful it did.”

Smith has accumulated well over 1,000 dives worldwide over the years of enjoying diving recreationally and as a professional instructor.

Adventure Sports has its own Divers Club, with about 60 members, that plans frequent annual trips to exotic and unique locations with beautiful bodies of water to explore.

Local divers of all levels of experience looking for a place to ply their passion can join the Tank Jockeys club, which offers weekend and day trips throughout the summer season to locations such as Tobermory, Brockville, Kingston and Waome, as well as more exotic and adventurous trip abroad, including the Florida Keys, Cancun/Cozumel, Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, and Indonesia.

“It’s a really fun sport to get into, especially if you like to travel,” Smith said, revealing his taste for adventure.

“I’ve had dolphins swim side by side with me, sea turtles, sharks,” he added.

“We have a video actually, we were down in Indonesia a couple months ago, and the dive guy was swimming past a sea turtle and he put his hand out and the turtle high fived him,” he said of a most recent memorable experience.

Smith is equally as passionate about sharing his love for the sport as a teacher.

In the Discover Scuba class, the first hour is dedicated to in-class instruction with videos and safety information. Then the fun really begins as you make your way to the Stronach Aurora Recreation Centre to get your feet wet, literally, and apply your newfound knowledge in the water with a certified instructor.

Each student dons a set of scuba gear for the hour in the pool, including a mask, snorkel, fins, a scuba suit and tank.

There are no prerequisites to taking the class, all participants must be 10 years of age or older and must sign a waiver before participating.

Adventure Sports Newmarket often hosts Scouts groups at the Monday night Discover Scuba classes.

Taylor Lapratt Abreau, an Adventure Sports instructor, said Monday nights with scout groups are the most fun.

“Scout nights can be quite crazy here at the dive shop. Between having upwards of 15 kids and their parents here (and add a hint of excitement to that)... it gets wild, but it's fun and we love hosting it for them,” she said.

Bradford First Scout group were in attendance to get a taste of the diving life April 15.

Lead scouts Mano Rodriguez and Dan Kokol really enjoy this program for their group and said Smith has always been supportive of the Scouts Canada program.

“This is the second year we’ve done scuba diving with Jody, it’s a great instruction for the kids, they provide a lot of the one-on-one treatment for them. The kids love it and want to come back,” she said.

“You’re learning a skill set, you’re doing something different — the things you see in magazines and movies and adventure — so it just opens up possibilities for them (scouters).”

“It was interesting. I wasn’t used to breathing underwater for over a minute,” said 14-year-old scout Harrison on his experience with the class.

All courses are provided through Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), the world’s leading scuba diver training organization.

In addition to Discover Scuba lessons, Adventure Sports Newmarket offers more advanced courses and certifications, including Night Diver and Digital Underwater Photography.

Smith said if you take the introduction course and want to pursue diving further, the next step would be to take the Open Water Diver course, where you get certified to be a scuba diver.

Currently, Adventure Sports  is in the process of moving locations to a larger facility on Harry Walker Parkway. Smith said they have outgrown their current location and the new space will offer more room for training programs, dive gear and merchandise. They plan to open the new location sometime in June.

To check the schedule for classes and upcoming trips, visit their website or call 905-898-5338.

The Tank Jockeys season kicks off with Dive Against Debris June 2 at Bonnie Boats Park at Jackson's Point, when the club’s divers collect debris as a registered event with Project Aware, a growing movement of scuba divers protecting the ocean planet, one dive at a time.

“Aside from the good we do for Mother Earth, this gives you a chance to get your gear out, make sure it is in good working order, and get your fins wet again!”


Natasha Philpott

About the Author: Natasha Philpott

Natasha is the Editor for BradfordToday and InnisfilToday. She graduated from the Media Studies program at The University of Guelph-Humber. She lives in Bradford with her husband, two boys and two cats.
Read more

Reader Feedback