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Totally Professional: BC's Horny Island Diving

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By Barb Roy

It was 1972 when Bob and Ann Zielinski began offering diving services on Hornby Island.

They also bought the 42-foot boat Oceaner in that same year. Business quickly grew into a thriving operation where many dive shops brought their students to do their checkout dives or recreational divers to see the mysterious sixgill sharks. Needless to say Rob grew up around diving, getting certified in 1988.

After taking over the family business in 1994, Rob was joined later by Amanda in 1997 when the lodge underwent a complete rebuild. The following year they had a new 35-foot custom dive boat designed and built, accommodating up to 12 divers with single or double tanks or even rebreathers. After personally diving on the boat I really like how easy it is to enter and exit the water.

“When we take groups out,” comments Rob, “We like to either take out only recreational divers or only technical divers.”

This is good, because technical divers usually have a lot of gear! One of the sites inthe area preferred by technical divers is to the wreck of the Capilano.
Up to twenty can stay comfortably in the eleven-guest room two-story lodge. A large common area and a place to hang and wash dive gear is available for use. For visiting underwater photographers there are two workstations and a well-equipped library for identifying the critters. Their compressor pumps regular air or Nitrox. Argon and Mixed Gases are also available if needed.

During my stay I took advantage of the sauna to warm my bones and the heated drying room for my dry suit undergarment! Wayne said he gained five pounds over the weekend from all the seemingly endless good food. I was pleased they could handle my special vegetarian dietary needs.

Rob holds a Divemaster rating and Amanda is a Dive Instructor. Charters usually consist of a weekend excursion, arriving on Friday for dinner with two-three dives on Saturday and two dives on Sunday. This leaves plenty of time for catching the two small ferries back to Vancouver Island and connecting up with the larger ferry back to the Mainland. www.bcferries.com. Charters include all meals, accommodations, air, use of tanks and weights if needed and the diving. If you have not yet been diving with them, be sure to check out their website www.hornbyislanddiving.com.

Amanda Zielinski presents a piece in memory of Bob, which can be found here.