Scuba Magazine and Books - Diving in British Columbia

There are a number of very good scuba magazines and books about scuba diving in British Columbia.

As I purchase books and add them to my collection, I will list those that I found interesting, helpful, or just very nice to look at.

"Up Close And Personal - An Underwater View Of Vancouver Island" is a beautiful coffee table picture book. It has many pages of bright, colorful, underwater pictures of marine life found around Vancouver Island.

The book is not a scientific book, a detailed handbook, or a divers guide - it is just a very nice picture book - or art book, creatively put together by Wendy and her crew. It is in full color and has a hardcover with a matching cover page.

After reviewing the book, I thought it offered such a fine example of what divers in British Columbia could see underwater, that I bought another copy and had Wendy autograph it for me.

One lucky diver who contacts us at CoolDives to help with booking a dive in British Columbia, or who signs up to receive our information newsletter will win that copy.

This beautiful book of underwater picture art is CDN$49.95 plus taxes and shipping, and can be ordered on-line from Wendy at Badger Castle Publishing

I recommend supporting this local diver/publisher and buying a copy. If you mention you saw this write-up, Wendy will also personally autograph your copy for you.

Sign up on the left for your chance to win this beautiful, 156 page, high quality photo book.

151 Dives - Every Diver In B.C. Should Have A Copy

Whether you are coming on a dive holiday or live nearby and are planning to dive regularly, this book has all the information you need.

The author, Betty Pratt-Johnson, is very well known and respected in the British Columbia dive industry, and this book is an exceptional guide to diving in British Columbia.

With details of 151 dives, you will find information such as site name and information, skill level, directions, access, GPS coordinates, bottom depths, hazards, and information about the marine life you will see on your dive.

This is a fantastic resource for divers and snorkelers alike.

Greg Dombowsky's diver's guide: Vancouver Island South

This book has very good narrative along with detailed computer sketches of around 50 local dive sites, based on the author's own experiences.

And for the low price, it should also be in every diver's library. Check out the link for pricing and availability.

Scuba Magazine - Good Information For Divers Of All Ages

Whether you are a beginner or an expert diver, there are a number of good quality scuba magazines out there, ranging in price from a buck or two up to around $10.00 per issue (more if they need to mail the dive magazine to a different country.)

Some scuba magazines also ship a quantity of free magazines to your local dive store so you can check out a free issue before deciding if you want to subscribe.

With some scuba magazines, you'll need to look through a lot of advertisements to find the good quality content. Maybe the ads are of interest to you?

My main interest is good underwater photography and dive articles about scuba diving in British Columbia.

It's nice to see all the tropical blue waters, but since this is my favorite dive spot, I prefer local articles.

While there are many types of scuba magazines out there, I would just like to provide links to those hard-copy and on-line dive magazines that tend to have information about diving in British Columbia, as well as other great dive destinations.

You can buy them at a local bookstore, but you can generally get big savings by subscribing online and trying them for at least one year.

Hardcopy Dive Magazines

Advanced Diver Magazine

Once I came across an article about the Nakwakto Rapids dive site here in British Columbia and read through it, I became very interested.

I contacted the author of the story, John Rawlings, who mentioned he loves diving in British Columbia and that they frequently write about the great diving here.

I reviewed a few more issues and really liked what I saw. They are also a 'substantial' magazine, with a stiff cover with more photos and dive reviews than advertisements.

While they are more technical than I in terms of the equipment they use and describe (like rebreathers and scrubbers), advertisers they have and the dive sites they visit, I found the articles to contain a very interesting mix of history, narrative and great photography.

They come out quarterly and are US$7.25 each (more if they need to ship outside of the US) and although they dive all over the world, they frequently have great articles about diving in British Columbia.

Advanced Diver magazine is now a scuba diving magazine that I am going to subscribe to (even at $50.00US a year to mail to Canada).


As you will see below, they also have a free ezine for you to look at.

Their August 2008 issue (#29) has a great article about Browning Pass near Port Hardy, written by John Rawlings.

Diver Magazine

This dive magazine is published right here in Vancouver, British Columbia, and has some very famous names on board, including Dr. Phil Nuytten, Vancouver's own deep-dive specialist.

They promote a different type of magazine, not as much glitz and more technical information. I actually prefer a few more scenic pictures and light dive descriptions myself, but to each their own.

Any company that will send you a free copy of their magazine for checking out is worth a try. They publish 8 issues per year, and their prices range from around $3.25 per copy if you live in Canada, $4.40 if you live in the U.S., and $10.50 per copy to cover International postage costs.

You might like their detailed content, so if you are interested in scuba diving magazines, sign up for your free copy of Diver magazine.

Scuba Diving Magazine

There were initially some rumours about biased reviews and name selling, their new owners promise you will be 100% satisfied, and seem to have an acceptable privacy policy now.

I have never had a problem with them selling my information.

There are lots of advertisements to look through, but I find there is enough suitable information such as dive site reviews, dive equipment reviews, and underwater photographs to make this good enough value for the dollar.

Their annual rate for 12 monthly issues is very reasonable at $16.97US for US citizens, $27.97 for Canadian subscriptions and $34.97US for International subscribers. Even in Canada, that's only $2.33 per copy, less than a good cup of Starbucks! Throughout my site, you'll find a number of links to their articles about British Columbia dives, and reference to their annual scuba awards competition (which British Columbia is a frequent winner of!).

If you subscribe online, their prices are good. I plan on keeping my subcription for the reasons I described above.

If you're interested in subscribing to this scuba magazine, you can order here and get a FREE copy of their "Dive Like a Pro" guide on dive safety and gear usage.

Northwest Dive News

It is not a glossy publication like Advanced Diver or Scuba Diving magazine, and isn't as flashy.

There are also lots of advertisements, but all from local B.C., Washington and Oregon dive equipment suppliers, dive charter operators, and scuba diving resorts & hotels.

Mixed in, there are many nice pictures and very good dive site reviews. Throughout this site, we have referred to those we found particularly interesting.

I like this magazine - it is very focused on the great diving here in BC, Washington and Oregon.

Their July 2008 issue has a great photo spread and article about diving in Port Hardy.

If you go to their subscribe page, you can sign up to receive a FREE 3 month trial subscription if you live in the U.S.(only 1 month if you live in Canada), and if you choose to subscribe, it is $20.00US for one year ($25.00 in Canada) which includes 12 monthly scuba magazines.

If you plan on doing lots of diving in BC, then I think it is definitely worth the $2 per copy.

On-Line Scuba Magazines

Advanced Diver Magazine E-zine

The ADM E-Zine is a colorful, informative and free on-line PDF publication available by just registering.

It isn't designed to replace the hard copy printed magazine and offers different dive articles and scuba pictures via the internet.

I've read the first three on-line scuba e-zine issues and thought they had great articles and pictures from their frequent dives here in B.C.

Issue #3 describes another trip to the Nakwakto Rapids near Port Hardy that had me eagerly reading on to see what would happen next - it's free so check it out for yourself.

Diver Magazine On-Line

Although it is supposed to have web-only columns and articles, tidbits of news and information, follow-ups to their printed stories, and other information, I didn't really find much there.

Since you may have different interests than me, here is the link to their on-line scuba magazine.

Dive Zero Virtual E-zine

Dive Zero is a "portal focusing on the culture and lifestyle of scuba diving." They recently went on-line with a growing list of products, including a free Dive Zero Virtual "page-flip" magazine, Dive Zero high definition video magazine, Dive Zero Images, Dive Zero Internet TV and an online scuba diving community at the Dive Village forum.

The virtual scuba magazine is free so as expected there are lots of advertisements, but all-in-all they offer a cool new dive 'community' of information.

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