Member Profile
Denise Boniface
PADI Scuba Instructor
I started diving at 42 years old after all my kids left home. It was the most amazing and terrifying thing I’ve ever done. Once I overcame my initial fears and had a few dives logged, I signed up for my rescue course and everything fell into place. I realized there were only about eight things that could go wrong. I learned how to prevent them and what to do if they did happen. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as scary as I thought.
I lived on Galiano Island for three months where I finished my dive master and instructor certifications, and I started teaching. I then promptly opened a dive shop in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta. Since I had no local dive buddies, I had to make some! That’s what I’ve been doing for the past 18 years.
I return to dive on the West Coast whenever I can, and I love to take students everywhere and anywhere in the world.
I’ve always liked the concept of Meet Up Dives. When I started diving, I would go to Victoria on the weekend and pick up guys getting ready to dive at Ogden Point and beg them to let me join their group. My husband loved that… this was the time before Facebook, texting, or online groups. The world has changed, for the more Fun!