cdngreenwaterdiver

Vancouver British Columbia, Canada has one very special day each year. Variety-The Children’s Charity puts on an amazing fund raiser. This day includes some pirate themed fun for everyone involved. Being right on the Pacific Coast there are many boating enthusiasts around the Vancouver area and this special day brings out huge numbers of volunteers. Boat owners volunteer their time and boats to give these children that would normally not be able to enjoy boating due to financial, mobility or other challenges a day of pirate-themed fun in Vancouver. On June 9,2018, over 500 kids with special needs participated in the annual Boat for Hope fundraiser hosted by Variety – The Children’s Charity and outboard motor company Evinrude. Brent whom did most of the video recording this day had the opportunity to be involved as a “good“ pirate aboard his buddy GOLDTOOTH’s family yacht. Everyone boarded at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club near downtown Vancouver. Goldtooth’s parents Harvey and Maggy have been involved with, and donating the use of their boat for this incredible event for more than 20 years. Goldtooth aka Andy is also on the board of directors of the Boat for Hope. Goldtooth also makes appearances on television during the TV telethon which shows his great commitment to these kids year after year. After getting all the kids and family on board, Goldtooth gave his boating safety speech and highlighted this was going to be FUN! “Protect my treasure“ he stated and the crew of pirates was given their ammunition of water guns and water buckets. Brent and his wife Elsa made sure the pirates water guns were always full so they could fend off the bad pirates with their best efforts. Fending off the Vancouver Police Force, Coast Guard and Search & Rescue made for a great effort by the good pirates. Boat for Hope had already raised over $40,000 this year at the time of the event, by holding fundraising events across the province. Boat for Hope not only creates an incredible and interactive experience for children with special needs but also raises funds to provide health care support directly to children throughout British Columbia. Brent and Elsa mentioned “ this day was so much fun, we surely hope to be back next year”. What an amazing and fun event for everyone, not just the kids!

Surrey, British Columbia Canada is not unlike any of the other Canadian provinces. There are specific rules of the road for those who drive. The general allowable speed on city roads is 50 kilometres per hour (30 mph). If you are driving through school zones then that speed is reduced to 30 kilometres per hour (20mph) for a very good reason. Parks generally have reduced speeds as well and are usually posted and if not, then 40 kilometers per hour (25mph) is the safe speed to follow. Common sense of course is also a big part of taking on the skill of driving a motor vehicle. Of course at times this does not prevail with some, and they choose to drive at excessive speed or make dangerous lane changing decisions while driving within areas of children or people in general. Passing while within congested areas of traffic also can take on some dangerous results. DOUBLE YELLOW parallel lines means NO PASSING AT ANY TIME just as it does in many countries. What you are going to witness in this dash cam video, is a decision by one driver that could have very easily become a very bad outcome for numerous drivers on their way home after a long day of work. Luckily the oncoming driver appeared to be aware of the oncoming vehicle and potential for collision. Good decision making is also a big part of driving a motor vehicle, and in this situation the oncoming driver definitely showed they have quality driving practices.

Kaibo is a gorgeous small town area on the North side of Grand Cayman Island in the Caribbean. Nestled between Rum Point and Starfish point it has much to offer. Restaurants, bars and luxury condos provide everything any tourist could want. If travelling from the West end of Grand Cayman, you can drive or take a small ferry. Driving will take approximately 1.5-2 hours depending on traffic since the roadways are narrow and the island life makes for slower travel. If you either don’t have a vehicle or are short on time, you can hop a ferry that leaves from Camana Bay in the West for a very affordable $25 round trip. It will drop you off at either Kaibo yacht club or Rum Point, both beautiful locations and very close to each other. You could walk from one drop point to the other if feeling ambitious. While enjoying your day in Kaibo or Rum Point, make it the best and enjoy the pristine waters while paddling a kayak. You can bring your own snorkeling gear or rent some as the shallow calm waters of both Kaibo and Rum Point are great for this. Another amazing thing with Rum Point is that Southern Stingray often cruise around the shallows looking for a snack so your chance of seeing these beautiful creatures while snorkeling is very high. Box fish, similar to a Puffer fish are also around, so keep an eye out. Conch shells are plentiful as well, most have been discarded by conch fishermen so you will notice a hole in one end of the shell. Give it a go with your best efforts of blowing the mighty conch! Personal powered watercraft such as Sea doo and Jetski are also rentable from Red Sail sports located right on the beach at Rum Point. Take a tour or play close by with a friend or family member, its a blast. If you love sunsets and bio luminescence, Rum Point is the place to come. Kayak groups head out at sunset to a nearby bay well know for its amazing bio luminescence. Get there early as the beach fill quickly with all the sunset watchers and photographers. It is amazing! Grand Cayman has a lot to offer and is a short plane ride from the East coast of USA.

Scuba diving is one of those sports that can open up a whole new world to its athlete. Travel and experience are a couple of the activities that diving brings to many that take up the underwater activity. Learning to dive takes little more than the ability to swim, and taking a few weeks out of ones busy schedule to take a course at a local scuba diving shop. After learning the basics of the equipment and how it works as well learning how to maintain the gear, it is off to the pool. Some basic skills for a newcomer can prove to be a little challenging at first, but in no time it all becomes second nature. Safety is the main priority, and should never be jeopardized. Brent the videographer in this video explained his training somewhat like this. “I always liked being in the water, but not being a very strong swimmer I always thought I could not dive”. After doing some research into local shops that offered the course, he was set to go.” We had booked a trip to Mexico for my 50th birthday and I wanted to finally dive but planned on finishing the course in warm waters as I don’t like the cold !” Well during one of the first nights of class training, Brent was told ” well we will see about that!” In reference to completing the course away from his home town. He was told that learning to dive in the green waters of British Columbia are challenging since visibility at times can be greatly reduced, but it does produce a better diver in the long run. Brent did complete his training in the local, green, cold waters that near 42 degrees Fahrenheit. Since that day, Brent and his wife have travelled and dove in Australia, Mexico, Grand Cayman Islands and Belize in the Caribbean.They also continue to be active in their local waters. In this video you will see just one of the amazing occurrences that divers love to see. This took place in Cabo Pulmo, Mexico on the Sea of Cortez. Dropping over the side of the panga, Brent and Elsa were amazed at the site in front of them. Thousands and thousands of small tuna, called Jacks. They were tightly grouped together from within feet of the surface, right to ocean floor some 70 feet below. While doing this to protect themselves from some predators, it also can be detrimental to the fish. Larger predators can also sense these bait balls which gives them a perfect opportunity for a large meal. Whales, sharks, and some bill fish take advantage of these bait balls. For divers it is the amazing sight of seeing thousands of fish swimming in unison, so large they even create a shadow over the divers. Blocking out the natural light from the blazing sun above the waves, it shows just how many and how tightly grouped these Jacks are. What an experience!

Steller sea lions inhabit much of the coast of British Columbia. Passing early spring days by sunbathing on the rocks off Vancouver Island, they also love dipping in and out of the cool ocean to cool off… they also love to play with local scuba divers. Scuba diving with sea lions is an incredible experience, an animal encounter like no other. You can’twander into the middle of a herd of buffalo in Yellowstone Park, but off Hornby Island, near Vancouver Island, British Columbia you can definitely wander into a raft of beautiful Steller sea lions. The steller sea lion is the largest of the eared seals.Females weigh around 500 - 700 lbs, whereas the larger males can reach a whopping 1000 pounds and have even been known to reach an incredible 2000 pounds! Males have broader, higher foreheads, flatter snouts and darker, tuftier hair around their large necks. When diving with steller sea lions it is incredibly important to be fully aware that you are in their habitat, and their environment. Scuba diving and snorkelling with steller sea lions is great fun, not because you’re there to see them, but because they want to see you. They are very inquisitive, and seem almost more interested in checking out the humans than the humans are of checking out the sea lions. They willrush towards divers asan intimidating herd, before diving down at the last second. Upon descending and reaching a depth of about 20-30 feet just off the shore of Hornby, once the sea lions spot the divers they come to say hi. At times they come darting out of the emerald green water at warp speed, turning at the last second and disappearing behind a diver without a trace. Never far away, the sea lions will be hovering vertically above a divers head, basically laughing until the diversclumsily turns trying to find more sea lions to watch. They’ll whiz past again, this time closer, blowing bubbles, opening their mouth nice and wide for the diver to see all his teeth. Swimming away the sea lion may politely slap a diver in the face with a fin. They also love coming nose to nose with divers, showing off their gorgeous eyes and in that second, connecting with that diver in a way that very few people ever get to do. Scuba diving with sea lions in British Columbia can be a little intimidating. However, the local dive shops that offer these excursions have many years of experience in these waters, and know exactly where, and when to put divers, or snorkelers in the water. They also will inform the divers new to this experience just what to expect and to not panic. Relax and take in the whole experience. The sea lions love seeing sparkly and dangly things, so the divers must be aware of what they have attached to their suits.Yes the sea lions may bite as well, but in a friendly testing way, much like a puppy gnaws on your fingers. One dive with a sea lion will teach any human more about their habitat, lives and existencethan any text book or documentary. To come nose to nose with a 1000 pound sea creature and knowhe meansto cause you no harm, will give you more respect for the ocean and it’s inhabitants than any museum or lecture. This is definitely a bucket list item for any scuba diving enthusiast!

Surrey, British Columbia is a suburb city of Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. Located just north of the Canada U.S.A border the area generally has mild winters. This year of 2019 has pretty much followed suit. At times dipping below freezing, but for short stints, the weather has been quite mild compared to many provinces and states on the east coast of North America. As January passed with no snow at all it appeared that this winter was going to be a no-snow winter for Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. One week ago approximately 40 miles east of Vancouver, Abbotsford City was hit with a snowfall causing some major traffic issues. That behind them, came on the weekend of February 9th. Warnings came from the weather network for the residents of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland as well as Vancouver Island to brace for a snowfall of 1 to 3 inches. Well, that isn’t too bad everyone thought! Come Sunday February 10th the day started off nice. Some blue sky along with a minor overcast sky. Who would think with blue skies, that snow would even happen? Well, we should never second guess the weatherman supposedly. As the clock ticked and struck 2pm, the snow began to fall…heavily. Within 1 hour there was nearly 2 inches of the white stuff on the ground and had begun causing issues with traffic. After attending a Vancouver Giants hockey game and returning home to what now was over 6 inches of snow. Loving the brightness the snow brings, Brent suited up in his parka and snow boots and headed out to get some exercise. Living close to one of the main highways through Surrey, he expected to see some traffic snarls caused by the snow fall. Not being disappointed this was definitely one issue that a small snow plow and one very hard working caring commuter could not solve. The bus driver and one single local commuter tried for over half an hour to free the bus. Those buses just aren’t that easy to manhandle on a hill in snowy conditions. Local transit commuters would surely be wondering where their ride is…

Surrey, British Columbia is a suburb city of Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. Located just north of the Canada U.S.A border the area generally has mild winters. This year of 2019 has pretty much followed suit. At times dipping below freezing, but for short stints, the weather has been quite mild compared to many provinces and states on the east coast of North America. As January passed with no snow at all it appeared that this winter was going to be a no-snow winter for Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. One week ago approximately 40 miles east of Vancouver, Abbotsford City was hit with a snowfall causing some major traffic issues. That behind them, came on the weekend of February 9th. Warnings came from the weather network for the residents from Vancouver and the Lower Mainland as well as Vancouver Island to brace for a snowfall of 1 to 3 inches. Well, that isn’t too bad everyone thought! Come Sunday February 10th the day started off nice. Some blue sky along with a minor overcast sky. Who would think with blue skies, that snow would even happen? Well, we should never second guess the weatherman supposedly. As the clock ticked and struck 2pm, the snow began to fall…heavily. Within 1 hour there was nearly 2 inches of the white stuff on the ground and had begun causing issues with traffic. After attending a Vancouver Giants hockey game and returning home to what now was over 6 inches of snow, Brent decided it was time to take his dog Poncho for a walk. Poncho loves her walks, and when Brent gets busy with household duties, she definitely lets him know she wants her walk. Poncho did not change her pattern this Sunday. Harness and jacket on Poncho, Brent and his wife donned their parkas and snow boots for the weather and away they went. Usually walking fairly well, it appeared the snow had Poncho in a different attitude, one of excitement. Make sure you watch this short video until the end, Poncho and her antics will not disappoint and will have you loving this little Mexican rescue dog like she was your own. She is quite a character.

Now that February is in full bloom so to say and we have passed Groundhog Day these little ground squirrels will be starting to come out very soon. With Punxsutawney Phil, the famous weather prognosticating Groundhog from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, suggesting we are in for an early spring, we can hope this is coming true. Although, here in southern British Columbia where these cute little ground squirrels live, the cold weather seems to continue on. With cold snaps and high wind warmings of over 50 mph, this is keeping the mercury low in the thermometer. Up in Manning Park, where these little ground squirrels inhabit, it will most likely stay cold a while longer as it is in the middle of the Hozameen Range of the Canadian Cascades Mountain Range. only a short drive from Vancouver's Lower mainland and Fraser Valley the park makes for a great day trip. Hiking and biking in the summer along with many lakes for boating and fishing. Come winter these ranges accumulate quite a lot of snow making the Manning Park ski resort very popular for skiers and boarders alike. Snow mobiling is also popular in this area. During the videographers trip to Manning Park to record the numerous friendly and cute ground squirrels, him and his wife learned a number of things. Most of the squirrels are very friendly but some are a little unsure of the giant creature trying to pet them. But as you will see in the footage this made for a life changing experience for a number of visitors to the park that day. Not only kids get to have fun! So cute.

Police, fire and paramedics were out in full force. February 3rd 2019 brought some very treacherous weather to the Fraser Valley. Some say it is the polar vortex causing this out of character weather. The polar vortex is basically cold air that builds over the Arctic – depending on the weather pattern, that air can then move into different parts of the country which may be the case. The Fraser Valley of British Columbia is roughly an hour drive east of Vancouver, British Columbia in the south western corner of the province. Generally winters in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley are quite mild. Every few years a change in the weather pattern brings some cold and snow to the region and definitely this winter, or the last week anyhow has brought on some treacherous conditions. The eastern provinces of Canada and eastern United States have been enduring below regular temperatures dropping into the minus 20 to minus 40 Celsius range. Jason McMurdo the videographer was travelling out in the Abbotsford, British Columbia area during the late afternoon on February 3rd while the area was getting its first snowfall and cold snap of the season when he was caught in a major traffic jam. Greater Vancouver in general was feeling the cold and minor snow, but Abbotsford was being hit the hardest with strong winds and blowing snow. Since the Vancouver area does not get a lot of snow most years, it seems many of the drivers are not very experienced in these driving conditions. Driving above the safe speed for the conditions usually proves this. Cars end up sliding into ditches, and off the sides of the roadways. Sadly enough many vehicles and their occupants sustain injuries, usually because of lack of attention and care. As we know, keeping back a safe distance from other vehicles while driving will usually give us time to react to a situation, whether the driver ahead has come across a situation in which they need to stop quickly, or an animal has crossed in front of them. No matter the case or cause, we as drivers need to practice safe driving skills to avoid injury and expensive bills for repairing our vehicles. In the case of this video, many of the mentioned causes were at hand. Blowing snow can cause visibility issues, which in the end can cause multiple vehicle pile ups, which is what happened here. As you see, there were a number of first responders on the scene. Firefighters, paramedics and police all had their jobs set out for them this day. Assisting vehicle owners to safety and out of the cold was key. Temperatures plummeted to near minus 6 Celsius in a short time causing the blowing snow on the freeway to quickly compact into ice which created these horrendous conditions. Thankfully, the weather in the area can change rapidly so this will most likely be a thing of the past within a day or two. Thankfully there did not appear to be any major injuries, but surely some shaken drivers.

This horrible and dramatic event all took place on December 20,2018 at the famous White Rock pier in White Rock British Columbia, Canada. One of the worst storms on record hammered the B.C coast and specifically caused extreme damage to the city of White Rock’s pier. Higher than average tides along with extreme wind over 60 miles per hour, made for waves reaching over six feet tall. Local residents raced to the area to observe the incredible weather that was before them. Not realizing just how dangerous this event was going to become, many even walked out upon the pier that was being hammered by waves that sprayed well above the pier deck. Even at high tide the deck remains approximately fifteen feet above the waters surface but with these enormous waves crashing the structure, they were washing upon the wooden deck. At the further most end of the pier is a government run boat dock at which many private and boat co-op owned sailboats were moored. Once the extremely high waves and gale force winds gained strength they were too much for the mooring lines of these yachts. Many broke free and were tossed in towards shore and against the pilings and main structure of the pier. One man, a 42 year old local ventured out onto the pier during what was becoming an extremely dangerous situation to gather some photos and video. What he was not aware of was how much danger he was in. After hours of this horrendous weather slamming the sailboats into the structure, it began to collapse. This one man, now was trapped. Making phone calls from his mobile phone regarding his situation soon had a Search and Rescue Cormorant helicopter on site to rescue him. Safe and sound back on the good end of the pier, many were glad to see the rescue as a success. In the days after the storm, locals and yacht owner gathered to help clean up the beach and area.Yacht co-op members salvaged rope, life jackets, and onesix-metermast. The city dispatched trucks to collect other debris, while onlookershelped out. Initial estimates came in from the city’s engineering department at 4.2 to 4.6 million dollars to repair the damaged pier. A new report as of January 25,2019 brings the estimate closer to 16 million, all out 10 million dollars higher than initially thought.

Craig and his wife Amanda, the videographer whom recorded these amazing sights of the wicked storm that struck her Carrum Downs neighborhood near Melbourne Australia. January 31st was a wild day for this summer storm. Bringing high winds, torrential rain and hundreds of lightning strikes to the area the first responders were kept busy all afternoon. Emergency service crews received hundreds of calls for help after wild weather brought down trees and damaged buildings across Melbourne and Victoria. The town of Broadford in central Victoria was among the worst hit areas overnight, alongside Lang Lang, some 73 kilometers southeast of Melbourne and Hampton Park in the city’s southeast. In the 24 hours this storm hammered the Melbourne area, the State Emergency Service received 860 calls for help, mostly for fallen trees and building damage. News bulletins warned residents to stay inside unless they desperately needed to go outside or travel during the storm. After hearing one extremely loud boom and seeing a flash of lighting, Amanda and Craig noticed a gaping hole in their neighbors roof. Craig stepped outside briefly to check on their own roof and downspouts but other than that he remained inside along with Amanda until the weather calmed down. What a sight to see!

Visiting a provincial park called E.C Manning in British Columbia, Brent and Elsa wanted to see if the tradition of Groundhog Day was going to hold true.The Groundhog Day celebration is a tradition that says that if a hibernating animal, generally following a groundhog, casts a shadow on February 2, winter and cold weather will last another six weeks. Taking along a few vegetable snacks for the furry friends made for some fun. Punxsutawney Phil is the name of a groundhog in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. In the area of Punxsutawney Phil’s temporary burrow there is an annual festive ceremony of food and music awaiting Phil to emerge from his burrow. In anticipation of him coming from below ground, to whether he sees his shadow or not, locals gather for some great fun. According to the tradition, if Phil sees his shadow and returns to his hole, he has predicted six more weeks of winter-like weather. If Phil does not see his shadow, he has predicted an "early spring". In Canada and the United States, the Groundhog Day celebration has been celebrated since 1887. Punxsutawney Phil became an international celebrity thanks to the 1993 movie Groundhog Day which starred Bill Murray. During the rest of the year before and after the Groundhog Day ceremony, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club Inner Circle, takes care of Phil at a specific club location. On this day that Brent and Elsa visited their furry ground squirrel friends the sun disappeared and snow began to fall. Becoming more involved in gathering snacks the ground squirrels forgot about checking for their shadow…on with six weeks more of cold weather.

“ Ok everyone, look ahead of the boat, we are approaching a pod of spinner dolphins. If you look close, you may see they have one eye closed”. Recently while vacationing on the island of Maui, Hawaii, Ryan and his wife Megan took an afternoon and went on a snorkelling excursion. En-route to their destination, they encountered a massive pod of spinner dolphins. Cruising along at a slow pace, the spinner dolphins began riding the front wake of the catamaran. They do this to also conserve energy as they rest, while the boat basically pushes them along. Of course everyone aboard found this very exciting, being able to see these little creature this close and very calm. In actuality, the spinner dolphins are a nocturnal animal, meaning they are generally resting or sleeping during the day time. Hunting in the deep waters at night off the Hawaiian Islands as these spinners were, they return to calm bays to usually rest and sleep during the day. Along with resting, these amazing animals can actually swim and locate food while ”asleep”. These animals undergo an unusual form of sleepcalled "unihemispheric slow-wave sleep." Also known as deep sleep, slow-wave sleep is a type of sleep thought to help the brain consolidate new memories and recover from its daily activities. How dolphins actually sleep and swim, is by shutting down one side of their brain and simultaneously closing the opposite eye. This means if their left side of the brain is resting, their right eye will be closed and vice versa. Generally in one 24 hour cycle, each half of their brain gets 4 hours of sleep to recover from the days activity. There are three reason why the dolphins brains have evolved to work in this unihemispheric slow wave sleep. First, dolphins would likely drown if they didn't keep half of their brain active, because their breathing is always consciously controlled. Second, this type of sleep having half their brain awake also protects them from danger of predators. Third this type of sleep allows the dolphin to keep up certain physiological processes, such as muscle movement, that helps the warm-blooded mammal maintain the body heat it needs to survive in the frigid ocean. If you are wondering why they are called Spinner Dolphins, it is believed they jump and spin out of the water also to rest their muscles. Flying through the air and covering distance is much more effortless than swimming through the water. The spinning is caused from the torque of their tail pushing the water just as they break the surface of the ocean. After some time enjoying this massive pod of spinner dolphins, the snorkelling group enjoyed some time in the waters off Maui seeing many types of fish, sea turtles, coral and many beautiful plants and sponge. The catamarans captain definitely went above and beyond informing everyone about the nature and wildlife in the Maui waters.

Roatán is one of Honduras’s Caribbean Bay Islands. Being part of the huge Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, it is known for its beautiful white sand beaches, scuba diving sites and marine life, including whale sharks. In the southwest is busy West Bay Beach, with a coral reef near the shore which is where Brent and Elsa found themselves on this day in November 2018. Boarding a panga boat in west bay they scooted to the very near dive site called ZIGZAG. Descending below the waves brought Brent and Elsa an amazing dive with some gorgeous creatures common in the area. Although Roatan is a small island it offers up more than 30 dive sites around its perimeter. Intriguing names such as Turtle Crossing, Spooky Channel and Green Outhouse Reef are just a few of the dive locations you will find around the reef. Thinking about exploring Honduras Bay Islands and possibly specifically Roatan? The first explorer in history to land here was Christopher Columbus in 1502. He was not the first one there though, the people known as the Paya Indians are known to have inhabited these beautiful islands back as far as 600 AD. Whether a scuba diving enthusiast or someone that just loves to travel and explore, Roatan has a lot to offer for such a small island. Not a snorkeler or diver? The west bay has some great shops offering up some beautiful handmade treasures or sit on the gorgeous sandy beaches and enjoy a cold drink with your toes in the Caribbean waters. Are you a daredevil? Take in a jet ski tour racing through the local bays. You can also get harnessed up for a speedy slide on the zip lines at Monkey Trail Canopy at Gumbalimba Park. Foodie? Well there are definitely some great restaurants and beach side bars offering up some local treats of seafood and a local specialty called Baleadas. These are homemade flour tortillas filled with beans and cheese and are just $1! Try them with avocado, eggs, chicken or meat.

“Victoria tower, this is Cessna 182 Golf Papa India Charlie ready to go runway 13 with three skydivers aboard”. Papa India Charlie, Victoria tower, cleared to taxi to runway 13 with immediate takeoff”. “Roger that Papa India Charlie”. This is the type of conversations that pilots have with the ground and air traffic controllers prior to taking off each time. Approaching and landing at a controlled airport is pretty much the same. The pilot notifies the tower they are approaching, and the tower controller will direct the pilot to the active runway. Along with that simple but very important information, the pilot also receives wind, temperature and pressure information, all very important to setting gauges within the airplane. After climbing to over 10,000 feet above Victoria, British Columbia in the 1960’s Cessna 182 airplane, it was time to prepare for departure. Yes, to jump out of a perfectly good airplane! Dennis and his fellow sky diving buddies had travelled from Vancouver B.C to explore a new airspace. Just like any other sport, the athletes always strive to venture to new locations and see new sights. Also being a scuba diver, Dennis had some serious planning for this adventurous weekend. Travelling below the waters surface causes increased pressures on the body, causing nitrogen to build up within the blood from breathing compressed gas in the scuba tank. The reverse happens with skydiving. Going to altitudes above sea level decrease pressures on the body. Having nitrogen bubbles in the blood from scuba diving and then skydiving within 24 hours, could be fatal, so as said, Dennis had some planning to do. Fortunately, climbing to 10,000 feet above ground/sea level came before scuba. Coming up on his 69th sky dive, Dennis had some very experienced friends to jump with. Jim in the black suite you see at the beginning has a few hundred jumps. Bruce whom gives Dennis a very well deserved LOW FIVE after landing, has a mere 2000 plus jumps, hence the landing he performs. The thrill of stepping outside a moving aircraft raises the heart rate considerably and gets the adrenaline flowing, no doubt at all. Falling at 125 mph, closing in on the magic number of 4000’, Dennis starts planning to deploy his parachute. As you will see, this is quite an intense few seconds waiting for the chute to open wide. Safety is the most important part of this sport. As you see, the skydivers wear snug fitting clothing along with helmets and eye protection. A small incident here can be death within seconds. What amazing views these guys got from 10,000 feet above the beautiful city of Victoria,British Columbia on Vancouver Island. Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia and is a short 2 hour ferry ride from Vancouver. If ever in the area, don’t miss out on exploring the beauty that Vancouver has with it’s beautiful mountains and ocean just minutes from the downtown core. Victoria also has beautiful ocean views, beaches and the amazingly beautiful parliament buildings in the downtown harbour that is Victoria. Hope you enjoy the amazing video footage Dennis caught all while enjoying one of his passions.

Birch Bay is a fairly small community in Whatcom County Washington on the Pacific Ocean coast. A short drive south of the Canada/USA boundary it attracts many visitors, mainly in the summer months. Come winter the town becomes a sleepy town but still attracts many to walk its beautiful beached in search of shells, driftwood, and to just enjoy the scenery. December 20th, 2018 was a horrific day for Birch Bay. Blistering winds over 65 mph struck the area right at the time of high tide and low atmospheric pressure to create a tidal surge of 11.3 feet -- about 2 feet above the predicted high tide. As many as 10,000 people lost power in the immediate area, and over 300,000 lost power from this storm. Waves crashed over the roadway causing traffic chaos. One restaurant on the waterfront which had been recently renovated suffered drastically. The windows and doors were blown out from the power of the extreme waves. Furniture from the restaurant was seen flowing out the front door and across the roadway. Police, fire rescue and the sheriff’s department traveled the area making sure everyone was safe and offered assistance when needed. As you will see in the video there has been extensive damage to the town. By Friday, Dec. 28, damage reports across Whatcom County had risen to between $4.5 million and $5 million — and that figure was expected to rise. Luckily there were no personal injuries reported. With hard work from the county and the locals, Birch Bay is surely to be back to the way it was awaiting its many visitors from far and wide come summer. Pedal tricycles, kayakers and beach goers are a huge part of the community activities once summer arrives. The town relies heavily on tourism come May and through to October. Cheers to seeing Birch Bay back as it was! Peaceful and beautiful.

"How are you going to put those flames out?!!!" Brent was asking his father in- law when he saw huge flames on the stove. Joe seemed very calm, like he had cooked like this a million times before. Maybe he had, but Brent was just a little uneasy watching flames lick up into the exhaust fan over the stove. Joe is an "old school" Portuguese grandpa born in a tiny town near Coimbra, Portugal some 80 years ago. Arriving in Vancouver, Canada some 48 years ago, has done nothing to change his "old school" lessons he saw his mom doing back home when growing up. To most of us this probably looks like a fairly unsafe practice. Huge flames atop the stove usually means a bad thing...that a cooking fire is out of control. Keeping a close eye on the tops of the flames Brent made question a couple times about the safety they were all in. Joe continued to assure Brent that "all is ok". Every once in awhile Brent would catch Joe looking up into the area of the vent hood, so he knew Joe also was concerned but did not stop his chore of cooking his afternoon snack. You may know, if you have European family, they like to eat... and drink wine. Lunch or snacks in Joe's home always consist of bread (Portuguese buns of course),sausage(home made and cooked as you will see),cheese( of a few varieties), and of course also his home made red wine. Of course a meal can not end without dessert ! At times dessert is fruit, but generally it is a cake of one kind or another, definitely yummy. Well it seems everything went well as Brent was able to tell this story and share his footage of a "typical afternoon cooking class" at his father-in-law Joes' house.

While scuba diving and exploring the area of Tuwanek on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, just a short ferry ride from Vancouver, Brent found something very interesting. Along with such a beautiful location and one of the top diving locations in the area there are art pieces called Tree Spirits which occur randomly in the area. Within a large cedar tree Brent noticed three pieces of artwork. This tree was right on the property of the cabin Brent and some friends rented for the weekend while scuba diving in the area. What a pleasure it was having this right in front of them. The "LEGEND OF WOOD SPIRITS” is quite interesting. As the legend goes, there are wood spirit legends in almost every culture as far back as history goes, focusing on Native American, African. It's being told that wood carvers from these cultures looked for a face, animal, or other character that they could “see” with their minds eye, imbedded in the grain of the wood, then worked to "release" it. Many different cultures throughout history have believed that "Spirits" inhabit the trees of the forest. Some believed that Spirits were living within the tree from its beginning, others believed the spirits of passed ancestors returned to the earth and existed in one of its many forms. It is said that if you find one of the wood spirits marked with an effigy, carving or containing naturally appearing images of spirits, this will bring very good luck. Apparently these art works are found throughout the Sunshine Coast. Wouldn’t it be interesting to venture on to search out numerous of these Tree Spirits? How incredible!

Scuba diving in the tropical waters of the Caribbean Sea as well as other tropical waters, brings divers many opportunities to see amazing animals in their natural environment. While visiting the island of Roatán off the coast of Honduras, Brent and his wife Elsa had just this experience. Diving brings a whole new light to what most see when looking out across the waves of the oceans and seas around the world. Putting on a mask and snorkel or full scuba gear can allow you to see millions of amazing creatures a matter of a few minutes. These animals and plants that inhabit the ocean waters live in the waters which cover 71 percent of our earth. In the video you see some plain colored sponge, the tall tubular shape with what looks like little fingers sticking out all over it. You can also see some very colorful sponge with the same tubular shape. Sponge are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through them. Sponges do not have nervous, digestive or circulatory systems. Instead, most rely on maintaining a constant water flow through their bodies to obtain food and oxygen and to remove wastes. How and what do sponge eat you ask? Most eat bacteria and other food particles in the water which they filter in through the main large opening at their top, and the waste is expelled through much smaller holes on their sides. Amazing creatures. Next you see another amazingly odd creature, a scorpionfish. Or will you see him? A master of disguise and camouflage until he opens his fins, then becomes strikingly beautiful. Looking much like a rock, this definitely has its purpose. As his name states, the scorpionfish protects itself with a “sting” from spines on its body that are covered in a mucous that is very poisonous. This sting causes excruciating pain with many side affects making this creature one not to mess with. If stung, medical aid is definitely required as soon as possible. Being bottom dwellers, the scorpion fish relies on his camouflage and waits for prey to come close and then strikes with incredible speed. His meal didn’t even know what was coming. Some of these beautiful fish can reach 2 feet in length and live up to 15 years, quite amazing. Lastly, and one of the most amazing, simple looking animals in our oceans and found all over the world, cold and warm waters if the jellyfish. These guys range in size from microscopic to ones such as the lions mane jellyfish which can have thread-like tentacles over 100 feet long and carry a moderately painful sting. The sting from jellyfish can range from a mild discomfort to very dangerous and even deadly as from the box jellyfish. The box jellyfish are found primarily in coastal waters off Northern Australia and throughout the Indo-Pacific. Mild stings can be treated with vinegar as well as hot water to soothe the irritating pain. More severe stings require medical attention. What do these jellyfish eat? Jellyfish eat many different types of things, such as small plants (phytoplankton), copepods (crustacean zooplankton), fish eggs and other small fish called larvae; they also eat the planktonic eggs and young stages (also called larvae) of many different kinds of marine animals. Some jellyfish even eat other jellyfish!

Every dog owner knows that their best friend loves to go for walks out in the fresh air. Well Poncho, Brent's 12 year old Basenji cross rescue from Mexico is no different. Every morning, noon and night she comes and gives Brent the stare down until he takes her for her daily walk. If he ignores Poncho's subtle hints, she will then begin pacing back and forth from wherever Brent may be sitting, to the garage door. Poncho knows exactly where her leash is kept, and that is just inside the door from the house to the garage. When she knows it is time for that W.A.L.K she goes nuts, racing around the house making it tough to get her harness on. Once outside and after a minute or two of extreme excitement, Poncho will then begin to walk somewhat calmly. Calmly until she smells a squirrel or other animal that may have been wandering within her path. She knows exactly where the squirrels live along her walk and when approaching that area, within half a block, she really starts pulling and whining. Thankfully the walk Brent took her on the morning he recorded yet another of Poncho's funny characteristics, was not the squirrel route. As you will see, Poncho does walk nicely like many dogs do. But, when she gets to one particular rail type fence she decides walking "like every other dog" just does not fit her personality. Slippery wood does make for some difficulty for Poncho, but all ended well. No one was injured in the making of this video.

Poncho is our 12 year old rescue dog from Riviera Maya Mexico. Finding her in a small crate along a dirt walkway while heading to the beach with my then young children has been quite a journey ever since. who would have thought that Christmas in Mexico in 2006 would bring Brent and his two young children to saving a puppy from definite starvation. The area they stayed in at the time was quite quiet and under construction. Ryan then 15 and his sister Jayla 11 had been outside playing when they walked down this very near dirt path that lead to the beach. Racing back to tell their dad what they had found was surely a very exciting part of their second day in Mexico, which was Christmas Day. After some checking into the rules for transporting strays back into Canada, Brent decided they would take Poncho home. Two weeks on vacation was a little different than planned but very rewarding as well. Back home in Canada, Poncho has been a good all around pup and family member. As many of us, as we age we take on some funny personality quirks. Poncho does have numerous quirky behaviours but one she struggles with, or should I say Brent struggles with is getting her to eat. Poncho is very fussy when it comes to dinner time. Something that Brent basically started a few years ago was giving her a special treat along with her dry kibble food. Thinking this was a nice thing to do for such a good pet, has turned Poncho into a very picky "high maintenance" pooch. High maintenance is a little bit of exaggeration but she is truly a fussy little girl as you will see. This daily ritual always makes Brent laugh he said. Seeing Poncho so excited over something so simple is a joy to watch.

The Skytrain is the metropolitan rail system that serves metropolitan Vancouver regional district in British Columbia, Canada. The Skytrain is a fully automated transit system with nearly 50 miles of rail system. The system uses fully automated trains on grade-separated tracks running on underground and elevated rails, allowing the highly sophisticated transit system SkyTrain to hold consistently high on-time reliability. Christmas in Vancouver brings many activities for locals and visitors to get involved in. Many choose to commute to the downtown core via the Skytrain which saves driving in the hectic Christmas season traffic as well as saving on the challenge of finding parking in the very busy Vancouver downtown. While transmitting from the suburbs to her job in Vancouver, Krutika enjoyed listening and watching a small group of musicians excite their fellow commuters and get them to join into song. Taking on such a gig shows just how much some love to share the Christmas season and joy of music with friends and strangers alike. So exciting! The Skytrain system is always growing offering the best transit system available for everyone. SkyTrain uses the world's longest cable-supported transit-only bridge, known as SkyBridge, to cross the Fraser River. The bridge gives an incredible two minute opportunity to view the Fraser river while passing over. The bridge spans from the City of Surrey to the City of New Westminster and continues on to Vancouver via Burnaby.

"I am not a reindeer I am a dog!! Poncho definitely had going through her head this morning. "Poncho the "Reindog". Christmas morning is always a fun time around the Ferguson residence. Sitting around the living room opening presents is quite exciting, seeing what special gifts the kids get mom and dad. This is always a pleasure. Poncho of course wanders, sniffing and peaking in every box and bag before and after being opened. She is pretty good at sniffing out the treats. One special gift she got this year was from a special lady staying with the family that is their homestay student. Krutika loves playing with Poncho and taking her for walks. They have built a very strong bond which is very special because before coming to Canada, Krutika had never been around dogs so she was a little uneasy with Poncho. Although their friendship is strong, Poncho still wasn't too sure about wearing her Christmas outfit. From time to time she would shake her head to get the antlers off. But the cute jingle bell collar seemed ok, it stayed on all day.

“Come here, swim over here to me!” Brent was thinking as he hovered over the beautiful coral reef 55 feet below the surface. Remaining as motionless as possible, Brent and his dive buddy wife Elsa watched as the Hawksbill turtle swam up to the surface for air. Hoping the Hawksbill turtle would descend close enough for them to record some photos and video, they watched in anticipation. Hawksbill turtles are critically endangered and are of limited numbers so seeing them is very special. Located 40 miles off the northern coast of Honduras, Roatan is a small Caribbean Island that is famous for snorkelling and scuba diving. At only 40 miles long and 5 miles wide Roatan is definitely a fairly small island. After approximately 2 minutes, the Hawksbill Turtle began its descent into a valley of coral searching out his next meal of sponge, algae, or a jelly fish that may be floating by. These Hawksbill turtles also enjoy eating sea anemone. The Hawksbill turtles are quite resilient and resistant to their predators since some of the sponge they consume are highly toxic. Although the turtles are resistant to these toxins, it makes their bodies very toxic if eaten by a predator. Searching the cracks and crevices of the reef that flowed towards the sandy bottom, the Hawksbill Turtle finally turned towards Brent. Elsa also was recording some footage of the turtle as he swam right in front of her heading towards Brent. Actually having to back away as the turtle approached her, Elsa back paddled while avoiding to touch the reef with her hands.Touching live coral with bare skin can cause it to die in certain circumstances so this is avoided. Heading directly at Brent as though he had called it to come like we do with our pet dogs, he was exhilarated as the Hawksbill began closing in on him. Having to back paddle as well, it was quite a chore keeping from impacting the reef as well as keeping the turtle in the view finder of the camera. “This is the first time I have ever had a sea turtle come this close to me on its own. To have him swim within inches of my face was amazing” Brent explained. As the Hawksbill closed in, the light from Brent’s camera setup illuminated the turtles shell showing off how gorgeous it was. At 55 feet below the surface the natural light from the sun is depleted so colours are greatly reduced making a lot of corals, fish and other creatures appear grey and faded. Shining light on these mentioned beautiful creatures of the sea brings out amazing colour as though a painting had just been converted from black and white to colour. It is amazing to see this change Brent mentioned. Running low on air, Brent and Elsa had to surface and were they ever excited to tell the others back at the scuba shop what they had seen. Not everyone gets this kind of close encounter. The animals are all wild so it is just “luck of the draw” as to what divers see on each dive. On this day, it was definitely an amazing dive during their short visit to Roatan. Back on shore it was time for Brent and Elsa to head back to the cruise ship. Onward they went to visit other stops on their Caribbean cruise.

What is the best Christmas present you have ever received? Was it something you always wanted but never bought for yourself? Was it something expensive that was out of your budget but a someone special treated you because you deserved it? To many, Christmas is about receiving gifts. To others it is a special time to spend with family and just be thankful for what they have. For Amanda, this time of year is especially important. Amanda lives in Melbourne Australia while her mom and sister along with grandparents all live in Vancouver B.C Canada. Yes, quite a distance apart, and just over a year ago this distance made it even more difficult for Amanda being apart from her mom. Elsa was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and has been fighting hard ever since. Over the last year she has been through extensive surgery and recovery, only to have the disease return after just one month of remission. Struggling daily with this separation and feeling very low not being with her mom for Christmas, Amandas husband stepped up to the plate and planned a trip for Amanda. Not only did he start planning, but he began planning just after Elsa was re-diagnosed with the return of the disease back in September 2018. Keeping a secret can be a very difficult thing to do at times. At the beginning of November Elsas husband was chatting with Amanda one morning via the internet, and Amanda asked him" can you keep a secret?" Brent answered "yes" as he was quite eager to what he was being asked to keep secret. This was a big challenge as he knew just how excited, and surprised Elsa would be when the arrival day came. In the mean time, Amanda, her husband Craig and her sister Sarah had also planned a three week trip through Asia. Amanda also kept this little secret from her sister, which was not an easy feat. Come the morning of December 19th, 2018, the day Amanda arrives to Vancouver, Brent sees her online before heading to work and asks" where are you?" Funnily Amanda replies" somewhere around Hawaii". It turns out the airline offered free wifi. This was great as Brent and Amanda were able to correspond throughout the day and make a plan for getting Amanda to their house, to surprise her mom. What a day it was. A perfect family reunion and Christmas gift of love. Enjoy this footage seeing just how the surprise evolved.