MEET THE TEAM

About Wilson Diving and Our Store

About Wilson Diving Video

“There is a difference where you go for scuba diving training” has always been Wilson Diving’s motto concerning diver education. Established in 1992, Wilson Diving has maintained a full service retail store, travel department, teaching facility and repair center.

The reason we have been a leader is because we do it right! For over 18 years, our satisfied customers have
been able to come to our one location to fulfill all of their diving and snorkeling needs!
Our retail store features the latest in diving equipment from nationally recognized manufacturers.

We are a full service SCUBA diving facility.

The repair department is an authorized service center for most major brands of diving equipment.

Our innovative travel department has allowed our staff to lead diving expeditions to exotic worldwide dive destinations as well as local BC diving. The heart of our program however, has always been our teaching program, which is directed by Doug Wilson. Doug’s background as a Canadian Navy Clearance Diver for 23 years, ACUC Instructor since 1980,Instructor Trainer since 1989, plus thousands of dives has received national recognition in the field of diver education. Under Doug’s expert guidance, the instructional program has been unsurpassed in Western British Columbia! Our training may take a little longer and cost a bit more but then, good training always does. We don’t take short cuts.

Our constant search for the best has led to a reliability and dependability that our customers can count on. Drop in to see us and find out why we are different from the rest. The staff at Wilson Diving is happy to answer all your questions, share their experience and help you anyway they can in a light friendly manner. This is what makes our shop different and unique. We still know how to have fun!

OUR STAFF

Chris Blondeau – Owner/Operator

PADI MSDT

Chris is the proud new owner of Wilson Diving effective January 12, 2019. He had previously worked with Scubaland in Langford and had just recently retired from Pearson College where he managed and conducted SCUBA and Marine related training for students training as Marine Biologists.

Tiare Boyes

PADI Divemaster

Tiare has been diving since the age of 12 and has worked as a PADI Divemaster since 2012 in waters from as far south as Mexico and all the way up north in Alaska and Iceland.
Our cold B.C. Pacific waters is where Tiare feels most at home, especially working at God’s Pocket in Browning Pass and the surrounding area. When she is not up north, you can find her bothering the kind folks at Wilson’s diving in Victoria. Tiare was also a dive student of the current owner of Wilson Diving, Chris Blondeau, when he was at Pearson College (longer ago than either of them want to admit).
A lover of all things marine, Tiare excels at providing unsolicited facts on local marine species (usually nudibranchs, fish and crustaceans), finding cool critters for clients (professional title: Octopus Talent Scout) and dabbles in the art of underwater photography (tiareboyes.com).

Tim Charboneau

PADI MSDT 212528, SSI AOWSI 56224, ACUC OWSI 1731AA

Tim has been diving since 2006 when he worked as a TC certified Small Vessel Captain for a popular adventure company in the Gulf Islands. He conducted diving and fishing charters, eco tours and water taxi throughout Southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. He has developed a thorough knowledge of the local shore and boat dive sites on Vancouver Island as well as abroad. His first Discover Scuba was in the Red Sea in Sharm el Sheik, Egypt and was hooked ever since.

Tim helped initiate and start up the largest dive club on Vancouver Island called “Sunday Divers” which now has over to 250 members on the Facebook site. He also assisted with the Reefball Project under the Sidney Waterfront. Tim has also brought his technical skills to the shop with high standards towards equipment maintenance and diver safety.

Tim came to us as a Divemaster and since joining the Wilson Dive Team, he has reached the narcotic depths of PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, SSI Advanced Open Water Instructor and ACUC Open Water Instructor. Tim takes great pleasure in assisting to organize and attend our Annual Dive Excursions to various places such as Rendezvous Dive Adventures, Port Hardy/Port McNeil, Red Sea, Belize, Fiji, Turks & Caicos, Indonesia and Hawaii.

Tim enjoys instructing everything diving, has great experience and certifications in a number of specialties and invites all to dive in and indulge in the fun of continuing education and meeting great dive buddies.

Warren

PADI Open Water Instructor

Having started diving in the 70’s, Warren attended his first occupational dive course with the Canadian Navy as a Navel Reservist in 1982 in Esquimalt. Having found his passion for the work, 1983 saw him in Toronto attending the Canadian Underwater Training Centre to become a Commercial Diver.

While on a Naval Reserve course in 1985, Warren was given the opportunity to enrol in the Clearance Diver Course at Fleet Diving Unit Pacific.

After serving for over 21 years as Clearance Diver on both coasts traveling and diving the world (and working with Doug Wilson for 10 of those years) Warren retired from occupational diving in 2006.

While he continued to dabble in sport diving, it was not until he helped with his daughter’s Sea Cadet Corps “Open Water Course” in 2010 that brought him back to teaching. Warren has been a part of the Wilson Diving team ever since.

Andrew Britton

PADI MSDT 202622, SSI AOWI 4395

Andrew started diving in 1978 in Nova Scotia at the ripe old age of 12. Andrew  became a National Association of Scuba Diving Schools (NASDS) Instructor in 1984 and taught diving for Nautilus School of Diving until 1992. In 1991 Andrew did a crossed over to teach PADI and SSI. Andrew enjoyed diving may parts of the Atlantic Ocean while he was in the navy posted to HMCS Margaree.

After leaving the navy Andrew, his wife and daughter moved to Victoria in August of 1992 and taught  diving for Joe Dorion at Scuba Land until he accepted a position with BC Ambulance Service in Vancouver. Andrew transferred back to Victoria in 2005 where he is currently Paramedic Chief in Esquimalt.

Andrew joined the team at Wilson’s Diving in 2010.  Andrew has enjoyed diving in many countries including Eastern Coast of USA, Mexico, Cuba, Costa Rica, Jamaica, and many other Countries. Andrew has certified over 1000 open water divers and credentials include various specialties including Night Diver Instructor, Wreck Instructor, Boat Instructor, Deep Instructor, Drift Instructor, Dry Suit Instructor, Enriched Air Instructor, Equipment Specialist Instructor, Multilevel Diving Instructor, Underwater Navigator Instructor, Search & Recovery Instructor, Underwater Photographer Instructor, Digital Underwater Photographer Instructor, Underwater Videographer Instructor, AWARE Coral Reef Conservation Instructor, EFR Instructor, and Care for Children w/AED Instructor.

Doug Wilson – Founder of Wilson Diving – Retired

Doug tried scuba at 13 in the 60s and became a certified diver in 1975 while in the Army. His love of diving saw him change to the Navy to become a Canadian Navy Clearance Diver in 81, which involved all aspects of diving including underwater mine clearance, EOD, mixed gas diving to 330 ft (HEO2), using re-breathers to 260 ft. The navy diving also gave him the opportunity to be an Experimental Diver at DCIEM where he was involved with the development of the DCIEM Decompression tables, and other projects.

He also worked with the navy’s 5 man submersible, the SDL (Submersible Diver Lockout). In 1985 he was certified as a diving instructor then Master Instructor and Instructor Trainer in 1988.

Doug retired from the navy in 1996 with a military career that spanned 23 years. In that time he has dove all over the world, from the Red Sea to the frigid waters of the Arctic. He also was awarded contract to replace 20,000 pound lift bags to Canadian Navy for the Swiss Air crash.