Because of COVID19, this year may have looked a bit different from previous years, many rituals and meetings have come with new standards and it has been difficult for everyone.

East Coast Scuba & Watersports located in Bedford, Nova Scotia is a PADI 5 Star IDC and TecRec Centre and owned by military veteran John Stone with 31 years of service in Canadian Forces.

John wanted to start a new Remembrance Day tradition to honour our Nova Scotia’s strong military, police, first responders and all veterans that served in past wars. 

People were asked not to attend large Remembrance Day Ceremonies this year due to COVID19. We (East Coast Scuba and Watersports) hosted a Remembrance Day Charter to dive a wreck rich with a military background.  We set sail at 1:00 pm on November 11, 2020 from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia with Captain Bill Flower from Lunenburg Ocean Adventures on the Island VI to lay a wreath to honour the men/women who currently serve our country, made our freedom possible and those that continue to fight for our freedoms/rights. 

Read The Scuba News Canada story on the HMCS Saguenay

10 divers gathered underwater to lay two biodegradable wreaths on the HMCS Saguenay, with not the best visibility but it was all for a great cause.  Last year we decided we were going to do an underwater Remembrance Day Ceremony from an idea we got from Ocean Quest Adventures in Newfoundland. We work closely Ocean Quest. We felt this year our event would give us a chance with small numbers to gather and remember. 

East Coast Scuba and Watersports will be making this an annual event.

We run weekly charters throughout Nova Scotia during the summer/fall months and will continue to run two charters a month during the winter months for divers who want to explore more of Nova Scotia’s rich maritime history.

Thank you to Wayne Joy, Retired, Canadian Forces/Deep Perspective Diving for taking the photos.

Article Submitted by Tracy Gregory of East Coast Scuba & Watersports.

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