Meet Grace Peng, a Divemaster and automation engineer based on Vancouver Island, Canada. When she’s not designing systems on land, she’s exploring the hidden worlds beneath the waves. Grace’s technical background naturally draws her toward the more intricate aspects of diving — from ROVs to rebreathers — while her heart remains firmly tied to the ocean and its life. Her passions span from underwater photography and marine species identification to foraging, citizen science, and, most recently, freediving.

How It All Began

Grace’s love for the ocean began long before she started diving. Growing up beachcombing and fishing with her family on Vancouver Island, she was always curious about what lay beneath the rocks and waves. After returning home during the pandemic, she decided it was time to explore beyond the surface — and earned her Open Water certification in December 2021.

Her first dive was under grey skies, with snow falling and waves breaking at her knees. “I remember turtling on the beach, hair freezing in the wind and warm in my drysuit — and finally understanding why people brave the elements to see the sea.”

A Journey Beneath the Surface

Since that chilly first dive, Grace has logged dives across the world — from being “mouthed” by sea lions in British Columbia, drifting along Cozumel’s coral walls, swimming with mantas in Hawaii, to spotting pygmy seahorses in Indonesia. Now, as a Divemaster, she shares her love for the cold, rich waters of Canada through her Instagram @grace_under_water

An Unforgettable Encounter

Among her many dives, one stands out above all others.

During a women’s dive trip in Port Hardy, Grace descended through a cloud of moon jellies — their translucent bells glowing softly in the cold, clear water. As she hovered among them, she noticed a large, unfamiliar silhouette overhead. “At first, I thought it was a sea turtle,” she recalls. “But it only had two fins — one along its spine and one along its belly.” It was a Hoodwinker Mola (Mola tecta) — a rare species only described in British Columbia a few years earlier. Grace and her team were able to report the sighting to researchers, helping to expand our understanding of these elusive creatures.

Future Plans and Diving Goals

Looking ahead, Grace plans to build on her sidemount certification to pursue technical diving, as well as delve into scientific diving and freediving. She’s also passionate about improving her underwater photography and exploring new sites — and familiar ones — from fresh perspectives.

Lighting the Way with OrcaTorch

Grace’s relationship with OrcaTorch began unexpectedly — through winning a contest. That first dive light, she says, “is still going strong after three years.” She quickly learned that a reliable dive light doesn’t just save your dive — it expands your horizons.

“Our local visibility drops in spring and summer, and it’s only thanks to this dive light that I can keep diving year-round.” Later, when she started filming underwater, she added the OrcaTorch D710V video light to her setup,  “Now I’m experimenting with the snoot attachment for macro video — and the red and UV modes have a lot of potential!” This significantly improved her footage’s colour, clarity, and brightness.

Diving of Wisdom

“Practice, practice, practice — especially your buoyancy. Whether you’re holding a dive light, a pointer stick, or a camera, make sure you can hover without touching the bottom. The ocean floor is fragile, so let’s do our best to protect it.”

What Keeps Her Diving

“The sea life,” Grace says simply. “The ocean evolved without our presence — the creatures have no natural fear of humans and can contemplate us as curiously and fearlessly as we contemplate them.”