Monday, October 29, 2007

Advancing their Dive Skills...


Three more of our Club members made it into the ranks of the Advanced Divers this weekend. After a couple of weeks investment in training at Brule Road, off Howe Island, around Portsmouth Harbour, on the Wolfe Islander II and finally, in very cold conditions, with a night-time expedition from the West St Ramp, Marc-Etienne, Olivier and Donovan completed their AOW certification. The picture, taken earlier this year at Gananoque, clearly illustrates their enthusiasm for diving. These three young men are constantly upbeat, invariably excited about their tasks and a pleasure to work with. All in all, they are very typical of our membership. Congratulations to them on their new level of certification...

Sunday, October 21, 2007

High Winds Changes Dive Spot

With the high winds it was decided that the Saturday charter was not going to head out. I was really looking forward to getting on to the HMS Montreal. It appears others were too as we had about 10 divers that wanted to go. Instead we headed to a spot where the wind doesn’t effect the diving as much, Upper Brewers Mills. The various pairs of divers spent any where from 30 minutes to 1 hour in the water. The max depth on the dive was 25 ft. A few items were brought back (bottles, clay stems, and a rod). The water temperature was a respectable 59 F (15 C). I think the highlight besides diving with old dive buddies Jim and Tracy was seeing the turtle underwater. As it was not the Montreal it was still a fun time. It is also interesting to note that the visibility is getting better as the lake weed is dieing.

2nd Last Wednesday Charter of 2007

Today’s charter was supposed to be the Queen Mary but there was no mooring. After the suggestion of Steve, our captain we headed to the Maplpeglen. It was really starting to get dark as we entered the water. There were about 10 of us who descended on the wreck for various times from 30- 40 minutes. The highlight of this wreck is the large propellers at the back. By the time we exited the water it was definitely a night dive. It was a very enjoyable experience with the water still warm. Really we cannot complain about anything with it being October 17.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Wolfe Islander II

Hi Guys,

Sorry I didn't take pictures today. I forgot my camera. I must be getting old!!! 6 club members made it out with Limestone Dive center this morning. The wreck today was the Wolfe Islander II. The visibility is starting to get better. I would say it was about 3o to35 feet today. My dive computer registered the water temperature at 59 degrees. Some of the other divers registered the temperature at 54 degrees. We had a great dive today. The sun came out and the air temperature was 64 degrees. The only cold part was changing after the dive. Unless you were one of those drysuit, delicate like a flower, divers (Lucky ducks). I still say a true diver dives wet. As you can tell I haven't got my drysuit yet. I am sure my tone will change as soon as I do. I just have to stop visiting Dan at Dive tech so I can start my drysuit fund. He seems to always talk me into buying something.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Thanksgiving Weekend Diving

With the long weekend on us and the temperature 10c above normal it was the perfect time for some diving. As family members were down for turkey and diving we set out to do some Kingston favorites. We made three dives on Saturday which included a morning dive at the quarry then getting out to the Munson for a great afternoon dive and finished the day with a dive at the quarry. The water temperature at the quarry was a nice 19C (66F) and on the Munson it was 11C (52F) at 110 feet. The next day an attempt to find the stacked hulls was in order, but this was fruitless as the line still does not take divers to it but a chance to be in the water is never a bad thing. We then had the hard choice of deciding if we should go to a dive shop or dive. We spent the afternoon at Divetech and then decided the rest of the weekend would be time to relax. We did check Lower Brewers Mills, on the Monday and found out that the locks are closing on Wednesday so it will mean less boat traffic on the lock system. Thinking back on the weekend I think this has to be the warmest Thanksgiving weekend that I remember diving. So I hope everyone is still thinking about getting out and getting in a few more dives.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Caution - photo ace at work..


Seizing the opportunity of an Underwater Photography Adventure today, as part of his Advanced Open Water certification, Malcolm delighted in capturing some superb images at his first attempt. The one above really shows off the character of our resident Gobies - and it's a great picture. It's all too easy to forget that we have some great subjects in our local waters, until a talented photographer shows up the opportunities.

Well done, Malcolm - just one more dive to go to full Advanced Certification...