Thursday, January 31, 2008

Ice Course Preparations...


Adam and I spent a couple of hours this morning examining options for the location to host this year's ice diving course. Members will by now have seen his e-mail on the subject. The likelihood is that the course will be held at Brule Road, where the picture shown above was taken today. Conditions seemed excellent and the quarry offers several interesting objects for inspection, including the cabin cruiser which could be clearly seen through an exploratory ice hole this morning.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Seek and ye shall find...


Today's dive at Brewer's Mills enjoyed wonderful conditions topsides and the stiff current underwater becomes more manageable with each experience. The site was bathed in bright winter sunshine and the channel was playing host to numerous geese and a muskrat when we arrived. Our activities soon dispersed them. Preparation and entry were quickly accomplished and the first of several minor finds was made as we put our fins on. Chris is pictured retrieving the lid of a thermos vessel. Early in the dive a watch was recovered and several rounds of pistol ammunition were uncovered close to the bridge. There was also a fleeting sighting of a crayfish. The thermometer registered 33F (1C) in the water and -4C (24F) landside.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Closed until further notice....?


Anyone harbouring ambitions to shore dive Lake Ontario is likely to be disappointed for the next little while. The picture was taken during a quick survey of popular sites this morning. This leaves determined divers with the choice of ice diving (if appropriately trained and where the conditions permit - perhaps Brule Rd) or visiting sites on the Rideau, such as Brewer's Mills, which is open.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Spin Cycle Selected...


Since options to dive in the Lake became a little restricted, the opportunity was taken today to go and revive acquaintance with Upper Brewer's Mills. As the accompanying video illustrates, conditions were less than ideal. For whatever reason (and it's hard to see where the flow is coming from) there was a healthy current flowing down the channel. This led to the adoption of the tried and tested 'spin cycle' dive experience. Entry was made in the usual place and an immediate descent to the bottom of the bowl allowed a few minutes to have a look around before allowing the current to take us, counter-clockwise, around the shallow margins and back to the entry point. Rinse and repeat three times for a total of just over 30 minutes in water at 34F (2C). The air temperature was -4C (24F) and only one, rather frozen-looking Perch was spotted throughout the dive. Novices are advised to avoid this dive site when a noticeable current is running. It is possible to be carried out of the circular current flow and swept downstream.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

So you think that you dive deep...!


Just in case the techies amongst you become over proud of your deepest dives, consider the achievement, in 1960, of the bathyscaphe Trieste. On this day in that year, she descended, with her crew of two, to more than 35,000 feet. The pressure on her hull at that depth was a staggering 17,000 psi. Click here to read a short article on the historic dive.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Showed and Told....


This evening, despite the snowstorm, a dozen Club members met to hear travellers' tales about warmer dive sites. Marc-Etienne and Donovan led off with descriptions of diving in Cuba. Their photographs, using an underwater camera for the first time, drew praise from everyone present. Jeffy then expanded on our knowledge of Cuba with some well-chosen remarks on diving there.

Cozumel was dealt with by Billy, who drew on some great material prepared by Jenny. Because of constraints on time, a second contribution, from Jim and Tracey, had to be put on hold for another gathering.

Adam closed the evening with a superbly shot video depicting a recent trip to the Mexican mainland and the cave complexes of Tulum - south of Playa del Carmen. His images brought the whole experience to life - and inspired almost everyone to consider a caving experience at some future time. His closing shots, taken on a night dive on a coral reef, were a great end to a successful evening.

The contributions of all concerned were well thought through and very informative. Many thanks to everyone involved.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Wait until dark....



After a day spent discussing how perfect the diving conditions appeared to be, it only made sense to get in the water after dark...!
Actually, the incentive came from Kevin, whose circumstances pretty much dictated waiting until night fell. The experience was much less daunting than you might think. Despite having to push through a thin skin of ice at the West St ramp, the dive was straightforward. Our determination to dive was rewarded by two prolonged encounters with a Northern Pike and several close approaches to large and languid Bass. We spent 30 minutes in the water, visiting the car at the start and finish of the dive and checking out the logs in between. The water temperature was 34F (2C) and visibility a little poorer than expected - at about 20 feet. Calm conditions topsides were still chilly at -3C (29F).

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Murky Water


With a beautiful day on hand I could not give up the urge to go for a swim. So my father and I grabbed our gear and headed down to RMC to search for more bottles. The air temperature was above zero the sun was out and it did not feel like winter at all. We waded into the water which had warmed slightly to 37F/2.7C to find that the visibility had not settled to much from our recent storms. In the end we spent about 10 mins in the water hoping to get some where with visibility more then 3-5 feet but decided to call the dive. There is always next time as the saying goes.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Short sighted..?

Today's calm, clear conditions created the opportunity to take a swim out to the Marine Museum Barge from West St. The experience was slightly degraded by appalling visibility in the order of only 8-10'. It can only be assumed that the high winds and heavy seas of yesterday were to blame.

Given the conditions, it was quite pleasing to spot a couple of Bass in and around the wreck. The water temperature showed a slightly surprising 35F (2C) and landside, in weak sunshine, the mercury indicated just the same numbers.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Frozen Frolics...



I guess it's the temporary thaw that inspired 6 of us to venture into the still freezing waters again this weekend. We essentially repeated the dive enjoyed on New Year's Day, meeting and dressing at the Club and then getting into Navy Bay at RMC's St Lawrence Pier. There was one significant difference; today we all spent at least 48 minutes in the water. leaving some divers really cold...! However, the opportunity presented itself to capture some video of our chief instructor demonstrating Backward Finning. This is the subject of the accompanying video clip. For record keepers, the water temperature (on the lowest reading shown) was 33F (1C) and the air temperature 4C (39F). A light Southerly wind generated small waves and reduced visibility to about 25'.



Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Happy New (Dive) Year...






Despite a pretty heavy snowfall overnight, which persisted right up to the time divers gathered at the Club, we put 6 divers in the water today for the New Year's Day dive. It's probably no coincidence that all of them were in drysuits. Navy Bay was chosen as a nearby, easily-accessible venue. The dive proved to be a gentle tour of the area beyond the ramp and pier, with ample time to look for little 'treasures'. Find of the day was a little stoneware bottle that had contained blacking. It was found by Chris Haslip and it's in beautiful condition. Adam, whose presence was a rare delight these days (his business makes heavy demands on his time), could only compete in the finds department by returning a dinghy rudder to dry land. Time in the water was just about 34 minutes. The water temperature was 34F (2C) and the air temperature - on a relatively calm day (NE wind) - was -2C (28F).