Saturday, October 25, 2008

More from DEMA...

Yesterday, I promised more from the Dive Equipment and Marketing Show here in the States. Here it is. Continuing the theme of trends, something did seem to be more evident here than in previous years. This is the issue of accessibility to diving for disabled individuals. The picture is of the stand manned by volunteers of SUDS (Soldiers undertaking disabled scuba). It is just one of several organisations with representatives at the Show advertising their work and seeking support. Others included Eels on wheels, the International Association of Handicapped Divers and the Handicapped Scuba Association. Seeing them here, and reflecting on the amount of disabled sailing activity there is in Kingston, makes you wonder whether there shouldn't be some sort of support on the diving front.

The good news at the Show is that I have seen many, many Canadians down here. I went to an interesting talk by the owners of Nautilus Explorer, which operates out of Vancouver. They spend their Summers around BC and Alaska, then Winter in Guadalupe and Socorro visiting Great White Sharks and Mantas amongst other species. BARE and Whites are amongst the larger manufacturers out of Canada. Another, smaller, but very significant company from Ontario is Reefnet, who make data loggers and excellent diveguides and other products.






On the lighter side of product development, there are always products that amuse, but aren't very likely to attract the more serious diver. This video-capturing dive mask caught my eye.






Or perhaps the Club would like to invest in some fins that identify the instructors.

Friday, October 24, 2008

DEMA Show Report...

Some of you will already know that I'm in the States right now at the annual Dive Equipment and Marketing Show. This is a trade-only show and the biggest of its kind in the World. It's the forum for announcement of major product launches and advertising of dive travel deals for the next season. The Show also provides the facility for manufacturers and training agencies to centralize seminars, workshops and classes that update or inform their dealers, members or interested trade representatives. Dive retailers come here to benefit from special deals on equipment for next season and to catch up with news and meet colleagues. There's way too much here to describe everything, but what I'll try and do is give a flavour of themes and general trends.

The first general trend here is towards rebreathers. All the major manufacturers are here - and there must be about a dozen now. There's no question, rebreather makers are increasingly striving for a mainstream market. Failsafe devices are being introduced to minimize risk and aim for idiot proofing; and prices are coming down. The other noticeable trend is towards manufacturers leaving their traditional lanes in the road to diversify. A sign of hard times in the industry perhaps - or the economic downturn depressing orders? BARE is a good example. Traditionally, a company that has been all about exposure protection, they have released their own buoyancy compensator.

On the travel side, there's a huge showing here at the Show from the Far East. What was once largely inaccessible, for reasons of cost and airline reach, is now opening up. Equipment manufacturers from the Far East are also much more in evidence. If experience of other industries holds good, the quality of their gear should be pretty high and their challenge will be gaining a foothold. Talking about footholds, here's an interesting observation. If you were asked to name the biggest, most prestigious name in scuba gear, the odds are you would say Scubapro. And they're not here - at all. They've actually skipped DEMA for several years. That shows some confidence. They don't seem to see the need to promote their equipment to the trade.

On the seminar and workshop side, I've attended a couple of excellent DAN lectures. These dealt with hazards of breath-hold diving and myths of dive physiology. I also listened to two great illustrated talks on video techniques and the use of underwater filters. These are given by some of the industry's best known and most respected figures.

With conservation writ large at the event, there have also been some great talks on specific issues and projects. One of these was work to save the Pacific Leatherback Turtle, which is on the verge of extinction.

More tomorrow, if the time is available - and I'll try to focus on some of the dive equipment developments.

Club recognized for Community Contribution...

Members will be pleased, I hope, to know that Gananoque Canoe Club has recognized the Dolphins' efforts this year to retrieve sunken kayaks with the Commodore's Award for Community Support. This reflects well on our whole membership, demonstrating our interest in engagement with other sporting groups and the public as a whole. Every time we answer a question about our diving and what it entails, we're promoting both the sport and the Canadian Forces ethic of service. Might not seem that way, but that's a fact. Everybody should give themselves a small pat on the back this morning...

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Drysuit Day...


Now that the weather's turning colder and the water with it, it's time to turn to drysuits, if you haven't already. Mario selected the Drysuit Adventure as one of his AOW dives and today presented the opportunity to complete it. He was joined by Steve Liu, who enjoyed the experience just as much in his superb, previously-owned DUI suit. We went out of Navy Bay off the boat launch ramp by St Lawrence Pier for just over 30 minutes. The water temp was 57℉ (14℃) and the visibility about 40 feet. An oddity on this dive - although it was conducted about an hour before sunset- was the large number of Catfish seen.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Visit to the Cedar Island Wreck...

The opportunity arose today to make a late season expedition onto the Lake. Although the traffic to the wind farm project continues to be very busy, and the Wolfe Islander is in near constant motion, otherwise there's not much boating going on. That made conditions pretty good to visit one of the wrecks lying close to Cedar Island. These are infrequently dived on and it was my first visit to this particular one. I took the camera down in hopes of getting some record-quality shots, but the visibility of about 20 feet precluded that. Nevertheless, I got some decent pictures, one of which accompanies this entry. The wreck is not enormous - and it's hard to gauge what it might be. But, there are clues. It has the very blunt bow of a possible cargo barge - and a length, in all probability, to match. There is a rudder post present - and it's not large. The frames are not substantial - leading to a suspicion that the vessel was no warship. But, there are some vertical posts that defy attribution, unless, perhaps, they supported an upper deck...

Anyhoo... the answer lies with a more detailed examination another day. Today, the temperature was 57℉ (14℃).

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Stacked Hulls ...


As suggested yesterday, the chance was taken today, in ideal weather conditions, to make an expedition to the Stacked Hulls. It's been a week or two since the line was checked, so there was no knowing what to expect. In fact, the line was easy to pick up and ran uninterrupted out to the wrecks, where the viz was in excess of 40 feet. There was at least one very large shoal of Perch on the wrecks and several large and lazy Bass. At the shore end, it's remarkable how quickly the weed beds in the shallows are dying back and thinning out. The plants are already mainly brown and lifeless. Anyone who wants to make us of this new line, which takes several minutes off the old swim to the Hulls, should e-mail me for info on picking it up. Alternatively, if you take the old line out of Portsmouth to the right-angled bend in it and 'jump off' there swimming 220° you'll pick up the new line at about the half way point. Water temperature today out on the Hulls (where a small thermocline could be felt at about 50 feet) 57℉ (14℃).

Monday, October 6, 2008

Chasing 50...

As the colder weather approaches, one of our members is chasing her 50th dive. Ashley is looking for opportunities to hit that magic figure before the season ends. Now that we're aware of the challenge, we're doing our best to support the effort. Today, the chance arose to introduce her to the waters of the Gananoque River. Limited in depth, this site has much to commend it in terms of things to see. It's also an easy entry and exit compared to many. An expedition to the Stacked Hulls is on the agenda. Watch this space for the announcement of the 50th - soon...

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Dive 'n Dine - again...

It takes energy to keep a dive club going - and Ashley's idea of getting together for a dive and then enjoying a late season, informal barbecue at Nicholson's Point was an excellent example of the way to go. Although only a few people managed to get out, it was very clear that they thoroughly enjoyed the experience of soaking up Autumn sunshine at the water's edge after a decent dive outing. The dive also presented the opportunity for Mario to complete his Deep Adventure on the way to completing Advanced Open Water certification. His dive was flawless. Once again, it's evident that the water is turning colder. This should be no surprise given the cold nights we're 'enjoying'. The low temperature, below a 70' thermocline, was somewhere around 53℉ (12℃). The visibility though, at the greater depths, is in excess of 40 feet now.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Back to Gan...

Another expedition to the Canoe Club 'lake' in Gananoque. The most interesting feature today was the fairly marked drop in water temperature over the last week or so. The minimum noted today was 57℉ (14℃). This is down about 10℉. Otherwise, the nose cone of a kayak was recovered to close the books on one lost from the Club and a few lonely Bluegills were amused by the passage of a pair of divers through their territory.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Humorous happening...

Gaetan Grondin created this delightful picture after visiting the night dive the other night. His expertise with Photoshop is truly amazing - and he has a great sense of humour. Gotta look forward to him getting an underwater housing and producing some great underwater shots...