Friday, December 31, 2010

THE BI-CENTENNIAL MAN...




Today's immersion in the frigid lake was an important landmark in Todd's dive logbook.....his 200th dive this year. Since I am currently completing my PADI Underwater Photography Specialty, it was only logical that I would attend to take a few "Hero Shots" for our newly-appointed Club President. We entered the water at the old corvette launch near the Marine Museum this afternoon for a swim around the old wharf, and to examine the entry to the Alexander Henry's drydock. This being my first jaunt that far along the shoreline, I realized that there is even more to explore past the old familiar line out to the barge. We swam past an old anchor, tires, and some construction debris from this year's recent rebuild of the drydock. What we weren't expecting were the schools of Lake Shad that we encountered upon entry, and around the drydock area. See for yourself in this video:



... The fish were so abundant that Todd had to eat his way through the school (or he found himself a New Year's Eve date for this evening...) (pictured is Todd with fish-in-hand.... you be the judge on what he is doing...)







.... and last, but not least.. the best picture of the dive today:


Amazing what fish will do when you stay motionless at 15 feet for a safety stop.. They were as curious of me as I was of them.. Total dive time: a frisky 61 minutes, max depth: 37 feet, water temperature: a freezing 36 deg F.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

D.O.G.s or Huskies..?

The weather's definitely getting colder - and the water temperature in the Lake too. But, that's when the viz starts to clear and the diving crowd starts to thin out. This morning - to celebrate Todd's 300th dive appropriately - three of us ventured forth to Howe Island to plumb the 'hidden' depths of the South Channel. Despite the lower water levels of this time of year, before the bottom started rising back to Wolfe Island in mid channel, we achieved 119'. It was a cool dive on at least two levels. First of all, the water temperature was down to 43℉ (6℃) at the bottom and, secondly, it just an excellent, relaxed experience. Congratulations, Todd, on your 300th lifetime dive.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Great fish diversity

Last Tuesday Todd, Steve and I went for a nice little night dive in Portsmouth harbor. I have to admit, this dive was so far the best in term of fish diversity. I'll let you judge! These pictures were all taken on the same dive.

Smaller pike seen in the shallows on the way back by the pier

Lake shad

Catfish (minus a chunck on the face!)

Walleye seen chilling on the bottom under the pier close to the first opening

Sucker

BIIIGG pike seen on our way to the pier leaving from the line to the anchor

Family reunion of perches

Big Small mouth bass

Mudpuppy

Rock bass

Sorry, I didn't bother taking pictures of gobby, but obviously, they were there also.

See you next dive!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

DOGs on the prowl..

Here's a link to a few minutes of video fun on the KGH wreck yesterday. If you have friends who wonder why you dive - and what you see, show them this...

Sunday, October 31, 2010

City of Sheboygan in great shape..

Seven of us went out with Kingston Dive Charters this morning to dive the excellent wreck that is the City of Sheboygan. Conditions could only have been improved by a little bit more sunshine, but the Lake was relatively calm, and the visibility was superb. A water temperature of 52℉ (11℃) ensured that no one got unduly cold. A lot of video was taken - and a short edition of the highlights is on You Tube here..

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Portsmouth Harbour Wrecks..

For all those who have not had the opportunity to visit the wreck fragments that lie just off the Breakwater at Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, here's a little video pulled together in October. To view it click here.

It comes as a complete surprise to most Kingstonians that these links to the City's maritime history are literally yards from shore.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Night Dive on the Wolfe Islander...



The Club organized another very successful night dive on the Wolfe Islander tonight (Thanks Todd). We were delighted to be accompanied by several well-equipped and well-trained divers from the Great Lakes Underwater Explorers. (They brought considerable candlepower to the wreck..!). Our last night dive on the Wolfe provided several great American Eel sightings - and this one was no different. The other picture above is of my patient buddy, who was content to hang around while I bothered eels and fiddled with camera settings..! For the record keepers, the water temp at depth was 52℉ (11℃). That beat the heck out of 3℃ back on the boat..!!! Many thanks to Frank and Proteus Diving for another great outing from Treasure Island.. The new onboard heaters below are the bees' knees...

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Discontinued... You won't stop me from photography!



I got told some weeks ago that the batteries holder in my Sealife external flash unit was a discontinued piece and I could replace both of my broken holders... There was no way I was to pay around 600$ to replace my two flashes! There was no way I was to stop underwater photography either... Here is the solution to my problem (pictures below) !



I order cheap batteries holders online for 1,60$ and simply welded them in place to replace the sliding company one. The blue sticky tack is to minimize stress on the weld when I put in and remove the batteries. It works perfectly. I "test dive" today at Morton's wharf and manage over 75 flashes without any miss flash. I know that others suffer with the same problem or will eventually. Sealife is a awesome basic dive camera, but some pieces are made cheap! The next step is custom machined aluminium plates to replace the flashes's bases cracked many times. It will be done for next dive season. For now, good old epoxy will do the trick!

Good luck, and never give up underwater photography because of technical problems!

See you at my 150th dive Saturday!!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Quick and Dirty...


Don't get too excited by the headline, I'm talking about the video summary of yesterday's Pumpkin Dive.. Check it out here.. Many thanks to everyone who came out and supported the event. And apologies for missing most of you underwater. Next event, I'll do my little tour of the dive site AFTER capturing the participants... Oh well - nobody's perfect..!

Thank you Matt for the excellent title pic above

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Rare encounter

Once again today at 1300h, Suzanne, Laurie, Matt and I hit Portsmouth harbor. I have to admit, this easy site haven't deceived me yet this season. The wave breaker always provide either massive schools of perches/basses or a dozen of big healthy basses.

Today was different. There was a little something better than the big basses. Laying on the bottom for a little nap was a rarely encountered Long nose gar. In a 143 dives yet, it was my second. I have the pleasure to share this short video of this funny looking fish.

You can also enjoy a nice video of the big basses often present at the end of the wave breaker.

Finally to give an idea of the site for those that haven't been under the wave breaker yet, here is a video of what it looks like.

See you next dive!

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Congratulations to our new Advanced Open Water divers..

Well done, Ben, John and Steve, who completed a tiring training weekend to emerge with their coveted Advanced Open Water Diver certifications today. Conditions were very good for this time of year, but a challenging night dive on the Wolfe (with no moon at all) and some strong surface currents on the Munson, made the course and the diving interesting.

Many thanks to Todd and Gaétan. Their support was invaluable and appreciated every bit as much by the three divers as by myself.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Return to Tobermory...

Seizing the opportunity of a few days calm, Dianne and I made our way North to Tobermory this week. Ye Gods, it's a journey and a half, but worth it.. We stayed in a really delightful rental cottage near Big Tub and managed a total of four dives. The weather caused us to lose a day, but that's life. We were intent on re-visiting the Arabia, undoubtedly the most impressive of all the wrecks in the Marine Park. Conditions when we did were excellent. About 60 feet of visibility and only the lightest of currents. The blue hue of the water in the area between Georgian Bay and Lake Huron is extraordinary - and the absence of Zebra Mussels means that the wrecks retain their definition. Construction details really stand out. Kingston has many more, and better, wrecks than Tobermory, but the dive conditions there are outstanding. There was much discussion early this year of a Club trip to Tobermory. Now's the time to get something on the books for 2011.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

From: Mr. Jeffy Parsons-Sheldrake

Subject: To whom it may concern.

Message:

To whom it may concern.

Please excuse me if I have infringe into your privacy. This may be strangeany
way, but I have no option than to mail you. I m Mr Jeffy Parsons-Sheldrake, an Canada
citizen,I m presently trying to secure a move to The Proteus. I am conveince that you
are the right fellow to Confide this to.

It is my pleasure to Contact you for a business venture of which I intend to
establish in your Country. Though I have not met with you, I believe one has to
risk Confidence in someone to succeed sometimes in life.

I have all relative documents amounting to Thirteen Million, Two Hundred
Thousand fishes ($13,200,000.00 Million) which my Father
deposited with the Wolfe Islander in one of the Northamerica countries, of which he wanted to
use for his political reason in our Country before he was assassinated. Now as
his son, I have decided to invest these 18 degree temperatures in your country for Security and
political reasons and as an Free nation.

I will like to invest part of the diving into these three investments in your
Country, but if there is any other business that is better than what I am
suggesting, I will be very glad to follow your advice.

1)Bass
2)Gobies
3)American eel (!)
4)Freshwater drum

If you can be of an assistance to me, I will be pleased to offer you cookies, water or chips
when discussions continues and any profit made in the investment and if you
wish, you can be a share holder in the company.

I await your response soonest and please include your direct phone number, full
name and contact address for easy communication.

Regards,

Mr. Jeffy Parsons-Sheldrake.

Diving the U-1105

Last weekend gave me the opportunity, which I have long held, to dive a wartime German U-Boat wreck down in the States. The U-1105 was built in 1944 and had only one operational patrol, in waters off Scotland, before the war ended and she surrendered to the Royal Navy. She was later transferred to the US Navy and brought to the Eastern seaboard, where she was subjected to experimentation and finally sunk in a trial of a new depth charge in September 1949.

Her resting place, where she is largely intact, but mainly buried in the silt, is off Piney Point in Maryland, in 85 feet of tidal water in the Potomac River. I made two dives in the company of local divers and enjoyed excellent conditions, though visibility, thanks to the heavy particulate content of the water, was pretty restricted. I joked with my fellow divers that it was the first night dive I've ever made in broad daylight. Put it this way, when my buddy (who was using two HID video lights) moved around a corner of the wreck, I couldn't even see the glow of his lights. It was pitch dark at 80 feet. I managed to patch together some video from a visit to the local Museum, where many artifacts from the submarine now reside, the trip out and the underwater experience. It can be seen here. Enjoy ! I may try to put together a trip to this wreck - and the nearby American submarine wreck, the S-49 next year. Clicking here will give you a access to an information sheet on the U-1105.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Morton's Wharf as you've never seen it before...

It can sometimes be a little difficult to explain what the Wharf actually looks like as you stand on shore. Now, if you grab this shot, taken by a member of the local Flying Club, it's easier to show the layout. This will feature shortly in an online guide produced by Preserve Our Wrecks. Coming soon..!

Monday, September 6, 2010

Well done Paul ! Now an Advanced Diver..

Congratulations this Labour Day to Paul, who completed his Advanced Open Water syllabus with a Deep Adventure at Fairfield Park and a Digital Photography Adventure at the Kingston Oasis. He was totally at ease with both experiences, as he has been throughout the course. Now he's free to spend more time out diving with Rick - and other members..

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

In his element...

Some dives are just more gentle and relaxing than others. Today's dive, with Gaétan, was one of those special ones. We didn't see anything remarkable, though there was an encounter with a large Carp. We didn't do anything special, though we did repair the line out to the barge at the Marine Museum. But, we did enjoy a really slow, 'smell the roses' kind of experience that all of us relish from time to time. Two fairly capable divers, comfortable in each other's company, always aware of each other's position and totally chilled - for 65 minutes. Too cool!

The ambition had been to get some decent shots of the iron latticework under the pier at the entry point, but low viz pretty much put paid to that, so the dive passed quietly with a few hero shots, a tour of the barge and a look at the logs. The only complaint might be that it's too darn hot getting into your drysuit before the dive. If that's the only issue - I can live with it - roll on the Winter though. Can't wait to get our visibility back.

BTW - pay close attention to the picture above. This may be a rare sighting of a hoodless Gaétan...

Saturday, August 28, 2010

The St-Lawrence and its Hidden Treasures...




Call it luck, call it odds, moons and stars lining up, or whatever bohemian fortune-teller mumbo-jumbo that carries around in the news today... 8 fortunate club members got a chance to dive on.. not one, but two... great wrecks in the St-Lawrence seaway that seldom get the publicity or recognition for greatness they truly deserve.

Kim, our Activities Coordinator, secured a charter with Thousand Island Pleasure Diving out of Caigers Resort today. We were treated to their largest vessel, the Osprey (pictured in photo 1), which can carry a large number of divers, and is fairly well laid-out for big groups, or plenty of gear for those multiple-tank diving activities.

After clearing Customs at 1000hrs (since both wrecks are in American Territorial Waters), we set off to the Keystorm. See picture number two for a shot of the forward wheelhouse. The ship was built in England as a canal cargo ship, and hit a shoal in late 1912. It sits on its Starboard side, at a very steep angle, with its bow at the 30-ft range, and its propeller sitting in 110-115 feet of water. Yours truly got a bit of nitrogen narcosis in the deepest portion of the dive because of the disorienting way the ship is sitting in the water.. It is slightly strange to have the whole deck of the ship on your right hand side as you descend deeper towards the stern... What an eerie feeling it was to swim underneath this behemoth, and find yourself faced with the keel of this massive ship.

As if the disorientation wasn't enough on the first dive, our second dive was on the America, which sits completely upside-down. Picture number 3 is Josee next to one of the twin propellers that are quite apparent at the stern. At the time of its sinking, the America was a blasting ship, tasked with annihilating dangerous shoals with explosives. The information I could find on the vessel is limited, but basically states that it sank and went belly-up after an explosion.. It sits in 75 feet of water, with its massive stabilizing pillars reaching upwards towards the surface, silently calling out for divers to visit her watery remains.

A great time was had by all, though everyone came back to shore feeling the lethargic effect of doing 2 deep dives in a relatively short period. I wish to extend my personal thanks to Kim for organizing the event, and to Thousand Island for the opportunity to dive on these great wrecks.

El Presidenté

Monday, August 16, 2010

Nautical Archaeology - piece of cake !

Our very own Matt was one of several divers to benefit from Nautical Archaeology training in Kingston this last weekend. He's pictured here working on underwater survey techniques. The course covered all manner of topics from basic ship construction (giving a greater understanding of what we see in our wrecks) to the law governing underwater sites. Matt will be very happy to explain his exploits to anyone interested. The event was a great success, despite being blown off the Lake to the quarry for the practical exercises. More pics on my Facebook page.

Another Vanderklooster takes to the water..

Todd's daughter, Brooklynn, is pictured by a proud dad during the concluding Open Water dives of her Junior Open Water certification last week in Kingston. Looks like the attraction to water must be genetic after all... Well done, Brooklynn !

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Found New Life in Newfoundland


Well my 2 weeks are almost up here in NL.  After helping with some work around my Grandfather's old house, I finally made it out Diving.  The marine life is much more colourful, and if you aren't careful, can sneak up on you in a hurry.  If any of you get the chance, or you want to plan I dive vacation, this should be high on your list.  

                                                                                                           

Jack made it home...

Many of us had the pleasure this Summer of diving with a visitor from the Prairie Provinces. Jack brought a whole new dimension to local diving and we had a lot of fun in his company. He's made it safely home and sent the following message. I'm sure that everyone who met him and shared time underwater with him will appreciate it and look forward to seeing him over here again.

"I would like to thank Mike, Matt,Todd (not his fault he is RCR), Gaétan, and of course Lady Dianne for all you did for me this summer. The Dolphins scuba club is by far the best club in the CF. you set the standard on how a club should run job well done to the exec staff. If you guys are ever in Winnipeg my door is always open.

Yours truly slickback Jack
"

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Alexandria Bay - a new dinner location ?


We made a quick pilgrimage to the States today to dive the Islander Wreck in Alexandria Bay. But this favoured site offers a lot more. A short swim out to the East takes you to the massive chains that hold a floating restaurant in place. Beneath the restaurant, at 60', there's another dining venue, with a couple of tables, many chairs and lots of silverware and crockery.

Another interesting underwater object to visit is about half way back, on a plateau above the ledge. Here, a large tree has lodged (firmly ?) in the silt and now plays host to a large number of fish. It's well worth a look see. Water temperature today - a balmy 73℉ (23℃). Visibility ranged from about 20 - 40'.

Club gains more Advanced Open Water Divers..

Many congratulations to the Club members who completed their Advanced Open Water certifications with Chico this last weekend. The concluding dives were conducted in the St Lawrence, giving access to drift diving and some of the excellent wreck sites. The accompanying picture reflects the very high level of satisfaction with the course and that view is strongly supported by verbal reports from the participants. It's great to see our members enhancing their qualifications and opening up new diving opportunities for themselves. Well done indeed to all concerned.

And, in a separate note - congratulations to Ken, who also completed his AOW with Adam last week..

Monday, July 26, 2010

Double Century for Gaétan..

Monday evening saw Gaétan undertake his 200th dive - at the Marine Museum. He was in good company, though many more of his friends would have liked to attend. They were otherwise engaged. The accompanying group pretty much covers the hardier divers from the Club, who make it their business, in many cases year-round, to keep diving.

Many congratulations to the main man! May the next 200 come quickly - and in warmer water - for some at least..

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Anchor cleaning quite revealing..

A dive at Portsmouth today presented the opportunity to clean up the newer of the two anchors that lie offshore. Accumulations of mussels and corrosion were vigorously removed, revealing the well-known swastika - and on the other fluke - the name of a maker. That name is still a little unclear, but the location of manufacture can now clearly be identified as Sunderland, a major ship-building port in NE England. So, did the Germans have merchant ships built in England before the war? Or, is the swastika a good-luck symbol? The jury's still out. If you're in the water at Portsmouth soon, go look at the maker's name and see if you can make it out clearly. It certainly ends with Co Ltd, so that supports the English origins.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Jack's Last Dive...


Right away - let's clarify the slightly alarming title. What we mean to say is 'Jack's last dive in Kingston for a while'.. Jack, who has brought a certain Western tone to Club life for the last 7 weeks, while here on temporary duty, is heading home to Winnipeg. Several of us considered it a good idea to mark his final immersion in Lake Ontario (for the time being) with something special. Only Matt did anything substantial about the idea. He chartered Proteus for a dive on the Wolfe. And we got a full turnout for the trip, including a couple of lovely bubblewatchers. Every trip should have those. Otherwise, it's like a car show without scantily clad models.

Anyhoo, the dive was a great success - even before Matt broke out the beers on the return journey. The wreck presented many large Freshwater Drum besides the usual host of Rock Bass, Bluegills and Gobies. Jack also had a chance to try out Frank's very handy Bladefish DPV. The thermocline was at about 55' and could be easily seen as a shimmering layer. Temps above - about 64℉. Below, who cares? I didn't stay long enough to find out. Safe journey home, Jack. It's been fun diving with you. Don't forget to return. We still have a bunch of great wrecks to show you.



The evening was also memorable for Ben. Who was making his first boat dive and first real, Open Water wreck dive since certification this year. Cool dive, Ben..

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Pipeline Patrol..?


Jack and I decided to take the easy way out today and simply follow the Western pipe from KPH out to its terminal point at 57'. This took just a leisurely 16 minutes, so we did some exploring off the pipe, practising navigation. All good. There was a slight thermocline at about 45' but bottom temperatures out at the maximum depth remained in the high 50s ℉. Unlike yesterday, there were no significant fish sightings.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

First Stab at Fairfield Park..


Jack and I decided to find out what attracts many divers to the little park in Amherstview. Fairfield Park, according to the nautical charts, offers about 90 feet of water within a few hundred feet of shore. That was almost exactly what we found. But, the highlight on what was largely a simple out and back over a gently descending slope, was encountering the large Freshwater Drum shown during our safety stop. It wasn't at all put out by our attention and we first saw it feeding. Entry and exit is easy - and there's a set of washrooms - always welcome at a dive site. Viz was great below about 60 feet and the bottom temperature well down in the low 40s℉.

Morton's Magic..

The beautiful picture above was contributed by Matt and illustrates really well what is so often special about Morton's Wharf. The location, allied to the construction, often gives rise to great shots in the sunlight. Jack is silhouetted really well here. The dive was a fun one, taking in first the wreck of the St Lawrence - another exercise in jungle busting through weeds, then along the contour back to the Wharf, where we played around for a while, ultimately leaving the water about 64 minutes later. Thanks for the pics Matt - cool!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Club makes the Base Paper...

Your President recently gave an interview to a reporter from the Base Newspaper, the Tower. Given the opportunity to ride along on a charter to the Munson, the individual writing the article has produced a great piece on who we are and what we do. Click here to download the article and see how many names you spot of active Club members.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Jamie joins the certified divers..

Congratulations to Jamie, who opted for Brule Road's more sheltered environment to complete his Open Water dives today over a rather lumpy lake. Each of the dives lasted almost an hour and required skills were all mastered without fuss. The Quarry was very busy - did we mention that there's now a barbecue running, with hot dogs and other snacks, as well as cold sodas available?

The tiny Bass fry which were very evident a few weeks ago are now reaching recognizable Bass form. They've stopped shoaling in large numbers and now move around singly, or in small groups of up to about a dozen fish. At about an inch long - and quite curious - they are great fun to watch. In and around the the old car chassis, three or four of the largest Bluegills I've ever seen are also lazily swimming around.

Each visit to the Quarry these days shows up new objects underwater. Take a trip and have a look around yourself.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Its like Safari diving out there!

It seems like the last few dives have been just like the old Mutual of Omaha wildlife shows of the 70s. The weeds are like forests and the bottom can be full of algae. The plus side of this is the life in the lake is never as good as it is now. One of our intrepid divers mentioned its like swiming in a fish bowl. The highlight for me was last night at the Museum where kristie and myself ran into a catfish attempting to dine on a poor lake shad. I managed to get a couple of shots of it and you can see where the bite marks were on it. It wasn't swiming too well and I figure he didnt make it far but than that's life in the wild! I wont deny the visibility is not the greatest but with a keen eye you can see walleye, sheepshead, and more if your carefull. Water temps have fluctuated between 75-65F down to 20 feet, however at 100 feet its 55F. Visibility in all areas has been grim but feasible with approximately 15 feet at the 20 foot depth and between 20 to 40 at 60 or more depth. Did I mention weeds? This afternoon Mike Jack and myself treated ourselves to a bit of old school bushwhacking navigation for a 78 minute dive to see but the Regent and the Charlotte in one swim on an alluminum 80 no less.
One last thing the Dolphins are now on Facebook, look for CFB Kingston Dolphin Scuba club and if you like, hit 'Like Us'! Less talk more pics I say:
1. Gaétan at the Wharf in the Haze, 2. The AAA guns of Mortons Wharf, 3. Marc-Etienne looking to snap a rather large bass.

4. Mike Bushwhacking at deadmans bay, 5 and 6. The shad that Escapes death by the hands of a catfish. You can see the bite marks on the shad.

Yours in Fun Safe diving
Matt C