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
"