Outing to the William Jamieson...

Nine divers made it out this morning to the wreck of the William Jamieson at the far end of Amherst Island. The weather was a mixed bag. Occasional patches of sunshine were interspersed with light rain. None of that affected a good dive on an interesting wreck. The visibility, except where bottom disturbance played a role, was about 40 feet. Despite the fact that, elsewhere, the thermocline is now at about 55 feet, the water was a pretty reasonable 64℉ (18℃) from top to bottom. I almost regretted the hood and gloves I'd donned in anticipation of a colder, bottom layer. There wasn't a lot of fish life, but that's not unusual just now - especially in broad daylight.

Stress Relief on the Munson...

So, tonight it was a run to the Munson to blow off some of the work day blues for Kevin. Going off the Collins Bay Pier, the trip is less than 10 minutes and just 2 miles running distance. The weather was clement, with the wind out of the North West and the Lake surface was showing just small waves. Mind you, when our dive flag fell in the water and had to be retrieved, it showed a pretty fair wind-driven surface current to be present.

The dive was everything you expect of the Munson. A dark descent into a cold environment that only slowly reveals the details of the wreck. Lights were an absolute must. After passing the thermocline at about 60 feet, the temperature dropped quite significantly, but not as low as recent experiences would have suggested. The minimum temperature was 52℉ (11℃). Visibility - though hard to judge beyond the range of our lights - was probably about 40 feet. One unpleasantness was moving through a 'soupy' layer of green gunky algae in the first 40 feet of the dive or so.

But, as a way to blow off the day's cares, this was a classic...

Twofer downriver...

Some of my friends from my days in Virginia came North this weekend to conduct some technical dives on the Roy Jodrey, an intimidating deep wreck in the St Lawrence. However, today, they contented themselves with a shake-out two-tank expedition with Wayne Green's Thousand Island Pleasure Diving operation. That provided the opportunity to join them. The two wrecks chosen - for convenience from Brockville - were the Muscallonge (sitting in about 100 feet) and the Gaskin (about 65 feet to the bottom). Both wrecks were great to see, and it was my first dive on the Muskie. Sitting in a narrower part of the River, she enjoys a brisk current, which makes getting into the wreck's shadow a high priority. Moving on to the Gaskin, where the River is much wider, the current was less of an issue and the fish life was spectacular. Making the swim-through, from the stern forwards, a shoal of Bass and Perch was encountered in a calm, back eddy of the wreck. Larger, very bold fish were relishing the current and the foodstuffs it carries to them all over the deck and around the lower, protected sections. Visibility was pretty good (I'd heard some stories of poor viz in the River this year, but they proved to be false). I'd estimate it to be in the 60 foot range. The temperature - top to bottom - was 70°F (21°C).

Bonus Charter...

It's not every day that a charter captain calls you at ten to eight in the morning and offers you a trip, so when they do, it's generally a good idea to gear up and get going. That's what happened today and, when I got to the boat, who should I find smiling and enjoying life but Rob Bradley. Another familiar face was Gary Gillan, whose company I last enjoyed on a Club charter out of Duck's Diving in 2006. The two-tank outing took in the Frontenac and the Geo T. Davie. Great dive sites and seen in pretty good conditions. Viz on the Frontenac was better than on the Davie; about 50 feet compared to 30 or so. Water temperatures were very similar- somewhere around the 48°F mark (9°C).

Congratulations to the 'A' Team

Anthea and Ashley are to be congratulated on completing their Advanced Open Water course this weekend. The culminating dive - on the Munson - in near perfect conditions - was a fitting reward for a lot of hard work. Their smiles say it all. They had a great time and have come out of the weekend better divers, with more opportunities ahead of them. Well done indeed to both...

Wolfe Islander II

This week the Dolphins had Captain Steve (Limestone) take them out to the Wolfe Islander II because the winds were high. The weather was warm and the water much warmer than previous dives. The visibility was not very good but that was expected with the storms that went through recently. We went down the bow line to the bottom and circled the boat clockwise. When we came back around the far side of the boat we came up over the side to the car deck. We had a look in the hatch and then moved on to the motorcycle. The ten speed was beside the motorcycle and the bowling ball wasn't very from from that . We then went and had a look at the winch on the front. After a short time here we followed the line back to the stern and had a look inside the doors and windows. We spend about 5 minutes here and then turned the dive. After getting changed we shared a few stories and a couple of laughs on the way back to shore. As always we then went to Tim Horton's to debrief and have a much needed coffee.

Great dive with a great Club turnout...

It's great to see a good Club turnout for any dive, but when you field 11 divers and visit an unfamiliar wreck - in this case, the massive remains of the vessel known as the Lusitania - life doesn't get much better. Despite slightly lumpy waters, the visibility at depth was very good indeed, certainly in excess of 60 feet. All the divers were impressed with the site and the service provided by the two boats laid on by Northern Tech Diver. It should also be noted that NTD moored this particular wreck recently - and it's a welcome addition to Kingston dive destinations. For the record, the water temperature at depth was about 50°F (10°C). Watch out for more pictures and information from the other photographers on the boat - Kim and Kevin.

Lucky for some...

Friday the 13th isn't traditionally a good day to do things - if you're superstitious, that is. However, taking advantage of an ad hoc charter organised by Doug and True-Dee McCarthy, four of us enjoyed an excellent two-tank excursion with Pat Coyne of Pat's Charters. We hit the Munson first. Visibility was as good as I can remember - at least 60 feet. Water temperatures were in the region of 48°F (9°C). The second dive, with a sensible surface interval, was the Mapleglen. This enormous wreck features a truly massive, 4-bladed propeller and accompanying rudder (lying off the side). These features and massive boilers are the principal things to see, but a swim all the way along the broken remains stretching about 250 feet is well worth the trip. Visibility was a little poorer here - at about 40 feet, but the visit was well worth while.

Long Live the King...horn

Sometimes things go as planned. Sometimes not. Our scheduled dive of the Wolfe Islander had to be changed at the last minute because of technical difficulties on the Lyn Lea. Of our original ten planned charter divers, six made the detour to Caiger's Resort in Mallorytown. As our reward, we were treated to warmer waters and a later, enjoyable dive of the King Horn, in the gentle St. Lawrence current. The only problem is - When will we ever get to dive the Wolfe Islander, now? We didn't take any pics on the dive, but I googled "King Horn", and included a pic to keep with the usual blog format. I hope you love it.

Divers:  Chris C  Jean-Olivier  Jeffy  Kim  Pierre-Adam  Scott

The Early Diver gets the Viz

It's said that there are seasoned divers in Kingston who dive exclusively in the early and late periods of each dive season. Their logic is that those are the times that you can place reasonable reliance on seeing our wrecks at their best. This morning's charter lent credence to the notion. A gentle trip to the Comet put us in place to enjoy visibility in the order of 70 feet or so. In water temperatures of 43°F (6°C), conditions were really rather pleasant. Even our one wetsuited diver didn't freeze...! Jim Dunfield - down visiting from Ottawa - was a very welcome addition to the team. It would be nice to think that the Sunday Club could make a charter trip every week, but this may have been a one-off bonus dive for most.

Rounding off the RMC Year...

Taking advantage of the small, slack period at the end of the RMC year, some of our most active divers, Marc-Etienne, Donovan and Olivier got in a couple of dives this week just before they departed for phase training over the Summer. As well as a shore dive, they were able to use a boat belonging to the Rod and Gun Club at RMC to get out to the Wolfe Islander. The accompanying photograph, taken by Marc-Etienne, was taken there. All credit to these guys, who have been diving consistently when the opportunity arose - and always in wetsuits.

Hello! If it's Wednesday, it must be the Wolfe Islander...

Well - long story short - weather warnings and the like again sent us to the Wolfe Islander II. Whole trip out and back it rained. Not the light, drizzly rain, but real, ground soaking, my yard loves it rain. Nevertheless, twelve of us got in another dive on the old lady. Viz was reasonable at about 40-50', but the thermocline was very noticeable and dropped the temperature at 60' and below to a chilly 50F (10C).

I guess everyone's spirits were lifted by the unusual sight of me in a wetsuit - first time in home waters in over a year. Did I mention that I love my drysuit? I kept raising my left arm in an effort to vent air on the ascent, with no result at all. Drat that muscle memory...

But a dive's a dive... Where's the Summer gone? My logbook shows the Wolfe enjoying temperatures 10F warmer than this exactly a year ago - Global Warming - Pah! (not a serious comment, I'm with Al Gore on that one...)

Oh! I ought to mention that there was some excitement about a couple of our divers spotting a large, probably Freshwater Drum (Sheepshead) around the bridge of the wreck...

Birthday boy in Brockville...

Five members of the Club made it down to Brockville for an outing with Luc Martin Charters to celebrate Dominique's Birthday in the way that he had requested - with a dive on the Lillie Parsons. Conditions were excellent, though the St Lawrence Park was extraordinarily busy. Besides the Lillie, the group went on to complete a two-tanker on the Robert Gaskin - Dominique's choice. Everyone seemed to have a good time and spent their air well.

It's the little things about a site that stand out. The observant diver, taking their time and using their eyes, will spot something interesting on every dive. Today's 'features' included the shoaling Bass in the bow and stern gaps in the hull and the thinning of chain links on the stern due to simple current action and the constant friction that results. The grouping of baby Bass in the hull plank gaps was also interesting.

Returning to the Birthday theme, Chantal, the skipper, surprised and delighted everyone by producing the cake she's seen in the picture enjoying with Dominique during the surface interval.

Water temperature was 64F (18C) uniformly throughout the water column and visibility somewhere around 40-50'.

Wolfe wanderings...

I guess it's just too accessible - and has too much to offer. Whatever the reason, today saw me make another trip to the Wolfe Islander, arriving there just before 10am to find Steve and the Lynn Lea already on station. No problem - two moorings. The dive was enjoyable; hardly any current and visibility something like 40' over most of the wreck. The thermocline at about 24' sees the temperature change from 62F (17C) to just 49F (9C) around the car deck. We poked into most of the spaces and meandered through the saloon before completing a very slow ascent to return to the surface in 46 minutes.

Not the Wolfe again - again..

I guess we should have been grateful that the charter went at all tonight. There was a small craft thunderstorm advisory in effect. But a courageous captain agreed to make the trip - with the single proviso that we avoided the relatively high winds on the open lake and dove a more sheltered site. Around Kingston that means just one thing - another trip to the Wolfe Islander.

Some people say that you can never have enough of the Wolfe, but three weeks in a row begins to wear a little thin. However, the dive itself was pretty decent. All twelve divers enjoyed their experiences, despite a little bit of surface chop and some wind-driven current. Visibility was on the average side - somewhere between 30 and 40 feet depending on the area. A lot of drifting particulates were very evident - blown across the wreck by a mild downstream current. Water temperature at 60' - a cool 50F (10C).

Full marks to several divers whose first charter this was - and who coped with less than ideal conditions admirably.

A bonus on the return journey was a close encounter with the Alexander Henry, which is scheduled to move into the Marine Museum's dry dock this coming Friday. The absence of the barrier caisson, which has been moved aside to allow the transition, gave the site a rather different look.

Wrecked - and loving it...

Bit of a bonus today - a two-tank charter with Limestone at relatively short notice. You take these opportunities on trust, having no idea what the weather will do or where you might end up The four Club members who seized this chance to get out to the distant wrecks couldn't have been luckier though. We actually dove two of the best wrecks accessible from Kingston; the Marsh (depth 85') and the Davie (depth 98'). The Lake was quite calm - and the Sun shining brightly - for both dives. If any down side could be detected, it might have been the minor shock of encountering 40F (4C) bottom temperatures at each location. They certainly made it much more pleasant to spend the safety stops in near 50F (10C) water.

Both sites provided good visibility - the Marsh about 50 feet and the Davie probably 35-40. The two ships share some characteristics. Each is largely intact and each has its wheel very clearly in place. There are also prominent winches - and much sailing tackle on the Marsh.

If we have another charter during the 2007 season that fulfills its promise of excitement and superb access as well as this one, we will be doing very well.

Aloha...!

Keeping to a promise to my son and his friend that we would get the boat out this week, Theresa and I made a run to the Aloha and the Effie Mae this morning. The weather was very helpful. Bright sunshine - at least for the outward journey - and the Lake as calm as a millpond. Tying off to the POW buoy was straightforward - no current at all...

The dive was a 33 minute dive to 56 feet (the bottom). Both wrecks look rather sad - the mussel growth is really extreme and clumps of bright green algae are growing, especially on the upperwork of the Aloha. Water temperature at the bottom, a pretty manageable 43F (6C). No fish were seen (unless you count the ubiquitous Gobies - and I try not to). Visibility - probably in excess of 40 feet.

Windy on the Wolfe...

After a fun morning working on an Open Water certification, the opportunity was presented this afternoon to take a trip to the Wolfe Islander II. Conditions were good on the outward trip - and on the wreck during our 51 minute dive - but when my buddy and I returned to the surface the wind had got up and a light swell was making the stern mooring interesting.

The pic is one of a number taken on the wreck today. Visibility was probably as much as 40 feet, with the water showing a minimum temperature of 46F (8C). Other pictures will be up on the Flickr site tonight. There was absolutely no current on the ship - and the whole experience was enjoyable...

Both mooring lines are now in place - thanks to 'Preserve Our Wrecks, Kingston' - the stern line has the official POW buoy and the bow a blue jug.

Wolfe Islander II - a Dream Dive early in the season

A remarkable opportunity was seized this afternoon to travel out to the Wolfe Islander II with Dianne and Chris. Dianne, a very competent sailor, permitted us to use her Legend 35 yacht as a dive platform. It proved almost ideal, but we may have to look at a better exit arrangement. The ladder provided a great test of upper body strength. Stainless steel rails do not afford the greatest grip for drygloves.

We found a mild surface current - which all but disappeared at depth. The bow mooring on the Wolfe Islander is in place, although the up line is tangled on the mast just behind the bow. This has artificially shortened the mooring, making tying on a bit of a challenge. The wreck was in great shape, with visibility something like 40-50 feet. We toured the vessel's hull, then rose at the stern to check out the saloon and upperworks. Dozens of small fish, presumably Bass, are still resident in the interior spaces.

For those who follow this saga, the Fire Hydrant is on the second deck, Starboard side, outside the Saloon; today, anyway.

Water temperature 42F (6C).