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..

Pumpkin Dive a Perfect Pastime...

Thanks to Kim and Scott, with a little help from their friends, today's Pumpkin Dive was a great success. Although only three buddy pairs participated in the actual competition, there were more than a dozen divers actually in the water, many busy with recording the event photographically. It was particularly pleasing to see Eric and Anton in the water; Anton only gained his Open Water certification earlier this month. Suzanne and Ken, who were guests at the event, but intend to bring their AOW skills to the Club as full members next year, were also very welcome. Well done to all the Pumpkin mutilators.. and many, many thanks to Kim for a fabulous spread and a knockout Chili..

All the photos on our Flickr site... - see link to the right...

New Rescuers Boost the Club's Ranks...

Many congratulations are due to the four Club members who became Rescue Divers this evening. They have met the challenge of mastering many new skills and then exercising them in real-World conditions. Kim, Scott, Todd and Kevin all encountered and applied new techniques and appeared to enjoy the experience. Jesse, who was committed to Recspo at RMC, will very quickly catch up to complete the course.

Achieving the Rescue Diver certification marks a major change in any diver's circumstances. No longer is their diving largely introspective, it becomes much more outward-looking and they contribute actively to anticipating and addressing problems that others might be experiencing. All five of the divers who have been on the Rescue Course will be even more valuable members of our dive community in future. Gaining this certification is also, frequently, the last major step before tackling divemaster and taking on the task of 'Going Pro'. I think that all the divers who have worked so hard over the last week or so are well prepared and able to advance...

Another Diver earns certification...

Blown off the Lake by blustery (and cold) southerly winds, three of us headed for Kingston Oasis (also known as Brule Road Quarry) yesterday to complete Alex's certification requirements. It's always a shame when you can't provide a variety of dive site experiences at the conclusion of an Open Water class, but the Oasis worked out pretty well. You'll gather from the picture that Alex was in full control by the end of the day.


Conditions in the quarry were good - and this must have been appreciated by at least three other groups of divers who appeared, complaining about being denied access to the Lake. Visibility was somewhere close to 40 feet and the temperature very much the same as in the Lake's more exposed waters at 64℉ (18℃). There were a lot of fish to see, including what Todd identified as a large Koi Carp. The number of little power boat hulks in the water seems to be increasing with every visit. We counted at least 5 yesterday.

There's no longer a permanent presence at the Oasis taking in admission monies, but if you're planning on a visit it would be a courtesy to call the owner, Dan, to advise him. He has taken a lot of trouble to improve the site and to clean it up - and he has many more plans. He can be reached at 613 386 5289 / Cell 613 329 7790.