A Taste of True Ice Diving

Well it's that time of year for those who didn't travel south, take up Ice Diving. You can only dive Upper Brewers Mills so many times before you succumb to Lake Ontario's beckoning. This past weekend, a few of us had to venture into old territory well new in some aspects, as the photos will prove. (courtesy of Mike)

The weekend started with a dive Saturday morning at the Marine Museum. Once we had a hole made, we geared up and went under the Ice. We were all pleasantly surprised at just how great the Vis really was.

I would have to say we were looking at 100 ft of Vis. We used a cave line anchored at the hole and went on our dive.

Sunday's dive turned out to be a repeat of the Saturdays dive. With the exception of Mike bringing out his camera and expertise. He has proven once again that a tripod is worth its weight in gold. Proving a small aperture with a slow shutter speed gives you the best shot, but a tripod is a must.

The only exception was, Sunday seemed to be a little cooler than the previous day. The water temperature in the lake was definitely the coldest dive to date that I have ever dove. A cool 32 f. that's right, FREEZING cold. A point to consider here. An environmentally sealed and balanced 1st stage regulator is a very wise choice. All in all, the weekend of ice diving was an enjoyable weekend. The Marine Museum never looked so good.

Diving Adventurers..

Conditions in the Lake are really pretty good at the moment. Despite near frigid water temperatures, the visibility is fantastic, and entry and exit are straightforward. Todd and Dan enjoyed amazing sightings of Gizzard Shad yesterday and today. You can see a video of the large shoal of fish here on You Tube...

Shad-tastic..!

It's not entirely clear just what species we encountered in the waters near the Marine Museum yesterday and today, but what's quite certain is that we enjoyed an experience that is rare in local water. This link will take you to video that shows just what we were privileged to enjoy. So numerous were the fish, and so intent on shoaling, that they actually collided with the divers. If you listen carefully, on a couple of occasions you can hear a fish bump into the camera housing.

Happy New Year everyone!

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...

Temperature Survey..

The picture shows the results of a quick review of minimum temperatures recorded in the Lake in 2007. I'd like to do something similar this year, but I need input from all our divers. Could you please drop me a line with the lowest temp you see on each dive. I will compile a table and provide the output at year's end.

Imagine one of these in the Lake...

So - while browsing a technology website today - I came across an article on the growing interest in 'personal submarines'. This class of underwater craft is increasingly interesting both the recreational sector and researchers. Click this link to read the article and start thinking how much fun it would be to visit our local wrecks in a submarine like the ones described...