Two more divers complete Open Water work..

The picture by Todd shows Mike leading students, Dale, Glenn and Ben out along the pipeline at Portsmouth that leads to the famous anchors. Glenn and Dale went on today to complete the last of their Open Water dives for certification. Their final dive was on the KGH Wreck. This is a tribute to their skills and confidence in the water. Each completed this relatively challenging dive for inexperienced new divers with a broad smile and a strong sense of personal satisfaction. Water temps, by the way, 55℉ (13℃) above the 32' thermocline - 46℉ (8℃). Visibility in the deeper waters was very good, but decidedly limited around shallow .sites like Morton's Wharf.

Who Knew The Internet Is a Powerful Divers Tool

At 6:45 pm yesterday, I posted on Face Book" anyone want to go diving? Tonight? Well within 15 minutes a phone call comes in, and plans are made for a night dive. Dan a club member said he would like to go. So the plan was made to meet at the club and leave for the dive site. On the way I thought why not try Morton's Wharf. A dive earlier in the week proved to produce some fish on the site. Once on site, a detailed dive brief was given on the details of the dive and the wharf, after gearing up and a final check was complete Dan and I headed into the water. The normal entry and descent, everything seemed to be going good, I looked at my computer and the water temperature was 37F. Wow, starting to warm up I thought. Then a large bass swims by, and I think this is going to be good, since my other night dives have produced little fish. Well the fish are back, and are plentiful, which Dan tried his attempt in night photography. We had the pleasure of seeing several large Smallmouth Bass, Rock Bass, White Suckers, Perch, Catfish, a small Northern Pike, and surprisingly a very very large Silver Muskie. The Muskie wasn't around for long when he realized he wasn't alone. But a thrill no less to spot such a large Muskie in the shallows. We turned the dive and headed back to our entry point. When in 15 feet of water it was noticeable that it was windy and the waves were building at the surface. Exiting took a little patience and good timing, however another excellent dive. With another diver convinced that night diving is a lot of fun, and worth repeating.

April Fools Dive 2010

The club lived up to the national standard today with a small but not planned chuckle. Never tell Gaetan where you are actualy diving, he might just forget anyways, and go where you were before. So after a small 30 minute delay as he drove from Brule Road Quarry to Mortons Wharf where the dive actualy was, the gang was ready to test out Josees new DUI suit. We would of said april fools to him, but Kevin did tell him Mortons Wharf. I'm just gonna put it down to old age. Soon we will have to trade Gaetan in for a younger more effeicent model with more hair on his head. JK bro we wouldnt have quite as much fun with the newer one.

While the Weather is pure summer fantastic, the water is still bitterly winter. Here we see Kevin and Josee practicing thier Kung Fu in thier new DUI drysuits, look how spry they appear as they wait for Mr "I forgot my fins" Grondin. 30 min, 25 feet, and 39F later we all came out dry and happy. The vis is anywhere from 20 to 40 feet even in the dark, despite my best efforts to kick up the bottom taking pictures.

Lots to see at the Wharf today:

A baby Northern Pike, Perch, Mudpubby salamander and the elusive April Fools Grondy!

Couple of points to note: 1. When doing a dive that is late in the day, take lights, you never know if your gonna need them.

2. The folks who are running the Brule Road Quarry dont appear to be answering the phone, as they likely are waiting for the real summer to arrive. Plan accordingly.

As allways "Dive with a Knife", and the pool is open see you in the drink soon!

Matt

Underwater Camera Work...

Todd

Marc-Etienne

Kevin

Now that the Lake is open for business, the pace of diving is definitely picking up. This morning, in an effort to improve on the manual flash technique, I was one of four divers playing at Morton's Wharf. The other three are pictured...

Once again, good conditions - less the water temperature - and a distinct lack of marine life.

So the water's cold, but the Sun is shining...

Matt and I seized the opportunity today to get a dive in on Morton's Wharf. Driven by a strong southerly wind, the waves were quite inconvenient, and they contributed to a certain amount of disturbance underwater close to shore. We had a good dive, both with cameras. I was experimenting with an external strobe again - not entirely successfully as the shots show. Little marine life to be seen and the water's no warmer than it was yesterday.

Amphibians and other underwater creatures...

It's a Club tradition to make a dive on New Year's Day - and today was no exception. Numbers were down on recent years, but illness, injury and an outrageous self indulgence (travelling away to exotic, warm locations) have taken their toll. Chris, Jim and I were the only divers to enter the water, although we were observed by a number of other Club members. Our reward for making the dive was to enjoy great visibility and an unusual sighting of a frog casually enjoying the underwater environment. Shouldn't all these amphibians be hibernating by now ? There was little other aquatic life to be seen. A few gobies were scurrying around - and a single large Bass was swimming around the logs, but otherwise it's pretty quiet just now. Many thanks to Gaétan and Julie for a welcome hot coffee on exit...

Happy New Year to one and all !

Christmas Day in the workhouse...

Air Temp: -1℃ (30℉) / Water Temp: 37℉ (3℃) / Visibility: 40'
Depth: 36' / Time: 40 mins

So, it may be Christmas Day for most people; a time to sit back and let the turkey dinner suffer the digestive process, but some of us have business to transact. Chris and I (sad, lonely people, you might say) made a small expedition to Morton's Wharf, where we discovered that the viz was excellent, the weeds have almost completely gone and the Bass were circling the fallen logs. We cruised the wharf slowly and took a side trip southwards, but otherwise just meandered around and enjoyed the much-improved views. Note to self - this is the time to start taking wide-angle, tripod-assisted pictures of the local underwater landmarks.

P.S. Thank you to Gaetan for coming out to capture topsides pics - and to Dianne for hot chocolate (well, after all, it's the one day of the year that Timmy's isn't available for the après dive experience..!)

Night Time Survey Work - not so much..

Todd and I dropped in to visit Morton's Wharf tonight with the intention of getting some measurements for his Divemaster Mapping Project. It turned out that working at night is not so easy. Our basic error was trying to run a tape along the bottom, rather than the top, of the various wall lines. The fact that several sections of the walls have collapsed, and that there are many logs and timbers lying adjacent to the bottom of the wall, makes running the line out difficult. We'll have another go before long, using the top of the wall to capture the relevant figures.

Otherwise, our dive was pretty good. Surface temperatures above freezing, despite light rain, were quite easy to work with. The water temperature though has dropped quite a lot over the last week. It registered 41℉ (5℃) on our computers ( drop of about 5℉ since this time last week).

There were the usual Bass and Gobies around, and Todd played with a couple of Mudpuppies. He also managed to spot a Pike lurking in the usual NW corner. I missed it.

Night Time Photo Foray...

This evening Todd and Matt let me join them on a night dive from Morton's Wharf. They were both keen to experiment with new, or fairly new camera gear, especially external strobes for their setups. The results will likely appear in due course on their Facebook pages or elsewhere. In the meantime, the pic above was taken the old-fashioned way, with in-camera flash.

For record keepers, the conditions were quite good. Water temp - as expected - 45℉ (7℃). The air temperature a little cooler at just 2℃. Viz, thanks to a stiff SW wind, which was driving some good waves up on to the entry point - about 20'.

Sunday Session at Morton's

Several divers took to the water at Morton's Wharf this morning, enjoying the calm conditions that this season brings. I was diving with Ben, a young man whose father I'd spent some time with in the water earlier this year. Ben proved to be a great buddy too. Todd, who's getting well into the Divemaster syllabus, accompanied and supported us. Ken and Suzanne were also diving, with Suzanne completing her first open water certifying dive for the drysuit specialty. Everyone had fun - and the visibility, somewhere between about 25 - 30 feet didn't hurt at all.

Some of us saw the large Pike which was also present last Thursday night. Bass were pretty commonplace. The water temperature remains the same as yesterday at 48℉ (7℃).

Many thanks to Todd for his picture of Ben and I.

Triple Treat Thursday...

Three dives today. Great result for this time of year. The first two immersions rectified a failure in communication last week, when Bill (a Flying Frogman keen to learn the layout at Brewer's) and I waited for one another at different locks. This week we planned more efficiently, met at Timmy's on Highway 15 and then made our way in convoy to first Upper Brewer's and then to Lower Brewer's, diving in each location. It has to be admitted that we might have spared ourselves the trip if we'd known that the viz would be limited to about 5' in both locations. Another unforeseen element was a water temperature of just 45℉ (7℃). That's just a few degrees less than the Lake in recent days, but it sure makes a difference. The rewarding aspect of the afternoon's activities (fostering friendships is taken for granted) was the small pile of 'treasure' recovered by the docks at Lower Brewer's. It included several items of cutlery, a dive tool, pair of sunglasses and other odds and ends.

This evening, Todd and I made our Thursday night pilgrimage to the Lake, opting to check out Morton's Wharf again. Tonight's sightings were exceptional. We spent about 10 minutes in very close proximity to a large Northern Pike (estimated at about 30"). It appeared to be every bit as interested in us as we were in it. Nearby, a pair of very large Carp were equally unconcerned and allowed close examination. These key sightings were supported by the usual Bass, Mudpuppies, Perch and Catfish. All in all, with nearly 45 minutes in very clear water, which remains at about 50℉ (10℃), this was one of those, 'you should have been with us' dives.

Oh what a night..!

It's not very often that the Lake is glassy calm, but it certainly was last night, when Todd and I jumped in at KPH. We'd expected good visibility and were rewarded with exactly that. The range was limited only by the reach of our lights. Was there much to see though, you ask..? Well, yes, some Bass, Perch and Mud Puppies - and the occasional Catfish (we were in the water quite early). The water temperature was the same 52℉ (11℃) we've been seeing for a few days now. The good news is that the weeds are definitely dying back. We spent about 45 minutes in the water, checking out a rumour passed by one of the local estate managers that a car might lie off the eastern end of the wharf, amongst other things. There was no car, but it was interesting to note how badly undermined that eastern wall of the dock is. The cavities extend more than a dozen feet in some places. The key message - don't park on the eastern side of the wharf - the pothole may be deeper than you think!

Earlier in the day, I had the pleasure of introducing a member of our sister Club, the Flying Frogmen in Trenton, to Morton's Wharf and the St Lawrence site. That too was a good dive, with moderate visibility. This is a great time of year to be in the water. It's not too desperately chilly yet, and the algae and particulates are settling out nicely.

Congratulations to two new divers..

Today, the Club saw two more divers join the ranks of the certified. Alex and Cody have been working away quietly to complete all the requirements of certification. They made two open water dives today; the first at Morton's Wharf, in fairly lumpy conditions and the second at Kingston Oasis (which is now the official title for Brule Road Quarry). The dives lasted 45 and 59 minutes respectively and gave the divers plenty of time to enjoy their surroundings and test their skills.

Brule Road is gaining popularity and it's well worth the $3 charged for admission to have the facilities that have now appeared available. The owner tells me that he plans to build a new home on the site and to improve the site still further. As a welcome - and easily accessible - alternative to a stormy Lake, it's a really welcome dive venue.

SundayDives are GO!

Just like the old serial tv shows we have lift off on the Sunday dive program. Meeting at 9 am for gear and leaving for underwater adventure at 930. We boldly go where many have gone before. Ok so thats not my finest intro to writing ...

A small handful of folks braved the bright sunny day at 2 different sites Morton's Wharf and POH ( I don't have info on that dive ATM). Gaetan and myself experienced a leisurely hour-long dive at the Morton's Wharf. Sitting at 27 feet max depth at the end of the underwater pier this is easily one of Kingston's easier dives. I bet this would be a wicked night dive. The entry is a bit tricky however the water was calm at least when we went in. It was not so nice when we got out as the winds really picked up. Vis was clear for 30 or so feet, and we were treated to lots of bass that clearly had just spawned, as well as one massive Carp, and a skittish catfish. Water temp was a balmy 66F and I did the dive comfortably in a single layer 7mm wet suit. A simple dive with a few swim throughs and few plates and cups scattered around as well as a really old TV.

Big thanks to Chris Haslip for giving me a small map of the site however after 30 min of searching I gave up on looking for the St Lawrence that sits in 6 feet of water. Also thanks to Mike for pre-filling the air banks the day before for potential divers!

In short: I intend to dive every sunday in the morning (weather and other factors aside) and anyone is welcome. I havent decided how I want to post the intended sites in advance. Further: weather does affect that as well, so for now I will play it by ear and figure out the plan at the club. I am allways open to shore diving ideas and if there is something that can be done by rec divers from shore then we can entertain that. Its a long hot summer and quality time underwater is a sure fire cure for the heat.
Oblig pics:
Nice bass Geatan!

A swim through, the super carp, and as allways blowing bubbles:



Keep blowing bubbles

Matt

BTW I must say our new sign is nice and bright!

Stay tuned

Another Diver Advances...

Todd celebrated Canada Day today with his final adventure to complete his Advanced Open Water certification. We went to Morton's Wharf and enjoyed many encounters with marine wildlife. Several Carp visited us, a large Catfish, at least one magnificent Walleye and, of course, lots of Bass and Gobies. Visibility was not too good and there's a huge, shifting mass of bright green algae on the top of the Wharf. Otherwise, the dive was a lot of fun and allowed both of us to exhibit good buoyancy control as we moved up and over the wall several times.

Sidemount Try-Out...

Today was a great day to dive. The Sun was glistening on the Lake, but a brisk breeze kept things moderately cool while gearing up. Adam had given me the chance to try out a side-mount rig and we chose Morton's Wharf to do so. The rig was perfect. Nothing needed to be done to the fit or weight - and it was really comfortable. I could get used to this.

The dive lasted just on 70 minutes in water that, at its low point, was just 46℉ (8℃). Visibility, although there was a murky layer in the upper sections, was great, probably as much as 60 feet in the deeper water. There were many Bass lurking on the Wharf and, in the area just to the West of it, a large school of Carp - perhaps as many as 8 or 10.