Night Dive on the Wolfe Islander...

The Club organized another very successful night dive on the Wolfe Islander tonight (Thanks Todd). We were delighted to be accompanied by several well-equipped and well-trained divers from the Great Lakes Underwater Explorers. (They brought considerable candlepower to the wreck..!). Our last night dive on the Wolfe provided several great American Eel sightings - and this one was no different. The other picture above is of my patient buddy, who was content to hang around while I bothered eels and fiddled with camera settings..! For the record keepers, the water temp at depth was 52℉ (11℃). That beat the heck out of 3℃ back on the boat..!!! Many thanks to Frank and Proteus Diving for another great outing from Treasure Island.. The new onboard heaters below are the bees' knees...

100 - and he doesn't look a day older..!

Last night marked a major milestone in Marc-Etienne's diving. He made his hundredth logged dive - at Morton's Wharf. It was a mark of his reputation and standing in the Club that most of the Executive turned out to join him, and several other members besides, for a total of 10 divers in the water. Calm, mild surface conditions could have led us to believe that we should expect excellent visibility, but it wasn't the case. Curiously enough, we had only about 10-15 feet. But, the mild temperatures more than made up for it - and if you turned your gaze upwards - the outline of the Wharf was beautifully defined against the night sky. Everyone spent about 40 minutes in the water hunting wildlife, largely unsuccessfully, though a large school of Perch was seen almost immediately in the weed beds in the shallows at the entry point, and a probable Carp was also spotted later.

Many congratulations to Marc-Etienne. Matt will provide pictures later of the happy diver - and the commemorative certificate he was presented during a deco stop at the Portsmouth Tavern..

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.

Getting the hang of this camera...?

Tonight was an on-request outing triggered by Rob Bradley. Todd, myself and James were happy to oblige and take a night expedition out to the KGH wreck. It presented the opportunity for me to play around with my external flash again - and the results are not too bad. Wildlife was sparse. Mudpuppies around the rocks and Bass on the wreck itself - including some big fellas around the stern, hiding in the timbers. A good dive and a chance to clean off the line a bit.

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'.

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.

Night Diving Fun at KGH

Todd and I geared up just after 7 pm this evening to check out the line to the KGH Wreck. The good news is that the line is intact and in good shape. Accumulations of weed and other debris at the outer end were removed on the homeward journey. And this good deed provided the perfect excuse to spend about 45 minutes in the water visiting the wreck and its many large Bass. Visibility was in excess of 30 feet and the water temperature remains at 50℉ (10℃). This increasingly contrasts with colder air temperatures on shore. Tonight, when we exited, the air temperature was -2℃.

Deep, Dark and Delightful...

It was great to get a note from James Young earlier this week inviting participation in what might be a final dive of the season on the Munson. It was even better to discover that it was an evening that I could actually get out on the water. So, to cut a long story short, Dianne, Marc-Etienne, Todd and I joined a small group heading for the site last night. Unsurprisingly, it was a night dive, and the near full moon was delivering little light through a high, overcast sky. That just made the descent on the Munson's large line more inviting. At depth, the visibility was pretty good, likely in the order of 35-40 feet. The temperature, although slightly colder than in recent days, didn't plummet at depth. Most divers reported 50℉ (10℃). One little treat for the early visitors was to see some short, slim, silver-coloured fish hugging the bottom. Positive identification wasn't achieved, but candidates include Walleye Fry, Emerald Shiners or maybe Rainbow Smelt. None of these particularly common. It may have been a little cool on the homeward run, but the mood of the divers was very positive. Many thanks to James and Nancy for making this dive possible.

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.

Night + Shallow = Fun!

I will say something that will maybe offend the intense tech. divers that believe that you need to go deep to get a good dive. Last night proved that wrong. A max depth of 12 feet with an average depth of 6 feet, that's a good dive! Ask Suzanne, she was cheering and screaming after her first night experience.

Mike, Todd, Suzanne and I (and DIanne, but a "congestion" forced her to stay on the shore) met at the base marina by deadman's bay for a night dive. My primary goal in that dive was to get a warm sheltered environment to get as many fish as possible to go on a picture hunting night. Mike brought his camera also and we paired up wandering the marina's bottom on our quest to blind fishes with strobe light! During that time, Suzanne discovered the pleasure of night diving with Todd. Believe me, some fishes, must hate me now, my second strobe light finally works, so I got twice the light power to blind them! Poor little fishes

Here are few of my best shots. Enjoy!


A dive without a camera is a wasted dive!
See you next dive!

The concentration of the photographer...

Marc-Etienne's pictures are great - see them in the blog entry above - his mastery of his equipment is obvious, but seizing the right moment takes concentration. The pic shows him hovering over some unsuspecting underwater subject - wreathed in weeds..

This Munsons for the ladies in the house!

Wednsday night boat dives really are the best cure for a work day you would rather forget! This dive was no change from the norm, in that some of the memories I will not forget for some time no matter how much I drink after my dive. It wasn't all cheesy news and despite the usual algae cloud/pea soup from 0-30 feet this wreck is also one of the best in the Kingston area to enjoy.

Firstly the dive info, the Munson is a 90 foot long barge in approximatly 108 feet of water. It's one of those rare wrecks that is usualy a night dive during the day. Usualy this is because of the Algae that runs almost all summer long. Bring a good light you will need it. The boat is a multi level platform with lots of wide open space to swim though and tons of cool baubles and trinkets spread out all over the place. Remember this is a deep dive that is dark and does have penetration available, consider your training when you dive this. Plan your dive and dive your plan and if something goes wrong don't push your limits. The boat sank years ago it's not going anywhere, so you can allways dive it again later. At this time of year the boat is actualy deeper than recorded and might throw your plan a wrench if you're on nitrox. This really is one of the best dives in town for such a simple wreck. Folks like NTD have some very well prepared high quality photos online to plan your dive around.

For 4 of the 6 divers this was our first trip to this boat and it was worth all the hype. Big thanks to our 2 experienced divers who took us on the tour. I look forward to diving it again soon. I want to give our RMC members a big shout out as their participation in our club events is really noticeable this year. We hope they spread the word around. Good to see you guys out so much!

Lastly I would be remiss if I did not point out how the weather network was in our favor tonight as we almost caught some sun. We finaly were able to get on the water when its warm, calm and dry up top, however... some of us had too much fun. For this I give you our VP and resident chippendales diving representation :

Enjoy ladies.
For the rest of us, cya in the water folks!

Call me Green Lantern...

Kevin has recently acquired a new canister light - a Green Force model with a 10 W HID head. That simply demanded a night dive to try it out. So, he, Bernie and myself made our way to Murney Tower last night to dive the KGH wreck. Entry was made just as the Sun was going down in near perfect conditions. By the time we reached the wreck it was dark, and the light was really showing its quality. It produced a tight, white beam, highlighting features of the vessel really well. It also showed up a number of sleepy Bass resting amongst the old timbers. On the way back, several Mud Puppies were evident. This was a fun dive in water temperatures of about 48℉ (7℃). We spent nearly an hour underwater without getting excessively chilled. The return journey provided an opportunity to clean off the line, which remains easy to find and to follow.

Magnificent Seven...

Well, perhaps not that magnificent, but seven anyway. That's how many divers made a foray from Morton's Wharf this evening, entering the water as the sun set and emerging in the dark. Wow, you say, how daring !

Whatever, the dive was just fine - about 30 minutes of gentle exploration of the underwater structure, some gentle Bass teasing and a little bit of friendly, 'my light's better than your light' going on.

Followed by Timmy's and a bit of light banter - altogether an excellent outing.

Water temp 50℉ (10℃) - viz about 40 feet...

Humorous happening...

Gaetan Grondin created this delightful picture after visiting the night dive the other night. His expertise with Photoshop is truly amazing - and he has a great sense of humour. Gotta look forward to him getting an underwater housing and producing some great underwater shots...

Kingston Nightlife is abundant...

Despite an appalling lead-in to the event, with thunder, lightning and lashing rain, the night dive that four of us completed tonight was a serene and memorable experience. Entering the water just before 9pm, to the accompaniment of the booming fog horn on the Wolfe Island Ferry, Dianne, Joan, Dominique and I discovered that there is much more nocturnal life in the Lake right now than daytime dives would lead us to believe.

Immediately we submerged, several Perch were obviously evident. This species proved to be very numerous across the range of depths encountered on a trip out to the barge and back. Some large, but very sluggish Mudpuppies were also spotted - and a couple of pretty large Bass. Dominique believes that he had a close encounter with a Muskie in the basin of the Henry as he prepared to exit.

With three HID lights between four divers (and the fourth, weaker light), illumination wasn't an issue. Visibility, despite the rain and squalls that had swept through the area just hours before, was about 25 feet. The best news of all is that the water temperature clearly appears to be on the rise, with 38F (3C) recorded out at 40 feet. Air temperature, which had dropped steadily throughout the evening, was just 11C (52F).

The divers were most appreciative of a surface presence provided by Malcolm and Steve, who provided practical as well as moral support. Regrettably, the conditions precluded any successful photography to mark this occasion. Next time....