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

The Rothesay...

Ninja Diver..

Yes, it makes a better picture with your eyes open, Todd..

Just Jim..

Kevin 'can you see the DUI logo?' LeBlanc..

Five of us made the pilgrimage down to the Rothesay, near Prescott, yesterday. A screaming, chilling, South wind made for really poor viz close to shore, but some of the divers managed to stumble across a very handy lead line that has been laid close to shore in lieu of the usual offshore buoy. Others of us used skill and navigational talents to pick up the main line. The greatest surprise of the day was the huge quantity of algae in the water. We usually associate the Winter with the absence of this menace, but yesterday all of us were convinced that we had seen the greatest amounts of green goop ever on this site. Huge mats were rolling around and clogged the line. The current was carrying great gobbets of the stuff past us constantly.

Otherwise, the only remarkable sighting was of several large fish, suspected of being Northern Pike, close to the wreck. Full marks again to Marc-Etienne for diving semi-dry. Underwater pictures may follow. I left my camera behind - anticipating, quite correctly - that the visibility would be poor.

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.

Sometimes you just have to get wet...

Kevin got back from Meaford last night and had diving in his mind all night. This afternoon, he dragooned some company (essentially folk who didn't have the desire to go any great distance for their diving) and took a plunge around the Marine Museum. The picture says it all - one happy camper !


Matt (Mr Awesome) was one of those who willingly accepted the offer to dive. He was tempted by Kevin's promise of a Long Nosed Gar sighting. More fool him.. none was seen on this dive, despite checking out the area of previous occurrences. What the two of them did manage to scare up - right at the end of the dive - was a big, lazy Northern Pike.

For the record books, the water is still 52℉ (11℃). Visibility was generally poor; only to be expected after yesterday's torrential rain and gale force winds. The other bad news is that the weeds beside the ramp at the Museum bay are still pretty robust, although they are brown and dying.