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..

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...

Blown off course - we're at the quarry again...

Given the impact of the tail end of Hurricane Gustav on the lakeshore, it was more prudent today to head for Brule Road. The picture of Kevin LeBlanc was taken by an AOW student completing their Underwater Photography Adventure. Pretty good results in murky water. The quarry was warm and sunny - with the rippling surface causing no significant disturbance below. Bluegills and Bass were around in large numbers - and very approachable. Great training - even if it wasn't raining...

Great new pics of the KGH Wreck..

Tom Rutledge dived on the KGH wreck yesterday and got some excellent shots of the location. They can be seen on his Flickr site. For anyone who hasn't made it out there yet, they give a great idea of what to expect.

Getting to know you... Pics on the 'KGH' wreck

Can't believe it...! It's a holiday weekend and the weather's beautiful. Five of us made our stately way out to the 'KGH' wreck this morning under a flat calm lake bathed in brilliant sunshine. It was a first trip for some - others of us were intent on documenting the wreck a little better with still and video coverage. There are some shots on Flickr that will allow you to judge whether or not we are succeeding. Some great video taken by Kevin LeBlanc can be reached on You Tube by clicking here.

If you haven't been out to take advantage of this new shore dive opportunity yet, what's holding you back ? Go get wet !

Rounding off the RMC Year...

Taking advantage of the small, slack period at the end of the RMC year, some of our most active divers, Marc-Etienne, Donovan and Olivier got in a couple of dives this week just before they departed for phase training over the Summer. As well as a shore dive, they were able to use a boat belonging to the Rod and Gun Club at RMC to get out to the Wolfe Islander. The accompanying photograph, taken by Marc-Etienne, was taken there. All credit to these guys, who have been diving consistently when the opportunity arose - and always in wetsuits.

POW gets it done...

Worth mentioning that, early as it is, those of you who may have access to boats - or have started to think about an early charter outing - have a great selection of offshore wrecks accessible now. Some great work by a variety of operators and divers has resulted in about 14 of Kingston's most popular wrecks having their lines raised and marker buoys placed already. They include the ever popular Wolfe Islander, Aloha, Munson and City of Sheboygan. A full list is available on the Preserve Our Wrecks homepage. The work has been a lot of fun for those involved. There's also been some great underwater photography taken. Check out Tom Rutledge's pictures on Ontario Diving.

Portsmouth Refresher...

Made a circuit of the sights of Portsmouth Harbour this morning with Kevin Leblanc and James Fischer. This worked out well, as Kevin has not been to this site before. We worked our way around the wreck fragments before heading for the pipe and out to the anchors and the STOP sign. It's worth noting that the left hand line to the anchors is largely missing. It's still possible to take the right hand route to the newer anchor. The other interesting observation this morning was the almost total absence of fish life. I don't think that I even spotted gobies. Viz was down on recent days, probably thanks to the Sou'Wester that's been blowing over the last couple of days. Water temperature 35F (2C) and the air temperature a mild 1C (34F) in calm conditions. The 30 minute dive was just about enough for all of us as hands started to chill. Kevin shot many excellent photographs and some video. A couple of examples precede this post.

Caution - photo ace at work..

Seizing the opportunity of an Underwater Photography Adventure today, as part of his Advanced Open Water certification, Malcolm delighted in capturing some superb images at his first attempt. The one above really shows off the character of our resident Gobies - and it's a great picture. It's all too easy to forget that we have some great subjects in our local waters, until a talented photographer shows up the opportunities.

Well done, Malcolm - just one more dive to go to full Advanced Certification...

Cora Post ...

Conditions were almost ideal today for a trip to the Cora Post. That is, if you disregard the abundance of weed that has infested the shallows, making location of the line a minor challenge. Once overcome, the three of us made it out to the wreck in good shape. We spent a few minutes in photographic tasks, then headed off South down the line that heads for deeper water. Imagine our surprise, when reaching what had previously been the termination of the line - at about 65', we discovered that it has now been extended. We turned around just past 75' and the line was still going...

Lots of Bass on the wreck today. The wreck itself is looking pretty sad. Water temperature at the deepest point reached - 54F (12C) and the visibility about 30'.

Photo Morning..

This was the day for taking on the Underwater Photography adventure, the final dive of Theresa's AOW. The larger picture shows that she grasped the basics well. Truth to tell, conditions were challenging for any kind of photography. The torrential rain, hail and thunderstorms of yesterday had left their mark on the quarry's waters. A great cloud of silt was hanging in the water below the surface and overall visibility - even below the thermocline - was only something like 20' or less. Nevertheless, more than an hour was spent in trying out various lighting and camera settings.

I took the second picture towards the end of the dive, having seized control of the camera to accomplish an ambition to photograph the Bluegills in this location. Water temperature at the bottom - 67F (19C). The surface waters are actually in the 70sF.

Morton's Wharf and St Lawrence..

Decent dive today on Morton's Wharf and the wreck of the St Lawrence. With visibility down to something like 20', it was certainly a good thing to have a firm handle on the navigation. The round trip was completed without a single surface check. The fish life is frenetic just now. Bass are busy setting up spawning circles, the Perch are very active and Pike are patrolling the shallows in a very sinister manner. The Gobies, of course, are everywhere..

The pic was taken on the top of the Wharf, which we rarely visit. There's an interesting swim-through option here (Adam and Matt, take note). Although I'm prepared to accept that this is a shallow dive, it's still pretty remarkable that the water temperature around 25' is 63F (17C). The only thing that I can say against this dive site is that the entry and exit are a real pain - literally. The broken rocks and building rubble on the waterline are really difficult to deal with. But, the dive is worth it -

New Find in Navy Bay..?

Henry Cary - inspired by Parks Canada's Marine Archaeologist, Jonathan Moore - recently went in search of a wreck previously surveyed in Navy Bay. Despite some setbacks, he located it last week. Today, it was the turn of a couple of us to benefit from his guidance and to visit this unusual site.

The wreck lies in just 9 feet of water, very close to shore. Remarkably, there are still some upright timbers and a clearly visible keel element, probably a keelson. I'd estimate the length of the wreck at more than 50 to 60 feet. It is currently home to a fair number of large - and effectively fearless - Bass.

Although visibility was average at about 20 feet, the water temperature was very comfortable at 57F (14C) in this shallow area. For anyone who relishes visiting a new shore site, despite shallow water and low viz, this is another local option. Don't expect to see much, but there are a ship's remains on show..

Another couple of pictures can be seen on the Club's Flickr Page.

Day trip to the Islander...

A long-planned expedition to Alexandria Bay and the wreck of the Islander unfolded successfully today. Five of us, Dianne, Nancy, Theresa, Chris and I made our way over the bridges and enjoyed about 50 minutes in the 60 feet or so of water that surrounds the wreck. Visibility was moderately disappointing at about 25 feet, with a lot of drifting particulates. But the water temperature was peachy - 56F (13C) at 60 feet.

There was an interesting opportunity to watch a Tech 1 course working on the wreck - stage bottles, lines and reels very much in evidence.

Aloha...!

Keeping to a promise to my son and his friend that we would get the boat out this week, Theresa and I made a run to the Aloha and the Effie Mae this morning. The weather was very helpful. Bright sunshine - at least for the outward journey - and the Lake as calm as a millpond. Tying off to the POW buoy was straightforward - no current at all...

The dive was a 33 minute dive to 56 feet (the bottom). Both wrecks look rather sad - the mussel growth is really extreme and clumps of bright green algae are growing, especially on the upperwork of the Aloha. Water temperature at the bottom, a pretty manageable 43F (6C). No fish were seen (unless you count the ubiquitous Gobies - and I try not to). Visibility - probably in excess of 40 feet.

Windy on the Wolfe...

After a fun morning working on an Open Water certification, the opportunity was presented this afternoon to take a trip to the Wolfe Islander II. Conditions were good on the outward trip - and on the wreck during our 51 minute dive - but when my buddy and I returned to the surface the wind had got up and a light swell was making the stern mooring interesting.

The pic is one of a number taken on the wreck today. Visibility was probably as much as 40 feet, with the water showing a minimum temperature of 46F (8C). Other pictures will be up on the Flickr site tonight. There was absolutely no current on the ship - and the whole experience was enjoyable...

Both mooring lines are now in place - thanks to 'Preserve Our Wrecks, Kingston' - the stern line has the official POW buoy and the bow a blue jug.

Double Dipping...

Now that the warmer weather is here - two-dive days (and more) may become the norm. Today was a good example. I started out with Jim, Nancy and Malcolm at Portsmouth Harbour, where I wanted to get some pics and video of the wrecks inshore. Then, after a quick break, it was into Navy Bay with Dianne and Chris.

Both dives were really enjoyable. The water is now up to 41F (5C) quite consistently, making prolonged dives quite bearable. The bright sunshine in the shallows is a joy - and visibility, this early in the season, is routinely 50 feet or more. The large shoals of Perch were very much in evidence in Navy Bay - threatened somewhat by a lurking Pike. There is also a lot of the spawn shown in the second pic around. Can anyone positively identify it, please?

Five minutes of video showing the wreck fragments by Portsmouth Harbour can be seen here, and a three-minute video clip of the sunken structures at RMC's Navy Bay can be accessed here.

Sunday Club - Wrecksploration..

The Sunday Club is alive and well. This morning, Steve, Jeffy, Dominique and I made a small expedition to Deadman's Bay to enjoy one of the closer wreck sites there. But our day started with the provision of assistance to the Yacht Club. A committee member took advantage of our presence to have us fix some moorings for them.

Once we headed off to the wreck, we enjoyed excellent conditions. The Sun was streaming down through the water and painting vivid patterns on the old timbers. All the Zebra Mussels were soaking up the sunshine, siphons fully extended in filter mode. We all spent about 40 minutes on the wreck - good going for the two wet-suited divers. Lowest water temperature recorded - 40F (4C). A distinct improvement on last weekend, but not enough to make for routinely comfortable immersion. The air temperature was 10C (50F). Visibility on the site - about 40 feet, but a little murky. That was probably attributable to the steady South wind ruffling the shallow waters of the area. Some pics have been posted on the Flickr site.