Eight is Great..!

It's not even April - and today we put 8 divers in the water at Gananoque. Dianne, Malcolm, Chris, Olivier, Marc-Etienne, Donovan, Dominique and I all enjoyed brilliant sunshine and chilly waters to complete an enjoyable dive. Although no one reported any exciting sightings, Malcolm completed his Open Water Dive 2 and everyone had fun.

For those who love the stats. Air temperature 10C (50F), water temperature 35F (2C) and the visibility was about 25-30 feet. With enthusiasm like this in the Club - the forthcoming Summer season should be a record breaker.

More pics to follow, but I'm off to see Sharkwater.....

Scuba Experience a success...

Due in no small part to the great efforts made by many members of the Club, including the volunteers who assisted the instructors in various ways, tonight's Scuba Experience was a great success. Despite an occasional chaotic moment - and the work of the fin fairies (who always hide the one you need) - 34 individuals who had never tried Scuba before got a positive impression of our sport.

We must all hope now that some of these folk will have been sufficiently enthused to come and enjoy our courses and join the Club.

Gananoque - Open for diving...

Hurrah! A dive venue that isn't Brewer's Mills at last. Chris and I spent some time finding a decent dive site in Gananoque this morning. I guess he'd tired of driving from his home to Brewer's all the time. Long story short, after checking out the River (too dirty, lots of silt, some current) we finally went in by the Beacon on the Eastern side of the Marina. An easterly wind ensured that the breakwater sheltered us from any drifting ice and we had a good 45 minutes or so to explore the area. An undistinguished muddy bottom, with some weeds, led us to a trench that holds a large bore pipe heading directly South. Following this took us (after a gentle 20 minute swim) to the intake / discharge point - a large, cubic, concrete structure. Maximum depth achieved was only 33 feet.

The water is colder than at Brewer's; we both registered just 35F (2C). Visibility though, in sun-dappled water, was a brilliant 40-50 feet. We disturbed a couple of large Catfish en route, spotted a large, lazy Bass resting by a rock and spooked a Pike. But the highlight, encountered on the way back, was spending time with a shoal of 150-200 baby Perch. These fish, measuring about 3-4", swam just ahead of us in the trench for about 10 minutes. A magic few moments - and perhaps quite unusual. For weather freaks, the air temperature was 6C (43F) - in bright sunshine, but with a cool easterly breeze.

Spring Moods...

The onset of Spring is really evident these days. The thin mist at Brewer's this morning presaged a warm, still day that made diving a delight. Add the joy of watching a young fox run below the canal bank and a group of four Bufflehead Ducks diving on the upper stretch and it doesn't get much better.

Dianne, Jeremie, Chris and I spent between 47 and 64 minutes in the water, which was a comfortable 39F (4C). Air temperatures of 6C (43F) on arrival had risen to 10C (50F) by the time we headed out. The viz was pretty standard at about 15-20 feet - more in places. No significant underwater sightings.

The biggest surprise of the day came when I got home and hung up my drysuit. Retrieving a data logger I keep in my pocket, a crayfish (only small - maybe an inch long) dropped out with it. The little fellow seemed unharmed and I'll take him back to a more appropriate environment later on today...

Sunday Club Report - March 25th

Another good dive for the Sunday Club. This time attracting four divers; Adam, Kevin, Jeremie and myself. The venue - no surprises here - was Upper Brewer's again. For the benefit of those who were less familiar with the site, we headed upstream initially and visited the dam. Adam and I amused ourselves by heading right into the turbulent stream emerging from the overflow and discovered an interesting ledge under the bank.

Tiring of the upstream side, which is very shallow, we all allowed the gentle current to sweep us back under the bridge and into the 'bowl'. By this stage, we'd become two pairs. Adam and I continued South, checking out the old sawmill site and doing a little bit of rummaging. At this stage, after seeing many Crayfish, I spotted a dozing Turtle.

Everyone enjoyed a decent diving experience and I forced Adam to the exit just before 80 minutes had elapsed. Next time, I'll pump my tank right up and let him stay a little longer. Water temperature 38F (3C) and air temperature a pleasant 6C (43F). Occasional sunshine definitely improved the day - and I can report that the Martins have arrived at the stream, swooping and wheeling over the water. We were also treated to a little tattoo from a woodpecker, which attacked the power pole right by the vehicles. Ah - Spring !

Five Dive...at Brewer's

One of the best things about diving is the experience of enjoying the excitement of a new diver's first underwater experiences. Today, taking Malcolm into Brewer's for Open Water Dive 1, was one of those great moments. His delight was apparent from the outset - and he did a really good job of coping with the challenges of cold water, drysuit management and the basic buoyancy skills.

It was a great help to have Dianne along to act as a more than capable buddy to Malcolm. The presence of Jim and Christopher, who are both working hard to get some dives in as the Spring season (and the Lake, fingers crossed) both open, was very encouraging.

Sightings today included the usual Crayfish and the less commonly sighted Perch - rather cold and docile in the 'Bowl'. For armchair divers, the water was 37F (3C) and the air a balmy 6C (43F). The overcast conditions encountered when we arrived had given way to rain by the time that Jim and Christopher, who had spend an hour or more in the water, finally emerged.

Oh No, not Brewer's again...again...

When the Sun is shining and the air is warm (comparatively) what's a guy to do but go and dive..? I had the good fortune to persuade Dianne to accompany me, once again, on an exploratory foray at Brewer's Mills this morning. Conditions couldn't have been better - well, the visibility could have been slightly better than the 20 feet we enjoyed - but conditions were fine. It would be good to say that we encountered something really neat, but the truth is that we did some air sharing drills and had a really good exchange with a couple of feisty Crayfish. Chilly hands led to an exit just short of one hour in the water.

Record keepers might wish to know that the water temperature was 37F (3C) and the air was standing at 5C (41F) - with a brisk and chilly southerly wind. But the Sun was shining, the geese were honking and the birds are beginning to appear in the woodlands again. Can't you just feel the Summer approaching ..?

Scuba Olympics

There was a huge turnout today for the 2nd annual Scuba Olympics - 20 divers .
The following activities were played: Hula Hoop Obstacle Course, Running Race, Tug of War, Blind Treasure Hunt and Ultimate Frisbee.
Everyone had a great time and prizes were handed out to the top six divers.
Many thanks to Adam for organizing the entire event. Pat, Mike, Adam and Matt assisted with running the event.
Also many thanks to Joan for collecting many prizes for this event and the Spring BBQ.

The screen grabs shown above are from the video footage taken, which will be available to all very shortly. Meanwhile, check out a video sampler on Google Video.

Back to Brewer's

After a lively morning in the pool, three of us hadn't had enough. So Joan, Dianne and I made our way, in brilliant sunshine, to Brewer's Mills. Highlights of the dive - seeing a small Snapping Turtle, introducing Joan to the resident Crayfish and just enjoying a mellow dive experience in good company.

For the record: Topsides temperature of 1C (34F), water temperature 37F (3C). Visibility about 15 feet - again somewhat poorer than of late. The wind was a brisk Northerly.

Wetsuit wonders of Brewer's...

Chris is pictured just before another outing at Brewer's Mills today. Astonishing as it may seem, this is his third dive at the site within the last week - in a wetsuit. His commitment is extraordinary...

Today's dive was undistinguished. Cloudy conditions did little to improve visibility that was generally limited to about 15 feet. We made our way downstream to the dock below the lock and had a look around there before returning up the East bank. Navigation in this small, but unremarkable, stretch of water can be testing, but I think that familiarity with the landmarks that do exist is slowly building.

For the record: Air temperature -1C (30F) with a cool North wind. Water temperature remains stuck at about 36F (2C) and the ice shield below the lock is still in place.