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.

The Ice Man Diveth...

Steve and I worked off some Christmas excess with a gentle dive on the dinghy off the point of the Kingston Yacht Club. The dive plan called for us to measure up the thing and see whether we could gain sufficient information, in the way of markings and the like, to identify it. Well, the measurements were pretty straightforward: She's 4.44m long and 1.32 in the beam. The markings were more challenging. A little bit of light cleaning revealed a serial number pressed into the transom, but it was impossible to make it out clearly. The clean-up also revealed a little more of the blue markings on the transom, but again, not enough to make any detail out. Oh well, another trip will be called for, I guess. We spotted a large Pike in the water on the return swim, but it was intent on keeping a safe distance from us. The only other excitement was pushing aside the few chunks of drift ice at the entry point - that's a first for this end of the 2007 season! For the record; water temperature 35F (2C) and the air temperature exactly the same...

Somefin to think about...

Many of our members went to see Sharkwater, the movie that publicised the plight of the World's sharks earlier in 2007. Browsing their website today I came across a great report from a group called Wildaid. It sets out most of the critical information about the amazing family of marine creatures that are the sharks.

If your holiday break gives you some time to read the Report, I guarantee that it will interest and inform you.

ECO-SNORKELING ADVENTURE in January - Cuba

http://deepquest2expeditions.com/cuba.html

After the pool session on Thursday, Kenn mentioned that he had a web site and it seems that he will be hosting a trip to Cuba too. The link is attached in case anyone is interested.

Sunshine and Snow...

This morning's bright and calm conditions presented a great opportunity to test out the bearings taken the other day on the dinghy wreck by the Kingston Yacht Club. They proved to be spot on, with a gentle swim from the end of the West St Ramp, on a magnetic bearing of 205 degrees, taking just 6 minutes to reach the target. Moving on to the car wreck allowed us to see the same large shoal of Bass as earlier this week - and a large Northern Pike swimming gently in their midst. Some posing with the golf clubs protruding from the car's trunk was enjoyed before heading back to the Ramp to conclude the dive in just under the half hour. Water temperature 34F (2C) and the air temperature a balmy -2C (28F).

Veep Sighted - looking good...

All our members and other readers of this blog will be delighted to see the pic of our Vice President, Dan Haslip - taken this morning while he 'supervised' our dive at West St. Dan is recovering from a health scare just a few weeks ago. The visual evidence (and his lively interest in everything going on this morning) suggests that Dan is very much back up to speed, even if formal restrictions on his diving remain in force for a little while longer.

Pool Night attracts a large turnout...

The first pool night of the Winter proved popular - despite - or perhaps because of - its proximity to the festive season. Fourteen people used the session to try out equipment, techniques or just to get wet at a time of greater diving challenges outdoors. At least one Discover Scuba session was completed and Kenn Feigleman of Deep Quest 2, a friend of Adam's, who will join the Club in 2008, was able to show members a High Definition video setup in its top-of-the-line Amphibico housing. A Sealife DC600 still camera was also in use and pictures should be available before long.

For those who were unable to make this session, but who want to make the next ones, they will take place on Saturday January 12th and Saturday February 9th next year.

Yacht Club Orientation...

Today presented a golden opportunity to re-visit the 'landmarks' that distinguish diving around the breakwater of the Kingston Yacht Club. The first picture, taken very professionally by Kevin Leblanc, shows the car wreck just South of the Club. The second, also taken by Kevin, is the hull of a racing dinghy just off the South-East corner of the site. Besides these inanimate objects, a large number of sizeable Bass were present near the rocks. Air temperature a chilly -4C (25F) and the water temperature 35F (2C).

West Street Boat Ramp

It was a nice winter day so we decided to go to the West Street boat ramp for a dive. The nice thing about having everything snow covered is that there is no bare ice, consequently the traction is good. Mike did a great job navigating but I have forgotten the bearings already. The waters were calm, 36 deg F and visibility was about 35 feet. There wasn’t any surface ice in the area. Those of us with leaky suits were cold by the end of the 35 min dive.

There wasn’t much underwater life, some bass and minnows; but there were about 100 duck’s that we chased off the boat ramp as we entered. There is a lot of stuff down there to see now that the visibility is better. In low visibility there just seems to be less. If it is not visible it doesn’t exist. Now I know that there are two underwater-cars in the area. How long have they been there?

HMCS Terra Nova

Tonight I had the pleasure of attending a meeting held by EOARA (Eastern Ontario Artificial Reef Association). This was a meeting to show their plan to sink The HMCS Terra Nova in the area. The presentation also included a talk by Jay Straith, who is the President of the Canadian Artificial Reef Consulting group. The CARC have been sinking ships for the last fifteen years and are 22 for 22 in projects for sinking ships. One of their highlights is sinking four ships in five years in BC. The EOARA laid out their plan and goals for reaching there objective of having the HMCS Terra Nova as an artificial reef in the St. Lawrence. A spot has already been chosen just off Browns Bay Provincial Park. The spot is out of the shipping channel and allows for divers to use the existing provincial park. The EOARA has already started to contact various levels of government about the plan with everyone acting very favorable to this. Even though there is a current moratorium in Ontario dealing with artificial reefs the provincial government has indicated that they would like to proceed with this project and use it to set precedent for other artificial reefs in Ontario. It will also set precedent as being a fresh water artificial reef. Once the HMCS Terra Nova has been cleaned up on the east coast it will be floated up to Prescott where it will be docked for a period of 45-60 days as the final preparations are made to add this ship to the many other in the area. During the time in Prescott the ship will need the majority of its volunteers to make sure it is diver friendly. When she is sunk, The HMCS Terra Nova will have ten moorings on her and have access to all seven decks. The mast will be removed so the ship will start somewhere around the 50 ft mark with the bottom around 110 ft. As a diving enthusiast it was great to go to a meeting where there is a plan to increase our diving environment especially since it seems to be well planned out. The tentative timetable is that in about two years to have the HMCS Terra Nova living on, in her next job, as increasing fish populations and divers in the area.

Deep and Meaningful...

This weekend - blessed with excellent weather, if a little cold - provided the perfect opportunity to complete a Deep Diver specialty course for Kevin. It was accomplished with a final dive - to 94 feet - and the bottom of the Channel south of Howe Island directly below the light tower. This third dive in a series (Kevin's earlier Deep Adventure for Advanced certification was credited towards the specialty) included examination of light loss at depth and the imposition of a compulsory, 8-minute safety stop after simulating a No Decompression violation. A minute of this stop was spent breathing from an alternate air source.

The whole excursion was really enjoyable and made the more so by the sighting of a large and lazy Northern Pike on both the outbound and return journeys. Kevin later went on to lead a visiting friend, Claude, to the Cora Post.

"Smashing Pumpkins" dive

[composed by Steve Chew, posted by Jeffy pending activation of Steve's blogger account]

Jack and Jill Pumpkin finally went for their Open Water Dive at Nicholson’s Point today. They did not equalize and suffered for it. Here they are before the dive. Jean-Olivier, Jeffy and I made up the team. We surface swam for 10-15 minutes then dropped a shot line to about 80 feet, we were hoping for 100 feet. I did not descend with a Pumpkin so according to Jeffy: I brought "Jill", the larger of the two pumpkins, and noticed a dent and a crack at about 60 feet. Jean-Olivier saw bubbles emerging from near the stem of "Jack" at about the same depth. Also significantly, both pumpkins were significantly less buoyant than before the dive. Here is the crack on Jack. And here is the crack on Jill. We followed CSI protocol strictly and used a Y-shape incision on Jack during the post mortem. Unfortunately this technique is not suitable for a squash. As a result the fluids leaked out before being assessed. This can be seen in the photo. Therefore, Jill received the traditional technique. I would say she was about three quarters full. The debriefing took place in Jean-Olivier’s Command Centre over tea and power bars; this is the way to dive in cold weather. Aside from determining that Pumpkins crack at 60 feet, I learned that its hard to maintain depth while swimming with the shot weights. At least it is for me. By roaming between 50 and 70 feet on the way back, I gave by my buddies’ fighter pilot practice. They had to keep looking up, down and around for me. Jean-Olivier helped out by trading the shot weights for a Pumpkin. It was slightly better. Have you ever traded negative for positive objects? Fun. If you try this, take disposable ballast for the pumpkin because while the start of the dive is positively buoyant it flips to negative by the end. I’ve decided to start the ‘Ad hoc Committee for Silly Tests of Diving Theory’. Does anyone have an idea for an appropriate acronym? Or a better name? [Count me in! How do you like "Society of Everyday Ad Hoc Occasional Recreational Silly Experimentors" - "SEAHORSE"? --JPS] The next experiment is to explode a pop bottle on assent. Let me know if you want to participate.

The Pool! Of course you want to know who won. My prediction was for between 60 and 80 feet based on a calculated force of 24,000 lbs on Jack at 2 ATA. But I cheated by having such a large range and was a participant. So the winner is … JENNY with a prediction of 75 feet. [I think a few of the predictions could be construed as accurate - Jim's, Adam's and Pat's to name a couple --JPS]

Did I say that the prize was getting pumpkin Pied?

Here are the predictions:

Scott	93’
Kim	110’
Dominique	93’
Jenny	75’
Jeffy	Jack will not fail under recreational dive limits
Nancy	90’
Jim	30’ then deform but not implode
Mike	Jack will survive the dive
Jason	100’
Adam	200’ predicted crack before catastrophic failure
Pat	predicted crack before catastrophic failure
Chris	Jack would survive my max. depth but would crack at a much deeper depth.

For a clear and succinct description of the dive try Jeffy’s online dive log.

Pumpkin Dive

The annual pumpkin dive was held on the 27th of October. Even though the weather was cold and rainy about 20 dedicated divers made the trek across to the winter docks on Wolfe Island. Many a pumpkin were sacrificed to the occasion. I think next year I am going to have to get a new buddy. He couldn't keep track of one little pumpkin lid while I was holding and carving said pumpkin. Just what was he doing anyways? At times I couldn't even see the pumpkin to carve it because he was stirring up the silt so bad. (I wonder who his instructor was?)


I would also like to take the time to give a special thanks to Jenny and Billy Allan for organizing the event and providing a great lunch afterwards. Well done Jenny!

Advancing their Dive Skills...

Three more of our Club members made it into the ranks of the Advanced Divers this weekend. After a couple of weeks investment in training at Brule Road, off Howe Island, around Portsmouth Harbour, on the Wolfe Islander II and finally, in very cold conditions, with a night-time expedition from the West St Ramp, Marc-Etienne, Olivier and Donovan completed their AOW certification. The picture, taken earlier this year at Gananoque, clearly illustrates their enthusiasm for diving. These three young men are constantly upbeat, invariably excited about their tasks and a pleasure to work with. All in all, they are very typical of our membership. Congratulations to them on their new level of certification...

High Winds Changes Dive Spot

With the high winds it was decided that the Saturday charter was not going to head out. I was really looking forward to getting on to the HMS Montreal. It appears others were too as we had about 10 divers that wanted to go. Instead we headed to a spot where the wind doesn’t effect the diving as much, Upper Brewers Mills. The various pairs of divers spent any where from 30 minutes to 1 hour in the water. The max depth on the dive was 25 ft. A few items were brought back (bottles, clay stems, and a rod). The water temperature was a respectable 59 F (15 C). I think the highlight besides diving with old dive buddies Jim and Tracy was seeing the turtle underwater. As it was not the Montreal it was still a fun time. It is also interesting to note that the visibility is getting better as the lake weed is dieing.

2nd Last Wednesday Charter of 2007

Today’s charter was supposed to be the Queen Mary but there was no mooring. After the suggestion of Steve, our captain we headed to the Maplpeglen. It was really starting to get dark as we entered the water. There were about 10 of us who descended on the wreck for various times from 30- 40 minutes. The highlight of this wreck is the large propellers at the back. By the time we exited the water it was definitely a night dive. It was a very enjoyable experience with the water still warm. Really we cannot complain about anything with it being October 17.

Wolfe Islander II

Hi Guys,

Sorry I didn't take pictures today. I forgot my camera. I must be getting old!!! 6 club members made it out with Limestone Dive center this morning. The wreck today was the Wolfe Islander II. The visibility is starting to get better. I would say it was about 3o to35 feet today. My dive computer registered the water temperature at 59 degrees. Some of the other divers registered the temperature at 54 degrees. We had a great dive today. The sun came out and the air temperature was 64 degrees. The only cold part was changing after the dive. Unless you were one of those drysuit, delicate like a flower, divers (Lucky ducks). I still say a true diver dives wet. As you can tell I haven't got my drysuit yet. I am sure my tone will change as soon as I do. I just have to stop visiting Dan at Dive tech so I can start my drysuit fund. He seems to always talk me into buying something.

Thanksgiving Weekend Diving

With the long weekend on us and the temperature 10c above normal it was the perfect time for some diving. As family members were down for turkey and diving we set out to do some Kingston favorites. We made three dives on Saturday which included a morning dive at the quarry then getting out to the Munson for a great afternoon dive and finished the day with a dive at the quarry. The water temperature at the quarry was a nice 19C (66F) and on the Munson it was 11C (52F) at 110 feet. The next day an attempt to find the stacked hulls was in order, but this was fruitless as the line still does not take divers to it but a chance to be in the water is never a bad thing. We then had the hard choice of deciding if we should go to a dive shop or dive. We spent the afternoon at Divetech and then decided the rest of the weekend would be time to relax. We did check Lower Brewers Mills, on the Monday and found out that the locks are closing on Wednesday so it will mean less boat traffic on the lock system. Thinking back on the weekend I think this has to be the warmest Thanksgiving weekend that I remember diving. So I hope everyone is still thinking about getting out and getting in a few more dives.

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...

The Comet

Today’s boat dive had seven divers on it making their way to the Comet. The highlight of the dive was seeing the two giant paddlewheels. It was a very comfortable dive with the temperature of 64f (18C). The visibility was in the range of 20 ft. The max depth that I got on this wreck was 81 feet. This was an enjoyable dive and one that helps put Kingston on the map. Getting back on the boat was an adventure for me not because of rough seas but because I had a sudden case of sea sickness that left as quick as it came. On the way back we had a little bit of a discussion about some of the great diving in the Kingston area and the potential for more. It was brought to our attention that there is some great wreck diving in 65 ft range closer to the base that needs to have some work done to open it up. I think as a club we should get behind it and maybe open up a wreck like the HMS Montreal, that is closer to shore, and in 65 feet of water. Other things that were talked about on the ride back was the chance to dive the Munson next Saturday and the pumpkin dive which I am looking forward to and encourage everyone to get out and do.

Checking out the Henry..

A visit was made to the basin of the dry dock at the Marine Museum at the request of staff concerned about the situation of the Alexander Henry. The aim, fully achieved, was to establish the clearances between ship and dock and to identify any hazards to the ship's hull within the basin.

In a dive lasting 30 minutes, it was demonstrated that the ship has at least two feet of clearance at all points, the low point being the stern, something which is quite obvious from the surface. A number of large concrete and steel objects were identified in the dock, all on the Port side of the ship.

The picture, which I thought quite striking in the sunlight, is a reflection in a car window.

Three Dives on a Windy Day

Today I had the pleasure of diving with four members of the CFB Borden dive club. We started first thing this morning at the Cora Post. This was interesting as with the high winds churned up the water. I took the group to the brick barge at which point two divers made for the 30-meter (100 ft) mark, to do a deep dive for an advance course. I stayed behind with the two basic divers and enjoyed looking over the barge. The visibility was great once we got below 10 ft. The depth for our first dive was 41 feet the dive lasted about 31 minutes and the water temperature was 66f. We jumped in our cars and drove to upper brewers mill where we spent roughly one hour in the water, which was slightly warmer at 68F. The visibility was only at around 5 feet in the murky water. On a positive we saw lots of fish and one diver found the bowl of a clay pipe. Our next stop was Portsmouth. With the wind making the waves roll in, we got to practice entering choppy water. We went around the remains of the hulls then out to the anchors and the stop sign. Until we hit about 10 feet, we felt the surge of the waves. We swam around for 35 minutes hitting 35 feet. The water was little cooler at 66 F but it still allowed me to dive all three dives in a 3mm suit without a hood. The highlight of the third dive was seeing the anchor with swastika on it.

Diving the Glendora

Today 12 members made it out for an end of summer dive. Our destination was the Glendora, a wreck similar to others of the area. We had excellent clear skies even with the smog advisory. We entered that water and descended to the bottom 71 feet down. The temperature for the dive was in the low 60’s; it was very comfortable in a 7mm wetsuit today. There was a slight drop in temperature around the 72-foot mark. The various pairs spent from 30 minutes to 50 minutes in the water on the wreck. There was not an abundance of life on the wreck just the normal guppies and zebra muscles. The openness of the wreck did allow some divers to swim through the wreck. By the end of our dives the light had greatly diminished. As we sailed back to harbor we were treated to a beautiful sunset. Unfortunately a lot of the pictures that were taken under water came back a little to dark.

Completetion of Another Open Water Course

Today I saw the completion of another open water course. The final two dives were at POH and the marine museum. We got up early to get a head start on the diving. It was nice to see calm water with no wind. To my surprise the air temperature when I looked out of the window this morning at 7am was only 2C, luckily the water was a lot warmer. I briefly hummed and hawed on whether I should switch to the dry suit but decided the 3mm would be fine. The air temperature was substantially warmer for our first dive. The two new divers did a great job with their air consumption and easily made it to the stop sign and navigated their way back. For this dive, we had 66F (19C) for the water temperature. The visibility was best on this dive closer to shore which is a change from the norm and less further out. Our second dive of the morning took us to the marine museum where we did a nice giant stride into the water and took a slow swim to the barge and to the boat launch. I was surprised and very happy to see that some divers have done some work on the site and put in a line from the boat ramp to the barge; I know, since this is a favorite of the club divers we all say thank you. The water temperature on this dive did not change with the coolest getting down to 66F (19C). If I had to dive a third time, I think it would have been dry suit time but the old 3mm stood up nicely for the two dives in the water today. The highlight for me was seeing the growth on the barge that was not there the last time I dove on it. As asked by the students what exactly the growth was I had to say I did not know; and that as divers there will be lots of questions to research involved with their new found obsession.

Fun on the Wolfe Islander II

We had 14 divers show up today to dive the Wolfe Islander II. There were a lot of laughs to be had by all. Some at my expense AGAIN.... BUT in my defense you have to picture this. There are 14 divers getting ready all at once. There are people moving around you as you are trying to get dressed and the boat was moving around a lot due to windy conditions. If you were not braced then the movement of the boat would slammed you into the side of the boat. OK so here is the story for my embarrassment. I must apologize to Adam as I accused him of taking my glove and hiding it. I spent a couple of minutes looking for my glove only to discover that it was stuck to my butt. Well as you can guess there was a lot of laughs over that one. I will never live this one down. OK for those that are interested the water temp today was a chilly 64 degrees. The lake is cooling down fast. Soon it will be the end of the season (accept for those die hard ice divers burrrrrrrr!!!) and we will all be sitting around discussing the dives we had this summer. I know that this one will come back to haunt me during those long winter months.


AND THE FISH WAS THIS BIG!!!!!!!

A Fall Classic

Today 12 club divers made to the Wolfe Islander II. This is a classic that needs to be done be everyone and our club has had many visits this year. With a variety of divers from open water to instructors we all made various trips to the wreck, which starts in about 40 feet of water. There was chance for more experience divers to get down to the 80-foot mark as well. Visibility on the wreck was in the range of 20 feet with a nice September temp of 57f(14C). On the wreck we were joined by countless fish big and small of many types of variety. To top it off our ride back in was a very nice enjoyable ride into Portsmouth harbor.

Scuba In the Park

A few members of the Dolphins attended this year's annual Scuba In The Park event in Brockville. There were fewer vendor booths campared to last year but the weather was great and the $10 dive on the Lilly Parson's couldn't be beat. The after dive entertertanment of the live band, beer garden and food, parrot and loads of door prizes created for an enjoyable social event.
Kim and Scott Sararas, Chris Columbus and his wife, Laurie and four recent club members who are now in Ottawa joined the group, Lars Kornmacher and girlfriend Genevieve and Jim and Tracey.

I highly recommend this event for members next year; and make sure you include the dive on the Lilly.

Ash Island Drift in Rockport

This Wednesday's dive was to Caigers in Rockport. 1000 Island Pleasure Divers took 12 club members out to do the Ash Island Drift. I think that all the divers out tonight would agree that this was a very fun dive. The current carried us down along Ash Island to the Ash Island Barge. Some members made the trek down to the barge that sits in about 90 to 100 feet of water while others decided to follow the shore line to the surface. For all those wondering the water temp was 70 degrees. 10 members stayed to have pizza after the dive and it was fun to sit around and listen to the divers discussing their dive. I found this is the perfect time to ask more experienced divers any questions you may have.

A Labour Day Classic

With the holiday 6 of us got in the water to do what we love best, dive. We went to the barge at the marine museum. We made it to the barge and under water docks. The water temp was a little cooler today at68F at the coldest. The water was still very manageable with a 3MM suit and no hood. Plenty of fish were seen with a few large pikes. Our dive lasted about 30 mins before we headed for the surface.

2nd dive on sept 1

After diving on the Cenestoga we were thinking about going to the Rothesay but with large amounts of people in the area we went to the Prescott underwater park. The six of us did a giant stride in to the water and began to enjoy the 70F water. The line which started by the exit point goes around in a circuit over an old wooden sail boat some stairs and two anchors. Total time for doing the circuit at a leisurely pace was about 25 mins.

Dive the Conestoga

6 Divers made the trip to Cardinal on Saturday. We arrived at the Conestoga around 10:30a.m. and there were about 10 cars there all ready. This seems to be a very popular dive site. We entered the water up stream and drifted down to the wreck. Can you believe I almost missed the wreck!!! I was busy watching the fish and had my back to the boat. Lucky for me my buddy was paying attention. This is a great old wreck to challenge your buoyancy on. You can swim down the one side then come over the stern and up the middle to the bow. As you swim up the middle you can swim around the smoke stacks and over the boilers. When you get over the boiler you want to swim to the bottom of the boat out of the current. We followed the bottom of the boat to the bow and read the plaque on the bow. We then went over the bow and let the current take us down the side of the boat closest to shore. As we drifted down this side we used our lights to see the fish hiding under the boat. We then swam over the stern again and to the front of the boat. We exited the boat and turned the dive. The nice part about this dive site is it has a very easy entrance and exit from the water. You get a nice gentle drift dive and great visibility. By the time we exited the water I think there were about 20 cars lined up with divers getting ready to enter the water.

Wednesday's Club dive was to the George T Davie

Wednesday's dive to the Davie was a great success. We had a total of 20 advanced divers show up. The Davie is in about 90 feet of water and the temp was 57 degrees. It was sunny and warm. You can tell its getting later in the season, as we were treated to a beautiful sun set on our way home.

Morton Street Wharf this afternoon.

Rob, Scott and I dove at the Morton street wharf this afternoon. We spent 56 minutes under the water. We had a good look at the wharf as well as the fish. On our way out just as I got to the end of the Wharf I saw a large sheeps head fish. I followed it a small way then moved on to go around the wharf. On the other side of the wharf we ran into a small school of bass. They seemed to be curious about us. They followed us for a while. For all those fishermen out there. I KNOW WHERE THE FISH ARE!!! You guys should learn how to dive I think we could have reached out and almost touched the bass today. At this point we turned the dive. The water was about 70 degrees and the visibility was around 20 feet.

Wolfe Island Winter Dock

Chris, Scott and I decided we would dive at a new place that I had heard about on Wolfe Island. It was called Reed's Bay. We didn't find an easy place to get in the water and it looked really shallow so we moved on to the Winter Dock for the Wolfe Islander. It was cloudy and overcast this morning as you can see on the left. The water tempature was 70 degrees and the visibility was about 15'.

Night Dive at the Pump House

We had a great dive at the pump house Thursday night. Scott and I joined in on the Advanced open water course that Mike was running. 6 divers entered the water by the west street boat ramp near the pump house. We followed the line for a while and then the logs. While diving we saw some nice size fish. I had a large pike swim underneath me. He was not afraid of me at all. As I looked up I could see the moon. It is amazing how much light comes through the water from the moon. For those interested the water temp was 68 degrees and the visibility was about 30 feet.

The Wolfe Islander is still there!!!

As you can guess tonight's dive was the Wolfe Islander (again). This seems to be our favorite wreck. The boat was full again tonight we had 11 divers out. I am sorry folks I missed the picture perfect moment tonight. We had two divers (who shall remain name less because they know who they are) who forgot to take the straps that hold their tanks in place on the boat off of the tanks before they put their BC's on and therefore when they tried to stand up they couldn't. Sorry guys I couldn't let that one go by because I know if it had been me you would not have hesitated to put it in the blog. You guys would have had the pictures too!! OK now for the good stuff. We were treated to some home made cookies tonight by Sheila and Ashley. They even made them in the shape of a diver as you can see in the picture on the left. The fins are missing I think someone may have eaten them before the picture could be taken. Thanks for the cookies they were great!!!!

In Search of the Stacked Hulls

Rick and I made our way down to Portsmouth Olympic harbour to dive the stacked hulls. We thought a noon start would mean it would be nice and clear. Our first task though, was to navigate the maze of cars and sail boats in the in the parking area. We entered the water and headed straight for the anchors and then were going to follow the line out to the stacked hulls. We were taking our time and came up to the stop sign where there was a huge bass just sitting in the water beside it. The fish made for a Kodak moment but we did not have a camera with us, it just starred back at us saying I am not moving. We continued on our way seeing multiple other large fish. In about 38 feet of water the line seemed to be replaced by a new line we followed this line off to a rock. After this we turned the dive and headed back to shore after breifly doing a saftey stop at the anchor with the swastika. The temp for todays dive was 70F with the visibilty in the area of 15 ft.

Two dives

Today I had the pleasure of showing some members from the CFB Borden two sites here in Kingston. Approxiamately 10 of their club members came to the area for the weekend; and after spending yesterday in the Brockville area they got up early to jump in at the pump house. Our second dive was at the Domino theatre. The 70f water seemed to be cooler first thing with the cooler air temparture. We made it to the barge and saw lots of fish highlighted personally by the sight of a huge pike. After our 50 min swim we jumped in the cars and went down the road to Morton street to swimm around the under water docks here. Here some members found old canteens and plates. Most divers stayed in the water here for about 1 hour. I am sure they had a great time and I was telling them about some of our other area dives and the members are planning to come back in Septmeber to try some of our other diving hot spots.

Basic Open Water Course

Congratulations Everyone!

Scott and I had the pleasure of sitting in on Mike's basic open water course this morning. We would like to take this time to congratulate the students and we look forward to diving with them in the future.




The pictures below show the students hard at work practicing their navigation, Buddy checks and how to enter the water safely.




Great work and we hope to see you at the club.