First Charter of the Season..

Follow this link to view a short video of the first charter dive of the season - Good Friday - on the Wolfe Islander II..

Many thanks to Todd for organising this dive - and to Frank and Proteus for the opportunity.

Free Charters Rock..

There's nothing quite like a free charter to bring a smile to divers' faces. That might account for the broad grins on the faces of several Club members who were amongst the 14 divers generously treated to a free trip to the Munson by Kingston Dive Charters just for being members of Preserve Our Wrecks, Kingston. The trip took place on Sunday, June 6th and was judged a great success by all concerned, even if there was a bit more current on the wreck than most are accustomed to experiencing.

Many thanks to Harold and Anne for providing this opportunity to dive one of our fair City's signature wrecks - and to all those who came along. Their presence alone was testament to their support for local wreck preservation and maritime heritage awareness.

Lucky Seven...

This evening's charter went directly to the wreck of the Cornwall. This is a point worth making, because so often we get blown off the intended target and diverted to the Wolfe Islander. Conditions were near perfect for the seven divers along for the ride, with just a gentle wind, practically no waves and good visibility. Most of the party had not visited the wreck before and this always makes for a good experience. The wheels on the wreck were starkly evident close to the descent line. They and the massive boilers are really signature equipments for the site. Another really neat feature to spot is the the line of small portholes that can be seen on the Port side forward. There wasn't a lot of variety in the marine life on show. Shoals of Gobies were flitting around whenever divers approached, but just a handful of fairly small Bass were also present. The knack this evening was to find the thermocline (at about 58 feet) and hover just above the top of the boilers in the 'warm' while enjoying a view of the wreck from above. For the record, the bottom temperature was 52℉ (11℃) and the visibility about 50 feet.

Aloha !

This evening's charter went out in fairly heavy seas - heading for the Aloha and the Effie Mae. Despite a certain amount of apprehension, the decision was taken to enter the water on the site, avoiding another trip to the Wolfe Islander. As it turned out, and as our trusty skipper (Steve) had suggested, the conditions improved during the dive and exits were much less exciting than they might have been. Eleven divers made the trip, which enjoyed reasonable visibility of about 40 feet at depth and water temperatures in the high 60s F (High teens C).

Twofer downriver...

Some of my friends from my days in Virginia came North this weekend to conduct some technical dives on the Roy Jodrey, an intimidating deep wreck in the St Lawrence. However, today, they contented themselves with a shake-out two-tank expedition with Wayne Green's Thousand Island Pleasure Diving operation. That provided the opportunity to join them. The two wrecks chosen - for convenience from Brockville - were the Muscallonge (sitting in about 100 feet) and the Gaskin (about 65 feet to the bottom). Both wrecks were great to see, and it was my first dive on the Muskie. Sitting in a narrower part of the River, she enjoys a brisk current, which makes getting into the wreck's shadow a high priority. Moving on to the Gaskin, where the River is much wider, the current was less of an issue and the fish life was spectacular. Making the swim-through, from the stern forwards, a shoal of Bass and Perch was encountered in a calm, back eddy of the wreck. Larger, very bold fish were relishing the current and the foodstuffs it carries to them all over the deck and around the lower, protected sections. Visibility was pretty good (I'd heard some stories of poor viz in the River this year, but they proved to be false). I'd estimate it to be in the 60 foot range. The temperature - top to bottom - was 70°F (21°C).

Bonus Charter...

It's not every day that a charter captain calls you at ten to eight in the morning and offers you a trip, so when they do, it's generally a good idea to gear up and get going. That's what happened today and, when I got to the boat, who should I find smiling and enjoying life but Rob Bradley. Another familiar face was Gary Gillan, whose company I last enjoyed on a Club charter out of Duck's Diving in 2006. The two-tank outing took in the Frontenac and the Geo T. Davie. Great dive sites and seen in pretty good conditions. Viz on the Frontenac was better than on the Davie; about 50 feet compared to 30 or so. Water temperatures were very similar- somewhere around the 48°F mark (9°C).

Keystorm big hit again.

10 of us made the trek down to Caiger's where we got on one of the boats owned by Thousand Island Pleasure Divers. We had great weather and we couldn't have asked for better. Some of us came back with a little more colour than when we left. The Keystorm was the big draw today. I think I counted about 7 boats on the wreck at one point today. On our first dive there were a lot of divers in the water at the same time. At one point I stopped and looked up and there were about 15 divers above me. It would have made an amazing picture with the sun shinning through the water above the divers. Alas I left my camera on the boat. Isn't that always the case. My buddy and I went down as far as the mast and looked in some of the small holes at the bass that were hiding in the wreck. We then made our way back up to the wheel house and had a look around there. By this point it was time to turn the dive and head back to the shoal. At our safety stop we had a chance to check out the small Gobbies as they fed on the zebra mussels. There were a few small bass as well.

After a one hour plus surface interval we had our second dive on the Keystorm but the other boats had pretty much moved on so we could get a good look at the wreck this time. The silt had settled down and you could see inside the wreck. We spent about 36 minutes in the water and the water temp was 73 degrees.

I would like to say thanks to Jim our boat captain for a great day out on the water and we hope to dive with you again soon.

Wolfe Islander II

This week the Dolphins had Captain Steve (Limestone) take them out to the Wolfe Islander II because the winds were high. The weather was warm and the water much warmer than previous dives. The visibility was not very good but that was expected with the storms that went through recently. We went down the bow line to the bottom and circled the boat clockwise. When we came back around the far side of the boat we came up over the side to the car deck. We had a look in the hatch and then moved on to the motorcycle. The ten speed was beside the motorcycle and the bowling ball wasn't very from from that . We then went and had a look at the winch on the front. After a short time here we followed the line back to the stern and had a look inside the doors and windows. We spend about 5 minutes here and then turned the dive. After getting changed we shared a few stories and a couple of laughs on the way back to shore. As always we then went to Tim Horton's to debrief and have a much needed coffee.

Great dive with a great Club turnout...

It's great to see a good Club turnout for any dive, but when you field 11 divers and visit an unfamiliar wreck - in this case, the massive remains of the vessel known as the Lusitania - life doesn't get much better. Despite slightly lumpy waters, the visibility at depth was very good indeed, certainly in excess of 60 feet. All the divers were impressed with the site and the service provided by the two boats laid on by Northern Tech Diver. It should also be noted that NTD moored this particular wreck recently - and it's a welcome addition to Kingston dive destinations. For the record, the water temperature at depth was about 50°F (10°C). Watch out for more pictures and information from the other photographers on the boat - Kim and Kevin.

Long Live the King...horn

Sometimes things go as planned. Sometimes not. Our scheduled dive of the Wolfe Islander had to be changed at the last minute because of technical difficulties on the Lyn Lea. Of our original ten planned charter divers, six made the detour to Caiger's Resort in Mallorytown. As our reward, we were treated to warmer waters and a later, enjoyable dive of the King Horn, in the gentle St. Lawrence current. The only problem is - When will we ever get to dive the Wolfe Islander, now? We didn't take any pics on the dive, but I googled "King Horn", and included a pic to keep with the usual blog format. I hope you love it.

Divers:  Chris C  Jean-Olivier  Jeffy  Kim  Pierre-Adam  Scott

The Early Diver gets the Viz

It's said that there are seasoned divers in Kingston who dive exclusively in the early and late periods of each dive season. Their logic is that those are the times that you can place reasonable reliance on seeing our wrecks at their best. This morning's charter lent credence to the notion. A gentle trip to the Comet put us in place to enjoy visibility in the order of 70 feet or so. In water temperatures of 43°F (6°C), conditions were really rather pleasant. Even our one wetsuited diver didn't freeze...! Jim Dunfield - down visiting from Ottawa - was a very welcome addition to the team. It would be nice to think that the Sunday Club could make a charter trip every week, but this may have been a one-off bonus dive for most.

Gaskin - Brockville..

It's always good to round off any day with a decent dive. Today's was the Club's Wednesday night charter - this week with Tom Scott's Under Where Dive Charters out of Brockville. The destination was the Robert Gaskin - a schooner sunk in 1889. She lies reasonably close to shore in just 62' of water. Still highly recognisable as a major vessel, she offers access to her holds and good swim-alongs on the deck and sides - particularly the lee side down current. Nine members of the Club made the trip, many of them fairly new to diving. Everyone had a good dive.

Water temperature - 63F (17C) and visibility somewhere around 40' - despite heavy levels of drifting particulates.

Not the Wolfe again - again..

I guess we should have been grateful that the charter went at all tonight. There was a small craft thunderstorm advisory in effect. But a courageous captain agreed to make the trip - with the single proviso that we avoided the relatively high winds on the open lake and dove a more sheltered site. Around Kingston that means just one thing - another trip to the Wolfe Islander.

Some people say that you can never have enough of the Wolfe, but three weeks in a row begins to wear a little thin. However, the dive itself was pretty decent. All twelve divers enjoyed their experiences, despite a little bit of surface chop and some wind-driven current. Visibility was on the average side - somewhere between 30 and 40 feet depending on the area. A lot of drifting particulates were very evident - blown across the wreck by a mild downstream current. Water temperature at 60' - a cool 50F (10C).

Full marks to several divers whose first charter this was - and who coped with less than ideal conditions admirably.

A bonus on the return journey was a close encounter with the Alexander Henry, which is scheduled to move into the Marine Museum's dry dock this coming Friday. The absence of the barrier caisson, which has been moved aside to allow the transition, gave the site a rather different look.

Charter Season off to a great start..

Nine members of the Club made it out to Rockport tonight for a season-opening, if unscheduled, dive with Wayne Green's Thousand Island Pleasure Diving operation. Conditions couldn't have been better, with bright sunshine, a slight, cooling breeze and an almost calm River. A slight current was running over the Kinghorn, but this was no deterrent to early season explorers, who searched every inch of the old girl. One important new discovery is the plaque on the Starboard bow - positioned only the day before - and commemorating the life of Doug Smeaton, who died tragically while visiting the wreck earlier this year.

The water was delightfully warm - at 47F (8C). Visibility was about 35-40 feet - and the promised beer and pizza at Caigers afterwards were everything we had been led to expect...