Too busy diving =P

Thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it!
Its been a hectic couple of weeks of intense underwater time so far, and I expect it to get even better. For those of us who have the gear for colder waters this is the best Vis I've ever seen for around here. Water temps have hovered around 40-45F though so Dry suits are really the only way to go, unless your Marc-etteine who dives semi dry.
Pretty much all of the Exec has managed to sneak in a dive during this unusual weather. Visits to KGH, the Marine Museum, Howe Island, Nicholsons Point, Navy and Deadmans Bays, and the Stacked Hulls are just a small selection of great dives we have got in so far! Every day has had some fantastic visibility, todays trip to KGH was at least 50 feet, and yesterdays was more.

If you can sneak a dive in nows the time for sure!

Pics: Gaétan and the Turtle, a Mud Puppy Salamander at the MM, Pike with food in its sights at the MM!

Kristie Mckay just sneaking in for her 1st swim with her newly fixed dry suit at the MM, the Cora Post, and G spotting the turtle just off to right of the picture in the distance in Deadmans Bay.

I usualy like to leave a little note for the serious side: problems on a dive, it doesnt really matter what they are, as long as you can exit the water safely and joke about it later its all good times. Hoses come loose, bouyancy can be mistaken, folks can run out of air, tanks slide out of the strap, masks can get cracked, hell I've seen or experienced a hockey sock of events under water over the course of my dive career that didnt go as planned, and in every case as long as you can keep your cool, remember your training and can get help from a buddy it will work out just fine. If you have to call a dive becuase things arnt going right theres no shame, better that then a small problem turning into a huge accident! Now a good buddy check before you go in can sort out most of those issues but occasionaly stuff happens under water and you just gotta deal with it. The second big thing is get back in the water as soon as you can safely with a good buddy you trust to conquer that monkey on your back if it shows its head.
Its times like that when I remember my old bosses motto - Fun Safe diving. If you can keep it like that you cant go wrong!

Matt the knife guy

Wow - a first in local waters...

There are days when what should be a pretty ordinary dive becomes something quite unusual. Today was one of them. It had been decided to make a trip out to the Cora Post. It's a site we hadn't visited for some time, so that seemed as good a reason as any. There was nothing extraordinary about the preparations, except perhaps noticing how low the water has become.

Anyway, first issue is the fact that we can't locate the guideline in the shallows. No problem, already agreed to drop to the 35' contour and follow it to the wreck. Of course, reaching 35' we pick up the line almost immediately, quite close to the wreck. At about the same time, both of us spot a large shape in the water, just off the bow. It turns out to be a very large Muskie, completely unimpressed with our presence. It swam gently across our path and exited the area.

With a water temperature of just 46℉ (6℃), we elected to spend just a few minutes on the wreck; long enough to notice though that the stern section is really broken down now. We follow the line back along the contour and discover that, where it used to turn NW to head for the shallows, it's broken. As we consider this, we spot, just to our left, in about 35' of water, a huge baitball of small fish. Almost perfectly cylindrical, with the fish circling briskly, it was about 20' high and 10-12' in diameter. The fish were about 2" long and short, with a silvery colour. Even after applying the exaggeration factor, there must have literally been thousands of them. I have never seen anything remotely like it in local waters - and only rarely in waters further south. A real treat. Just goes to show - it's always worth diving here - and every day has the potential to astonish and impress underwater.

Sunday Club in Full Session...

The fine weather seemed to spawn substantial interest in diving today. No less than 10 divers made it into the water at the Cora Post off Howe Island. Visibility was reasonable - at about 30 feet, but the water temperature is no less chilly than a week ago - at 36F (2C). Air temperatures around 6C (43F) didn't entirely compensate for any chilling effect. Worth noting that the line out to the wreck has lost its upper section and you need to hunt at about 22 feet to pick up the remaining piece.

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.

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'.

Cora Post ...

Thwarted by a strong Sou'wester from taking a boat out to one of the more interesting offshore wrecks this morning, Dianne, Theresa and I made a minor expedition to Howe Island for a dive on the Cora Post. Conditions there were fairly good. A moderate sea was little trouble, though it did send a light, downstream current through the shallows at the entry point; and clouds of green algae. Nevertheless, visibility was reasonable - at about 35 feet. The temperature gradient of the water was really apparent. Surface waters were showing 54F (12C), but the water at 60 feet was only 48F (9C). Mind you, this is a welcome change from a week or two ago.

There were no significant sightings during the dive. Gobies rule might be the cry...

Perhaps the most memorable event was being held back for 30 minutes at the Ferry, while they waited for an ambulance to arrive from somewhere in the Island's interior. The insult came when, loading it finally, they took the Ferry away without boarding any of us. In all, we spend about an hour in the intermittent sunshine speculating on the situation of the casualty - and other things. Oh well, that's life...

Deep delight on Howe Island...

Today provided an opportunity to test out some deeper waters off Howe Island. Chris and I ventured forth from the Cora Post to explore the opportunities the channel provides to take divers down to greater depths in a relatively controlled manner. This site is particularly good because the jumping off point from the Cora Post is already at 40 feet. A line has also been laid southwards, which connects with a tether at about 65 feet. We tied off to the tether and went South in search of deeper water. Our turn-around, as agreed in our plan, was at 80 feet. It was evident though that the bottom profile is ideal for a continuation to 100 feet - and probably more.

The lowest temperature recorded was 38F (3C) and visibility was about 35 feet. Marine life - algae aside - was distinctly limited. A couple of lazy Catfish were obliged to depart on our approach, but that was about it. We took the opportunity on the outward journey to clean both lines. They are now in excellent condition.

Back to the Brick Barge...

Given the sunshine and the relatively calm waters, Dianne and I took the opportunity to visit the Brick Barge (Cora Post) on Howe Island this afternoon. Yes, we ignored the other factors like snowdrifts, gale warnings and occasional flurries. Did I mention near freezing water temperatures as well...

But nothing matters when you get below the surface and enjoy the tranquillity of the underwater environment. Visibility was pretty fair at something like 30 feet and the line out was quickly and easily picked up and followed. There was a secondary aim for the day of taking Dianne down to 60 feet for the first time. Conveniently (and unexpectedly) we found that someone has placed a line down to about 65 feet from the South side of the wreck. Total dive time was just under 35 minutes and the water temperature 34F (1C). The air temperature, little helped by a brisk Westerly wind - was just on freezing.

And the dive was made all the more interesting by the sighting of a Pike in the shallows on the return leg..