Dusky dive for dynamic divers..

It's tough trying to fit diving into a hectic lifestyle. But Kevin, Gaetan, Josée and I managed to find a niche in our busy diaries to take a dip off Murney Tower tonight. Meeting at 4 pm these days is a guarantee of a dusk / night dive - and that's just fine. The water offered excellent visibility all the way out to the wreck, with a very light current running westward. You could see it working when you lifted sections of the line to clean it and the detached weed drifted slowly away. The temperature remains at 48℉ (7℃). Altogether we spent about 42 minutes underwater. Not bad for three wet-suited divers. I don't need to tell you who was diving dry, do I ?

Stop the Presses! Leo Actually Dives!

Pics or it never happened, I always say:
Hard Core, that's the only way to describe it.
Here we have living proof that our club president actually dives. Not just wet, but sleeveless and hoodless. Not too shabby, I must say. Puts tough into a whole new category. We rib Leo all the time about his "dive time" but with pre-deployment training and the duties of family, it's not that easy to sneak in a dive here and there like the rest of us commandos of Lake Ontario. He gets time when on vacation to venture into warm waters down south, but we all know that doesn't count. You dive here or no where!

Now, how did we get a dive Friday during the working day you ask? Well, blame Gaetan and our newest club member, Eric McPhee. They took some time to arrange a Discover Scuba for a few folks from his unit - 2EW. In the wee hours of the morning (6:30 am) the club gathered a couple of our regular prime instructors (Adam and Chico) and some spare labour (myself, Mike Musgrave, Gaetan, and Leo) to run 20 some folks through a cavalcade of scuba skills. Though it took some effort to remind Adam that he was on a clock and to keep within the timings, a great time was had by all. We hope they come out for the basic courses we plan on running throughout the winter. No, we won't torture them with check-out dives in the snow, though it's always tempting...we will wait till the New Year for those, when the ice melts and the water only looks warm. Muhahahahaha!

However, that's not the best part! After lunch, 6 of us Kevin, Gaetan, Jim, Eric, Leo and myself (it's almost a mini quorum, thank god I forgot paper to write on) snuck off to get a refresher dive in for Eric as its been a few years since he last dove. The target: KGH wreck off Murney tower. You can imagine the surprise when I see our own Club Pres Leo in attendance. A quick rehearsal of skills with Eric, a view of a foot-long bass, and we re-geared for the long swim out to the barge. Apparently, this was also Leo's first trip to this wreck. I will admit that I thought he was nuts (OK completely insane, really) to dive without a hood when you hit that 50 foot thermocline but he toughed it out. 59 feet for 37 minutes was the profile, and he did the whole thing. Viz wasn't much to comment on, the algae holds true till 40 feet now, but opens when the water's colder. Not much life to see this time around either. However, the barge has had a major cleaning of mussels and you can clearly see the wood in many spots. It has also taken some damage as one of the support beams has fallen down in the middle of the wreck. Sponge coral is visible all over as well. On the rear of the boat some of it has sprouted tentacles. Eric and I saw one Drum in the shallows on our 3 min safety stop, but it was fleeting at best.

3 notes for this dive

1. Apparently I am IT, thanks Steve C....watch out divers as the game is afoot. Though I was slow on the watch. Steve marked the it sign Aug 22 and I have dove this site 3 times since and never noticed the it sign had names on it. Thanks to Kevin I get it... great =P if you see a IT sign take a good look at it and see if you see your name. No touch backs though. Good hunting folks, as this can appear on any commonly dove shore dive.

2. Lets hear it for sneakers on the dive. When you can't find your rock boots, you can always dive in your shoes, just ask Jim. Nuff Said!

3. No Pie Charts or Bar graphs here folks. There is no way I can top that - save shots of Leo, the Water Tiger. This very rare water creature is even more elusive then the wet-suited Mikeosaurus Rex! Like Marc-Etienne says, "it's not a dive unless you have your camera", and today my camera and I are back in good standing; for this week at least....

I leave you with more proof that Leo actually dives....I still can't believe it.

As always - keep blowing bubbles!

Labour Day classics

As I sit here watching the Argos lose yet another game this year on a glorious Labour Day classic with the Hamilton Tabby Cats I ponder: What is with the weather this year? I think a few meteoroligists are scratching thier heads with the whacky clouds we have seen this year, and perhaps a few are looking for new work! However the ominous start with rain on Saturday broke into sunny skies for the rest of the weekend and those of us who love the live aquatic were living the dream.

Sunday the folks from Explorer diver ran a charity dive in support of "Soldier On" down at the Pittsburg Quarry. They raised over $120 with just under a couple dozen divers from as far away as Ottawa and Trenton clubs. The warm water (70F at depth) meant that the vis had gotten a wee bit soupy (ok at one point I couldnt see my own feet) however those of us who like to practice navigation allways love a challange. Despite the algea we did find a full beer! Fancy that.

Mmmmm Beer:

Rick C trying to figure out how do I blow this up from here?

Geatan and Todd scoping out the entry stride in:

Good time had by all. The folks at Explorer diver set up a great BBQ after the dive as well. The Baloon exploding and bike race kinda never really went anywhere but Steve C is undaunted and promises to try again next year!

Labour day Monday offered up another day of good weather, and 4 of us got a quick dip over at the Murney Tower wreck near the Kingston General Hospital. Water was a bit murky till 30 feet but opened up to give 30 feet of vis. Once at the wreck you could easily see half the wreck once there. This 60ft deep dive is a long swim (at least 10-12 minutes one way) but worth the wait. Interestingly the mass of zebra mussels are almost half gone so far this year and you can see quite abit of the wood grain. I think the Sheepshead must have alot to do with this, and we saw one in the shallows right at the end of the dive.

Seen here is a shot of the back deck. Last year most of this was covered in mussels this year lots of exposed wood and the light green dots are the sponges:

As allways keep blowing bubbles!

13 - Lucky for some..

So, thirteen of us made our way this morning to Murney Tower and the wreck that lies offshore. Particularly good to see Sylvain (pictured) who rarely escapes his other duties these days to sneak in a dive. Conditions were pretty good - with viz in the shallows rather restricted, but improving below the thermocline (51 feet) to better than 30 feet or more. Scott and Kim are seen in the video gently approaching the wreck. Many thanks to those who have encouraged all of us to get going again on Sunday mornings. Just great to see so many divers out at one time. Sights worth seeing today; a large Carp in the shallows, with some Bass buddies - and a shoal of small fry amongst the weeds on top of the shelf.

Water conditions - surface calm, barely ruffled - and the temperatures about 64℉ (18℃) above the thermocline and 53℉ (12℃) below.

Every Cloud...

There are probably times when a dive just isn't meant to be. Today may have been one of them. After a bit of a hiccough over the catering arrangements, all seemed well, at 7 am, as divers assembled at Portsmouth for a day out on the Lake, with three deep dives ahead of them. However, a call from the Captain of our vessel, at just after 7 am, dashed hopes of that. A broken transmission wasn't going to be repaired quickly, and that left a decision about another dive option to be made. The upshot for most (someone had a better offer..) was a trip along the waterfront to burn some air on a visit to the KGH Wreck. Fifteen of us finally entered the water, in a staggered fashion, and enjoyed a dive in calm, but overcast conditions. The picture shows Sylvain, on one of his first dives this year, clearly enjoying the experience. There will likely be other blog submissions and pictures telling more of the story.

Highlights - Bass spawning on the top of the shallow shelf, and a Lake surface that allowed those ashore to follow the progress of divers by their surface bubbles - all the way to the wreck and back. Ashley is once again to be congratulated and thanked for contributing a delicious selection of cookies. The divers should be thanked for their patience with the mechanical problem and with the resultant change of plans. Che Sera...!

For the record - visibility - poor at about 15-20 feet and water temperature just 52℉ (11℃).

Call me Green Lantern...

Kevin has recently acquired a new canister light - a Green Force model with a 10 W HID head. That simply demanded a night dive to try it out. So, he, Bernie and myself made our way to Murney Tower last night to dive the KGH wreck. Entry was made just as the Sun was going down in near perfect conditions. By the time we reached the wreck it was dark, and the light was really showing its quality. It produced a tight, white beam, highlighting features of the vessel really well. It also showed up a number of sleepy Bass resting amongst the old timbers. On the way back, several Mud Puppies were evident. This was a fun dive in water temperatures of about 48℉ (7℃). We spent nearly an hour underwater without getting excessively chilled. The return journey provided an opportunity to clean off the line, which remains easy to find and to follow.

KGH Wreck guideline intact and in great shape...

The first dive of the 2009 season was made on the wreck at Murney tower today. To the delight of the divers, the guideline is perfectly intact and in great shape. There were a few lazy Bass on the wreck, but they took little interest in us. A couple of small Perch were also seen towards the shallows. The visibility was about 30 feet and the water temperature 37℉ (2℃). The whole dive was a blast - especially after being frustrated yesterday by high seas and strong, southerly winds...

The Gloves are off... No ! on...

I promised myself on the last dive - on the wrecks in the harbour - that it would be the last wet glove diving of 2008, and I kept the promise to myself today. When three of us made our way out, yet again, to the wreck off Murney Tower, I was in dry gloves. Not that they make the slightest bit of difference to the persistent, minor leak I've been suffering from, and cannot trace and cure, in my drysuit. Oh well, who wants to be completely comfortable?

The dive was a good one, with excellent visibility - about 50' horizontally on the wreck, and the surface waves perfectly clearly visible 60' above. There were again large numbers of lazy Bass around the site. Kevin played with them - and amused himself photographing little Gobies too. He was wearing his new Aqualung Drysuit, which is a great garment, with excellent features and, so far as one can tell, first-class construction and finish. Thank you Gaetan for the great shore-side shot above..

There was evidence of a slight thermocline at about 50', with water that had been steadily 45℉ (7℃) dropping suddenly to 43℉ (6℃) on my gauge at least.

Nine at Ten...

Nine Club members made the trip this afternoon to the wreck off Murney Tower in 10℃ water (50℉). On the second day of a really beautiful weekend, on Kevin's initiative, the group met at the Club to satisfy equipment and air needs, then hit the site. It was particularly good to see a new diver from the most recent basic course getting his feet (and everything else) wet. Well done, Jesse. The visibility on the wreck was the best I have seen - probably 40' or better - and of course made me instantly regret not taking a camera out with me. At either end, bow and stern, the whole structure was visible. So too were many large Smallmouth Bass, which appear to have taken up residence on the wreck. Hunger seems to be stimulating their curiosity and they were very happy to approach the divers. It was good to see that the guidelines are still in place. The opportunity was taken to clean them off a bit and to remove weedy debris from the main line.

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...

Night visit to the KGH wreck...

Despite light drizzle and an overcast sky, Kevin, Jim and I ventured into the water this evening for a gentle tour of the wreck off Murney Tower. This was Jim's first visit and a night dive was the only one he was going to fit into a busy schedule this weekend. There was a light current flowing downstream, which made the transit slightly longer than usual. There wasn't a great deal of fish life either. A large Drum was seen in the weeds on our return and a couple of catfish were lurking in the dark. Jim seized the opportunity to try out a new reel from Whatworks. It performed flawlessly - even with drygloves in use. Water temperature, with a thermocline at 55 feet again, was just 64℉ (18℃). Curiously enough, this was the air temperature too.

Back to the wreck at Murney Tower...

Responding to a request from a visitor who'd looked unsuccessfully for the guideline previously, we provided a conducted tour of the wreck today. Conditions - visibility aside - couldn't have been better. The Sun was beaming down and the water was comparatively calm. There wasn't as much fish life as recently, but bright, clear conditions don't favour the fishies. It's worth noting that the thermocline today was right on 55 feet, which makes it just above this wreck's sides and superstructure. At the bottom, the temp was down to 62℉ (17℃). The return journey was used to clean up the line a little and to bring it back to the surface in the few places where the silt threatened to hide it.