Charlotte loves Turtles..

Today's small task (amongst a myriad of others) was to show Joseé the turtles on the Princess Charlotte wreck in Deadman Bay. After all, it had been remarked on all the dives late last year that turtles were regularly spotted. I did warn that in the intervening period we had gone through Winter and that all the turtles might be missing, for one reason or another. However, we need not have been concerned. We spotted at least four of the creatures - and a large Carp - on the wreck.

The visit also provided another opportunity to hone my skills with an external flash. Tricky stuff balancing the available light with another source and keeping a reasonably natural appearance. But, fun...

By the way - water temperature in the Bay's shallow waters - 41℉ (5℃)

Deadman's Turtle Tales - Part 2

Todd 'sneaking up' on a turtle..


Painted Turtle..


Bow section of the Princess Charlotte..


Stern section of the Princess Charlotte..

Today's near-ideal conditions prompted Todd and I to make another expedition out to the Princess Charlotte. Todd navigated today and put us, near as dammit, right on the wreck. I was experimenting with photography using a tripod and the results were pleasing. It gives you the opportunity to obtain maximum depth of field and a sharp result. We both took some time to 'bother' the resident turtles. Please understand that this does NOT involve actually touching or otherwise disturbing these animals; something which no diver should do. For those who care about the cooling of the Lake, note that the lowest temperature observed during this dive was 36℉ (2℃).

By the way, Todd left the dive site to go and collect a spiffy new DUI drysuit. Look out for news and pictures of this very shortly.

DIVE - ER HARD OR NOT AT ALL!!!

Today, Mike and I decided to venture out in the frigid icy cold water (4 C). With the sun shining, the air temp. was - 14 C. We were in the water by 10:30 making our way, at a very leisurely pace on a bearing of 205 deg. After a 5 min swim we were upon the Princess Charlotte. This is one of the wrecks in the local area from the war of 1812 that is accessible from shore. She must have been a fascinating ship in her day. Her ribs are proof she was not only built with pride, but more importantly, (being a warship) she was built to give and take punishment. She lays in 13 to 19 ft of water (time of year), with visibility between 20 to 30 ft. Not just visited by divers, she has a host of fish that lay claim her home. Today, Gobi's were the only species of fish present, however we were welcomed by a couple of Painted Turtles. They too, were making the best of the day by absorbing the sun on the rocks at the bottom and not buried in the mud. Once out of the water, it became a rush to get our gear off so we could unzip our dry suits. Definitely worth diving again, however, I think there will be more pictures taken tomorrow, and the weather shouldn't be as cold as today.

Drysuits Rock..!

Today was the final dive of Suzanne's drysuit course and she completed it in Deadman Bay on the wreck of the Princess Charlotte. Cold water holds no terrors for the drysuited diver, but Ken, Suzanne's buddy was diving wet - and that's a different story altogether. Ken did really well to enjoy the 30 minutes or so of the dive - in 46℉ (8℃) water.

Before we entered the water, I had mentioned that this is a particularly good time of year to see turtles settling on the bottom of the Lake. Sure enough, up at the stern of the wreck, we encountered a very large Painted Turtle nestled in amongst the timbers. It showed no fear and we were careful to avoid disturbing it beyond taking a couple of pictures.

The pictures show that it's clearly possible to have fun in the water, even at this time of year.

Deadman - live turtle...

During just over an hour's meanderings around Deadman Bay today I had the interesting experience of being approached by an inquisitive turtle. It was one of the painted variety - about 6-8 inches long in the shell - and clearly curious about the creature slowly approaching it. It took a direct path towards my mask and I had to gently fend it off by lifting it under the shell and away. it continued on its way to the surface for a breather quite unfazed. The water in the Bay, despite heavy and persistent rain yesterday was very clear - and quite warm - about 48℉ (9℃). During the dive a little bit of capital was banked with the Yacht Club by retrieving a couple of objects that had been lost over the side during lift-in this weekend.

Double dipping in the Lake

Today I had the pleasure of Diving with Sébastien and we got two dives in at Deadmans Bay and the Domino Theatre. Each dive was roughly 40 mins in 39f/4c of water. The vis was not to great in the range of 20 ft. Highlights of the first dive were turtles in Deadmans Bay with the odd catfish and perch. It was a pleasant surprise to see life returning to the lake. On our second dive at Domino theatre we only saw some gobies. We were able to see a few canteens and tin plates. I big mention does need to go to Sébastien who dove today in a wet suit.

Algae Busting in Navy Bay..

Six Club members made a late afternoon dive in Navy Bay - just because they could really...

Four of them already had dives under their belts today; Mike and Dominique on the charter described earlier, and Scott and Kim at the Quarry. Joined by Malcolm and Theresa, they enjoyed about 38 minutes exploring the structures just South of the RMC jetty.

Visibility was an issue, probably no better than 25 feet, but the water was 'warm' at 48F (9C). The algae was drifting in clouds, driven by a little bit of surface disturbance and some chop. But this didn't prevent the group seeing a few very large Carp, a shoal of Perch in the shallows by the boat ramp and a Turtle.

History Hunters...

Armed with a copy of the report on wrecks of the War of 1812 prepared recently by Parks Canada's Marine Archaeologist, Jonathan Moore, four of us explored Deadman Bay this morning, visiting the more northern site, often referred to as HMS Psyche.

The wreck showed up well in the intermittent sunshine - visibility was about 35 feet. Better news lay in the fact that the water temperature is now registering 45F (7C). Besides the wreck, the biggest attraction today was the numerous Painted Turtles (some really quite large) seen on the swim out and back.

A few pictures showing views of the wreck are on the Club's Flickr Site.

I was pleased to provide some assistance before and after the dive to members of the CFB Kingston Yacht Club. I recovered an expensive pair of prescription Oakley sunglasses and re-attached a mooring buoy to make it more useful to the Club.

Fun with a Deadman...

Despite dire warnings of thunderstorms and high winds, conditions in Deadman Bay this afternoon were pretty good. Six members of the Club made a gentle foray to the wreck just South of the Forces' Marina. Theresa had a particularly good outing - her first as a certified Open Water diver - spotting a turtle in the shallows just before exiting.

The rain overnight and earlier in the day had brought the water temperature up to 45F (7C). Visibility was somewhere around the 30-40 foot range. Some other pictures from the outing have been posted to the Club's Flickr site.