Ain't Raining? Still Training...

Now that things are getting a little quieter, there's been the opportunity to catch up on some training. Today a refresher in underwater navigation was offered. Only one Club member took advantage of this, but I think that they benefited. It was certainly fun to run through some of the basics and then to put them into practice underwater. The dive presented the opportunity to take Todd on his Underwater Navigation Adventure; a mandatory component of his Advanced Open Water course. The dive was fun, with all the exercises completed well - and a chance to see some of the sights around the Marine Museum Bay. A large Pike was cruising the logs, probably threatening the well being of a shoal of small Perch living in the weeds below the slip.

Signing gear in and out this weekend at the Club, it was noticeable how active and successful it seems to be. There were literally no tanks sitting idle - and the large quantities of excellent new gear are obviously attracting more custom. Well done to all the members who are making the Club work - and to those who are getting some diving in.... It's what we're all about.

Picture credit to Marc-Etienne...

Fair but freezing...

Bright skies and freezing temperatures aren't the ideal accompaniment to a dive, but today that's just the way it was at the Gananoque Marina. The plan had been to visit the waters of the Canoe Club, but cursory inspection revealed the opaque results of waters recently in spate. Plan B took us to the Marina for the first time in many months. The result was a journey of exploration lasting some 50 minutes and resulting in just one interesting discovery; a relatively new aluminum ladder about 15' long. Its weight and the distance back to shore overcame the immediate temptation to recover it.

Besides the ladder, the viz of about 15-20' permitted sightings of some shoals of small fry, occasional Catfish and a couple of startled Pike. The minimum temperature recorded in the water was 39℉ (4℃). Topsides, a brisk wind and an air temperature of -2℃ (28℉) created the conditions for my drysuit to show the first post-dive ice formation this end of the year. Ah, don't you just love Winter diving! I should perhaps mention the other unusual sighting - our own Adam, who doesn't get wet often enough these days.

Enjoying the Barge

This morning 5 of us made it out to the marine museum for a quick 30 min swim. We entered by the boat ramp right behind the apartment buildings and followed the line out to the barge. Various fish were seen on our travel back and forth. The highlights were the giant sized pike and cat fish that was spotted on the way back. Visibility was not real great ranging in the area of 15-20ft. The temperature continues its upward climb as we had 63f/17c at 40 feet. Todays dive was a nice way to start of a Sunday morning.

Wait until dark....

After a day spent discussing how perfect the diving conditions appeared to be, it only made sense to get in the water after dark...!
Actually, the incentive came from Kevin, whose circumstances pretty much dictated waiting until night fell. The experience was much less daunting than you might think. Despite having to push through a thin skin of ice at the West St ramp, the dive was straightforward. Our determination to dive was rewarded by two prolonged encounters with a Northern Pike and several close approaches to large and languid Bass. We spent 30 minutes in the water, visiting the car at the start and finish of the dive and checking out the logs in between. The water temperature was 34F (2C) and visibility a little poorer than expected - at about 20 feet. Calm conditions topsides were still chilly at -3C (29F).

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...

Night Dive...

Three of us set aside the temptations of Friday night revelry downtown in favour of a night dive from the West St Ramp. Entering the water at almost exactly 9pm, we spent 45 minutes gently cruising the breakwater to and from the logs in the bay beside the Marine Museum. Fish life was abundant, with hordes of Perch, many Catfish and at least one Northern Pike. Only a few Bass were around. Curiously, not a single Mud Puppy was sighted.

Visibility easily reached the end of our light beams (HID) and was judged to be at least 30 feet. The water temperature was 59F (15C) at the deeper end of the dive, showing a distinct thermocline at about 24'.

Morton's Wharf and St Lawrence..

Decent dive today on Morton's Wharf and the wreck of the St Lawrence. With visibility down to something like 20', it was certainly a good thing to have a firm handle on the navigation. The round trip was completed without a single surface check. The fish life is frenetic just now. Bass are busy setting up spawning circles, the Perch are very active and Pike are patrolling the shallows in a very sinister manner. The Gobies, of course, are everywhere..

The pic was taken on the top of the Wharf, which we rarely visit. There's an interesting swim-through option here (Adam and Matt, take note). Although I'm prepared to accept that this is a shallow dive, it's still pretty remarkable that the water temperature around 25' is 63F (17C). The only thing that I can say against this dive site is that the entry and exit are a real pain - literally. The broken rocks and building rubble on the waterline are really difficult to deal with. But, the dive is worth it -

Barging Ahead...

This morning's task was to determine the ease of access afforded to the barge usually reached from the Marine Museum now that entry from the West Wharf is closed to divers. The good news is that it's quite easy to get to the barge using the Pumphouse Museum Car Park as a starting point. The accompanying pic shows the solution adopted today, getting in - carefully - at Ahoy Rentals little inlet. Entry can be just as easily achieved from the ramp in the bay (it's just a bit of a walk with kit on) or the West St Ramp (which is just a bit of an extra swim..!). It's also quite straightforward to enter by walking cautiously down the breakwater.

The swim to the line, which should pass the corner of the logs (very shortly after starting out), is a gentle 8 minutes worth on an Easterly heading. This brought us onto the line from the Wharf's SE corner just past its startpoint. The return journey is easily effected by coming back to the corner and taking a heading of 290 Mag to get to the logs. From the logs to the breakwater is due West just a few metres. Then, for ease of use (and to see the car at the bottom of the West St Ramp, you can follow the breakwater edge along to exit. Be aware - if viz is really poor and you're uncertain whether you're at the Ramp, there's a large diameter pipe (about 1m) just East of the Ramp entry emerging from the breakwater.

Viz today was pretty poor at about 25 feet, but swimming right over the top of a large Northern Pike when heading up the exit ramp was my high point. He then paraded around the shallows there for everyone to see. Water temp - 55F (13C) out at 40 feet.

Mike makes his Century.... this year!

With a 60 minute dive on Morton's Wharf and a visit to the wreck of the St Lawrence, I notched up Dive 100 this year. I was delighted to share the experience with Nancy and Jim. Getting Nancy to the St Lawrence after she had been thwarted on a couple of previous attempts was very satisfying.

For those who are interested in the conditions; visibility was poor at about 25 feet, water temperature 55F (13C) in the shallows and 47F (8C) a little deeper. We saw a large Pike close to the wreck in the bay and several good-sized Smallmouth Bass in and around the Wharf.

Nancy added some successful bag deployment practice to the outing and we all emerged happy, smiling and warm...

Pottering at Portsmouth..

The brilliant sunshine today was more than tempting enough to draw Dianne, Jim and I to the water at Portsmouth Harbour. We set ourselves the task of measuring the pipe and lines that run out to the twin anchors. Then, Jim practiced some bag deployment drills. The remainder of a dive approaching one hour in duration was spent looking for Crayfish and other wild life. Our researches were rewarded, close to the breakwater wall, with a very close sighting of a large Northern Pike, which seemed intrigued by us. It was probably also very interested in the shoal of small Perch in the same area.

Water temperature, 41F (5C) and the air temperature about 14C (57F). Visibility was exceptional - certainly in excess of 50 feet.

Double Dipping...

Now that the warmer weather is here - two-dive days (and more) may become the norm. Today was a good example. I started out with Jim, Nancy and Malcolm at Portsmouth Harbour, where I wanted to get some pics and video of the wrecks inshore. Then, after a quick break, it was into Navy Bay with Dianne and Chris.

Both dives were really enjoyable. The water is now up to 41F (5C) quite consistently, making prolonged dives quite bearable. The bright sunshine in the shallows is a joy - and visibility, this early in the season, is routinely 50 feet or more. The large shoals of Perch were very much in evidence in Navy Bay - threatened somewhat by a lurking Pike. There is also a lot of the spawn shown in the second pic around. Can anyone positively identify it, please?

Five minutes of video showing the wreck fragments by Portsmouth Harbour can be seen here, and a three-minute video clip of the sunken structures at RMC's Navy Bay can be accessed here.

Deadman ? - not quite...

Dianne, Malcolm and I made a trip into Deadman Bay today to find and explore the wreck usually known as the HMS Psyche. This proved to be a minor challenge in viz that was only about 15 feet, but we succeeded. Measurements were taken for the record; Length overall 156 feet, Beam couldn't be accurately assessed - she's too broken up. The Keel timber was 15" deep by 12" wide and the ribs 12". She lies pointing down the Bay at 230 Magnetic.

A huge Pike was spotted on the journey back down to exit at the CFB Marina and Malcolm spotted a Turtle close to the wreck. Around the Marina, there were also large shoals of Perch (literally dozens of fish).

Preparing to exit at 71 minutes - Dianne and I were prevailed upon to assist with a mooring task for the Sailing Club. This proved moderately interesting - especially fingertip searching for a Clevis I dropped at one stage. Total time for all the elements of the dive - 1 hour 49 minutes. It's clear the water is warmer. We recorded 42F (6C). Of course, it takes the chill off when you're hauling chains around too...