DOGs on the prowl..

Here's a link to a few minutes of video fun on the KGH wreck yesterday. If you have friends who wonder why you dive - and what you see, show them this...

City of Sheboygan in great shape..

Seven of us went out with Kingston Dive Charters this morning to dive the excellent wreck that is the City of Sheboygan. Conditions could only have been improved by a little bit more sunshine, but the Lake was relatively calm, and the visibility was superb. A water temperature of 52℉ (11℃) ensured that no one got unduly cold. A lot of video was taken - and a short edition of the highlights is on You Tube here..

Portsmouth Harbour Wrecks..

For all those who have not had the opportunity to visit the wreck fragments that lie just off the Breakwater at Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, here's a little video pulled together in October. To view it click here.

It comes as a complete surprise to most Kingstonians that these links to the City's maritime history are literally yards from shore.

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.

When the going gets hot even the tough go wet

Ok so thats not how its supposed to read but throw me a bone here ...

Summer is really here now for at least another week. Seems like the rain is going to stay away for a little while. What a great reason to get in the water. 2 dives this weekend by members of the DSC. On Saturday we did a commemorative dive at the Alexander Henry to celebrate its 50th anniversary. I hear the Kingston Brew Pub is making a beer called Icebreaker to go along with the festivites. Mmmmmmm beer ... oh right blog here...I wonder if it helps folks get dates too? (Insert laugh track here) Mike, Dianne, Adam Kevin, Marg, and I did come community work for POW (Preserve Our Wrecks Kingston). Marg, Kevin, and myself did demo dives, albeit at 2 different times.

The ship is in perma dock now and is used as a bed and breakfast, however the water below goes to 19 feet. Not much to see but some weeds a few small perch and bass. Though there are some cool crates on the port side of the ship, and if you look right under the ship there was a very cool layered algae cloud that looked kind of creepy. I found out quickly I was diving with the curator of the museum, which added to the fun.

Adam had us try out the full face mask system with comms system and we got to play with a remote camera system as well. The masks are neat and take some time to get used to and are nothing like those full helmet systems that commercial divers use. I think I need more practice with the comms as i was pretty much completely un-intelligble (then normal) to everyone up top.

Now for title of the blog today:

I never knew Mike, Kevin, Jim, or Marg had a wet suit, nor for that matter half the other members of the club. You see ever since I started diving with this crew not a single person other then Kim in September ever wore one. The only ones with them were the "newer divers" and the students. I just always thought they were afraid of the water. I guess it takes a scorchingly hot and sunny 35 degree Celcius day and a small bucket of sweat from putting on the gear to make them break out the old school stuff. I even managed to catch one of them without a hood! imagine the shock I had.

I pick on them because it's fun. I often warn divers that its better to be slightly cold then over warm. Today's dive is a perfect example. In the 20 foot water column it was 78F and even I took my 7mm hood off. I needed it because at 90 feet we had passed 3 thermoclines and lemme tell you my 2 mm hands were a slight tinge short of blue. However in the warm water it was too much. I can not tell you the amount of divers who I have seen never dive again after a heat stroke like effect from over dressing.

10 of us took part in the Sunday Club (tm patent pending). We had a long leisurely drive down the winding shoreline road to Nicholsons Point (just outside of Bath) for a dip in the also warm waters. This dive is good for both Open water and Advanced divers. The dive features a line that goes straight south and leads down 90 feet deep at a 10-15 foot drop off or ledge. Not a whole heck of a lot to see today but folks did talk about a couple of carp in the shallows and a few large mouth bass. No long nose gar either...
Oh and a couple of very odd looking fish with no hood....
pics or it never happened:
The Alex Henry on top:

Ben the curator with cool full face mask riggins:

The spooky algea:

Ben with the Remote camera:

The Ledge at 90 feet:

The Elusive Mikeosaurus Rex with no hood:

As Allways keep blowing bubbles!

Wolfe Islander II available to divers...

I had the chance to work on the mooring for the Wolfe Islander today. Pat Coyne (Pat's Charters) was good enough to take his boat out and dive with me. Finding the Wolfe is never too difficult, but we faced a couple of challenges raising the two lines. The bow line, the first we raised, had become twisted round a forward mast during the winter. That took a bit of work to untangle, then a lift bag sent it up without any further fuss. The stern line (with the Preserve Our Wrecks buoy) took a little more work. A completely new line had to be installed after we lost the previous buoy and line late last year. Fortunately, a little bit of brainstorming and a quick rehearsal at the surface allowed us to work together smoothly below. Conditions couldn't have been better on the Lake - and the presence of a few power boaters and at least one sailboat proved the point. The only issue we had was with swarms of mayflies. Small price to pay for two really enjoyable dives...

Members turn out for Preserve Our Wrecks...

Several members of the Club attended the Dive 'n Dine event held by Preserve Our Wrecks this evening. A dive outing to the Wolfe Islander was followed by a delicious barbecue. Despite relatively poor visibility on the wreck, the dive was enjoyed by everyone in attendance. It was an opportunity for many to see the recently parked second motorcycle, a Yamaha and to play, 'count the gnomes'. A special treat for a few of the 14 divers was a rare sighting of an American Eel. For the record, there was no discernible thermocline and the water temperature was 68F (20C).

Work on the Frontenac...

Out today to work on mooring options at the Frontenac. The sky was blue and the waters calm - great conditions for getting out to this wreck, which is one of the more distant ones. There has been an ambition for some time to create a mooring off the wreck itself. Currently, the line goes down to the Starboard stern rail of the tug. Some heavy iron wheels, chained together for effect, were dropped some time ago, but they lie just too far from the wreck to serve well as a descent line anchor. We worked today to dig these wheels out to some extent, preparing them for a lift to a position closer to the wreck itself. Bottom times at 110' aren't very long and although the total dive time was 30 minutes on each of two dives, we probably achieved only the minimum desired effect. Another trip - or maybe more - will be required to place a bag on the stack of wheels in an effort to dislodge them and shift them across the bottom. It would have been a travesty to miss a tour of the wreck itself, so that was taken in on the second dive. Visibility was pretty good; certainly in excess of 60 feet. The temperature, however, just to warn those who are exulting in 3mm dives in the shallows, was 42°F (6°).

'Ducking' and Diving...

Dodgy title refers to the fact that this morning the opportunity was presented to accompany Harold, POW's Mooring Director, and Tom Rutledge on a working visit to the Annie Falconer, which lies close to the False Ducks Island. A bumpy passage out and back was a small price to pay for a textbook dive on one of our signature wrecks. With a bottom temperature of 55F (13C) and visibility in excess of 60 feet (20m), there was plenty of time at the max depth of 78 feet (24m) to complete the replacement of a temporary mooring line, tour the site and find an abandoned mooring block just off the wreck to the NNE. Tom took some great shots, which are accessible on Ontario Diving Forum. BTW - for those who are wondering - Harold doesn't wear his drysuit constantly - just about 80% of the time....

POW gets it done...

Worth mentioning that, early as it is, those of you who may have access to boats - or have started to think about an early charter outing - have a great selection of offshore wrecks accessible now. Some great work by a variety of operators and divers has resulted in about 14 of Kingston's most popular wrecks having their lines raised and marker buoys placed already. They include the ever popular Wolfe Islander, Aloha, Munson and City of Sheboygan. A full list is available on the Preserve Our Wrecks homepage. The work has been a lot of fun for those involved. There's also been some great underwater photography taken. Check out Tom Rutledge's pictures on Ontario Diving.