Sometimes you just have to get wet...

Kevin got back from Meaford last night and had diving in his mind all night. This afternoon, he dragooned some company (essentially folk who didn't have the desire to go any great distance for their diving) and took a plunge around the Marine Museum. The picture says it all - one happy camper !


Matt (Mr Awesome) was one of those who willingly accepted the offer to dive. He was tempted by Kevin's promise of a Long Nosed Gar sighting. More fool him.. none was seen on this dive, despite checking out the area of previous occurrences. What the two of them did manage to scare up - right at the end of the dive - was a big, lazy Northern Pike.

For the record books, the water is still 52℉ (11℃). Visibility was generally poor; only to be expected after yesterday's torrential rain and gale force winds. The other bad news is that the weeds beside the ramp at the Museum bay are still pretty robust, although they are brown and dying.

Oh what a night..!

On Marc-Etienne's suggestion, several of us made a night dive this evening from the ramp by the Marine Museum. Six divers had fun venturing out to the barge in rather limited visibility and then returning to tour the logs. The predominant fish species seen, if you ignore the overwhelming number of Gobies always present, was Catfish. Many of them were swimming around in the rather murky water. A couple of decent Walleye were also spotted under the ramp supports during the final minutes, and many pretty large Perch were around too.

It's been a while since I've been out to the barge and it was good to see that the line is intact and the wreck itself makes an interesting tour. Somehow, by night it seems larger.

Todd had a chance to try out his new light, which is an LED model with three 'bulbs'; very bright and effective - no missing him in the water. Total dive time about 40 minutes.

Checking out the Marine Museum Barge...

This evening presented a great opportunity to get wet with Kevin and Gaetan at West St. Conditions were great and we entered the water just beside Ahoy Rentals. Kevin was keen to practice navigation and led a faultless dive across to the corner of the pier and on to the barge, where we completed a circuit before reversing our course for an exit at West St Ramp. Conditions in the water were good, though the viz could have been better. It was about 20 feet over most of the range. There weren't many exciting sightings, though a large Sheepshead was spotted near the logs on the return journey and a Pike was cruising the shallows on the ramp; something that is entirely typical of this area. There were also a lot of Bluegills on and around the car below the ramp. Water temperature was a balmy 70°F (21°C).

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).

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'.

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.

Logging a dive at the Marine Museum

First trip of the year to the logs in the Bay by the Marine Museum today. Nancy, Sylvain, Chris and I spent about 40 minutes in a gentle swim to the logs, noting no significant fish life on the way. Visibility was down to about 40 feet - no reason for this reduction over recent days can be offered. Conditions were good, with light seas and low winds. Another disappointment was the fact that the water temperature was noted at just 41F (5C). This compares very poorly with what seemed to be an upward trend (Wolfe Island waters were up to 45F earlier this week).

Two of the divers were in wetsuits today - it can be done - just be prepared to shorten your dive times accordingly. But, the visibility will not be better this year - the algae is already encroaching.

Get set to get wet....