Morton's Magic..

The beautiful picture above was contributed by Matt and illustrates really well what is so often special about Morton's Wharf. The location, allied to the construction, often gives rise to great shots in the sunlight. Jack is silhouetted really well here. The dive was a fun one, taking in first the wreck of the St Lawrence - another exercise in jungle busting through weeds, then along the contour back to the Wharf, where we played around for a while, ultimately leaving the water about 64 minutes later. Thanks for the pics Matt - cool!

Club makes the Base Paper...

Your President recently gave an interview to a reporter from the Base Newspaper, the Tower. Given the opportunity to ride along on a charter to the Munson, the individual writing the article has produced a great piece on who we are and what we do. Click here to download the article and see how many names you spot of active Club members.

Jamie joins the certified divers..

Congratulations to Jamie, who opted for Brule Road's more sheltered environment to complete his Open Water dives today over a rather lumpy lake. Each of the dives lasted almost an hour and required skills were all mastered without fuss. The Quarry was very busy - did we mention that there's now a barbecue running, with hot dogs and other snacks, as well as cold sodas available?

The tiny Bass fry which were very evident a few weeks ago are now reaching recognizable Bass form. They've stopped shoaling in large numbers and now move around singly, or in small groups of up to about a dozen fish. At about an inch long - and quite curious - they are great fun to watch. In and around the the old car chassis, three or four of the largest Bluegills I've ever seen are also lazily swimming around.

Each visit to the Quarry these days shows up new objects underwater. Take a trip and have a look around yourself.

Its like Safari diving out there!

It seems like the last few dives have been just like the old Mutual of Omaha wildlife shows of the 70s. The weeds are like forests and the bottom can be full of algae. The plus side of this is the life in the lake is never as good as it is now. One of our intrepid divers mentioned its like swiming in a fish bowl. The highlight for me was last night at the Museum where kristie and myself ran into a catfish attempting to dine on a poor lake shad. I managed to get a couple of shots of it and you can see where the bite marks were on it. It wasn't swiming too well and I figure he didnt make it far but than that's life in the wild! I wont deny the visibility is not the greatest but with a keen eye you can see walleye, sheepshead, and more if your carefull. Water temps have fluctuated between 75-65F down to 20 feet, however at 100 feet its 55F. Visibility in all areas has been grim but feasible with approximately 15 feet at the 20 foot depth and between 20 to 40 at 60 or more depth. Did I mention weeds? This afternoon Mike Jack and myself treated ourselves to a bit of old school bushwhacking navigation for a 78 minute dive to see but the Regent and the Charlotte in one swim on an alluminum 80 no less.
One last thing the Dolphins are now on Facebook, look for CFB Kingston Dolphin Scuba club and if you like, hit 'Like Us'! Less talk more pics I say:
1. Gaétan at the Wharf in the Haze, 2. The AAA guns of Mortons Wharf, 3. Marc-Etienne looking to snap a rather large bass.

4. Mike Bushwhacking at deadmans bay, 5 and 6. The shad that Escapes death by the hands of a catfish. You can see the bite marks on the shad.

Yours in Fun Safe diving
Matt C

Todd makes his Double Century..

Sunday evening marked a significant achievement for Todd. He completed his 200th logged dive with a really good charter run to the offshore wrecks. Many congratulations! His commemorative certificate is reproduced here..

Munson Reputation Restored..

Today provided the opportunity to restore the reputation of the Munson as a benevolent, exciting dive site. With two good friends from Virginia, Celia and Gavin, Dianne and I made the trip with Gaétan and Jack. Despite blustery conditions topsides - and the dire reports of last week's dive, we had a great experience. The line took us straight past the tallest pylon onto the main deck. Visibility was good enough to see the whole wreck from any position and only the gentlest of currents crossed the deck. Behind the dredge, near the bucket, a large shoal of Lake Shad was criss-crossing the bottom. Bottom temp 48℉ (8℃). The thermocline lay at about 60', the same depth as we'd observed it to lie on the KGH wreck earlier in the day.

"Blizzard-Like" Conditions on the Munson...

Of all the things I have experienced in my lifetime, I would never have thought I would experience an underwater blizzard... That is exactly what the conditions were like on the Munson tonight...

Jim, Gaetan, Josée and I were fortunate enough that the winds died down this evening, and Anne from Kingston Dive Charters took us out for a dive. Wave action on the surface was a bit choppy, and we experienced some current going down the mooring line. As we approached the 100 ft mark, I was asking myself: "Where the heck is the wreck ? It should be around here somewhere ?!?" Gaetan zoomed past me, and inadvertently slammed into the bottom.. that's how bad the visibility was. Once our eyes got used to the low-lighting, we slowly began to make out the shape of the wreck 5 feet in front of us. Visibility was down to maybe 3-5 feet WITH our high-powered canister lights... oh, and I forgot to mention the CURRENT... On the upper deck, we had to continually frog-kick to stay in one spot, looking at the artifacts placed here-and-there on the wreck. With all the silt and particulate moving in the water and across our light beams, it literally seemed as if there was heavy blowing snow going across the wreck. Penetration inside was tricky as well because of current pushing us into the lower beams inside the lower portion of the barge.

After 30 minutes of bottom time on Enriched Air Nitrox 32, it was time to try and find the elusive mooring block (yes, the viz was really that bad). Finding it on our second tour around the wreck, we slowly ascended the line. I will openly admit that this was one dive that I physically came up the line one hand over the other, holding on because of the poor conditions we were encountering..

Hopefully, over the next few days, the sediment caused by our heavy winds, rains and run-off from land will settle and allow some better diving conditions for those of us who will be enjoying a nice 4-day weekend. HAPPY CANADA DAY EVERYONE!!!!

A Day of Dives....

WOW, WOW, and WOW ... is what is best said about this day of dives. It has only taken this long, to blog the clubs "1st of the year" 3 Tank Charter this past weekend, for one thing and one thing only. It has taken this long to get over the awe of this terrific adventure. A big thanks goes out to our Events Coordinator and Proteus Dive Charter to make this one a big hit. It isn't very often you get a chance to see any of these wrecks let alone all 3 of them in the same day.

The choices were made, and with the weather being favorable, we were treated to the City of Sheboygan, Katie Eccles. and the Olive Branch. Again the size of these Schooners is nothing but amazing. You really do have to wonder what kind of storm was brewing the day these ships were put to the bottom of Lake Ontario. Sadly lives too were lost on the City of Sheboygan and the Olive Branch.

A fate many of these great Schooners tell. One thing is for sure. When you get out to the site of the Olive Branch you really do get a feel for the size of the lake.

As you approach the surface marker you see Main Duck Island to the left, and False Duck Island to the right. At this point you realize you really are, a long way from shore and very close to being out in the middle of lake. The rain held off long enough for us to enjoy our surface intervals on the deck relatively dry. I can hardly wait till the next time the chance arises to visit these Schooners again. Let alone to see what is planned for us on the next 3 Tank Charter booked for Sunday 15 August. As for this Charter, Just awesome. The pictures say it all...

Time to get Wet Baby!

Wet Suit Season has begun =)

Short post folks but heres the Skinny (something I've never been accused of!)

Waters warm enough for wet suits, and this sad excuse for a seal shed his dry suit for a 61 minute dip at the Marine Museum today. Mark-Etienne and myself got pretty lucky with an afternoon off and the chance for a nice leisurly dive with favorable weather up top. The great weather made me pause for the oppurtunity to go wet, something I personaly prefer diving, due to the exended range of movement a wet suit offers. I think my computer is broken becuase it registered me at 40 feet for 61 minutes. Now I know the lake has risen some since the recent rains. The lake has likley also let some extra water volume in via the canals that connect to Superior, however it was still a surprise. I allways thought the barge was 36 feet on average. Vis was not so hot, mostly around 10-20 feet in different areas, and you could clearly see mini thermocline cloud at 20 feet. The Temp below never got below 62F and mostly hovered at 66. Dont ask about yesterday when I felt like a land locked seal pretending to "golf" in the morning during the morning monsoon we had. I was so wet I went home and got swiming shorts on for the remainder of the golf day after the 1st hole. I wished this dive wouldnt end, but at 700 psi and an hour under it was time to call it a day.

2 pics just to prove I was wet today from M-E:

Yours in fun safe diving.

Matt the knife guy

Equipment available...

A good friend of the Dolphins, local diver Steve Biggs has decided to hang up his fins and he has quite a lot of good things available for sale. Click here if you are interested in viewing his offerings.