Can you say Ice Course Serial 2!!!!!

Well, I think a little bit of history was made here this weekend... I believe this is a first, for the Dolphin Scuba Club. We have successfully completed a second Ice Diving Course for this winter... A Big Congratulations goes out to Ben, Sadie, and Zach. After the first course last weekend, there was enough interest to run a second course. A big thanks goes out to Dave for making this happen. As well another thanks goes out to Chris at Explorer Diving, for opening the gates to the quarry for a second weekend, and to the surface support who in turn enjoyed getting in another dive. In a few weeks the ice should be off the lake, and the club will be back diving in the open water. Wishing for the great vis that we have grown accustomed to, only offered by ice diving. Again, congratulations to all our Ice Divers who have qualified from the two courses ran this year. Well done!!!

Ice Divers Make the Grade...

The very varied topside conditions over the weekend didn't create any significant challenges to successfully completing our annual ice diving course. The four divers pictured; Todd, Dan, Steve and Andrew all did well and gained a new appreciation for the discipline of diving under ice.

Well done to all of them, and many thanks to everyone who turned out to assist. At the risk of offending anyone else, I will single out Jim as the key supporting player over the weekend. He helped in every way possible. Many thanks too to Explorer Diving, caretakers of the dive site. They generously made the quarry available at no cost and Chris also assisted for much of the weekend.

There's a strong possibility, if everything comes together, that another course will be run next weekend. That's concrete evidence of the excitement being built, and maintained, in our Club. The dive season ahead promises to be a great one...

A Taste of True Ice Diving

Well it's that time of year for those who didn't travel south, take up Ice Diving. You can only dive Upper Brewers Mills so many times before you succumb to Lake Ontario's beckoning. This past weekend, a few of us had to venture into old territory well new in some aspects, as the photos will prove. (courtesy of Mike)

The weekend started with a dive Saturday morning at the Marine Museum. Once we had a hole made, we geared up and went under the Ice. We were all pleasantly surprised at just how great the Vis really was.

I would have to say we were looking at 100 ft of Vis. We used a cave line anchored at the hole and went on our dive.

Sunday's dive turned out to be a repeat of the Saturdays dive. With the exception of Mike bringing out his camera and expertise. He has proven once again that a tripod is worth its weight in gold. Proving a small aperture with a slow shutter speed gives you the best shot, but a tripod is a must.

The only exception was, Sunday seemed to be a little cooler than the previous day. The water temperature in the lake was definitely the coldest dive to date that I have ever dove. A cool 32 f. that's right, FREEZING cold. A point to consider here. An environmentally sealed and balanced 1st stage regulator is a very wise choice. All in all, the weekend of ice diving was an enjoyable weekend. The Marine Museum never looked so good.

Ice Diving!! Oh Yeah!!!!

Well, I say if you can't get into the water, via shore entry or by boat charter, because it's winter and someone??? (Mother Nature) likes to play a joke and ice over the lakes on you. Well then "GO THROUGH THE ICE"..... That is what a few of us did yesterday. In preparation for the up coming course a few of us decided to check out the ice and while we were at it see what the vis was. To every ones surprise we had close to 80 ft if vis. Better that what any of us were thinking due to the lime normally found in the water.

After a 32 minute bottom time, we turned the dive and headed back to the hole that would bring us to the surface. Water temperature at bottom was 39 f. Warmer, considering our last dive on in the lake, prior to the ice forming was 33 f. Nice to dive again in warmer waters, lol.... We were greeted under water by large schools of Gold Fish. A rare species of fish we seldom encounter in waters around here, being so far north of the equator...

We must extend a thank you to all, for your efforts in support of our endeavour. To Chris for opening up the Quarry for us, and allowing us to run our ice course here in two weeks. As well a big thanks for the great assistance from Dave our on scene manager, Gaetan and Steve for the above ice photography, and Ken who assisted with everything else. I believe all had a great time, above, as well, as us fortunate below the ice....

Mike's First Doubles Dive

As the winter has set in, Mike Hill and I had to go for a dive. With the Lake Ice formed and not many places to find open water he headed for Upper Brewers Mills, on the Rideau River. Today would prove to be a day of firsts. Mike's debut in diving with a set of doubles, and my first time at Upper Brewers Mills. The water was a cool refreshing 36F with a vis of 15 to 20 ft. with a mild to medium current, what more could two divers ask for. Mike proved that diving doubles is the way to go, judging by the smiles after the dive no difficulties were found. We went around the bowl 3 times observing crayfish and fingerling Walleye's. Ending the dive with a bottom time of 31 min and two divers happy to get in the water once again...

Americans enact Shark Conservation Law..

There was a lot of criticism of the lame duck Congress leading up to the turn of the year. It turned out though that quite a lot was actually achieved. One very important piece of legislation didn't make the headlines. President Obama signed a Shark Conservation Act into law on January 4th. Details in the link you can reach by clicking here.

Diving Adventurers..

Conditions in the Lake are really pretty good at the moment. Despite near frigid water temperatures, the visibility is fantastic, and entry and exit are straightforward. Todd and Dan enjoyed amazing sightings of Gizzard Shad yesterday and today. You can see a video of the large shoal of fish here on You Tube...

Shad-tastic..!

It's not entirely clear just what species we encountered in the waters near the Marine Museum yesterday and today, but what's quite certain is that we enjoyed an experience that is rare in local water. This link will take you to video that shows just what we were privileged to enjoy. So numerous were the fish, and so intent on shoaling, that they actually collided with the divers. If you listen carefully, on a couple of occasions you can hear a fish bump into the camera housing.

Happy New Year everyone!

THE BI-CENTENNIAL MAN...

Today's immersion in the frigid lake was an important landmark in Todd's dive logbook.....his 200th dive this year. Since I am currently completing my PADI Underwater Photography Specialty, it was only logical that I would attend to take a few "Hero Shots" for our newly-appointed Club President. We entered the water at the old corvette launch near the Marine Museum this afternoon for a swim around the old wharf, and to examine the entry to the Alexander Henry's drydock. This being my first jaunt that far along the shoreline, I realized that there is even more to explore past the old familiar line out to the barge. We swam past an old anchor, tires, and some construction debris from this year's recent rebuild of the drydock. What we weren't expecting were the schools of Lake Shad that we encountered upon entry, and around the drydock area. See for yourself in this video:

... The fish were so abundant that Todd had to eat his way through the school (or he found himself a New Year's Eve date for this evening...) (pictured is Todd with fish-in-hand.... you be the judge on what he is doing...)

.... and last, but not least.. the best picture of the dive today:

Amazing what fish will do when you stay motionless at 15 feet for a safety stop.. They were as curious of me as I was of them.. Total dive time: a frisky 61 minutes, max depth: 37 feet, water temperature: a freezing 36 deg F.

D.O.G.s or Huskies..?

The weather's definitely getting colder - and the water temperature in the Lake too. But, that's when the viz starts to clear and the diving crowd starts to thin out. This morning - to celebrate Todd's 300th dive appropriately - three of us ventured forth to Howe Island to plumb the 'hidden' depths of the South Channel. Despite the lower water levels of this time of year, before the bottom started rising back to Wolfe Island in mid channel, we achieved 119'. It was a cool dive on at least two levels. First of all, the water temperature was down to 43℉ (6℃) at the bottom and, secondly, it just an excellent, relaxed experience. Congratulations, Todd, on your 300th lifetime dive.