Playa Coral, Cuba			N 23° 5.4', W 81° 25.5'
Dive Number 70		Buddy Paul	Surface temp 25°C	Starting pressure 200 bar
Depth 37ft	Visibility excellent	Time 38m	Water temp 27°C	Ending pressure 100 bar
Notes:	The second dive went much better, with no major catastrophes, and with the highlight being a small overhead environment which was thick with a few hundred fish or so. The coral on the north shore of Cuba in fact is not the best in the world, but diving in warm water is always a fun and welcome change.

Playa Coral, Cuba			N 23° 5.4', W 81° 25.5'
Dive Number 69		Buddy Paul	Surface temp 25°C	Starting pressure 210 bar
Depth 37ft	Visibility excellent	Time 36m	Water temp 27°C	Ending pressure 120 bar
Notes:	The dive itself was pretty good, but my buddy (a German tourist from the same resort as me) was abominable. He ignored the divemaster's instructions to swim along the bottom of a channel leading out past the deep of the coral, and got tossed about in the waves. He lagged behind, and twice lost sight with us (to be fair, the divemaster didn't look back often). Worst, at one point, he surfaced and got tossed in the waves over the shallow coral, to the detriment of the coral, at his own peril.

Pumpkin Experiment Dive, Nicholson Point, Amherstview ON			N 44° 12.3', W 76° 40.9'
Dive Number 68		Buddies Steve Chew, Jean-Olivier	Surface temp 2°C	Starting pressure 3000psi
Depth 100ft	Visibility good	Time 28m	Water temp 12°C	Ending pressure 700psi
Notes:	After the recent Pumpkin dive, some speculation started about whether a pumpkin would "implode" or otherwise get structurally compromised by the rigors of depth and pressure. After a healthy pool of opinion was established within the club, Steve, Jean-Olivier and I got to testing this morning at Nicholson's Point. We towed pumpkins on the surface in nets that Steve built for about 10 minutes from shore, far enough that we hoped to have 100 feet depth to test. At this point, we dropped a line to the bottom, and started our descent. I brought "Jill", the larger of the two pumpkins, and noticed a dent and a crack at about 60 feet. Jean-Olivier saw bubbles emerging from near the stem of "Jack" at about the same depth. Also significantly, both pumpkins were significantly less buoyant than before the dive. After surfacing and swimming back to shore, visible cracks could be seen in both pumpkins, and a post mortem style exam revealed that both had filled more than half full of water during the dive. We warmed up in Jean-Olivier's camper/van with freshly brewed tea. Today, I tried a triple layer - my surfshirt between my shorty and 7mm suit, with double gloves, fine gloves tucked in wetsuit and gauntlets on the outside. I may yet get neoprene socks like Sylvain, but overall I wasn't too cold. Until I got out and changed.

Pumpkin Dive, Winter Dock, Wolfe Island ON			N 44° 12.9', W 76° 25.5'
Dive Number 67		Buddy Sylvain	Surface temp 14°C	Starting pressure 2850psi
Depth 14ft	Visibility fair	Time 23m	Water temp 15°C	Ending pressure 2200psi
Notes:	This was the first year that Sylvain or I participated in the club's annual pumpkin dive. Expecting that we would make foolish mistakes anyway, we tempted fate by choosing the largest pumpkin available, but finessed our experience (or cheated, depending on your point of view) by puncturing two small holes to drain the air from it before descent. We timed our dive between dockings of the ferry, took down ten extra pounds of lead to weigh ourselves and the pumpkin down, and brought a pumpkin carving tool and a bag (to bring up bits). Sadly, we lost the lid to our underwater lantern when our bag everted and the bits floated away. Nevertheless, we managed to carve a striking pumpkin with a menacing smile, and a dive flag etched into the back of it. We assume that we won lots of prizes, but had to leave the reception to catch a 1:15 ferry back to Kingston, so will have to find out later. This may have been my last cold water dive of the year. There's Cuba at the end of next month, though...

Maple Glen, Kingston ON			N 44° 8.7' W 76° 37.2'
Dive Number 66		Buddies Sheila, Steve C	Surface temp 15°C	Starting pressure 3000psi
Depth 67ft	Visibility good	Time 41m	Water temp 12°C	Ending pressure 1300psi
Notes	With eleven divers on our weekly club charter, Steve and Sheila and I were the only unmatched divers, and elected to dive together as a threesome. Since Sheila is legendary in our club for her conservative air consumption, I had been eager to dive with her to see how I measured up. Since the mooring had been removed from the wreck called the Queen Mary, we were diverted to another nearby wreck, which I was told at the time was the Titanic, but the club website now indicates was the Maple Glen. The wreck was interesting, and although we descended by daylight, we all required our lights and ascended by night. As I said, it's a good thing we all made a tour by twilight, since you should never dive a site by night that you haven't seen by day. After getting home, I went through my dive profile and worked out an average depth of between 50 and 52 feet. Using an online Surface Air Consumption (SAC) calculator, I worked out my own SAC at just less than .5 cubic feet (about 12 litres) per minute.

Dead Man's Bay, Kingston ON			N 44° 14.0', W 76° 26.9'
Dive Number 65		Buddy Jason	Surface temp 13°C	Starting pressure 2500psi
Depth 15ft	Visibility fair	Time 37m	Water temp 18°C	Ending pressure 1700psi
Notes:	Today was my third dive day in a row - this may be a record for me! Jason and went down to Dead Man's Bay for a clam and shallow dive. There was no visible buoy on the wreck, but we left by compass heading to the place where I thought we'd find it. I steered us far off course, so when we were confident we'd gone too far, we took a look up and found ourselves across the bay. We returned, and navigated under the breakwater to the ramp up to the parking lot, but not before I spied a small mottled fish that I think was a small muskellunge. The dive was not exciting, but was relaxing, and Jason and I both did fine.

The Comet, Kingston ON			N 44° 08.35', W 76° 35.1'
Dive Number 64		Buddy Jason	Surface temp 17°C	Starting pressure 2700psi
Depth 74ft	Visibility fair	Time 22m	Water temp 16°C	Ending pressure 1700psi
Notes:	With the overcast weather, and a storm threatening to arrive, I was surprised and pleased to go to our scheduled dive at the Comet. To be sure to not hold anyone up, Jason and I entered the water last and descended the line gently, to allow ample chance to acclimatize to the depth. Arriving at the bottom of the line, the cold and dark conspired to make Jason a little uncomfortable, so we climbed to a depth of 40 to 50 feet, and just swam overtop of the big paddle-wheels. With air running down, we surfaced early, but gently and safely with our usual 15 foot safety stop. The rain spittled as we rode back to Kingston, and Jason and I enjoyed a tasty supper at Curry Original afterwards.

Pumphouse, Kingston ON			N 44° 12.6', W 76° 30.6'
Dive Number 63		Buddy Jason	Surface temp 13°C	Starting pressure 2800psi
Depth 29ft	Visibility fair	Time 33m	Water temp 17°C	Ending pressure 1900psi
Notes:	For our second dive of the day, Jason and I planned to return to the pumphouse for a night dive. Our distance was much less, and Jason was troubled by some equipment failure - his pistol light flooded so he converted to his backup light and we stayed close. Navigation was trickier for us becuase of the ease of disorientation, and we also got turned around when Jason got a cramp. There were plenty of perch, and lost of catfish. We both saw a medium-large drum, and I caught a glimpse of a medium pike as well.

Pumphouse, Kingston ON			N 44° 12.6', W 76° 30.6'
Dive Number 62		Buddy Jason	Surface temp 13°C	Starting pressure 2800psi
Depth 38ft	Visibility fair	Time 31m	Water temp 17°C	Ending pressure 1500psi
Notes:	Jason came to town so he and I could get a couple dives in. Since he would be coming on the club dive the following night, he was keen to get his feet - and everything else - wet with a refresher dive with me. We braved the spittle and distant thunder to descend the usual route at the pumphouse, where the barge afforded a view of a few bass. We managed to navigate back to the launch to exit at the bend in Ontario Street. The swim was longer than he had intended, but he did well for someone so far out of practice, and we both enjoyed a good dive.

Robert Gaskin, Belleville ON			N 44° 35.4 W 75° 40.6'
Dive Number 61		Buddy Kim	Surface temp 22°C	Starting pressure 3000psi
Depth 67ft	Visibility good	Time 39m	Water temp 19°C	Ending pressure 850psi
Notes:	I had been on the Gaskin last year with Jason and Sylvain; tonight, Kim and I were both unbuddied when our respective buddies had to bow out because of colds. It was a shame for them, the visibility was pretty good, the wreck was alive with abundant fish (including a couple large pickerel and a pike or two). The ship permits easy penetration, and we swam through the stern after once around. Kim and I held out for 39 minutes on the wreck, rising last to bring up Chris Columbus' line beacon.

Glendora, Kingston ON			N 44° 8.6', W 76° 38.1'
Dive Number 60		Buddy Kim	Surface temp 20°C	Starting pressure 3000psi
Depth 72ft	Visibility good	Time 38m	Water temp 19°C	Ending pressure 1100psi
Notes:	When I arrived at the boat [last out of twelve divers], I was just happy to be diving somewhere other than the Wolfe Islander again. If getting the scheduled dive wasn't enough surprise, Kim and Scott dove separately, Kim with me and Scott with Narisa. The wreck was pleasant, and featured wide open swim-throughs from all the way through to the old stove which could easily be seen. Kim and I had been charged to bring Chris' beacon up the line since we were expected to be the last ones returning (since we were departing second last). In the end, Scott and Narisa arrived after us, as did Mike and Diane. Kim and I were pleased with our 38 minutes (which included a three minute wait for others on the bottom of the line before our safety stop), but learned on the boat that most of them stayed for forty minutes or longer (Mike and Diane topping the list with 55). Then again, most of those people had higher capacity steel tanks. Kim was a great buddy - she even picked up my bag when I left it boatside in my haste to the post-dive Tim Horton's run! Thanks!

Pumphouse, Kingston ON			N 44° 13.4', W 76° 28.2'
Dive Number 59		Buddy Mike	Surface temp 22°C	Starting pressure 3000psi
Depth 39ft	Visibility poor	Time 48m	Water temp 20°C	Ending pressure 1200psi
Notes:	For our afternoon dive, After a quick lunch at Timmy's, Mike and I continued to the barge, with an eye to planning a new line from the barge to the West Street ramp. In the end, we elected not to take any twine with us, but to take our bearing from a quick surface over the barge, and navigate back to shore. If Mike was frustrated with our inability to find the line this morning, we were somewhat redeemed by our line from the barge to the ramp on a 300° heading, landing right on a water exhaust. With ample air, we found the nearby car, and played a little before heading in to shore. I managed to get home in time to collect Neva from the bus stop, and the day was well spent with two good dives!

Cora W Post, Howe Island ON			N 44° 14.7', W 76° 18.4'
Dive Number 58		Buddies Mike, Theresa	Surface temp 21°C	Starting pressure 3000psi
Depth 105ft	Visibility poor	Time 42m	Water temp 19°C	Ending pressure 1300psi
Notes:	Cheryl and Rory are away for the weekend, and Hugh and Neva were in daycare and school, so I took advantage on the opportunity to get a couple dives in with Mike and Theresa. We started at the Cora Post, and despite the windy entry and miserable visibility, we found the line to the Cora Post. After a passing glance, we left for deeper waters, turning around at 105 feet so as to land on the wreck again and spend some time. To Mike's frustration, we were unable to find the bearing back to the wreck, and instead found our way back to shore, albeit a little West of our starting point.

Wolfe Islander II, Kingston ON			N 44° 13.5', W 76° 24.9'
Dive Number 57		Buddy Theresa	Surface temp 20°C	Starting pressure 2900psi
Depth 71ft	Visibility poor	Time 40m	Water temp 15°C	Ending pressure 900psi
Notes:	Tonight's dive was meant to be the Aloha/Effie Mae. This dive has eluded me many times in the past, so it really ought to have come as no surprise when we were rerouted to the Wolfe because of the choppy water. Theresa and I made a quick descent and despite the poor visibility, got a good view of the propellers, swam through the salon and took a look into the engine room from above. I was surprised how much longer Theresa's air was lasting than mine, until I learned afterwards that she has a higher capacity tank... We saw plenty of fish, including a couple of big drums.

Remedial Rescue Diver Scenario
Brule Road Quarry, Westbrook, ON			N 44° 17.0', W 76° 38.9'
Dive Number 56		Buddies Theresa, Phil	Surface temp 26°C	Starting pressure 2000psi
Depth 21ft	Visibility fair	Time 6m	Water temp 23°C	Ending pressure 1800psi
Notes:	Mike gave us a second chance to try a recovery pattern for a lost diver. He once again hid "Buckethead" [a plastic bucket with a rock to weight it down], and we headed over to a line to start our pattern. It probably wouldn't have happened if we hadn't been swimming to the site underwater, but the exercise became trivial when Theresa spied "Buckethead" on the way to the starting point. We went through the motions and found him on the first pass. Even if it seemed like we cheated, it was nice to complete one of our tasks well today.

Rescue Diver Scenario # 4
Brule Road Quarry, Westbrook, ON			N 44° 17.0', W 76° 38.9'
Dive Number 55		Buddies Theresa, Phil	Surface temp 26°C	Starting pressure 2000psi
Depth --	Visibility --	Time --	Water temp 23°C	Ending pressure 2000psi
Notes:	We had a clue what might be involved in this scenario when Mike got out his first aid kit and oxygen. We'd forget soon enough, though. Mike called us on shore this time indicating that his buddy [beside him] was not breathing. I called out to get his to start treatment, at the very least, taking Sylvain's face out of the water and inflating his BCD (it would have also been helpful to get him to start dragging him to us). As we swam back, I got out the rescue mask for Phil to use, but it was surprisingly tricky to get it put on the patient without interrupting rescue breaths. We got him to shore, and had his gear off, but bumbled over getting our own gear off to begin CPR on the shore (in hindsight this could have been done in shifts before we got as close to shore as we did). Once on shore, Phil and Theresa started good looking CPR, but none of us remembered that the oxygen kit was right there until Mike [in the role of buddy] wondered aloud if there was any oxygen to give him. Most of the rest of the rescue was ok, but like the last scenario, I must admit to having felt we did less than what we ought to have done for the victim.

Rescue Diver Scenario # 3
Brule Road Quarry, Westbrook, ON			N 44° 17.0', W 76° 38.9'
Dive Number 54		Buddies Theresa, Phil	Surface temp 26°C	Starting pressure 2750psi
Depth 25ft	Visibility fair	Time 14m	Water temp 23°C	Ending pressure 2000psi
Notes:	For our third scenario, Mike and Sylvain went into the water early and when they came up, Mike called that they had a missing diver, last seen to the North of the barge. Theresa, Phil, and I quickly decided to search in an expanding square pattern, but our plan was compromised when we searched inside the boat, and then abandoned our expanding square before finding the missing diver. Mike eventually retreived us, and we resumed the exercise by floating a nonresponsive diver [Sly] to the surface and planning our extraction. It seems the exercise is more about the process than the result, but I couldn't help but be disappointed not to have found the diver. We ended up repeating a search pattern later with different results...

Rockport Drift Dive Site, Rockport ON			N 44° 21.4', W 76° 59.8'
Dive Number 53		Buddy Sylvain	Surface temp 22°C	Starting pressure 3000psi
Depth 113ft	Visibility good	Time 30m	Water temp 21°C	Ending pressure 1400psi
Notes:	Another excellent club dive, this night in Rockport. Twelve of us saw heaps of fish along the wall of Ash(?) Island, and found a line at the end of the gentle drift which we followed down to a barge that is reported to have been used in the construction of the Thousand Island Bridge. When we got to shore, we were surprised to learn that post-dive pizza was included in the $25 price for the dive!

Rescue Diver Scenario # 2
Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, Kingston ON			N 44° 13.0', W 76° 31.1'
Dive Number 52		Buddy Theresa	Surface temp 22°C	Starting pressure --
Depth --	Visibility --	Time ~5m	Water temp 22°C	Ending pressure --
Notes:	Mike assures me that this is a dive that ought to be logged despite the fact that no tank was applied, and I really didn't even go beneath the surface for any length of time. In this scenario, Theresa and I waited on shore while Sylvain and Phil went for a dive. They surfaced after a while and signalled to shore that they had trouble. I elected to swim out with just fins and mask/snorkel, while Theresa donned a full kit. [the advantage of getting in the water quickly would have been negated if I waited for her, which was briefly contemplated]. I swam out to the guys [other errors in this exercise include not having my buddy keep an eye on them or point, and I also lost sight of them when I swam beneath the surface. Mike hastened to add that I also walked with my fins acing forward when I was getting in the water] Nevertheless, it was not complicated one out there to inflate Phil's BC (he was in the role of "tired"), and then Sylvain's (he was more threatening, in the role of "panicked", and I had to maneuver around him to grab his tank and inflate his BC from behind). By the time Theresa arrived, both were under control, and Mike stopped the exercise for the debrief before we had to swim them too far back to shore. It never ceases to interest me how knowing the "right answers" often fails to result in taking the "right actions" when surprised in a situation like this. Despite our shortcomings, I was pleased with the scenario. Just participating in them is helpful to build confidence.

Rescue Diver Scenario # 1
Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, Kingston ON			N 44° 13.0', W 76° 31.1'
Dive Number 51		Buddy Phil	Surface temp 21°C	Starting pressure 3000psi
Depth 23ft	Visibility fair	Time 20m	Water temp 22°C	Ending pressure 2300psi
Notes:	For the first rescue scenario, Mike paired me with Phil and Theresa with Sylvain (who is not taking the course presently, but agreed to participate in the capacity of "victim"). We were told to spend about fifteen minutes swimming around and then meet up where the line meets the pipe. Phil and I made it to the stop sign and back where we eventually found Mike and then Theresa and Sylvain. In the role of "victim", Sylvain started grabbing at his right calf and communicated via his slate that he was meant to be bleeding badly from a cut. We made a controlled ascent together and Phil applied pressure as we swam him [no small distance] to shore. Teresa called help while Phil and I dragged him ashore and then applied a bandage and waited for EMS. There were no major mishaps, and all in all it was a good rescue.

George T. Davie, Kingston ON			N 44° 6.8', W 76° 34.8'
Dive Number 50		Buddy Sylvain	Surface temp 24°C	Starting pressure 3000psi
Depth 89ft	Visibility fair	Time 26m	Water temp 13°C	Ending pressure 1200psi
Notes:	For my fiftieth dive, I was joined by Sylvain for the weekly club charter to the George T. Davie, a wreck that neither of us had been on before. The 1898 Coal barge features an interesting lifeboat and a crane for the viewing pleasure of divers, but it lies in 94 feet of water, and a chilly thermocline rested between 70 and 75 feet. Sylvain and I had the good sense to wear head protection, but we probably ought to have opted for our heavier gauntlets as well.

Stovin Island Drift, Brockville ON			N 44° 33.3', W 75° 43.0'
Dive Number 49		Buddy Sylvain	Surface temp 28°C	Starting pressure 3000psi
Depth 89ft	Visibility ~50ft	Time 29m	Water temp 23°C	Ending pressure 1200psi
Notes:	Our second dive was as good as the first; Sylvain got off to a rocky start when the aforementioned experienced but careless [ie ought to have known better] diver descended on top of him and kicked him repeatedly when trying to swim away. Sylvain and I had a relaxing dive and saw lots of medium sized walleye. The other [400 dive] diver failed to follow the directions and ended up on the wrong side of Stovin Island.

Lillie Parsons, Brockville ON			N 44° 33.3', W 75° 43.1'
Dive Number 48		Buddy Sylvain	Surface temp 26°C	Starting pressure 3000psi
Depth 89ft	Visibility good	Time 32m	Water temp 23°C	Ending pressure 1200psi
Notes:	On the Treasure Hunt Dive two months ago, I won a two-tank dive from Martin Dive Charters as my prize. This weekend, I took the chance to get two dives in with Sylvain. Most of the other divers were from Ottawa or Gatineau, most of whom were friendly; one kind of loudmouthy guy was present; I feel bad for the person who got buddied up with him. The Lillie was interesting to see, lots of people seemed to be filling their bags with charcoal, but we just enjoyed getting the views of the wreck and the drift.

Pumphouse, Kingston ON			N 44° 13.4', W 76° 28.2'
Dive Number 47		Buddy Scott	Surface temp 25°C	Starting pressure 2900psi
Depth 33ft	Visibility fair	Time 56m	Water temp 21°C	Ending pressure 1250psi
Notes:	Scott and Kim made plans to have a night dive tonight, and I seized the opportunity to join them. Kim buddied up with Pierre, and Scott and I went together. We lost the line out to the wreck, so instead, we "explored". We saw catfish, lots of bass, and a couple large pike. There was a couple smooching on a park bench as we got out of the water, but like the other wildlife, they scattered when we got too close.

The Comet, Kingston ON			N 44° 08.35', W 76° 35.1'
Dive Number 46		Buddy Phil	Surface temp 26°C	Starting pressure 3200psi
Depth 80ft	Visibility good	Time 26m	Water temp 17°C	Ending pressure 1900psi
Notes:	Our club dive got rerouted to the Comet tonight because of good conditions - the clam water isn't always there, so we went half an hour out to the Comet. The water was clear and it was warm above the thermocline, about five feet off the bottom. My buddy was not someone I had been out with before; he had some difficulty with his ears getting down, which may have led to some increased air consumption. We came up with 2000 still in my tank, but the dive was still excellent.

Wolfe Islander II, Kingston ON			N 44° 13.5', W 76° 24.9'
Dive Number 45		Buddy Jean-Olivier	Surface temp 17°C	Starting pressure 2950psi
Depth 79ft	Visibility good	Time 31m	Water temp 11°C	Ending pressure 950psi
Notes:	Jean-Olivier and I were the first on the wreck of the Wolfe tonight (the Queen Mary dive was rerouted because of weather), and we quickly descended on the bow and navigated around the base of the ship. We looked for the open door at the front of the engine room from the outside, but got disoriented, so instead we went in from the chimney and swam out from there. We also ventured into the salon before coming up. There was agreement about the cool temp at the bottom; I had been diving with a beanie instead of a hood. Mike was diving wet for the first time in over a year (his drysuit is under repair).

Marine Museum, Kingston ON			N 44° 13.4', W 76° 28.2'
Dive Number 44		Buddy Sylvain	Surface temp 26°C	Starting pressure 2850psi
Depth 37ft	Visibility good	Time 35m	Water temp 15°C	Ending pressure 1550psi
Notes:	Sylvain had suggested that after our charter dive to the Munson tonight, anyone interested should consider a night dive at the Marine Museum. Our usual entry at the museum was unavailable, but Scott and Kim (who had been on the Munson with us) joind us for some supper at the Lone Star, and we all joined Jim and Tracey after sundown for the dive. The dive was gentle and uneventful; we saw lots of perch (or were they walleye? Scott thought so), some mudpuppies and some catfish. Feeling a bit of a chill, Sylvain and I turned around and navigated back to shore neatly. Also a footnote, I have started estimating the quality of the visibility instead of the length, so instead of writing things like "~25ft", I'l put more useful info like "excellent", "good", or "crap".

The Munson, Kingston ON			N 44° 12.6', W 76° 36.5'
Dive Number 43		Buddy Sylvain	Surface temp 30°C	Starting pressure 3050psi
Depth 108ft	Visibility good	Time 24m	Water temp 8°C	Ending pressure 1250psi
Notes:	Only six of us came out for the club's charter dive this week. It was Sylvain's first dive on the Munson and my first dive with my new gear: BC, reg, and my own weights. All in all it went well, but I was a little frazzled going down the line (with a little water creeping in my mask as well), and after 14 minutes in the cold, I was ready to turn around and come up.

Wolfe Islander II, Kingston ON			N 44° 13.5', W 76° 24.9'
Dive Number 42		Buddy Sylvain	Surface temp 28°C	Starting pressure 3000psi
Depth 75ft	Visibility ~30ft	Time 31m	Water temp 11°C	Ending pressure 1000psi
Notes:	I am beginning to think that the Aloha/Effie Mae doesn't exist. This may be the fourth time that I have been on a dive to it which has been changed to the Wolfe Islander because of high winds. Fortunately the Wolfe continues to offer us new excitement. In a break from our usual convention, we were the first ones off the boat, and saw no one else on the wreck for a while. We used my line to navigate each other through the engine room, and also found the bubble of stale air in the salon. It's kind of surreal to be at a depth of 50 or 60 feet and take your reg out of the mouth to speak. You have to put it back in to breathe though! I remember feeling last year like I had been on the Wolfe so many times that it had nothing more to offer me, so it's a treat to discover so much more!

Brule Road Quarry, Westbrook, ON			N 44° 17.0', W 76° 38.9'
Dive Number 41		Buddies Mike, Theresa, Joan, Kevin	Surface temp 23°C	Starting pressure 3100psi
Depth 24ft	Visibility ~50ft	Time 65m	Water temp 15°C	Ending pressure 1600psi
Notes:	Since I am thinking of buying a regulator and BCD, I arranged with Mike to try his "wing" style BC. We met with the others at the club, and headed over to the Brule Road Quarry, where many others have been underwater before, but where I had not yet been. In addition to the couple of small sunken boats and shopping carts in the warm shallow water, there is a 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe on its roof. Since many of the wrecks I find under water are a hundred years old or older, seeing such a recent artifact is kind of novel. There was part of me that thought "The tires don't appear to have much wear on them. I wonder if they would fit the Element." The wing worked well, and I was relatively trim and balanced. I'm not sure it makes a big enough difference to buy one at this point, but I was glad to have tried it and to have shared a great dive at a new location. Lunch afterwards at Bella (next to Northern Tech Diver) was also tasty - their eggplant soup with potato and leek was awesome!

Treasure Hunt, Nicholson Point, Amherstview ON			N 44° 12.3', W 76° 40.9'
Dive Number 40		Buddy Sylvain	Surface temp 21°C	Starting pressure 3100psi
Depth ~35ft	Visibility ~50ft	Time 45m	Water temp 15°C	Ending pressure 1750psi
Notes:	The treasure hunt is a yearly tradition with the dive club - they knock a bunch of numbered golf balls into the water, and the divers are allowed to return with one each. The ball were numbered from 1 to 30, and they announced that they'd start with either 1 or 30, so Sylvain and I assumed that we'd be smart to get numbers as far from 15 as possible. We both went without hoods, and I wore only my thin gloves (hoping for better desterity, and still nursing a sore thumb from a windsurfing injury). There were 18 divers in the water, but before too long, he had found the 30 and I had the 1. Mike tossed a coin to see who would choose first - I won, and got a coupon for a 2-tank dive with Luc out of Rockport for me and a buddy. Sylvain's number was called before too long, and he won what he wanted anyway - a gift Certificate to Casa Domenico. He also won one of the grand prizes - a Tim Horton's gift basket! There was a line that we didn't follow to its end; also we saw a sad injured looking fish on the bottom with a crooked spine that didn't even move when I dropped my golf ball on it. Our families came for a nice picnic afterwards, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Wolfe Islander II, Kingston ON			N 44° 13.5', W 76° 24.9'
Dive Number 39		Buddies Sylvain, Jean-Olivier	Surface temp 15°C	Starting pressure 2750psi
Depth 74ft	Visibility ~30ft	Time 30m	Water temp 11°C	Ending pressure 1150psi
Notes:	There were two boats for tonight's charter to the Comet, one leaving from Portsmouth Harbour, and one from Collins Bay. When whitecaps forced us to cancel the Comet, our boat went back the Wolfe Islander, and the other boat cancelled its run, and its divers went for a shore dive at a quarry. After last week, Sylvain and I had decided to penetrate the salon, and take a look at the engine room. I had a slow leak because of a macerated O-ring, but Steve from Limestone fixed it before we went down. There's an air bubble in the salon where you can stick your head up and speak (we've been cautioned not to attempt to breathe it), but with three of us, we didn't go try that. The engine room is accessible through a large hatch on the aft deck, and once down in it, there's plenty of space to look around. Even though we've done the Wolfe so many times before, we continue to find new things to see and do!

Wolfe Islander II, Kingston ON			N 44° 13.5', W 76° 24.9'
Dive Number 38		Buddies Sylvain, Richard	Surface temp 18°C	Starting pressure 3050psi
Depth 69ft	Visibility ~30ft	Time 29m	Water temp 9°C	Ending pressure 1650psi
Notes:	Sylvain and I used our usual approach of being the last ones in the water tonight, and for this reason, were still on the surface when another diver [Megan] had to abort her dive because of an equipment failure. Since her buddy Richard would have been faced with aborting as well, we invited him to join us. After a false start descending, we made it down to the familiar wreck. Sylvain and I have contemplated penetrating the "salon", but were feeling ambivalent about it, and the presence of a third [non-advanced] diver in our party made any such penetration a non-issue. The bottom water was cool, but the motorcycle and bicycle remain there. I didn't see any bowling balls tonight...

The King Horn, Rockport ON			N 44° 22.6', W 75° 55.9'
Dive Number 37		Buddy Sylvain, Steve	Surface temp 16°C	Starting pressure 3000psi
Depth 89ft	Visibility ~50ft	Time 22m	Water temp 10°C	Ending pressure 1350psi
Notes:	This was my first charter dive of the 2007 summer, my first "advanced" dive with Sylvain. Mike, Jim, Scott and Kim were there, as were Diane and Nancy. The dive itself was good; Sylvain and I came up after about 20 minutes, we're realizing that in the deeper dives, it's the timing at depth that will limit us more than running out of air. After the dive, we had some pizza and drinks at Caiger's. Next dive is the Wolfe Islander in 7 days!

Dead Man's Bay, Kingston ON			N 44° 14.0', W 76° 26.9'
Dive Number 36		Buddies Dominique, Mike, Steve	Surface temp 10°C	Starting pressure 2900psi
Depth 16ft	Visibility ~30ft	Time 27m	Water temp 6°C	Ending pressure 1800psi
Notes:	For my first local dive of the year, I joined Dominique, Steve, and Mike at the club, and we headed over to Dead Man's Bay. I had picked up a few new things which I made use of today: My new items included: a new 5mm full hood new MEC boots (made for kayaking, firmer than my old scuba boots) a new MEC surfshirt a used (but new to me) dive computer I picked up at Dive Tech this week The water was 6 degrees (a new record cold for me), so I only stayed under for 27 minutes overall, for a viewing of what we had previously suspected was the Regent, but we now think is the Charlotte (or is it the Queen Charlotte or Princess Charlotte?). For what it's worth, my trunk remained warm. I'll still be happy to find a solution that results in more warmth for my fingers and feet, but the water's only getting warmer at this point anyway. Another season begins!

Punta Perdiz, Bahia de Cochinas, Cuba			N 22° 5.9', W 81° 6.4'
Dive Number 35		Buddy Uli	Surface temp 29°C	Starting pressure 3000psi
Depth 70ft	Visibility ~50ft	Time 45m	Water temp 26°C	Ending pressure 900psi
Notes:	This dive was similar to the last one, although we also had a swim-through of a gap in the reef (photo op for the tour operators), and an old wreck to see as well. When one of the divers in our group lagged and tried to get our attention, I swam back to see what he was looking at - an enormous lobster. As I caught up with the rest of our group, I was unable to get their attention myself, and ended up being the only one to catch a glimpse of a solitary barracuda.

Punta Perdiz, Bahia de Cochinas, Cuba			N 22° 5.9', W 81° 6.4'
Dive Number 34		Buddy Uli	Surface temp 29°C	Starting pressure 2800psi
Depth 75ft	Visibility ~50ft	Time 40m	Water temp 26°C	Ending pressure 900psi
Notes:	As I was hoping would happen, windy weather on the norh of the island meant that our diving expiition on my second dive day meant that we had to travel across to the south of Cuba to the famous "Bay of Pigs", which was reputed to have more spectacular diving. I got paired up with a German diver in the "advanced" group and enjoyed my first ever "wall dive" with beautiful coral and planty of tropical fish and lobsters and crabs.

Monkey Reef, Varadero, Cuba			N 23° 10', W 81° 7'
Dive Number 33		Buddy Cal	Surface temp 28°C	Starting pressure 2900psi
Depth 40ft	Visibility ~50ft	Time 50m	Water temp 26°C	Ending pressure 1200psi
Notes:	For our second dive of the day, we descended on a reef off Varadero. The reef was not in great shape, but we managed to see a few interesting fish, and several green moray inside it. I was distressed to see one of the divers prod the tail of he moray until it emerged from its hiding hole. After surfacing, we dined on fresh lobster that was bought from a fisherman in a passing boat on the way out to sea.

Russian Frigate, Varadero, Cuba			N 23° 10', W 81° 7'
Dive Number 32		Buddy Cal	Surface temp 28°C	Starting pressure 3100psi
Depth 90ft	Visibility ~50ft	Time 40m	Water temp 26°C	Ending pressure 500psi
Notes:	The name of the Russian Frigate we dove as our first dive from Varadero is not known to me, but photos at the dive shop suggest that it was purposefully sunk for diving in this location. Missile launchers and anti-aircraft guns visible on the deck made this wreck a little different from the ones I am accustomed to seeing in Kingston.