Chacal-Al, Riviera Maya, Mexico			N 20° 29', W 87° 13'
Dive Number 135		Buddy Jim	Surface temp 24°C	Starting pressure 3000psi
Depth 73ft	Visibility excellent	Time 55m	Water temp 26°C	Ending pressure 750psi
Notes:	For the afternoon dive from the resort, our leader was Sergio, and I was buddied with Jim Ryder, the Montana diver who I'd been paired with for yesterday's cenotes dives. Although five of us dove en masse, two ended their dive after about 30 minutes because of low air, and the remaining three of us stayed on the reef to enjoy a little more bottom time. I was pleased to see yellowtail damselfish (one of my favourite fish) on this dive, as well as large school of blue tang. The photos are of some of the tang, as well as a smooth trunkfish. So ends my diving for 2010!

Cuevitas, Riviera Maya, Mexico			N 20° 29', W 87° 13'
Dive Number 134		Buddy Dan	Surface temp 24°C	Starting pressure 3000psi
Depth 42ft	Visibility excellent	Time 48m	Water temp 24°C	Ending pressure 1350psi
Notes:	For the second day, harbours in Cozumel were closed, so I joined the daily dives offered by Dressel Divers to the reefs offshore from the resort. This first dive was with Giorgia, who led four of us out of twelve total divers. Although the highlight of the dive was a set of three French angelfish, my photos are of a squid and a foureye butterflyfish. I managed to see a couple queen angels, a lobster, and two puffers that my dive buddies missed. We also saw a spotted drum.

Chak Mool, Riviera Maya, Mexico			N 20° 36', W 87° 12'
Dive Number 133		Buddy Jim Ryder	Surface temp 24°C	Starting pressure 2950psi
Depth 43ft	Visibility excellent	Time 41m	Water temp 23°C	Ending pressure 1750psi
Notes:	For some reason, the two Ottawa divers who formed part of our foursome for the first dive opted out of the second. Their loss: The return to Chak Mool was more beautiful, more convoluted, and featured a short stop in an air pocket that connected to the surface, from which the bottom of tree trunks could be seen that pierced into the top of the cavern. The salt/fresh-water halocline created a very mild thermocline as well, and it was unusual to dive in a place that got warmer as it got deeper. I'm grateful to Fernando for suggesting that I log cenotes dives while on vacation in the Yucatan.

Chak Mool, Riviera Maya, Mexico			N 20° 36', W 87° 12'
Dive Number 132		Buddy Jim Ryder	Surface temp 24°C	Starting pressure 2950psi
Depth 43ft	Visibility excellent	Time 37m	Water temp 25°C	Ending pressure 1950psi
Notes:	I hooked up with the folks at Dressel Divers while on vacation at the Barcelo Maya Hotel for Brad and Karine's wedding. I had taken it under advisement that a dive of one of the cenotes was in order, as well as Cozumel. Normally, a diver would do Cozumel first (so that divemasters could ensure adequate buoyancy control for cavern diving), but with they allowed me to join an expedition to Chak Mool today instead. The first dive of the cenote was a simple one - we followed a line around a cave lit from a single opening that was within view at all times. The water was warm, and the experience was unique, although it was really just a primer for the second cenote.

Wolfe Islander II, Kingston ON			N 44° 13.5', W 76° 24.9'
Dive Number 131		Buddies Scott, Kim	Surface temp 21°C	Starting pressure 3300psi
Depth 75ft	Visibility good	Time 46m	Water temp 18°C	Ending pressure 1000psi
Notes:	Tonight's club dive was a night dove to the Wolfe Islander. I've been out far too little this summer, but didn't want to miss a night dive to one of the best known wrecks in the area. Eleven divers were guests on the Proteus, and as the odd man out, I happily joined Scott and Kim, who had offered to let me join them. The dive went off without a hitch, following Kim's plan - one lap around the bottom, once around the deck, and then explore around the salon area until time to ascend. I was one of a few lucky divers who spied not one but two American eels on the dive (one on the port ramp and one at the starboard lower deck beside the salon). The sighting was a coup for me, but made me lament leaving my camera at home. After the ascent and a quick change we returned to shore under the light of a nearly full moon, with Jupiter hanging like a pendant underneath. Great times!

Round Lake, South Frontenac ON			N 44° 24.9', W 76° 25.6'
Dive Number 130		Buddy Jason	Surface temp 20°C	Starting pressure 1700psi
Depth 19ft	Visibility good	Time 27m	Water temp 24°C	Ending pressure 1100psi
Notes:	For our night dive, I remembered my camera and Jason and I returned, hoping to catch another look at the multitude of sunfish in Round Lake. Sadly, we ran into technical trouble when his C8 light began turning off intermittently. Deciding to venture a little further to the shoal, we discovered that the fish population had thinned out anyway. We still managed to see a few large fish, including a catfish on our return to the entry point. I'll make a point of returning to Round lake by day if I can find others to join me.

Round Lake, South Frontenac ON			N 44° 24.9', W 76° 25.6'
Dive Number 129		Buddy Jason	Surface temp 24°C	Starting pressure 3000psi
Depth 32ft	Visibility good	Time 45m	Water temp 13°C	Ending pressure 1700psi
Notes:	Jason and I have often had trouble being decisive about where to go for a dive, and ultimately decided to take a dip in Round Lake today. Last time I went in [August 6, 2008], I recall it was very cold and also that there were tons of sunfish. the temp was warmer today than it was two years ago, but the sunfish were just as plentiful if not more so. We also saw a pike and some bass and a perch or two. We returned to the entry point with enough air to come back for a night dive, when I could try and remember to bring my camera.

Titanic, Kingston ON			N 44° 08.6', W 76° 37.2'
Dive Number 128		Buddy Jason	Surface temp 23°C	Starting pressure 3000psi
Depth 69ft	Visibility fair	Time 39m	Water temp 22°C	Ending pressure 1350psi
Notes:	After a couple dives to warm up under our belts, Jason and I decided to brave the Lake Ontario waters for the club's weekly charter dive. When head out to the Titanic, Neither Matt or I could remember if we had been on it ever before. It turns out that this was the dive that Jason and I made last summer with Anne [Dive # 95, June 25, 2009]. Unaware that we were tracing our steps/kicks from a year ago, we descended the line and had a warm and peaceful dive. The Titanic is big. I see from last year's post that we left some of it for another dive. We still haven't seen it all after last night. Same as last year, we retired to Wooden Heads for some post dive dinner.

Brule Road Quarry, Westbrook, ON			N 44° 17.0', W 76° 38.9'
Dive Number 127		Buddy Jason	Surface temp 21°C	Starting pressure 2000psi
Depth 27 ft	Visibility good	Time 49m	Water temp 24°C	Ending pressure 650psi
Notes:	With both of us sporting half tanks from the previous night's dives, Jason and I met up after my morning shift, downed a tasty soup at Siem Reap restaurant, and after picking up a towel for him at Zellers, went over to the Brule Road quarry for a starter dive. The water was warm, and the dive was uncomplicated. I found a 4lb lead weight near the newspaper stand. Had it remained unclaimed, Jason was going to keep it (having paid $5/lb for 20 lbs lead from his Toronto dive shop, he was feeling a little stung, I think). I planned to ask the two other divers in the water with us, but they had disappeared by the time we exited our little swim. We ran into them at Northern Tech Diver when we went over there for air fills. As I suspected, one was Tom Rutledge of Preserve Our Wrecks who I hadn't met before. He reported that the weight wasn't his, but he thought it might belong to Northern Tech Diver. I asked the guy there, and he confirmed it was his, giving Jason a few free clips to say thanks for returning it. I also bought a couple belt clips to keep my lead in place.

Loughborough Lake, South Frontenac ON			N 44°, W 76°
Dive Number 126		Buddy Jason	Surface temp 26°C	Starting pressure 2800psi
Depth 8ft	Visibility poor	Time 41m	Water temp 25°C	Ending pressure 2000psi
Notes:	Jason and Chandra arrived mid-Tuesday afternoon, and after a supper of hamburgers and garden-fresh zucchini, Jason and I donned our gear for a swim in the lake. The water wasn't deep, or clear, but it made for easy swimming, and in addition to seeing lots of bluegill pumpkinseed, we several medium size bass as well as a pike that I imagine was a half metre in length. Chandra was kind enough to illuminate the single floodlight near our lake pump, facilitating the navigation home after the sun set.

Olive Branch, Kingston ON			N 43° 57.9', W 76° 46.2'
Dive Number 125		Buddies Mario, Andrew	Surface temp 18°C	Starting pressure 3000psi
Depth 89ft	Visibility good	Time 27m	Water temp 9°C	Ending pressure 1100psi
Notes:	I managed to dry off [mostly] and warm up between the second and third dive of the day. I also ate my Tim Horton's sandwich for lunch. I think this helped make this dive feel warmer, even though the water remained a chilly nine degrees. The Olive Branch is one of the farthest wrecks that Kingston charters will travel to, and it was my first trip to it. It features a well preserved wheel and a pump. We managed to tour it a couple times before bottom time elapsed and we surfaced. Topside, I quickly changed into dry clothes, warmed up and browsed Mike's videos with him before retiring for a brief nap during our two-hour voyage back to Portsmouth Harbour.

Kattie Eccles, Kingston ON			N 44° 0.6', W 76° 44.6'
Dive Number 124		Buddies Mario, Andrew	Surface temp 18°C	Starting pressure 3000psi
Depth 97ft	Visibility good	Time 26m	Water temp 9°C	Ending pressure 1100psi
Notes:	Our second dive of the day was to the Kattie Eccles, a wreck to which I had not previously been. The interval between the dives was short, and by the time that Matt sagely suggested that I consider removing my wetsuit and warming up between dives, I was reluctant to catch any wind chill since I'd be donning it again in a few minutes anyway. [Plus, putting back on a cold wetsuit? unpleasant!] Starting chilly was a shame, since the second dive of the day was also objectively colder. The Kattie Eccles is also an impressive wreck, featuring a bowsprit in good shape. There's also an intact wheel sitting on top of the steering column. Mike showed me a photo of it later - We must have missed it [despite seeking it] because we were too low. I did get this cool picture of a lantern on the stern!

City of Sheboygan, Kingston ON			N 44° 4.6', W 76° 44.1'
Dive Number 123		Buddies Mario, Andrew	Surface temp 18°C	Starting pressure 2950psi
Depth 94ft	Visibility very good	Time 27m	Water temp 11°C	Ending pressure 950psi
Notes:	The first dive of our club's three dive excursion [a great experience through Proteus Diving] was to the City of Sheboygan. Of the thirteen divers on board, Andrew and I were the only wearing wetsuits (I'm beginning to feel like an endangered species in my club). We joined Mario, who was attempting his first drysuit dive from a boat. The water was chilly but the wreck was enjoyable. We passed twice, and got a good view of the infamous prism before rising up the line. The fact that I didn't attempt to adjust my camera settings until in the water with two pair of thick gloves on means that I got some unintentionally blurry photos, like this trippy shot of Mario.

The Munson, Kingston ON			N 44° 12.6', W 76° 36.5'
Dive Number 122		Buddy Donovan	Surface temp 14°C	Starting pressure 3100psi
Depth 107ft	Visibility good	Time 23m	Water temp 9°C	Ending pressure 850psi
Notes:	This was my first dive in six months, and my first dive on the Munson in a year. Preserve Our Wrecks (P.O.W.) had been doing a free dive for members today courtesy of Kingston Dive Charters (c'mon Anne - no url?), so I joined up. I checked my gear this morning, and it turned out well I did - my first stages were both malfunctioning, so I took an extra trip to Dive Tech where Dan sorted them out (they hadn't been used since the service there over a month ago). So everything had been double-checked before getting to Collins Bay. The dive with new buddy Donovan went well and smoothly (he and I were the only wetsuited divers on our boat). Another season is off!