Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Robert Gaskin, Brockville ON N 44° 35.3', W 75° 40.6'
   Dive Number 230 Buddy
Jason
Surface temp
27°C
Starting pressure
3000psi
Depth
71ft
Visibility
good
Time
27m
Water temp
21°C
Ending pressure
1500psi

Notes:

Having picked up two additional divers from the dock, our third and final dive of the day was the Gaskin, a wreck off the eastern Brockville shore with an interesting history (three sinkings). I changed into my 3mm shorty and Helen took a photo to prove that the St Lawrence is warm enough to swim without a full wetsuit!

Although this is a simpler dive than the others, there still existed significant current, especially when attempting to swim around the western edge of the wreck. I quickly abandoned this and entered the wreck from above, which gave me a great treat - a large eel was buried in the bottom wiht its head sticking out - I have no idea how long it was but the head looked similar to a large bass sticking up vertically from the floor. I managed to point it out to Jason but the silt from his dive into the bow of the wreck drifted onto the site shortly after he arrived so I'm not really sure if he saw it or maybe got it on the GoPro camera he brings with him. We finished our tour of the wreck and I stopped at the exit line with about 1600 psi - given that I had finished the last two dives with about 1000 psi more than Jason I thought we ought to end the dive at this point, but he swam around the bow into the current again. Apparently he thought I was on the wrong mooring line! He joined me even though he thought we were on the wrong line, only believing we had the right line when he saw the boat at the top after our safety stop. The current on the line had been too much for him - he surfaced and promptly threw up in the water!

I was ready to eat afterwards, but maybe not surprisingly, Jason wanted to wait a little? We made it back to Kingston and had Lone Star fajitas before calling it a night. Successful dive visit!

Lillie Parsons, Brockville ON N 44° 33.3', W 75° 43.1'
   Dive Number 229 Buddy
Jason
Surface temp
27°C
Starting pressure
3100psi
Depth
65ft
Visibility
good
Time
23m
Water temp
20°C
Ending pressure
1500psi

Notes:

Next up, Jason and I dove the Lillie Parsons. I would have estimated that I'd been on it plenty of times before, but records indicate that this is my third visit there. It allows a dive around the deep side and return up the chain on the shallow side, and/or a drift over the upturned hull, from where the centreboard is visible. A short or long drift is possible afterwards, but for the long drift we would have needed either a larger tank for Jason or would have had to depart immediately instead of touring the wreck. The drift along the Western shore of Sparrow Island was supposed to be 30 ft, but we both ended up more shallow, and the current was strong enough that finding places to stay stationary and wait for Jason was difficult. We quickly found ourselves on the line for retrieval - My computer no longer suggested a safety stop was necessary but I did one anyway. Then back to the dock to pick up two more divers for the evening dive.

Henry C. Daryaw, Brockville ON N 44° 31.3', W 75° 45.5'
   Dive Number 228 Buddy
Jason
Surface temp
26°C
Starting pressure
3100psi
Depth
90ft
Visibility
good
Time
23m
Water temp
20°C
Ending pressure
1600psi

Notes:

Jason had coordinated two afternoon dives and an evening dive with Abucs Scuba, an operator our of Brockville that I had never used before - We got some Wendy's for lunch and picked up tanks at the shop before heading down to St. Lawrence Park to board with our captain Helen Cooper. We were the only divers on for the afternoon which was great!

The first dive was the Daryaw which I had not done before, but was a treat! There are strong currents down to it and it seems prudent not to stray from the several lines on the wreck, but we were rewarded with views into the magnificent intact hull and the satisfaction of completing a more physically demanding dive! Helen says that sometimes a cluster of eels is visible in the wreck, but I didn't see any - yet...

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

The George A. Marsh, Kingston ON N 44° 7.6', W 76° 36.2'
   Dive Number 227 Buddy
Jason
Surface temp
24°C
Starting pressure
3100psi
Depth
81ft
Visibility
fair
Time
30m
Water temp
9°C
Ending pressure
1600psi

Notes:

Jason came to town for two nights and we started off by joining Kingston Dive Charters for a trip to the Marsh - a wreck I have been on before, but still good. Several technical divers were on board with twin tanks, and drysuits - Jason and I were the only divers in neoprene I think! I met Rob V whose name I had seen in the local dive community and also met Corey P who lives in Frankford and apparently does some work with Tom R related to dive mapping.

The dive was forecast to be cold and I had forgotten my warm gloves, so wore paddling gloves instead. My hands felt very cold when we got below the thermocline, but I adapted quickly. The dive was good and it was cool to meet a couple more interesting divers.

Post dive pizza at Wooden Heads: Guglielmo!

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Morton's Wharf, Kingston ON N 44° 13.0', W 76° 30.3'
   Dive Number 226 Buddy
Mark
Surface temp
25°C
Starting pressure
3000psi
Depth
28ft
Visibility
fair
Time
39m
Water temp
22°C
Ending pressure
1250psi

Notes:

Mark and I had another chance to go diving and tried Morton's wharf again for a little more practice. He had heard that there was a wreck past the wharf in about ten or fifteen feet of water, so we ventured farther east into to some tall weeds but never found anything else of interest. We did see a large freshwater drum and the usual assortment of bass and gobies!