Monday, November 27, 2006

Dead Man's Bay, Kingston ON N 44° 14.0', W 76° 26.9'
   Dive Number 31 Buddies
Mike, Joan, Nancy
Surface temp
13°C
Starting pressure
3100psi
Depth
14ft
Visibility
~20ft
Time
61m
Water temp
8°C
Ending pressure
1250psi

Notes:

I arrived at the dive club just in time to join Mike, Joan, and Nancy for a trip to see the Psyche and the Prince Regent(?) in "Dead Man's Bay", accessible from Arrowhead Beach Park, on CFB Kingston.

The weeds were abominable, and they are reported to have greatly improved compared to the same site earlier in the year. For the most part, Mike and I tried to swim in the metre between the top of the weeds and the water's surface. Animal wildlife was scarce - I saw a big carp and lots of gobies on the wrecks, as well as a small bass; others reported seeing a couple catfish.

The wrecks themselves were interesting, and Mike shot a little video of the dive. The swim was my coldest yet, my shallowest yet, my longest yet, and my latest in the year. I'd be interested to see these sites again when the weeds are gone or if the water is warmer, but probably these conditions will not exist at the same time...

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Cora W Post, Howe Island ON N 44° 14.7', W 76° 18.4'
   Dive Number 30 Buddy
Mike
Surface temp
10°C
Starting pressure
2800psi
Depth
39ft
Visibility
~30ft
Time
31m
Water temp
9°C
Ending pressure
1500psi

Notes:

Frost was on the car this morning, but the weather for our dive this afternoon was beautiful. Mike and doubled back once across the South shore of Howe island before finding the line to the Cora Post, sunk in 1891 with a full load of bricks, many of which are still visible on the wreck.

We saw lots of gobies on the wreck, and a big old carp and [we think] some bass inside the wreck.

My body temperature seemed to hold firm for the half hour underwater, and I got undressed afterwards without too much shaking and shivering. If the timing works out next week, we'll hopefully get out again.

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Marine Museum, Kingston ON N 44° 13.4', W 76° 28.2'
   Dive Number 29 Buddy
Domenique
Surface temp
4°C
Starting pressure
2800psi
Depth
38ft
Visibility
~25ft
Time
55m
Water temp
9°C
Ending pressure
900psi

Notes:

We returned to the Marine museum with a few members from the club (Lee, Mike, Sheila, Eric, Domenique and me). Mike brought a camera and took a few pictures (including the one now in the diver profile upper left), but the fish were not quite as plentiful underneath the Alexander Henry as he was there were on Wednesday.

I am in uncharted ground - as an undergrad student, I would sometimes swim in the lake into October. Having already had snow, and well into November, this is later in the year than I have ever been in the water. How late will I go in a wetsuit?

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Marine Museum, Kingston ON N 44° 13.4', W 76° 28.2'
   Dive Number 28 Buddy
Mike
Surface temp
10°C
Starting pressure
2800psi
Depth
38ft
Visibility
~25ft
Time
46m
Water temp
9°C
Ending pressure
1100psi

Notes:

When Mike proposed a dive this afternoon, I wasn't sure I'd be up to it win the November weather. He has a drysuit after all!

We took giant strides over the edge at the Marine Museum, and the cold on my mask area was uncomfortable at first, but became tolerable as the dive went on. Lured by the possibility of seeing the resident eel, we went out to the barge, and then with ample air, returned to the Alexander Henry where we saw about 50 [large mouth?] bass under the hull. A short swim east afforded me a view of a pike as well.

For reference, the water being cold was not a big problem (even with me only wearing a single layer and MEC surf shirt), but getting undressed out of wetsuit in the cold and wind was unpleasant. I'll try and sort out a better changing option if I go again - possibly on Saturday.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

The Munson, Kingston ON N 44° 12.6', W 76° 36.5'
   Dive Number 27 Buddy
Dominique, Olivier
Surface temp
14°C
Starting pressure
3000psi
Depth
101ft
Visibility
25ft
Time
26m
Water temp
12°C
Ending pressure
1500psi

Notes:

For my first undupervised dive as an Advanced Diver, I joined four clubmates on tonight's charter to the Munson. On a previous occasion a trip was diverted from the Munson to the Wolfe for me, as I was the only diver unable to descend to it at the date.

Although my skill was certified, I had neglected to bring my light with me, and the phenomenon known as light extinction means that it's relatively dark 100 feet below the surface. I had paired up with Dominique and Olivier, and I had the good fortune for Oliver to offer me a light to see better down there. Unfortunately he must have loosened something as he removed his light to give it to me: At the end of our dive as we waited at 15 feet of depth for our 5 minute safety stop, Olivier had the good fortune for me to notice, catch, and return his wrist compass which had come off his buoyancy controller and was falling through the water.

It's possible I'll get out next week (for a night dive on the Wolfe), but it's also possible that this was my closing club dive for the year. If it was, it was a good one to go out on.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

The Needle's Eye, Brockville ON N 44° 33.3', W 75° 43.0'
   Dive Number 26 Buddy
Mike
Surface temp
8°C
Starting pressure
2700psi
Depth
67ft
Visibility
~30ft
Time
38m
Water temp
10°C
Ending pressure
900psi

Notes:

For my first dive as an advanced diver, I returned to the water with Mike for a drift through the "eye of the needle" near the wall's edge on the North shore.

Our second dive of the day was more relaxed than the first for me, and my buoyancy control was much better. Mike and I wisely went nice and slowly. After all, why kick when the current is doing all the work for you? This also meant that we were among the last to return to the boats and didn't have to wait as long to return to shore and pack up.

Advanced Open Water Dive 5: Deep Diving
Stovin Island, Brockville ON N 44° 33.5', W 75° 42.7'
Dive Number 25 Buddy
Mike
Surface temp
8°C
Starting pressure
2800psi
Depth
119ft
Visibility
~30ft
Time
29m
Water temp
10°C
Ending pressure
700psi

Notes:

It rained this morning and wind blew - enough so that Mike and I were not sure that the charter upon which we had booked passage would go out, but 11 divers braved the elements, and I took advantage of the opportunity to complete the last dive in my Advanced Diver training - the deep.

After some trouble clearing the air from my BCD, Mike and I quickly dropped to about 100 feet, where I quickly completed the tasks of mental and physical dexterity. While I'm glad that I didn't suffer any ill effects of nitrogen narcosis, it creates a false sense of security to not notice any difference.

Although we never saw the yellow pipe which apparently alerts divers to the end of the drift, I was glad to complete the dive, and with it, my Advanced Open Water certification.

Aboard the boat, Mike congratulated me, we changed our tanks as to be ready for the second dive, and retired the the change room for some warmth, some snacks, and some interval time.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Advanced Open Water Dive 4: Wreck Diving
The Rothesay, Brockville ON N 44° 42.0', W 75° 31.2'
Dive Number 24 Buddy
Sylvain, Mike
Surface temp
15°C
Starting pressure
2800psi
Depth
27ft
Visibility
20ft
Time
33m
Water temp
15°C
Ending pressure
1400psi

Notes:

Despite moderate rain, Sylvain and Mike and I drove to Brockville to dive the wreck of the Rothesay as the fourth in our series of five advanced dives. The visibility was pretty good despite the weather, and I made use of the new compass that Cheryl recently got me as a gift.

Sylvain and I became focussed on mapping/measuring the wreck as per our objective, but more advance planning would have been helpful, as would a greater underwater sign vocabulary. Next time we return to this wreck, we'll take a more leisurely approach and enjoy the sights and spend less time with measuring lines.

One more advanced dive to go - Deep!

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Marine Museum, Kingston ON N 44° 13.4', W 76° 28.2'
   Dive Number 23 Buddy
Sylvain
Surface temp
18°C
Starting pressure
3100psi
Depth
34ft
Visibility
30ft
Time
49m
Water temp
17°C
Ending pressure
1500psi

Notes:

Rain foiled our third attempt to see the Aloha/Effie Mae,so Sylvain and I head over to the Marine Museum to follow the tied line heading Southeast off the pier. Reputation indicated it would lead to an anchor or something. Scott and Kim joined us and we ventured along it as far as it went, and found... nothing.

There were a few medium sized fish to see, and I amused myself by filling a plastic jug we found with air and releasing it to float up to the surface.

Since I don't have a matching second layer to my wetsuit, I wore my MEC surfshirt undermeath my 7mm neoprene for an extra thermal layer on my torso. After acclimatizing to the water after the giant stride from the side, I was fine for warmth. I hope this remains true beneath whatever thermoclines we encounter on our deep dive in [hopefully] a couple weeks' time.

Also I was tired of looking at the repetitive post titles in the archives, so I am titling the posts by subject instead of just posting the name of the location again. Respek!

Addendum - Pat indicates that the line must have been moved, and that it used to be tied to two anchors under there.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Wolfe Islander II, Kingston ON N 44° 13.5', W 76° 24.9'
   Dive Number 22 Buddy
Steve
Surface temp
13°C
Starting pressure
3000psi
Depth
61ft
Visibility
~15ft
Time
33m
Water temp
15°C
Ending pressure
1200psi

Notes:

Our club charter was booked for the wrecks of the Aloha and Effie-Mae, but questionable shore conditions forced a shift in plans to something closer, in case the weather should take a change for the worse.

I dove with Steve, who had not been to this wreck before. We saw lots of sunfish and perck, and three large drums. In addition, we toured the deck and saw the usual features: motorcycle, bicycle and bowling ball.

Since Steve wasn't wearing a hood, we kept just above the thermocline at 61 ft for most of the dive; that's as deep as I ought to be going until I complete my Deep Diver training, anyway.