A dive into Cottage Country...

Today provided the opportunity to make a dive in Cottage Country, specifically in Desert Lake near Verona. This beautiful lake, surrounded for the most part by tall granite walls, has a maximum depth of 220 feet. The section we dived touched 86 feet - and produced a rather chilly minimum temperature of 41°F (5°C). The good news is that the thermocline lay at 19 feet - and most of the interesting scenery was above that level. It was particularly pleasing to encounter a number of small, curious Lake Trout in the shallows.

Enjoying the Barge

This morning 5 of us made it out to the marine museum for a quick 30 min swim. We entered by the boat ramp right behind the apartment buildings and followed the line out to the barge. Various fish were seen on our travel back and forth. The highlights were the giant sized pike and cat fish that was spotted on the way back. Visibility was not real great ranging in the area of 15-20ft. The temperature continues its upward climb as we had 63f/17c at 40 feet. Todays dive was a nice way to start of a Sunday morning.

Trip to the Wolfe Islander II

10 adventurous souls made it out to the Wolfe Islander II tonight. We had great weather as you can see here by the smiles on a couple of our newer members faces. The water temp on the Wolfe tonight was a cool 56 degrees at about the 77 foot mark and changed to about 64 degrees around the 60 foot mark. There were a lot of smaller fish hanging around just above the wheel house. At one point I had a chance to look up and it was like being in an aquarium with all the small fish just out of reach. Sorry I don't have any pictures yet but I have not figured out how to use my underwater camera underwater yet. Maybe next time. I would like to thank Steve from Limestone Dive Centre for a great dive.

sunny day behind the KPH

Four of made for the KPH today. we spent roughly one hour in the water touring the area and getting to the end of the pipe. We noticed some decent size fish and other trinkets on the way back. The max depth that we got on our tour was 60ft. The water is really warming up as we had it at 59f/15c. I can say if you are diving wet and have not got in the lake you are missing some great diving.

HMCS Terra Nova needs you

A request has be submitted that people show the government that there is support and a want to sink the HMCS Terra Nova in Ontario. On the EOARA home page there is a sign up list that you can add your name too. If you have a few spare moments please add your name to the list http://www.eoara.org/Home.html If you know of anyone else who would be interested please let them know. You do not have to be local residents to add your name. Thank you for those who add their names.

Great dive with a great Club turnout...

It's great to see a good Club turnout for any dive, but when you field 11 divers and visit an unfamiliar wreck - in this case, the massive remains of the vessel known as the Lusitania - life doesn't get much better. Despite slightly lumpy waters, the visibility at depth was very good indeed, certainly in excess of 60 feet. All the divers were impressed with the site and the service provided by the two boats laid on by Northern Tech Diver. It should also be noted that NTD moored this particular wreck recently - and it's a welcome addition to Kingston dive destinations. For the record, the water temperature at depth was about 50°F (10°C). Watch out for more pictures and information from the other photographers on the boat - Kim and Kevin.

Visit from members of CFB Borden's dive club

Four of the Dolphin's members had the pleasure of a visit from CFB Borden's dive club the Aquateers. Two of their members made the trek down to Kingston on the weekend. I didn't get a chance to dive with them on Saturday but we did meet up on Sunday morning. The first dive of the day was to the Alexander Henry. We spent about 42 minutes in the water. The water temp was a very comfortable 54 degrees. We then moved to the Domino theatre and dove for another 43 minutes. Our max depth was 27 feet and the water temp here was 59 degrees. I had a chance to see a couple of nice size carp while we were here. The guys found a golf ball and an old wooden peg. A few small treasures to take back home. We toured around the old wharf for a while and then turned the dive.

Lucky for some...

Friday the 13th isn't traditionally a good day to do things - if you're superstitious, that is. However, taking advantage of an ad hoc charter organised by Doug and True-Dee McCarthy, four of us enjoyed an excellent two-tank excursion with Pat Coyne of Pat's Charters. We hit the Munson first. Visibility was as good as I can remember - at least 60 feet. Water temperatures were in the region of 48°F (9°C). The second dive, with a sensible surface interval, was the Mapleglen. This enormous wreck features a truly massive, 4-bladed propeller and accompanying rudder (lying off the side). These features and massive boilers are the principal things to see, but a swim all the way along the broken remains stretching about 250 feet is well worth the trip. Visibility was a little poorer here - at about 40 feet, but the visit was well worth while.

Two more divers join the ranks of the certifiable...

Neil and Theresa completed Open Water certification this afternoon with a gentle dive on the wreck beside the PUC dock. Their tasks were all completed successfully and they emerged with huge smiles and plans to take full advantage of the Club's charter programme in the weeks ahead. It was their first experience of the Lake after spending time at Brule Road. A water temperature of 56°F (13°C) made wet suit diving perfectly comfortable. Congratulations to both of them on their tremendous enthusiasm throughout the course and good luck to them as they start the real learning process as newly certified divers.

Wreck? What Wreck?

Hi all,

Ashley, Pierre, Scott and I made the trip from Kingston to Brockville to dive the Lilly tonight. If you love to drift dive you missed out tonight. The current was amazing. The usual 8 min drift off the Lilly was done in 3 min tonight. Sorry I can't tell you what shape the Lilly was in because I am sure Scott and Pierre moved it so Ashley and I couldn't see it. We never did see the wreck. Scott and Pierre did but we didn't. Once we got in the water the current was moving so fast that if you missed the chain to take you down to the Lilly there was no way you could swim back to the chain. Ashley and I just gave up and enjoyed the drift. We did see some nice size fish who were also having trouble swimming against the current. For those of you who would like to know the water temp was 59 degrees on the river tonight. I would like to thank Tom from Underwhere for a great dive tonight. For those of you who can't make the Wednesday night dives Tom runs a walk on dive on Monday nights. If you are interested just let me know and I will give you his phone number. He leaves the docks at St-Lawrence Park in Brockville at 6:00p.m.

Deep at Nicholsons Point

This evening two of us who could not make the trip up river did a quick dive off Nicholsons point. Kevin and myself made it down to 105ft and then turned our dive. Our route involved us staying in the water for a little over 30 minutes. No real fish life was spotted on the dive and the coldest we had at depth was 46f/8c. The water was not really too bad as Kevin dove wet and was very comfortable. On our return to shore Kevin found a very interesting bottle. It has a round bottom, a blue tint, and says it was made in Ireland.

Marine Museum Barge

Three of us made for the barge at the marine museum this afternoon. Dan, Rick, and myself took full advantage of the great weather for a dip. As there was a report that the line to the barge was cut we had planned on repairing it if that was the case. To our surprise the line is complete and in good working order. This was my first dive of the year in a wetsuit. Spending approxiamately 30 mins in the water in the 50f/10c water was quite enjoyable. Our max depth on the dive was 43 ft. With the weather being as warm as it has been I would not be surprised if the lake starts heating up even quicker but it is great for 7mm wet suit diving right now. There are no picutures of the dive since I forgot to check the camera setting and had it set on the wrong mode. The visibilty on the dive was in the range of 25-30 feet.

Underwater Show to run in Kingston

The first annual Kingston Underwater event is going to run over the weekend of 9 / 10 August, when the Poker Run boats are in town. This should guarantee considerable interest. Funds generated by the event will go to support local Marine Heritage Organisations; Preserve Our Wrecks and the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes in Kingston.

Exhibits will be on display in the Memorial Hall within Kingston City Hall and at the Marine Museum. A highlight of the weekend will be an illustrated talk given by David Doubilet, a staff photographer with National Geographic and a World-renowned underwater photographer. News of the event will be published here as details become available. Book your visit now...

Measurements measurements

Today was a great day for diving on the wreck. With the sun shining we took more measurements and collected data for the over all completion of the project. A big boost was completed by getting points measured and logged from shore as this way the proximity to shore can be seen. This will make mapping the wreck more accurate. Also more rudders were pulled out of the bay for the sea cadets.

Features begin to appear...

Work continued today to record and measure the various components of the wreck. It also began to become clear that there are some interesting features coming to light. One of these is shown in the picture accompanying this entry. A section on the keelson appears to have some special shape - and perhaps a small area scarred by fire. More detailed examination of the single mast step identified and of another indentation that could be a deck step has been completed. Assessment of the stem and stern construction details has also begun.

Lining up the Wreck...

Today's work was largely devoted to making the detailed measurements, in three dimensions, that will allow a model of the wreck to be created on computer. This can then be used to output drawings and diagrams highlighting construction features or providing an overview of the vessel. To augment the datum points established yesterday, each of the upright frames (ribs to the layman) on the Starboard side of the wreck was identified and labelled. Port side remains will be similarly labelled tomorrow. The labeling of the frames considerably helped the teams working to record the various measurements. The line drawing shown was drawn up from a photo mosaic generated on day one.

Survey Work Advances Apace...

After a good start yesterday, work to place the datum points and prepare for measurements continued today. By early afternoon 8 points had been set and their inter-relationships recorded. Tonight, these points will be entered into survey software and validated. This will prepare the way for recording of the many wreck elements tomorrow, enabling a 3-D picture of the wreck to be captured.

Survey work commences in Navy Bay...

Members of the Club began work today in support of the marine archaeological survey of a wreck in Navy Bay that will be the subject of a Masters Thesis for Nadine Kopp. Nadine is completing a course at the University of East Carolina that she hopes will secure her a marine archaeology position closer to her Canadian home. Video and still photography was taken to provide an initial record and a reference for future activity. An overall examination was also completed with the aim of determining the most appropriate positions for datum points and to confirm the extent and condition of the site.
A second dive allowed some 'gardening' to be done to clear weed and loose algae and rough sketches to be drawn up. Nadine's intention is to dive daily for the next week, completing her researches by next Sunday, when it is hoped that an electronic positioning survey can be undertaken that will definitively fix the wreck's position and tie it in to existing data on the shoreline. Follow this blog to hear how each day's work goes. For the record, the water today was 54°F (12°C) and visibility was about 20 feet.