Oh what a night..!

It's not very often that the Lake is glassy calm, but it certainly was last night, when Todd and I jumped in at KPH. We'd expected good visibility and were rewarded with exactly that. The range was limited only by the reach of our lights. Was there much to see though, you ask..? Well, yes, some Bass, Perch and Mud Puppies - and the occasional Catfish (we were in the water quite early). The water temperature was the same 52℉ (11℃) we've been seeing for a few days now. The good news is that the weeds are definitely dying back. We spent about 45 minutes in the water, checking out a rumour passed by one of the local estate managers that a car might lie off the eastern end of the wharf, amongst other things. There was no car, but it was interesting to note how badly undermined that eastern wall of the dock is. The cavities extend more than a dozen feet in some places. The key message - don't park on the eastern side of the wharf - the pothole may be deeper than you think!

Earlier in the day, I had the pleasure of introducing a member of our sister Club, the Flying Frogmen in Trenton, to Morton's Wharf and the St Lawrence site. That too was a good dive, with moderate visibility. This is a great time of year to be in the water. It's not too desperately chilly yet, and the algae and particulates are settling out nicely.

Pumpkin dive

There is not much more to say. This was a perfect day even for the "real" divers going wet, the way out was pretty comfortable compared to last year.

For those that had something better to do, no but seriously, what better thing could you have to do than dive! Here is my little taste of today in pictures and videos.

Hey Matt, Do you know who is awesome??

You're awesome!!

A dive without a camera is a wasted dive!
See you next dive!

Pumpkin Dive a Perfect Pastime...

Thanks to Kim and Scott, with a little help from their friends, today's Pumpkin Dive was a great success. Although only three buddy pairs participated in the actual competition, there were more than a dozen divers actually in the water, many busy with recording the event photographically. It was particularly pleasing to see Eric and Anton in the water; Anton only gained his Open Water certification earlier this month. Suzanne and Ken, who were guests at the event, but intend to bring their AOW skills to the Club as full members next year, were also very welcome. Well done to all the Pumpkin mutilators.. and many, many thanks to Kim for a fabulous spread and a knockout Chili..

All the photos on our Flickr site... - see link to the right...

Congratulations to Todd, who now does it deeper...

Todd is pictured before he completed the final dive for his PADI Deep Specialty. This puts him just one specialty away from achieving 'the Black Belt of Scuba Diving' - his Master Scuba Diver Certification.

Jesse joins the Rescuers...

Congratulations to Jesse! He completed the Rescue Course this evening in good conditions - and the approaching darkness. It's quite upsetting how quickly we get into night-time these days - and the worst is yet to come when the clocks go back an hour in November.

Jesse was assisted by Todd and both divers enjoyed water temps of about 54℉ (12℃). The good news was great visibility.

New Rescuers Boost the Club's Ranks...

Many congratulations are due to the four Club members who became Rescue Divers this evening. They have met the challenge of mastering many new skills and then exercising them in real-World conditions. Kim, Scott, Todd and Kevin all encountered and applied new techniques and appeared to enjoy the experience. Jesse, who was committed to Recspo at RMC, will very quickly catch up to complete the course.

Achieving the Rescue Diver certification marks a major change in any diver's circumstances. No longer is their diving largely introspective, it becomes much more outward-looking and they contribute actively to anticipating and addressing problems that others might be experiencing. All five of the divers who have been on the Rescue Course will be even more valuable members of our dive community in future. Gaining this certification is also, frequently, the last major step before tackling divemaster and taking on the task of 'Going Pro'. I think that all the divers who have worked so hard over the last week or so are well prepared and able to advance...