More Pool Sharks on the way
New Year and a new training cycle for area divers, David gets the first one out of the way this weekend with a 6 OW and 3 Rescue students for me to train in everyone’s pools sessions. I keep forgetting how much I hate chorine and time and time again I put my self into it. Almost daily actually.
Lately I have been run down and the dr. thinks my thyroid needs adjustment but wants to do more tests, low thyroid problems is a product of side effects from Depression drugs, so yet another present to remind me that being normal is a job and a half on behalf.
In the pool I tried out the 28mm lens I got to get it dailed in for underwater mosaics, which is going to take some work but I think it’s going to be doable in good vis conditions. After the pool we hit the Oarsman like normal and hosted a pint.
A New Year and the dive counter starts again
After 293 dives last year it’s going to be hard to top that but I am sure that Chris will be up for the task. 
. So today we did the deed and first dive, at first I thought it wasn’t going to happen as everyone was either working or skiing today. At 9 am I got the call and 4 more shortly afterwards so I was diving today.
Off to Richardson’s beach and to the wreck that lays about 10 mins from shore. The strange thing was with the visibility and grace of those that made it all away out the wreck looked totally different then previous visits.
Large fish were out in force and I kept thinking that John came diving today instead of fishing his loss maybe, but the vis made up for everything.
Grenada – A wreck divers dream
So after 4 years of saying so and finding a bunch of like minded divers willing to explore a new diving hot spot I embarked on a trip to Grenada. Andre, Serge, Nancy and I headed to Grenada for a weeks of diving and Nancy liked it so much she stayed an additional week.
Not many of us can say we dove a 600 foot cruise ship standing upright in 170 feet of saltwater waiting for explorers, and I got to do that finally last week, the only thing other then wow was I could not imagine how hot it must of been 48 years ago when the Bianica C caught fire and sunk 3 times in St George. The From 2/3s of the ship have collapsed into it self but plenty can be seen still. The Swimming pool on the top dec still survives and is the blunt of all the dm’s and guides jokes. “It still has water in the pool” and other one liners”.
Just like the Florida Keys you can dive a wreck everyday and like bonaire you could dive a reef instead every day. There is no shore diving and all dives are done with DMs and Guides all of which are not accustomed to the serious wreck diving crowd, and try to lead and force your dives to their plans. Only a few days of this before it came apparent that it was not the way most of us dive and things changed for the better. The have at least 7 freighters the size of the Keystorm, belly dumpers, barges and sailboats all the size of lake Ontario schooners so we all were at home with the type of diving.
I enjoyed myself and decided that future trips maybe the same idea with going somewhere new or where something new has been found or added to a location.
Grenada now has a non stop flight from Toronto in the 600$ price range and food on the island is not to pricey but more then what one gets here. Shell fish for those that can eat it or like it is at a premium as well. Like most Caribbean destinations beer is cheap as well, one thing that was odd was Diet Coke or Drinks were not readily available and when so only in cans unlike the rest in larger bottles.
A cross section of my photos are here.
And thanks to Andre, Nancy and Serge for putting up with me for the trip. I am looking at details for my next adventure now.
Sometimes you just loose control.
So on Monday morning a ship heading towards Montreal and lost power. 100 meters from the wreck of the Conestoga in Cardinal, Ontario. Divers were all hoping she would sink but she had already moved north and sank in 20 feet of water. Unfortunately theres still 50 feet sticking out of the water.
Sean and I headed out this morning to see and when we got there a couple of more ships made appearances. Talking to a local the funny thing about the ship is when it sailed in the 70’s it had the same problem in the same area. This old guy was out taking shots and telling me stories about the connie and wee hawk wrecks. He also thinks that there are at least 2 more in the deep channel on the us side as he always loses his fishing stuff there.
Another wetsuit season draws to a close
Here in Kingston, Ontario we normally know the end of the wetsuit season is closing when we host the annual underwater Pumpkin Carving contest. This years event like most was held in the quarry. Surprising the water was a full 5 degrees warmer then last week when I ran the OW checkout dives.
Upon arriving to the quarry the base club was exiting so we missed them, we would have been there at the same time but a few customers came in.
Also most of the moorings are now down with the exception of the Munson and Wolfe which we will drop his week after a photo shoot take place.
So thanks to all those this season that enjoyed yet another great season, and for those coming with me to Grenada at the end of Nov the countdown has started. Don’t forget about the night dive on the Munson this week.
the day after
So yesterday was my birthday and my regular dive buddy, John and Pat Coyne from Pat’s Charters in Kingston took me out to the Comet and Marsh for some birthday diving. That was after my Dr’s appointment where he announced that it was time for a drug shakeup. I got my ticket paid for to head to Grenada and some apple pie to boot. Life yesterday was simple and today when I finally crawled out of bed I went for a drive instead of the Gym.
I also started uploading pics to the site mostly Scuba ones and soon more then that but little bit at a time.
Post Training after the Drills are done
So what do you do with 10 divers after all the training is done. Go diving of course and yesterday we did just that. Off to the Marsh which was supposed to be the Comet but due to some waves which made the jug hard to see we stubbled across the Marsh first. After lots of discussion and time and depth lectures off we went.
We got treated to some good visibility and with the good control of the gang the wreck saw no silt. Marsh pics like always here.
Then off to the Comet and man oh man at least 60 feet of vis and fish in the millions or so. I took Ross as buddy on this one have being on it a few days before knew what to expect. So everyone got in the water and I took ross down 5 mins before the rest and showed him what diving is all about. For those that havent seen a wreck in Lake Ontario covered in fish have a look at this video clip.
Thanks for all that helped, assisted or took part in the last couple months of dive training it was a long road but like always the diving make up for in the end. Ross your a good sport and I wish you the best in the future, you can come diving with me at any time.
Pictures for the Comet like normal located here.
More Students and Diving
So the weekend is here and it’s cold as winter. However I have a bunch of students that still wanted to dive in the quarry and lake. First up Thursday Michelle and Scott finished off the OW program in the Quarry.
Then Friday off to the Comet and Davie for the final dives of Kelsey’s AOW course and she nails the drills like an old pro. Congrats to her.
Then for her wreck dive she choose the comet and Michelle joined her as I took photos of the pair of them,
The coolest thing about the dive was the appearance of about a million fish give or take one or two.
Congrats Scott and Michelle for finishing the OW course and Congrats to Kelsey for nailing the AOW course. It was cold and hard but it paid off in spades in your skill levels.
Back to the Quarry again
For the first time in a while I played with my video editor and made a short video of the students in the quarry this past month. I still have about 20 more students to finish off this month so hopefully it will be still doable.
Enjoy
Advanced Diving and Dining for Thanksgiving
So Saturday we dove the Comet and Marsh lots of fun and two of the advanced class finished up. Like troopers they have have decided to stick around and finish off their mates. Some of them have even completed upwards of 20 dives for this cert.
Sunday came and we all got our fill of turkey and family fun then back to the lake on Monday for more diving.
First Dive was the Kattie Eccles. Dark and clear the wreck and offering lots of new goodies as divers keep looking off the stern and sides finding artifacts and placing them on the wreck. Off to the Sheyboygan for more diving and then on the way back in I decided a third one on the Comet was in order. Afterwards we met up with the zodiac crowd and off to home for some well deserved rest
Again congrats to the students you worked hard and earned id.
More Diving and the Start of the Halloween Season
So I get ready to take out some students for open water check outs and I state to one of the advance candidates to work on skills hovering. Well much to my surprise my OW students take note and complete all of their drills hoovering. Well done Kelcy and Michelle. Part 2 next week
I got on the bike with Sean and drove around the county for the afternoon stopping in Napanne for lunch. We decided on the chinese restaurant called NEW YORK dining. Well the service was kinda old fashion and right out of a bad movie. Whadda want, whadda like no manners needed but the food was plentiful and ok.
Napanee was in full swing of the Halloween spirit and merchants had started dressing up dummies and lining main street with them. Pictures are here.
So looking for some fun in Kingston try Fort Fright at Fort Henry lots of stuff to see and enjoy, I am only going to make the trip once this year making my trip total 2 for this year vice the 12 or so I normally make, 5 bucks for parking is a little steep. Pictures here.
Another Weekend, another OW course
Soon I will finally get a break but sometimes being busy helps the mind for the time being. I haven’t much time to myself the last couple of months and now am feeling the run down feeling I suffer from. At least I have been able to get the students trained and ready to go for the upcoming school year classes being held in Florida and Bahamas.
So this weekend is the start of the end of the student season and off to get some personal diving in as well. The best part of this year has been the absence of the local clowns raising, stirring and spreading rumours.
I have also open a few more sites for the diving public and plan on revealing a few more before the boats come out as well for shore diving access providing we get the line in for safety reasons.
This class was just like the good ole days and the students learned and made the course for me. Ross who took the blunt of the punishment was a solid stand up guy for the weekend and almost became the diver of the weekend, but I have to give that to the 2 girls who on the last dive just nailed it. For the AOW students I shedded a tear of pride when Serge was flat and knees up watching the students go through what is now known as the circle of death.
The circle of death is the name of the new line laid in the quarry, what I have been doing is bringing them to the small hole at 8 feet. The start off doing a fin pivot and when ready to swim follow the line, stopping at the car hood, toilet, boat, car, boat, boat, boat, table all doing a drill at each stop. By the third time around all where hovering and flat.
Thanks for making my weekend good as the winter sets in I will reflect on it.
Peak Performance Buoyancy
So we decided to up the ante and add some more bang for the buck what we decided to do was after the OW checkouts was to have the students and community at large attend a free buoyancy clinic in the local training hole. I had instructors and DM’s from other agencies as well attend to give input.
As well we have started constructing a platform to teach skills on keeping the students off the wrecks. Sort of a no touch policy from the start.
So if your visiting the quarry bring some milk crates to build on to the platform.
The night went well and all the students learned at least one new thing, and the quarry is still at 70 so lots of diving left there. Lots of photos of the quarry here.
When your down your down.
So after a very busy week of diving 21 of them btw yesterday we headed to the store and I took a few good customers out to go diving. Much to the shirgrin of the operators which actually turned a little ugly and embarrassing for them as now more regulars are keeping away due to the banging of the help.
I had forgotten a dose or two which I thought shouldn’t have any effect but yet another reminder that I lead a medicated life to stay off the edge and just enough to life day to day. The unfortunate part of this is that some people are just a little bit slower then everybody else and refuse to believe that people can suffer a mental illness and not function properly in certain aspects in life.
So the nightmares returned and the midnight strolls around the house are back as well as the raging blood pressure leading to more restrictions on what I can do and will do for the time being.
I used to be heavily involved in wreck preservation and for two weeks I posted pictures of peoples art sketched into a historical wreck which for 100 years had no autographs from it’s owners, now the mast is covered in graffiti. Guess what no response from the peanut gallery on an action plan.
I guess things only get done if someone else is making money other then me.
Welcome to the Kingston Oasis
Actually it’s the new name for the Burle Road Quarry, a popular swimming hole and dive training spot in Kingston Ontario, I conduct a lot of training in the quarry and all of my students can attest to it. Today while working in the quarry Dan the owner announce that we can think of assist him in making the quarry better for all to use.
So the first dive was something to remember but by today on the fifth they were doing their best and looking a little like divers, so off till the next couple of weds to practice then off on the boats for a few to finish up and Kingston’s newest divers will be ready.
Good show to my DM and DMC’s as well
30/30 for 30 on a 110 foot wreck = Good
So now that Chris has finished his tech one training allowing him to dive mix gas and giving me an off training season dive buddy we headed to the Kattie Eccles for a dive.
The Katie Eccles has been known about by a select group of divers for years but was only opened to the public in 2002 due to the fact the numbers where taken by diver and published or the old guard of kingson would have never allowed locals on it. More profitable for taking out of towners then to build your own community.
If I had to choose a wreck to find or build in Kingston one of my choice would be one with the bow of the Eccles on the stern of the Sheyboygan. The stern is busted wide open so she must have come down stern first and in doing so the Bow escaped the damage most get. Unfortunately the first year of diving the very front of the bow was damaged. No matter what happened or why she still is a beauty.
When getting to the end of the wreck being on 30/30 with a clear head I spotted a squarish object near a couple of rocks. Upon checking it out I turned out to be a sewing machine from the 1920’s, i placed it with the other artifacts and a little research netted that it was most likely for repairing sails. So the wreck gets another artifact for all to enjoy.
More photos here.
Hard Work and Preservation pays off
So after waking up at 530 am for the last couple of days and getting over the fact that there is a 530 am. One of my dive buddies finally makes the leap to Mix gas diving it took some extra training with the instructor and a lot of my personal time to make his goal achievable but it was worth every minute of it.
So the final dive was to 165 for 25 mins on 18/45 with deco starting at 70 feet on 50% for 30 in the warm waters of the St Lawrence River and all went extremely well for him and his dive team.
So back to store for Dan to pack up his stuff to head home to Alberta while Chris and I plot our return to the dive fest already in progress.
So starting tomorrow back to the gym as I think my knee can handle a work out again and I already have an invite to do some urban exploration as well. So it’s starting to look like more adventures to come for the last month of summer. Stay tuned.
Zen Divers invade Canada
One thing independent dive professionals miss out is the tourist crowd that come to Kingston for diving, bbq and just a plain good time. That I truly enjoy yes the local market is important and with the installation of a new 32% nitrox bank I am giving locals a chance to get certified for 9.99, they take the course and get a 10 fill card worth 150.00 in fills and they get the benefit of safety and longer dives in search of their zen.
Chantelle brought the 20 or so divers in from around the great lakes and spent 3 days diving in K-Town, scootering the stacked hulls, DSS, cars and belly dumper to check lines for us, a fall project fixing and straighting a few of the lines. One of the surprises of the weekend was a popular school in Toronto approached me about underwater pictures and video techniques.
BBQ fun at night and some brewski’s for GLUE members and the Zen divers and plans for future trips out and lining the coal wreck off Wolfe Island. finishing the line to the Wolfe and redoing the munson as well. So life is good for the scootering boys this year.
Pictures like always here.
The quarry rocks but the Munson Roars
So yesterday I was comfortable enough to pass my first Dive Master it took 2 years but it was well worth the time and effort. Especially after he finally realized what it was all about on the teaching side. We took a ow check out student and a refresher student at the same time and the ow check out student was put through the paces and a smile of satisfaction on her face was apparent.
Congrats Chris for making the grade, congrats Zaby for entering the darkside and learning to dive and to you Tony I hope you enjoyed the refresher.
Then Chris and I joined the dolphins for an evening dive on the Munson before the trip out Matt started yabbering about the camera guy is dangerous cause you never can find him but he always finds you quickly. On the wreck near the end of the dive I surprised Chris with an out of gas drill from the shooting distance and all went well. We then did a blue water ascent which he executed prefectly.
Just another day at the office I guess.
more for diving
After a great workout today and watching the cyclist driveby in the rain during that portion of the K-town Tri. I headed to the store and picked up three more students for testing in the OW checkout portion of the PADI OW course only one was sort of trained by me after some remedial so I have now got 4 ready for the final dives on either the Aloha/Effie Mae (one dive not a double like some charter ops do) or Wolfe Islander if the girls get ready by the 14th. Which I hope they will be so. I have 3 and a refresher on Weds as well as jessie for his nitrox. Tomorrow I head to the river with Mike for his wreck and deeps stuff and on Tues his search and recovery stuff as we go and recover some customers stuff off some of the wrecks.
The customers will be happy as we return items unlike some ops that used to nail stuff to the dive shop wall to show off trophies. A good day as the sun came out and we headed to the compound for some bbq and drinks.
And Yet another Day of Diving
So one of my diving buddies and comrade suffers as well and does a lot of diving with me, which is quite enjoyable and helps me understand what is going on in my head. Knowing someone else outside the military circle suffering at times eases me. So today I got to the gym a little late and still got in about 25 kms before heading to the store to get my stuff sorted out for a photoshoot on the Munson. John and Chris joined me as well and as both are striving to improve and as I get comfortable judging smaller errors it’s starting to be a little easier as well.
Meanwhile David and the gang were hanging and banging at the quarry where he was finishing the classroom/pool like conditions portion. I will take over on Thursday testing and hopefully on Friday finish them off . I think it’s going to be fun last time I had a bunch of teen girls it was easier then the parents, so hopefully the same result.
Wind, Wind and More Wind but 5 dives on the weekend
Congrats to Gary who finished his OW course with a referral from TO to see me for the weekend. At first I was not that happy with his performance which was typical for most starters. After the second dive with some talking and adjusting equipment he did alot better. I then decided that he could finish his checkouts on a wreck the next day.
We started on thursday with wind and sunday it was still blowing but we made it to the Wolfe Islander with no problems. The first dive of the day he held the line and down we went at 40 feet he still hadn’t added enough air so was struggling and when he sorted it out. off to the skills we go. Then after the ascent at 15 feet he let go of the line and started hoovering as tech wannabee divers came down the line and members from Kingston came holding the line for dear life.
So the last dive he had it down, hoovering and slowly kicking no silt and and quite comfortable so I passed him smiles around. The other instructor on the boat came over and started asking question about the gear and my methods while bouncing up and down in three foot rollers all the way home.
Some shots are plain lucky
So we got blown off the lake today as the winds hit 25Kph out of the south which is pretty brutal in the small boats. But like normal once the customers go away and the evening comes it drops drastically. After vibrating most of the day and staying out of peoples way so I don’t tear them a new one I headed down to the water front to catch a sunset.
But the skies wouldn’t raise high enough and only a thin red cloud line was seen from the water front, then the skies open up and the rain came hard, I was at the marine museum and could see the wall of rain down the street when a rainbow appeared over RMC. So i got a few shots in and started home, I stopped at the Holiday Inn to allow some people to cross and saw a Brigantine come into view so I started down the wharf for a few more shots.
Off working on the Moorings
Here’s a thankless but necessary job in the Kingston dive community. So far this year I have spent about 1500.00 dollars between myself, the Store and other charter companies monies fixing, raising, re-raising and recovering mooring lines, supplies and bouys. Do I get a thank you not in your life time and to add insult to injury the local POW chapter publishes a newsletter advertising out of town businesses and marking us as a nonpaying sponsor. How much you ask 100.00 dollars. I guess only cash in hand counts. The funny thing is I only hear from them now when they need something, not an email or request for divers to assist them in the survey, only a request for a free boat to take them out diving as a reward to members. I’m not sure on the way this works but looks like my support has to be reassessed for next year, and if out of town businesses are taking the sales and getting the mentions then maybe they should be sending the boats and stuff for rewarding members.
