Chanb77's Weblog

Sunday, November 11th, 2012 ~

After paying our respects for Remembrance Day, we ventured down to Centeen Park, to see how the visibility was doing, in the channel. We packed the 26s, since the water is chilling, and longer river dives will have to wait until late spring, now.

When we arrived, we saw hundreds of geese, taking over the waterfront. Since the city had removed the fake foxes and “police tape,” the geese had returned to the lawn. We were dodging goose “bombs,” everywhere we stepped.

A small section of geese…

James, John B., and Eric B. met us for some channel surfing. The sun was shining, which was really nice, and we had a surprise day of 20C, outside! What a beautiful day to dive!

We brought our gear down, and once we geared up and got in the water, it was definitely a bit chilly on our faces. It doesn’t take long to acclimate your face to the water, but that initial face dunk is definitely “refreshing.” We finished our gear checks, verified stage bottles, and were off. The visibility was definitely improving, but still had a bit of a milky glow to it.

We made our way to the park bench, and before carrying on with our plan, James and John decided to drop down into the channel. There was a bit of leakage going on, so they cut it a bit shorter. We carried on for another 7 minutes, then also dropped down. The visibility was fantastic! We saw a few neat bottles, and were in an area of silty dirt river bed. We did not see many fish on this dive, with the exception of a few unlucky ones, with a white “fuzz” wrapped around them.

As we drifted along, we came up to a spot where there were some giant boulders, as well as a small, rocky area, that was very interesting. There were a few items strewn about, including some large round tins. They were almost like giant paint cans. I didn’t touch them, as those kinds of items usually fall apart, if you do.

We spent a little time at depth, but made our way towards the wreck of the Gaskin before too long. The water temps are starting to drop, and our drifts are starting to get a bit shorter! Once there, we didn’t stick around very long, but headed back to the entry.

I really enjoy these dives. Even though we use the same entry when we are here, we always have different places to go and see, dependent on where we drop into the channel. I also enjoy the variance of the currents, and how they are never the same. That, and I have good buddies to play with!

The entry, also showing how low the water levels are, right now. The water is usually over at least the bottom step.

Bottom Time: 1 hour, 14 mins.
Max. Depth: 107′
Water Temp.: 48 F
Visibility: 20′ to 70′ in the channel

Once we got out, we did have some chatter, of course.

We also picked up our gear…

As we brought the gear up, the geese were also changing what side of the park to be on. They were quite leery of us, and would freeze, if we walked near them. I thought it was pretty funny when their procession halted, as I was about to walk through. They waited until I was done, then carried on, to the rest of the gaggle…

After packing up, we headed over to the pub for some Indian food and salad (well, that’s what I had). I have a feeling that there aren’t many river dives left in this season! Soon, we will be quarry-bound!