Chanb77's Weblog

Saturday, April 19th, 2008 ~

We went to pick up Woofybeotch at his new house, and we headed to the river! Little did he know that there was a surprise birthday party being held for him, when we got back. Steve and I were his decoys, to get him to the party! We met Kevin and Jeremy down at Centeen Park, for some diving fun! The air temperature was an amazing 25 degrees, and the sun was shining!

Kevin and JJ brought their scooters, so they took off to the wreck. Leigh was having a few issues with his hands, so we just tooled around Centeen Park, doing skills and just enjoying the river. The current wasn’t very strong at all, but the vis wasn’t that great. Steve passed a stage bottle back and forth with me, and I was a backfinnin’ fool.

Bottom Time ~ 50 minutes
Max. Depth ~ 34′
Water Temp. ~ 41
Vis. ~ A bit stinky ~ 15′
Air Temp. ~ 25

We found a bike in the water, just off the side of the entrance, and Steve attempted to ride it under water… nope… didn’t work so well… Soooo… with some coaxing of a few local kids on the beach, he decided to ride the bike down the hill, and into the water…

Now… we just had to film this for the next video, so his stunt had to be repeated a few times…

A mink that ran by us…

Passing ship…

The boys…

Steve and I…

Ok.. back to Ottawa, where we had to actually find the pub that we were to bring Leigh to… The Heart and the Crown. We showed up exactly on time (which can sometimes be a challenge for us…Lol…), to greet the “SURPRISE!!!” Leigh did have some clue, as we never want to get back to Ottawa right after diving…. but he was very happy with the party! We had a fantastic night with close to 30 people, had some appetizers, cocktails (er.. there is no such thing as headache-free beer, Leigh), then off to an Italian place for Gelatos and dessert! When we came back past the bar, we were stopped by some interesting ladies, wanting to know what the “We Go Down” shirts meant… I won’t even go into that story, but it was a little bit of a movie scene… Steve and I dropped Leigh back at his place, where we still had to unload his gear…

This about sums it up!

Sunday, April 20th, 2008 ~

Steve and I headed to the quarry for skillz. We didn’t bother even trying to call Leigh. We dropped down, did our valve drills, S Drills, then headed down to the sub for an ascent from 50′, making stops every 10 feet. When we surfaced, we discussed my bag blowing skills, which need more practice it seems. I haven’t done them all winter… We did a timed descent back down, that went extremely well, then another ascent that also went well. We went back down to the plane, passed a stage bottle, then headed back in (Steve had a glove leak). The vis was absolutely stunning!!!

Bottom Time ~ 40 minutes
Max. Depth ~ 53′
Water Temp. ~ 42
Vis. ~ Unbefreakin’lievable
Air Temp. ~ 25

Here’s an example of how incredible the vis was, from topside…

Here’s a shot of the plane, at approximately 23’…

The boat at approximately 45’…

The quarry is pretty much ice free now, except for a wee bit at the far end!

Steve…

Me!

…and Zora, the resident quarry pooch, having a snooze in the sun…

Saturday, April 12th, 2008 ~A gaggle of us gathered down in Rockport, for the first river dive of the season! Myself, Steve, Francois, Eric V., Kevin, Oren, Sean M., Jen B., Jeremy, Anne, and Harold hit the water in Rockport! Oren and Sean went out to the Kinghorn, while the rest of us went off to the South West, to what’s left of an old Rum Runner. Vis wasn’t the greatest, but it was so good to get back in the river again!! The quarry is great for winter diving, but it’s very refreshing to hit the river again!!!

Bottom Time ~ 53 minutes
Max. Depth ~ 65′
Water Temperature ~ 36…made it to 37 at one point, but I just couldn’t make it any warmer!
Vis.~ Only about 30′

Here are some pics from the day!

Kevin, Tom, and Anne…

Tom is sporting one of our new “We Go Down” hoodies (there is also cool printing on the back of them)!!

Harold and Anne…

Sean M….

Jen B….

Oren and Jeremy…

Frankie…

Steve, Eric V., and Frankie…

Steve & I… with Kevin making a cameo appearance…

Jeff from Rockport Dive Centre.. our gracious host!

OO.. and me ‘n’ my P Valve!

Sunday, April 13th, 2008 ~

While today is Woofybeotch’s milestone Birthday, we were not able to get him out for a dive. Instead, Steve, Francois, Eric, and I went for a skills dive at the quarry. Eric is going to be taking fundies this year, and we were showing him some of the skills that would be expected of him. Most of the quarry is open water too!!

Steve, after he and I had done our valve drills…

Steve ran a line to the plane, then we dropped down to the sub, and worked on ascents. Mine didn’t go as well as I had planned, and I got frustrated with myself.. pft.. I was also starting to get a bit chilly. We dropped back down to the plane, swam around a bit, then went back down to the sub for another ascent. Much better this time around, for everyone.

Me… chillin’ before we went to the plane…

Frankie…

Eric…

Steve…

..er.. and Steve, playing silly buggers… The ice was just slushy, so he stuck his head through it…

..and this one… My Sweetie…

Bottom Time ~ 59 minutes
Water Temperature ~ 40
Max. Depth ~ 57′
Vis. ~ Freakin’ wicked… about 150′

We went for the usual debriefing at Jean Burger, over some butt-growing Poutine!

Yet another wonderful weekend of diving and playing with friends!

Saturday, April 5th, 2008 ~

Well, Steve had to work on Saturday, but managed to leave a bit early, so off we went…

Where, you ask?? OO!! The quarry!!!

It was an absolutely gorgeous, sunny day, and we stopped by Leigh’s new house, to see the improvements they made.. and… his…

NEW TLS!!

It fits like a freakin’ glove… looks like a cave cut suit! Lucky pants!!
We then headed up to the quarry (without Leigh), and went for a splash. The ice on the beach is starting to melt a bit, but our “Pentagon” ice hole was still there, and open! It was even safe enough to use. If the weather holds out this week, we should see a good chunk of open water next weekend!

We dropped down, did our Valve drills, S Drills, and headed out. We dropped down to the sub, played around a bit, then did a timed ascent up to the plane. We played around, worked on finning techniques, then I brought the reel in. A good, fun, relaxing dive!!

Bottom Time ~ 35 mins.
Water Temp. ~ 38
Max. Depth ~ 57′
Vis. ~ Still Wicked!!

Next week… The whole gang shebang is headed down to Rockport!

Stay tuned!!!

Friday, March 21st – Sunday, March 23rd, 2008 ~

Well, what better to do on a long weekend, than go for a few dives with some friends??

Friday ~

Steve and I packed up the dive gear transportation unit, picked up the Woofybeotch, and headed to the quarry, where we met up with our friends, Kevin and Jeremy. It was a blistery cold day, but the sun was out, and we were in good spirits! We brought the camera, and got some incredible footage. There were a couple of holes above, that were streaming sunlight down near the plane.. it was just amazing!! We gave the footage to Leigh, and he’ll be using it in an upcoming video, for sure!

Air Temp. ~ -22 with wind chill
Bottom Time ~ 46 mins.
Max. Depth ~ 22′
Water Temp. ~ 39

I used the SheP with a diaper, and was dry, except for my left leg. Upon further inspection at home, we noticed that the nut on the valve, on the inside of the P Valve was not sealed. We tightened it slightly (as if you overtighten this nut, you will ruin your P Valve).

We went back to Leigh’s, picked up Sarah, and went to Mexicala Rosas! It was a freakin’ cold walk back to Leigh and Sarah’s place, but we had a most excellent day! Then it was off to Steve’s parents’ place for cake!

Saturday ~

Steve, Leigh and I headed up to the quarry again!

Steve getting ready to cut the hole!

We did valve drills, surprise Out Of Airs, and had more fun. I backfinned some more, and we had a most excellent dive! We ran a line to the plane, then took a spool to the shark, on the other side of the quarry. We just about made it to the fin! We practiced swimming out an unconscious diver as well. It was still freakin’ cold out, but very slightly warmer than the day before! Another awesome dive!

Air Temp. ~ probably about -19 with wind chill
Bottom Time ~ 45 mins.
Max. Depth ~ 39′
Water Temp. ~ 39

I used a diaper with the SheP again, and was completely dry… even my leg!  Steve and I celebrated with a Sub from Quizno’s!

Sunday ~

Happy Easter! The Easter Bunny brought me a ship to wreck!

Steve and I met Kevin and Jeremy for yet another wonderful day of diving! The sun was shining even brighter than Friday, and the air was slightly warmer than the day before!

Steve, Jeremy, and Kevin getting gear ready…

Steve cut an extra big hole today, so we could all fit! We called it “The Pentagon!”

Blake and Steve S showed up as we were gearing up as well!

Kevin ran the reel out, and we all followed. We did valve drills, and swam out to the plane, where we did more valve drills, and had even more fun. We swam through the plane, backfinned some more, and ascended near the ice. We noticed that our friends were cutting holes above the plane (the free divers were back), so Steve was playing around, pushing the ice back in the hole. They knew it was us, as they saw our tanks through parts of the ice. Lmao… We saw their sticks poking through, trying to move this one big piece, and Steve had the other end of it, trying to push it back. We descended back down to the plane, had some more diving goodness, and then turned back.

Putting gear away…

Steve and I posed for a pic!

Although it was a bit bright… here’s the gang!

Air Temp. ~ -15 with wind
Bottom Time ~ 48 mins.
Max. Depth ~ 22′
Water Temp. ~ 39
Vis. ~ Stellar!!

I took off my training wheels today, and dived with the SheP alone… No diaper, and completely dry!! w0000000 h00000000!!!

Steve and I then headed to Steve’s parents’ place for some yummy Easter dinner!

I couldn’t have asked for a better long weekend of diving, and spending time with friends and family.