The Quarry Is Melting!

11 03 2009

Sunday, March 8th, 2009 ~ 

 

Another busy and gorgeous day at the quarry, and we headed up to meet Kevin and Jeremy. There were many people taking advantage of the beautiful weather today, and getting their gear wet. There were many courses going on as well. 

 

Kevin ran the line today, and we headed out to the plane.

 

Kevin tied off the line, and we worked on some skills. Steve and I paired up, as did Kevin and Jeremy. We played around a bit, and avoided being landed on a couple of times, by some of the course candidates.

Steve even worked on his “Upside Down Frog Kick.”

 

We practiced valve drills, finning techniques, as well as picked up some of the “Police Line” that had fallen in the melting water, from the courses.

Kevin even tried the Upside Down Frog Kick…

 

We looked above, and noticed the big, gaping hole in the ice. We knew there had been a bit of melting, but weren’t sure how much. We made our way to the surface, to check it out… It was a massive open water hole!

 

Before descending again, Steve pointed out to me, how well you could see the plane from the surface.

 

We descended again, and did some more playing around the plane.

 

We finally decided to head in, as it really started to get busy, and we did have to duck a couple of times…

 

This shot was kind of neat, as it wasn’t until we got home, that I noticed the two people in the ice hole above! It has now been dubbed, “The Alien Picture.”

 

On the way in…

Bottom Time ~ 60 minutes
Max. Depth ~ 35′
Water Temp. ~ 39
Vis. ~ Great!

 

When we returned to the hole, we were greeted by other friends about to gear up as well!

 

We doffed our gear, and Steve wanted to go and play in the big, melted hole, where he got a couple of pretty cool shots…

 

I came over to say hello, and… lo and behold, my leg went through… Trust that camera to be ready… lol…

 

We finally packed up and headed over to Jean Burger, for Poutine and chicken! Ok.. chicken for me… Poutine for the fellas!





A Trip To The Quarry

5 03 2009

Sunday, March 1st, 2009 ~

We headed to the quarry this past Sunday, and we were able to drag Jeremy out, despite the fact that he has been accustomed to desert weather, over the last 9 months (welcome home, Jeremy).

 
It was a busy day at the quarry as well, and the visibility wasn’t as great as it has been recently.

Here are a few pics from the day’s events…

A shot of Jeremy in his brand spankin’ new TLS…

 

Another member of Team Red…

 

Another one for the Red Team…

 

I guess I just don’t fit in with my Maroon…

 

A few shots from the dive…

 

Steve, doing a modified flutter…

 

Getting ready for valve drills…

 

Coming up on Kevin and Jeremy in the shallows…

 

Who could this be?

 

I think this one is my favourite of the day…

 

When we came in, we fooled around some more, and took some more shots…

 

Bottom Time ~ 41 minutes

Max. Depth ~ 30′

Water Temp. ~ 40

Vis. ~ Starting to change a bit, but still good!

 

All in all, it was yet another beautiful, sunny day for a dive!





Busy Days At The Quarry

4 03 2009

Saturday, February 21st, 2009 ~ 

 

When we arrived at the quarry today, we noticed that there were ice diving courses going on again. Since they carved their holes in the deeper section of water, we would be out of their way. 

 

I’m not exactly sure what settings I had the camera on, but all of the pictures turned out blurry today. I was a bit disappointed, as many of them looked amazing on the display screen. 

 

We dropped in, did our checks, and carried on. I will post a few pictures anyway… blurry or not…

 

 

We headed over to the boat, carefully staying out of the way of the tethered divers.

 

 

To stay out of the way, we made our way down to the stove and freezer. I used to think the mini freezer was a laundry sink… apparently, I was wrong… lol…

 

This is the best shot I’ve been able to get of them so far, without strobes. They sit at about 105’…

 

 

We ran a line over to the car, which I had not approached from that angle before…


 

We then headed over to “the pit.” I had not been here before. It’s a pit that goes to about 120′, and houses a tractor tire, and another small piece of machinery. Pretty cool stuff… We headed back over to the car, picked up our line,  went back up to the plane, and headed in.

 

Bottom Time ~ 35 minutes

Max. Depth ~ 111′

Water Temp. ~ 40

Vis. ~ Not as good as last week, but still great

 

I had received a special package in the mail, from Heleen, and had to take pictures with the yummy licorice she sent!

 

Steve…

 
Kevin…

 

When we arrived home, I received a call from Rona, from Saskatchewan. Since she was in town, we met up for some singing fun. What a blast! We had a great night, and it was really good to meet her! Thanks Rona!!

 

We ended up having an action packed day, filled with diving and friends. I couldn’t ask for more! Well.. except pictures that weren’t blurry…

 

 

Sunday, February 23rd, 2009 ~

I left the camera at home today, as Steve brought the video camera. We took turns taking video of each other doing skills and finning techniques. We did valve drills, frog kicks, modified frog kicks, flutter kicks, and modified flutter kicks.

We had a really great skills dive!

Bottom Time ~ 46 minutes
Max. Depth ~ 42′
Water Temp. ~ 40
Vis. ~ Pretty darn good

There were other friends diving as well…

Until next week, when I have the camera back in hand!

 

Here are a couple of pictures of another surprise from Heleen!





February Long Weekend Diving ~ Part 2: Family Day Dive

28 02 2009

Monday, February 16th, 2009 ~

Great day for a holiday. We headed back to the quarry, and Steve took the camera today, hooked up to the video lights. I didn’t mind being without it for a dive.

We got in, did our checks, and away we went.

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I ran the line out to the plane, and Steve snapped away.

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We swam around the plane a bit, then headed to the boat.

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On our way over, we saw a couple of other friends down at the sub…

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We made our way back over to the plane…

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Steve got a really nice shot of inside the plane…

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I poked my head inside, and started laughing…lol…

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Alas, it was time to come in. I picked up the reel and we headed back in…

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Bottom Time ~ 37 minutes (shorter dive today)
Max. Depth ~ 42′
Water Temp. ~ 40
Vis. ~ Great!

Another great dive in the quarry. Since getting used to having the camera, it was a bit different being the model for the whole dive! Thanks Steve!

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February Long Weekend Diving ~ Part 1

22 02 2009

Sunday, February 15th, 2008 ~

 

Woo Hoo! Sunday of a long weekend, and we had spring-like conditions. We made our way up to the quarry, and the place was packed. It was “everyone fend for yourself parking.” There were a few courses running, so it was quite busy.

 

Normally, we gear up at the van, then just walk to the hole. Since it was so busy, we unloaded near the entrance, then went and parked the van.

Some friends unloading…

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Steve ran our line past the plane, and tied in to the permanent line to the boat.

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We messed around a bit, and got some shots.

Taken by me…

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Taken by Steve…

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After milling about for 50 minutes, we decided to head in. Steve brought the reel in, and we headed back…

Bottom Time ~ 50 mins.

Max. Depth ~ 40′

Water Temp. ~ 40 (up a degree!)

Vis. ~ Still great!

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There was a bit of fun after the dive, where Mike was getting a diver’s eye view of the saw cutting the hole. Steve got a shot of it as well, and caught Mike in there too!

 

View from the surface…

 

I also caught Steve S. doing some leaps into the water. I give him a 10 for air time…

 

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s “Family Day” dive!