Today, we were going out on Scott Boyd’s Boat – Dive Bum!
It was cool to have a full kitchen and head on board. We are not used to this kind of thing, in our area!
Our first dive was on the Day Island Wall. The goal of the dive, was to find GPOs and Wolf Eels. Since Laurynn is known as the Octo Whisperer, I was optimistic! We managed to find both, quite quickly. I also think I did ok, for my first creature hunting attempt! The first GPO that I found, was hidden deep into a crack, and did show a hint of orange colour, which I was able to spot! It was a little like Where’s Waldo, at first ! I wasn’t sure how I would react, seeing an octo, as they kind of freak me out.. coming from me, who had never seen one. I was quite wide-eyed with excitement!
We were looking in a hole, watching a pair of Wolfies, which was extremely cool. Laurynn had her video camera, so once I had a good look, I backed up a bit, for her to get some footage. Kathryn and Karen were also near us, and came up for a look. Kathryn had her stills camera too, so I backed up a little more, to give everyone some room. As I did this, I looked down… “LAURYNN!!! LOOK!!” Ok.. I didn’t yell it, but that about sums up my level of enthusiasm. I signaled Laurynn… There was a Wolfie, right out in the open! Wait a sec.. What’s that on his back? Is it a.. a.. Holy smokes.. it is.. There was a small octopus on his back!
Yes, there was photographic evidence! Pic by Kathryn Arant!
There is also videographic evidence! Video by Laurynn Evans Bugles/Seainggreen!
So.. on my first Seattle boat dive, we see something as spectacular as this. What else was in store for us??
Bottom Time: 53 mins.
Max. Depth: 77′
Water Temp.: 53F
After our dive, Scott fired up the BBQ, and Janet made us brownies! What kind of service is that??? 🙂
For the second dive, we went to Sunrise Reef. We were waiting for slack tide to “arrive,” and as we waited, we noticed that the kelp went from being completely sideways, to standing up, with ease. It was time to splash in! There seemed to be a bit of a surface current, so we did a quick gear check, and down we went. It seemed that it was a bit of a pain to fin against the current, and all I could think of was, “This is slack tide?” Lol! It was like that for about 10 minutes, then.. whoosh.. gone. No current at all. I guess the kelp fooled us on the way down, and the current had a little extra for us, before letting up. It was much nicer, now. 🙂 We found more octos and wolfies, and had quite a lot of fun, playing amongst the sea life.
Surfacing to this, is really not difficult…
Bottom Time: 42 mins.
Max. Depth: 60′
Water Temp.: 53F
Yeah… I think I could really get used to diving here. This place rocks, just a little bit…
After our dives, Scott and Janet took us to a really cool little restaurant, on the water.
AGGAST sisters, after another most excellent day of Diving Goodness!!
Short and sweet… Flight landed at Sea Tac, at about 10pm. Picked up luggage, met Kathryn (thank goodness), and headed to Casa Evans Bugles! Settled in, put gear together, and sleeeeeeeep….
Saturday, September 3rd, 2011 ~
Up and at ’em! We headed to the ferry, to go over to Keystone Jetty, for the GUE Community Dive and BBQ, that Koos had arranged.
Taking in a few sights, as we waited for the ferry…
On the ferry…
We arrived to a full parking lot, where we greeted many really wonderful people. Some, I knew from before, and some, I was finally able to put faces to internet names. After socializing a little, we decided to gear up for Dive 1!
As we were gearing up, we chatted, laughed, and.. well.. Then there was Doug, teaching Park Ranger Randy how to use a condom cath. Yes, this really happened. I can’t make this stuff up…
Time to dive!
Dive 1 – Holy smokes… So much life! This would be my first salt water dive since my AOW dives, in 2005. Diving in fresh water all the time, we really do not get to see all of this underwater wonder. There were so many ling cod, and they were definitely not afraid of us, or shy. I had a few swim right up to my face, which was both a bit strange, and utterly delightful. Laurynn was helping out, so did not get in for the first dive. Kathryn, Karen, and I had a grand ol’ time!
Bottom Time: 45 mins.
Max. Depth: 40′
Water Temp.: 53F
After our dive, we were graced with some wonderful BBQ, delicious nacho dip, chips, fruit, and some fantastic company. Koos and Jeannine rock!
Dive 2 – All four of us went in! We stayed in the same area, and were in two teams of two, although still stayed relatively together. We saw the same things, but it was neat to really focus, and look for some of the smaller life. There were crabs of all different varieties and sizes, more big ol’ ling cod, anemones, and even a giant lion’s mane jelly fish. It was a good thing he didn’t have any tentacles (which was odd, apparently). What a cool looking creature! I had never seen one like this!
Bottom Time: 45 mins.
Max. Depth: 52′
Water Temp.: 50F/52F
What an excellent day, and it was really awesome to see friends, and to meet some that I have only met online! Great way to kick off the diving!!
When we returned back to Chez Laurynn, we had a little get-together, that included The Biebs, The Princess, and The Pokeman Pig…
Doug also tried to convince us that it was entirely possible to pop a cork from a wine bottle, with a rock and a shoe. Let’s just say that the shoe suffered a terrible fate… and I still think that Koos won that bet…
It was also really nice of Ben to join us, wearing his team shirt…
An awesome day of Diving Goodness, in Seattle! w00t!
After a crazy day of work, I filled up the Dive Gear Transportation Unit, and headed to the airport. I only had to do two circles around, and I found my passengers! Our friends from Holland were here! w00t! I finally got to see them in person, and would be spending the next few days diving and talking about everything under the sun!
Our first stop was the Quarry, directly from the airport, as the plane was a must-see for Heleen!
I brought my camera along, for some pics, and we jumped in the water. We went straight to the plane for some pics, then to the boat, sub, and back to the plane for more pics and most excellent Diving Goodness fun! It was definitely fantastic to finally get in the water with Heleen and Sander!
Off to Boston Pizza, for some delicious dinner, and to meet Steve!
Wednesday, August 31st, 2011 ~
Today, we were heading down to Rockport, to go for a scooter run to the Kinghorn (thank you for the extra scooter, KR). We had a few errands to run in the morning, and I cooked us a big breakfast, so it was early afternoon before we got to the shop.
We made our way to the wreck, played around on the outside, then headed inside, to swim around the core of the wreck. It seems that the wreck has deteriorated even more, and it appears that there have been a few deck beams that have fallen in. I still never tire of seeing the view of ambient light, up through the inside of the wreck, through the wheel. We made our way back, and back up, onto the boat. What a fantastic dive! I think Heleen and Sander liked this one!
Bottom Time: 64 mins.
Max. Depth: 90′
Water Temp.: 69F
Visibility: Not too shabby
Yummy… Kool-Aid…
After our dive, we topped it off with some ice cream, from the upstairs shop! Mmm.. Rolo…
Jeff and Sander were chatting, so we grabbed Sander an ice cream, too… or.. did we?? 😀
We headed back, and were able to make it back in time for the last 10 minutes of Steve’s Final Hockey playoff game! Way to go, Steve!
When we got back, we unpacked, and had some fun with the neighbours…
Thursday, September 1st, 2011 ~
Today, we had planned on going down to the river, for a scooter dive, but decided to go a little closer, so we could do some tourist stuff, after our dive. Quarry? Meh.. went there on Tuesday.. Hmm.. How about Back Mine? Steve and I hadn’t been there in over a year, and this would be a great time of year to go. The water is always extremely cold, as this mine was built into a mountain, and the water does not see sunlight. Although there is a covered dome overtop of the site, there is a large area of open water, where we dive. There is a mine shaft that starts at about 120′ deep. It is an absolutely beautiful dive, but as I said… is cold.
We took the ferry across to the Quebec side, and once we arrived, we took a bit of a jaunt up to the top, to take some photos.
There happened to be a photographer there, doing a photo shoot, and he was gracious enough to take some shots of us, too! Thank you, Rick!
Once we entered the water, we made our way to the other side of the open water area, saw the old truck, old line, and other interesting formations. There was obviously not much ambient light, so it was a bit murky… and crisp. We surfaced on the opposite side, had a chat and a laugh, then headed back down. We showed Heleen and Sander the grim reaper sign, then made our way back in.
After we packed up, we made our way downtown, to the Byward Market, where we grabbed a snack from the Chip Wagon. We just had to introduce Sander to poutine! We did a bit of a tour of the Parliament buildings, the lock system, and a few other cool buildings.
On the way back, we stopped to pick up some BBQ and sweet corn!
What a fantastic day!
Friday, September 2nd, 2011 ~
Well.. today was the day that we were all departing for different places. Heleen and Sander were on their way home, Steve was heading to Florida, and I was going to Seattle, for the Team AGGAST adventure.
It was so amazing to finally meet our friends from overseas, that we have been corresponding with, e-mailing, and sending so many pictures back and forth with. We were able to give them a little taste of Canada (besides their adventures in the Rocky Mountains, before they got to us), with Tim Horton’s, Kool-Aid, hockey, poutine, the Parliament buildings, maple syrup, and some of the diving we have to offer. What an amazing time for us, too… please come back!! See you next year!! 😛
Well, I will start this entry off, by saying that this was the largest group I have ever organized. The majority of our group for Diving Goodness arrived either on Thursday night, or Friday morning, in time for the run out to the wreck of the Kinghorn. We had some breakfast at Caiger’s, then headed over to Rockport Dive Centre. There were 12 to take the first run on Rick’s boat, and 14 by scooter. I think that was the biggest GUE EDGE I have ever conducted, too…lol.
Raphael and I paired up, and we debriefed our dive plan, trip back in, and even towing, should it be required. This is a swimmable dive (on doubles), so even if we didn’t tow, we would still be in good shape. I led our teams to the line, and we headed out! Raph and I did tours of both the inside and outside, and there were Go Pro cameras a-plenty, taking video of our diving extravaganza!
We decided to head back in, so I hit the trigger… er.. at least I tried to. Two of my prop blades went flying into the abyss (ok, about 7′ down)! What the…? I did manage to pick them up, signaled to Raph, and started to swim. Wait a sec… it’s lunch time.. let’s hit it, partner! I signaled to Raph again, stowed my scooter (of course, being a bit bummed), and latched on to Raph’s crotch strap. Onward!
I have to say, that I was very pleased that we had discussed this whole towing thing, at the beginning of the dive. Raph did great, and when we reached the 55′ mark, I tapped off. We had a relaxing and leisurely swim back in. Thanks for the tow, amigo!!
After a couple of runs out to the wreck, in Rick’s boat, we reconvened on the deck at Rockport Dive Centre, and headed over to The Cornwall/Boathouse for lunch.. drysuits ‘n’ all. We took up the whole room, this time around. Tammi and her peeps were ready for us, as usual!
We got some food in our bellies, some laughter, and fun, then we walked back over for another run out to the wreck. Since I didn’t have use of my scooter (and thank you to Oren for the offer to use yours… while you made a bit of a drive… *cough*), I was going to jump in with Andy, for a swim along the line. Andy had some new tanks that he wanted to check out, and I would be doing my first test dive with the new Light Monkey wing! w00t!
We really took our time, and had an extremely slow and comfortable swim, partway to the wreck. We went back and forth, played with a few fish, and waved at some of our friends, passing by. I was seriously digging this wing. It is a 45# wing, that is put together very well, and has some really nice finishing touches (the heat shrink on either end of the corrugated hose). I was using it with a set of Luxfer AL80s, and I really did like the way it filled around the tanks. The edges are a bit wider than other wings, and it just felt really easy to trim out in. Very freakin’ cool wing! First test dive >> Like Factor = Extremely high.
After our dives, we headed back to Caiger’s, where we got ourselves sorted out, showered, and changed for dinner. We had a buffet of a bunch of extremely delicious foods, and we definitely filled the entire dining room. There was also a live band playing on “The Upper Deck,” that some of us checked out, before hitting the sack!
Saturday, August 13th, 2011 ~
Up and at ’em! We had boats going to the Keystorm and America, as well as to the Jodrey. We had most of the boats going out in the morning, with another afternoon run to the Jodrey.
Buffet breakfast for everyone, and boats loaded. I brought down lunches for each boat, and the morning runs were off! We had one bit of a miscommunication on boat departure time, so two friends ended up going for a shore dive.
Breakfast…
Loading up…
Relaxing after breakfast…
Carm and Steph…
Then the boats came back!
We then loaded up our boat, to head to our afternoon Jodrey dive.
On the ride out, I managed to get a good punch in the face, from a flying boat bumper, whacked my head on the boat, and with me being a bit pooped, I opted out of the dive. We were moored in a different place than usual, and my gut just said, “no.” It sucked to have to miss Jodrey Goodness, but I was also pretty pooped, with all of the organizing. I did gear up, and even got in the water, but it wasn’t my day. Yes, my buddy had someone else to dive with…
Instead, I had a bit of a nap on the boat, and took some pics. 🙂
A little shout out to DUI? 😀
Self portrait, of course…
When we got back, we unloaded, then got ready for dinner. This dinner was a little more fancy, and we had some extra delicious food! Thank you to all of the staff at Caiger’s!!
We also had a draw for some prizes. Thank you to Liquid Productions, Rockport Dive Centre, and Exploration Promotions for the prize donations!
We finished the night off with some karaoke… Ohh.. what a blast! Bill Baker is a crazy… wha???
Steph also got up for some singing magic!
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to have the bon fire that we wanted to have. A big thank you to Becki and Dan for bringing the S’mores goodies!!!
What a fun finish to the day!
Sunday, August 14th, 2011 ~
Well, today was the final day of the Brockville Invasion. We did a bit more loading, diving, unloading, bidding goodbyes, and taking more pictures. Today’s dives were the Vickery, a drift dive, and for the Tech divers, the Jodrey. I still wasn’t 100%, so I opted to stay aground, and wait for all of the boats to come in.
Fern and LoJack!
It really is amazing, how many wonderful people attend the Brockville Invasion. I have made so many new friends, and love to see friends that keep coming back. It does mean a lot to me, that people have so much fun on this trip. It is exactly why I do it.
A group shot… of most of the group, plus most of the reamining folks. Next year, I will allot a time and place for the pic, on the itinerary! We had 49 people attend, this year!
Below is Forest Rothchild, who did a really cool write-up on his Invasion experience. Thank you, Forest!
So.. Becky and I had threatened to go diving together many times, over the last few years, and the stars aligned just right, to a weekend that we could. Dave was unable to join us, and even though we missed him terribly, Becky and I knew that we would have much Girl Diving Goodness Fun (ok, we did allow some fellas to join us).
We decided on The Works for dinner, after much chatter and laughter, where we introduced Becky to some interesting burger concoctions and combinations, along with our beverages served in measuring cups. We ended up chatting and laughing our fool arses off until the early hours of the morning. Thanks to some of our western friends for some hilarious back and forth banter!
Friday, July 22nd, 2011 ~
Well, we meant to dive today… Let’s leave it at that… 😀 We did have a good time catching up and talking about.. Well.. Everything! We also prepared for the following day’s dives.
Saturday, July 23rd, 2011 ~
We were up an out early, and made our way to Rockport Dive Centre, for a dive on the Jodrey. Becky, Eric, and I were teamed up, and Frankie and Steve were heading to the engine room. Becky also brought her camera along, and took some really cool shots of us, on the bow. Thank you, Becky!!
Me, on the bow of the Jodrey, taken by Becky Kagan Schott…
Eric, on the Jodrey, by Becky Kagan Schott…
We had a nice, relaxing deco, made our way back up the wall, and back to the boat. We did meet up with Steve and Frankie on deco, too.
Frankie, by Becky Kagan Schott…
Steve snuck over to say hello, too – by Becky Kagan Schott…
Bottom Time ~ 71 mins.
Max. Depth ~ 163’
Water Temp. ~ 73F
Visibility ~ 40’ (best we’ve seen in a while)
Once we arrived back at the dock, we headed down to the Cornwall, for some grub, then back home.
Sunday, July 24th, 2011 ~
We managed to get a charter to the Keystorm and America – Thank you, Rick! We were at Caiger’s for an afternoon charter, and we did seem to have quite a lot of gear.
Once we got underway, it was after 3pm. We headed to customs first, then to A-Bay for some petrol. While Rick gased up, we chatted, and even played with the resident kitties.
Becky!
Then, we were off! Andy, Eric, Becky, and I teamed up, Frankie and Steve, and Cory and Raluca too. The plan was to go down to the prop for some photos, then make our way back up. We spent the majority of our time at the prop, then made our way back up and in. Thanks again for the shots, Becky! You rock! It was great to see Andy again, too!
Bottom Time ~ 48 mins.
Max. Depth ~ 75’
Water Temp. ~ 73F
Visibility ~ 40’
There were, of course, more shenanigans on the boat…
From there, we headed over to the America. It had been a while since I had actually been on it, so I was actually looking forward to it. We had some directions to where a large anchor was, so after doing a pass of the wreck, we hit the trigger to find it… We followed our directions to a “T,” and lo and behold, there it was! Sweeeeet!! Doh.. Becky didn’t have her camera on this dive, and it was Murphy’s Law that there was something so cool to get shots of. J
We had a peek at it, then went a little bit further on, to see if there were more cool things to see. We didn’t travel too far off, before turning back to the wreck. We did a quick pass underneath the America, then headed in.
Bottom Time ~ 48 mins.
Max. Depth ~ 75′
Water Temp. ~ 73F
Visibility ~ 40’
Homies…
Look! Andy’s here!
On our way in, the sun was setting over the River, and was the perfect end to some extremely fun dives. We arrived back at Caiger’s, where we had to wait for customs to clear us, before getting off of the boat. This took a while. We waited, and waited, and started to get absolutely molested by mosquitoes. We were sitting targets for these man-eaters!
On the way in…
Finally, Rick came back with the good news that we were allowed back into Canada, and could start making our escape from the crazy mossies. I think it was close to 9:30pm, when we were unloading our gear. By this time, we were pretty hungry, and made our way to Boston Pizza, in Brockville, then home.
A wonderful day of extreme fun, and most awesome Diving Goodness!! W00t! J
On Monday morning, we gave our hugs goodbye, to Becky, and wished her a safe trip home.
Please come back and play, Becky!! We had a blast!!! There are many wrecks waiting for you to see! w0000000000000000000t! Next time, Dave needs to come, too!! Xoxo J
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