Steve and I headed down to Kingston, to pick up Steve’s new drysuit. Oren was also going to meet us there, in the hopes of getting in some Diving Goodness.
Raluca and Cory also made the trek, as they were picking up their new scooters, and Raluca’s new suit. Cory’s was still in production.
We hung about for a while, while suits were tried on, seals were cut, and pics were taken.
From there, we headed to the Loyal Oarsman for some grub. I was beginning to think that our dive would be postponed. It was starting to get dark, and the air was pretty chilly.
Cory and Ral…
After dinner, the decision was made… Oren, Steve, and I were going to swing by Centeen Park, for a night dip on the Gaskin. It had been a while since Steve and I had done a night dive, so we were in!
We geared up pretty quickly, brought our short bodies to the water, and got in.
Gear checks were done, and away we went. It seems the line that we laid a few weeks back was in good order. The visibility in the water wasn’t as good as we thought it would be, but it wasn’t too bad.
Once we got to the wreck, we noticed that there was a bit more damage, and the block had moved. It was very difficult to distinguish what exactly had happened, due to the darkness, but there were a few drag marks in the silt.
We did a quick tour inside the wreck, then decided to drift a little bit. We did a little investigating, but all was barren. We headed back to shore.
Once in the shallows, we noticed quite a few mud puppies and crayfish, so we played amongst them for a bit, before coming in. It was a short dive, but worth getting in the water. I missed diving last weekend!!
Bottom Time ~ 34 minutes
Max. Depth ~ 67′
Water Temp. ~ 47
Visibility ~ Dark 😉
w00 h00! A year’s worth of planning, and the Invasion was finally upon us. Time to see friends from last year, some of the “usual suspects,” and make some new friends.
I had loaded the DGTU on Thursday, so I was ready to roll on Friday morning. We were meeting at Jeff’s, to dive the Kinghorn.
Some of the gang had arrived on Thursday evening, and some were arriving today.
A good sized group were hitching a ride on Jeff’s boat, while some of us were going to scooter out to the wreck. Since it it not permitted to dive off the dock during boat season, we were given special permission for the day, and promised to stay away from the boat docks, picking up the line off of the customs dock, instead of the usual spot.
As we were getting our gear together, we got dive bombed by a military plane… about 5 times. I caught it once, as it had already passed…
Once we got sorted out and did our gear checks, Eric V., Ralph, myself, Chris Mal., Piotr, and Szymon headed out on our “turbos,” in search of the line. I had never picked up the line here, and hoped we would find it quickly. Alas, there it was. We got to it quite quickly and headed out.
Chris Mc., Mark N., Bob and Brian P., Erin A., Stephanie and Carmine B., and John Bailey went out on the Shaleka J, with Jeff at the helm, and we met them on the wreck.
Ralph, Eric, and I did a couple of tours around the outside of the wreck, then headed inside. I had my little Go Pro camera with me, and although it was a bit dark, I did get a little bit of footage with it.. that is, until it leaked a bit.
Erin got a little ride on Ralph’s scooter, which I know she enjoyed! We decided to get back on the line, and head back in. Once back at the docks, we found a good spot to leave our scooters, and tied them off. We were coming back for a second dive, so figured the best place for them was in the shallow water, tied to the dock.
Max. Depth ~ 91′
Bottom Time ~ 48 mins.
Water Temp. ~ 73
Vis. ~ 30’ish
Lunch time! We all walked over to the pub for some grub – drysuits and all. I had given them warning that there would be about 18 of us for lunch. They were very happy with the warning. We had alot of fun with the girl serving us. She was joking right alongside of us, and made our meal that much more enjoyable. They were ready for our sogginess, and had set up tables for us in the outdoor, covered area.
Then.. the bill came… Holy smokes… Yes, it is the real thing…
We then made our way back over to Jeff’s for Dive number two. We picked up our gear from the ledge, and once again made our way out to the Kinghorn.
Me gearing up, taken by Andy H…
Chris.. doing some gear maintenance.. with a saw???
I didn’t bring the camera out with me this time, so I didn’t get any shots, but we had a very similar dive. Scootered out, swam around, high-fived passers-by, played inside the wreck, played outside the wreck, then made our way back.
Max. Depth ~ 90′
Bottom Time ~ 41 mins.
Of course, there had to be Kool Aid shots!
After our dives, we headed over to Caiger’s, so the rest of us could check in and get sorted out before dinner.
Dinner was a choice between chicken and steak, and a myriad of other deliciousness. We had two tables, with over 30 people for dinner!
After dinner, some of us made our way upstairs, where we had some karaoke fun. I made a few friends…lol.
Saturday, August 14th, 2010 ~
Saturday, we boarded our charters, with a packed lunch, and headed out for some Diving Goodness!
One group of divers boarded with 1000 Island Pleasure Diving, for some Keystorm and America Goodness, and another two groups were bound for the Jodrey.
A couple of pics from our Jodrey charter…
We met up with everyone at Boldt Castle (Customs). Of course, there were pictures…
Chris McMullen and I were buddied up for some Jodrey Goodness. We made our descent down the wall, played around the bow for a bit, then made our way back in. This was the first time Chris and I had dived as a team, and we were in pretty good sync. Thanks for the dive, Chris!
Total Run Time ~ 62 minutes
Max. Depth ~ 179′
Water Temp. ~ 73
Cap’n. Jeff…
This year’s Invasion was moved to keep from the interruptions of the Poker Run. Instead of that, we had Pirate Day. There were many boats out, with pirate flags on their boats, and zipping back and forth. Needless to say, that we had quite a few waves crashing over our heads in the little mooring bay. It was for this reason that I opted to hang out in the water, while waiting for the rest of the gang to surface. My tummy and boat rockin’ just don’t mix.
Once they were back, I took even more pictures..
After we were allowed entry back into Canada, we unloaded, and headed to the patio, for some pre-dinner chatter about the day’s dives!
We joined again in the Caiger’s Dining Room, and had another fantastic dinner. There were many laughs, and alot of discussion about corn. One of the servers got in on it as well, and even brought me a little cup, with a few kernels of corn.. Priceless.
After dinner, some of us gathered around a bon fire, and enjoyed the beautiful evening. Thanks to the family that joined us, and brought marshmallows!
Sunday, August 15th, 2010 ~
Sunday, one group was headed to the Vickery, and for a cool drift dive, near the Ash Island Barge, and the tech boats headed back to the Jodrey. Dan MacKay, Jen, and Jeremy joined us for today’s dive as well.
Jen and I teamed up together, with Chris Mc. and Dan as a team alongside of us. We played around the bow some more, and although the visibility wasn’t very stellar, it was still a fun dive.
Bottom Time ~ 64 minutes
Max. Depth ~ 177′
Water Temp. ~ 73
This year’s Invasion was a little different, in the respect that it was an all-inclusive weekend, apart from drinks. The charters, room, dinners, lunches, breakfasts, T Shirts, and prizes were all included in the cost of the trip. I think this way works out very well, and I will definitely arrange it this way for next year as well.
It was really amazing to see some of the people that we only see once a year, and also great to have some new faces along!
Since we hadn’t been back to Island 99/Teapot Island in quite a while, we decided to give it a whirl. We wanted to get in there before the weeds overtook the shallows. It can be a royal pain in the behind to scooter through them in the summer.
DGTU…
We weren’t sure what to expect for visibility, due to the rain that we’ve had all week.
Steve, Jeremy, and Jay, scouting the area…
We brought the gear down the hill, and got ready for business…
While gearing up, Jeremy blew a wrist seal, and was unable to dive. Had the water been a bit warmer, the tape option may have worked…lol.
What is great about this spot, is that there can be so much to see. It may appear to be just a giant slope of rock, but there are holes and crevices, fish, crayfish, various items, and even frogs. There was quite a layer of algae along the bottom as well, which we didn’t see as much of last year.
Steve had to look closely for this fella…
Our first find was a sled, which was a pretty cool find…
The terrain is a sloping rock wall, and the water was pretty green. We did not get the visibility that we had expected, but it was still a lot of fun.
Steve found a little rock pile to hide behind. Shall we play “Where’s Blanchard?”
We did quite a tour, found a bottle debris field, a few large crayfish, then made our way back, where we played around in the shallows, taking pictures. We were only in two feet of water, so we had to be extra careful to leave the algae on the bottom.
Steve and Jay…
Steve…
I took the camera off of the scooter mount, and handed the camera to Steve.
Me…
Jay and I…
Jay…
Me…
Bottom Time ~ 63 mins.
Max. Depth ~ 89′
Water Temp. ~ 42
Vis. ~ 25′ and milky (Yes, the camera makes it look nicer)
The top of the hill, with the island on the far right…
Another fantastic day of scooter diving goodness. Go team!
I stayed down on Sunday night, so Mer and I could go out for some scootering goodness! We went down to Centeen Park, and when we were driving down the main drag, I could hear Mer’s GPS through my radio. I thought it was pretty funny, seeing as it was trying to zig as I was trying to zag. “Turn left on Front Street. ” “Turn LEFT on Front Street!” “TURN LEFT ON… bah…” I could almost hear the frustration in the guy’s fancy GPS voice. Ha.. got you, Mr. GPS man, for I know another route!
We arrived at the Park, even though the GPS was sure we were going the wrong way, geared up, and in we went. We noticed that there was now a gate on the stairs of the entrance, to try and deter the geese from coming in.
We had planned to scooter along the wall, and head down into the channel, at the drop off point. I knew that it was 14 minutes on the trigger until we reached it. Sixteen minutes went by, and we hadn’t reached it. I knew we had taken two minutes at the beginning of the dive, to sort ourselves out and do checks, so we should be nearing it now. Nope, no drop off. Ok.. we’ll head South a bit, into the channel anyway, seeing as we know the compass directions.
We goofed around a bit, practiced barrel rolls, did fancy dances, and basically did things that most people would probably have us committed for. We had an absolute blast. We drifted along at 65′, hoping to run on to the Gaskin. Steve has serious Spidey Sense when it comes to getting there, and I was trying to emulate it. Yeah… not so much.
We didn’t want to go too far past it, so we went along into the shallows, and decided to surface, to see where we were. Yeah, not even close to the wreck. We hadn’t even gotten to it yet. Oh well… we were still in good shape.
We ducked back below, and were on the exact path that we had taken out, so we knew where we were. We got back to the basin, messed around some more, then headed back in.
Thanks for the belly laughs, Mer!!
Bottom Time ~ 84 mins.
Max. Depth ~ 70′
Water Temp. ~ 71
Visibility ~ Decent in the channel
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009 ~
Oh.. what better to do on a Wednesday after work, than go diving? Steve and I packed up and went to meet Mer, Gerard, and Jay for more scootering goodness.
This time we got to the drop off point, which was actually farther out than we had gone on Monday. Oh well.. we’ll know for next time!
We dropped down, hit the channel, and the visibility was incredible! Sweet!!! Steve and Jay ducked and dived at bottles, while we all played in the channel. Mer and I did more barrel rolls, and we eventually hit the Gaskin on the way back. We played around the wreck, having a grand ol’ time, and then scootered and drifted off of it. When we made it back to the basin, we all had grins the size of Texas on our faces, from such a great dive. We all had alot of fun.
Bottom Time ~ 99 mins.
Max. Depth ~ 105′
Water Temp. ~ 72
Vis. ~ 25′ – 50′
A crew of us gathered together, for a weekend of friends and diving. We were off to the Jodrey! Steve was off doing instructor stuff, so I had to leave him behind in Kingston.
We all convened at Rockport Dive Centre, loaded the boat, and off we went. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and we were happy to get out diving, and to the Jodrey, no less! We had one full boat load on Saturday.
Ralph and Ed…
Oren…
Claudia and Sean…
Mer, Jackie, Oren, and Gina…
Jen and Jay…
Jen, Claudia, and I were diving together, and it would be my first time leading a Jodrey dive. My previous dives on it were with Steve, and he is the one with the “Spidey Sense” navigational skills. We discussed our plan on the surface, geared up, and in we splashed. We let a couple of the others go in before us, as we all had different profiles and run times, so the pair with the longer run time went in first.
Claudia, Jen, and I, doing predive checks, taken by Jackie Kaley…
We did our predive checks, and in we went. The plan was to drift over the edge, stay close to the wall, and hit the wreck at 140′. We came down on the “ghost line,” and hit the wreck in exactly the right spot. Woo Hoo!! We made our way around different parts of the bow, and circled the wheelhouse a few times, peering into doors and windows. The three of us really worked well together, and had a nice, relaxing dive. Coming up on the ascent, I missed part of the crack in the wall, that leads you to a nice spot for your 70′ gas switch, and eventually to a relaxing 20′ deco stop. It wasn’t that bad though, as we found some nice rocks to tuck in behind, to avoid the absolutely screaming current. I’ve not seen the current that strong here before. Not being at the normal deco spots wasn’t that bad, as we ended up closer to the boat anyway. We relaxed on the surface before climbing up and debriefing our dive. It seems everyone had a good dive.
Me, taken by Jackie Kaley…
Of course, we had the obligatory Kool Aid shots…
Once we cleared customs, and were allowed off of the boat, we headed back to Caiger’s for some grub! Ralph had arranged for a dinner there for us, and there was a little bit of everything to try.
We even had Birthday Ice Cream Cake!
Then it was off to sleep, for the next day’s adventures.
Sunday, July 19th, 2009 ~
Another sunny day, and another trek out to the mighty Jodrey. Today, we had a couple more people, and were able to get Jeff’s second boat.
Today was just Jen and I, as Claudia was joining Ralph, Ed, and Gina for today’s dive. We dropped in, did our predive checks, discussed our plan, and away we went.
As we descended, we were slightly more shallow than the last dive, and followed the pipe down to the wreck. We were only very slightly to the left of the ghost line on the way down, but still ended up in the planned spot. We did some exploring around the bow, peeked in a couple more doors and windows, and made our way safely around the wreck. On our ascent, we managed to stay on the crack up the wall, and got to the 20′ stop with no problems. We ended up having some pretty fun conversations during deco, to which Sean and Oren both laughed about later on. We also enjoyed feeding some zebras to the gobies.
Once we had fulfilled our deco obligations, we made our way back to the boat once again. I wouldn’t have believed it, but the current was actually stronger on the way back today than yesterday. Holy smokes, it was a-rippin’! We surfaced once again, with grins on our faces, and happy that we had found the right spots. I also had about a foot of hair cut off the previous Friday, and it was amazing to surface without a rat’s nest underneath my hood!!
Jen and I, taken by Jackie Kaley…
It was an amazing couple of days, diving with friends, with much laughter, and more diving goodness!
She-P shot!
Thanks to all of our friends who made the drive out to play!!
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