Sturgeon Island

31 05 2015

Sunday, May 31st, 2015 ~

w00t! There shall be diving, today!

We had an Oren sneak into our house, late Saturday night, so we figured that we would take him for a scooter run, in the River. There have been occasional Oren sightings, over the last year, and this time, we took him for a nice swim. 😛

Our plan was to go to a little underwater island, that we had found last year. It is entirely possible that it may have been found  before, but it was pretty new to us. Last year, Steve had seen a giant sturgeon there, on more than one occasion.

As we dropped into the channel, we came upon remnants of a wreck, that we had also found recently. The current was absolutely ripping here, so it was hard to get any good shots. I did get a few, but they were a little blurry… thanks to the blustery current!

dsc_1885Another current blurry shot…

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Other bits, laying near the wreckage…

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We stayed at the wreck for a few minutes, then back towards the middle of the channel. As we got to about 94′, we saw a baby sturgeon. This was so nice to see! I had never seen a little one, and that means that there is something good going on, in the water. He was just over 1′ long, and didn’t seem too afraid of us. I did have my camera, but it was clipped off, behind my leg, and I just wasn’t quick enough.

We arrived at the island, and since we have seen sturgeon here, every single time, we decided to call it, “Sturgeon Island.” It may have another name, if it’s been found before, but to us… Sturgeon Island. We drifted along, and enjoyed looking at the different levels of rock, and the different formations, which were really amazing. 🙂

As we made our way back up, we passed through the Gaskin, and then into the shallows, for a little bit of deco.

Steve and Oren, as we swam up to our 20′ spot…

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Oren…

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Me, with a nice green slime, in front of my face!

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All three’s a charm!

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Nice bottle!

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Steve’s new-found snorkel…

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Bottom Time: 1 hour, 25 mins.
Max. Depth: 109′
Water Temp.: 55F
Vis.: 20′ to 50′

Steve and Oren dumped their tanks, while I guarded the gear, in the water, so the choppy waves wouldn’t whisk it away. Then, it was my turn… so… I just had to take a picture…

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We had yet another grand day of Diving Goodness, in the St. Lawrence River!


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Categories : Twenty Fifteen

GUE Day – Centeen Park

24 05 2015

Saturday, May 23rd, 2015 ~

Today, we met up with a whole bunch of GUE friends, and a few GUE-interested friends, for a day of training, skills, and fun!

Steve and I were packed and almost ready to go, the night before, as we had planned on leaving our place at 6:30am. Ok, we were a few minutes late, leaving, but we still got to the park with time to spare.

We set up the big tent, brought out the chairs and coolers, and got our gear ready. It was pretty chilly out (around 4C), and the wind was blustery!

Steve started his Training Day, and I briefed my dive buddies on our dive.

My dive buddies: Nick, Roger, and Matthieu…

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Here is my fabulous drawing, of the Gaskin (yeah, I know – I’m not going to win any awards, here)…

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Andy also came to play, but would dive with Mario, Lisa, and Jen B.!

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Andy…

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Steve, getting started with his Training Day, with Marianne, Denis, and Sylvain!

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Nick, Matthieu, Roger, and I went out to the Gaskin, to do an impromptu Project Baseline dive! I had my camera with me, so figured that it would be a good time to do it!

Nick and Roger, as we made our way to the line…

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Matthieu, to my right. Oops… I caught some of his bubbles!

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We had a nice, relaxing swim out, with hardly any current. As we got to the bow, I took a photo, for PB.

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Poor thing is really falling apart…

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Matthieu, outside the stern, of the wreck…

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Nick, inside the wreck…

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Roger, inside the wreck…

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The stern is pretty badly broken up, too.

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It has deteriorated quite a bit, over the winter. View from the stern…

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Diving Goodness!

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We headed back to the basin, and it occurred to me, that I didn’t see the statues, on the way out. There was the little one, but not the standing ones. Hmmm… Our plan was to check them out, on the way back in.

We surfaced, and Jen, Andy, Lisa, and Mario were doing their gear checks, to do their dive. Apparently, the statues were moved, two days prior! That explains things, and confirms that I’m not completely devoid of my marbles (I know, it’s close, but I do still have a few)!

Bottom Time: 1 hour, 6 minutes
Max. Depth: 70′
Avg. Depth: 40′
Water Temp.: 51F (53F, in shallows)

We regrouped, then went back down, to find the new resting spot, for the statues! Lo and behold, there’s the fella, at the desk!

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…and… of course, a selfie, with my statue buddy…

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It was a short one, but it was another fun dive!

Bottom Time: 14 minutes
Max. Depth:  29′
Avg. Depth: 23′
Water Temp.:  53F

Group shot! I was trying to smile, but my face wasn’t cooperating.

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We got out, had a spot of lunch, and the guys went for fills. There were various teams in and out of the water, for the rest of the day, and we had an absolute blast! If only we had a little bit warmer surface temperature, all would have been perfect!

Lisa! Power Ranger!

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Steve’s dive debriefing…

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Sylvain, putting his gear together…

 

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Mario and Lisa, before their second dive!

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Marianne, after her dives! Smiles are good!

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Marianne, Steve, Denis, and Sylvain…

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Denis even got to try out his scooter!

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A great day!

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A big shout-out to SOS – 1000 Islands Chapter, for all of the work that they have done, at Centeen Park, including putting in these benches! They are fantastic!

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They came in handy!

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You can support these efforts, by getting these fancy Centeen Park Diver Tags! They are not mandatory, but very much appreciated, if you dive at Centeen Park (contact us, or a 1000 Islands Chapter member, for tags). $10, for the year!

Also, a Happy Birthday, to Pierli!

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Despite the “wind chill,” it was still an extra fun day, and we plan on doing it again! Come on out, and join us!

 

 


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Categories : Twenty Fifteen

Spring In The Park!

13 04 2015

Sunday, April 12th, 2015 ~

It was a gorgeous spring day, so Steve and I made our way down to the RIVER!!!

We knew that the water would be pretty chilly, but we just had to get back in.

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The water looked so clear, from the surface, and it turned out not to be so bad, past the basin.

We figured that we could take a couple of Project Baseline pics/stats, while we were at it!

We got to the wreck, in no time, so we started to take some shots.

Bow of the Gaskin (it’s really falling apart)…

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View, from the top deck, facing the bow…

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Steve, by the starboard side of the bow…

 

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Steve had a couple of leaks, so we weren’t able to stay too long. That water was chilly!

Bottom Time: 30 minutes
Max. Depth: 60′
Water Temp.: Debatable – I had 37F; Steve had 33F; A-Bay buoy says 35F – So… CHILLY!
Vis.: 55F

But, first…

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Cold Water Pudgy Faces strike again!

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Yipppieeeee! We’re back in the River, baby!!

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I love how the trees in the background make it look like Steve has a bad hair cut! 😛

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Dary-Ary-Ary-Aw!

28 09 2014

Sunday, September 28th, 2014 ~

Today was going to be an adventure! Jen and Mike took us out for a cruise, launching from the Brockville public boat launch.

We put the boats in, loaded up, and away we went!

The ride out was pretty fun, in the two zodiacs. I managed to cling on, even when my butt got some air time, thanks to  a couple of the waves. At least I had my drysuit on. 😛

We anchored in a spot upstream, and north of the wreck. We had scooters, so we didn’t mind the extra jaunt. We preferred the shelter from the ripping current! We were able to jump in, and do our gear checks, beside the channel marker, with ease. Bottles were also checked and verified. We dropped down, settled out, and scootered into the channel, where the Daryaw sits. As we made our way, my reg started to breathe a little tight. Got a breath, didn’t get a breath… I reached down, and the knob had mostly closed. I guess my AL40 deco bottle had somehow rolled it off. We had checked our bottles/gauges at the surface, and I even breathed it in the water. I know that I had turned it on. Oh, well… It’s on, now – carry on.

We reached the wreck, which is sitting upside down, and Frankie and Dany went inside. Steve and I poked around a bit, went up into the air hole (as the season progresses, and more divers are on the wreck, the air pocket gets larger). You can surface in it, but I wouldn’t recommend breathing the air, in there!

We checked out the other holds, and to stay on schedule, for our awesome sauce boat captains, Steve and I motioned to Frankie and Dany, that we needed to get our drift on! We drifted along, and decided to go up and over the south wall, to check out the other “valley.” There was a lot of neatness, there! We found a rather large anchor, a few large fish, and some very interesting rock formations. What an absolutely fantastic dive!

Eventually, we made our way back over the wall, and headed north, where we did our deco, blew an SMB, and waited for Jen and Mike to collect us. Absolutely LOVED that dive!!!

Bottom Time: 1 hour, 38 mins.
Max. Depth: 91′
Water Temp.: 64F
Vis.: 25′

Wheeeeee! We made it back to the public docks, with minimal butt ejection, and waited our turn to remove the zodiacs.

As we waited, I even tasted a crab apple, right from the tree (Jen made me do it) … 😛

It was definitely a spectacular day! Diving Goodness, good friends, shipwrecks, anchors, some ripping current, and FUN! Thanks for taking us out, Jen and Mike!


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Categories : Two-Oh-One-Four

Back To The Mother Ship

27 09 2014

Saturday, September 27th, 2014 ~

w00t! Today, we were going back to the Jodrey!

Some of our Québec buddies were joining us, for a splash, too!

Steve, Frankie, Dany, and Larry…

We did our mandatory customs stop, at Boldt Castle, and we were on our way!

Steve and I had planned on scootering to the stern, and possibly going inside.

On the descent, I had some really strange sinus thing going on, that was not normal, for me. I was able to clear without issue, so I kept on.

We noticed that the current was down at the bow section, but as we neared the stern, it was absolutely screaming. Thank goodness, for our most excellent scooters! The visibility was also pretty horrible, which was a little surprising, seeing as the water temperature had dropped, just a little bit, since our last dive here. The vis usually improves, as the water temperature drops.

Steve and I made our way to where we were going to go inside. The current was absolutely ridiculous, and I just wasn’t feeling 100% (sinus thing was messing with me, a bit), so I motioned a “no,” to Steve, to going in. As much as I wanted to, I figured that we could go in another day. The wreck wasn’t going anywhere. Ah, well…

We continued around the stern for a bit, checking out other extremely cool bits of Jodrey (I never get sick of this wreck), then made our way back to the bow, where we started up the wall, for deco.

We did most of our 20′ stop at the deco stool, then made our way over to the bowl, and did our 6-up!

Another amazing Jodrey day!

Ahhh… such goodness, and smiles all around!

Bottom Time: 1 hour, 51 mins.
Max. Depth: 204′
Water Temp.: 64F


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Categories : Two-Oh-One-Four

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