The South West Came North

27 05 2018

Saturday, May 26th, 2018 ~ 

It has been a couple of months, since I’ve been in the water, thanks to a knock on the noggin’, but I am back in action! Steve and I were heading to Brockville, for Diving Goodness! Jason Wright was not too far away, and was joining us for a couple of days of diving, too. Of course, Mike P. was in on the action, too!

We met at Centeen, for around 10, got Jason set up with some gear, and were eager to get in the water. It was a bit busy, with courses.

Getting gear ready, and analyzing tanks…

33661590_10211941099019773_6996338902973808640_n

A big shout out to SOS 1000 Islands, for the work they have done, putting in the second set of steps, to the water. The hooks, for stages and scooters is extra helpful! *GO SOS!*

As I was gearing up, I ripped my glove. I was attempting to wear my 5mm wet gloves, and… rrrrrrrip, right at the seam. I was already committed, so I toughed it out.

We got in the water, did gear checks, and away we went. Mike was on the outside left, then Steve, Jason, and myself, taking up the right side. We scootered upstream, for just over 33 minutes, then dropped into the channel. The sun must have been hiding, because it was pretty much a night dive. We saw a few neat bottles, and Jason even found a bit of a plate, but it wasn’t carry-worthy. Mike did find a pretty neat one, too. We drifted along for a bit, and  hit a back eddy, that pushed us a little more shallow, so we hit the trigger back to our planned depth (100′).

When we reached our max drift time, we headed back up to 65′, where we visited the Gaskin. Of course, we did… that’s our returning reference! Also, it was neat to show it to Jason, who is used to tiny little boats, at the bottom of the lake he dives. It’s amazing, that the line we ran, years ago, is still in decent shape!

We headed back in, and did our little bit o’ deco, where I managed to get a couple of photos. The vis was terrible, so I didn’t get much.

Mike, Steve, and Jason…

DSC_2595

…and again, with a photobomber…

DSC_2597

Of course, a Chantelle-fie!

DSC_2596

We definitely had a lot of fun!

Bottom Time: 1 hour, 47 minutes
Max. Depth: 106′
Water Temp.: 51F

We went for after-dive food, at Boston Pizza, then back to Mike’s, for a gather-round-the-fire-pit session. Chris P. was also in town, and came over to join us!

33714991_10211941099539786_5205460831873007616_n

I can’t tell you what we chatted about… you know, because what happens at the fire pit, stays at the fire pit! Ok, ok… we roasted giant marshmallows! Tomorrow’s dive, to follow! 😀


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Twenty-Oh-One-Eight

A Barrel Of Laughs

20 02 2017

Sunday, July 17th, 2016 ~

Today’s dive is brought to you by a whole bunch of fun! Our meeting time was for 1pm, at Centeen Park. We didn’t have much of a plan, until we got there (yes, we did discuss our dive plan). There were seven of us, and since we figured that the visibility was going to be “pants,” in the shallows, we were a team of two, a team of three, and another team of two (Gareth L. – That term was for you). We would still stay together, but we opted to make smaller buddy teams, in case we got separated in the muck. Good plan…

Steve and I were together, followed by Andy and Chris, then Mike, Jen, and Fred. We did our gear and bubble checks, then away we went.

We traveled upstream in the shallows, which had about 5′ of milky visibility. Steve and I were in the lead, so we stopped a couple of times, to see if we were all still together. We managed to stick together for the first bit, but the vis proved to be tougher, today. Jen, Mike, and Fred had changed depth a bit, to see if the vis would improve. Chris and Andy were right behind us. There were a couple of giant sheepshead carp, that didn’t expect to see us, in their spot.

We carried on for a bit, then dropped into the channel, where we could actually see where we were going. As we scootered across, I started singing a made-up song, in my reg. It was absolutely ridiculous, and all it took was one giggle to myself, to realize how silly it was, which made me break out in hysterics. Steve looked over at me, like… wtf??? There was no way I could explain myself, while on the trigger, so I just kept on laughing. I had tears coming down my face, and water was sneaking into the bottom of my mask, but I just couldn’t stop. That is, until we reached the channel. It was DRIFTING TIME! w00t w00t! We went a bit further south, this time, to see if we could find anything different.

We found a broken, green teapot, some neat bottles, and then… as soon as I started my gas switch, we happened upon a giant freakin’ anchor. Of course, there was mad current there, so I tried to kick against it, while doing my switch, so that everyone could see the anchor. Mission accomplished.

Shortly after the anchor, Chris and Andy had reached their drifting dive plan limit, and headed back toward the entry.

Steve and I carried on for another while, where we saw some neat rock piles, more bottles, periwinkle shells, rocks, bottles, periwinkle shells – you get the picture. Ohh.. We did also find the outer rim of what could have been a basin of some sort, a trail of coal, and a whole bunch of golf balls.

After an hour of drifting, we started our ascent to 64′, where we arrived at the Gaskin. We did a quick tour, then made our way back. As we followed the line back, there were some people (I think – we couldn’t see anything) creating huge billows of silt, to the point where it wasn’t safe for us to scooter, anymore. Luckily, we didn’t need the line to get back, otherwise we’d be in absolute blindness. We found the pipe, different line on the pipe, then to 20′, where we did our deco… and met up with Jen, Mike, and Fred. They had also just arrived, and witnessed the billowing.

There were a lot of laughs, and it was really nice to have such fun, with friends!

Bottom Time: 2 Hours, 25 mins.
Max. Depth: 108′
Water Temp.: 71F
Visibility: 0′ to 40′ (depending on where we were)

We packed up, and there was a bit of chit-chat, too…

13769472_10207032749194095_2837963710540278612_n

Cheese, Jen and Mike!

13718535_10207032876117268_5983576992712033638_n

I managed to get a sneak photo, of Steve!

13700015_10207032876157269_4224412147226992916_n

Of course, there was an after-dive meal – still, no shortage of shenaniganry!

13707740_10207033469092092_5172101839439116498_n


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : 20 Sweet 16

2015 Brockville Canadian Invasion

18 08 2015

Thursday, August 13th, 2015 ~

Woo Hoo! The time had finally arrived, for the 8th Annual Brockville Canadian Invasion! Steve and I had arrived at Caiger’s Resort, late Wednesday night. It was nice, not having to rush, to be there for the Thursday shore dives!

We loaded up the coolers of sandwiches, drinks, and various treats, and made our way to Centeen Park.

Invasion Goodness! Those benches sure are handy!

Various dives were done, between buddy teams; some went to the Gaskin, some to see the water park statues, and some did scooter dives!

Darth Nash, about to get in, with the Raph of Kahn...and a Phinney photobomb!

Going for a dive, at Centeen Park!Surface interval.

Our team was made up of myself, Steve, Mattias, and Frankie. The plan was to scooter upstream, for an hour, drop into the channel, and drift for about an hour (depending on the current). That is exactly what we did!

Bottom Time: 3 hours, 3 mins.
Max. Depth: 114′
Water Temp.: 71F
Vis.: Better in the channel, than in the shallows.

Gear, to go in!

This was an awesome discussion. :)

When we got back to Caiger’s, we had time to set up the next day’s gear and charge scooters, before dinner. Sleep came pretty easy.
Friday, August 14th, 2015 ~

Breakfast was around 7:00am. This is the first year that we didn’t have a buffet, so a few of us missed the serving. We were still treated to a nice, big breakfast!

There was a Rec charter (going to the Muskie and Lillie), a Tech charter (going to the Jodrey), and more shore diving, at Centeen.

Mattias – all the way from Sweden, hopping on a charter, to the Jodrey…

Mattias, getting ready for a dive on the Jodrey!

Rec charter, heading to the Muskie/Lillie…

Loading the boats! Osprey

Piotr and Ania…

Anna and Piotr

Mark and Steve, getting ready for their dive…

 

Today, I was diving with Eric B. and Eric V. The Erics. 🙂

Our plan was to scooter 40 minutes upstream, drop into the channel, and drift. We would then come back up to the Gaskin, and take a shot, for Project Baseline. As we dropped into the channel, we saw a bunch of different fish, which was really nice to see. We saw sheepshead carp, sturgeon, pike, bass, and walleye. Very nice to see them, after not seeing very many, in the last year. We have seen more sturgeon, than pike, and they were baby sturgeon, to boot!

As we drifted along, in the channel, we came to a structure, that we had never seen before. It was approximately 12′ high, by about 8′ wide, on four sides. Half was rounded, half was square, and it was hollow. There was a fish having a wee snooze, that didn’t seem phased by my camera. I did take a photo, but the ambient light was pretty low, at 100′.

dsc_1938201

We came back up, after our planned drift time. There were spots where the current was absolutely ripping, and we couldn’t swim against it, if we tried. There were also places where we had to swim and scooter a bit, because the current was non-existent.

At the Gaskin, I took a pic of the bow, we played around for a bit, then made our way back to the shallows.

The bow of the Gaskin. It was tough to get a decent shot, thanks to the visibility.

dsc_1942

As part of our plan, we tied off our scooters, did our required deco, then Eric V. practiced his bottle rotations, for his upcoming T2 course. Of course… We had to load him with all of the bottles… and I just happened to bring my camera!

Scooters, tied off, and doing deco…

dsc_1948

Yes, we just had to load Eric V. up, with bottles…

dsc_1951

Bottom Time: 2 hours, 37 mins.
Max. depth: 115′
Water Temp.: 71F
Vis.: Same as yesterday

More happy divers…

Going for a dive, at Centeen Park!

We headed back to Caiger’s, prepped gear for the next day, and… Dinner!

Again, sleep was not difficult. 🙂
Saturday, August 15th, 2015 ~

Happy Birthday, Oren! Good to have you back at the Invasion! What better way to celebrate, than go for a nice Jodrey dive? w00t!11892062_10205106629642310_5153704937251023776_n

Boat departures were at 8am. Yes… 8am. That required us to actually be at breakfast for 7am, load the boats, and get out of dodge. Life is hard. 😛

The boats met at customs, which wasn’t too surprising, since they opened a bit early, for us.

I don’t recall going to the back side, before.

11907124_10205106631002344_3373378731705285930_n

Two Tech boats (to the Jodrey), and a Rec boat (to the Keystorm and America)! I’m sure everyone can hear me saying, “Don’t forget your passports!” How ironic would it have been, if I had forgotten mine? Good thing that I didn’t. *Phew*

Eric and I had a plan for 30 minutes, with a max depth of 200′, and our deco was based on a 200′ average, even though we planned on a 170′ average. We were extra conservative.

We had a nice, easy descent, and putzed around the bow, for a bit. We went to the spot that Steve and Frankie had gone inside, had a look, and continued on. After switching to back gas, we swam and scootered a bit, and were in a different spot than we normally would start our ascent. We were a little ahead of schedule, but since we had to come up a bit anyway, we started our ascent. We did see a pretty cool beach area, at 140′! As we came up, we found a pretty neat spot to do our deco, since we hit a back eddy, and were able to do a nice, easy drift back. At 20′, we came to another relaxing spot, where we were hardly moving, and being sheltered by a large piece of wall. Excellence. Just before we had finished our 20′ stop, we scootered back around to the bowl, under the boat, hung about, and did our 6-up. A very fun adventure!

Total Dive Time: 1 hour, 22 mins. (a bit shorter than originally planned, but not far off)
Max. Depth: 185′
Vis.: Not as good as we were told that it had been the day before!

 

We boarded the boat, waited for those RB80 fellas to get back, and we headed back to Canada!

11891262_10205106634682436_5532772374285528164_n_1

Mattias and Dan, after their dive…

11902575_10205106630442330_2408775366970249823_n_1

Eric and I… It appears that I have something in my teeth. D’oh!

11870744_10205106676843490_52239120338473452_n_1

A nice little boat passed us, as we were still tied up to the mooring tree. You can’t help but wish it to sink… without any catastrophic loss of life, of course. 🙂

11903830_10205106632722387_5948050037451296900_n

We made it back to Canada (thank goodness), and as usual, we had “Picture Time!” We always have a nice photo, followed by absolute silliness.

Here we are, appearing to be functioning members of various societies…

11889494_10205114780806084_1890563271849378967_n1

…and then… the truth comes out. Apparently, Pierli can fly…

11846745_10205114781886111_699274317746245712_n

We had a delicious supper, followed by a whole bunch of prizes! Thanks to Dive Right In Scuba, 1000 Islands Pleasure Diving, Caiger’s, Exploration Diving Services, Exploration Promotions, Undirworld Diving, DUI, GUE Ontario, Ursuit (and Mattias)

11870936_10205114896088966_6730340842844487590_n

11870936_10205114896088966_6730340842844487590_n.jpg

Christian was happy with his pink t-shirt!

11889422_10205114910009314_9196532781372250775_n

11889422_10205114910009314_9196532781372250775_n.jpgMattias got a schematic of the Jodrey, to bring home – Look where I went diving!

11866393_10205114910769333_123755210935555564_n11866393_10205114910769333_123755210935555564_n.jpg

Thanks for everything, Wayne and the 1000 Islands Pleasure Diving crew!!

11887928_10205114911009339_3710205819313609019_n.jpgPierli was the lucky winner of the grand prize! A new Ursuit undergarment, donated by Mattias and Ursuit!

11873517_10205114911729357_4760179462575310061_n

11873517_10205114911729357_4760179462575310061_n.jpgWe didn’t have as many grand prizes this year, due to the fact that everyone received an Invasion 50L dry bag!

11874973_1155805441100181_2766860407594124658_o11874973_1155805441100181_2766860407594124658_o.jpg

We then got ready for Daniel’s presentation on the Mars! Notice Chris’ display of head dress!

11888064_10205114918169518_214660952004099462_n

11899768_10205114783766158_8260540683578147233_n11888064_10205114918169518_214660952004099462_n.jpg

The littlest Invasion-goers!

11866203_10205114782846135_7041822469996566519_n

11855804_10205114779926062_2022187740064160629_n_1
11899913_10205114784086166_5083148421609230970_n.jpg

Sunday, August 16th, 2015 ~

Last day of Invasion Goodness!

The Rec boat was headed to the Vickery and Kinghorn, and the Tech boats were headed to the Jodrey. Imagine that!

 

11898747_10205106631602359_2214241217238747088_n_1

Photobomb!

11218188_10205114786606229_8929578500505781778_o11218188_10205114786606229_8929578500505781778_o.jpg

11903743_10205114785286196_7493198912084257882_n.jpg

We had another fabulous, yet less-than-stellar-visibility dive. As Eric and I went over the ledge, and descended, we ended up right beside the wreck. We waved at some of out other diving friends, as we passed them, on the bow. Our plan was for 30 minutes at 200′, and we ended up having a 180′ average, by the end of our 30 minutes. w00t!

Bottom Time: 1 hour, 26 mins.
Max. Depth: 194′
Water Temp.: 71F
Visibility: Less than stellar

11880455_10205114872688381_4407337597067839171_n.jpg

Loading up gear, after our dives…

11846732_10205114872888386_1776160482612715022_n

11846732_10205114872888386_1776160482612715022_n.jpg11880455_10205114872688381_4407337597067839171_n

I swear, it wasn’t me…

11865009_10205114873128392_9219284124822337263_o11865009_10205114873128392_9219284124822337263_o.jpg

Raph of Khan, and Darth Nash…

11902274_10205114782046115_8910635310366797131_n

11902274_10205114782046115_8910635310366797131_n.jpgThey do match nicely, don’t they? 😛

11056633_10205114782526127_2099619715409207296_n11056633_10205114782526127_2099619715409207296_n.jpg

I must thank Jen and Mike, at Undirworld, for the millions of cubic feet of gas, that they must have used, and for the delivery guys! 😛

Thanks to Steve, for filling all of my cubic footage, and for hauling it (yes, I did help to load – I think I loaded about 14 sets of doubles).

I did unload all of these sets of 130s, the day after!

11229832_10205114873688406_6758109004485694936_n111229832_10205114873688406_6758109004485694936_n.jpg

It was an absolutely fantabulous 4-day weekend of friends, fun, laughter, and a ton of Diving Goodness!! I can’t even begin to share how amazing this group of friends are, and I look forward to seeing everyone, August 2016! w00t w00t!


Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Twenty Fifteen

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…

dsc_1883

 

 

Other bits, laying near the wreckage…

dsc_1888

 

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…

dsc_1897

 

 

 

Oren…

dsc_1895

 

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

dsc_1894

 

All three’s a charm!

dsc_1899

 

Nice bottle!

dsc_1892

 

Steve’s new-found snorkel…

dsc_1901

 

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…

dsc_1902

dsc_1904

 

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


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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…

10410281_10204574499219382_6397084809104668380_n

 

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

11252161_10204574499619392_3959435200253253888_n

 

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

11264869_10204574501419437_1545150555704576183_n

 

Andy…

11150880_10204574501939450_5495704893793349196_n

 

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

11038470_10204574498899374_7017826489193215193_n

 

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…

10498153_10204578724125002_3095145733727748311_o

 

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

1-10383751_10204578724685016_1811463783795836417_o

 

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

11238277_10204578725445035_1250417964271103631_o

 

Poor thing is really falling apart…

10854299_10204578726085051_8438234862691036077_o

Matthieu, outside the stern, of the wreck…

11262111_10204578733885246_2433039519046304253_o

 

Nick, inside the wreck…

11336919_10204578728845120_8675738580524018698_o

 

Roger, inside the wreck…

11013244_10204578730805169_1333570828037744106_o

 

The stern is pretty badly broken up, too.

11212622_10204578733165228_171919157019985965_o

 

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

11312897_10204578733605239_6361419065200104693_o

 

Diving Goodness!

11140268_10204574506139555_401036922256546866_n1

 

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!

11154989_10204578734405259_4538818720658392784_o

 

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

11270445_10204578735805294_4472096315222631988_o

 

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.

11025845_10204578734045250_9001164536313345694_o

 

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!

11351368_10204574501139430_1539056333589041909_n

 

Steve’s dive debriefing…

10646850_10204574502739470_4488504273527512034_n

 

Sylvain, putting his gear together…

 

11070206_10204574503259483_3000100733059017146_n

Mario and Lisa, before their second dive!

11119003_10204574503819497_2473521597847118131_n

 

Marianne, after her dives! Smiles are good!

11060910_10204574504499514_8579210394644228518_n

 

Marianne, Steve, Denis, and Sylvain…

10982613_10204574504779521_7756961897070724210_n

 

Denis even got to try out his scooter!

1610928_10204574538900374_6683138425304539833_n

 

A great day!

11222891_10204574507099579_3118376326086580111_n

 

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!

11141147_10204574504259508_536496511149759846_n

 

They came in handy!

10502156_10204574506859573_1318933257096394357_n

 

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!

11143179_10204574499819397_1277537084940763983_n

 

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

 

 


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Twenty Fifteen

« Previous Entries