A Dip In The Shallow End

29 04 2013

Sunday, April 28th, 2013 ~

We weren’t sure where we felt like diving, so we decided on a place that Steve knew how to get to. Our goal was to hit the east side of Chimney Island across the way, head upstream around the south side of the island, then drift/scooter back around to our entry. The water wasn’t exactly tropical, so we wanted to keep our dive time to approximately an hour.

Chimney Island…

We got our gear out, and got ready to dive! We weren’t sure what was on the other side of the island, which we planned on having a look at, today!

We made it to the island pretty quickly, and along the way, there were some really neat contours of the river bed. A lot of really interesting rock formations. There really wasn’t much current in this area, and it was pretty shallow. Thank goodness there weren’t many boats in, yet. We were still keeping an ear out.

As we reached the other side of the island, we surfaced to see what was around us. There was a protrusion of rock, just west of us, that we decided to go and check out. There were a large number of seagulls chillin’ in the sunshine. They were a little surprised to see us. All I could think of was, “Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!” It was a pretty amusing sight.

As we made our way back around, the shallow water got even more shallow. There was just enough room for our bodies to move through the water, and we had to swing our scooters out to the side, so they wouldn’t break the surface. The water was warmer, since the sun was shining on us, and seeing each others’ shadows and reflections on the surface was a pretty amazing thing to see.

*Note to self* Not a place to be diving, when boats are in the water. 😉

Still, a pretty amazing dive!

Bottom Time: 1 hour, 1 minute (even though my bottom timer only registered 31 minutes)
Max. Depth: 11′ (Average Depth: 5′)
Water Temp.: 46F

Just the “tree” of us!

 


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Hop Hop Hop Into The Water

1 04 2013

Friday, March 29th, 2013 ~ 

Well, Good Friday was as good a day as any, for some Diving Goodness. We met Frankie and Christian at the quarry, for a bit of a dip!

It looks like the quarry is starting to melt, and with this gorgeous weather, it shouldn’t be too long before it’s open!

Christian buddied up with Frankie for some skills, and Steve and I went along for the ride, while Steve was going to test the Go Pro, with the scooter mount and lights set up.

Frankie was going to run the reel, but since Steve and I were ready to go first, Steve brought it in, so that we could stretch out and do bubble checks… and maybe get some footage!

Yeah.. perhaps not. The battery had spent itself. It had been charged after our last dives, but it seems that the battery drains, even when not in use. Lesson noted. On the other hand, the lights fired nicely. Steve left the rig on the line, Frankie and Christian came in, and were practicing some valve drills.

We made our way to the plane, where there was a slight bit of Shenaniganry. Steve and I played around, upside down, played with our valves, and played inside of the plane. Somebody had some cold hands (I won’t mention any names), so we made our way back in!

Another fun day, under the ice!

Bottom Time: 45 mins.
Max. Depth: 29′
Water Temp.: 37F & 39F

After-Dive shop talk…

“Follow The River.” I couldn’t resist – A reference to our parody, Sanked ‘Em…

Neat formations in the melting ice…

After our goofiness, we decided that our Good Friday dinner should be at the Vietnamese restaurant, near our house. Absolutely delicious! Then, back to our place for dive talk, galore.

 

Saturday, March 30th, 2013 ~ 

Today was RIVER DAY!!! We knew that it would be chilly, so we really didn’t expect a long dive, but at least we were back in the St. Lawrence!

The River is open for business!

The water looked exceptionally clear, at the entry.

It still looked nice, at the first corner (about 20′ deep)…

…and not too bad at the second corner (about 30′ deep)…

We got in the water, and it definitely felt pretty chilly! We were expecting 35F, which is what we got on our bottom timers (except for Steve’s – his always reads 2F lower than mine, so he got 33F – I believe mine, since it read the same as the A-Bay buoy). 😛

As we did our checks and descended, we were greeted by a ton of green goober. The algae bloom has started already, and is absolutely everywhere.

Since the water was still pretty chilly, we decided to just scooter over to the Gaskin, and Steve was going to get some footage, with the recharged Go Pro.

As we got to the wreck, it was like a force field of green algae, just everywhere. The wreck is really falling apart now, but doesn’t seem too much different from the fall, when we were last on it.

I guess we aren’t as “tough” as we used to be, and we were feeling the cold water. Only Frankie had a heated device on. So… after a short play around the wreck, we came back in.

Bottom Time: 33 minutes (yep… total wusses)
Max. Depth: 64′
Water Temp.: 35F
Vis.: Hard to tell, for all of the green goober, but better than last spring.

Even though the water was so chilly, we were totally bulked up with thick winter undies, and thick liners and dry gloves, I have to say that I felt so relaxed, and very happy to be back in the River!!!

Group shot, and group smiles!

Christian is also the proud owner of a new Light Monkey wing!!! Enjoy it, Christian!

Ahhhhh….. Diving Goodness!!!


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A Happy St. Paddy’s Quarry Day, To You!

18 03 2013

Saturday, March 17th, 2013 ~

Well, there were not any green drysuits today, but I did have my green GUE hoodie on, so I guess that counts.

Steve, Eric, Blake, and I joined forces and headed to… yes, the quarry. Our options are pretty limited in the winter, so this is where we spend a lot of our diving time.

Of course, we wondered if Blake would be up for it, since is is now a resident in the Florida cavezzz, which are just a bit warmer than the ice-covered quarry. 😀

Glove test. Yep… a little chillier than cavezz…

I wonder what Eric and Steve were up to, here…

Eric ran the line…

Steve was very relaxed, during his dive…

I think Blake was seeking cavezzz…

Illumin-Eric…

Yep… Blake was still “cool” with this whole ice diving thing. “Moose ears!”

Blake found a frog, but he looked a little bloated. I don’t think he was hibernating…

Oops… Looks like Le Princessi caught another victim!

Hawt date night!

There was even a round of golf, on the front nine…

On our way back into the shallows. You can see that our “H” cut out is still visible, even though it is completely frozen over.

Blake, just hangin’ around…

Yep… Steve is still pretty relaxed…

…and Eric is reflecting on his dive…

 

The sun finally came out, as we were exiting!

Bottom Time: 40 minutes
Max. Depth: 25′
Water Temp.: 37F

Well, what can I say? We had yet another fun-filled and excellent day of Diving Goodness, in the quarry! A great way to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day! That, and The Works, afterwards!

*Cheers to a fantastic day! Go team!


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Just Another Just Culture

5 02 2013

Saturday, February 2nd, 2013 ~ 

Since I had harassed Gareth Lock enough times to come and visit us, he finally caved. 🙂

I picked Gareth up from the airport, and Steve, Tim, and Eric B. went up to the quarry, to get a head start on getting the hole cut. It was a pretty chilly day, too. We would christen Gareth with some Canadian winter, that’s for sure!

*NOTE* The in-water pictures are horrible. I tried some new settings on my camera, and clearly they did not work well. I am posting a few anyway, to document our day. *END OF NOTE*

Gareth’s plane was late arriving, but he finally found me, and we were off to the quarry!

Once we arrived, there was already a hole cut from previous divers, so Steve had just added on, making a nice runway, for easier entry/exit (brought it more shallow).

Gareth and Steve…

Tim…

Since it was pretty cold, we geared up quickly and splashed in. Steve had the line, and led the way out to the plane.

*Reminder: Pics are not great* 🙂

Heading out…

Gareth, by the plane…

Gareth, hanging out inside the plane!

Steve, Tim, and GLOC…

There was definitely some Shenaniganry going on, but how could you expect anything else?

We then went over to visit Morrie…

I even handed my camera to Gareth, and he got a pic of me!

Yep… I think Gareth fits right in, with us…

Ooh… a diver down ice sculpture!

Or, is it Pac Man???

As we made our way back in, it was clear that Tim and GLOC didn’t want to get out…

Bottom Time: 58 minutes
Max. Depth: 41′
Water Temp.: 37F

Yes… That was fun!

 

Sunday, February 3rd, 2013 ~ 

GUE Ontario Presents: Gareth Lock – Just & Safety Cultures presentation, chez nous. A bunch of GUE Ontario members came over, each brought some food and drink, to make it a pot luck, and Gareth spoke for about two hours (including questions and some discussion).

It was an absolutely fantastic presentation, and we all walked away with more knowledge, and a little more thought into applying some of this into our every day diving. I know all enjoyed it.

We thank you so much for taking time out of your schedule, to come and shed some light with your work! Please come back soon!

We didn’t have very much time with GLOC after the presentation, and we had to rush him off to the airport, again. Perhaps one of these days, we can come and visit you, over the pond!

If you have an hour to spare, it is definitely worth the time to tune into the below presentation, of Gareth’s (recorded from another venue).

Thanks again, Gareth!!!!!!!


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Happy New Year – A Few Days After

10 01 2013

January 5th, 2013 ~

Ok, so we didn’t make it to the quarry on January 1st, but we did get there for the 5th, and to christen the new year with a dive under the ice.

When we arrived, Steve had to shovel a path for us to get to the water.

The ice looked pretty thin at the entry, so we didn’t think we would need the chainsaw.

We geared up and headed for the water. Eric had his tanks on, I was on my way, and Steve was leak testing his gloves, when he realized that the ice was a bit too thick to break up. Between the three of us working on it, we finally managed to make the hole big enough for us to squeeze through.

Eric was running the line today, followed by Steve, and then me.. with the camera.

Eric looks way farther away than he actually was…

Steve, with his RB80…

Eric…

We played around the plane for a while, and Steve actually fit inside it…

We were then greeted by the resident pike, who was looking a little hungry…

I was able to get pretty close to him…

He seemed to have either some kind of fungus on his other side, or even something left over from a hook…

We were a little concerned about him, wondering if he had enough to eat.

After a little more playing around the plane…

… we decided to make our way back in.

Steve, just below the air pocket…

Eric, bringing us in…

Oh… it’s me!

When we surfaced, we noticed a natural ice cave arrow that formed, just for us…

Bottom Time: 38 mins.
Max. Depth: 25′
Water Temp.: 39F

We packed up and headed to The Works, where we met Chris P. for some delicious dinner.

The water felt a little chillier today, even though it was still above zero. Maybe we are getting a little less tolerant to the cold??? Ah well, it was still fun to get in the water, and to see that the pike is still there!


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