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!
Well, what can I say? 2012 has been a year of adventure, and even took us to far away lands, that we never thought we would see!
Of course, we always start the year off in the confines of the icy cold quarry water.
Of course, it stays like this until the beginning of April…
In February, we had another AGGAST adventure! Laurynn, Kathryn, Karen, and Sonya came to the Great White North, for some of this Ice Diving stuff! Of course, we had a bunch of other friends join us, too!
There were even really neat cupcakes!
Our group shot!
Le Princessi was out to play, as well.
We did have a blast, and we even ended up being DUI Dogs!
In March, the free divers came back! They are such a great group of people, and the fact that they free dive under the ice, just blows me away!
Steve and I then went down to Mexico, and did the DPV Cave Workshop, with Danny. What an amazing week!
We had a couple of days off in between, and went diving with Laurynn and Kathryn. Kathryn took some wicked shots of us, in Minotauro!
Lowering scooters down at Nohoch, was pretty crazy, too…
On our last day, Fred took us to a spot along the ocean that had some flow coming out of it. It was a most awesome day, in the ocean!
Pic taken by Fred Devos…
We had many fun dives in the St. Lawrence River, with new friends and already made friends.
Then, the trip of a lifetime… We were invited onto Elena’s boat, and took a trip around the world (40 hours of travel), to Truk Lagoon. I don’t think I have enough words to describe how incredible this trip was. We met some great friends, were treated like royalty, and did some absolutely amazing dives.
I saw my first sea turtle, got dive-bombed by some big fish (which made me shriek), played with “Nemos,” and saw some of the most amazing wrecks, that I could ever imagine!
Below pics taken by Kevin Davidson…
Pic taken by Leigh Cunningham…
Once we returned, and got back into the River, our 5 year search finally resulted in the finding of that darn truck. Many others have seen it before us, but we just couldn’t seem to find it… until July, 2012. I guess we had to go to Truk, before finding the Truck? Wah wah wah…
Pic taken by Eric’s camera, on a timer…
Steve taught some Fundamentals and DPV 1 courses, as well as did some Rec to Tech upgrades.
Ken and Debbie came for a visit, too!
Mike, Ken, Debbie, Me…
We made it to Kingston, for a long weekend BBQ, just like old times!
Eric and I joined in on a charter with Bottom Time Diving, to help with the SOS Eastcliffe Hall mooring buoy. Luc, Frank, and Sandy had most of it covered, so Eric and I tidied up some of the line. Some crazy surface currents, there!
Then it was time for the 5th Annual Brockville Canadian Invasion! People came from far and wide, and a good time was had by all (I hope)! 🙂 Fred Devos joined us, and gave us a presentation on the Mexico Cave Exploration Project (MCEP), with updates from Ox Bel Ha.
Jenni M was certified this year, and we went to the SOS BBQ, and a dive on the Connie! What a fun day!
The visibility has not been great in the River, this year. I wonder if it has something to do with how warm it got, so quickly. There is also a shortage of zebra mussles, these past couple of years. They are invasive, and cover absolutely everything, but they also give us better vis.
We did quite a few longer scooter dives, this year… and did some investigating in parts that we hadn’t been to before.
Our good friends at DUI made a trip to Alexandria Bay, and since it wasn’t too far, we went to visit! We also did a couple of dives (of course)!
Eric V., Susan L., Me, Steve, Frankie Boy!
Blake, Steve…
Andy, doin’ it Gangnam Style…
I even tried an RB80 on, for size…
We finally scootered out to the Eastcliffe Hall from shore, which was a lot of fun… Even though I came close to thumbing the dive, due to the 2″ visibility, which eventually turned into really nice vis.
…and even more dives, in different parts of the River!
Left to Right, Top to Bottom: Eric, Raluca, John, Corey, James, Steve…
Eric, CoRal, Steve…
We also had more friends come to visit, from the US! Eric P. and Tim F. spent their US Thanksgiving weekend with us. We spent a couple of days at the quarry, and a day at the River! We did have other friends join us, too!
Kevin L., Tim F., Me, Eric P. …
Left to Right, Top to Bottom: Eric P., Bob S., Tim F., John B., Oren L., Steve…
We then had a small army travel down to Mexico, for some cavezzzzzzz! There were over 30 in our group, and there were even more that we joined in with! Our group had different tasks, to help out with the Mexican Cave Exploration Project (MCEP), retrieving sensors from different systems, as well as helping out at Yax Chen/Ox Bel Ha. Thanks so much to Fred, Chris, Danny, Angelica, Jorge, and Eduardo for handling such a giant group, and helping everything to run so smoothly!
We visited many different systems, and were once again mesmerized by the Mexico CAVEZZZZZZ!
Me, coming out of Mayan Blue: B Tunnel. Pic taken by Ali Fikree!
Messing around in the basin of Mayan Blue. Pic taken by Ali Fikree!
Heleen also took some video of us, in Dos Pisos. What a stunning cave!
…and Xtabay/Chac Mool…
There are a few missing from the group shot, but most of us are here!
With such an event-filled year, it is hard to believe that we could beat this one!
Since our Free Diving friends were not able to come out last year, it has been two years since we have seen them. We were happy that they were able to come out this year, and we were able to “shoot” them! Mike Grebler was also along for some Picture-Taking Goodness.
François Leduc is the current president of AIDA Canada, that the group is all a part of. They train in Quebec, and travel the world for competitions. It is a real treat to be able to share this with them!
The hole was nice an open, and the beach entry was the easiest it has been all winter.
Steve, Eric, and I timed our entry for when the Free Divers were ready, and were on our way.
Steve brought his scooter along, so that his video camera had more stability, and handed it off to Eric, while he took Serge’s for a test run. They would interchange, throughout the dive. 🙂
We made our way over to the plane, which would be our post, for the dive.
They started coming down, from one of their three entry points. Eric gets a Dive-By buzz from Philippe Beauchamp…
I find it absolutely amazing that these people are able to do this, and it still gives me the “heebeejeebees,” when I watch them swim from hole to hole. They are incredible to watch!
Warwick Long flies by for a pose!
Lionel Bernard has some fun!
AIDA Canada president, François Leduc…
Philippe even had fun with some bubbles…
I just love being able to be a part of this, and helping to make memories for the divers.
Of course, we had to take a couple of shots of us, too!
Steve…
Eric…
..and… of course, me hamming it up for a self-portrait!
Bottom Time: 49 mins.
Max Depth: 29′
Water Temp: 37F
Vis.: Not too shabby!
A wonderful group of people, and I look forward to some fun projects with them, this year! Thanks guys ‘n’ gal! 🙂
This year has been another wonderful adventure, and we were blessed with some really amazing new and existing friendships.
We usually do a New Year’s Day dive, which we did, but it ended up being on the 2nd, instead of the 1st. There was not much snow on the ground, and the quarry was still open!
It did not take long for the quarry to freeze, and Ice Diving Goodness Season was upon us. I was very fortunate, to be able to test the DUI Heated Undergarment, too!
Then there was the release of the movie, Sanctum. A group of us went to see it, on its second night of showing, and decided to do a parody of it, the following day. We had quite a bit of fun, filming Sanked ‘Em. There were so many tears of laughter had, and thoughts of a sequel. Thanks to Chris Phinney, for his handy dandy camera work, and editing while being a passenger, on the way back home!
Then… Jacob came to visit, and try this ice diving thing! He was just in time, as this was the last weekend of an ice-covered quarry!
We were even able to take him down to the river, for some Scootering Goodness!
John Bailey got a bad ass tattoo!
We also hosted a GUE Meet ‘N’ Greet, which brought some new faces, and shared some information about GUE.
Andy and I, at the quarry!
Fred and Angelica came to town, too. It was really great to be able to share some of our dive sites with Fred, and to spend some time with both of them!
Raphael, Denis, Mick, and Mark came up for a visit too, and we went out for some St. Lawrence River diving!
We spent some more time doing some exploring, in the St. Lawrence River. We did some nice three hour dives, with our scooters.
Becky and I had threatened on many occasions to go diving together, and did not seem to be able to coordinate. Then the stars aligned, and Becky came up to dive with us! We had a blast!
I could have sworn that I saw David on one of the dives…
Becky took some shots of us, too (Below pics by Becky Kagan Schott)…
We then had the 2011 Brockville Canadian Invasion. This was the biggest group to date (50 people), and everyone was just absolutely wonderful. Thanks to all for being so wonderful!
I was also very fortunate to get one of the first Light Monkey wings, in which I started diving at the Invasion. This is a really nice wing, in which I have tried a few different tank combinations with.
*Thumbs up!* Thank you, Light Monkey!
Forest Rothchild did a write-up of his thoughts on the Invasion. Thank you, Forest!
Then came the Kingston Invasion, which was smaller this year, but still much fun!
After the Invasions, we were finally able to meet Heleen and Sander, who came to visit us from Holland. They had been to Alberta for a week, before seeing us, then we took them out for some dives, and to see the infamous plane! We had been looking forward to meeting them for a few years, and the time finally came! w00t!!!
Here are Heleen’s videos, from the Quarry, Kinghorn and the Back Mine!
I then took a trip to Seattle, while Steve left for his RB80 training, where I met some of the coolest kids on the block, and the “AGGAST” sisters were born! Leg Number One of the AGGAST (All Girls GUE All Star Team) sisters world adventures. This was the first time I had been in salt water, since before I had any GUE training. That is, apart from below the halocline… 😛 What an amazing place to dive, and a really fantastic GUE community. I can see why people love diving here! There are octos and wolf eels, and so much life! Anyone hiring in Seattle?
We even witnessed an octopus riding a wolf eel!
Laurynn’s video of the underwater rodeo!
My videos of Keystone Jetty (GUE day)Â and the Day Island Wall…
When Steve got back from his RB80 training, he hit the water with Blake and Steve S.
I ventured out with some other friends, too.
At the end of October, a group of us headed down to Mexico, for two weeks of Cave Diving Goodness. A few were taking Cave 1, a few taking Cave 2, and a few of us just going diving! We did some absolutely amazing dives, and each day, the dives seemed to be even more amazing, topping it off with a dive at Ox Bel Ha, on our last day.
One of our favourites was going to the Boa Restriction, in Grand Cenote/Sac Actun. Gorgeous cave and a lot of fun! Another highlight was Tux Ka Paxa, where we saw Mastadon bones. Just an absolutely incredible trip! That is, when we finally got there, and finally got our rental car. 😉 We even saw a Puma cross a jungle road, but still no “Tadantulas.” Well.. at least Steve and I didn’t see one. It seems everyone else did!
Me, in Dos Ojos…
Back to Canada, we went, where the water was significantly chillier than in the Mexico cavezzz… We still managed over an hour on the triggers!
Throughout the year, we made a couple more attempts at finding that darn truck, including the beginning of December.
We still haven’t found that thing, which brings us to the end of four years of looking for it. I think the other people that have seen it are photoshopping it into their pictures. Either that, or they move it, every time we go looking for it! 😀 Maybe next year! At least I got my new Santi undergarments in time for winter diving!
That brings us full circle, preparing for our season of winter ice diving. We recently went out to the quarry, to put in some “permanent lines,” for easier ice diving reference!
In between all of these adventures were also Fundamentals classes, in which Steve was teaching, and I was helping. Allan came up to intern, too!
I also had two photos chosen by National Geographic, in their Daily Dozen. At least one of them was supposed to have made it into the magazine, but I have no idea which issue. Two of them were made into Nat Geo wallpaper downloads. Thank you, Nat Geo! w00t!
A Year In Video…
If Steve and I have half of the adventures in 2012, that we had in 2011, we will be very lucky! *Cheers* to happy and safe Diving Goodness in 2012! Let the planning begin!!
Steve and I headed down to the mighty Ktown on Friday night, to sit in on a split weekend Fundies course. This was Steve’s first course that he was interning on, on the road to becoming a GUE instructor. I like sitting in on classes, as I enjoy reabsorbing information. Friday night was some classroom stuff, Saturday started off at the pool, for the swim and breath hold tests, then back to the classroom again!
Sunday was dive day. There were four students ~ Two in doubles and two in single tanks. Dive one was a “see where you’re at dive,” and Steve had the video camera going. I went in with Tom R for a leisurely dive in the Brule Road Quarry. We dropped down, did our valve drills, swam around the boat, found a ton of bottles, and Tom even found a gold necklace… We watched the students for a while, and surfaced with them. The two of us then went back to shore, but sat at the surface for a bit.
Bottom Time ~ 48 mins.
Max. Depth ~ 26′
Water Temp. ~ 55 above, 52 below thermocline
Vis. ~ 30′ ish
We saw some familiar faces gearing up to get in, and ended up chatting for a while. I wasn’t sure if I was going to last a whole lot longer on the second dive, as my back was a little sore, so I warned Tom that I may pull out the thumb. Back down we went.. back to the boat… through the boat…while my mask flooded… We made our way back to the class, where we watched a bit, then ascended with them. Tom wanted to take a turn with the camera, so Steve and I hovered nearby. After a few propulsion exercises, Steve and I were to bring the reel in.. Steve started, then handed me the prize! I reeled in, and we surfaced. I was then elected to be one of the single tank students’ buddy for her Valve Drill and S Drill, and I had to play “dummy.” She did the drills without a hitch, then did a timed ascent to the surface. Steve and I went back down for the lift bag, then came in. What a fun day!
Was I ever glad I had my She-P!!!!!!!
Bottom Time ~ 57 mins.
Water Temp. ~ 55/52
Max. Depth ~ 25′
Vis. ~ 30′ ish
Chanb77's Weblog 
Recent Comments