Friday, August 6th, 2010 ~
I received a message from Fred Devos, back in July, saying that he was going to be in the area, and would be happy to give a couple of presentations on Mexico Cave Exploration and Intro to Survey. I had really wanted to plan a “DIR Ontario Day” this year, but just hadn’t had the time to put everything together. This was a good reason to get off my butt and do it. This would be a wonderful opportunity for our dive community, for us to learn from some of Fred’s experiences, and about the ongoing projects in Mexico.
I had arranged for a small meeting room in Kingston, and started to spread the word.
Tonight, Fred spoke about “Mexico Cave Exploration: Past, Present, and Future.” We had 18 people in attendance, from the GTA to Ottawa. Fred told us of their exploration and cave pushes in different systems in Mexico, and how they were going to progress into the future, with the Mexico Cave Exploration Project and CINDQ.
They were going to be collecting data from the cave systems, to monitor water temperatures, changing water depths, and surveying techniques. It was so fascinating, and I think most of us could have listened all night.
We were also lucky enough to watch a video that had just been shot on a recent cave exploration trip. What a treat!
Saturday, August 7th, 2010 ~
This morning, Fred had let us know that MCEP and CINDAQ were designating a Sensus to DIR Ontario, and that any of us could travel down to Mexico, remove it from one of the cave systems, and download the data from it. The sensus can record up to six months of data. What an honour… Thank you, Fred, MCEP, and CINDAQ. 🙂
Fred’s presentation this morning was an Intro To Survey, which was very interesting.
We got some background on some of the systems that the Mexico Cave Exploration Project were surveying, as well as information on the tools used to do it.
After the inside presentation, we moved outside, where we were to survey our “Motel 6 Cave.” Notice the cave sponge on the right hand side…
Fred gave us a little direction, split us into two teams, and had each team use a different method of surveying, to compare our results afterwards.
After lunch, we convened back in the Meeting Room, where Steve gave a presentation on Scooter Maintenance. He talked about scooter care while traveling, charging, trouble shooting, extra skills that need practicing when using a scooter, vacuum testing, and other useful goodies.
James from Northern Tech Diver had a table with Halcyon gear, and DUI goodies.
We even had a table set up for DIR Ontario goodies, She-Ps, and Diving Goodness T Shirts.
After a great day of learning, surveying, and some laughter, we topped off the evening with homemade ice cream from White Mountain, and a walk around the boat docks, downtown Kingston.
This was the first ever “DIR Ontario Presents…,” and I would love to continue the tradition next year.
Thank you Fred and Steve!!! We can’t wait to get down to Mexico to start downloading some data!
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