Twenty-Twelve….. What A Year!

31 12 2012

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!

http://www.dui-online.com/testimonals/2012/team_aggast.html

Here is a video of our weekend!

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!

*Cheers* to 2013!


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Categories : Twenty 12

US Thanksgiving Holiday Diving Goodness!

29 11 2012

Friday, November 23rd, 2012 ~

After arriving in the wee hours of the morning, our guests Tim F. and Eric P. had a bit of a rest, then we were up and at ’em, for some Quarry Diving Goodness! Steve was under the weather, so we had to leave him behind, and headed up to the Quebec side.

We also met Kevin L. up there, who was joining us for the day! It was a very grey day, but I brought my camera anyway, to see what kind of shots I could get. Without strobes, I knew that any shots below 40′ would be dull and grainy.

After our gear and bubble checks, I took advantage of the light in the shallows…

Eric P.

Tim F.

Kevin L.

We made our way out to the plane, where there was a new box of goodies…

We played around with the toys for a while (yes, we cleaned up after ourselves, and returned all toys to the box), and then found an extremity…

“Nice to meet you…”

You know… You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can’t pick your friend’s nose!

We then made our way to the boat, where we took turns swimming through…

Then, down for a visit to the sub, and back up…

Of course, we had to go and visit Morry (the resident shark) for a few pictures.

Bottom Time: 49 mins.
Max. Depth: 61′
Water Temp.: 48F

A great way to start the weekend!

We packed up, and went for a yummy dinner, at Boston Pizza!

Saturday, November 24th, 2012 ~

Today, we were back at the quarry, but added more friends, plus scooters! I decided to leave the UW camera at home, since the sun was hiding. At least I have some surface shots.

We haven’t seen THIS guy in a while!

A pic of the quarry…

Tim, flushing up to be the Michelin Man!

We geared up, and took the guys on a tour of the quarry. We were able to zip around the entire area, as well as drop down to see the cars. The water was pretty chilly down there, and I could actually hear the crispness of my exhaling bubbles… Yeah, yeah… Probably narc’d, right? 🙂 I swear, I can hear how cold my bubbles are!

Of course, we had a bit of Shenaniganry, before making our way back in.

Bottom Time: 50 mins.
Max. Depth: 105′
Water Temp.: 44F (below thermocline)

We dropped our gear off at home, then went out for some Viet Cuisine!

Sunday, Novemer 25th, 2012 ~

Timmy’s for breakfast, and then it was down to the Rivaaaaaaa! The sunshine was very welcoming!

Our group grew even more today, and we had decided on going to visit the old Chevy truck.

I think Oren is glad to be back!

There was also a bit of Gangnam Style going on…

Caught ya, Bob!

Steve jumped in for a glove leak test…

JB, about to gear up!

Discussing the plan of attack…

We teamed up in pairs, even though we were going to stick together. It is easier to keep track of one buddy, instead of 5. Poor Tim was stuck with me. 😛

We headed over to the Gaskin, took our bearing on the trigger, and headed towards the truck. Since the water is cooling off a bit quickly, we opted to stay on the trigger a bit longer, instead of drifting more. Once we thought we were getting close, we let up off of the trigger, spread out, and kept our eyes peeled. Tim and I were on the North side of the brigade, and I had a feeling that we were in the “right” spot, for the truck.

Sure enough, I saw a shadow, as we drifted along. I signaled to Tim, then signaled over to the other guys.. It’s here! It’s here!

w00t! Happy Dances, all around! We took turns checking it out, then made our way back to shore. We saw a fairly large pike, on the way back, and the visibility wasn’t all that great, but it was much better than it has been, lately.

Very much fun was had!

Bottom Time: 1 hour, 4 minutes
Max. Depth: 98′
Water Temp.: 46F

Of course, there was fun dive discussion, before everyone went on their travels home. It was really great to have such a great day of fun, and it was nice to have new visitors!

Y’all come back now, ya hear! 😛


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Categories : Twenty 12

Park It

12 11 2012

Sunday, November 11th, 2012 ~

After paying our respects for Remembrance Day, we ventured down to Centeen Park, to see how the visibility was doing, in the channel. We packed the 26s, since the water is chilling, and longer river dives will have to wait until late spring, now.

When we arrived, we saw hundreds of geese, taking over the waterfront. Since the city had removed the fake foxes and “police tape,” the geese had returned to the lawn. We were dodging goose “bombs,” everywhere we stepped.

A small section of geese…

James, John B., and Eric B. met us for some channel surfing. The sun was shining, which was really nice, and we had a surprise day of 20C, outside! What a beautiful day to dive!

We brought our gear down, and once we geared up and got in the water, it was definitely a bit chilly on our faces. It doesn’t take long to acclimate your face to the water, but that initial face dunk is definitely “refreshing.” We finished our gear checks, verified stage bottles, and were off. The visibility was definitely improving, but still had a bit of a milky glow to it.

We made our way to the park bench, and before carrying on with our plan, James and John decided to drop down into the channel. There was a bit of leakage going on, so they cut it a bit shorter. We carried on for another 7 minutes, then also dropped down. The visibility was fantastic! We saw a few neat bottles, and were in an area of silty dirt river bed. We did not see many fish on this dive, with the exception of a few unlucky ones, with a white “fuzz” wrapped around them.

As we drifted along, we came up to a spot where there were some giant boulders, as well as a small, rocky area, that was very interesting. There were a few items strewn about, including some large round tins. They were almost like giant paint cans. I didn’t touch them, as those kinds of items usually fall apart, if you do.

We spent a little time at depth, but made our way towards the wreck of the Gaskin before too long. The water temps are starting to drop, and our drifts are starting to get a bit shorter! Once there, we didn’t stick around very long, but headed back to the entry.

I really enjoy these dives. Even though we use the same entry when we are here, we always have different places to go and see, dependent on where we drop into the channel. I also enjoy the variance of the currents, and how they are never the same. That, and I have good buddies to play with!

The entry, also showing how low the water levels are, right now. The water is usually over at least the bottom step.

Bottom Time: 1 hour, 14 mins.
Max. Depth: 107′
Water Temp.: 48 F
Visibility: 20′ to 70′ in the channel

Once we got out, we did have some chatter, of course.

We also picked up our gear…

As we brought the gear up, the geese were also changing what side of the park to be on. They were quite leery of us, and would freeze, if we walked near them. I thought it was pretty funny when their procession halted, as I was about to walk through. They waited until I was done, then carried on, to the rest of the gaggle…

After packing up, we headed over to the pub for some Indian food and salad (well, that’s what I had). I have a feeling that there aren’t many river dives left in this season! Soon, we will be quarry-bound!


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Categories : Twenty 12

Make This One Count!

29 10 2012

Sunday, October 28th, 2012 ~ 

Since a few of us are otherwise occupied for the next few weeks, we wanted to do a really good dive, this week. We wanted to “make it count,” seeing as by the time we get back at it, we may be quarry-bound for the winter (Note: may be). 🙂

We met James, John, Cory, Raluca, and Eric at the River, and decided to go in from a different spot. We wanted to do a little looking around, in places that we hadn’t been yet. We brought our gear down to the water, avoided getting sucked into the mud, and discussed our plan. We had a few different options, and decided on an island to scooter around, drop into the channel, drift for a bit, then make our way back in. Steve, Eric, and I would be in front, with John, James, and CoRal in a line, behind us.

Muddy entry (it got pretty mucky, as we got in)…

Putting our fins on was a bit of a task, due to the animal that was the mud. We finally wrestled our fins on, and decided to surface swim out a bit, to do our gear checks. The weeds were plentiful and thriving, so we swam out past them. We got into about 10′ of water, and as we peeked under, we saw what appeared to be some pretty sweet visibility. Probably the best we have seen all year! W00 hoo!

Gear checks done, bubble checks, and upstream, we went! The visibility was absolutely amazing. We had a pretty easy go of it for a little while, and then hit some pretty strong current. We were still able to push through it, and had a few laughs along the way. Once we got to our target island, we turned, zig-zagged, and eventually made our way into the channel. We had a nice descent into the channel, where we hit some pretty rock ‘n’ roll currents. Blake, you weren’t kidding… Holy washing machine, Batman! :O There were some pretty crazy currents, upswells, downswells, and a few crazy depth changes. Whoa, Nelly! I can’t say that we all stayed shoulder to shoulder, but we did stick together, and were able to handle ourselves, while being tossed around, a little.

We then drifted for a little while, settled out, then came back up to about 70′, where we found some much easier current to drift with. We then came upon a little wreck that we had “found,” last year (it has been found before). With this amazing visibility, we were actually able to see it, this time. We then made our way back in, swam through the thick weeds, and back into the thick mud, to get out.

Bottom Time: 81 minutes
Max. Depth: 113′ (thanks to the downswell)
Water Temp.: 55F
Visibility: About 70′ (Crisp for about 15′, and a little milkier past that, to approx. 35′ – Best vis. all year)

A couple of group shots, with some smiley faces!

We did have just a few laughs, as we brought our gear up…

Yep… I think we made this one count! What a fun adventure!


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Categories : Twenty 12

Scooter-Bound To The Eastcliffe Hall

24 10 2012

Sunday, October 21st, 2012 ~ 

Today’s adventure was to scooter to the Eastcliffe Hall, from shore. It is not an exceptionally easy task due to navigation, poor visibility, and some very strong currents.

We arrived to some locked gates at the park, so went next door, and did actually see someone working security.

Eric, chasing down the security fella, to find out where we could get in…

An entry that we did not use…

We checked out a couple of entry points, and opted on one close to the docks.

Since the boats are out of the water, we found a neat little spot where we dropped our gear in. It was extremely gooey here, and as we got in, there were places where we sank right down, into the mud. That made for some tricky fin donning and bottle clipping.

Once we finally got ourselves finned and clipped, we started off, out of the bay. The visibility was absolutely horrible, to the point where you couldn’t even see much past your hand, on your scooter. We knew the vis would be bad in the shallows, and we surface scootered out for a bit, until we got to the marker buoys. We dropped down, and we still could not see anything. The vis just wasn’t opening up. I could feel my thumb get a little itchy, and threaten to come out. I am not afraid of a little bad vis, but to do a 2 hour + dive in this stuff seemed just pointless.

I figured I would have a little faith, and see if we got a little reprieve from the milkiness. Finally, we started to see a little more of our scooters. Still not great, but it was getting better. Ok… my thumb tucked itself back around the goodman handle of my light, and we carried on. On our way out, there was a freighter that passed overhead, that was so incredibly loud, that it felt about 2 inches away from us (no, it wasn’t really that close). It made the earth shake!

After about 30 minutes on the trigger, the visibility really started to improve, and was actually really good! We took a couple of detours (which was inevitable, with the vis that brought us here), but finally made it to the wreck. The current was down, and about 30′ of vis, on the wreck. Way better than when Eric and I dived it last.

We scootered over some really nice sand banks, that could have been taken right out of a desert, as well as maneuvered over some large boulders and rocky areas, in absolutely ripping current.

We toured around, played for a bit, dropped into a couple of the holds, and decided to head back. Along the way, my scooter started to get very tired. Instead of drag behind, I hitched a ride on Steve’s crotch strap, and we were back on track, as we made our way through the shallows. There was quite a bit of surge going on, and I trying to keep from feeding the fish (yes, I was successful). 😛

La la la la la…. We’ll be there soon… La la laaaaaa.

We made it back to the mud, where we all had pretty big grins on our faces, from yet another most excellent adventure! It is definitely never boring in the St. Lawrence River!

Bottom Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Max. Depth: 90′
Water Temp.: 57
Visibility: Varied from 3 inches to 25′ (but pretty milky). Really decent vis on the wreck.

Chatting, after our dive!

Dusk crept up on us, as we packed up…

Once we got packed up, we went to a neat little pizza joint, that Eric knew about. It took forever to get it, but once we got it, it was delicious!

So, I finally got to scooter out to this wreck. For one reason or another, I had not been able to do it! I look forward to doing it again, in the spring!

*Note to self* Bring Magnum. 🙂


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Categories : Twenty 12

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