Kingston Shore Wrecks
Kingston has many places for divers to go, if they can afford a charter. I cannot afford a charter, and neither can Aus. We can hardly afford to dive, what with our last year of university coming. But that does not daunt us. Oh no. Surface diving is an awesome alternative to diving, and only requires a mask. Granted, it's much more fun to surface dive with a snorkel and fins, meaning you'll also probably need booties. And, in Kingston at least, you can't swim long without getting cold, which makes it hard to hold your breath underwater. But seeing as you probably have your MFS and booties already, and you're obviously of keen mind and stout heart (and thick skin), you are not daunted by the cold or expenses. Good!
Around Kingston there are several places for snorkeling and free diving, or, as I like to refer to it when those two things are put together, surface diving. (Some of you may be scratching your heads. I prefer the term "surface diving," because many free divers are competitive, and "surface diving" doesn't carry the same connotations. You snorkel at the surface to find interesting things underwater, then you free dive from the surface to take a closer look. There's no contest to see who can hold his or her breath the longest, or who can dive the deepest, or who has the most testosterone. But that's just me. I'll use "snorkeling" for the act of swimming at the surface with a snorkel and a mask, "free diving" for the act of diving from the surface and swimming underwater, and "surface diving" for when snorkeling and free diving are combined.) The easiest place to get to, if you live downtown, is the Marine Museum. There is a man-made cove just behind the apartment complex next to the Marine Museum, and it provides for calmer waters and interesting things to look at. Mind you, the water here can become pretty deep, well beyond the range and scope of a surface diver. It's no fun surface diving if you cannot see the bottom, and it's equally no fun if you cannot reach the bottom to take a closer look. However, the Marine Museum waterfront is rather large, and you can spend hours exploring only the shallows. There is plenty of junk to see underwater, as well as a sunken dock.
The next closest place to surface dive is the HMS St Lawrence, a wreck just off of Morton Street. To actually see the wreck, you have to go into a private docking area. So far the people who tie their boats up there have been cool with us puddling around. To get to the St Lawrence, you must enter the water at Morton Street, then swim to the left along a breakwater, then enter the docking area. The St Lawrence is in very shallow water, so you can simply snorkel to see the entire thing. There are some cool things to see farther out in the lake, and it gets a little deeper so you can enjoy free diving. All in all, the HMS St Lawrence is worth seeing once, and the area is fun to explore, but it's not worth going a second time unless you're really bored.
After the St Lawrence, the next closest place is Portsmouth Harbor. The Harbor is a 30 minute walk for downtown, at the end of Yonge Street, where the Limestone Dive Center is located. Portsmouth Harbor is huge, if you're just surface diving. One can spend several hours there just exploring and looking for the anchors. There's also a wreck, as well as a bunch of cool junk just waiting to be picked up and used to play underwater baseball. Just watch that you don't pick up any pieces of the wreck. Portsmouth Harbor drops off to a comfortable three or four meters just a little ways out, and you can even snorkel along the shoreline and still be in water deep enough for free diving. Swimming along the shore takes you to the footbridge, where the water is very shallow, and teeming with life. If you swim about 100 meters out from the entry point, the water becomes five or six meters deep, just within reach of those of us who only hold our breath for thirty seconds at a time. Portsmouth is worth going to over and over again.
The next two wrecks are very close to one another, but they require a bit of walking or biking. They are both located near the Canadian Forces Base Kingston Yacht Club, or CFBKYC. They are both ships from around 1812, and are both easily accessible for surface divers. The first is located in the CFBKYC inlet. Follow the bike path from the CFBKYC building down to the beach (real sand!), and then follow the shore to the left of the beach for about fifty meters. There you can enter. The wreck is forty to sixty meters out, and in only 1.5-2.5 meters of water. It's a very long wreck, and it's very satisfying to swim underwater just above it. Don't mind the gigantic catfish, they're just watching you. On a thirty second breath hold, I doubt that we could swim along more than half the ship. The second wreck is at the mouth of the harbor, maybe 100 meters out. Just walk 106 meters along the shore to the right from the bend in the gravel driveway that goes into the yacht club. I know that it is 106 meters, because Aus measured it with his mind (and his legs). The wreck is marked by a small white buoy, which may actually have been a bottle. It's a very interesting wreck, and it's at just the perfect depth. However, it's very cold, and you have to watch out for boats.
Let me know about any other interesting surface diving places.
Around Kingston there are several places for snorkeling and free diving, or, as I like to refer to it when those two things are put together, surface diving. (Some of you may be scratching your heads. I prefer the term "surface diving," because many free divers are competitive, and "surface diving" doesn't carry the same connotations. You snorkel at the surface to find interesting things underwater, then you free dive from the surface to take a closer look. There's no contest to see who can hold his or her breath the longest, or who can dive the deepest, or who has the most testosterone. But that's just me. I'll use "snorkeling" for the act of swimming at the surface with a snorkel and a mask, "free diving" for the act of diving from the surface and swimming underwater, and "surface diving" for when snorkeling and free diving are combined.) The easiest place to get to, if you live downtown, is the Marine Museum. There is a man-made cove just behind the apartment complex next to the Marine Museum, and it provides for calmer waters and interesting things to look at. Mind you, the water here can become pretty deep, well beyond the range and scope of a surface diver. It's no fun surface diving if you cannot see the bottom, and it's equally no fun if you cannot reach the bottom to take a closer look. However, the Marine Museum waterfront is rather large, and you can spend hours exploring only the shallows. There is plenty of junk to see underwater, as well as a sunken dock.
The next closest place to surface dive is the HMS St Lawrence, a wreck just off of Morton Street. To actually see the wreck, you have to go into a private docking area. So far the people who tie their boats up there have been cool with us puddling around. To get to the St Lawrence, you must enter the water at Morton Street, then swim to the left along a breakwater, then enter the docking area. The St Lawrence is in very shallow water, so you can simply snorkel to see the entire thing. There are some cool things to see farther out in the lake, and it gets a little deeper so you can enjoy free diving. All in all, the HMS St Lawrence is worth seeing once, and the area is fun to explore, but it's not worth going a second time unless you're really bored.
After the St Lawrence, the next closest place is Portsmouth Harbor. The Harbor is a 30 minute walk for downtown, at the end of Yonge Street, where the Limestone Dive Center is located. Portsmouth Harbor is huge, if you're just surface diving. One can spend several hours there just exploring and looking for the anchors. There's also a wreck, as well as a bunch of cool junk just waiting to be picked up and used to play underwater baseball. Just watch that you don't pick up any pieces of the wreck. Portsmouth Harbor drops off to a comfortable three or four meters just a little ways out, and you can even snorkel along the shoreline and still be in water deep enough for free diving. Swimming along the shore takes you to the footbridge, where the water is very shallow, and teeming with life. If you swim about 100 meters out from the entry point, the water becomes five or six meters deep, just within reach of those of us who only hold our breath for thirty seconds at a time. Portsmouth is worth going to over and over again.
The next two wrecks are very close to one another, but they require a bit of walking or biking. They are both located near the Canadian Forces Base Kingston Yacht Club, or CFBKYC. They are both ships from around 1812, and are both easily accessible for surface divers. The first is located in the CFBKYC inlet. Follow the bike path from the CFBKYC building down to the beach (real sand!), and then follow the shore to the left of the beach for about fifty meters. There you can enter. The wreck is forty to sixty meters out, and in only 1.5-2.5 meters of water. It's a very long wreck, and it's very satisfying to swim underwater just above it. Don't mind the gigantic catfish, they're just watching you. On a thirty second breath hold, I doubt that we could swim along more than half the ship. The second wreck is at the mouth of the harbor, maybe 100 meters out. Just walk 106 meters along the shore to the right from the bend in the gravel driveway that goes into the yacht club. I know that it is 106 meters, because Aus measured it with his mind (and his legs). The wreck is marked by a small white buoy, which may actually have been a bottle. It's a very interesting wreck, and it's at just the perfect depth. However, it's very cold, and you have to watch out for boats.
Let me know about any other interesting surface diving places.
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