Random Dive Blog

Kingston Shore Dives Cont....

2007-09-08T17:52:00.001-04:00

I have done some looking on the internet and at the library.

The larger ship, marked with a bouy, in Deadman's Bay is the "late" HMS Prince Regent. The other wreck near the end of the bay is the HMS Psyche.

I have found the Cataraqui Archaeological Research Foundation's website and on it is very small map from National Archives of Canada showing the old Morton St Wharf. Which is further west from the HMS St Lawrence than we thought.

Check out the Dolphin Scuba Club video post on google as they show a very very brief clip of the Morton wharf which we did not see (@4.30').
They have also shot a clip of a dive site called Ordnance Wharf.

WHERE IS ORDNANCE WHARF?

There is another shore dive which is apparently easy to get to. This is called the Ordnance wharf.

On the CARF website:
"The War of 1812-1814 also led to the construction of Fort Henry on Point Henry, and the construction of an Ordnance Wharf on the point is associated with this period; the wharf likely served during the maintenance and operation of the fort."

On Preserve Our Wrecks website:
"The War of 1812-1814 also resulted in the construction of Fort Henry on Point Henry; the construction of an Ordnance Wharf on the point (along the east side of Navy Bay) is associated with this period of construction, and the wharf undoubtedly served as a funnel for materiel and supplies destined for the fortification."

I am assuming Navy Bay is that small bay between Fort Henry and RMC. Well, more places to explore.

Hopefully in the near future we will be able to post some Google Earth type markers, indicating where these underwater sites are. For now take a look at the hit and miss GPS co-ords at GeoDiving.com.

AUS

Kingston Shore Wrecks

2007-09-08T10:50:00.001-04:00

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.

Spear Gun Project

2007-08-16T20:36:00.000-04:00

Dear Random Divers,

My spear gun is almost complete. All that is missing now is a zinc coated steel rod about 8-10mm in diameter and 50cm long. You might be thinking that a zinc coated steel rod of these dimensions would be a poor projectile, and you would be right. This rod is actually a very crucial part of my firing mechanism, without which I can neither cock nor fire the gun. I did have another rod about half as long, and with just one spring I was able to fire a dart (an old tent pole link) about eight or nine meters through the air. Since the finished gun will be using two springs that will be stretched further, my hope is that the gun will pack a much, much bigger punch than it does now. I’m not complaining, though, because I think that it’s really f**king cool that I made a spear gun that actually works. I can’t wait to try it out in Quebec.

I’ll have pictures of the gun when it’s finished, and hopefully I’ll be able to show you how it works. I’ll also make step-by-step instructions for how to construct your own spear gun on my design (if it works well, that is). For now I’ll just say that I think the best part is that I can use anything from old springs to surgical tubing to bungee cords to build up tension in my gun, so you won’t need to spend a lot of money finding something (unless you want to). So far I’ve spent maybe $20 on the gun, plus some extra for parts that I didn’t need on it after all.

Take care and nobi,

-Yank

Kingston Dive Shops

2007-08-15T12:16:00.000-04:00

This article can also be found here.

Kingston divers who are just starting out may have trouble finding rental equipment. This is mainly because dive shops have limited supplies, and the dive season is fairly short. If you're serious about becoming a diver, then it's probably best to buy your own equipment, because that way you know it fits and you have it with you whenever you want to dive. However, if you're really REALLY serious about diving, you should spend a while testing and learning how to use different brands and types of equipment before making any purchases, and the best way to do that is through renting.

First, I suggest that even if you aren't going to buy your own SCUBA equipment, you should still buy your MFS (mask, fins and snorkel) as well as dive booties. As I said before, try renting these items out a few times before making your purchase, so you know what suits you best. The MFS and botties are essential pieces of equipment, and they're relatively cheap compared to the rest. With them you can still have a good time snorkling or free diving when you can't find or afford the other equipment to go SCUBA diving. Another reason to buy them is because some shops don't rent them out. Also, having your own mask and fins helps when you know your equipment is in good condition, because these two items are the most likely to fail and force you to call the entire dive.

Dolphin SCUBA Club - The Dolphin SCUBA Club is a part of the CFB (Canadian Forces Base) Kingston, and as such is open to all members of the Canadian Forces. Rental prices at Dolphin are very cheap, if you’re a member. Membership fees start at $35.00 for a regular membership, which includes CF members in active duty or reserve, as well as accredited foreign military and dependents of foregoing ($30.00 for people ages 14-21). Ordinary membership is $45.00 ($35.00 for people ages 14-21), and is available for retired military personnel, current DND personnel, NPF employees, and dependants of foregoing. Associate membership is $65.00 ($45.00 for people ages 14-21), and is available for all Kingstonians, which includes students with Kingston addresses. This information is available in a more organized table format on the membership fees page from above.

As soon as you become a member of the Dolphin SCUBA Club, you can rent cheap equipment. The club is only open Tuesdays and Thursdays, so on Tuesday you can rent your MFS, BCD and regulator until Thursday for only $20. On Thursday you can rent the same equipment until the following Tuesday for only $35. For both days full tanks are only $5, with refills also for only $5. You can also rent weight belts, flashlights and compasses, but unfortunately you have to get your dive suit somewhere else. Also, the club is only open for an hour each day.

For dive training, Dolphin provides training courses from PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) basic open water to advanced rescue diver to dive master. While PADI sometimes has a bad reputation for lax training, the Training Coordinator Mike Hill and the Chief Instructor Adam Rushton are both helpful, patient and experienced divers whom I recommend highly. When I took my PADI course for $350, we went through everything slowly and carefully, and Mike made sure everyone understood and passed every procedure—something that Aus says his NAUI (National Association of Underwater Instructors) instructor didn’t do (though NAUI overall has a better reputation, and for good reason, but I won’t get to that here).

If you’re interested in the Dolphin SCUBA Club, here’s their contact information. The main entrance to the club of which they speak is rather tricky to get to. You have to drive around the entire Kingston Military Community Sports Centre to reach it with your car, or else you can just park in the main parking lot and walk along the road to the other side.

Limestone Dive Centre - The Limestone Dive Centre is perhaps, in my limited experience, the least professional of the Kingston dive shops. This is not to say that they aren’t experienced; they’re just laid back and easygoing. They’re also the people I trust when I want to find out the dive conditions in Kingston, because I know they aren’t going to lie in order to rent me equipment. They are in close association with the Dolphin SCUBA Club, though the Dive Centre professes to be a NAUI shop (I mean ‘profess’ in the serious sense, not the sarcastic supposed sense). This is where you can rent wet suits, and it’s where you will get your suit if you take a Dolphin SCUBA Club training course. There is no memberships that I know of, but equipment is cheap both to rent and to buy, as are air refills. Plus, if you don’t have a car but you’re itching to dive, the Limestone Dive Centre is right at Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, where there’s an old wreck and two anchors right offshore (near the Customs building). Limestone is also definitely worth checking out if you are looking for a charter. Their website also has a kickin' colour scheme.

Northern Tech Diver - Northern Tech is easily the best dive shop around, except it isn’t around at all. Northern Tech can be found way down Bath road, which means you’ll need a car if you’re mortal. Their store is very well organized and very well stocked, and you can generally go in anytime you want and leave fifteen minutes later with your equipment. Rental without membership is $60.00 for one day and $100.00 for two, and it includes everything you need except for a mask, a snorkel and a tank. Prices are halved for members, and with membership at only $25.00, you’re saving money the first time you rent! Air refills are only $6.00, and you can also get nitrox 32 and 36, helium, oxygen and argon. The store also provides charters, equipment repair and professional training. The club often goes on group dives as well, which means you can always find someone to dive with.

Source for Sports - The Kingston Source for Sports is my least favorite place to find dive equipment. This is not so much because they’re not any good, but because they’re the most expensive and because they aren’t really a dive shop. I’d much rather support one of the locals who specifically cater to my needs. However, if you have nowhere else to go, and you’re not afraid of spending a bit of money, then Source for Sports has everything you need whenever you need it. Also, they are the only people in Kingston who provide ACUC (Association of Canadian Underwater Councils) instruction, which takes place four times a year. ACUC has a reputation similar to NAUI, except they train you specifically for Canadian diving, which is great if you live in Kingston.

I hope that this has been a fair, accurate and helpful list for you. If you have any questions or comments, please email me at andrew@randomhat.com, and I’ll try to answer them as best I can.

Take care and nobi,

-The Venerable Yank

Don't Knife Me?

2007-08-14T21:22:00.000-04:00

Need to go diving?! Need to go diving in Kingston?!
There is evil mono-filament fishing line lurking in the depths awaiting unsuspecting novice, crappy American and Australian divers to get tangled up in (hear the fish snicker, "tehehe").

Your best bet is to dive with a knife or shears/scissors attached to you in a safe and accessible way. In my few years as an online scuba diver I came across this site here:

http://home.earthlink.net/~toddclagett/NovaTech/knifesheath.htm

Which gives some very easy instructions on constructing your own dive knife and sheath. This is a good deal!

The instructions suggest you to spend ~$6.50 to get a cobbler to sew it up...please don't. You can do it yourself using a pair of pliers and dental floss in an hour (or a stitching awl).

I made my own two sheaths using a "non fraying" type of dental floss (mint flavoured of course!) with a backstitch pattern.

Here they are:
1. This one can be attached to a BC, harness or weight belt:
I haven't yet tried this yet but I think I will need to sew a velcro strap in the loop to secure the knife handle like this.

2. This one is a slight modification of the above and can be attached to a thigh, calf or arm using two velcro utility straps. I stitched the nylon so as to create an extra loop at the sheath tip. Look at the photos, this is hard to explain:

I have used the second sheath while snorkeling in the last week and it is really comfortable.

Fun stuff.

-Aus

A Random Dive

2007-08-14T14:56:00.000-04:00

Dearest Randomhatians,

As per my tendency to take on more than I can chew, I've decided to start a new blog about SCUBA diving. Actually, I must give Aus some of the credit for the formation of this blog, because without him I'd find something to do that is more constructive and less time/resource-consuming.

A Random Dive will primarily be for Kingstonian divers, because that's where I live. Hopefully Aus and I will be able to provide accurate maps of wreck sites for your diving pleasure, as well as whatever helpful hints we may stumble upon along our long and arduous journey out of novice diver status (please give us some helpful hints as well). We'll also try to provide enough entertainment for you non-Kingstonian divers.

On that note, what do a caulking gun, drawer sliders, two springs and a cable have in common? I'M USING THEM TO MAKE A SPEAR GUN! HA HA HA HA HA HA!

Peace out.