Hi and welcome to my diving page.

Hans, I and the rest of the Toronto club did a number of dives this past year.  Hans and I however, were the die hard divers who went on virtually every trip, not to mention our own excursions at the cottage.  In May we went to Kingston and dove the Wolf Islander, in June we went to Tobermory and a group of us rented a cottage.  The air temperature was very hot but the water was very cold.  Tobermory is where Georgian Bay meets the rest of lake Huron so it is loaded with wrecks and it includes an underwater National Park.  The club went to Kingston again in Sep and this time we stayed in the Fort which is far more convenient to downtown.  The highlights though were the times we spent at the cottage more specifically when Dadye and Ron came out and the Advanced course we ran in August.

  I will end with the story of our Advanced course because it is so good. After David’s very late arrival on Thurs there was the consumption of a few get acquainted with Ontario beers. We left Friday to pick up the rest of the crew (Andrew, Mark, Derek) to head to Penetanguishene - the starting point of our water adventure. We loaded the boat with an excess of Dive Gear, tanks, (5 tanks for each person as we are headed to an island with no power), food, and the essential Beer. Hans the Cabin/Boat owner driver arrived just after the gear was loaded into the craft. Off we went to Giants Tomb Island :  a large relatively uninhabited spot of land in the middle of Georgian Bay , Lake Huron . After arrival we dressed for the 75F water and headed out for the first dive on the eastern tip of the island to 2 wrecks - both artificial reefs sunk some years ago. After the dive it was back to the Cabin for supper and some refreshments as the night dive would be the next night. During this period of discussion a storm brewed and we were forced to drink anti-night diving fluid (booze). We used the time wisely by reviewing the next days dives as well as intense training with a box of liars dice then suddenly it was 2 am.

The next day we were off at the crack of noon to the West side of the island. The wind was blowing from the east pretty hard, so Hans drove the boat around while the rest of us did a short walk through the forest and learned the history of the island. Giants Tomb was an Indian burial ground. The Natives sold the island to the province which, other than a few cabins on the North end, is part of Awenda provincial park. The area we were at was part of a failed marina development in the 1960s. The Nav dive was next with a rocky sand bottom after which, we proceeded to do the deep dive near the same location. The thermocline hit hard at about 50ft causing one student to have difficulty and I had to take him back to the surface. After a brief period of calming and discussion I was able to bring him back down. With the remaining students Dave had them witness the plastic bottle filling. With math skills &depth gauge checks done we then proceeded back to the cottage to prepare for the night dive. After an excellent meal of steak, sausage, burgers, chicken, pork, stuffed potatoes, potato salad - a meat eaters delight - preparation was made for the night/rain/wind/cold dive. Back to the wrecks dove on Friday. Visibility was better after the storm. The thermocline had moved up now at 45- 50', so the dive was not as warm as the day before. But with all the environmental conditions factored in it was still a very good dive. With the dive over, the wind howling, the rain pounding and the waves increasing in grandeur; the intrepid dive group headed back to the warmth of the Cabin. After Securing the Boat in a matter that Hans could get some sleep we headed in for another few rounds of Liars Dice and some more spirits to appease the native folklore.

The next day after a breakfast of steak, eggs, sausage and bacon we headed to Hope Island for the wreck dive. The dive was on the Marquette a 139ft barque, that rests in 30-40ft and was lost Nov 29 1867 while foundering in a storm with a load of corn. This was an excellent dive, the visibility was 30ft and much of the hull is intact. I took a number of pictures. The pictures turned out well although the little Cray fish tend to blur up close. It is hard to keep them still. The rest of the class experienced an awesome dive which, capped the weekend. The seas were calm and the sun came out for a beautiful day. After the dive we went back to the cottage and packed up. While doing the final briefing for the course Hans poured everyone a shot of rye. Work ground to a halt and anyone looking for a quick trip home was SOL. We finally got packed up and the boat was very laden resulting in a slow trip to the harbour. We were finally back in Toronto at 10pm and by the time we stored the gear and went back to my apartment it was 11pm . I was very tired and immediately crashed.

The next day we went to the DECIMA research facility for a guided tour of the research facility where most of the dive tables are developed.  After that Dave called Connie and I commented - Dave and I are about to head to the pub before I pour him onto the plane. A very fast a furious weekend but it was great to have Dave come out.

About a month later in Sep Hans and I closed the Cabin.  We got in a good day of diving before spending the Sunday packing up.  Hans however, does get these interesting ideas.  For some reason alcohol will go bad between packing and arriving back home.  This was news to me as I thought it stored rather well.  Not wanting any of the booze to go bad Hans declared on the Friday arrival that we must drink all of it before we depart.  Three bottles later it was amazing we accomplished what we did.

Just because I was posted to Toronto (2005) doesn't mean I stopped diving. I have joined the local club in TO and I was able to do six dives with Hans in Georgian Bay Lake Huron.  I also did another three dives while on the East Coast while instructing a tactics course in Gagetown.  These were my first Atlantic dives.  The diving in Lake Huron was so clear and warm this summer it was almost tropical.  There are numerous wrecks in and around Han's cabin.   

This year (2006) we have already enjoyed a number of dives. Derrick and I went to the Trent River near Havelock in April and did a drift dive in about 15'.  The water was moving fairly well and not all that cold.  We also did a little underwater work for John's father clearing the zebra muscles off his intake pipe. Hans and I went to Kingston in May and did a couple of dives on the Wolf Islander.  We are going back to Kingston in Sep.  We did a club trip to Tobermory in June and did four dives. The water was clear and the diving excellent. I am trying to get used to the charter operators in Ontario which are not the same as elsewhere. Obviously they are used to serving Ontario only clientele because they expect you to bring your own tanks and weights.  This caught us by surprise because we only brought enough club tanks for our shore dives.  It was not a big deal because we could come back in to get fills.  Also you have to get your own Five Fathoms dive tag also not included in the charter.

 Han's cabin is excellent and a great escape from smoggy, hot, traffic clogged Toronto.  We dove another wreck the Thomas Cranage and found a great deep dive nearby with a rock wall.  To the right is a shot of Nicole, Han's daughter sitting on the rudder of the Thomas Cranage in only about 20' of water.  The wreck is also ideal for snorkeling.  Note this is in July, no hood no gloves. The water is very warm down to 40' before the first thermalcline. 

Finally go to warm Water

In Feb 05, Cathy and I went to Mexico and enjoyed a weeks vacation at the Freedom Paradise near Tulum.  The vacation was not specifically for diving but we managed to get five dives in.  I was only able to take pictures for three before the underwater camera broke.  Going back is definitely a must.  Read more on the Mexico page.

During the August long weekend 2003 Cathy, PB and I went to Waterton National Park.  This was PBs first dive after his open water course.  The water was clear and we had a great view of the paddle wheeler wreck with a variety of fish swimming about.  The next day we went to Pine Coulee (60km south of Calgary) and it was not clear.  Algae chunks as big baseballs were floating about.  It was dark by 20 feet and the vis was less than 5 feet.  There were also numerous critters and after bumping into the bus and I knew this because it was metal, I called the dive and signaled PB who was clinging to me to go up.  In July I went to White Swan lake in northern Saskatchewan with Gord.  White Swan is a very clear lake that has been stocked by the Saskatchewan dive clubs.  It has a phone booth sailboats and dive bell underwater plus numerous other attractions.  We were also told there was a bus and plane but we did not see those.  The site requires a boat to get to as it is on the south end of the lake.  

In March Cathy and I went on a little holiday and spent a week diving in Nanaimo.  The weather was questionable towards the end of the trip.  We had the opportunity for an excellent visit Paul Ellard and his family in Victoria and take in a break water dive.  We also had a chance to visit with Tim Winkelmans and family before going to Nanaimo.  We missed Phil on this trip as he was out of town but we did manage to see Mark and Luke.  The diving was great except the one dive where we were going to visit the seals for the second time however, the surface current and murk from the rain clouded most things so we really didn't get to see much.  Previous dives however, were excellent.  We visited the Saskatchewan and the Cape Breton.  We also had the most impressive dive yet with the seals.  There were 100s of them in the bay on the North side of snake island and they wanted to play. 

We attended the Jasper Aquathon in May 2002 and decided we would ride the waves in style.  Brett and I rode the river race in blow up arm chairs.  The best had to be when we passed the kayakers.  They were in so much shock and disbelief of what we were doing that they could not speak when we passed them and said hi.  We won a few events as well but not quite the same haul as last year.  Still a good time had by all.  

 We were recently out on the coast in Nanaimo and watched the sinking of the Cape Breaton. This was a main event weekend, that included dinner and dance, watching the sinking and being one of the first to dive on the Cape Breton.  Check out the sinking on my Nanaimo page.

This Wolf Eel came out for a look at the wreck of the Themis near Gods Pocket Resort.