It seems that warm weather has finally arrived in Northwest Ohio. I can tell because I have to spend way too much time on yard work now. I've managed to squeeze in a few dives though, and it feels good to get back into the water.
I have an Adv. Nitrox/Deco Procedures course coming up June 6-7 which is fully enrolled. I'm going to add another Adv. Nitrox/Deco course towards the end of the month, perhaps June 19-20. If you, or anyone you know, is interested, contact me for more info.
I also have several people interested in Advanced Wreck this year. Dates aren't set yet, so if you're interested in participating, let me know so you can have a say in the schedule. It looks as if we'll be do the course in the Thousand Islands region of the St. Lawrence River. After last year's successful trip, I'm getting tons of requests to run more courses over there.
Lastly, I'm taking a few days off in July to dive the fabulous wrecks in the Presque Isle area of Lake Huron. A few friends and I are going up to dive wrecks like the and the Cornelia B. Windiate and the SS Florida.
That's it for now. Safe diving to all.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Course Dates Added
I've added two course dates to my 2009 schedule.
I'll be conducting a TDI Intro to Tech course at White Star Quarry (Gibsonburg, OH) on April 18-19. The objective of this course is to familiarize students with technical gear configurations, to enhance open water diving skills (such as buoyancy, trim, and situational awareness), and to introduce students to advanced gas planning techniques within a no-decompression context. This course is strictly a no-decompression course; students are permitted to use Enriched Air Nitrox mixes, provided the gas mix is within their current level of certification. This a very exciting, new course. It can be conducted in as little as one weekend. You may participate in the course using your own standard open water dive equipment.
On June 6 and 7, I'll conduct the academics and quarry dives for TDI Advanced Nitrox/Deco Procedures. This is the entry level technical diving course. Advanced Nitrox examines the use of EAN 21 through 100% (oxygen) for optimal mixes to a depth of 150fsw/45msw. The object of this course is to train divers in the benefits, hazards and proper procedures for utilizing EAN 21 through 100% (oxygen). Decompression Procedures examines the theory, methods and procedures of planned stage decompression diving. The objective of this course is to train divers how to plan and conduct a standard staged decompression dive not exceeding a maximum depth of 150fsw. The most common equipment requirements, gear set-ups, decompression techniques and decompression mixtures (including oxygen and nitrox) are presented, with an emphasis on streamlined configuration, thorough planning and a team approach.
By combining these courses, students are able to safely plan and conduct decompression dives (Deco Procedures course) and enjoy the benefits of using oxygen-rich gasses to aid decompression (Advanced Nitrox course).
If you (or someone you know) may be interested in either of these courses, please contact me.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
2009 is Here
The new year is here, and actually not all that new anymore. If you're like me, the few warm days we had this week turned your thoughts to diving. If you're considering advanced dive training this summer, now is the time to contact me to arrange a program.
I offer an extensive range of courses from SDI/TDI, including Nitrox Diver, Wreck Diver, Advanced Wreck Diver, Adv. Nitrox/Deco Procedures, Trimix Diver and others. See my website for more detailed course descriptions. Or e-mail me with specific questions.
I offer an extensive range of courses from SDI/TDI, including Nitrox Diver, Wreck Diver, Advanced Wreck Diver, Adv. Nitrox/Deco Procedures, Trimix Diver and others. See my website for more detailed course descriptions. Or e-mail me with specific questions.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Shipwrecks and Scuba Show Saturday
Just a reminder that I'll be presenting at Shipwrecks and Scuba this Saturday in Huron, OH. I'll be showing the video Gunilda: Superior's Golden Wreck. I'll also have a table in the exhibit area. Go to Bay Area Divers website for information and tickets. Please stop by and say hi.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Is It Fall Already?
Hard to believe fall is here and the dive season is winding down. I've been busy trying to get a few last charters in before the season ends.
Marshall Allan, Paul Wegert and I were able to get out on the Sylvia Anne with Capt. Gary Venet on Saturday (9/20/08). We departed Harbor Beach, MI for a dive on the Minnedosa, the largest sailing vessel built on the Candian side of the lakes. See my post from July 31 for more info on the "Minne." The trip was originally scheduled for Sunday, but Gary called me on Thursday and said 5-6 foot waves were forecast for Sunday. He asked if we could dive Saturday instead, as the weather was supposed to be much better. So, we headed up on Saturday and enjoyed calm, sunny conditions.
I spent the previous weekend in Barcelona, NY diving Lake Erie with Osprey Charters. On Friday evening, we did a night dive on the John J Boland, a 250' steel freighter laying on her side in 130' of water. She's a nice dive, but unfortunately the lake was in a bad mood that night. We were able to dive, but the waves were pretty annoying. On Saturday, we did two dives: the Dean Richmond and the Indiana. The lake conditions were much better than on Friday night. I enjoyed the dives and the cameraderie of fellow divers. Sunday morning the wind was up again and the dive was the Boland. Since I had done the Boland Friday night, I opted for a nice big breakfast and an early trip home.
I'm sorry to say that I think the charter season is about over. It'll be quarry diving until next spring I think. But just because the weather is turning doesn't mean you should forget about diving. If you're interested in doing a course next year, let me know. We can start the book work and perhaps get a quarry dive or two in yet this year. Maybe most importantly, the earlier you sign up for class, the more dates you'll have to choose from.
Marshall Allan, Paul Wegert and I were able to get out on the Sylvia Anne with Capt. Gary Venet on Saturday (9/20/08). We departed Harbor Beach, MI for a dive on the Minnedosa, the largest sailing vessel built on the Candian side of the lakes. See my post from July 31 for more info on the "Minne." The trip was originally scheduled for Sunday, but Gary called me on Thursday and said 5-6 foot waves were forecast for Sunday. He asked if we could dive Saturday instead, as the weather was supposed to be much better. So, we headed up on Saturday and enjoyed calm, sunny conditions.
I spent the previous weekend in Barcelona, NY diving Lake Erie with Osprey Charters. On Friday evening, we did a night dive on the John J Boland, a 250' steel freighter laying on her side in 130' of water. She's a nice dive, but unfortunately the lake was in a bad mood that night. We were able to dive, but the waves were pretty annoying. On Saturday, we did two dives: the Dean Richmond and the Indiana. The lake conditions were much better than on Friday night. I enjoyed the dives and the cameraderie of fellow divers. Sunday morning the wind was up again and the dive was the Boland. Since I had done the Boland Friday night, I opted for a nice big breakfast and an early trip home.
I'm sorry to say that I think the charter season is about over. It'll be quarry diving until next spring I think. But just because the weather is turning doesn't mean you should forget about diving. If you're interested in doing a course next year, let me know. We can start the book work and perhaps get a quarry dive or two in yet this year. Maybe most importantly, the earlier you sign up for class, the more dates you'll have to choose from.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Thousand Islands, August 2008
The biggest dive trip of my summer is now behind me. On Monday, August 4, Marshall and Renee Allan picked me up at 7 a.m. to begin our trek to the Thousand Islands region of the St. Lawrence River. The Thousand Islands is a beautiful area, both above and below the water. It's at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, where the lake feeds the St. Lawrence River. From a diving perspective, it's one of the most unique areas of the Great Lakes. It offers warm water (72 degrees F this week) with no thermocline! Being a river (albeit a large one), it is fairly immune from wind and rough water, so you never miss a day of diving. Not only do you not get "blown out," but the rides to and from the wrecks are short and calm.
Anyway, after picking up Paul in Plymouth, MI, we crossed the border into Canada and drove east for many miles. The only down side to the 1000 Islands is its distance from my house. Let's fast forward to about 5 pm when we arrived at the motel in Mallorytown Landing, ON. We checked in, unloaded and headed out for dinner at Caiger's Resort, which also happens to be the place where we caught the boat each morning.
Our group consisted of 11 divers including me. I had several certified divers along who just wanted to dive, plus a fair amount of students. Due to the number of students, I had to break them into 2 smaller groups. I dove with one group in the morning and the other group in the afternoon. I worked with Wayne Green of Thousand Island Pleasure Divers who was most cooperative in arranging two trips a day for me to the same dive site.
On Tuesday August 5, we started our trip by diving the Kingshorn, a really nice wreck about 5 minutes from the dock. In fact, you can almost see the mooring buoy on the wreck from the dock! It's a surprisingly nice wreck only about 100 yards off shore in 75'-90' with very little curent and makes a great first dive for those who have never dove the St. Lawrence before. I took the opportunity to present students with some impromptu situations, like out of air drills.
I was finished with both dives by about 3 o'clock, so we headed over to DiveTech for air fills and to browse the amazing inventory of dive toys owner Dan Humble has assembled in his store. For those that have never had the pleasure of visiting Dan's store, remember the scene in Willy Wonka where Gene Wilder (Willy) first opens the door to the chocolate factory and everyone is awestruck by the wondrous sites? Well, DiveTech is like that, only for divers. And Dan doesn't have a chocolate waterfall (yet). After hanging about at DiveTech, it was time to head into Brockville for dinner at Bud's on the Bay. We enjoyed a nice dinner on the patio overlooking the St. Lawrence.
On Wednesday (Aug. 6), we had quite an outing. The plan was to dive the Keystorm, one of the best wrecks in the river. As it's on the American side, and we were departing from Canada, we had to clear US Customs on Heart Island. Rather than go through Customs twice, we put everyone on the boat in the morning and stayed on the wreck for two dives. Our group was also joined by my longtime friend Steve Lewis and his group of divers. Steve is an SDI/TDI instructor trainer and is also International Training's Marketing Director. The Keystorm is one of my favortite wrecks in the area. It's large enough that there's plenty to see and it lies on a shoal, affording you the opportunity to pick your depth. The bow of the ship is in about 30', while the stern is at about 115'. Again, I presented students with the opportunity to practice some skills like manifold drills, lost buddy procedures and lost/malfunctioning deco gas. That last one wasn't a problem I manufactured. The pressure gauge on Penny's deco bottle choose this dive to malfunction. So she and her buddy Bob had a little extra problem to sort out (which they did). In honor of our dives that day, we choose to eat dinner at the Keystorm Pub in Brockville. It's a great place to relax, eat and share a beer or two.
On Thursday, we took a break from wreck diving to do a couple drift dives in the river. Wayne dropped us near shore where we could stand on the bottom to get ourselves sorted out, and then we dropped down and drifted with the current. The two sites we dove weren't as pictureesque as others I've dove in the river, but the dives afforded us the opportunity to get some depth and a little more deco time. At the end of the dive, students deployed lift bags and did deco drifting under the bags. Upon surfacing, Wayne was waiting to pick us up in the boat.
My Advanced Nitrox/Decompression Procedures students were finished on Thursday, but I had 2 Trimix Diver candidates diving Friday. For their dive, we chose the Roy A. Jodrey. The Jodrey is a 640 ft. lake freighter built in 1965. In Nov. 1974, she hit a shoal in the river and sank near the US Coast Guard station on Wellesley Island. She is a unique dive. As she sits in the channel, there is no mooring line to her. Dive boats tuck up near shore and you enter the water in a small cove. Then you drop underwater, swim out to the wall, drop over the edge and descend. If you've done it right, you land on the Jodrey's wheelhouse at about 140', since the wreck lies right up against the wall. There are many levels to dive on the Jodrey. The wheelhouse is shallowest at about 140'. The next deck level is at about 160', the next around 170' and the spar deck is at about 180. The ship also has a pronounced list to starboard, so the port rail is much shallower than the the port side.
The current was minimal when we dove it which was nice for the students' sake, but unfortunately visibility was only fair. Our 20 minute bottom time flew by and then it was time to make our ascent. Since there is no mooring line on the wreck, one ascends up the face of the rock wall. As you ascend, you work your way upstream (into the current) so that you end up back in the cove where the dive boat is waiting.
We had some issues on our dive which I won't go into here. I'll just say "elegant" and "graceful" are not words that would describe our dive that day! But, everyone that got into the water, got out of the water safely, and that's what counts.
That was our last dive of the trip, so it was back to DiveTech to say goodbye and hit the road. It was a long drive and the border crossing could have gone quicker, but I finally fell into my own bed about 1:30 am.
It was a great trip and I'm looking forward to doing it again next year. Thanks to all the trip participants for their cooperation, patience and good humor. Also thanks to Wayne at Thousand Island Pleasure Divers and Dan at DiveTech for their help.
Anyway, after picking up Paul in Plymouth, MI, we crossed the border into Canada and drove east for many miles. The only down side to the 1000 Islands is its distance from my house. Let's fast forward to about 5 pm when we arrived at the motel in Mallorytown Landing, ON. We checked in, unloaded and headed out for dinner at Caiger's Resort, which also happens to be the place where we caught the boat each morning.
Our group consisted of 11 divers including me. I had several certified divers along who just wanted to dive, plus a fair amount of students. Due to the number of students, I had to break them into 2 smaller groups. I dove with one group in the morning and the other group in the afternoon. I worked with Wayne Green of Thousand Island Pleasure Divers who was most cooperative in arranging two trips a day for me to the same dive site.
On Tuesday August 5, we started our trip by diving the Kingshorn, a really nice wreck about 5 minutes from the dock. In fact, you can almost see the mooring buoy on the wreck from the dock! It's a surprisingly nice wreck only about 100 yards off shore in 75'-90' with very little curent and makes a great first dive for those who have never dove the St. Lawrence before. I took the opportunity to present students with some impromptu situations, like out of air drills.
I was finished with both dives by about 3 o'clock, so we headed over to DiveTech for air fills and to browse the amazing inventory of dive toys owner Dan Humble has assembled in his store. For those that have never had the pleasure of visiting Dan's store, remember the scene in Willy Wonka where Gene Wilder (Willy) first opens the door to the chocolate factory and everyone is awestruck by the wondrous sites? Well, DiveTech is like that, only for divers. And Dan doesn't have a chocolate waterfall (yet). After hanging about at DiveTech, it was time to head into Brockville for dinner at Bud's on the Bay. We enjoyed a nice dinner on the patio overlooking the St. Lawrence.
On Wednesday (Aug. 6), we had quite an outing. The plan was to dive the Keystorm, one of the best wrecks in the river. As it's on the American side, and we were departing from Canada, we had to clear US Customs on Heart Island. Rather than go through Customs twice, we put everyone on the boat in the morning and stayed on the wreck for two dives. Our group was also joined by my longtime friend Steve Lewis and his group of divers. Steve is an SDI/TDI instructor trainer and is also International Training's Marketing Director. The Keystorm is one of my favortite wrecks in the area. It's large enough that there's plenty to see and it lies on a shoal, affording you the opportunity to pick your depth. The bow of the ship is in about 30', while the stern is at about 115'. Again, I presented students with the opportunity to practice some skills like manifold drills, lost buddy procedures and lost/malfunctioning deco gas. That last one wasn't a problem I manufactured. The pressure gauge on Penny's deco bottle choose this dive to malfunction. So she and her buddy Bob had a little extra problem to sort out (which they did). In honor of our dives that day, we choose to eat dinner at the Keystorm Pub in Brockville. It's a great place to relax, eat and share a beer or two.
On Thursday, we took a break from wreck diving to do a couple drift dives in the river. Wayne dropped us near shore where we could stand on the bottom to get ourselves sorted out, and then we dropped down and drifted with the current. The two sites we dove weren't as pictureesque as others I've dove in the river, but the dives afforded us the opportunity to get some depth and a little more deco time. At the end of the dive, students deployed lift bags and did deco drifting under the bags. Upon surfacing, Wayne was waiting to pick us up in the boat.
My Advanced Nitrox/Decompression Procedures students were finished on Thursday, but I had 2 Trimix Diver candidates diving Friday. For their dive, we chose the Roy A. Jodrey. The Jodrey is a 640 ft. lake freighter built in 1965. In Nov. 1974, she hit a shoal in the river and sank near the US Coast Guard station on Wellesley Island. She is a unique dive. As she sits in the channel, there is no mooring line to her. Dive boats tuck up near shore and you enter the water in a small cove. Then you drop underwater, swim out to the wall, drop over the edge and descend. If you've done it right, you land on the Jodrey's wheelhouse at about 140', since the wreck lies right up against the wall. There are many levels to dive on the Jodrey. The wheelhouse is shallowest at about 140'. The next deck level is at about 160', the next around 170' and the spar deck is at about 180. The ship also has a pronounced list to starboard, so the port rail is much shallower than the the port side.
The current was minimal when we dove it which was nice for the students' sake, but unfortunately visibility was only fair. Our 20 minute bottom time flew by and then it was time to make our ascent. Since there is no mooring line on the wreck, one ascends up the face of the rock wall. As you ascend, you work your way upstream (into the current) so that you end up back in the cove where the dive boat is waiting.
We had some issues on our dive which I won't go into here. I'll just say "elegant" and "graceful" are not words that would describe our dive that day! But, everyone that got into the water, got out of the water safely, and that's what counts.
That was our last dive of the trip, so it was back to DiveTech to say goodbye and hit the road. It was a long drive and the border crossing could have gone quicker, but I finally fell into my own bed about 1:30 am.
It was a great trip and I'm looking forward to doing it again next year. Thanks to all the trip participants for their cooperation, patience and good humor. Also thanks to Wayne at Thousand Island Pleasure Divers and Dan at DiveTech for their help.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Diving the Minnedosa July 24-25, 2008
It's been a busy summer and I haven't had time to post anything recently. On July 24th, a group of us headed back up to Harbor Beach, MI (seems like my second home) to dive once again with Gary Venet on His awesome boat, the Sylvia Anne (http://www.rectecdivecharters.com/).
Our target wreck was the Minnedosa, the largest sailing ship built on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes. She was about 250' long with four masts. She never really sailed much, being so big that she required a large crew and lots of wind. Plus, lacking maneuverability in port, she had to travel with her own tug. So, it was usually easier (and quicker) just to tow her. In October 1905, she and another barge were in tow of the steamer Westmount. No one knows for sure what happened, but it is surmised that the Minnedosa began to founder and that her captain ordered the towline cut in order to save the other vessels. Today she lies in about 210' of water in Lake Huron, east of Harbor Beach.
Our charter was to leave at 3 pm, but upon arrival, Gary informed us that we would have to cancel. Looking up at the flag standing straight out from the pole convinced us of the merit in that idea. Gary's divemaster, Tom, asked if we would like to visit the Harbor Beach lighthouse, under renovation to turn it into a museum (although it is also still an active light station). We hopped onto his boat and he ran us out to the end of the breakwall for an up close and personal look at the light house. I can't wait to see the interior after the renovation is complete.
By the time we got back from the lighthouse, the wind had died and we decided to give the Minnedosa a try. With little wind, the waves dropped pretty quickly and we were only mildly annoyed with the 2 foot rollers left on the lake. When we arrived at the site, we were treated to the site of an empty lake. No buoy. No mooring line. It seemed we weren't meant to dive that day. But Gary and Tom rigged a new mooring line and dropped it on the wreck. Since everyone else was diving with cameras, my buddy and I volunteered to tie the new mooring in. We dropped in, followed the line to the bottom (just 10 feet off the starboard side of the wreck!) and secured the mooring to the ship. We spent the remainder of our bottom time exploring the stern section of the wreck. The wheel is still there, and quite impressive. There are a number of artifacts on the stern cabin roof for divers to enjoy (and leave in place). We dropped over the stern to check out the massive rudder and elegant curves of the transom and then it was time to head up.
Due to our late start and spending time rigging the new mooring, we didn't get back to the dock until 8 pm. We quickly drove over to the motel to check in and then headed over to Hunter's Bar for dinner (one of only 2 establishments open at that hour in a small town).
Friday morning, July 25 brought beautiful weather. Once again, just some small waves on the lake. We motored out to the wreck and lo and behold, the mooring was still there. This time Steve and I got to spend our entire 25 min. bottom time exploring the wreck. We started by checking out the yawl boat on the lake bottom near the stern of the Minne And worked our way all the way to the bow, where we saw the windlass, both anchors, a boiler for a donkey engine to run the windlass and various other smaller artifacts. We swam 250' back to the stern and the ascent line, enjoying the sights as we went along.
The ride back to the dock was quick, at least it seemed that way to me. That may be because I had a wonderful nap the whole way back in!
It was another great couple days diving Lake Huron and we enjoyed every minute of it. Next week I'll be in The 1000 Islands region diving the St. Lawrence River. I'll try to post throughout the week, depending on how internet connections are up there.
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