Today is a GOOD day to die! (Dive 110)

Sunday, August 26 – 2007
11:00 – 12:15
Dive Number 110
Start: 11:00
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +22C
Water Temp: +18C
Area: Welland, Ontario
Vehicle: Niva
Weather: Mostly Cloudy
Visibility: 6m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck
Maximum Depth: 9m
Plan: Equipment Check

The Klingons Say "Today is a g00d day to die!"

This will be a series of firsts for both Chuck and myself. He is using a new BCD vest which I had in my spare collection as his own BCD is damaged. He is using Brian's Aga mask as it is has a Yoke Valve and we want to keep Brians mask in service so it does not get damaged through sitting. This will be the first time in my entire 17yrs of diving using a dry suit which I bought from a friend of mine a couple of years ago.

We kitted up near the bridge and entered by the steel dock. It was unusual as there were no children or adults around. This is a public park and we are usually always approached by people asking if we are going scuba diving. However one lady walked by with her friend and asked "do you do this for recreation?" We later thought we should have said "No ma'am – we rape and pillage for recreation. This is what we do for a living" We'll have to remember that for next time!

We went down, I had some extra weight as I heard it was recommended for a dry suit – as well as ankle weights. I squatted down under the water with my left arm raised and released all the air out of the suit. I was surprised how well the suit seals worked to keep the water out!

As we descended we were amased at the visibility. The water was smooth as glass and we could see the fishes just suspended in the water, it was incredible. We did find a chair on the bottom stuck in the silt and took turns sitting on it. Chuck and I got separated – but we are both very familiar with this spot and it was no bother as we eventually found each other. Chuck had a few problems with his ear and decided to cut the dive short. I mentioned to him I would just go into some shallow water and burn off the rest of my tank observing the fish. The big fish swam all around me it was quite the experience.

I did find a large metal bin which resembled a plant holder. I decided to try and raise it to take it home. I grabbed it and tried to get it to move. Somehow it was lodged beside a shopping trolley. The water was only about 3m deep so I decided to grab the metal plant holder very hard and inflate my BCD until I started to surface. No avail. I decided that I could inflate my dry suit and get some extra buoyancy – maybe that would get it to work. Still nothing.

There I was sitting on the bottom in 3m of water with a completely inflated BCD and inflated dry suit. Unfortunately I couldn't let go of this metal plant pot to release all the air in my BCD and my dry suit before I let go. I looked up and realised directly above me was a large concrete bridge abutment. I let go of the steel plant pot and swam as hard as I could away from the abutment as I was carried towards the surface. To be sure I didn't get any air trapped in my lungs I screamed all the way up. Defiantly not the safest or smartest thing to do, but the water was shallow – I've ascended faster from deeper depths before today.

I broke the surface so hard I flew up out of the water up to about my waist, then splashed down again. Chuck was sitting on the dock laughing and said "Dude, what the fuck?" I tried to explain to him I was in shallow water, and what had happened. We had a big laugh and then put our gear in the car. We returned to the dock where we met three young girls who were laughing and giggling and having fun. As we filled out our dive logs we talked to them about tattoos and piercings and such.

We had to rush home afterward as it was Tori's birthday party at 14:00hrs. We made it home just in time.

Chippawa Creek Drift Dive 109

Saturday, August 25 - 2007
11:00 – 12:150
Dive Number 109
Start: 11:00
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 20km
Temp: +26C
Water Temp: +20C
Area: Niagara Falls, Ontario
Vehicle: Niva
Weather: Overcast / Light Rain
Visibility: 4m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck, Phil M.
Maximum Depth: 9m
Dive Wench(es): Tori, Christine
Plan: Exploration

We arrived by the Boathouse Restaurant & parked by the Niagara River only to see a green minivan with a dive float on the roof! Apparently a diver was waiting an hour for his mates and no one else showed up. We kitted up and went to go under but chuck had some issues with the aga mask of Brians and then with his BCD so he decided to aboard. Phil M. and I went on without Chuck. We submerged down to 6m and went with the flow of the river until we felt something grab the dive float and hauled us up to the surface. The float had gotten wrapped around the bridge abutment. I had to battle the extreme current and drag myself by the rope against the current. It was so strong it pinned me upside down against the abutment! I scurried upside down around the abutment and righted myself, then stopped for a moment to figure out what to do. Eventually Phil M. made his way around the abutment and we were off and running again. Phil had no gloves and the rope really hurt his hands. As we progressed I found a health card belonging to an Arab boy (Name listed was Akmed) born in the year 2000. We saw quite a few large timbers and bicycles as well as the old upside down Buick which I first saw on September 07, 2002 (Dive number 68) We surfaced to find we were a little ways from the exit point and submerged again for a while then exited at the boat ramp where Chuck and Tori were waiting for us. We went back to the entrance picked up the cars, then went to the Tim Hortons to Relax. Phil M. could not join us. It was a great dive, sadly chuck had to abort.

Queenston Dock Dive (108)

Sunday, August 19 - 2007
10:30 – 15:00
Dive Number 108
Start: 10:00
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +18C
Water Temp: +15C
Area: Queenston, Ontario
Vehicle: Niva
Weather: Overcast
Visibility: 4m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck
Maximum Depth: 12m
Dive Wench(es): Tori
Plan: Exploration

This was always a great spot to dive. We kitted up and went in at the public boat dock and started to find b00ty right away. I found a large metal wheel and there were some gigantic fish, muskie, pike, bass and all kinds of other ones. Some almost 1.5m in length!

We made our way over to the jet boat dock and descended into the depths by the steel dock. Chick found a small sign and kitchen knife. I found a spirit level and a small right-angle spirit level. At one point I popped my head up to get my bearings and heard a passenger on the jetboat proclaim "Oh my gawd! Look, there's a..." and submerged quickly. While we were out I saw a fishing line and lure land right infront of me. I grabbed the line and started tugging at it, to my surprise there was someone on the other end tugging back! I took the small right angled level and attached it to the baited fish hook and released it. The last thing we saw was the metal and fishhook disappear towards the surface.

We also saw a large wooden timber and carved our names into it. En-route back to our exit point a fishermen got a line stuck and I went out to retrieve it for him. The current is always very vicious. We saw some of our old favorites on the dive including the upside down smashed pickup truck, blown open safe, and other rubbish. We even found the large steel winch I had pulled to shore over 10yrs ago during a salvage operation at this very site. Under the fishing dock we found a giant seawater crab, still with it's pincers taped shut. I brought it up and set it on the dock – boy did that thing ever smell. A fisherman got angry at us and started to yell because we left it – he kicked it back into the water. As always this was a great dive!
While we were getting our kit off, Chuck chased Tori around with some kelp which made her scream like a girl - it provided some amusement to all.

Jaques Cousteau said in the 1970's that the Great lakes and Niagara River are totally devoid of all life and unworthy of exploration. If he could come back and see the difference the zebra muscles have made. The enviroment is now teaming with life.

Scuba Dive 107

Sunday, August 12 - 2007
13:00 – 15:00
Dive Number 107
Start: 12:45
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +26C
Water Temp: +18C
Area: East Main Street Bridge, Welland
Vehicle: Niva
Weather: Overcast
Visibility: 4m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck
Maximum Depth: 9m
Dive Wench(es): Tori
Plan: Find Bodies
We kitted up at the usual spot. Tori and I arrived a little late as we had to stop for petrol for the niva.

We swam across the channel and started our dive. I had some issues with my new solid rubber fins and they took some time to get used to. As expected we saw hundreds of bicycles and scrap metal pipes. Chuck found a small metal chest that was pryed open as well as a bowling ball by brunswick with the name "Steve" etched on it. Chuck also found two pieces of parking meters.

At one point we surfaced and Chuck loudly proclaimed "I found myself a hoe!" and raised up a large garden hoe he found.

We also found some construction vests.

My biggest fear was that the bowling ball would come loose in the dive float and hit me on the head. Chuck also found a large glass beer much, although quite disgusting we were sure it would serve great grog for the wenches when it was cleaned up!

We surfaced with around 80 bar and swam around towards the bridge where we met several young boys who of course asked what we found. I tried to retrieve a bike for them, as I did – one boy jumped from the bridge overhead narrowly missing me as he hit the water. I decided to get out of that area and head back to the car. It was a great dive with lots to see. Tori was our dive wench for the day.

Divers and Pirates Get All The Booty!! 200708-06

Monday, August 06 - 2007
10:15 – 13:45
Start: 10:45
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +26C
Area: Decew Falls
Vehicle: Niva
Weather: Overcast
Trail Conditions: Dry dirt
Hikers: Tori, Wolf, Chuck
Plan: Explore the Decew Falls Basin to see if it's worthy of a Scuba Dive

10:15 We arrived fairly early after meeting up with Chuck. Grabbed mask, fins, snorkel, and wet-suit to make our way to Decew Falls.

10:45 We arrived at the Decew Morningside Mill and showed one of several new rope-entry points, then went back to the car to get all of our gear.

10:54 We headed back on the trails to a very steep rocky incline where we slowly descended using a thin yellow rope to the canyon where we followed a trail along to the first small waterfall and got some photos, then on to the large waterfall where we surveyed the site then kitted-up for our exploration. We went into the warm clear, waters to find the bottom covered in rocks. There wre schools of bright blue minnows and a few goby. I also observed hundreds of crayfish. We scoured the bottom back and forth in the 1.5m deep water. Chuck found a dive mask, a pair of pink girls shoes, broken sunglasses and a 2004 Twenty Dollar Canadian note! We swam around and snorkeled under the falls and had a great time. Wolf found some car keys for a dodge Ram and a Canadian dime. We spent about an hour at the base of the falls and the basin. We concluded our exploration and headed back to shore. As we got out, we were joined by two young college girls.

With our gear still on, we went up to the small waterfall and got some great photos. On the way down, we saw a small crayfish who was climbing the waterfall & photographed him. Tori attempted to rescue him and put him into deeper water but dropped him into the water.

Chuck found a few large bones at the base of the waterfall. We wondered where they came from or whose they were.

We took the time to go into the mine, but with no torches we could not go in very far. We came down from the hill with the mine on it and doffed our equipment, packed up and filled out the journal near the base of the water-fall.

13:19 We started heading back

13:30 We ascended the canyon and started to head back to the vehicle.

13:41 We returned to the vehicle and relaxed for a few mins, looked at the photos then chuck took us out to lunch with the $20.00 booty he found.

Divers and Pirates get all the booty!