Signed up for SSI Open Water

[scubadiver888]

Cool, thanks. I see some of my favorites, like the Keystorm are plotted out. Thanks again,

 

Randall

Keystorm is on the American side, I'd have to clear customs to dive that but it looks pretty cool.

 

If you are ever on the Canadian side and need a good dive shop, just east of Mallorytown is a shop called Dive Tech (http://www.divetech.ca). They have a great selection of stuff in stock. If you look at the Keystorm on the Google Earth map, you should be able to see Mallorytown on the Canadian side. Dive Tech is just east of the town on that road that runs right throw the middle. I think they are at 44 29' 08" N by 75 52' 14" W on Google Earth.

[Cruiser809e8r09]

Hope you had fun.

 

Haven't gone yet. :D Our dive is the morning of August 23rd.

 

My dive club likes to dive in Kingston, ON (Lake Ontario). I recently found out if we went 1 hour east to the St. Lawrence there is no thermocline. Oh well, as Nietzsche said, "That which does not kill us, makes us stronger."

 

Hahah! Live and learn. No scuba in the St. Laurence, but I did a canoe trip on it from underneath the Cornwall bridge to somewhere on the Quebec side. Conditions looked really clear in the water near the shore.

 

I was in Calgary last weekend. Took a drive out to Lake Louise on Saturday. The water was very murky looking. A sort of cloudy, milky looking water. I guess this is the sediment from the glaciers you talked about. Took my shoes off and waded around in it for a bit (its a thing I do; always have to get a little wet on a new body of water). WHOA was it cold. After a few seconds though my feet went numb and it didn't hurt quite as much. :D

 

Yeah. I've heard that in Lac Beauvert anyway, there are large underwater vents where water flows in from somewhere up underneath the glaciers. The vents are supposed to be several feet in diameter.

 

I looked up a few peoples accounts of diving in Beauvert, it sounds like visibility is good but the deeper areas are mostly that fine powder settled out that messes it up quickly if you disturb it. Have to be double sharp on our buoyancy! :D

 

[scubaran]

Keystorm is on the American side, I'd have to clear customs to dive that but it looks pretty cool.

 

To dive the Keystorm I had to clear customs 4 times.... :D I went on an abucs dive boat out of Brockville, ON. Had to clear Canadian customs to go to Brockville, then the boat went to Boldt Island near Alexandria Bay, NY for all the divers to clear U.S. customs to dive the Keystorm (yes, in U.S. waters), then we had to clear Canadian customs in Brockville when we returned from diving and finally I cleared U.S. customs as I went over the U.S/Canadian bridge to get home. Good think I keep an up-to-date passport, it helped expedite quite a bit. :)

 

Actually most diving in the St. Lawrence is on the Canadian side. Route 12 following the St. Lawrence on the U.S. side moves away from the river a couple of miles so there isn't the access that you get from your side of the river. :p

 

Randall

[scubadiver888]

To dive the Keystorm I had to clear customs 4 times.... :D I went on an abucs dive boat out of Brockville, ON. Had to clear Canadian customs to go to Brockville, then the boat went to Boldt Island near Alexandria Bay, NY for all the divers to clear U.S. customs to dive the Keystorm (yes, in U.S. waters), then we had to clear Canadian customs in Brockville when we returned from diving and finally I cleared U.S. customs as I went over the U.S/Canadian bridge to get home. Good think I keep an up-to-date passport, it helped expedite quite a bit. :)

 

This is hilarious. I guess this means even if I went to dive it, I'd have to clear customs twice; once to get to the dive site and once to get back into Canada.

 

Actually most diving in the St. Lawrence is on the Canadian side. Route 12 following the St. Lawrence on the U.S. side moves away from the river a couple of miles so there isn't the access that you get from your side of the river. :p

 

Randall

 

This works for me. Unfortunately, I live 4 hours away from the area. So far I've been there once. I'm going to Picton (west of Kingston) for the long weekend. These sites are definitely not a day trip for me.

[scubaran]

This is hilarious. I guess this means even if I went to dive it, I'd have to clear customs twice; once to get to the dive site and once to get back into Canada.

 

 

 

This works for me. Unfortunately, I live 4 hours away from the area. So far I've been there once. I'm going to Picton (west of Kingston) for the long weekend. These sites are definitely not a day trip for me.

 

Yep, Canadians on the boat only had to do customs twice. As far as 4 hours away, I'm 4.5 hours away (eastern NY) and make it up there about once a month. Luckly the DW likes to shop in Alex. Bay and lets me scuba while she spends twice as much as I do on diving on other stuff (after thinking about it, I may have to dive more locally to save money :p ).

 

Randall

[Cruiser809e8r09]

Well, we completed our open water dives last weekend. It was a tough but interesting experience! We dove Lake Annette on Saturday, water temps were about 14C. Sunday we dove Beauvert which was about 10C.

 

We were suited up with hoods, gloves and a double-layer suit. I felt pretty warm the whole time, but we did feel the thermocline when we went down to about 35 feet in Beauvert to do our air consumption test for about 4 minutes. That was a bit of a disaster because people kept stirring up the sediment to the point where we all had to move several times in order to see our leader.

 

Getting in at Annette was a snap because there's a dock. We shared the area with another dive class group. Getting in at Beauvert was a bit of a nightmare because you have to wade in from the shoreline with all of your kit in place, probably an extra 100+ lbs over your normal bodyweight (my belt alone was 35), and the suits weren't allowing much range of motion because of the extra layer. The rocks there are rounded and slime covered (the pic I posted above is exactly how it looks) and you slip and slide all over the place until you can get into waist deep water.

 

Visibility was good at both lakes (at least until we clumsy students stirred up the bottom). At Annette we saw lots of fish, mostly catfish trolling the mud looking for a meal. My wife had a small fish "land" in her up-raised palm for a while before it got bored and darted off. There's a "cairn" of rocks about 75ft out from the dock that we used as a rally point for various exercises. There weren't as many fish to see at Beauvert, but there were these interesting "inverted volcanoes", basically 6" vents for glacial melt waters. LOTS of golf balls. We tried collecting a few but without pockets to put them in it was annoying to carry them around so we just dropped them down again.

 

We broke up into small groups and repeated many of the tests we did in the pool in front of a supervising instructor. At the end we all filled out our dive logs with information about the various dives we did. When I returned the rental equipment later at the dive shop, he stamped each entry.

 

We had two air tanks each, and did two dives per day, Saturday and Sunday. Saturday afternoon we took our now empty air tanks to the Jasper fire hall where the Chief refilled them for us, and we "donated" $10 each to his charity of the week. Don't go to the "old" firehall, that's now an art gallery (oops). ;)

 

So overall it was a great weekend, more vacation time than anything and we just happened to get dive certified while we were there. We stayed an extra day and went horseback riding with the place off Pyramid Road, north of Jasper. It's a good place and the route you take comes out on a hillside that overlooks all of Jasper with some fantastic views.

 

We took our ID pictures and emailed them to the dive shop, all that's left is to pick up the cards when they call, and head off to the Caribbean in December for cruising and more diving. :D

[mamasue]

Congrats dscruisin... and welcome to the diving community!!:)

As a diving instructor, I always tell my students their lives will change from now on..... every vacation your priority will be planning where to go for your next dives!

[Dive Master]

Congratulations on your achievements.The pictures of your lakes look beautiful but I know you are looking forward to some tropical,warm water diving.Welcome to the world of diving and keep on learning--there is always something new and exciting to keep you striving for more.

[scubaran]

Well, we completed our open water dives last weekend. It was a tough but interesting experience!

 

Getting in at Beauvert was a bit of a nightmare because you have to wade in from the shoreline with all of your kit in place, probably an extra 100+ lbs over your normal bodyweight (my belt alone was 35), and the suits weren't allowing much range of motion because of the extra layer. The rocks there are rounded and slime covered (the pic I posted above is exactly how it looks) and you slip and slide all over the place until you can get into waist deep water.

 

Congrats!!!! Your experiences sounded very familiar (you'll come to laugh at your experiences in a few years!).

 

As far as entering, if I can add a suggestion (we have the same shore where I dive), inflate your BCD, walk in just a bit and sit down on the rocks, put on your fins, then roll over on your back and do an easy kick with your hands resting on your chest and regulator in if the waves are up, or flip back over on your stomach after a bit and use your snorkel to get into 3m water or less. Also when getting out, if the rocks are really slick, consider crawling out after taking off your fins. You can get in shallow water to a few cm's and roll over and slip out of your BCD/tank and then stand up. Not graceful but loosing your mask or fins as you slip and slide looks a lot worst. :p

 

Randall

[cruzegirl]

Congratulations on your certification....... That's wonderful......:D

A whole new world is yours to discover now........ It is amazing how the traveling becomes so much more fun. I have Tahiti in October..... So can't wait for that........:p

[scubadiver888]

Congratulations dscruisin,

 

Next step is AOW. :) I just finished my AOW and threw in some wreck penetration training as well. Had a great weekend of diving out at Picton, ON. Now I just have to send my DM a new picture and pick up my AOW card. :D

 

Hmmm, if I have AOW and Wreck Specialty, do they have a card for both? Or does one card supercede the other? I guess I'll find out tomorrow when I meet with my DM.

[mamasue]

Congratulations dscruisin,

 

Next step is AOW. :) I just finished my AOW and threw in some wreck penetration training as well. Had a great weekend of diving out at Picton, ON. Now I just have to send my DM a new picture and pick up my AOW card. :D

 

Hmmm, if I have AOW and Wreck Specialty, do they have a card for both? Or does one card supercede the other? I guess I'll find out tomorrow when I meet with my DM.

 

 

With PADI, if you just did one wreck dive as one of your AOW course dives, you don't get another card.

If you did a wreck specialty course, you'll get another card.

A DM is teaching you?? Should be an instructor.... DM's cant certify.

[scubaran]

Congratulations dscruisin,

 

Next step is AOW. :) I just finished my AOW and threw in some wreck penetration training as well. Had a great weekend of diving out at Picton, ON. Now I just have to send my DM a new picture and pick up my AOW card. :D

 

Hmmm, if I have AOW and Wreck Specialty, do they have a card for both? Or does one card supercede the other? I guess I'll find out tomorrow when I meet with my DM.

 

Hi,

 

Card for each. I have cards for Enriched Air, and Night Spec. But when I got my Rescue they added the Enriched to it so I only need a single card for Nitrox dives. :D

 

r

 

P.S. DSCRUSIN, get your night specialty if you want to see fish in the lake. They come in at night and "nest" in the shallow sand. You'd be amazed at the size and number of fish you will see! Talk about up close viewing...

[scubadiver888]

With PADI, if you just did one wreck dive as one of your AOW course dives, you don't get another card.

If you did a wreck specialty course, you'll get another card.

A DM is teaching you?? Should be an instructor.... DM's cant certify.

 

I actually did quite a few wreck dives. Checking my log book, I have 7 wreck dives. Candace likes to do above and beyond the PADI requirements. She had me do 7 wreck dives for the Wreck Specialty. I also do 2 of every dive required for PADI AOW.

 

Sorry, I must be bent... I have to stop posting before I've had my morning coffee. Candace would kill me if she found out I called her a DM. :(

 

She is actually a PADI IDC Staff Instructor.

[mamasue]

PADI IDC Staff = highly qualified.... sounds like you're in excellent hands,scubadiver888 !! Good choice of instructor!!!:) :) :)

[scubadiver888]

PADI IDC Staff = highly qualified.... sounds like you're in excellent hands,scubadiver888 !! Good choice of instructor!!!:) :) :)

Yeah, I was really impressed with Candace. This is a woman who dives so much she bought a scuba shop. Now she gets her gear at cost and free tank fills. :)

 

I have no idea how many dives she has logged but it was obvious from talking to her that she has probably forgotten more than most instructor ever knew.

 

I'm think it would be nice to work for her some day. Be a few years but I'll get there.

[mamasue]

That's exactly how I started.... I did a Discover Scuba Diving, in the Red Sea.... just as an excursion.

I fell in love with diving..... within 3 years , at the grand old age of 50,I had given up my life and job in the UK, and was working as a PADI instructor in Egypt.... I did this 4 years before I came to live in the USA.

I've logged almost 3,000 dives... and now I just enjoy diving in different parts of the world for fun!:)

[eastwest]

Hi Mamasue,

 

Where did you work in Egypt? Like you,my husband and I started diving in the Red Sea-Sharm el Sheikh, CMAS basic, then PADI OW in the Maldives and 20 more dives in the tropics followed.Last week,did AOW in an Austrian lake. That was our first experience in a lake and first with 7mm full hooded wetsuit plus jacket plus gloves! It was 10°C in 20 m. and didn't see anything! I almost gave up,that was quite an experience! I prefer warm clear water definitely! Next week,we'll be in Marsa Alam and in Nov. we'll be in French Polynesia.

 

Has anybody dived in French Polynesia? Any co. you would recommend? I am thinking of Bathys in Moorea and Topdive in Rangiroa and Bora Bora.

[mamasue]

Hi Mamasue,

 

Where did you work in Egypt? Like you,my husband and I started diving in the Red Sea-Sharm el Sheikh, CMAS basic, then PADI OW in the Maldives and 20 more dives in the tropics followed.Last week,did AOW in an Austrian lake. That was our first experience in a lake and first with 7mm full hooded wetsuit plus jacket plus gloves! It was 10°C in 20 m. and didn't see anything! I almost gave up,that was quite an experience! I prefer warm clear water definitely! Next week,we'll be in Marsa Alam and in Nov. we'll be in French Polynesia.

 

Has anybody dived in French Polynesia? Any co. you would recommend? I am thinking of Bathys in Moorea and Topdive in Rangiroa and Bora Bora.

 

I worked in Hurghada... just over the water from Sharm.

You're very brave for doing your AOW in an Austrian lake... that sounds far too cold for me..... I HATE cold water!!!

Marsa Alam is nice... very similar to Sharm.... and the water temperature should still be nice and mild.

Good luck with your furure dives..... Rescue Diver next??

[eastwest]

Thanks.

 

Rescue diver? yes, but later. Need more practice first,we thought. We'll do drift diving and nitrox next in Marsa Alam. Plan to do a lot of diving in Moorea, Rangiroa and Bora Bora.

 

We definitely prefer warm water! The Austrian lake was just a try-for the fresh water experience.

[scubadiver888]

Hi Mamasue,

 

Where did you work in Egypt? Like you,my husband and I started diving in the Red Sea-Sharm el Sheikh, CMAS basic, then PADI OW in the Maldives and 20 more dives in the tropics followed.Last week,did AOW in an Austrian lake. That was our first experience in a lake and first with 7mm full hooded wetsuit plus jacket plus gloves! It was 10°C in 20 m. and didn't see anything! I almost gave up,that was quite an experience! I prefer warm clear water definitely! Next week,we'll be in Marsa Alam and in Nov. we'll be in French Polynesia.

 

Has anybody dived in French Polynesia? Any co. you would recommend? I am thinking of Bathys in Moorea and Topdive in Rangiroa and Bora Bora.

 

Just had my first experience diving in a cold lake, this year. Was certified in Jamaica and did almost all my dives in the Caribbean Sea. For me, 25C was cold water. This year I started diving at home and it was between 15C and 7C. Quite the experience going from a 3mm wetsuit and being toasty warm to 7mm wetsuit with hood and gloves but still cold.

 

If you can handle diving with all that gear on, diving in the warm waters will be so much easier.

[eastwest]

Yes,that's what we were told--if you learn to dive in this lake conditions,it is much easier to dive in the warm ocean. We started in clear warm water, 3mm. shorty so it was really difficult for us,that's why we were really happy when the course was over and we both made it!

[mamasue]

Bbbbrrrrrr... just thinking about it makes me cold!!!!!:eek: :eek: :eek: