It had been a long time in planning, but Jason and myself finally got out with Alan Johnson to do a line workshop. After being involved with the UASBC, we were doing more and more with line under water, and it was important to get some good instruction on how to handle it. Line under water has a mind of its own!
Some of the things we went over were, holding a reel, or spool, primary, and secondary tie offs, laying line, placements and stations, and retrieving line. We also did some navigation in zero visibility training, and ran a dive with no masks and just following the line.
It was a great day of learning. The masks-off dive was quite interesting. It wasn't as hard as I would have thought. Finding things to tie off to at Whytecliff was more of a challenge. There was also a ton of information. I think I retained maybe 25%. It was going to take a lot of work and practice to become good at that's for sure.
A lot of time was spent running line in the nearby park. It was a good thing too, as underwater it was quite a challenge. I remember the reel getting jammed on one dive. You wouldn't think that it was that hard to just spool out some line, but when gravity isn't helping any more, line floats and can get everywhere.
On the whole a very good day, but it just showed me how much more there was to learn and practice.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Porteau Cove 23/10/2011
Heather and I went back to Porteau Cove for some more gear checkout. This time Mihai came along too, and we checked out the wrecks.
On the first dive we followed the firehose out. There was a big open water class there that day, and the visibility suffered for it. We spent a good deal of time on the deck of the Grant Hall as there were some very nice schools of fish and other critters hanging out there. There was also a little seal who zoomed through past us when we were around the tug boat. I was the only one who saw it unfortunately.
We spent the second dive under the dock again because it was so cool down there the other week. It didn't disappoint, the huge schools of shiner perch were there again, and the visibility was great.
Here is a little bit of video.
On the first dive we followed the firehose out. There was a big open water class there that day, and the visibility suffered for it. We spent a good deal of time on the deck of the Grant Hall as there were some very nice schools of fish and other critters hanging out there. There was also a little seal who zoomed through past us when we were around the tug boat. I was the only one who saw it unfortunately.
We spent the second dive under the dock again because it was so cool down there the other week. It didn't disappoint, the huge schools of shiner perch were there again, and the visibility was great.
Here is a little bit of video.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Porteau Cove 16/10/2011
Heather and I went out to Porteau Cove to do a relaxing fun dive. She wanted to try out her new dry suit and equipment.
We spent most of our time under the dock, and saw a spectacular school of shiner perch. There were more than I'd ever seen before. It was magical. A great dive!
Here is a bit of video of the experience! Heather did a great job with the camera...
We spent most of our time under the dock, and saw a spectacular school of shiner perch. There were more than I'd ever seen before. It was magical. A great dive!
Here is a bit of video of the experience! Heather did a great job with the camera...
Untitled from Anton North on Vimeo.
Egmont 07-10/10/2011
I had planned to go to Egmont with Mihai, but he and Christina had to cancel because Christina had very bad stomach pains. I drove up with them, but they had to go back home after we arrived at the dock in Egmont. It was too bad. I stayed on, arranging to get a ride back with some of the other folks who were there.
We were with Porpoise Bay Charters, Kal and Anne again. They were fabulous hosts as always.
On arrival, we did one dive in the evening at South Sutton Island. I had brought my scooter and so did Alan Johnson, so we had fun scootering the island. Funny enough, he hurt his foot, so he had asked me to bring my scooter so he wouldn't have to fin so much.
I stayed in one of Kal's yurts again. They were as comfortable as always. Dave Williams was my yurt-mate, and also dive buddy when I wasn't scootering.
On the next day, we started out with Agamemnon Power Lines. Alan did a tech dive, so I teamed up with Dave. The cloud sponges were awesome as always. For the rest of the day, Alan and I scootered about.
The next day, we started out with the wreck of the Chaudiere. Alan and I scootered it, and it made it a lot more interesting. The last time I had dove the Chaudiere, I thought it was a bit dull. Being able to circle the wreck 3 or 4 times made it a lot more interesting. It was big!
Here is a bit of video of us scootering the Chaudiere.
After the Chaudiere, we were able to dive the famous Skookumchuck Narrows. It was a lot more sedate than I imagined. We ended up seeing a lot of urchins, and surfaced in a beautiful kelp bed. Awesome! We finished off the day with Swede's Reef (scootering) and then Dave and I explored under Kal's dock. We found the box cutter that Kal asked us to find. But I also broke the spring-strap on my fin. I was very surprised that it broke, I thought they were indestructible. The pin was not however. Some stainless steel wire did the trick to fix it though.
The final day we went back to Agamemnon. An awesome dive again. The last and most spectacular dive was a scooter dive of Craggy Crack with Alan. We came across a great octopus out in the open, and the visibility and underwater topography was just stunning. An awesome end to an awesome weekend!
We were with Porpoise Bay Charters, Kal and Anne again. They were fabulous hosts as always.
On arrival, we did one dive in the evening at South Sutton Island. I had brought my scooter and so did Alan Johnson, so we had fun scootering the island. Funny enough, he hurt his foot, so he had asked me to bring my scooter so he wouldn't have to fin so much.
I stayed in one of Kal's yurts again. They were as comfortable as always. Dave Williams was my yurt-mate, and also dive buddy when I wasn't scootering.
On the next day, we started out with Agamemnon Power Lines. Alan did a tech dive, so I teamed up with Dave. The cloud sponges were awesome as always. For the rest of the day, Alan and I scootered about.
The next day, we started out with the wreck of the Chaudiere. Alan and I scootered it, and it made it a lot more interesting. The last time I had dove the Chaudiere, I thought it was a bit dull. Being able to circle the wreck 3 or 4 times made it a lot more interesting. It was big!
Here is a bit of video of us scootering the Chaudiere.
After the Chaudiere, we were able to dive the famous Skookumchuck Narrows. It was a lot more sedate than I imagined. We ended up seeing a lot of urchins, and surfaced in a beautiful kelp bed. Awesome! We finished off the day with Swede's Reef (scootering) and then Dave and I explored under Kal's dock. We found the box cutter that Kal asked us to find. But I also broke the spring-strap on my fin. I was very surprised that it broke, I thought they were indestructible. The pin was not however. Some stainless steel wire did the trick to fix it though.
The final day we went back to Agamemnon. An awesome dive again. The last and most spectacular dive was a scooter dive of Craggy Crack with Alan. We came across a great octopus out in the open, and the visibility and underwater topography was just stunning. An awesome end to an awesome weekend!
Whytecliff Park 25/09/2011
Jason, Alan Johnson and myself went out to Whytecliff to do our tech pass upgrade.
Everything went pretty well. It was a lot of fun!
Everything went pretty well. It was a lot of fun!
Whytecliff 22/09/2011
Jason and I got together for some skill practice, because we had our tech pass planned for the next weekend.
I had planned to take the GUE Technical Diver 1 course for a long time, and the tech pass upgrade to the Fundamentals was a requirement.
We did valve drills and gas sharing exercises. It went well!
I had planned to take the GUE Technical Diver 1 course for a long time, and the tech pass upgrade to the Fundamentals was a requirement.
We did valve drills and gas sharing exercises. It went well!
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Kelvin Grove 17/09/2011
Jason and I decided to go diving at Kelvin Grove as we'd not been out there for a long time. The day started out extremely rainy and crappy. However, when we got out to Kelvin, the sun came out and it was a different day.
We dove the right side of Kelvin, and for the second dive, stayed in the center and did some skills.
After the dive, we met one of Jason's co-workers, and he invited us up to his house, which was just up the road. We took him up on his offer, but when we got there, we found that he was taking a nap with his grandson. His wife invited us in anyway, and gave us some tea and cookies. We had a good chat on the political situation of the residents of Lion's Bay and divers. We had never heard the side of the story from a Lion's Bay resident. She described buses coming up loaded with divers, and taking over the entire area. I found it very interesting hearing that side of the story. I knew all my dive friends would not be in the problem category, but had no idea that larger groups had caused such problems for good divers. It looked like those days were over, and that things had calmed down. Which was very good, because it was a very nice dive site.
I had some video from our practice here.
We dove the right side of Kelvin, and for the second dive, stayed in the center and did some skills.
After the dive, we met one of Jason's co-workers, and he invited us up to his house, which was just up the road. We took him up on his offer, but when we got there, we found that he was taking a nap with his grandson. His wife invited us in anyway, and gave us some tea and cookies. We had a good chat on the political situation of the residents of Lion's Bay and divers. We had never heard the side of the story from a Lion's Bay resident. She described buses coming up loaded with divers, and taking over the entire area. I found it very interesting hearing that side of the story. I knew all my dive friends would not be in the problem category, but had no idea that larger groups had caused such problems for good divers. It looked like those days were over, and that things had calmed down. Which was very good, because it was a very nice dive site.
I had some video from our practice here.
Whytecliff Park 09/09/2011
Jim and I went out again for another skill dive at Whytecliff.
It was the first time I got to try out my new dive vehicle, a Ford Ranger. It worked out great!
We practiced our ascent, and we surfaced a bit farther down the Cut near the day marker. It took a bit of time to swim back in, but it wasn't bad. I always had problems picking the Cut exit point!
Again, doing skills at night added extra challenge.
It was the first time I got to try out my new dive vehicle, a Ford Ranger. It worked out great!
We practiced our ascent, and we surfaced a bit farther down the Cut near the day marker. It took a bit of time to swim back in, but it wasn't bad. I always had problems picking the Cut exit point!
Again, doing skills at night added extra challenge.
Whytecliff Park 26/08/2011
Jim and I went out to Whytecliff for a quick night dive and to get some practice for our planned upcoming Tech 1 class.
It was a beautiful evening. It was the first time me and Jim were out for practice. Silly me, I didn't exchange all contact details with Jim, and there was a mixup in the location he would meet me. I didn't give him quite the correct address. Whoops!
We got going quite a bit later, but decided to go ahead anyway. It was a bit hot, but the tide was good and we had a nice dive at the Cut.
It was very very dark in the water. We did some skill practice, and it was much more challenging in the dark with less visual references.
All in all, it was a great deal of fun.
It was a beautiful evening. It was the first time me and Jim were out for practice. Silly me, I didn't exchange all contact details with Jim, and there was a mixup in the location he would meet me. I didn't give him quite the correct address. Whoops!
We got going quite a bit later, but decided to go ahead anyway. It was a bit hot, but the tide was good and we had a nice dive at the Cut.
It was very very dark in the water. We did some skill practice, and it was much more challenging in the dark with less visual references.
All in all, it was a great deal of fun.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Nanaimo Wrecks and Tyee Beach 23/07/2011
Jason Kolba, Jim Dixon and I decided to meet up to do the Nanaimo wrecks. If I recall properly, Dan McKay my Fundamentals instructor was also along, with a bunch of other GUE divers. It was a nice surprise! Guy Shockey was along too. A few of them had scooters along, and during the dives it was pretty neat to see them flying about.
The day was very nice, sunny but a bit rough. We did the Saskatchewan first, then the Cape Breton. Both dives were great, as always.
After going out on the Sea Dragon for those dives, we decided to do one more dive that day from shore. Jim had to back out on the dive, but Jason and I decided to try Tyee Beach. I had done Tyee before, and it had quite a few interesting rocks.
This time around, we went to the left instead of to the right of the entry. Visibility wasn't the greatest, but we followed some pretty interesting walls and rock formations out then back. On the way back, we did a valve drill. My valve drill didn't go the greatest!
Overall, a great day of diving...
The day was very nice, sunny but a bit rough. We did the Saskatchewan first, then the Cape Breton. Both dives were great, as always.
After going out on the Sea Dragon for those dives, we decided to do one more dive that day from shore. Jim had to back out on the dive, but Jason and I decided to try Tyee Beach. I had done Tyee before, and it had quite a few interesting rocks.
This time around, we went to the left instead of to the right of the entry. Visibility wasn't the greatest, but we followed some pretty interesting walls and rock formations out then back. On the way back, we did a valve drill. My valve drill didn't go the greatest!
Overall, a great day of diving...
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Vancouver Island 25-26/06/2011
I had such a great time in Comox that I jumped at the chance to get out to the Island with Todd and crew again. We brought the scooters along too. I rented a Fiat 500 that got lovingly nick-named the "Firt" because Kat read the label wrong. I was afraid I'd not fit everything into the car when I picked it up. But it worked very well. I could have probably fit one more into the car too!
We met at Willis Point for our first dive. I teamed up with Laudhi, who was having his last cold-water dive before moving to warm-water. He also had the reputation as a person who did not seem to breath. They were right. I was on double 130's and he was on a single steel 100. At the end of 50 minutes, and an average depth of 60 feet, he had not even used up half his cylinder. Willis was always a good dive, and this time didn't disappoint.
After Willis, we went to McKenzie Bite. I'd never dove this before, and we took out the scooters. One funny thing was the small sunken boat. Someone had tied a fake skeleton to the mast. When we went past the boat, I didn't even see the skeleton at all!
We stayed at the Robin Hood Inn in Victoria for the night. The next day, we got as many scooters as we could to do a dive at the Ogden Point Break Water. I dove with Alan Wong and Vince janelle. Visibiity wasn't good, maybe 10 feet. The breakwater must have been a great dive if the vis was better. All in all it was still pretty neat. It was a very hot day, and hauling scooters and doubles down to the beach almost caused me to overheat.
A lot of fun!
We met at Willis Point for our first dive. I teamed up with Laudhi, who was having his last cold-water dive before moving to warm-water. He also had the reputation as a person who did not seem to breath. They were right. I was on double 130's and he was on a single steel 100. At the end of 50 minutes, and an average depth of 60 feet, he had not even used up half his cylinder. Willis was always a good dive, and this time didn't disappoint.
After Willis, we went to McKenzie Bite. I'd never dove this before, and we took out the scooters. One funny thing was the small sunken boat. Someone had tied a fake skeleton to the mast. When we went past the boat, I didn't even see the skeleton at all!
We stayed at the Robin Hood Inn in Victoria for the night. The next day, we got as many scooters as we could to do a dive at the Ogden Point Break Water. I dove with Alan Wong and Vince janelle. Visibiity wasn't good, maybe 10 feet. The breakwater must have been a great dive if the vis was better. All in all it was still pretty neat. It was a very hot day, and hauling scooters and doubles down to the beach almost caused me to overheat.
A lot of fun!
Comox and Nanaimo 04/06/2011
Vince Janelle told me about a trip to Comox with Todd Powell and a bunch more of the UTD dive crowd. Eric, Gary, Kat, and Arlene were good to meet finally. We stayed overnight in Comox, and went on the Ata-tude dive boat with Captain Bill.
It was a perfect day, and the first dive was on Vivian Island. I remember Vince and I covered a great deal of distance during the dive.
After lunch on the mainland at Lund at an amazing sandwich joint, we did the SS Capilano. It was an amazing dive. The descent down to the wreck was magical. The white plumose anemones ringed the wreck like a ghostly white halo.
Here is a compilation video clip. Todd and crew were doing a tech dive on the Vivian Island wall. It was neat to look down and see them below!
On the next day, we did Madrona Point on the way home. We found quite a nice octopus and set of wolf eels in the rocks. I tried to see if the wolf eels were interested in boiled eggs. They were not!
It was a perfect day, and the first dive was on Vivian Island. I remember Vince and I covered a great deal of distance during the dive.
After lunch on the mainland at Lund at an amazing sandwich joint, we did the SS Capilano. It was an amazing dive. The descent down to the wreck was magical. The white plumose anemones ringed the wreck like a ghostly white halo.
Here is a compilation video clip. Todd and crew were doing a tech dive on the Vivian Island wall. It was neat to look down and see them below!
On the next day, we did Madrona Point on the way home. We found quite a nice octopus and set of wolf eels in the rocks. I tried to see if the wolf eels were interested in boiled eggs. They were not!
Topline 29/05/2011
After getting back from Florida, I wanted to make sure that I wasn't completely spoiled by the warm water, and went out on the Topline with Mihai.
We did the Collingwood Day Marker, and Wolcombe Island. The day was sunny and awesome. I had some good time talking to Kevin and Jan about the Florida trip, since they spent a lot of time in that area themselves.
Here is a short clip of Mihai. The lighting made it look quite other-worldly.
We did the Collingwood Day Marker, and Wolcombe Island. The day was sunny and awesome. I had some good time talking to Kevin and Jan about the Florida trip, since they spent a lot of time in that area themselves.
Here is a short clip of Mihai. The lighting made it look quite other-worldly.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Marathon Florida 13/05/2011
I'd been looking forward to this for a long time. Heather and I had planned a trip to Florida for a dragon boat festival and some diving. We ran into some weather on the trip down, so we ended up being late and very tired, so we put off diving until the next day. Serendipitously, on exploring around the hotel, we saw a dive boat moored off the back dock. We ended up diving with Captain Hook's dive charter the next day, and just had to walk out the back door!
We did two dives on one of the Florida reefs. Helping out on the boat was Denise, a great lady. Also on the boat were some recruits from the local coast guard doing some dive training. On the boat ride out, we came across a rickety water-filled boat made of all manner of flotsam and jetsam. Apparently there were attempts by Cubans to come across to Florida on boats like this. I forget the name the Coast Guard people called it. They ended up calling in the boat to the Coast Guard, but we didn't see any people fortunately.
The two reef dives were awesome. I got to try out my warm-water gear, and we saw some great fish. We saw parrot fish, some tube fish, a small shark, and lots and lots of coral. The water was so clear and warm, it was grand. Without all my cold-water gear it seemed very liberating. I still didn't get converted to solely warm-water diving like some people said might happen. Both have their charms to me.
I had my GoPro video camera along, and made a short video of some of the things we saw. There is also a small portion of the snorkeling we did too!
We did two dives on one of the Florida reefs. Helping out on the boat was Denise, a great lady. Also on the boat were some recruits from the local coast guard doing some dive training. On the boat ride out, we came across a rickety water-filled boat made of all manner of flotsam and jetsam. Apparently there were attempts by Cubans to come across to Florida on boats like this. I forget the name the Coast Guard people called it. They ended up calling in the boat to the Coast Guard, but we didn't see any people fortunately.
The two reef dives were awesome. I got to try out my warm-water gear, and we saw some great fish. We saw parrot fish, some tube fish, a small shark, and lots and lots of coral. The water was so clear and warm, it was grand. Without all my cold-water gear it seemed very liberating. I still didn't get converted to solely warm-water diving like some people said might happen. Both have their charms to me.
I had my GoPro video camera along, and made a short video of some of the things we saw. There is also a small portion of the snorkeling we did too!
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