Dives around Ottawa

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JimC

Contributor
Messages
1,040
Reaction score
1
Location
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
# of dives
500 - 999
I am looking for potential dive sites within 30 or so minute drive from Ottawa.

I know there are a few wrecks in the river in Ottawa and I know there is a wreck in Arnprior somewhere but I don't have any specific information on them. I was hopeing someone could give a breif description of any they know about other than Morrisons Quary.

Thanks.
 
I dived the wreck you refer to (I think - as I haven't heard of any others) just north of Arnprior (If you want the directions - call Kanata Diving Supply).

It's in Red Pine Bay - and I dived it last summer. It was in the process of being mapped and no name has been attached to it.

It was a very windy evening (sounds like the beginning of a great novel!) and I was paired with a diver who hadn't been in fresh water before. The wreck is very shallow - about 30 feet and is about 300 feet off a dock crib (follow the rope) that is about 100 feet from shore.

The water was like diving in strong tea and there were LOTS of logs on the river bottom. When we got to the wreck - I could only see about 4 feet and decided to not go around it as when my buddy let go of the rope - up she went - not enough weights for her new wetsuit (7mm). I managed to grab her and we went back to end the dive - along the way her LPI came out of the BC (she tried very hard to get rid of any air in that BC) - I got the connecter attached - but thats when her tank slipped out of the BC web belt (We did a buddy check on land and it was tight and I assummed that she had wet it first - she hadn'd as in the tropics she never had to, the crew must have done that for her). I got it back in and I was getting spooked by all the mishaps. Anyway I got to use some of my training and she appologized after. We laughed about it and we both learned a few things.

As for this wreck - I wouldn"t dive it again, and the Ottawa is pretty murky.

Don't know of any other wrecks - other than the one near the Mint right in Ottawa.
 
like diving in strong tea
I have been in some lakes in Renfrew County, and they are all like diveing in Tea. Its actualy kinda fun in a perverse way. :)

Interesting story about the new buddy, what did she think of all the rubber and lead and cold water?
 
She wasn't impressed! She was really surprised on how much more difficult it was to dive in these conditions (compared to the Caribbean). Just the opposite as, how easy it was to dive down there after 7mm wetsuits, a ton of lead and cold water in the spring and fall here.

She was going back to the LDS and get proper weighting, and maybe do a course (buoyancy).
 
<quote> Like diving in strong tea </quote>

Heh. I knew there was a reason I never bothered to get certified while I was still living in Ottawa.

Not that Waterloo (an hour west of Toronto) is exactly a dive-paradise either, mind you. :(

Jamie
 
We have a cottage on a small lake in Quebec, near Ottawa and the vis is about 35-40 feet. In the spring and early summer it was bad due to all the rain, a large algae bloom and tree pollen.

Not too much to see, but its nice to dive and be at the cottage at the same time. We see lots of smallmouth bass, perch, pickerel and sunfish. The bass are very inquisitive and sometimes get pretty close. One time while watching a snapping turtle lying in some grass about 15 feet down, it took a run (swim!) at us. We left in a hurry - I guess it was annoyed that we were spoiling its hunting. Tried to get close to some loons, but they are a LOT faster than we are.

But usually all the lakes near where we are are pretty clear and very clean.

We might dive Lake Clear, near Calabogie, later in the summer - anyone done this?
 
Originally posted by BEM
We might dive Lake Clear, near Calabogie, later in the summer - anyone done this?

One of my Cottages is on Calabogie. While the diveing is.. ok at Calabogie and I have never actualy been in Lake Clear, there is a lake called Green Lake.

Its a small limestone lake with almost no boat trafic on it. There is public access via a boat launch, but do NOT dive around the boat launch. A number of years ago there were major problems here with 80+ divers cloging the place.

Put your boat in and head around to the right. There are some 60 foot cliffs along shore and on a good day the water is a beutiful clear green. Its a great place to dive.
 
Originally posted by JimC


One of my Cottages is on Calabogie. While the diveing is.. ok at Calabogie and I have never actualy been in Lake Clear, there is a lake called Green Lake.

Its a small limestone lake with almost no boat trafic on it. There is public access via a boat launch, but do NOT dive around the boat launch. A number of years ago there were major problems here with 80+ divers cloging the place.

Put your boat in and head around to the right. There are some 60 foot cliffs along shore and on a good day the water is a beutiful clear green. Its a great place to dive.

How to get there from Kanata?
 
Take 17 passed Arnprior.
Turn onto 508 towards Calabogie. (There are some signs)
Go passed the Calabogie ski hill about 5 minutes and turn right onto 65. You can identify this because 508 basicaly ends, and if you go the wrong way there you hit Black Donald Lake (Another good dive site actualy, its got an abandoned underwater mine town.. don't go in the mine, it WILL colapse on you).

About 5 minutes down 65 you will see a road to your right called green lake road, follow this untill it turns into a boat launch. Your here.
 
Originally posted by JimC
Take 17 passed Arnprior.
Turn onto 508 towards Calabogie. (There are some signs)
Go passed the Calabogie ski hill about 5 minutes and turn right onto 65. You can identify this because 508 basicaly ends, and if you go the wrong way there you hit Black Donald Lake (Another good dive site actualy, its got an abandoned underwater mine town.. don't go in the mine, it WILL colapse on you).

About 5 minutes down 65 you will see a road to your right called green lake road, follow this untill it turns into a boat launch. Your here.

Ok.
Thank you for the tip,
I've just checked out this place yesterday,
it's a nice one, the wather is clear and clean, have not seen any divers, perhaps they are coming on weekends.

Could you please tell me more about Ottawa area.
I'm basicly looking for a good freediving/spearfishing places, arount Ottawa, in Quebec, Lake Ontario(Kingston or Watertown area).

Thank you again,
Vlad
 
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