Brockville Dive Report - August 2016

[abnfrog]

jack some people dive in the water some dive in their minds ....hes the latter

 

[mddolson]

I spent 20 of my 40 years of diving in Brockville. The Lilly Parsons, Gaskin, Henry C Daryaw & Muscallonge are all in close proximity to Brockville, & in sport diving limits. While a 3mm suit is fine in late summer & no thermocline to speak off, most dive in full 7mm wet suit, especially when doing more than one dive/day. Diving in a current requires some skill & knowledge. Current is lowest at the bottom & there are rocks & hand holds to grab, (like the anchor chain on the Lillie P) Never needed a compass on these wrecks, face into the current: that's west, left is south, right is north (LOL). Current on the Lillie P is probably the strongest of all 4. The funnel effect between Sparrow Island & Mainland is the cause. Best way to enjoy the Lillie (IMHO) is as a drift dive, conserving air. In my day (before the anchor chain) we humped our gear to the far west end of the island, slipped in and drifted with current down to the stern at about 45ft. Drifting along the north side following the rail to the mast, which you can go down to about 80 ft, then back up to the hull, & drift down to the bow, then around back up the island (south) side, use the chain (today) hand over hand to the stern again. Slip under the stern & pop up have a look around inside, stay within eye sight of the exit, then out & up to check out the rudder, drift along keel, see the center board opening, then follow the hull to the bow, then drift along the rocks keep to right (facing down stream) then surface after 3 min at 15 ft & swim into the dock.

 

[Diver Rick]

I spent 20 of my 40 years of diving in Brockville..........then follow the hull to the bow, then drift along the rocks keep to right (facing down stream) then surface after 3 min at 15 ft & swim into the dock.

Wow, you just described my perfect dive on the Lilly!

I've been diving it 2 or 3 times per summer since 1983 and never grow tired of it!

 

[cleung]

Hopefully next time I dive the Lilly, I won't miss the rope on the rocks during the drift dive

 

[Diver Rick]

Hopefully next time I dive the Lilly, I won't miss the rope on the rocks during the drift dive

Consider forgetting those ropes! I drift past them, just a short distance further, making sure you rise to about 20 feet. There is a cut out in the rock, I call it a bench, that sits almost exactly in 15 feet, where you can kneel down, and do your safety stop watching fish and other critters to entertain yourself, then rise up to about 5 feet and swim into the bay. MUCH easier than trying to grab those ropes and flap in the current like a flag to do your stop.

Try it!