Squalus
The Good Humor Guy
Dive trip to Tobermory, Canada began on 2 September 2005. We departed Cleveland, Ohio at 0930. Arrived in Tobermory, Canada about 2100 the same day. The drive was totally awesome after getting out of the cities that dot the Canadian countryside. Upon arrival we checked into the ranger station and received our briefing about not taking anything off the wrecks that we would be diving during our 4-day adventure.
Then off to the GIS, Watersports LTD to fill in the appropriate paperwork that we would be doing advanced as well as beginner wrecks. Then off to eat at the local pub that had signs posted No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service (and in fine print No Cursing!). Hmmm, that did not last long with a bunch of divers bent on diving deep and cold that weekend. The main players of this trip were myself, Mike (my advanced nitrox and deco instructor), Wojo, Andy, Michael, Dan, Ed, Frank and, Lee.
The following morning after being awakened from our stupors by the ever so popular ferry Chi-Chaeemaun which comes into port every morning at 0700 (7:00 a.m. for those who dont understand the 24 hour clock system
). We quickly took all our gear to the dock and loaded the Lark, our dive boat for this merry bunch of divers. After loading the boat we went to the local grocery to stock up on provisions for our lunch and SI broohas, then off to get breakfast because Claus our merry boat Captain would be punctual and be there by 0800 without fail.
The first dive of the day of day one was the Niagara II, tanker at first then converted to a sandsucker. Built in Haverton Hill-on-Tees, England, 1930. Her length is 182ft., her final resting is 120 to the sand, her deck is 90. She was sunk deliberately in May of 1999. Really a great wreck to dive on, did my first penetrations on her. Swam down her smoke stack and into the engine room (I might add that it is quite chilly in there), poked around looking for stuff to play with then, up through the deck hatch. No wild life was hanging around but one small fish, took off before we could ID it. Second dive was the Charles P. Minch (three masted schooner), built in Vermillion, Ohio, in 1867. The Minch is 154.7 in length, sits about 20-50ffw. She was driven onto the rocks in October of 1898, spread over Tecumseh Cove. Not much to be seen there except for spread out timbers, for she was a wooden ship. The occupants that inhabit the wreck that day were a bunch of arthropods doing the annual call of the wild to propagate and be merry. The third dive of the day was the W.L. Wetmore (two masted schooner), built in Cleveland, Ohio in 1871. Her length was 213.7, sits 25ffw. Wrecked in a storm in November of 1901 upon a spur off of Russel Island. The boiler can be seen on a clear day from the mooring buoy. Reaching the wreck can be accomplished two ways - surface swim or shoot an azimuth and swim to it. Seeing the waves were cresting at about 2, we decided to shoot an azimuth and swim to it. Upon reaching the site, the boiler was an awesome site to see. Traversed the wreck completely then off to find the rudder and the awesome anchor and pile of chain. The surge could be felt during the entire dive. The anchor sits in an upright position with a length of chain. The last dives of the day were the two shallow wrecks the Sweepstakes (two-masted schooner) and City Of Grand Rapids (steamer). They both sit in the same harbour. The Sweepstakes was built in Burlington, Ontario in 1867, length is 119ft and sits 20 ffw. She sank in September of 1885 after being towed to Big Tub Harbour. The hull is intact, and is secured from penetration for preservation and safety. Next,the City Of Grand Rapids, built in Grand Haven, Michigan in 1879. The length is 122.5; sits at 15ffw. Burned in the harbour and sank in October of 1907. Not much is left of this one but some charred wood sitting at the bottom of the shallow harbour.
The night was spent going to the Crows Nest, full of tourists and locals eating and drinking and being merry. After dinner we headed down to the local ice cream parlor to get what Mike calls the best ice cream he has ever tasted, and I agree (if youre really nice to them they put an extra scoop without charging ).
The next day we were promptly awaken by the Chi-Cheemaun at 0700 coming into port. Trying to get breakfast there is elbow to elbow action in the local diners. We fixed that problem with breakfast bars and a quick cup of coffee (their idea of a large cup is comparable to our medium). The first dive of the day was the Niagra II again to find this mythical skeleton with scuba gear that Wojo had seen on the first dive in one of the rooms located on the port side (we all kidded him that he was suffering from narcosis that day ). We bomb the wreck sky diver style, two by two, gently floating down to her deck near the Canadian flag that flutters in the current. Our mission that day was to attempt to find that skeleton that was seen the day prior. This time Wojo brought his video to capture the specter that he supposedly seen. We traverse the wreck, fore and aft, till we find the skeleton that is peering out of a porthole with defunct scuba gear. After we find his mythical skeleton and he is happy we begin to play again and head to the bridge to check it out. A large school of lake trout appear out of the mist on the starboard, magnificent flashes of silver from their sides. We stay in the bridge to watch them feed around the wreck. When the last divers reached the boat, somebody asked Wojo if he had seen the pink elephant with wings near the bridge, and he gave the one-fingered salute to us all
.LOL. The next dive was the Carolina Rose (schooner), built in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia in 1940. Length, 132, rests in 55ffw. Was sunk in August of 1990 as a dive site. Plenty of things to observe and touch and holes to poke your head in and look around. Not much life around the wreck but gobies and the ever so popular zebra mussels. Our next dive was the Caves, a grotto that can be accessed two ways - either by a path on land or from the open waters of the Georgian Bay. We chose the latter of the two, got our bearings and headed that way swimming with the surge to the underwater entry. Dan and I were the first to reach and enter the tunnel that led to the grotto. We lit it up and headed in. The floor had no silt layer due to the constant surge from the bay. We poke around a bit looking into every nick and crevice to see what they might offer to us. The tunnel is approximately 15 in length and about 4 ½ in height, width was a little more. We reach the grotto and it was an awesome site, then we see what at first was thought to be a mermaid, turned out to be a free diver :11: . We look on the floor of the grotto for some lost booty of sorts; all we could come up with was ponytail holders. Then we see the large opening from the grotto to the bay, an awesome sight to see on that day with the rays of light piercing through the clear waters bouncing off the sides of the schooling minnows. We start to head out into the bay when we both see the most retarded thing ever. One of the divers from the shore was letting a snorkler use his octo to penetrate the swim through into the grotto (some might see this as ok, but in my book is a NO-NO). He acknowledges our presence and we just shake our heads in disgust. We cruise along the shoreline then I see a glimmer amongst the rocks. I reach down and move some and come up with a really nice looking silver band (put it with the towel I found lying next to the Niagra II). Dan and I return to the boat and decide to do some goofing off in the water seeing that we had a team still out. We grab our masks and fins and jump in, find the last team doing a nav course heading back to the boat. While waiting we were seeing who could dive the deepest. He was in his dry suit; I was in my wet suit, and we did not get to far in depth. We both headed back to the boat, I circled the boat being as quiet as could be and saw that Frank was standing on the port exit side with his back to me. I quietly come along side and reach up and get a good grip on the side with my left hand then quickly with my right grab his calf and yell. Needless to say for the rest of the time I had to watch for payback for that prank. Last dive of the day was the Philo Scoville (originally a two-masted schooner later converted to three masts). Built in Cleveland, Ohio in 1863; length 139 6, rests 25-95ffw. In October of 1889, it was wrecked in a storm. I did not dive this one, sat it out and was surface support for the other divers. We sat and watched the divers bubbles from the surface making sure everything was good to go. I did notice a current on the last team that entered the water; probably I would guess a 1-2knot current.
Then off to the GIS, Watersports LTD to fill in the appropriate paperwork that we would be doing advanced as well as beginner wrecks. Then off to eat at the local pub that had signs posted No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service (and in fine print No Cursing!). Hmmm, that did not last long with a bunch of divers bent on diving deep and cold that weekend. The main players of this trip were myself, Mike (my advanced nitrox and deco instructor), Wojo, Andy, Michael, Dan, Ed, Frank and, Lee.
The following morning after being awakened from our stupors by the ever so popular ferry Chi-Chaeemaun which comes into port every morning at 0700 (7:00 a.m. for those who dont understand the 24 hour clock system
). We quickly took all our gear to the dock and loaded the Lark, our dive boat for this merry bunch of divers. After loading the boat we went to the local grocery to stock up on provisions for our lunch and SI broohas, then off to get breakfast because Claus our merry boat Captain would be punctual and be there by 0800 without fail.The first dive of the day of day one was the Niagara II, tanker at first then converted to a sandsucker. Built in Haverton Hill-on-Tees, England, 1930. Her length is 182ft., her final resting is 120 to the sand, her deck is 90. She was sunk deliberately in May of 1999. Really a great wreck to dive on, did my first penetrations on her. Swam down her smoke stack and into the engine room (I might add that it is quite chilly in there), poked around looking for stuff to play with then, up through the deck hatch. No wild life was hanging around but one small fish, took off before we could ID it. Second dive was the Charles P. Minch (three masted schooner), built in Vermillion, Ohio, in 1867. The Minch is 154.7 in length, sits about 20-50ffw. She was driven onto the rocks in October of 1898, spread over Tecumseh Cove. Not much to be seen there except for spread out timbers, for she was a wooden ship. The occupants that inhabit the wreck that day were a bunch of arthropods doing the annual call of the wild to propagate and be merry. The third dive of the day was the W.L. Wetmore (two masted schooner), built in Cleveland, Ohio in 1871. Her length was 213.7, sits 25ffw. Wrecked in a storm in November of 1901 upon a spur off of Russel Island. The boiler can be seen on a clear day from the mooring buoy. Reaching the wreck can be accomplished two ways - surface swim or shoot an azimuth and swim to it. Seeing the waves were cresting at about 2, we decided to shoot an azimuth and swim to it. Upon reaching the site, the boiler was an awesome site to see. Traversed the wreck completely then off to find the rudder and the awesome anchor and pile of chain. The surge could be felt during the entire dive. The anchor sits in an upright position with a length of chain. The last dives of the day were the two shallow wrecks the Sweepstakes (two-masted schooner) and City Of Grand Rapids (steamer). They both sit in the same harbour. The Sweepstakes was built in Burlington, Ontario in 1867, length is 119ft and sits 20 ffw. She sank in September of 1885 after being towed to Big Tub Harbour. The hull is intact, and is secured from penetration for preservation and safety. Next,the City Of Grand Rapids, built in Grand Haven, Michigan in 1879. The length is 122.5; sits at 15ffw. Burned in the harbour and sank in October of 1907. Not much is left of this one but some charred wood sitting at the bottom of the shallow harbour.
The night was spent going to the Crows Nest, full of tourists and locals eating and drinking and being merry. After dinner we headed down to the local ice cream parlor to get what Mike calls the best ice cream he has ever tasted, and I agree (if youre really nice to them they put an extra scoop without charging
).The next day we were promptly awaken by the Chi-Cheemaun at 0700 coming into port. Trying to get breakfast there is elbow to elbow action in the local diners. We fixed that problem with breakfast bars and a quick cup of coffee (their idea of a large cup is comparable to our medium). The first dive of the day was the Niagra II again to find this mythical skeleton with scuba gear that Wojo had seen on the first dive in one of the rooms located on the port side (we all kidded him that he was suffering from narcosis that day
). We bomb the wreck sky diver style, two by two, gently floating down to her deck near the Canadian flag that flutters in the current. Our mission that day was to attempt to find that skeleton that was seen the day prior. This time Wojo brought his video to capture the specter that he supposedly seen. We traverse the wreck, fore and aft, till we find the skeleton that is peering out of a porthole with defunct scuba gear. After we find his mythical skeleton and he is happy we begin to play again and head to the bridge to check it out. A large school of lake trout appear out of the mist on the starboard, magnificent flashes of silver from their sides. We stay in the bridge to watch them feed around the wreck. When the last divers reached the boat, somebody asked Wojo if he had seen the pink elephant with wings near the bridge, and he gave the one-fingered salute to us all
.LOL. The next dive was the Carolina Rose (schooner), built in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia in 1940. Length, 132, rests in 55ffw. Was sunk in August of 1990 as a dive site. Plenty of things to observe and touch and holes to poke your head in and look around. Not much life around the wreck but gobies and the ever so popular zebra mussels. Our next dive was the Caves, a grotto that can be accessed two ways - either by a path on land or from the open waters of the Georgian Bay. We chose the latter of the two, got our bearings and headed that way swimming with the surge to the underwater entry. Dan and I were the first to reach and enter the tunnel that led to the grotto. We lit it up and headed in. The floor had no silt layer due to the constant surge from the bay. We poke around a bit looking into every nick and crevice to see what they might offer to us. The tunnel is approximately 15 in length and about 4 ½ in height, width was a little more. We reach the grotto and it was an awesome site, then we see what at first was thought to be a mermaid, turned out to be a free diver :11: . We look on the floor of the grotto for some lost booty of sorts; all we could come up with was ponytail holders. Then we see the large opening from the grotto to the bay, an awesome sight to see on that day with the rays of light piercing through the clear waters bouncing off the sides of the schooling minnows. We start to head out into the bay when we both see the most retarded thing ever. One of the divers from the shore was letting a snorkler use his octo to penetrate the swim through into the grotto (some might see this as ok, but in my book is a NO-NO). He acknowledges our presence and we just shake our heads in disgust. We cruise along the shoreline then I see a glimmer amongst the rocks. I reach down and move some and come up with a really nice looking silver band (put it with the towel I found lying next to the Niagra II). Dan and I return to the boat and decide to do some goofing off in the water seeing that we had a team still out. We grab our masks and fins and jump in, find the last team doing a nav course heading back to the boat. While waiting we were seeing who could dive the deepest. He was in his dry suit; I was in my wet suit, and we did not get to far in depth. We both headed back to the boat, I circled the boat being as quiet as could be and saw that Frank was standing on the port exit side with his back to me. I quietly come along side and reach up and get a good grip on the side with my left hand then quickly with my right grab his calf and yell. Needless to say for the rest of the time I had to watch for payback for that prank. Last dive of the day was the Philo Scoville (originally a two-masted schooner later converted to three masts). Built in Cleveland, Ohio in 1863; length 139 6, rests 25-95ffw. In October of 1889, it was wrecked in a storm. I did not dive this one, sat it out and was surface support for the other divers. We sat and watched the divers bubbles from the surface making sure everything was good to go. I did notice a current on the last team that entered the water; probably I would guess a 1-2knot current.
