Have I ever mentioned how beautiful Tobermory is? Through the country roads, fields of colour and cattle, eventually you will arrive in Tobermory. On the way up, I picked up Champburger (Thanks for the advice Mark!) and met up with Grace so we took our time on the way up. Shore diving was scheduled around 1pm but we were running a bit behind. On arrival, there were some students in the water receiving instruction. We thought about getting in the water but decided on having a relaxing afternoon.
The group at Dan’s Dive Shop was hosting at the Trail’s End Lodge. It’s a great spot for a group of divers. As I woke early in the morning to get my lunches ready for the day, I felt a little ill. This only got worse with the waves on Georgian Bay later on. Our meeting point was at the harbor. It’s a small harbor with a few unique shops along the walk way and restaurants/bars residing along the water. Parking is limited so we all hurried to get a spot and rotated out like a well-oiled machine. There was 36 of us on this trip split over 3 boats, diving the same itinerary.
First up, was the Forrest City a propeller steamer built in 1890 that rammed Bears Rump Island in 1904 during heavy fog. It ranges in depth from 60-150ft with the most interesting bits being from 100′-150′. The stern remains reasonably intact. Before getting in the water, that sickness feeling caught up to me. Thankfully it was only stomach acid but still caused me to puke overboard. I felt a great relief and was now prepared to dive. It was a great dive, nice ease into the weekend. Or so I thought… As I’m climbing up the ladder on the boat a surge of water comes crashing into my face coming from the boat. Well, turns out someone also wasn’t doing too well and vomited on the deck of the boat. The captain was washing the deck off as I was climbing the ladder so I got covered in… you get the point. Thankfully I was still in all my scuba gear so I was protected but still scarred nonetheless.
Next up was the Niagara II a Steel sand sucker built in 1930. In 1998 the Tobermory Maritime Association searched for a ship to sink in Tobermory to enhance the diving opportunities. After a long search, they came across the Niagara II. In May 1999 it was sunk and offered a great addition to the shipwrecks. It is one of my favourites because it brings back memories of me penetrating engine rooms in WWII Shipwrecks in Truk Lagoon. I love to see the inner workings of the ships. There are so many things to see and look at. From gages, to electrical boxes, to wheel houses. It’s like a giant playground.
Lastly (GoPro Died) the Grotto. The Grotto is a swimming spot for lots of the tourists. There are cliffs people jump off and mini-cave entrances hidden under water. You can swim through and end up inside the grotto where there is a sheltered body of water people swim in. It’s a shallow dive of about 50ft max and by far the warmest.
After packing up all our gear in the car, it was dinner time. Dan’s Dive Shop always cooks up a good steak BBQ the first night. The steaks are the size of your head (I’m not kidding) and we had a special side of Portugese potatoes made by one of the divers, John! They were some of the best potatoes I’ve tasted, and I have a British/Irish lineage… The lodge has a great walk way down to the rocks along the water. It offers the best sunset view you could ask for. We all watched the sun go down after unwinding from a great day of diving.
The next morning was a rinse and repeat. Back at the harbour early morning and setting off to the Dufferin Wall. It is named Dufferin Wall because the Lady Dufferin crashed into its shores and sank. Every time I’ve dived this, I’ve thought it was so ‘blah’… Oh, how wrong I was. Thanks to great friends my dive buddy (Bryan) and I, were given underwater scooters (DPV’s) to play with. With the DPV we were able to explore so much more and go far off the wall and really grasp the perspective. We traced the edge of abyss looking downward to pitch black. To our left, we could see this massive wall of uniqueness. Sculpted over centuries, formed with a sharp drop off as you peer over the ledge. It really is a hard thing to describe. It’s like swimming off a cliff, but floating as you descend down checking out every crack along the edge of the wall. It’s beautiful.
Our last stop for the trip was the Arabia. It’s slowly growing on me. To a lot of people, it is the prized jewel of Tobermory. Built in 1853 with a Length of 131 ft and sunk in 1884 as it took on water and sank in heavy seas. It was a wooden ship with lots of wheat and flour cargo. As it took on water it started to sink and wasn’t discovered until later on in the 1970’s (I believe? Someone correct me). It has a lot of the finer details that remain on a boat from the 1800’s. Its got a big jib boom, anchors, dead eyes, masts. Plenty of things to see. After a great weekend of diving, it was time to head on home again.
Thanks to the folks and Dan’s Dive Shop for a great trip again with solid divers.
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Justin Steele
The Green Ranger