This summer has been a lot more uneventful than what I had hoped. I had high hopes for the blog but lost sight of my goal and have been lacking motivation.
My diving hasn’t been as eventful as I had hoped for this summer. Chuuk Lagoon was a big expensive trip so I have been limited to diving Humber Bay and the Welland Canal while I recover financially. Both these sites are great training grounds. I will be posting about Welland Canal in the near future. You can read about Humber Bay here.
Fortunately my good dive buddy Mark has a trailer located near Tobermory. For those who don’t know or have just heard the name in passing, Tobermory is located at the northern tip of the Bruce Peninsula in the municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula. It is 300 kilometers (190 miles) northwest of Toronto.
It is known for it’s crystal clear water with a gorgeous country side to go with it. It is home to many spectacular hiking trails and rock formations. Among the scuba diving community it is known as the “fresh water scuba diving capital of the world”. Tobermory is home to the Fathom Five National Marine Park which encompasses 22 shipwrecks. What makes Tobermory special for diving is its cold waters. Generally the water temperature on the surface is anywhere from 15°C-20°C (mid-late summer) as you descend deeper you reach multiple thermoclines until you hit 0°C-3°C at 100ft+. These extremely cold temperatures are what causes Tobermory to have its crystal clear waters. It is too cold to support the life of algae and other bacteria that would cause particle matter in the water.
Mark and I spent the afternoon shore diving the Alice G Tug boat. The Alice G was a wooden tug that ran aground during a severe storm in November 1927. The wreck is easily accessible for scuba divers, snorkelers and free divers. The site is refereed to as the “Tugs” because there are a number of other tugs that reside at the site, including the Robert K, the John & Alice, and the Bob Foote. Most of these tugs have been burned or torn apart over the years, however the Alice G is the most intact of the group. The wreck lies in about 25 feet of water, sitting almost upright, but with a slight lean on it’s starboard side. On the wreck you can see the boilers, steam engine, anchor, and has a nice swim through between where the railings meet the deck of the boat. It is a very easy relaxing dive.
Tobermory has great wall formations underwater which is one of the ways you can get to the Alice G Tug. Mark and I descended and followed along the wall formation until we started to reach debris of wooden ships. At that time we knew we were getting close. It had been a while since both of us dove the Tugs and we weren’t 100% sure where it was. After about a 10 minute swim, we spotted the Alice G tug lying upright. We puddled around the wreck and took turns going through a nice swim through. Here I thought it would be a great chance for me to practice some skills and try doing a valve shutdown drill.
A valve shutdown drill is something you may encounter when diving doubles. If I need to shut down one of my tanks, my set up allows me to isolate my tanks so that I could dive off one tank if a problem occurred. Practicing this skill is essential for me wanting to get into cave diving. I signaled mark to let him know I was going to do a valve shutdown. He pulled out his long hose regulator and had it there for me to use in case I needed it. I started by closing my isolator valve which now allows me to breath off each tank independently. At this point, I was breathing off my right tank. I proceeded to shut off air to my right tank. Once the valve was shut, I switch to my regulator that breathes off my left tank. I re-opened my right valve and repeated the process now shutting down my left tank. This drill is supposed to simulate having a tank failure/malfunction and teaches how to isolate and problem solve underwater. Its a tough drill to do as you are reaching behind your head to touch your valves. You are also in thick exposure gear and have bulky gloves on which, limits your flexibility and adds difficulty to an otherwise simple task. All went well but it did take a bit longer than what I had hoped. It was good practice and for sure and area I’d like to continue to work on.
We were limited to shore diving as we didn’t have a boat/charter to take out to dive the other wonderful wrecks located in the Fathom Five National Marine Park. At the end of September I will be returning with Dan’s Dive Shop to dive more shipwrecks in Tobermory. I will be posting about that and will have more pictures and information!
As always, I hope you enjoyed the read and a brief history. I apologize for my lack of posting and hopefully the last half of the year will offer more diving posts! Stay tuned!
—-
Justin Steele
The Green Ranger