281 replies to this topic

[DandyDon]

I did, but let me say here, that even if I don't get to come to your gathering,

I still greatly appreciate your working so hard for the group!!

[Diverbrian]

Ok, now I need information from everybody else here. I have booking information from two charter ops in the Brockville area. I am waiting on a third to e-mail me back.

I need to know how long you want this to be. Due to distances, I am figuring a minimum of three days of diving. I am guessing right now that two of those days will be on a weekend.

1) Do you prefer more days of diving? If so, what is your preference in this area?

2) If we settle at three, is everybody more comfortable with Fri., Sat., Sun. or Sat., Sun., Mon. (if we can get this for Labor day weekend that question will be answered)?

If you don't feel like publicly posting this information, feel free to send me a PM. I am gathering information at this point in time. Once we have that data, I can let the charter ops know more what to expect for time frames and numbers of divers.

Thanks,

Brian

Edited by Diverbrian, 23 May 2004 - 11:30 AM.

[DivingGal]

FYI

Ottawa to NC 12 hours. (no tickets either )

I crossed at Ivy Lea (1000 Island Bridge / I-81) at 6 am with no issues from the border folks. In fact I never saw a State Trooper (or otherwise) until I got to NC!

Check in later dudes/dudettes.

[DivingGal]

To answer DB
1) hehehe I can go almost any time, so I'll abstain from voting /voicing my opinion

2) Fri-Sat-Sun works better for me

[WreckWench]

Hey gang....DiverBrian has done an awesome job of getting us a charter for Labor Day weekend. We will have afternoon dives which means we are NOT under the gun for beating the clock to get back to the docks! Way to go Brian! I'm not sure the days we have set up but we are not working on pricing and should have that posted early next week or so.

Brian...please post the dates you've reserved so far so people can start to plan accordingly. Also post all the cool dive destination info about our fun filled Northern Diving wreck extravaganza!!! Oh yes...and the water will be WARM...well thats VERY Warm by N. standards!!!

-Kamala aka Wreck Wench (time for you all to why I got my nickname!!!!)

[Diverlady]

OOPS!!!

I had participated in this thread before I went away and then completely forgot about it when I returned!!

Sounds like DB has got everything organized sans any help from moi and done a dern'd good job too!

Since I'm about a 3hr drive from that location, don't weigh my choices too heavily but I'd prefer to dive Sat, Sun and Mon. I'll go with the flow however.

DL

[Diverbrian]

Actually DL,

I would think that you will get your wish.

I believe that I booked us for Sat.-Mon. and 2 dives/day. Details are sparse as I am still dealing with the accomodations issues.

I actually used information from you and a couple of Canadian sources to determine location and find the charter. So, I did use your help.

Please mark your calendars for Sept. 4-6 (Labor (Labour) Day weekend)) for diving lovely Brockville off the St. Lawrence River. We are looking at WATER temps. of 70-75 degrees F (The truth, I swear!). I won't speak for air temps so bringing a jacket my be advisable. There are several wrecks in the area on both the American and Canadian sides of the border. They are in fresh water so be prepared to see wrecks with very little deterioration. I haven't dove this area myself so it will be a new opportunity for me as well. I guess I'll have to find thinner insulation for my drysuit. Hurt me!

I'll post more on accomodations later as we have info, but that will be included in the trip price. I guarantee you that they will be better than the accomodations on DL's Blackbeard's Trip, LOL.

Edited by Diverbrian, 03 June 2004 - 10:56 PM.

[Diverlady]

Please mark your calendars for Sept. 4-6 (Labor (Labour) Day weekend)) for diving lovely Brockville off the St. Lawrence River.

Consider it marked in for me!!

We are looking at WATER temps. of 70-75 degrees F (The truth, I swear!).

That is the truth!! I can vouch for it, that is, if ya'll trust me!

I won't speak for air temps so bringing a jacket my be advisable.

It will probably be comfortable during the day but it could be a bit chilly in the evening. Of course if it happens to rain that weekend, then definitely you'll need a jacket!

There are several wrecks in the area on both the American and Canadian sides of the border.  They are in fresh water so be prepared to see wrecks with very little deterioration.  I haven't dove this area myself so it will be a new opportunity for me as well.

Brian if you like Tobermory this is TONS better not to mention much warmer!! I guarantee that you'll love it! There will be current on all the dives for those not familiar with the area.

I'll post more on accomodations later as we have info, but that will be included in the trip price.  I guarantee you that they will be better than the accomodations on DL's Blackbeard's Trip, LOL.

And on solid ground too!

DL

[diver_paula]

I'm out as I'm already double booked for Labor Day weekend. Tobermory or 20th H.S. reunion... hmmm.

But, I did want to give a bit of a heads up. I drove from Detroit to Kingston over Memorial Weekend. It took 7 hours to get to Kingston. The return trip took 10 hours. 3 extra hours for Toronto traffic, construction and well over an hour for customs. & the back up for customs was very similar between the Blue Water Bridge (Sarnia/Port Huron) and the Ambassador Bridge and tunnel (Windsor/Detroit).

Haven't had any trouble since 9/11 crossing the border either direction with SCUBA gear. Just have to be patient with the lines.

Edited by diver_paula, 08 June 2004 - 11:18 PM.

[DandyDon]

Dang, Paula - I had hoped to dive with you there...! :dltears:

With Memorial Day WE past, and summer more or less here, I know that people are making plans like crazy. It's always seemed a contest, on whether I could control summer plans, which seem to acquire a life of their own.

I'm thrilled that Brian, et al have the basics arranged for LD-WE dives on the St.L, as I like wreck dives, I really want to do these, I certainly want to dive them on the warmest water weekend of the year {safe bet, here}, and doing it on a SD.com weekend event will be just wonderful.

I'm certainly keeping this weekend open for this, patiently waiting for WreckWench to get the trees out of her livingroom and work out the details with Brian, et al. Can't change my family reunion or nephew's wedding, but they're a near miss, so it looks cool. Gonna' be super!!

[WreckWench]

Hey gang....so I've talked to the dive operator and we are putting together a itinerary for Labor Day weekend....Sat, Sun & Mon. We can also do a Friday nite twilight dive and come back and go directly to an Irish pub...apparently several boats in the area do it and it includes dinner as well as the one dive.


Due to this being a holiday weekend the operator will require a 50% deposit at the time of booking for the boat. She knows I am travelling to Bonaire so we have the next week or so to start locking this trip down as far as divers going.

We need to commit to 10 divers which is what the boat holds. I've pm'd Brian to see what he found on the hotel and we'll put the package together tomorrow.

For now it will include:

Diving 3 days (2 days on Canadian wrecks and 1 day on American Wrecks) NOTE: The dives are afternoon dives from 1:30 to about 5pm on fast boats
Hotel 3 nites for drive in divers & 4 nites for fly in divers (24 hr no fly rule gets us)
Sat night BBQ after our dives of all kinds of grilling delights
Group Lunch at least Saturday....more if you all want or we can do the local sandwich shops.


Not included:

Rental tanks
Fills
Lead
Local Transportation
Transporation to and from the dive destination and/or pick up at airport
Friday nite twiligh dive and pub dinner


I need to cover more of this off with Brian and we'll have the pricing set for you tomorrow so that people can firm up plans while we are in Bonaire. Thanks to Brian for doing an awesome job! -ww

[WreckWench]

Ok we have the hotel firmed up and the diving. We'll also do a traditional SD style bbq and our new infamous or is that famous....group shared happy hours!!! Brian and I will hammer this out tonight when he gets off work and out of class.

Don is itching to get his ticket and so I am I so we are motivated to get this locked down asap! -ww

[Diverlady]

Ok we have the hotel firmed up and the diving. We'll also do a traditional SD style bbq and our new infamous or is that famous....group shared happy hours!!! Brian and I will hammer this out tonight when he gets off work and out of class.

Don is itching to get his ticket and so I am I so we are motivated to get this locked down asap! -ww

Cool!

[canuckdiver]

right on guys, let us know when things develop!

Thanks so much for setting this up!

[DivingGal]

Just as a side note.... for the journey over to the USA sites, divers must carry valid ID as you will have to clear customs going into the States (on Bolt Island) before going to the wrecks, and into Canada (in Rockport) when returning.

Just another pleasurable occurence as a result of what happened almost three years ago.