Info on St. Lawrence River

Local shops are talking about how great the diving is in the st. Lawrence River (1000 Island area).

I have searched the net looking for photographs to give me an idea if it is worthwhile to go....and lug a housed camera.

The few pictures I found looked like someone took quickie pictures with a point and shoot with tons of backscatter and bad lighting. Nothing that would indicate if it is worth my time.

Does anyone have any experience with this area?

Thanks

Jen Hayes and David Doubilet had a story on the area in the last few months. I believe it was in the Sport Diver Magazine.

“Jen Hayes and David Doubilet had a story on the area in the last few months. I believe it was in the Sport Diver Magazine.â€

This is where David Doubilet grew up and learned underwater photography, if you check his website at www.daviddoubilet.com, you will see he still lives in the area.

Nearby, a place called Clayton, New York, also has a fantastic wooden boat museum, which is well worth visiting.

Many dive spots along this part of the St. Lawrence will yield great underwater photo opportunities. Places nearby, such as Kingston or Brockville on the Canadian side of the river can offer outstanding visilbilties sometimes in excess of 80-100 feet. Locally, it is sometimes referred to as the “Caribbean of the Great Lakes†because of the great visibility while underwater.

Things to consider when diving in the St. Lawrence River include:

1. This is cold water. A dry suit is recommended if you intend on doing multiple dives. The water will be noticeably warmer in the latter part of the dive season from say September on, than it will be in the start of the season after the ice has melted.

2. This is fresh water. You will sink faster than in salt water. Generally removing 2 or 3 pounds helps.

3. Currents can be very strong at times. I can remember feeling like a bed sheet on a clothesline on a windy day when I descended the mooring line on one of the wrecks in the area. That was more the exception than the rule, but it does happen.

4. This is very important! Large “lakers†and ocean going cargo ships do frequent narrow restricted channels where you may be diving. This is a very busy commercial waterway and avenue of commerce for the area. If you pop up to the surface at the wrong time, you may be looking at a large wall of steel coming your way very quickly (i.e. the bow of one of these ships). Court fines for divers imperiling the navigation of large commercial vessels in areas of restricted navigation have been known to be very large.

Once, I was told by my dive operator half in jest, that if I heard a loud thudding noise while underwater, that I should go to the bottom of the river and hang on to the largest rock or boulder that I could find until the ship was out of my way.

Some of these wrecks you may be diving are located in commercially navigated channels.

5. Be prepared to see a lot of Zebra mussels. Zebra Mussels are an introduced species from outside of the Great Lakes. They coat everything below the surface of the water with a very dense growth. And the shells are sharp. Bring an extra set of dive gloves with you. They are also a good example of what can happen when a species has no predators.

6. Buoyancy control is very important as some wrecks may have a substance called “coal tar†lying in the sediments around the wrecks. This stuff is sticky and gooey. Once you get it on your drysuit, it very hard to get it off. I can remember being told by a charter operator that should any diver get some on themselves that they would have to remove their dry/wetsuit in the water before re-boarding the boat. <_<

7. The St. Lawrence River is an International Boundary River. If you are shore diving, try to get out of the river on the same side as you went in, most likely not a problem, as the river is very wide. However, as it not as much of a problem as it is here on the Niagara River, the fine people at Canada Customs and U.S. Homeland Security do take a dim view of divers getting their compass bearings mixed up. These guys just have no sense of humour anymore! <_<

Having said all this, diving really is fun in the St. Lawrence if done correctly. There are relatively few shore diving sites in the St. Lawrence so finding a good knowledgeable Dive Charter operator in the area is well worth the money spent.

Is it worth dragging an underwater housing to for diving. I think it is and will be doing so later in the summer.

You can see some of the wrecks in the area at this link. http://www.scubaq.ca/ontarioscubadiving/

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the info.

I am going to try to make it up in July. Hopefully I can suffer 3 days in a wetsuit and bibbed ood as I don't own a dry suit.