October 25, 2020: Sometimes everything goes as planned  . . . and sometimes it does not. Nathan B was gifted a whole set of dive gear, including a drysuit. All very contemporary gear in good repair. Well except for the drysuit. The neck seal was too big. He found that out in the pool. So he got the fixed. The remained of his course mates completed their cert last weekend. He tried but was beaten down. The neck no longer leaks. But the holes in the knees did! He got real wet, so wet he had to call his dives that weekend. No time to waste, I have time and will help him earn his certs. Third time lucky? I hope. Saturday was a good day at the beach despite the breeze. He did great. We are starting today at 0900. At 0830 the day is wonderful. The temp is mild, no breeze and the seas are almost flat calm. I send a pick off to "Farmer" and "Poppy." They are pumped and are going to join us at the site in about 2 hours. We have our kit all set up and the dive briefed. This is Nathan's final OW diver course dive. He is going to "lead" the dives and we are going to explore the site while he navigates a triangle. Easy, 360, 240, 120, safety stop and home. I am taking a collection and lift bag along as we expect to collect some debris as we explore. Nathan starts of pretty good. At least on the 360 leg. We bag a few things, relocate an anchor were were looking for yesterday and are just bopping along when I realize Nathan is way off course. Those subtle hints that help me determine that he is taking me to the eastern shore. It is all pretty funny. I take the helm and get us back on track. We run 360 for a bit then turn to 150 for the homeward bound leg. Nathan is happy to relinquish control. His trim and buoyancy is sweet. He does not stir up the bottom as he collects some debris. Before we left the beach I almost said keep an eye open for slate. I did not. Well there was no need to keep an eye out, there she was, a large Thornback Skate and cuddled down on the sea bed. There was no chance Nathan was going to disturb her. He was happy to give here all the space she would ever want. Such a beautiful creature. I am happy to tidy up her playground. We collected some wood fragments. The wood pieces collected are in fact fragments of the hull of a catamaran that came off her mooring in a storm about 5 or 6 years ago. The vessel smashed into the break water and was crushed by powerful waves.  The homemade boat was damaged far beyond repair. Anything of value was salvaged and the larger pieces of the hull were towed out of the ocean and went to a landfill. Smaller parts of the craft can still be found in the sea. Any bits that were buoyant have long since washed away. Farmer and Poppy were on the beach as we were waiting. The conditions were not what they were earlier. Rain, wind, waves, surge. The other lads bailed. We were good to do one more dive so Nathan could finish off his drysuit diver certification. I had him put his compass away and we used the breakwater for some "natural" navigation. The vis remained good. A huge lobster was hunkered down under a large rock. You could tell this was there boss man's den! Another lobster came running across the bottom. Crabs, starfish, conners, jellies, urchins, sand dollars, rock gunnels, lobsters, there is no doubt in my mind that Nathan has already forgotten about all the flooding he had to endure to get here. And even less doubt the he understands why we were making the time to collect the debit that spoils this underwater paradise. Congrats Nathan, you earned and fully deserve your certs. The conditions?? Yes they got worse. But we have safely dived worse only because this entry/exit point is so easy. 

October 18, 2020: This was a fine autumn day in NL. The temps were mild, both ashore and in the sea. The sun was breaking through the partly cloudy skies. The leaves on the tress are all turning colour. It is really quite glorious. One of our last scheduled open water courses for the year took to the ocean this past weekend.  Andrea K and René C were successful in earning their open water and drysuit diver certifications. Way to go! Their efforts were greatly supported by DM Ken K. Once again, this course had to work their compasses during their drysuit certification dive. They always fall for the trap! They select an easy compass pattern for the previous dive. A north south, reciprocal pattern and then they take a deep breath after the dive and acknowledge they avoid a harder pattern. Now there is nothing but fun ahead. They saw some debris during that dive and we discussed AWARE and remedies during our SI. So let's execute at least one remedy and conduct a dive against debris. Uh?? They are excited to learn about diving against debris, even after they are tasked to plan and execute the dive, swimming a triangle pattern. They have the con. DM Ken and I follow their lead and I manage the capture and lift bags. We do a fair job of scouring the bottom along the course executed by the "navigators." I think we are having an impact. The debris is becoming more and more sparse. That is not to say there is little to be collected. There is still lots but now we have to work at it. Our efforts have been recognized by the sailors at the adjacent marina. They have seen us surfacing bags of debris and they have seen us dumping the debris into the garage bins. Unfortunately the bottles we are collecting are not being accepted at the recycling depots. I say our efforts are being recognized because we are not finding a lot of debris recently deposited in the ocean, rather we are finding debris that has been in the water for sometime. Be it subtle or not, the message is being heard and heeded. Oh, the navigators? Their triangle was a little off but we all had fun and were proud to give this adopted dive site the attention it deserves! 

September 27, 2020: Open water dives for course OW-2020-006 were cancelled the previous weekend due to the remnants of a tropical storm on Saturday and almost zero visibility on Sunday. The four ladies on the course worked up a schedule so we could get them all completed over the next couple of weeks. On September 27 two of four, Catie Y and Tara S finished up their open water dives. Great job. They also completed their drysuit diver certification. For those not familiar with piggy backing the drysuit course on the open water diver course you need to know that they do six confined water dives instead of five and five open water dives instead of four. Besides practicing the skill of diving there is one skill that stands out on the fifth dive, disconnect and reconnect the drysuit LPI whip. Then we tour. I like to throw in some u/w nav skills and when appropriate, a dive against debris. The ladies for up for that today, in a big way! As was DMT Dwain N. Their mission was to navigate a square and load up the capture bag with debris. A bag normally used for the responsible harvesting sea and Icelandic scallops. Our start/end spot was clearly marked. Their navigation was spot on. As was their assault on the debris. Dwain managed the collection and lift bag. The ladies multi tasked well. They knocked off training skills, navigation and collected a sack full of debris. Funny thing, of all the dives where one might expect the bottom to be stirred up the most,  they stirred this up the least.  The  girls demonstrated strong trim and buoyancy skills. Lots to be proud of today. Great job gang. 

August 23, 2020: What a day! What a beautiful day. We have a Plan. Meaghan R and Ethan C have completed their OW diver course this morning. They have to do one more dive to earn their drysuit diver certification. During that dive we will take a whack at debris they discovers while touring during their OW course. We are joined by the course DM Cassandra K. Earlier in the morning, before the course commenced, Cassandra and I did a little beach clean up as a warm up to our dive against debris. Not to worry. That debris is not included in this report. I figure that the four of us will do okay but we could do better.  DM Ken K, newly minted DM Geoff Z and DMT Jim W popped out to give us a hand. What incredible role modelling by the boys!! Thanks guys. There were lift bags popping all over as we assailed the debris. Today was really tough. Vis was incredibly poor and that is compounded by an abundance of kelp. Not to be deterred the team did a great job. Geoff Z said "diving for debris is much like scallop diving without the lust." A poet he is not but but both dive objectives are rewarding. And you use the same gear. 

July 12, 2020: "What a blast, that was so much fun." The first words at the surface from a brand new certified open water diver. He was referring not to the dive in general but specifically to the activity engaged in during the tour portion of open water dive four. Twenty  five minutes of searching for and collecting debris. We divided into two groups, each deemed to be successful in the mission. While one may have been more successful in terms of numbers items recovered the other surpassed them in weight of debris collected. Big high five to the OW candidates Jack K, Levi M & John, B for completing their OW and drysuit diver courses. A salute to participating DMTs, Jim W and Geoff Z. And of course who can deliver a great course without a great DM, Marcy W. And a giant thanks to all for participating in this dive against debris. 

June 28, 2020: Today is day two of the rescue diver course. The candidates were chatting about the amount of debris they sighted on day one. Our activity today was really about scouting for a future dive against debris. Candidates of a rescue diver course noted debris during a certain activity relevant to their course. It was plotted on a slate for reference. We will return!!

April & May 2020: Yea, right! The virus has us all locked down. I do a grocery run once a week, otherwise I am at home with my lovey bride. Even as restrictions relative to gatherings ease up people are hesitant to wonder outside of their bubbles. Nobody is diving. We are not offering any training courses presently. Sure, I am a solo diver but what is the fun of doing that. Part of AWARE to inspire people and encourage them to join in on the mission. 

March 2020: I left Canada in February and spent the first week in Bonaire with some pals. A boy's escape. As they were leaving my lovely bride was arriving. We spent two glorious weeks of diving in Bonaire. It was quieter than usual. Of course it was. The virus was on the move. Our children implored us to get home. Especially after the Prime Minister called for all Canadians to return home. The cruise ships sailed past Bonaire. Americans and Europeans were all catching flights home. Unfortunately we were unable to move our travel arrangements forward and without any other options it was necessary for us to hunker down and relax in the blue water. We returned home as scheduled and immediate went to 14 days of isolation. 

February 2020: I am not meeting my monthly dive commitment. I spent much of the month getting motivated for a dive trip to Bonaire. A man has to do what a man has to do! I am off firstly to Toronto to have a visit with our son. Always great to visit with him when he picks ups the dinner tab! And believe me, when we are together we go out for good meals. 

January 2020: Wow, two good months on Utila! Almost had to stay longer as the ferry was not sailing due to a winter storm. The same storm that stopped the small charter aircraft from flying into Roatan. I literally escaped by the skin of my teeth. Just made it home for a family Christmas. And talk about winter storms. Our children experienced flight cancellations and significant delays due to winter storms in Canada. Did not splash into the water in January.