As most of you know, my main passion in life [other than my wife] is Diving. I have been at it for 47 years now..... ever since I read a book in the 1950s and thought that diving would be a great way to explore the ocean. In those days, we got an old fire extinguisher, a two hose regulator, a home made dry suit [that leaked and really did not keep you warm] and the most basic of accessories.Our enthusiasm overcame any discomfort we may have had. 
However, equipment improved, knowledge got better and we are now using equipment that would not have been dreamed of in those long ago days.
Each and every dive that I have done, and there have been thousands, has been special in one way or another. Exploring wrecks, photography, bottle diving, commercial diving, meeting up with the grey whale.. All have been special. When we moved from Victoria, on the west coast and right on the ocean, to the interior of B.C., I had some concerns as to whether I would continue diving. The lake on my doorstep, the Arrow Lakes, which is over 120 miles long, would seem a natural playground. However, in spite of its' huge size, diving there turned me right off. The water was dirty with the visibility being from 2 to 10 feet. Not a lot of enjoyment there. However, one lake over, the Slocan Lake proved to be a bonanza for me in terms of enjoyment. The visibility was great, upwards of 100 feet at times, there is a plethora of wrecks and there are very old communities which all had extensive wharf systems in their heyday.
Now these wharves are all gone these days; however, the remants are still there....pilings, some walkways, and all of the 'garbage' that was lost when the sternwheelers tied up to the wharves. It is a perfect diving environment for a scrounge like me!! In the early 1900s, when a ship would tie up, much of the cutlery and chinawear, rather than being washed by the crew, somehow found its way overboard. And it is these type of items that I truly enjoy diving for. Alice calls them dust collectors but I have a ball just finding them and bringing them to the surface.
And so it was that my partner and I found ourselves at the town of New Denver, one cold October morning getting suited up for a dive Thank heavens for modern drysuits. We had found numerous old photographs and decided to check out the wharf system. We clambered down the bank and headed for the water at Bigelow Bay. [This was the bay where we found the safe]. We headed out to the pilings, which are all underwater, and started examining the mud and bottom. I picked up a CPR {Canadian Pacific Railway] Limoges cup and a few other trinkets that we collect. As we continued further south, following the wharf, we descended to about 75 feet. Tires, an old bulldozer [or part of it at any rate] started to show up. Looking ahead, I saw what appeared to be an old horse buggy, or wagon, mired in the mud.
Swimming closer, I saw that it was indeed a buggy. It was axle deep in the mud, and looked to be in pretty rough shape, but, except for the shafts, it looked to be all there. Well there was NO way that I was going to let this one go. Darren, my partner, swam up, we killed the rest of the tanks and surfaced. We made plans to raise this puppy the following weekend. { Ah the joys of retirement... I had to wait for him since I could dive whenever I wanted]. Gear, and lift bags in tow, away we went. We took his boat and anchored right over the spot.
Down we went and attached the lift bags. Then we started to inflate them. I had estimated the weight [we used to have a horse buggy so I used that as a base to work from]. The bags were full and still, the buggy would not move. We each grabbed the sides and started to rock it side to side and back and forth, trying to free it from the suction of the mud. We got it free, more or less, and then Darren went to the surface and tossed the rope. I attached it and he SLOWLY started to head for the boat ramp.I stayed down to insure that all would stay stable for the mile long run to the ramp. With Darrens pulling, the lift from the bags, and my grunting and pushing, the buggy startd to life, ever so slowly, from the bottom and move to shallower water.
Of course, the best laid plans of mice and men, etc, etc. One of the bags either lost air, or wrapped around itself, or, or, or.... Whatever happened, the one end dropped like a stone, followed by the rest of the buggy. The boat ground to a halt, while the buggy acted as an enormous anchor. It settled at around 40 feet, and no amount of working with the tools we had at the time would move it. So me, being the inventive one, said to go home and we would tackle it another day. It was not going anywhere and for the moment, it was safe.
And there it sits, to this day. I have just not had the time to go and get it. However, later this year, weather, time and conditions being right [and all at the same time], I will go back over with my new, improved, self levelling lift bag system, and it should just pop out of there as slick as can be. Of course, that will be another photoessay and I will write that up when it happens.
[attachment 15560 horsebuggy1.jpg]This is what it looks like at 75 feet
[attachment 15561 slocan4.gif]You can see the start of the wharf system. It gets more extensive in later years
[attachment 15562 horse-buggy-3.jpg]And one more shot, different angle, at 75 feet
Sunny skies
M
However, equipment improved, knowledge got better and we are now using equipment that would not have been dreamed of in those long ago days.Each and every dive that I have done, and there have been thousands, has been special in one way or another. Exploring wrecks, photography, bottle diving, commercial diving, meeting up with the grey whale.. All have been special. When we moved from Victoria, on the west coast and right on the ocean, to the interior of B.C., I had some concerns as to whether I would continue diving. The lake on my doorstep, the Arrow Lakes, which is over 120 miles long, would seem a natural playground. However, in spite of its' huge size, diving there turned me right off. The water was dirty with the visibility being from 2 to 10 feet. Not a lot of enjoyment there. However, one lake over, the Slocan Lake proved to be a bonanza for me in terms of enjoyment. The visibility was great, upwards of 100 feet at times, there is a plethora of wrecks and there are very old communities which all had extensive wharf systems in their heyday.
Now these wharves are all gone these days; however, the remants are still there....pilings, some walkways, and all of the 'garbage' that was lost when the sternwheelers tied up to the wharves. It is a perfect diving environment for a scrounge like me!!
In the early 1900s, when a ship would tie up, much of the cutlery and chinawear, rather than being washed by the crew, somehow found its way overboard. And it is these type of items that I truly enjoy diving for. Alice calls them dust collectors but I have a ball just finding them and bringing them to the surface.And so it was that my partner and I found ourselves at the town of New Denver, one cold October morning getting suited up for a dive Thank heavens for modern drysuits. We had found numerous old photographs and decided to check out the wharf system. We clambered down the bank and headed for the water at Bigelow Bay. [This was the bay where we found the safe]. We headed out to the pilings, which are all underwater, and started examining the mud and bottom. I picked up a CPR {Canadian Pacific Railway] Limoges cup and a few other trinkets that we collect. As we continued further south, following the wharf, we descended to about 75 feet. Tires, an old bulldozer [or part of it at any rate] started to show up. Looking ahead, I saw what appeared to be an old horse buggy, or wagon, mired in the mud.
Swimming closer, I saw that it was indeed a buggy. It was axle deep in the mud, and looked to be in pretty rough shape, but, except for the shafts, it looked to be all there. Well there was NO way that I was going to let this one go. Darren, my partner, swam up, we killed the rest of the tanks and surfaced. We made plans to raise this puppy the following weekend. { Ah the joys of retirement... I had to wait for him since I could dive whenever I wanted]. Gear, and lift bags in tow, away we went. We took his boat and anchored right over the spot.
Down we went and attached the lift bags. Then we started to inflate them. I had estimated the weight [we used to have a horse buggy so I used that as a base to work from]. The bags were full and still, the buggy would not move. We each grabbed the sides and started to rock it side to side and back and forth, trying to free it from the suction of the mud. We got it free, more or less, and then Darren went to the surface and tossed the rope. I attached it and he SLOWLY started to head for the boat ramp.I stayed down to insure that all would stay stable for the mile long run to the ramp. With Darrens pulling, the lift from the bags, and my grunting and pushing, the buggy startd to life, ever so slowly, from the bottom and move to shallower water.
Of course, the best laid plans of mice and men, etc, etc. One of the bags either lost air, or wrapped around itself, or, or, or.... Whatever happened, the one end dropped like a stone, followed by the rest of the buggy. The boat ground to a halt, while the buggy acted as an enormous anchor. It settled at around 40 feet, and no amount of working with the tools we had at the time would move it. So me, being the inventive one, said to go home and we would tackle it another day. It was not going anywhere and for the moment, it was safe.
And there it sits, to this day. I have just not had the time to go and get it. However, later this year, weather, time and conditions being right [and all at the same time], I will go back over with my new, improved, self levelling lift bag system, and it should just pop out of there as slick as can be. Of course, that will be another photoessay and I will write that up when it happens.
[attachment 15560 horsebuggy1.jpg]This is what it looks like at 75 feet
[attachment 15561 slocan4.gif]You can see the start of the wharf system. It gets more extensive in later years
[attachment 15562 horse-buggy-3.jpg]And one more shot, different angle, at 75 feet
Sunny skies
M
but you already answered that.
