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To keep abreast of the news within the DRUC, here’s a listing of notices and news, in chronological order. News & Notices - 2007July 14, 2007 May Flower Dive Info The next organized dive this year is a visit to the Wreck of the Mayflower in Kamineskeg Lake near Barry's Bay. The wreck is located in about 20 feet of water in Lake Kamineskeg, and the VIS is normally pretty good (~15', before silting). Although the wreck is located in a populated area of the lake (cottages and residences), the site is about 1 km from shore, requiring the use of a boat. As in previous years, we have arranged to rent a boat for the day (a pontoon boat), but the boat is available to us at the Barry's Bay public boat launch, which is about an hour's boat ride from the site. Most of the trip is on a narrow (river-like) section of Kamineskeg Lake, so the scenery is pleasant and the boat ride is enjoyable. The wreck site is located in a large opening of the lake, where we're exposed to wind. A weather forecast of high winds and/or thunderstorms would therefore be cause to cancel the trip. What we'll do in planning this trip is have an alternate location ready to use if need be (most likely the bottom pool of the Petawawa River in the town of Petawawa). We'll decide the fate of the Kamineskeg trip on the day before when we'll have a "high resolution" weather forecast to work from. Meanwhile, we have the rental boat reserved tentatively. We can accommodate only a limited number of people on the boat based on weight (6 was a bit much last year, but certainly 5 is fine), so the trip is available on a first-come (i.e., first-reserved), first-served basis. I'm also assuming that there's sufficient interest to make the trip feasible (cost-sharing), but we should check this assumption - please let me know by the end of this week whether you are interested in participating in this dive event. Assuming that the trip is a "go", here are the tentative planning details; equipment -
single tank dive (two tanks is too much for this site) cost - costs
from boat rental plus gas is probably $20 to $30 per person
To make the trip more worthwhile, I'm trying to find a second dive site in the area. Last year we dove at the mouth of the Madawaska River, but this site wasn't good enough to bother returning to. It was suggested that diving off the launch at Barry's Bay might be interesting for a scavenger hunt objective, as this area has seen heavy boat traffic over the hundred years of use. The site, a shallow silty bay, would otherwise be unappealing. The search for a second site continues. Last year we dove on a Sunday, which enabled us to convene afterwards at the famous Golden Lake Chinese restaurant, which is a buffet on Sundays. For a Saturday dive, the buffet is not available to us but we can look for another eatery to round the trip off (in there's interest in this added "stop"). Please let me know if there's serious interest in this event. Marc MORE INFO: In the “Ripley's Believe It or Not” column, there was an item on how one dead man saved the lives of three. This was the sinking of the “Mayflower” in 1912 where nine crew perished, and three survived by clinging to a floating coffin that was being transported on the deck of the ship at the time. The Mayflower was built in 1908 in Barry's Bay and was 72’ in length with a 20’ beam. It had a wood-powered steam boiler, and was driven by a rear paddlewheel. It was used for travel between Combermere and Barry's Bay in the days before good roads were established. It also hauled ore from a mine at Craigmont to the railway in Barry's Bay. On the last trip of the season on Nov 12, 1912 it sank in a storm. An inquest suggested the boat was not in the best condition at the time and was leaking a fair bit of water. The exact cause of the sinking was not determined, but it went down very quickly. Of the twelve people on board, nine were drowned and three survived. The boiler and paddle wheel are still in relatively good condition, as does the hull, but the cabins and flagmast are missing. |
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