January 9, 2017 (PM) Spent my afternoon having fun with Jim Scholz helping to assemble his Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV). It’s always nice when you’ve finished soldering all the various wires connecting the three motors, lights, camera (with tilt) are all correctly interfacing with its controlling laptop.

Jan 1: After midnight January 1, 2017. This was the last dive of 2016, the first dive and first Ice dive of 2017. We had good ice, 5 ft. visibility, air temp a balmy 32° F, water temp 34 °F, four divers & one snorkeler in the water supported by three tenders.   A BIG Thanks to Mary Beth Thar for all the surface photos of tonight’s activities.

December 19:  Since we were in Niles it was decided to look at possible alternatives for the New Years Dive in the event we do not have good ice to dive thru. At the launch we had a fair amount of snow covering and the river had a few small icebergs flowing downstream. The shore line ice buildup was not bad and only extended 10 to 15 feet or so off the shore. The ice near shore was solid enough to walk on but near the rim it was not. Did a test dive to check the visibility, current and how easy it would be to break ice  from under it.  Visibility was ok, meaning +3 feet, but the current was such that a surface line and tender were necessary.

Now, for those who are curious about breaking ice if you’re caught under it.  If you are shallow, meaning in about 3 feet of water under the ice shelf and with your feet on the bottom, then raising yourself forcefully up using your tank to hit the ice, you would be out of luck breaking through.  That’s why you ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS have a line and tender when working on and under the ice.

Ok, dive – but not at night with 6 or 8 divers in the water.

December 19:  Today we went to Niles to see what the ice build up was on Hidden Valley Pond and to check out the access road with new snow upon it. The drive down and back was uneventful, though it appears that some of the tree branches over the road will need to be trimmed before bringing down the toy box. Unfortunately the snow blanket has insulated the pond surface and the ice formation is progressing very slowly. We measured only 2″ of ice at the desired entry point. The day time air temperature for the next 10 days  is steadily rising and has been projected to hit 47°F with rain forecast on the day after Christmas. Even though the nighttime temps are to be below 30°F, for the most part, it’s not looking good for good ice on New Years Night.

December 06:  Today I was checking out a tentative site for the MUD Club’s New Years Eve Midnight Dive.  Got an invite to check a local pond that had several dozen large Koi fish, hopefully a solid clay bottom, and gently sloping entry point.  Max depth of the pond was 15 feet, 4″ of clay silt on the bottom and less along the shore line where there was gravel and stone. Water temperature today was about 39 – 40F which was about the same as the air temperature.  Looks like a nice dive site, so lets see what the Muddies think. 🙂

November 30:  Today’s dive was in Niles, but the current below the dam was very fast, the water high and visibility VERY low. So we went above the dam to the Bond Street kayak launch where the visibility looked good until you went in and disturbed the soft muck, then vis sort of sucked. In the areas where you were shallow and the sun was out the bone picture is indicative of the visibility. A couple of take-homes were had though. Air and Water temperature was around 42 – 44F°.