Lots to see on the bottom of the recreational canal

The Welland Tribune

Lots to see on the bottom of the recreational canal

Posted By ALLAN BENNER

The recreational waterway is one of the best spots for diving Wolf knows of locally.
“This is a really great spot around this area for diving,” the Niagara-on-the-Lake resident said while packing up his equipment, Sunday. “It’s really shallow and it’s good if you’re a fairly new diver.”
And there’s usually a lot to see, said his wife Tori.
The couple and a few fellow divers slipped beneath the water to explore the canal more than 25 times over the past year.
In fact, Wolf said a few times last summer they dove down to recover sunken fire pots from the LuminAqua event for the city.
“They had some stuff that went down and we recovered and marked it for them,” Wolf said. “We found at least three of them.”
Sunday, however, conditions weren’t the best.
The water was pretty murky with poor visibility, and it was bitterly cold – even while wearing a dry suit.
Wolf said the water was only 1 C at the bottom of the canal.
“It was cold – dry suit or not,” said Wolf, who’s been an avid diver since 1988.
But the conditions didn’t stop him from one last jump in the water to end 2007.
Sunday, he was at the canal bank with his Tori, and their friends Chuck from St. Catharines and Paolo from Toronto.

“They just wanted to go for the last dive of the year,” Tori Said.

Wolf and Paolo dove into the frigid waters while Tori and Chuck remained on the bank to offer support if needed.

Tuesday, New Years Day, they plan to return to the canal with more of their fellow divers for the first dip of 2008, Tori added.

They’ll dive near the boat docks off Lincoln street about noon.

“We’ll be there. There will probably be quite a few other people, too! Tori said. “It’s a big deal – the New Year’s Day Dive”