Old Welland Canal Swinging Train Bridge Dive 119

Saturday, September 29 – 2007
15:01 – 16:05
Dive Number 119
Start: 15:00
Roads: Dry / clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +22C
Water Temp: +20C
Area: Old Welland Canal Train Swing Bridge
Vehicle: Black Sunfire
Weather: Clear and Sunny
Visibility: 10m
Divers: Wolf, Chuck
Dive Wench(es): None!
Maximum Depth: 10m
Plan: Explore the old Train Swing Bridge Area

We drove around the bridge to find a nice entry point. Right b the old steel train bridge we found a small dock and could see the bottom from the dock.

We kitted up and went in off the dock we found and swam along the south wall to start finding rubbish immediately. We saw pipes, bed frames, signs, road cones, bicycles, shipping trollies and so much other stuff. We found lots of beer bottles as well. Chuck found a red lens from the train bridge and several stacks of bundled newspapers as well as an old Toronto Star vending machine. As we progressed we could always see the surface as the visibility was so clear.

At one point we found an old GT snow racer and I raised it to the surface then rode it back down to the bottom. Sadly it didn’t plane and just sank straight down. We also found a wheelchair and even part of a rototiller. I found a crow bar which I carried around for most of the dive as well.

We found a little bubble-gum tin and filled it with air and actually watched it break surface. We noticed the bottom was mostly silt with patches of zebra muscles. In some areas there were patches of algae.

This was a really fun dive with a lot to see and do. There had been evidence of other divers at the site as we saw a road cone with a helicopter model stuffed in it as well as some of the discarded bicycles were neatly stacked up against some of the large posts.

At one point we found a large plastic rubbish bin and tipped it upside down and used our octopus regulators to fill it with air and watch it start to ascend. Sadly the bottom had been punctured and as the bin leveled itself it started to leak and descend again.

This dive spot defiantly warrants another dive. Sadly my aga mask still has the pinhole leak somewhere and peed out a very small but steady stream of bubbles during the dive. It did not really effect my bottom time or air consumption more than a couple of percent overall.

I used my Sherwood 1st stage, Suunto Lux dive computer with Aga mask, Black Diamond seaQuest BCD, Mares wetsuit and Tusa Liberator fins.

Our maximum depth was 10m with a dive time of an hour and four minutes.