First time to Brockville

[piikki]

Hi!
Seems like Brockville is the pack leader for our next week’s little road trip. Browsed through your forum, and wondered if anybody out there had some encouraging words to give to couple of newbies.
Buddy and I certified in June and are thinking about couple of days of easy entry shore diving with at least a little bit to see (been very silty in our neighbourhood lately). Also, would like to practice a little bit with current – is little ”a bit” possible in Brockville right now/ever? (Neither has current/drift experience except for what comes to swimming).

We can easily hold on on the best wrecks for another trip, and aren’t planning to exceed our 60ft limit. We are both pretty comfy in water, however, would be nice to hear what kind of a current to expect from sites that are marked ‘novice-intermediate’. And are descriptions on Brockville pages accurate?

Also, dive shops…DivingGal’s list was impressive but how up to date is it in summer 2005? Are there any shops in Brockville itself anymore? Diver’s Paradise seemed to have vanished? What is the closest shop? And also which shop is the best place to get HP tanks filled (air only)? (Or maybe I should ask where should one stay during a dive mini-vacation? Brockville or closer to shop-town? Easy shore dives are the deciding factor for us). Any shop arrange any group dives in the area? (Our days are yet to be decided).
Any other pointers anyone can give to two eager diver gals ready to plunge into the river?
Cheers,
piikki

 

[electric_diver]

The dive sites that would be good for new divers to get some experience in the Brockville area are:

Connestoga in Cardinal Ontario
Rothesay just outside of Prescott Ontario
Prescott docks in Prescott
Centeen park in Brockville
the old pier in front of fort Wellington in Prescott

There are two Brockville dive shops both located within 1 block of each other in down town.
They are Sea'n'Sky scuba and Brockville Adventure Centre
Dive Tech is nearby in Mallorytown.

Centeen Park is the lowest current dive site but it is used a lot for training so it gets fairly silty and there is not much to see.
Next up current wise is Prescott docks where there is a couple of anchors and a small sailboat.
Fort Wellington involves a bit of a hike but there is usually lots of fish to see in the old pilings.

Connie and Rothesay both have lots to see but have more current.

Since you are from upstate NY you might also consider the Islander wreck in Alexandria Bay.

 

[Groundhog246]

Last overnight in Brockville we camped at Green Acres. Decent campground, $10/diver rate (means it's cheap for one or two, more expensive than a regular campsite for a larger group). It's just West of Brockville on #2 and convenient to Dive Tech for fills and toys.

The Rothesay and the Conestoga (Connie) are both great dives, but best (IMHO) done the first time with someone who's done them before. We were lucky enough to have a "guide" who didn;t divew with us, but gave us a thorough on site briefing. Temps are great this time of year too.

 

[daval]

I would recommend staying at Ivy Lea. Ivy Lea is located right on the water and you can shore dive right from some of the campsites. Cost is 23$ per campsite per night. Max of 6 people per campsite.

Green Acres although cheap is nowhere near diveable water

 

[artw]

hi piikki
with regards to current, the "highest" current site listed above by Electric Diver would be the Conny. we dove there last week and it was ever-present - about 1 knot. you can swim into 1 knot. If you feel adventuresome you can jump in upstream at Lock 28 and drift onto the Conny. but its advisable to take precaution (guide) as is the boat traffic makes this dive challenging not in the off season.

If you really want to have a current rush but dont really care about vizibility, try Lock 21 up near Cornwall. (about 1/2 east of Brockville).

 

[piikki]

Thanks for your input guys. I am starting to see a pattern and looks like Connie would not be the first dive on this trip.

Nobody mentioned about algae – is there anything nasty going on re: algae right now? Could delay Brockville to later fall if viz is as bad as here (starting to think that I should get more 100ft dives under my belt, so I could see more of those wrecks too, dang).

And thanks very much for the up-to-date info on shops. I had only seen web pages for the Kingston and Mallorytown shops. Would be nice to visit some more tech oriented ones for a change since the local ones here have very similar selection. 08:55 AM
“If you really want to have a current rush but dont really care about vizibility, try Lock 21 up near Cornwall. (about 1/2 east of Brockville).”

Art – how far is Cornwall again? We would not drift on our own but we were wondering if there was anything on the way from VT to Brockville worth stopping by. I seem to remember Cornwall on the map. Must have been a different place??

We are planning to do a Lake Champlain boat charter on the weekend, and might continue to Brockville directly from Burlington. I am highway challenged for what it comes to this continent but I doubt we can drive through the lake, so that would mean we’d approach Brockville from more eastern attitude than if leaving from Albany area. Anyone else have good ideas where to stop by/detour on the way? Any novice-intermediate shore entries awaiting? Could easily crash for a night before Brockville if something interesting around (interesting at this point is very wide concept - as long as it safe and easy entry).

Thanks for pointing out The Islander Electric Diver. That is definitely worth considering on the way home. I have not yet an idea how border crossings are but it would be on our way and sounds doable.

 

[piikki]

P.S. Which area do Vermont questions belong to?

 

[artw]

hi, there are directions and maps here
http://www.saveontarioshipwrecks.on.ca/Diverguides/dguide2.html

Lock 21 is about 15 minutes west of the International Bridge in Cornwall.
you cant miss it... just mapquest Ingleside or Long Sault and you'll be in business

oh yeah. viz in Brockville is incredible now (Not much algae, we have not had a lot of rain this summer.).
Cornwall always sucks.

 

[markfm]

If you would like to try The Islander, here's how to reach it:
http://markfm.dynalias.org/ALexandriaBay.gif

 

[CUunderH2O]

I would recommend you try the Rothesay in Prescott. There is a little bit of current there, usually just enough to blow any of the silt off the wreck that may have been stirred up. It's not a strenuous dive at any rate, and the Conestoga (Connie) is a short drive away. Rothesay is about 35ffw max and Connie is 22ffw max. Recommend you to go early to beat the crowds if you're diving on a weekend. Prescott Docks is all right, not much to see but can show you more current. There is a line to the Rothesay, and lines all around the Prescott Docks site, so if you are tired by the current, you can always stop & rest on the line and/or pull yourself along.
If you're feeling adventurous and want to try a slightly deeper wreck (around 60-70 ffw), try a charter to the Robert Gaskin -- Sea & Sky Scuba and other local charter ops go to this one.