Sand Dog XI, St. Lawrence River, July 2014

[simonbeans]

SAND DOG XI
JULY 18-20, 2014
ALEXANDRIA BAY, NY

Sand Dog XI will be held this year in the beautiful St Lawrence Region of New York State. The date for the event is July 18-20, 2014. July was chosen to allow the water temperatures to reach their normal summer warmth of 72-76 degrees Fahrenheit. Diving will be in the St Lawrence River, arguably with some of the best fresh water wrecks anywhere.

Our base of operations will be in a small village named Alexandria Bay. It is located about 5 miles NE of I-81. Alexandria Bay is extremely convenient to all forms of transportation. The closest airport to Alexandria Bay is Syracuse, which is approximately 1 hour south of the St. Lawrence River.

The tentative schedule for the event is as follows:

Arrival can be any day as this region is famous for worldwide vacationers. To get an idea of things to see and do, check this website: www. http://visitalexbay.org

A short, 15-minute ride from Alexandria Bay is the quaint town of Clayton. Alexandria Bay is more of a fun, party town where Clayton is laid back, just a pleasant riverside village. However, it offers some exceptional activities.
See: http://www.1000islands.com/clayton/

The diving will begin officially on Friday, July 18 at the dive sites located in Alexandria Bay and Clayton.
In Alexandria Bay, behind the hospital directly across from Boldt Castle lies the Islander.
http://www.seawaytrail.com/dive/#Islander

In Clayton, a shore dive can be done on either end of the business district.

Friday’s shore dives are beginner level with depths up to 65-70’.

Saturday diving will consist of boat dives on 3 or 4 wrecks. They could be the Vickery, Keystorm, or Americas.
Use this website for info on the wrecks. Click on DIVE SITES and the name of the wreck.
http://www.divebrockville.com/divingbrockville.html

Diving is considered to be intermediate to Advanced as the depths can range up to 120’ with occasionally a moderate current. Some sort of surface flotation is highly recommended when diving these wrecks due to the St. Lawrence River being an international waterway.

On Sunday, we will return to some of the boat wrecks or shore dives depending on number of divers/desires.

Saturday gathering meal is to be determined, but a BBQ is a primary choice.

For those arriving earlier in the week, a plan for Canadian diving is in the works for Thursday, July 17. We can do a 3 dive/wreck charter or 3 wreck shore dives.

Accommodations are being investigated. A motel with dockage is being considered. Campsites near Alexandria Bay are very nice.

As the Sand Dog XI plans are solidified, notices will be made via the VDH site. There will also be deadline dates to be considered.

Simonbeans, aka Allan and Scubapeter aka, Pete, are organizing the Sand Dog XI event. Both divers have been to Alexandria Bay, Clayton, Brockville, Ontario many times and are available via http://[email protected] for answers to any questions you may have.

[SurfLung]

- Jill and I have begun planning. Gonna fly in, rent a car do the Sand Dog, then drive over to the coast for touring and daily lobster eating.
- I'd like to dive my vintage stuff but the Twin 38s won't fly well. And, the 120 ft wrecks with current may require Phoenix with octo, etc. Do other Fly-In vintage divers ship their stuff out before these events?
- Otherwise, regular 80 cf tanks to be rented locally I assume?

Update 03/03/14 - My daughter moved to Seattle so our little mini vacation got moved to the west coast instead of Sand Dog. I'm going to try and schedule a trip to Portage this year for just me and my vintage diving buddies.

[simonbeans]

Aluminum 80s are available for rent at Hunt's Dive Shop, between Alexandria Bay and Clayton, NY where we will be getting air.

[frogman63]

Allan,
Still trying to decide on flying versus driving. If I do fly, what airport would you recommend?

Thanks,
Brian

[1969ivan1]

The closest airport to Alexandria Bay is Syracuse, which is approximately 1 hour south of the St. Lawrence River.

[macado]

I love diving St Lawrence. Haven't been up there since a couple years ago but this is a close enough drive for me then I definitely plan on attending.

Seems like you guys have it covered with local knowledge of area but have some recommendations for dive shops, charters if needed.

I typically stay in Alexandra Bay.

[Robohips77]

I will be attending this Sand dog and I am looking forward to seeing those that can make it. I did check in to campsites a Grassy Point and it appears as of two days ago only 7 camp sites remain available , but Allan said it was popular. I will be returning from Hawaii on June 18th so I have a day or two to recover and then head North. Van Frankooo

[simonbeans]

For any of the participants who plan on camping, Robohips is right on with Grass Point. The alternate campground is Keewaydin State Park which is located very near to Alexandria Bay. I checked that a few minutes ago and it has 8 sites left for that time frame. The 1000 Islands are the place for summer vacations so they fill up VERY fast. Insert either park in your brower and then select Reserve America. The cost to cancel is cheap so reserve now and if a change occurs, then you will be covered.

[Popeye]

I have friends in Clayton and have been planning a visit for a while,so this might be a good time,don't plan on diving as I will only there for a short visit. any more details? Dinner Saturday night?

[simonbeans]

Specific plans, etc. will be forthcoming. Seems the River towns rather close up for the long winter.

Check out the web cams. Especially the one from the hospital.

http://1000islandslive.com

Below the hospital, in the river, is the location of the Islander. Dry suit anyone?

[Popeye]

Dry suit no problem,using my DUI for a few photo projects in Florida, just have to add heavier liner for St. Lawerence Seaway,did film on a Salvage project back in my Unisuit days.

[simonbeans]

Prospective Sand Dog XI participants:

I have reserved the Seeway Vision dive boat for Thursday, July 17.

The info below will give those interested the particulars of the day of diving. The diving is in the St. Lawrence on the Canadian Side (Passport required to enter Canada). The Pick up location is about an hour from Alexandria Bay, NY. The boat can hold up to 22 divers and will be a 3 tank/wreck dive. You must provide your own tanks. I have used the Seeway Vision many times and Captain Kevin and crew are top notch. The wrecks are considered advanced due to depth (up to 110') and possible current. But they are all great. I will be accepting reservations at my address, which I will provide by emailing to me at:

[email protected]

Due to the maximum number of 22 (21 more actually as I am already on the list), it will be a first come, first served basis.

Group Name: Sand Dog
Dates Reserved: Thursday July 17th 2014
Dive Boat Reserved: Seeway Vision
Pick up Location: St.Lawrence Park (525 King St West Brockville)
Diver Loading Time: 9:00 am
Charter Boat Departure Time: 9:30 am
Number of Dives per Day: 3
Dives: Daryaw, Lillie Parson & the Robert Gaskin
Type of Charter: Walk On
Cost: $95.00 per Diver
Minimum Number of Divers: 8

[Bryan]

I've been catching up with Alan the past day or so on this and he tells me there is a good response from the usual Sand Dog characters but not many new folks ???? One of the reasons we moved it up here was to attempt to include divers who have not been able to join us down South in past. This is the perfect opportunity for new and experience double hose divers to join up with and get to know other folks with similar equipment interests. Events like these consist of great diving and hours of conversation and BS time. If you have questions or need more info to make plans to attend please send Alan an E-mail and I'm sure he will be glad to help.

[BigMike]

I"m looking forward to making the trip to NY. I was the "new guy" last year and can tell you that it's a really great opportunity to meet the guys and not be the only "odd ball using the OLD (and dangerous) scuba gear" in the water. It's well worth the drive/flight if you are thinking about attending.

[EHowe]

I have been keenly interested in attending this year. I have been holding out any commitments until I found out how my vacation time would shake out. As it so happens, I am off that weekend, and can probably swing the trip. I would be driving from Chicago (about 700 or so miles) And would be interested in sharing a ride/ fuel. I would be willing to drive my own truck with plenty of room for three other guys + your stuff, or grab a ride from someone passing through this way. I also have a 23 ft RV that would sleep 4 guys comfortably, (but that may be more $$$ than a hotel depending on fuel cost..) Years ago I camped at Wellesley Island state park & thought it real nice, although I'm not sure how close that is to the dive sites. I don't mind tenting it on a budget.