July 30, 2023

Cover Photo: Jill, Charlotte and Kayla

• Tanks Filled: CHECK
• Cameras Prepped: CHECK
• Truck Loaded: CHECK
• Boat Fueled: CHECK

There is a lot of planning required for an expedition, for every minute underwater several hours of preparation and logistics are needed.   

It was June 4^th since the entire team last dove together and June 18^th since I dove with just Jill. Weather and other commitments have prevented the expedition from moving forward. Waking up at 4am I was excited that the weekend was coming together. The whole team was available and the weather was looking perfect. Heading out with the sun rising I was planning out the dive in my head as I spent the four hours driving to Picton. Driving up to the dock I was greeted by similes and hugs from Charlotte and Jill who had arrived before me and already had their gear unloaded and lined up on the dock. Together we quickly launched the boat, loaded the gear, went over the safety plan and the objectives of the dive. With the lake still as glass, we were expecting a quick trip out so we put on our dry suits and boarded the boat.

THEN, murphy showed up… the boat would not start.

This is not our first rodeo so we did not panic and proceeded to break open the tool kit and spares that we bring along for just such an occasion. Long story short after an hour of working on the engine we troubleshooted the issue down to a faulty fuel supply valve. The switch was locked in the middle and was not providing gas from either the port or starboard tank to the engine. While we can fix a lot on the water, changing out fuel lines and valves is not something that we were prepared to do.

So, we unloaded all the gear and pulled the boat and since we were all together spent the next few hours reviewing the storyline for the documentary and preparing a list of the remaining photos that we still needed.

As we were saying goodbye, Jill pointed out “If it was easy, it would have already been done”.