SCOUTING AND DIVING — THE WANDA DIVING CLUB (PART 1/2)

Scouting — HKP Wanda — A diving course — Diving in Poland and Canada — Sailing — Aviation — Canoeing in Canada

I was never actually a Scout, only a Cub Scout—in 1969, during the first grade of elementary school, and for no longer than one month. I have no idea why, because Scouting at our school was very active. However, I do not recall any of my closest friends belonging to it, which was probably the main reason why I did not continue my membership in the organization. Fortunately, there was no coercion or particular pressure to join.

"Harcerstwo," the Polish Scouting movement, played an important educational and social role during the communist era (1945–1989). Although the organization was influenced by the communist authorities, membership was not formally compulsory.

Piotr K., the club's president & founder and I, Dziekanowskie Lake near Warsaw, June, 1979

In 1978, I enrolled in a diving course organized by the Wanda Scouting Underwater Club (HKP Wanda). Training sessions took place at the indoor swimming pool of the Legia Sports Club in Warsaw. We also went diving in ponds and small lakes around Warsaw.

Diving in Dziekanowskie Lake near Warsaw in June, 1979, with Jarek Ł. I wonder where is my hair today?

I enjoyed diving, but I never became truly passionate about it—perhaps because Polish lakes tended to be rather murky and cold, and to see anything interesting, one had to descend deeper, often using flashlights. More experienced divers spoke about vehicles lying on the bottom (when the Germans retreated across frozen lakes during World War II, the ice sometimes collapsed under the weight of military equipment and the vehicles disappeared beneath the water), and even about sunken military aircraft.

Snorkeling in Cuba in January, 2010. 

I much preferred snorkeling in the Caribbean. At depths of only three to six feet (one or two meters), one could admire beautiful coral reefs—I even took a number of photographs—and at depths of 30 or 60 feet (10 or 20 meters), the underwater scenery must have been even more spectacular. Even then, however, I did not become interested in scuba diving, although obtaining certification there was incomparably easier than in Poland. In fact, some people openly claimed that, in practice, one simply bought the certificate...

On the other hand, I met a man who owned his own equipment and dived both in Ontario and in the Caribbean without any certification whatsoever because, as he claimed, nobody had ever asked him for one—and he knew both the theory and practice extremely well. Well, that's another way of doing it...

In Canada—more specifically in Ontario—the village of Tobermory (45°15'28.3"N 81°39'49.5"W / 45.257861, -81.663750), located at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula, about 300 km (186 miles) northwest of Toronto, attracts diving enthusiasts from around the world.

Tobermory, Ontario - Mecca for scuba divers!

The waters surrounding the tip of the Bruce Peninsula are famous for their exceptional freshwater diving opportunities and remarkably clear water. Underwater visibility often ranges from 40 to 80 feet (12 to 24 meters), rivaling some of the best tropical dive sites. The area boasts more than 20 exceptionally well-preserved shipwrecks located within Fathom Five National Marine Park, at depths ranging from about 10 feet (3 meters) to more than 150 feet (45 meters), making them suitable for divers of all experience levels. Fathom Five National Marine Park was Canada's first national marine conservation area and is considered one of the premier freshwater diving destinations in North America.

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FUN FACT: The road ends in the town of Tobermory, where a ferry runs several times a day to Manitoulin Island (the world's largest freshwater island).

In 2016, a young woman driving late at night in heavy rain and fog was following her GPS directions. She mistook a boat ramp for a continuation of the road and drove straight into the freezing waters of Georgian Bay. She managed to escape the car and swim 30 meters to shore in water temperatures of just 4°C. Drenched and freezing, she reached a nearby hotel to call for help.

Dziekanowskie Lake, June, 1979

After immigrating to Canada, I seriously considered joining a diving club and taking a scuba course, but I was discouraged by the large amount of equipment one has to own and transport. Besides, I was much more interested in simpler activities that did not require major financial investments or specialized gear. As well, I preferred being ON the water, not UNDER it!

I also seriously considered joining a sailing club and even visited two such clubs on the shores of Lake Ontario in the mid-1980s. Sailing here, however, differs greatly from sailing in Poland. On the open waters of Lake Ontario, sailing strikes me as rather monotonous, whereas on the waters of beautiful Georgian Bay (45°21'32.2"N 80°54'57.8"W / 45.358944, -80.916056), which is part of Lake Huron, it can be dangerous because of the thousands of islands and rocks. Consequently, sailboats are seen there relatively infrequently, while motorboats dominate.

Georgian Bay, Ontario, Baeverstone Bay, around Philip Edward Island, 2010. Typical Canadian Shield scenery: beautiful, but very dangerous for motorboat and especially yachts.

The stunning, picturesque shorelines, formed by the rocks typical of the Canadian Shield, are in practice difficult to access for larger yachts. Even the most experienced boaters occasionally have accidents there, striking submerged rocks or shorelines—something I have personally witnessed twice, as well as seeing the aftermath of such collisions involving motorboats.

One must also take into account the cost of purchasing and maintaining a sailboat. While talking with sailors, I was somewhat shocked by the total expenses associated with transportation, winter storage in marinas, and insurance. One of my clients bought a yacht, and equipping it with electronics, batteries, GPS, solar panels, and various other gadgets cost him a great deal of money, time, and effort—yet he spent less than a month on the water each summer.

Ocean sailing, on the other hand, never appealed to me at all, even though I had opportunities to sail both in the Caribbean and along the eastern coast of the United States.

Philip Edward Island, 2010. The scenery is stunning... yet I can't imagine sailing here! But canoe is just perfect.

I should also add that for a while I seriously considered obtaining... a pilot's license! I even took two introductory flights, during which the instructor naturally allowed me to take the controls and enthusiastically encouraged me to sign up for a course.

Fortunately, I quickly abandoned the idea. After looking through the textbooks, I concluded that I really did not feel like absorbing enormous amounts of diverse information, especially since I realized that I would be flying on my own only very rarely. And although I have flown several times as a passenger in small floatplanes, I generally try to avoid that means of transportation.

Bon Echo Provincial Park in Ontario, where our first attempts at canoeing failed miserably in 1991. Since then I have visited this park well over 20 times, often canoeing along the imposing Mazinaw Rock and admiring 260 Native pictographs on the rock, which are 300-1000 years old.

In 1991, while camping with a friend in Bon Echo Provincial Park in Ontario, we rented a canoe for the first time. Unfortunately, it turned out to be so incredibly tippy that, despite numerous attempts, we could not even get into it—much to the amusement of the tourists watching us. Instead of the canoe, we were given an old rowboat, which proved to be much more stable.

Probably only a canoe allows to safely explore this beautiful area up close! This photo was taken from Solomon Island facing towards Philip Edward Island

In 1995, I enrolled in a weekend canoeing course offered by a club on Lake Ontario in Toronto, and a few months later, in August 1995, I took part in my first week-long canoe-camping trip along the absolutely magnificent French River and Georgian Bay in Ontario. It was one of the most beautiful trips of my life. That year, three more canoe trips followed in the United States: we canoed on the Current River in Missouri, in the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia and the northern part of Florida, and finally in Florida’s Everglades and the Gulf of Mexico. I got really hooked on canoeing!

My traveling companion and co-owner on our maiden voyage in our new canoe around Philip Edward Island in northern Georgian Bay. It was a once-in-a-lifetime journey! We're now at the rock Catherine has dubbed "The Kissing Rock" because it reminds her of Hershey's Kisses. We've paddled this route several times over the years and always stopped by it.

From that point on, canoeing became an integral part of my vacations. In 2010, I bought my own canoe (or rather, jointly with my travel companion), which has allowed us to undertake more than 100 trips, reach countless beautiful places, camp in unique and difficult-to-access locations, and even discover underwater shipwrecks on several occasions.

Indeed, I often wonder how on earth this tiny boat can reach so many places, often in the open waters of vast lakes...

I have often been amazed that such a small, light, simple, and almost primitive craft makes it possible to explore the most beautiful and barely accessible places—tiny bays, narrows, rocky islets, side channels, narrow passages, and very shallow waters. And when there is not enough water, one can still continue by pushing the canoe across sandbars, shallows, or reeds or, in the worst-case scenario, carrying it on one's shoulders. Moreover, one can quickly reach shore, pitch a tent, pull the canoe onto the rocks, and sit by a campfire admiring unforgettable scenery without having to worry about much else.

Part of Philip Edward Island, Google satellite photo

The western part of Philip Edward Island.

As the map and the satellite image above show, the waters surrounding the island are dotted with countless islands, tiny rocky islets, sheltered bays, and narrow channels. In reality, however, neither the map nor the satellite image can fully convey the complexity of this landscape. They reveal only a small portion of the maze of rocky reefs and islets that characterizes this part of Georgian Bay.

Some of these rocks lie just below the surface of the water and are almost impossible to see. Even while travelling by canoe, we struck them with the bottom of our canoe on numerous occasions. Although I constantly relied on my GPS receiver, I still found myself losing my way in this remarkable labyrinth. Before GPS navigation became widely available, even the most experienced boaters could spend a great deal of time searching for the correct route.

For this reason, sailors who venture into these waters must keep well away from the rocky shorelines and hazardous shallows. Ironically, those are also the most beautiful parts of this extraordinary landscape. A canoe, kayak, or small boat is by far the best way to explore these intricate passages safely and to appreciate their unique beauty and spectacular scenery.

It is also worth noting that much of the eastern shoreline of Georgian Bay has a similarly rugged character.

Returning to our first unfortunate canoeing experience in 1991—before buying my own canoe, we often took longer trips in rented canoes. From time to time, we ended up with extremely tippy and unstable craft—to the point that every significant movement had to be performed with great caution. Quite often, we were forced to sit on the floor of the canoe in order to lower our center of gravity and avoid a possible capsize.

Grundy Lake Supply Post, August 2010. With our new canoe, which we bought a few minutes ago! After 16 years, it's still serving us well. And so is the car, although of course it's much older. By the way... the business that sold us the canoe still exists, but a kilometer to the east, and the place in the photograph is currently vacant: Highway 400 will soon pass through here, replacing old road 69. By the way, the canoe is our common property and we have always wondered how we would divide it in case of an argument: would we cut it in half horizontally or vertically?

Today, I can state definitively that our current canoe is absolutely perfect: spacious (17 feet / 5.2 meters), very stable, fast, and light (under 60 pounds / 27 kg)—so perfect that I would give it a rating of 10 out of 10 stars!

In fact, during more than 15 years of paddling, we have never capsized even once, although there have been several occasions when we received quite a scare as waves washed over the gunwales.

So, in 1991 at Bon Echo Provincial Park, we simply happened to get an exceptionally tippy canoe—probably the least suitable type for beginners.

From the standpoint of the benefit/cost ratio, I believe that owning and paddling a canoe offers an extraordinarily high return—immeasurably higher than diving or sailing (at least for me).

Perhaps the best proof of this is my numerous bilingual travel blogs devoted, among other things, to canoe trips: http://ontario-nature.blogspot.ca/.

P.S.
This blog was supposed to be mostly about diving, but it ended up being about canoeing... You can immediately see what my true passion is!

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PART TWO

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In the next installment:

• Diving camp on Szeroki Ostrów Island

• Olsztyn: a brief stay and some memories of the city

• A nighttime march from Pisz to Szeroki Ostrów

• The falling flag on July 22, 1979—a sign of the beginning of the end of Communist Poland

• A cartoon by Szymon Kobyliński published in Polityka magazine

• An abandoned Masurian cemetery

• An unexpectedly deep sleep

• Questioning the Katyń Massacre

• More than 50 years of Wanda

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Blogi są również dostępne w języku polskim/blogs are also available in the Polish language

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More from the author

This entry is part of a broader collection of personal research and historical documentation across multiple blogs:

👉 Travel and nature archive/blog/: https://ontario-nature.blogspot.com/