On the bank of the St. Lawrence River, in Brockville, lies an interesting park. Located at the east end of the city, it is at the end point of the Brock Trail which runs through the city of Brockville. What is especially interesting about this park is that it has become the land-based centre for Canada’s first underwater statue park: Centeen Memorial Dive Park.
The local chapter of Save Ontario Shipwrecks (SOS) first approached the city about developing the park in 2010, and it was established by 2014. The shallow nature of the protected area of the river makes it an ideal area for new divers to complete their training.
The features of the underwater park make it interesting to explore for both novice and experienced divers alike. The land-based section of the park has a grass area for diving groups to set up on. Large, specially-designed benches allow divers to sit comfortably with their tanks on as they are suiting up, or post-dive when taking gear off. Two sets of stairs allow easy access to the water's edge for divers too.
During the last 10 years, a series of platforms and 45 statues have been added to the park. The platforms allow areas for novice divers to practice skills comfortably. The statues provide interesting sights as divers explore the park. They were created by students in high school art classes and by local artists.
Last month, my buddy Jimmy Lockard, who passed away recently, and I took the opportunity to dive at the park. A fee of $10, paid at the local dive shop, helps both the city and SOS to maintain the park. A tag is issued to each of the divers that can be displayed in your car or on your diving equipment.
It was late afternoon when we did the dive and we had a good experience swimming to each of the sculptures, using our GoPros to take both still and video footage of them as we went. There were also some fairly large bass swimming around the various statues.
It was certainly interesting to visit and would recommend divers, if in the area, to take the time to visit this unusual underwater park.
