When was the last time you studied your hydro bill?

My goal tonight is to urge you to prepare yourself for the Time of Use billing system not yet in effect in Mississauga.

Why do I care so much about this issue? Reviewing my homes electricity costs for the last year I calculated that we saved over $300.00 or 12%.

That now the way we did it was not something you can copy as I had 2 kids move out of the house (along with their laundry!).

I know there are ways that I can reduce my costs even more.

In the meantime across the Ontario hydro rates increased effective November 1^st   by about 4% so you have to make some changes just to stay even.

The time of use billing method as 2 main premises: 3 time of use time periods coupled with different charges per period.

These are for the fall/winter 6 months -November to April.

1: Weekends and holidays and weekdays 7pm to 7 am are called “OFF PEAK “– this equals 64% of the hours in a month. The rate for usage in these hours is 6.2¢ kWh.

Compared with our current rate this is a reduction of roughly 30%.

2: Weekdays the 6 hours between 11 am and 5 pm are MID PEAK and will be billed @ 9.2¢ kWh roughly 15% more than the current rate.

3: And now for the last time frame – the evil “ON PEAK”.

Weekdays between 7am -11am (4 hours) and again 5pm- 7pm (2 hours) these hours are billed at 10.8¢ kWh which is significantly higher than our current rate by roughly 35%.

This may not mean much to you but both my husband and I work from home and these new weekday rates present a big challenge to me.

Last month I attended an information session sponsored by Enersource Mississauga prepared with my list of questions.

It was a good thing the room was empty when I arrived as it took both representatives several minutes each to answer my questions.

[Main Point 1 – Slide 2 - TOU & rates chart]

The first question – when does TOU billing start for my house?

I was told that December 1^st    is the effective date and my suggestion to you is not to wait until you receive the notification package or worse until you receive your bill to figure out if this billing method will increase your household costs.

[Main Point 2 - Slide 3]

How can I calculate if my total cost will increase with TOU billing?

How do you know the blend of usage of electricity by time frame that you are using now? You don’t. You can guess but you really cannot be sure until the smart meter data is available to you.

[Main Point 3 - Slide 4]

My last question was how can I monitor my usage before I get my bill?

I was pleased to learn that once the TOU billing system starts data is supposed to be accessible on line for the previous day, week, and month if you sign up for an online account with Enersource Mississauga.

[Conclusion - Blank Slide]

I decided to try and change some daily habits immediately rather than wait until December.

I used to do my laundry during the week and I have made the switch to the weekend – this will result in saving me about $25.00 a year. It may not sound like a lot but it all adds up.

The habit I have the hardest time with is dinner time. We usually don’t eat until after 7 pm but I frequently have the oven on well before that – this is now “ON PEAK” time. I have tried to keep the oven if off until 7pm but it is really tough.

As an example if you have your oven on for an hour in @ 5pm it will cost you 35% more than it does now and 43% more than on the weekend or waiting until 7pm.

My efforts to save both consumption and time of use costs are not complete. My new efforts involve reviewing everything in the house that runs 24/7 .You now a couple of choices to make in your home:

• Do nothing and you will pay quite a bit more for your current weekday consumption.
• Or you can change some ON PEAK habits to OFF PEAK times and actually reduce your overall costs.

I urge you not to wait – review your opportunities to avoid paying more NOW.

Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 to buy Jim’s present.  She had been saving every penny she could for months.  Twenty dollars a week doesn’t go far.  Expenses had been greater than she had calculated.   She had spent hours planning something nice for him. Something fine and rare – something that was perfect for Jim.

Suddenly she whirled from the window and stood in front of a mirror.  Rapidly she pulled down her beautiful brown hair which rippled and shined like a sparkling waterfall at sunset.

Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham’s in which they both took mighty pride.   One was Jim’s gold watch, which had been his grandfather’s.  The other was Della’s hair.   Her hair reached below her knee and it made a garment for her.

She had an idea — on went her brown jacket, and her old brown hat.  She fluttered out the door and down the stairs, to the street.

She stopped where the sign read “Madame Sofia.  Hair Goods of all kinds”

“Do you buy hair?” asked Della.

“I buy hair.” said Madame.  “Take your hat off and let’s have look ”

Down rippled the brown cascade of hair.

“Twenty dollars.” said Madame, lifting the mass with a practised hand.

The next two hours she ransacked the stores for Jim’s present.

She found it at last.  It was just made for Jim and no else.  It was a platinum fob chain for Jim’s gold watch.   Twenty-one dollars was the cost.  She hurried home with the 87 cents.

At 7 o’clock their special dinner was ready and Della was waiting for Jim’s arrival.

She heard his step on the stair and she turned white for a moment.  She had a habit for saying a little prayer, and now she whispered: “Please God, make him think I am still pretty.”

The door opened and Jim stepped in and closed it.  He looked thin and very serious.  Jim’s eyes were fixed upon Della, and there was an expression in them that she could not read, and it terrified her.

She cried, “Jim, darling, don’t look at me that way.  I had my hair cut off and sold because I couldn’t have lived through our Anniversary without giving you a present.   I just had to do it.  My hair grows awfully fast.  Say “Happy Anniversary!” Jim, and let’s be happy.  You don’t know what a beautiful gift I’ve for you.”

“You’ve cut your hair off?” asked Jim.

Della said, “Cut it off and sold it. Don’t you like me just as well, without my hair?”

Jim looked about the room curiously.

“You say your hair is gone?” he said anxiously.

And Della replied. “I sold it.  I’m sorry if you’re disappointed, but nobody could ever count my love for you.  It’s the eve of our Anniversary. Shall I put the dinner on, Jim?”

Jim seemed to wake from a trance. He drew a package from his overcoat pocket and threw it upon the table.

She tore the package open, and there lay the combs – the set of combs, that Della had long worshipped in a Broadway window.   Beautiful combs, pure tortoise shell, with jewelled rims.  They were expensive combs. She had desired them for a long time without any hope of getting them.  And now, they were hers.

She was able to look up at Jim and smile and say “My hair grows so fast, Jim!”

Jim had not yet seen his beautiful present.  She held it out to him.  The dull precious metal seemed to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent spirit.

“Isn’t it lovely, Jim?  I hunted all over town to find it.  Give me your watch.  I want to see how it looks on it.”

Instead of giving her, his watch, Jim tumbled down on the couch and put his hands under the back of his head and smiled.

“Dell,” he said, “let’s put our presents away for a while, they are too nice to use just at this moment.  I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs and now let’s just enjoy this special dinner.

Her tastes were simple because she couldn’t afford anything expensive. And so, she suffered endlessly, with the poorness of her house, the mean walls, worn chairs and ugly curtains. She had no clothes, no jewels, nothing. To sum it up, she was miserable.

She had a rich friend, an old school friend whom she refused to visit, because she suffered when they met. She would weep for days with misery and grief.  Her friend had so much more and she had so little.  To sum it up, her life was miserable.

One evening her husband came home. He was terribly excited. He held a large envelope in his hand.

“Here’s something for you,” he said.

Swiftly, she tore the envelope open and pulled out an invitation card from the Minister of Education, inviting Monsieur and Madame Chase for a dinner and dance.

Instead of being delighted, as her husband had hoped, she flung the invitation deliberately across the table, sneering, “And what do you want me to do with THIS?”

“Why darling, I thought you’d be pleased. You never go out, and this is a great occasion. This is a great opportunity to meet all the noble and important people. And it could improve our lives”

She glared at him. With furious eyes and curled her lip she mocked him. “And what do you suppose I am to wear to such an affair?”

Mon chère .  “Why, the dress you go to the theatre in. It looks very nice.”

“I don’t have a dress, so I can’t go to this party. Give your fancy invitation to some friend of yours.

His heart was broken and yet he persisted. “Look here, Mathilde. How much would a suitable dress cost? ”

I think I could do it for 400 francs.”

Her husband’s Adam’s apple bounced repeatedly before he said, “Very well, 400 francs it is.”

As the day of the party drew near, Madame Chasse grew more miserable for not having any accessories to garnish the garment.

“Go and see Madame Raposo and ask her to lend you some jewels,” her husband suggested. “You know her well enough for that.”

“That’s true. I never thought of that.” She uttered delightedly.

The next day, she visited Madame Raposo and told her about her dilemma. Madame Raposo went to her dressing table in her boudoir, took out a large wooden box and brought it to Madame Chasse opened it and said, “Choose my dear.”

She picked out a superb diamond necklace and asked Madame Laforet, “Could you lend me this?”

“Yes, of course.”

Hugging her friend and thanking her, Madame Chasse went away with her treasure.

The day of the party arrived and Monsieur Chasse was so proud. His wife was the prettiest woman present. She was elegant, graceful, smiling and dizzy with happiness. All the Under Secretaries of States were eager to dance with her. Even the Minister himself noticed her.

Madame Chasse danced madly, drunk with pleasure. Even though she left with her husband at four in the morning, her evening had been as eventful as Cinderella’s.

When they reached their apartment, Madame Chasse removed her coat. As she stood before the full length mirror in the foyer admiring her party gown, she noticed, in horror, that the diamond necklace was no longer around her neck. Her scream was loud and piercing.

“What’s wrong?” gasped her husband.

“Madame Laforet’s necklace is gone!”

“C’est impossible!” he exclaimed.

They stared at each other, dumbfounded. Their complexions were grey with grief.

After visiting countless shops, they found a string of diamonds exactly like the borrowed one but its’ price was 36,000 francs. With no other options available to them, they bought the necklace with borrowed money, even though it would take ten years to repay.

walk along the Champ-Elyse when she caught sight of Madame Laforet who was still young looking and still beautiful.

“Good morning Madame Laforet.”

“Hello to you, Madame Chasse. I have not seen you for 10 years it seems. How are you?”

“I’ve had some hard times since I saw you last… and all on your account”

“On  my account? How so?”

“Do you remember the diamond necklace you lent me for the ball at the Ministry of Education?”

“Yes.”

“Well I lost the necklace, that you lent me for the evening it cost me 36,000 francs to replace it.”

36,000 francs?!! Mon dieu! That necklace I lent you, was an imitation, it was worth 500 francs.

I know that most of you are not hockey fans but I want to share with you what you need to know about the 93rd Memorial Cup tournament as it will be held in Mississauga this year and the last time it was held in the GTA was over 40 years ago.

I bought my tickets last week with a group of friends and thought I should study up on the tournament myself.

The idea for the Memorial Cup was proposed by Captain James T Sutherland in 1918 who as the President of the Ontario Hockey Association, while he was overseas in First World War . He wanted to create a trophy as a memorial for the Ontario Hockey Association players that had lost their lives in the War –

By the time the actual cup donated in 1919 the trophy was dedicated in honour of all the soldiers that died fighting for Canada.

Recently in 2010 it was re-dedicated to all soldiers fighting for Canada in ANY conflict.

Quoting the Canadian Hockey Leagues web site “the Memorial cup is one of the most prestigious and coveted trophies in North America”.

The original cup is kept at the Hockey hall of fame in Toronto and presentation replica is used at the actual hockey tournaments.

While the format of the CHL championship tournament has evolved over the years the current format has been in place since 1983 as a four-team eight-game round robin tournament between the winners of the three CHL leagues plus the hosting team.

CHL teams may have a maximum of 4 – 16 year olds and 3 – 20 year old players. The CHL is generally considered the world’s top professional development junior hockey league, with over 50% of the 2005- 2006 NHL players and referees having once participated in the CHL.

This is one of the hardest trophies to win in sports as there are currently 60 teams completing to make the tournament plus with the age restrictions limiting the number of years a player is eligible to play in the league.

The OHL first came to Mississauga in 1998 when the Mississauga Ice Dogs were founded by then owner Don Cherry. And by the way – Don was on the winning Memorial Cup team Barrie – in 1953.

As an Ice Dogs fan I have seen some great hockey players as I attended many games every year for seven years as a group season ticket holder – that is until the team was sold to Eugene Melnyk who’s only interest was to move his St Mikes team from Toronto to the bigger venue Hersey centre in Mississauga and the ice dogs were moved to St Catharine’s.

The St Mike’s Majors are a team with a long history since their 1907 beginning at St Michael’s College in Toronto  – the team has won the Memorial cup four times – the last in 1961.

This May the tournament will be held at the Hersey Center, and though the capacity number varies depending on the source, 5500 per game is the targeted number to beat the attendance of 42,000 over the eight games held last year in Brandon Manitoba.

The Hershey Centre was opened in 1998 and is located on Rose Cherry Drive named after Don’s wife Rose, who coincidently was born in Hersey Pennsylvania.

Last May when it was announced that the St Michael’s Majors of Mississauga had won the bidding to hold the 2011 Memorial cup tournament – Owner Melnyk was quoted by the Canadian press as guaranteeing a “$3-million return to the OHL from the event” to beat out the others in the bidding process.

Mayor Hazel McCallion said the city is willing to spend up to $2 million dollars “in kind” to help promote the event that is expected to generate up to $15 million dollars in economic benefits to the city of Mississauga.

What a day this is for Mississauga, folks,” said McCallion. “We’re going to give this everything it needs. It’s just so exciting and we’re going to turn cartwheels to make this the best Memorial Cup in history.”

Highlighting the St Mike’s team is Captain Casey Cizikas, who was born in Mississauga, attended the Erindale high school (Erin Mills & Dundas) and despite a controversial past he made St Mike’s Majors team in 2007 and recently played for the Canadian Junior Team that participated in the World tournament just a few weeks ago in Buffalo.

St Mike’s coach Dave Cameron was also the coach of the silver medal Canadian team that was defeated by the Russia in a third period disaster at the world junior’s tournament on January 5th.

St Mike’s is currently in first place in the OHL and though they are already entered in the tournament as the host team they want to “earn” their way as serious contenders to win the cup.

Recent trades were made before the trade deadline January 10 to strengthen the team’s chances even further adding two more 20-year-olds.

As the countdown to the cup continues.

Purchasing tickets has been a source of controversy – until last week the tickets could only be purchased in a package along with seasons tickets to the St Mike’s majors.

For information on how to buy tickets check out the St Mike’s website details.

At least now as the news coverage of the cup increases over the never few months you will understand what tournament is all about and I’m sure we’ll see our favorite major in many more photo ops along the way as well!

Cathy Herschel

At the time it didn’t strike me as being particularly memorable, but a few years later, as I was leafing through my yearbook, I saw it again. I thought that it sounded biblical, so with the help of the Internet, I did a little searching to try and discover its source. To my surprise, it didn’t match anything in the Bible. Nevertheless, it still struck me as significant, and I’ve been referring to it regularly since then.

In fact, it was this statement that made me recognize a way to achieve world peace… or at least reduce some of the fighting and killing around the globe that’s done in the name of religion. The answer was right in front of me, contained in a pop song. Does anyone want to venture a guess as to what song that might be? [field guesses from the audience].

The song is called Counting Blue Cars, by a group called Dishwalla, and was released in 1995. To everyone else, this is just another pop song, but when viewed from The Bob Angle, you’ll see that it contains one of the secrets for achieving world peace.

Halfway through the song, after the second verse, is the line “Tell me all your thoughts on God, cause I’d really like to meet her”. They sing these words several times during the song [play sample].

CBC Sample

I find it interesting that the band members see God as being female, but despite the repetition, that wasn’t the answer. The revelatory part of the song actually comes after the first verse – they sing the same line, but instead of saying “I’d really like to meet her”, the vocalist is silent for two bars – a small but critical difference [play sample].

CBC Sample With No Vocals

And there you have it – that is the blueprint for world peace… the answer that was always there, but not always in my sight. The way to achieve peace in the world is done not only through better communication, but through a genuine understanding of another person’s point of view. The proverbial “walking a mile in someone else’s shoes”. I can still see some blank faces… but don’t worry – once I explain how these two things are connected, it will become as obvious to you as it is to me.

First, a little background… there are about 6.8 billion people on this planet, and they subscribe to a multitude of different religions. One thing that we all have in common is that don’t know for sure what comes after this life. There could be a heaven, or a hell, or even a limbo and a purgatory. We could come back and be reincarnated. If we didn’t live an honourable life, then we might come back as a lower life form; maybe we’ll come back as a human, but on another planet somewhere else in the universe. Or, according to the atheists and agnostics – arguably the bravest souls among us – there might be nothing at all after we shuffle off this mortal coil, and we’ll just wink out of existence.

An obstacle to harmonious living is the one thing that seems to be common among most religions: they each state that they have discovered the one true path, and to varying degrees, they dismiss the tenets of other religions. For example, one girl I used to know told me that she had visions of me walking through a black, slimy, imposing gate, and then looking over my shoulder to see if anyone might rescue me from the forbidding place I was about to enter. The reason for this vision? A few weeks earlier, I told her that I occasionally buy lottery tickets in an office lotto pool. She felt that this was gambling, and therefore contrary to God’s wishes. This is her view of the world. Another example: I used to work with someone who was a Muslim. He was a great guy and we got along well, except for one small thing. Whenever I disagreed with him, he would call me a lousy infidel. One day he revealed a bit of his philosophy of life; he told me that there are two types of people in this world: Muslims and infidels. This was how he saw the world.

I’m sure that you can see the polarization inherent in these viewpoints; organized religions promote an “us vs. them” mentality. To be fair, my own religion, Catholicism, is also guilty of this.  In my religion we have a list of Ten Commandments. The first Commandment – which presumably is the most important since it’s number one – states “I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me”. Interestingly enough, this Commandment doesn’t tell us how to comport ourselves – it simply says “Listen only to me… don’t listen to anyone else”. Personally, if I was confident that I held the answers to life’s mysteries, I would welcome debate and other points of view. I can only guess why my own church doesn’t want me to listen to anyone else.

It seems to me that despite our multitude of religions, we all have similar spiritual needs, so could it be that there may be more than path to our ultimate destination? I suspect that we are all taking the same journey but travelling on different paths.

That’s why this line in the song is so profound “Tell me all your thoughts on God”. Unlike many religions, this doesn’t dismiss the views of others, but validates them instead. This line demonstrates not only tolerance, but also a healthy level of respect for the views of others. We are no longer assuming that people who worship differently than we do are going be either denied a pleasant afterlife, or simply go straight to our version of hell.

The second, and arguably the most important part of this line is the next two bars – the ones without vocals. The absence of words is what makes this part of the song so meaningful. Imagine if we put this into practice… just think of the goodwill that could be generated if we walked up to someone whose religious views were radically different from our own, and said “Tell me all your thoughts on God” (or whomever they worship), and then were silent for two bars… or four bars… or eight or sixteen… or however long it took for that person to explain the way he sees the world. I’ll wager that that person would probably feel more kindly toward you afterwards because you took the time to ask for his opinion, and to listen to his point of view.

Unfortunately when I look around me, I see the opposite happening. Let me talk for a minute about certain religious groups that just annoy the heck out of me. I won’t mention any names, but you all know who they are because their followers come to your neighbourhood knock on your door. The reason they are so annoying is that they don’t care what our views are. They start by saying (in so many words) “Good afternoon… your religious beliefs are unimportant to me – I’m going to tell you all of my thoughts on God, whether you want to hear them or not” – which is the complete opposite of what is suggested in the song. Is it any wonder that so many doors are slammed in their faces? They never seem to get the message… I suppose it’s because they’re so focused on spreading the message.

My fellow high school student Steve was wise beyond his years: It was always there, but not always in my sight. Fellow Toastmasters, I believe that the path to peace, understanding and harmony (among religions anyway) has been right in front of us all along – at least since 1995 – and is contained in this pop song. [play sample]

If you want to take steps toward achieving world peace, then you can start by Counting Blue Cars!

I’d like to tell you about a particular high school English class. I was in grade eleven. I didn’t realize it at the time, but this class revealed to me, one of the mysteries of life. I’d like to tell you about the events that day, and then I’ll share this secret with you, to save you the trouble of figuring it out on your own.

On this particular day, my English teacher gave the class a group exercise. We were supposed to solve some sort of mystery, and the exercise was done to encourage team-building. We arranged our desks into groups of five, and were each given a sheet of paper with a story typed on it. We were supposed to refer to this story in our groups, look for clues, and answer a number of questions that were on a separate sheet of paper.

What the teacher didn’t tell us was that each person in the group had a slightly different version of the story, and we each had information that the others didn’t. Only by sharing all of our information could we answer the questions. Midway through the exercise, the members of my group started be wondering how one team member knew a particular fact, when we couldn’t find it anywhere on our sheet. The epiphany came when we finally compared sheets and read them out loud to each other and realized that we each had different information. Then the teamwork began in earnest, as we pooled our knowledge.

It’s an interesting exercise in teamwork, but what does this have to do with our lives now? Actually, it has everything to do with us – although it took me years to figure this out. The 19th-century writer Ambrose Bierce wrote “Education: that which discloses to the wise, and disguises from the foolish, their lack of understanding”. I am now starting to come to terms with my colossal lack of understanding.

In a previous speech, entitled Living Without Boundaries, I referred to learning about another person as constructing a jigsaw puzzle – each new thing we learned about someone else was a new piece that we could add to our puzzle, and thus give us a better, more complete picture of that person.

Now here’s The Bob Angle – I see each one of us as an incomplete jigsaw puzzle; no offense, but you’re all missing a few pieces — as am I. We have most of what we need to survive, but for true completeness, we need others. We need to extract the knowledge possessed by others in order to have a more complete view of the world.

I believe that there is some support for this view in the following expressions “Nobody’s perfect”, “No man is an island” and “It takes a village to raise a child”. Ralph Waldo Emerson explained it eloquently and succinctly when he said “Every man I meet is my superior in some way. In that I learn of him”.

Everyone I meet knows things that I do not. Everyone I meet has skills or talents that I do not possess. It doesn’t matter what their station in life is, they are better at something, and I can learn from them. Some skills come easily to certain people, and they will naturally excel in those areas.

Some days you may feel overwhelmed by a sense of inadequacy. You may look around you and think “I don’t measure up – the world expects too much of me, and I just don’t have all of these abilities”. Of course you don’t – in my opinion, that’s the whole point. No man (or woman) is an island. We are deliberately incomplete.

Coming to terms with our inherent individual incompleteness, is in my opinion, the secret to living a more satisfying, full and harmonious existence. Picture yourself and others as a jigsaw puzzle with a few pieces missing – these missing pieces will form the cornerstone of many symbiotic relationships. Others can offer you important information or comprehension that’s missing in your life, and conversely, you can offer them new information or teach them new things. Together, we fill in each other’s missing pieces, and become more complete.

For example, in our club Georgia is tutoring Sung Yi in English. A certain level of English proficiency is expected of Sung Yi, now that she lives in Canada, and she is struggling to meet this expectation. These are the missing piece in her jigsaw puzzle. Fortunately, Georgia can say “Don’t worry Sung Yi, I have these missing pieces and I’m willing to share them with you”.

If each one of us had all of the skills needed to understand how everything works and to do whatever we wanted, then I believe that we would be more likely to develop into solitary creatures and lead a more isolated existence. Progress is made by working together, pooling our resources and helping each other. Since we were all born incomplete, we have to seek out other people and even depend on each other.

I believe that each one of us was born with just the right amount of innate learning potential – enough to survive and propagate, but not enough to thrive or to attain a level of self-actualization. In order to reach the summit of Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, or to experience life more fully and completely, we have to get to know other people and learn from them. From this, we will build friendships, and networks of friends. These networks will continue to grow and eventually coalesce into communities, societies and finally, cultures. At this point we can look at the culture that has emerged and declare that the whole is indeed greater than the sum of its parts.

— Bob Yewchuk

Madame Chair, fellow Toastmasters, most welcome guests,

Tonight I am going to talk about one of the greatest shipwrecks in the Great Lakes region called the Gunilda. This wreck is such a treat to dive that is has earned the nickname “G” Spot among the advanced diving community.

With many shipwrecks, we hear about great losses of life in a series of tragic events. However The story about the Gunilda is quite different. The Gunilda was owned by a gentleman by the name of William L Harkness. Mr Harkness was a wealthy industrialist of the early 1900′s and his private steam yacht was the Flagship of the NYYC.

The Gunilda was 195ft long 24ft wide had a 12ft draft and weighed 385 tonnes. It was powered by 2 boilers coupled to a 27″ stroke steam engine that could make 14 knots. The Gunilda operated with a crew of 20 and was in every way impressive and elegant.

She was a steel hulled vessel  painted  gleaming white. The bow sprit  was decorated with elegant scroll work and coated with real gold leafing. The superstructure was elegantly accented with  graceful  curves and styling. She had two  helms and the binnacles and telegraph were made of brass. The galley was loaded with the finest china and  in the main salon an upright piano

Now enough for now of how beautiful she was, let’s get to how she sank. Harkness, his family and crew were on a cruise of the Great Lakes in the summer of 1911.  It was Aug 30 and they were cruising North on the eastern shore of Lake Superior headed to Lake Nipigon to fish for its famed Brook Trout. Harkness had been cautioned  that the area had numerous shoals, the charts were vague, and that he should seek a local guide.

After finding a guide, Harkness sharply declined the service complaining the $10 fee was too much. Confident in his crew he gave orders to carry on. That afternoon, the Gunilda ran aground on a now famous place called Mc Garvey shoal that stranded the vessel. A famous photo would show the bow to breaching  high out of the water.

I personally have respect for shoals and especially the shoals within the Canadian Shield having mangled a boat prop or two on Georgian Bay in my younger years.

Distraught, Harkness and his crew launched a yawl boat, took a photo of the Gunilda perched upon the shoal and headed to the quaint village of Rossport. At Rossport, he telegraphed his insurance company and had the largest tug available dispatched from Port Arthur some 160 km away. The Tug, “George Whelan” arrived a while after along with a single barge in tow to the stranded Gunilda.

When the captain of the George Whelan saw the glamorous yacht and calculated the associated risks in the salvage, he suggested an additional barge be brought in so they could create a sling apparatus insuring success.

Harkness not wanting to wait or pay this expense ordered the salvager to simply pull the boat from the shoal as it lay. The Tug  deckhands were given  strict orders to cut the lines with axes on cue if the Gunilda toppled as it would undoubtedly drag the tug down too. The tug aggressively pulled to free the Gunilda and when it finally broke free the boat keeled to starboard, the masts hit the water and she quickly filled. As the salvager predicted the worst happened and the Gunilda quickly slipped to the base of McGarvey shoal some 270 feet below. The crew and guests quickly scrambled to safety aboard the tug.

On  a visit to the Gunilda one can still see the 2 @  5  inch diameter ropes that the tug cut free and are lying about the wreck. One can only imagine the feeling Harkness had at that moment.

The Gunilda today, due to her advanced depth has experienced only a limited amount of dive traffic. Those that do visit are extensively trained and conscious about preservation. The Cousteau Society once said that the Gunilda was the most preserved and most prestigous shipwreck in the world.

Features such as “Gunilda NYYC” painted on the transom. The ships wheels, telegraphs, and panes of glass remain perfectly intact and covered only with a fine layer of silt. The most memorable feature was the ship’s Bell with “Gunilda” engraved in the side.

This is very rare to see and a first for me. It’s been ten years since first learning of her. The drive was 15 hours; the water was only a few degrees; the decompression times were 2 hours long, but my goal of diving the “G Spot” became a reality.

Fellow Toastmasters.

As a person breathes, the body consumes oxygen and makes carbon dioxide. A person with an open circuit  breathing set typically only uses about a quarter of the oxygen in the air that is breathed in. The rest is breathed out along with nitrogen and carbon dioxide. The re-breather re-circulates the exhaled gas for re-use and does not discharge it to the atmosphere It absorbs the carbon dioxide, which otherwise would accumulate and cause hypercapnia. The Carbon Dioxide is removed by a process called scrubbing. The re-breather adds oxygen to replace the oxygen that was metabolized. Thus, the gas in the re-breather’s circuit remains breathable and supports life.

Design Variants

Oxygen: this is the oldest type of rebreather and was commonly used by navies from the early 1900s.  The only gas that it supplies is oxygen. As pure oxygen is toxic when inhaled at pressure, oxygen rebreathers are currently limited to a depth of 6 meters (20 ft); some say 9 meters (30 ft).

Semi-Closed: Divers use these because they provide better underwater duration than open circuit, have a deeper maximum operating depth than oxygen re-breathers and are fairly simple and cheap.

Semi-closed circuit equipment generally supplies one breathing gas such as air or Nitrox or Trimix (Trimix is a blend of oxygen nitrogen and helium). The gas is injected into the loop at a constant rate to replenish oxygen consumed from the loop by the diver. Excess gas must be constantly vented from the loop in small volumes to make space for fresh, oxygen-rich gas. The diver must fill the cylinders with an appropriate gas mix that has a maximum operating depth that is safe for the depth of the dive being planned.

Fully Closed: Closed circuit re-breathers generally supply two breathing gases to the loop: one is pure oxygen and the other is a diluent. This diluent could be air, Nitrox or Trimix. Military, movie industry and recreational divers use these because they allow long dives and produce no bubbles.

The major task of the fully closed circuit re-breather is to control the oxygen concentration, known as the oxygen partial pressure, in the loop and to warn the diver if it is becoming dangerously low or high.

The concentration of oxygen in the loop depends on two factors: depth,  and the proportion of oxygen in the mix. Too low a concentration of oxygen results in hypoxia leading to sudden unconsciousness and ultimately death. Too high a concentration of oxygen results in hyperoxia, leading to oxygen toxicity, a condition causing convulsions which can make the diver lose the mouthpiece when they occur underwater, and can lead to drowning.

In fully automatic closed-circuit systems, the  electronically  controlled  gas solenoid injects oxygen into the loop when it detects that the partial pressure of oxygen in the loop has fallen below the set point. This mechanism is electrical and relies on oxygen sensitive electro galvanic fuel cells to measure the concentration of oxygen in the loop. The diver is able to manually control the mixture by adding diluent gas or oxygen.

Parts Of A Re-breather

This is my own personal re-breather and is  a closed circuit re-breather. It is the most common  model on the market today and is called the Inspiration.

The Loop: Although there are several design variations in re-breathers, all types have a gas-tight loop  that the diver inhales from and exhales into. The loop consists of components sealed together. The diver breathes through a mouthpiece.

This is connected to one or more tubes bringing inhaled gas and exhaled gas between the diver and a counter-lung. The Counterlungs hold gas when it is not in the diver’s lungs. The loop also includes a scrubber  containing carbon dioxide absorbent   to remove from the loop the carbon dioxide exhaled by the diver.

Attached to the loop there is two gas injection valves allowing injection of gases manually. Diluent on the inhalation side and oxygen on the exhalation side. There is also a valve to exhaust gas from the loop. Modern re-breathers have a twin-hose mouthpiece  where the direction of flow of gas through the loop is controlled by one-way  flow valves.

The mouthpiece often has a valve letting the diver take the mouthpiece from the mouth while underwater or floating on the surface without water getting into the loop.

Many re-breathers have “water traps” in the counter-lungs, to stop large volumes of water from entering the loop if the diver removes the mouthpiece underwater without closing the valve.

Gas Sources: This particular re-breather has two 19 cubic foot bottles in the back. One contains pure oxygen and the other contains diluent.  The diluent reduces the partial pressure of oxygen in the loop, and increases the maximum operating depth of the re-breather.

It is important that the diluent is not an oxygen-free gas, such as pure nitrogen or helium, and is breathable. It may be used in an emergency either to flush the loop with breathable gas or as a bailout.

Carbon Dioxide Scrubber: The exhaled gases are directed through the chemical scrubber to remove the carbon dioxide. There are different designs available but this unit uses an axial flow type and is rated for three hours. This medium is granular like and  called Soda Lime selling under brand names such as  Sofnolime or Sodasorb. The carbon dioxide  passing through the scrubber absorbent is removed when it reacts with the absorbent in the canister; this chemical reaction is exothermic.

Galvanic Oxygen Cells: An electro-galvanic fuel cell is an electrical device used to measure the concentration of oxygen gas in the (loop). When we turn on the unit the electronic automation calibrates these  cells based on the voltage they produce at normoxic levels and pure oxygen. Electro-galvanic fuel cells have a limited lifetime which is reduced by exposure to high concentrations of oxygen. Typically, a cell used for diving applications will function correctly for 1-2 years depending on use.

Electronic Display Handset: Displays currents readings of all three oxygen cells. Also a decompression computer that works in real-time of the PO2 in the loop and computes decompression.

Heads Up Display: An ingenious device that gives a diver quick visual reference to the Po2 status of his re-breather. When  there is a green light …the set point P02 is is OK. When there is a slow flashing red light the Po2 is low at .4 bar. When there is a rapidly flashing red light the P02 is at 1.6 or higher.

Efficiency Advantages

The main advantage of the re-breather over other conventional scuba equipment  is the re-breather’s economical use of gas. With open circuit scuba, the entire breath is expelled into the surrounding water when the diver exhales. A breath inhaled from an open circuit scuba system whose cylinders are filled with ordinary air is about 21% oxygen. When that breath is exhaled back into the surrounding environment, it has an oxygen level in the range of 15 to 16%  at the surface. This leaves the available oxygen utilization at about 25%; the remaining 75% wasted.

At depth, the advantage of a re-breather is even more marked. Since the generation of CO2 is directly related to the body’s consumption of O2, th amount of O2 consumption doesn’t change, therefore CO2 generation doesn’t change. This means that at depth, the diver is not using any more of the O2 gas supply than when shallower.

This is a marked difference from open circuit where the amount of gas used is directly proportional to the depth and is based on the principles of Boyle’s Gas Law.

Feasibility Advantages

Long or deep dives using open circuit equipment may not be feasible as there are limits to the number and weight of diving cylinders a diver can carry. The economy of gas consumption is also useful when the gas mix being breathed contains expensive gases, such as helium. In normal use only oxygen is consumed:and a 19cf bottle of Trimix will last up to 3-4 dives. For example, a closed circuit re-breather diver effectively doesn’t use any of their diluent gas once they’ve reached the bottom phase of the dive; they could turn off their diluent. On ascent, no diluent is used.  Wreck divers  appreciate this

Other Advantages

Except on ascent, closed circuit re-breathers produce no bubbles and make no bubble noise and much less gas hissing, unlike open circuit scuba. This can  allow divers engaged in marine biology and underwater photography  to avoid alarming marine animals and thereby get closer to them.

The fully closed circuit re-breather is also  able to minimise the proportion of inert gases in the breathing mix, and therefore minimise the decompression  requirements of the diver, by maintaining a specific and relatively high oxygen partial pressure (ppO₂) at all depths.

The breathing gas in a re-breather is warmer and more moist than the dry and cold gas from open circuit equipment making it more comfortable to breathe on long dives and causing less dehydration the number one cause of decompression sickness.

Re-Breather Diving Disadvantages

• They do not accomodate complacency.
• There are  pre dive checks that must me followed and they must be checked meticulously.
• Hyperoxia, Hypercapnia, Hypoxia, Decompression Sickness, Myopia.
• If  unit is assembled incorrectly and the positive and negative checks were  omitted.  the scrubber  could flood resulting in a Caustic Cocktail.
• Some people enjoy freedom of going for a quick leisure dive.
• Re-breathers are not cos- effective or efficient for that type of diving due to Co2 absorbent costs and maintenance.
• They require more setup time and tear down however the trade-off is extended times underwater of 3 hours or more at a time.
• The maintenance requires  taking the unit apart and rinsing and sterilizing the loop components, counterlungs and cannister with an antibacterial/antiviral solution.

I have been diving this unit for 6 years and have over 300 logged hours on it. It has been an amazing experience and elevated my diving experiences beyond my own beliefs.

Fellow Toastmasters.

Madame Chair, fellow Toastmasters and honoured guests.

A  passion of mine is a great Wreck dive. Truk Lagoon is the Wreck Diving Mecca of the World. In November 2007 I joined an expedition to this far-away land. What made this expedition special was that the majority of the group was using Closed Circuit Re-breathers. Using re-breathers for Truk was the optimal tool to get the greatest experience because they allow a diver to remain underwater for up to 3 hours independent of the depth he is diving. When the early divers visited Chuuk over 30 years ago, deep dives were limited to  5-10 minutes.

I have a regional map and some photos to pass around to give a greater perspective.

The first week was aboard the Truk-Odyssey live aboard dive vessel… and the second at a land based operation called was “The Truk Stop”. Each had its advantages however diving on a Live A Board  is so much easier because you are not constantly loading and unloading the boat with gear –  food and beds are only steps away.

Because this was such a remote destination we wanted to bring everything, but weight restrictions limited us to the bare essentials. Each re-breather was fifty pounds stripped, and all other gear went in the second bag. The special tanks they use were shipped ahead of time. Not many clothes were needed; carry-on consisted of camera equipment and laptop computers.

The Japanese started transforming  Truk into  their major military installation soon after WWI  and continued this development right until the end of WWII.  All major attacks in the South Pacific including the Pearl Harbor invasion were coordinated through Truk.

The lagoon was heavily fortified and included multiple forces of military armament  and  a safe harbour for many supply vessels.

Partial mountains were moved to create a causeway between two islands  and others cleared of trees to create airstrips. There was no expense spared; they built this place to last forever. The Western allied forces had knowledge of Truk through POW  interrogation  but the Japanese had barred all foreigner access  from the beginnings of their buildup.

On Feb 4 1944 two US military reconnaissance aircraft flew over the heavily fortified Japanese territory  and collected photographic intelligence. Thirteen days later on Feb17, 1944, Operation Hailstone was carried out. For two days, five combined Aircraft Carrier fleets launched air strikes on the Japanese stronghold creating  what is now Truk Lagoon.

The greatest concentration of shipwrecks and  wrecked aircraft in the world. 70  shipwrecks and over 200 aircraft were sank within the  protected Lagoon in this battle. The years following, these ill fated vessels would be transformed into beautiful  underwater reefs.

Home to many fish ,and a plethora of hard and soft corals. “THE TRUE GRACE OF IT ALL”. The water is tropical, currents are minimal and great visibility – A wreck diving/ photographer’s dream.

The great wrecks  of Truk have names such as the Fujikawa , Heian, Yamagiri, Sankisan, Hoki and Aikoku. All with the suffix MARU meaning Merchant Vessel.  The most famous of all is the San Fransisco Maru. The best aircraft is a Mitsubishi  G&M bomber, nicknamed the ”  Betty Bomber” is still very shiny  as she is made from aluminum.

The  majority of shipwrecks I had visited up until Truk were dull in comparison and mostly stripped of artifacts, but those in Truk are loaded with artifacts from a wartime era  such as gas masks, fourteen-inch shell casings, land mines, zero fighter-plane fuselage, prop blades, wing assemblies, torpedoes, slippers, tea cups, stacks and stacks of wooden crates of empty sake bottles…  the list goes on.

In the deep cargo holds of the Hoki Maru, wreck divers can see pickup trucks, a tractor, a steam roller and a bulldozer in astounding condition. To the benefit of the gentle currents , the wrecks are in great shape for their age however the deeper wrecks are noticeably better.

The most famed  photograph of Truk is on your descent to the San Francisco Maru . Laid upon the main front deck are three  Japanese  jungle tanks.

This wreck is dubbed the  Million Dollar Wreck  because when it sank it’s cargo was said to be  worth  well over a million dollars. Every hold is filled to the top with munitions, mines, shells and torpedoes, all beautifully preserved – an ultimate virtual museum. Diving this wreck is totally consuming and I have vivid memories of her.

Our limited time spent touring the island topside revealed pleasant happy people brought under Christianity, although social problems were not very well masked. Wooden handicraft is carved from the limited trees that grow there  and available for purchase WWII war wreckage is still – to this day – found lying about the island in plain sight. But one must consider that this  is this nations most valued resource.

Being a neat freak myself, this allowed me to gain new perspectives for old neighbours.

Truk Lagoon is an unparalleled wreck diving paradise and in my view the most unique place  someone could visit. If you are in the area one day, stop in. They will welcome you.

Thank you fellow Toastmasters.