Our local dive club, Indy Dive Club, took a group up to Port Sanilac, MI, this past weekend for two days of diving on Lake Huron. We went out with Gary Venets Rec & Tec Dive Charters on Saturday afternoon 8/11 and Sunday morning 8/12.
Gary runs a great operation and has a very nice boat. My first thought upon seeing the boat was, Man, this is much larger than it looks in the pictures on his website. I was a bit concerned about how wed manage with 12 divers on the boat, but it wasnt a problem. The boat is designed for diving and the divers area at the stern is actually quite large. It is actually the widest boat Ive been on in the Lakes. Gary has the boat very organized with a storage bin underneath every station for fins, hoods, gloves, masks, lights, etc. He has you setup your equipment and put everything in your gear bin and then leave your dive bag in the car. It really helps to open up and de-clutter the diver prep area. There is also room inside the cabin and in the bow section down below for drysuit bags and other dry gear.
The weather on Sunday was hot and sunny, but since wed been having weather in the mid-90s in Indy for about 2 weeks it really didnt seem too uncomfortable. Once we got out on the lake there was a nice breeze. Lake conditions were <2. Darn close to ideal. In addition to Gary we had Skippy, an instructor friend of Garys for many years, as a DM.
Our first dive was on the New York which was a steam barge that was hauling lumber when it went down during heavy seas. The wreck is upright but a lot of it is broken up. This wreck is known to frequently have poor visibility, but can be a very nice wreck if the conditions are right. Unfortunately the mooring line was missing so we had to take time for Gary and Skippy to prepare another line. The first two divers in our group are more experienced and they were planning a dive with a small amount of deco. Gary had them take the new line down and connect it to the mooring chain that he hoped was still there. After some minor issues finding the wreck, they were able to attach the new line and we were good to go.
I was in the fourth group to splash and my dive buddies for the weekend were Rick Green and Wally Burchfield (crpntr133). We began our descent at 5:54 pm. Unfortunately, at about 20 I noticed that I was no longer getting air into my wing from my power inflator. While I used my drysuit for buoyancy, I began inspecting the inflator and hose to see what the problem was. Unfortunately I couldnt see anything obvious. At 45 I decided to stop and work on it further. I wrapped my leg around the mooring line and attempted to see if I could fix the issue. I didnt have any success and really didnt want to continue on with a 110+ wreck dive not really being sure what the issue was. I decided to abort this dive. I probably could have continued with either just using my drysuit for buoyancy, which I dont like at all, or orally inflating my wing, but given the depth, water temps and likely low visibility, I decided not to push it.
1st dive: 46 max depth, total dive time 9 min, surface temp 77, min temp 73
Once on the boat and out of my gear the issue was easily solved. Whenever I boat dive I use a Dive Alert air horn attached to my power inflator. When I do this I typically only run the corrugated hose through bungee on my left chest D-ring and not the air hose. Well, I had run both through the bungee and it had worked its way underneath the Dive Alert and applied enough pressure to the fitting to pop the air hose off of the Dive Alert. The disconnect was above and underneath the Dive Alert and theres no way I could have seen or fixed it underwater. All I had to do was take the air hose out from underneath the bungee, reconnect it to the Dive Alert and I was ready for our remaining dives.
Our second dive was going to be the Regina, but given the time we lost running a new mooring line on the New York, the captain and our dive leader decided instead to save the Regina for Sunday and to do a closer wreck the Mary Alice B.
The Alice B is a tug that sits in about 80 of water. It is pretty much intact including the wheelhouse and wheel. My group splashed on our second dive at 7:50 pm. The visibility wasnt very good and there was a lot of particulates and algae in the water. Id say the viz was around 10-15. Regardless, we enjoyed a tour of the wreck and I was able to enter the wheelhouse, inspect the wheel and exit the window opposite the door. Apart from the visibility, it was a nice dive.
2nd dive: 77 max depth, total dive time 22 min, surface temp 76, min temp 47
On Sunday morning the weather was quite a bit cooler and it was beginning to cloud up. There was some rain coming in but the lake conditions were expected to hold. Our crew for the day included Gary and Linda, a long-time wreck diver/DM. Our first dive was the North Star which was a steamer that was 300' long. It was built in 1888 in Cleveland, OH. The ship is in two pieces but lies in an upright position.
Wally, Rick and I were moved up to be the first group diving. As we were gearing up Wally was unfortunately not feeling well. He decided not to push it, so it was just Rick and I on this first dive. We splashed at 8:42 am. The mooring line is attached to the top of the engines in the stern area of the boat. We descended down to the engines, explored a bit and then dropped down to the deck. We explored down about half-way along the center of the boat heading towards the bow before turning around and heading back to the engines. We spent the remainder of the dive exploring the huge steam engines and the life around them. There was a whole community of Gobies living on top of the engines ranging in size for 1 to maybe 6. I also saw a small school of perch.
3rd dive: 85 max depth, total dive time 32 min, surface temp 71, min temp 46
The last dive of the trip was on the Regina. The Regina was a steel freighter that was 250' long. It was built in 1907 in Scotland. There is a lot of speculation on how the ship sunk but the most recent theory is that the ship ran aground in the infamous storm that occurred in early Nov. 1913. It is one of the worst storms to ever hit the Lakes and produced 40 waves on Lake Huron! The Regina rests upside down. John Chatterton and Richie Kohler did a Deep Sea Detectives episode on the Regina. Linda, our DM for the day on Sunday, was actually a safety diver for them.
Luckily Wally was feeling better and all three of us were able to make the last dive of the trip. We splashed at 10:23 am and descended down to the propeller and rudder. Being upside down and intact, it is really eerie descending down to the bottom to see a ship upside down. We descended further down along the stern almost to the mud. Just below the fantail you can still see the name of the ship R E G I N A upside down just above the mud. Its actually quite somber to see when you take into account that all the men on the ship lost their lives back in 1913. We then worked our way along the port side of the wreck and out along the huge smoke stack that lays out to the side. We followed that back to the ship and continued along the port side. We then came to the huge hole that was torn open in her side. It almost looks like the large entry to a cave given how big it is and how dark it is inside. We then ascended up to the keel and followed it back to the stern. We then spent the remainder of the dive exploring the stern area and the large propeller and rudder. I was actually able to swim between the propeller and the rudder.
This was by far the best dive of the trip. Visibility was good. Probably around 25-30. With the history of the wreck and the condition that shes in it makes for a very nice dive. Be sure and hit this one if you head out on Lake Huron from Port Sanilac.
4th dive: 71 max depth, total dive time 35 min, surface temp 72, min temp 51
All in all we had an awesome trip. Id highly recommend Gary Venet and Rec & Tec Dive Charters. Hes a great guy and runs a very nice dive boat. I thoroughly enjoyed my first Lake Huron wreck dives and Im looking forward to many more in the future.
Gary runs a great operation and has a very nice boat. My first thought upon seeing the boat was, Man, this is much larger than it looks in the pictures on his website. I was a bit concerned about how wed manage with 12 divers on the boat, but it wasnt a problem. The boat is designed for diving and the divers area at the stern is actually quite large. It is actually the widest boat Ive been on in the Lakes. Gary has the boat very organized with a storage bin underneath every station for fins, hoods, gloves, masks, lights, etc. He has you setup your equipment and put everything in your gear bin and then leave your dive bag in the car. It really helps to open up and de-clutter the diver prep area. There is also room inside the cabin and in the bow section down below for drysuit bags and other dry gear.
The weather on Sunday was hot and sunny, but since wed been having weather in the mid-90s in Indy for about 2 weeks it really didnt seem too uncomfortable. Once we got out on the lake there was a nice breeze. Lake conditions were <2. Darn close to ideal. In addition to Gary we had Skippy, an instructor friend of Garys for many years, as a DM.
Our first dive was on the New York which was a steam barge that was hauling lumber when it went down during heavy seas. The wreck is upright but a lot of it is broken up. This wreck is known to frequently have poor visibility, but can be a very nice wreck if the conditions are right. Unfortunately the mooring line was missing so we had to take time for Gary and Skippy to prepare another line. The first two divers in our group are more experienced and they were planning a dive with a small amount of deco. Gary had them take the new line down and connect it to the mooring chain that he hoped was still there. After some minor issues finding the wreck, they were able to attach the new line and we were good to go.
I was in the fourth group to splash and my dive buddies for the weekend were Rick Green and Wally Burchfield (crpntr133). We began our descent at 5:54 pm. Unfortunately, at about 20 I noticed that I was no longer getting air into my wing from my power inflator. While I used my drysuit for buoyancy, I began inspecting the inflator and hose to see what the problem was. Unfortunately I couldnt see anything obvious. At 45 I decided to stop and work on it further. I wrapped my leg around the mooring line and attempted to see if I could fix the issue. I didnt have any success and really didnt want to continue on with a 110+ wreck dive not really being sure what the issue was. I decided to abort this dive. I probably could have continued with either just using my drysuit for buoyancy, which I dont like at all, or orally inflating my wing, but given the depth, water temps and likely low visibility, I decided not to push it.
1st dive: 46 max depth, total dive time 9 min, surface temp 77, min temp 73
Once on the boat and out of my gear the issue was easily solved. Whenever I boat dive I use a Dive Alert air horn attached to my power inflator. When I do this I typically only run the corrugated hose through bungee on my left chest D-ring and not the air hose. Well, I had run both through the bungee and it had worked its way underneath the Dive Alert and applied enough pressure to the fitting to pop the air hose off of the Dive Alert. The disconnect was above and underneath the Dive Alert and theres no way I could have seen or fixed it underwater. All I had to do was take the air hose out from underneath the bungee, reconnect it to the Dive Alert and I was ready for our remaining dives.
Our second dive was going to be the Regina, but given the time we lost running a new mooring line on the New York, the captain and our dive leader decided instead to save the Regina for Sunday and to do a closer wreck the Mary Alice B.
The Alice B is a tug that sits in about 80 of water. It is pretty much intact including the wheelhouse and wheel. My group splashed on our second dive at 7:50 pm. The visibility wasnt very good and there was a lot of particulates and algae in the water. Id say the viz was around 10-15. Regardless, we enjoyed a tour of the wreck and I was able to enter the wheelhouse, inspect the wheel and exit the window opposite the door. Apart from the visibility, it was a nice dive.
2nd dive: 77 max depth, total dive time 22 min, surface temp 76, min temp 47
On Sunday morning the weather was quite a bit cooler and it was beginning to cloud up. There was some rain coming in but the lake conditions were expected to hold. Our crew for the day included Gary and Linda, a long-time wreck diver/DM. Our first dive was the North Star which was a steamer that was 300' long. It was built in 1888 in Cleveland, OH. The ship is in two pieces but lies in an upright position.
Wally, Rick and I were moved up to be the first group diving. As we were gearing up Wally was unfortunately not feeling well. He decided not to push it, so it was just Rick and I on this first dive. We splashed at 8:42 am. The mooring line is attached to the top of the engines in the stern area of the boat. We descended down to the engines, explored a bit and then dropped down to the deck. We explored down about half-way along the center of the boat heading towards the bow before turning around and heading back to the engines. We spent the remainder of the dive exploring the huge steam engines and the life around them. There was a whole community of Gobies living on top of the engines ranging in size for 1 to maybe 6. I also saw a small school of perch.
3rd dive: 85 max depth, total dive time 32 min, surface temp 71, min temp 46
The last dive of the trip was on the Regina. The Regina was a steel freighter that was 250' long. It was built in 1907 in Scotland. There is a lot of speculation on how the ship sunk but the most recent theory is that the ship ran aground in the infamous storm that occurred in early Nov. 1913. It is one of the worst storms to ever hit the Lakes and produced 40 waves on Lake Huron! The Regina rests upside down. John Chatterton and Richie Kohler did a Deep Sea Detectives episode on the Regina. Linda, our DM for the day on Sunday, was actually a safety diver for them.
Luckily Wally was feeling better and all three of us were able to make the last dive of the trip. We splashed at 10:23 am and descended down to the propeller and rudder. Being upside down and intact, it is really eerie descending down to the bottom to see a ship upside down. We descended further down along the stern almost to the mud. Just below the fantail you can still see the name of the ship R E G I N A upside down just above the mud. Its actually quite somber to see when you take into account that all the men on the ship lost their lives back in 1913. We then worked our way along the port side of the wreck and out along the huge smoke stack that lays out to the side. We followed that back to the ship and continued along the port side. We then came to the huge hole that was torn open in her side. It almost looks like the large entry to a cave given how big it is and how dark it is inside. We then ascended up to the keel and followed it back to the stern. We then spent the remainder of the dive exploring the stern area and the large propeller and rudder. I was actually able to swim between the propeller and the rudder.
This was by far the best dive of the trip. Visibility was good. Probably around 25-30. With the history of the wreck and the condition that shes in it makes for a very nice dive. Be sure and hit this one if you head out on Lake Huron from Port Sanilac.
4th dive: 71 max depth, total dive time 35 min, surface temp 72, min temp 51
All in all we had an awesome trip. Id highly recommend Gary Venet and Rec & Tec Dive Charters. Hes a great guy and runs a very nice dive boat. I thoroughly enjoyed my first Lake Huron wreck dives and Im looking forward to many more in the future.
Which means that the monitor batter went dead and not the entire rig.
