suddha
Contributor
I spent last Saturday doing two wreck dives in Lake Michigan with an old friend of mine who is a longtime diver. These were my first two post-certification dives so I didn't do any wreck penetration or anything beyond my training or abilities or comfort level. I am so hooked on it now! I thought you might like to read about my experience....
The wrecks are called the Prins Willem V and the Dredge 906. The "Willy" was a Dutch freighter that sank in 1954 after colliding with another ship. All hands were rescued. The Dredge sank in 1956 in a heavy storm when the crane derrick on deck went over, pulling the ship down. 9 people died in that tragedy.
Weather was perfect, seas were very calm and the charter boat we were on was great. We were tagging along with a group of divers from St, Louis up for the weekend (maybe some ScubaBoard members?). 12 divers total on the boat. It was a bit crowded on deck but everyone was polite and organized and my friend and I waited til all the others had suited up and gone down before we went.
Both dives were about 25 minutes each, limited by the amount of air we (I) had, not by no-deco limits. I was sucking air like a newbie and finished up with slightly less than 500psi both times while my friend still had over 1,000! Water was cold - 44 degrees at the bottom. Most other divers were in drysuits but I was quite toasty in my 7mm wetsuit. The only part of me that got cold were my hands on the first dive, but I switched to heavier gloves for the second dive and was fine. The deepest we went was 84 feet.
The wreck was very cool cos it's virutally all still intact. But I was still getting used to the u/w environment so couldn't really take it all in, so it was a bit of a blur. The second dive on the Dredge (after a 45 minute boat ride and surface interval) we descended to about 60 feet. The ship rests upside down, propped on its boom, so we actually swam a little bit underneath the wreck. This wreck is a mess, with bits of machinery scattered all over the floor of the lake. Pretty interesting.
I have to say for my first two dives post-cert, it was ideal - an experienced buddy who is also a friend, a great charter boat experience (Len-Der out of Milwaukee), gear that performed, smooth dives and good beer afterwards (Great Lakes Brewing's "Edmund Fitzgerald" Ale).
I'll definitely be back for more... and hopefully soon!
Thanks for all the support and advice of members of Scubaboard before, during and after my certification.
The wrecks are called the Prins Willem V and the Dredge 906. The "Willy" was a Dutch freighter that sank in 1954 after colliding with another ship. All hands were rescued. The Dredge sank in 1956 in a heavy storm when the crane derrick on deck went over, pulling the ship down. 9 people died in that tragedy.
Weather was perfect, seas were very calm and the charter boat we were on was great. We were tagging along with a group of divers from St, Louis up for the weekend (maybe some ScubaBoard members?). 12 divers total on the boat. It was a bit crowded on deck but everyone was polite and organized and my friend and I waited til all the others had suited up and gone down before we went.
Both dives were about 25 minutes each, limited by the amount of air we (I) had, not by no-deco limits. I was sucking air like a newbie and finished up with slightly less than 500psi both times while my friend still had over 1,000! Water was cold - 44 degrees at the bottom. Most other divers were in drysuits but I was quite toasty in my 7mm wetsuit. The only part of me that got cold were my hands on the first dive, but I switched to heavier gloves for the second dive and was fine. The deepest we went was 84 feet.
The wreck was very cool cos it's virutally all still intact. But I was still getting used to the u/w environment so couldn't really take it all in, so it was a bit of a blur. The second dive on the Dredge (after a 45 minute boat ride and surface interval) we descended to about 60 feet. The ship rests upside down, propped on its boom, so we actually swam a little bit underneath the wreck. This wreck is a mess, with bits of machinery scattered all over the floor of the lake. Pretty interesting.
I have to say for my first two dives post-cert, it was ideal - an experienced buddy who is also a friend, a great charter boat experience (Len-Der out of Milwaukee), gear that performed, smooth dives and good beer afterwards (Great Lakes Brewing's "Edmund Fitzgerald" Ale).
I'll definitely be back for more... and hopefully soon!
Thanks for all the support and advice of members of Scubaboard before, during and after my certification.
