Mikey0929:
So am I correct in assuming that the Sweepstakes and City of Grand Rapids can be done as shore dives? Where would one enter for those 2 wrecks if they are?
Both wrecks are at the end of Big Tub and, yes, the land arond them is privately owned. When I worked at Big Tub, a lot of people would swim down towing a flag. You need to stick close to shore, but it's not really that far. (Mind you, I was 25 years younger then.) The years I worked at the Lodge were the years I did the least amount of diving, simply because I worked seven days week, for long hours. I would often swim down there at midnight by myself and have a little peace and quiet!
Incidently, for those of you that like dump-diving, there is a dump site from the 30s and 40s just east of the Grand Rapids. Because it is in the Park, you can't take anything of course, but there is some cool old junk piled there.
The Park office has a brochure that outlines access hours on these wrecks by the way. You need to share the space with the tour boats, so there is a schedule for each user-group. .
Incidently, a couple of you commented on the Joseph Simon. That boat was built by Roy Blais, the former owner (and my former boss) of Big Tub. "Joseph Simon" was Roy's father who died while the boat was being built. Those of you that knew Roy, (now deceased also) will know that he had an eye for a bargain. He "designed" that boat by measuring the Blue Heron in town when it was out of the water in the winter. He thought up the lift idea. The only problem is that in order to save money, he used lighter steel than the Blue Heron used, and as a result, the boat floats quite a bit higher in the water, which is why it is rather "tippy". I have heard that a few years ago, whoever owned the boat at that time, dumped a few tons of concrete into the bilge to settle her somewhat, but I don't know that for a fact! The last time I was on her, we got caught in a bit of a beam sea and it was a rocky ride!