Weekend diving the Sanilac Shores Preserve

I spent the weekend diving the Sanilac Shores Underwater Preserve off of Port Sanilac, MI. The trip was put together by Divers Inc dive center and the charter operator was Rec & Tec (Gary Venet). Port Sanilac is such a nice harbor to dive out of. It's never too crazy. Capt. Gary's boat is birthed right up close to the parking area and you literally step right onto the boat from the grass! As has been my experience from the past, Capt. Gary still runs a fabulous boat! It has such a wide beam that it makes moving around so easy. We had a full boat of 10 divers Saturday, but only 5 on Sunday.

The weather was just beautiful and the lake cooperated nicely. It was a little choppy Saturday afternoon, but nothing too difficult. We had maybe 1-2 footers Saturday afternoon, but down to 1s on Sunday with alot less chop. There wasn't much of a surface current to speak of either. All in all it was a fantastic weekend of Great Lakes wreck diving.

Here are the details of the dives:

Saturday

1. North Star - 92 ffw, viz 30-40', temps 50 F
2. Regina - 74 ffw, viz 20-30', temps 53 F

Sunday

3. Checotah - 111 ffw, viz 20', temps 44 F
4. North Star - 91 ffw, viz 30-40', temps 47 F

Associated links:
Rec and Tec Scuba Dive Charters - Lexington Michigan, Thumb area Preserve, Sanilac Preserve
Welcome to Divers Incorporated, A PADI National Geographic Dive Center for Scuba and Snorkeling
Sanilac Shores Underwater Preserve

Gary runs a great charter. Love diving with him. Sanilac is an awesome dive area. I was out on Sunday and did the Mary Alice and the Regina. Spent just shy of an hour bottom time on the Regina. Great dives!

Any pics of the N. Star? I dove it several times pre zebra/quagga mussel's and never had 30-40' vis. I remember "getting lost" going over to look at the boilers on the starboard side (probably 15' off the wreck?) and not being able to find or get back to engine and having to ascend off the boilers. It would be nice to see some of those wrecks again with better vis.

dsc2679:

Any pics of the N. Star? I dove it several times pre zebra/quagga mussel's and never had 30-40' vis. I remember "getting lost" going over to look at the boilers on the starboard side (probably 15' off the wreck?) and not being able to find or get back to engine and having to ascend off the boilers. It would be nice to see some of those wrecks again with better vis.

Click to expand...

Sorry, I'm not a 'shooter' so no pictures. The viz was great. The "leap of faith" (the 20' or so gap between the bow and the rest of the wreck) doesn't require much faith when you can clearly see it! It is funny to consider getting lost visiting the boilers, but it would clearly be possible in a low viz environment.

Yeah, it was a little embarrassing. The N. Star was somewhat infamous for consistantly poor vis and divers getting lost. I forgot about that leap from the stern section to the bow. I don't think I attempted it too many times. Glad to hear you had some great dives.

Its not embarrassing at all. Lots of divers get lost on the Northstar. We have had many divers surface away from the boat from being lost. In fact, it is part of the dive briefing for this shipwreck. We even had an instructor get lost on it (I won't name names.)

These images are great, but a few pics I took back in 2010 of the NorthStar. Hope you enjoy!
www.MichiganDiver.com - July 10th, 2010 Lake Huron Port Sanilac Dives

Sounds like you had some great dives - nothing beats descending onto the Regina's ginormous Prop! All of them are fun - I dove the North Star for the first time this year and yes - I definitely see how darn confusing it can be - thankfully I was ok. Port Sanilac is just a few hours away and a great weekend dive selection!

I have to agree about Garys boat setup, it is outstanding. I think his boat has like a 13' beam on it. If in that area Rec and Tec is the way to go.

Thanks for the Info and dive reports. I will be On Gary's boat this Saturday afternoon all being well Diving the North Star and the New York. with Aquatic Adventures out of Brighton.

Is the Checotah bouyed?