I keep hearing people say "I need to dive the Great Lakes someday." This is the year to plan that "someday" vacation AND get your name in the Guinness Book of World Records. The record to break is The Most Divers Submerged at One Time. There need to be +/- 1,000 divers in the water to break the current record.
Life is short, it's time to add the wrecks of the Great Lakes to your dive memories and a great way to get started is with a weekend of diving at the quarry where Great Lakes divers train; Gilboa.
Event date is Saturday, July 18, 2009 but the party will be happening all weekend. Due to the HUGE logistical issues the event coordinator needs to know if there is enough interest to justify the event several months before the event happens. Divers who register by the November 30 early registration date get a free t-shirt. Like many large events the fee is going to increase as the event date gets closer and hotel rooms will fill up fast since not everyone wants to camp.
Event Information:
$50 Early Registration fee includes
The dive club that registers the most club certified members who participate in the event will be treated to a dinner at the restaurant of their choice. (30+ members, 30+ dinners).
The dive store owner who registers the most participants under its/his name will receive a free dive trip (location to to be announced) or $1000.00 cash (all yet to be determined). This is would be a great give-away for one of your customers!
All participants names will be inscribed by lazar, alphabetically by state and country, into a huge piece of stainless steel and displayed at Gilboa Quarry permanently. The plan is to have this piece ready to display at the event then remove the panels and send them out to have the names inscribed after the event.
The big focus of this event will be on safety. There will be media coverage and an accident is simply not acceptable so there are a couple requirements and questions on the registration form that may seem a little quirky. On event day you must show a log book or log sheet that shows that you have been diving in the last 60 days prior to the event. Mike, the quarry owner would really like the people who have never been to the quarry to make at least one dive there to familiarize themselves with the conditions but that's not required. For those who aren't familiar with the quarry there is a deep area and a shallow area. The shallow area (0-60 feet) can reach temps of 73+ degrees down to 30 feet or so in the summer and is great for open water check-outs. The deep area is a straight drop to 120-135 feet and the temperature can be below 40 degrees once you hit 70 feet. It's a great place to train for the cold deeper wrecks of the Great Lakes.
Divers will be broken up into experience based groups and the most experienced colder water divers will be assigned to the deep end of the quarry even though the dive is only to a depth of about 20 feet. Losing control of your buoyancy in that area in a group that large can be catastrophic. The less experienced divers will be in the areas where the bottom is 60 feet and shallower. Right now the plan is to have colored lines across the quarry with numbered downlines tied off to them and extending to approximately 20 feet. Each diver will be assigned a downline and sent into position then everyone will submerge. Last I heard the dive was going to be 15-20 minutes.
To sign up:
Print out this sheet and mail it in with your registration fee before November 30.
__________________________________________________ _____
__________________________________________________ _____
This is a great way to start off a Great Lakes dive trip. Gilboa is in Northern Ohio and close to some of the favorite dive spots in the Great Lakes.
Here's a partial list of nearby Lakes dives:
Sarnia is a popular dive spot on the St. Clair River and only 3 hours from Gilboa.
Lake Huron Southwest Michigan Underwater Preserve Under 4 hours from Gilboa
Lake Michigan with N'Pursuit Charters Only 4 hours from Gilboa
Lake Huron Thumb Area Underwater Preserve Under 5 hours from Gilboa
Lake Huron Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve About 5.5 hours from Gilboa
Tobermory Ontario Only 7.5 hours from Gilboa.
Prefer to hit the east coast wrecks?
Morehead City, NC is only a 13 hour drive from Gilboa
Atlantic City, NJ is just over 10 hours from Gilboa
Want to hit some caves?
High Springs, FL is only 14.5 hours away.
How about some Florida wrecks?
You can be in Panama City in 15 hours.
Gilboa is about as central as you can get to a wide variety of great diving
Flying in:
Dayton International Airport and Toledo Express Airports are both less than a two hour drive from Gilboa.
Detroit Metro is also under two hours from Gilboa but there is more traffic to deal with.
I'll be happy to help with any local information you need. Come on out and join the bunny for this record breaking event then get some of those fantasy dives in the Great Lakes checked off your wish list!
If you're camping let them know you're with Scubaboard and they'll try to put us all together. Let's put some faces to names!
Ber :lilbunny:
PS: Mike is still looking for ideas to make this event even more special so feel free to call the quarry if you think of something cool!
PPS: It's a great opportunity to hawk your wares-- hint, hint, manufacturers--to a large group of divers.
Life is short, it's time to add the wrecks of the Great Lakes to your dive memories and a great way to get started is with a weekend of diving at the quarry where Great Lakes divers train; Gilboa.
Event date is Saturday, July 18, 2009 but the party will be happening all weekend. Due to the HUGE logistical issues the event coordinator needs to know if there is enough interest to justify the event several months before the event happens. Divers who register by the November 30 early registration date get a free t-shirt. Like many large events the fee is going to increase as the event date gets closer and hotel rooms will fill up fast since not everyone wants to camp.
Event Information:
$50 Early Registration fee includes
- Certificate
- T-Shirt
- Dinner Saturday Evening
- Entertainment
- Free Parking
- Entry into prize drawings
- Prizes include:
- Underwater scooters
- Dry Suits
- Wet Suits
- Dive Computers
- Regulators
- Masks
- Fins
- Gear Bags
- Dive Lights and much more
The dive club that registers the most club certified members who participate in the event will be treated to a dinner at the restaurant of their choice. (30+ members, 30+ dinners).
The dive store owner who registers the most participants under its/his name will receive a free dive trip (location to to be announced) or $1000.00 cash (all yet to be determined). This is would be a great give-away for one of your customers!
All participants names will be inscribed by lazar, alphabetically by state and country, into a huge piece of stainless steel and displayed at Gilboa Quarry permanently. The plan is to have this piece ready to display at the event then remove the panels and send them out to have the names inscribed after the event.
The big focus of this event will be on safety. There will be media coverage and an accident is simply not acceptable so there are a couple requirements and questions on the registration form that may seem a little quirky. On event day you must show a log book or log sheet that shows that you have been diving in the last 60 days prior to the event. Mike, the quarry owner would really like the people who have never been to the quarry to make at least one dive there to familiarize themselves with the conditions but that's not required. For those who aren't familiar with the quarry there is a deep area and a shallow area. The shallow area (0-60 feet) can reach temps of 73+ degrees down to 30 feet or so in the summer and is great for open water check-outs. The deep area is a straight drop to 120-135 feet and the temperature can be below 40 degrees once you hit 70 feet. It's a great place to train for the cold deeper wrecks of the Great Lakes.
Divers will be broken up into experience based groups and the most experienced colder water divers will be assigned to the deep end of the quarry even though the dive is only to a depth of about 20 feet. Losing control of your buoyancy in that area in a group that large can be catastrophic. The less experienced divers will be in the areas where the bottom is 60 feet and shallower. Right now the plan is to have colored lines across the quarry with numbered downlines tied off to them and extending to approximately 20 feet. Each diver will be assigned a downline and sent into position then everyone will submerge. Last I heard the dive was going to be 15-20 minutes.
To sign up:
Print out this sheet and mail it in with your registration fee before November 30.
__________________________________________________ _____
__________________________________________________ _____
This is a great way to start off a Great Lakes dive trip. Gilboa is in Northern Ohio and close to some of the favorite dive spots in the Great Lakes.
Here's a partial list of nearby Lakes dives:
Sarnia is a popular dive spot on the St. Clair River and only 3 hours from Gilboa.
You can do an interesting drift dive here thanks to the unusual currents. I believe you swim out to the dump barge then drift to the Monarch then drift downriver until you get to a back eddy that runs along shore and ride that back up river to your starting point. I recommend finding a local to take you on this one, there are several here on the board who can show you the ropes. It's definitely on my "want to try that" list!
Lake Huron Sanilac Shores Underwater Preserve Under 4 hours from Gilboa
Lake Huron Southwest Michigan Underwater Preserve Under 4 hours from Gilboa
Lake Michigan with N'Pursuit Charters Only 4 hours from Gilboa
Lake Huron Thumb Area Underwater Preserve Under 5 hours from Gilboa
Lake Huron Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve About 5.5 hours from Gilboa
Tobermory Ontario Only 7.5 hours from Gilboa.
Prefer to hit the east coast wrecks?
Morehead City, NC is only a 13 hour drive from Gilboa
Atlantic City, NJ is just over 10 hours from Gilboa
Want to hit some caves?
High Springs, FL is only 14.5 hours away.
How about some Florida wrecks?
You can be in Panama City in 15 hours.
Gilboa is about as central as you can get to a wide variety of great diving
Flying in:
Dayton International Airport and Toledo Express Airports are both less than a two hour drive from Gilboa.
Detroit Metro is also under two hours from Gilboa but there is more traffic to deal with.
I'll be happy to help with any local information you need. Come on out and join the bunny for this record breaking event then get some of those fantasy dives in the Great Lakes checked off your wish list!
If you're camping let them know you're with Scubaboard and they'll try to put us all together. Let's put some faces to names!
Ber :lilbunny:
PS: Mike is still looking for ideas to make this event even more special so feel free to call the quarry if you think of something cool!
PPS: It's a great opportunity to hawk your wares-- hint, hint, manufacturers--to a large group of divers.
