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Technically, this wasn't my first Lake Michigan dive this year. I did do a 13 minute dive on New Years Day near the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, part of an annual event. But this was my first time out on a boat and on some wrecks this year. My first attempt in April got blown out, so this one felt good.
This was an all day trip, sponsored by the Chicago Scuba Meetup, and chartered on Dale Bennett's boat, the Enterprise. Dave Manchester was the captain and we departed from Waukegan Harbor in Illinois. It was a little iffy to me whether we would make it out. The weather reports were a little threatening all week, and a small craft advisory was issued for later in the morning. But, when we got to the marina, the weather was good. Things got rocky later in the day when a storm passed over us and an occasional five footer rolled by, but for the most part, things calmed down enough to keep it divable.
Our first dive was on the St. Mary. This was a two masted schooner that sank with all hands in 1860 in about 110 feet of water. This was my first time on this ship. It is flattened, but much of the structure is still recognizable. It features a large windlass, an anchor buried in the sand, and a number of deadeyes. Too bad this was my first trip here. If I had gone out a couple of years ago, I apparently would have still seen the ships wheel. It is now missing. Apparently, someone thought it was just the thing to brighten up their garage and decided to steal it. Now there is one less thing for the rest of us to enjoy. Since this is a protected wreck, I would be happy to see this person prosecuted someday.
Water temp on this dive hovered around 40 degrees. We had one wetsuit diver with us who stuck it out the whole dive, but got so chilled that this turned out to be his only dive of the day.
Our next two dives was on the The Straits of Mackinac. The "The" is part of the name of the boat! This was a retired ferry that was intentionally sunk for scuba divers in 78 feet of water in 2003. It is probably the most popular dive site in the Chicago area. There is good reason for that. It is a great dive for new divers, yet has plenty of opportunities for penetration for the more advanced. Water temps here were about 42 degrees.
My fourth dive just wasn't meant to be. It was on the Lady Elgin, the most historic wreck on the Great Lakes and the location where it has been estimated anywhere between 282 to 373 people died in a collision that took place in 1860, the same day as the St. Mary's sinking. This is in about 55 ft. of water. As soon as I hit the water, my alternate air source immediately froze and started to free flow. I got back on the boat, changed out the alternate and tried again. This time waves keep me away from the anchor line. I descended again hoping to find the wreck but missed it. After five minutes of looking I came back up and decided to call it a day. I have been at this site before, and visibility in the past has sometimes been poor and today was no exception. While at the other sites visibility was probably 40 feet, here it was more like five. I think the recent storms really churned things up. The wreck is very broken up, and I only felt bad that I couldn't help the 2 other divers, who were new to the site, see the more interesting features such as the windlass and the two anchors. Water temp here was about 44 degrees.
Weather ended up just about as nice as it started. A great day for all!
By the way, most of the details on the wrecks above I gleaned from Cris Kohl's "Great Lakes Diving Guide", which is now in its new second edition.
Hi Dean,
Glad to hear you guys had a good trip.
Today was also my first day out on the Lake. It was a baumy 41 deg., no theromcline with 40ft vis. I did two-25 min. dives on the S.S.Wisconsin wreck at 125ft. I went out on Captain Dale's Enterprise charter boat. The lake was well behaved with less than a foot waves all morning.
It was a great start to my diving season on Lake Michigan.
Safe diving everyone,
Robb
That was a fun trip Dean, I can't wait to get my drysuit zipper fixed though. I was hoping the superglue and electrical tape would do the job but that didn't last 5 minutes. So much for my business idea "Robs Inexpensive Drysuit Repair Co."
Great report Dean. I am hopefully going to dive The Straights of Macinac wreck this summer. From what you said, a new diver should be ok on this correct? I have only 11 dives in and the were all in Cozumel with great vis.
Thanks
Brian
Great report Dean. I am hopefully going to dive The Straights of Macinac wreck this summer. From what you said, a new diver should be ok on this correct? I have only 11 dives in and the were all in Cozumel with great vis.
Thanks
Brian
Hello Brian,
If you are basic open water certified, then you need to watch your depth. This can go a little below your cert level if you are not careful. It is a good wreck for divers with various experience levels, but it is Lake Michigan. Wear proper exposure protection..a 7mm wetsuit. Also, I would recommend you try out the local quarries first, like Haigh Quarry in Kankakee, to get a taste of colder fresh water. Let me know if you are interested, and I will dive with you!
That was a fun trip Dean, I can't wait to get my drysuit zipper fixed though. I was hoping the superglue and electrical tape would do the job but that didn't last 5 minutes. So much for my business idea "Robs Inexpensive Drysuit Repair Co."
Rob
You forgot one ingredient! Put the duct tape on, then hold the zipper shut with those big black clips (binder clip?) you use to hold a big bunch of paper together. Then apply the superglue or aquaseal. With aquaseal you can get a full day of diving / as long as you don't need to pee! & then you can rip it apart and do it again the next day.
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