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"Beneath the sea another world exists; Tugging me by my ankles and my wrists; A morning wind comes and blows me away out to where the dolphins play." - Samples
"Beneath the sea another world exists; Tugging me by my ankles and my wrists; A morning wind comes and blows me away out to where the dolphins play." - Samples
The Dill Emma is a 6 pack dive charter. Many of those that dove on this trip had previously chartered this boat for wreck diving in Alpena. Captain Frank Rosinski is a great guy and was very accommodating to anything and everything that we needed.
There were 5 of us from the GLWC on this trip (GTXL1200, Mitten Diver, Barracuda2, JChoby, and BoneCrusher). Also on the charter was Kim and instructor from The Dive Shop. The five of us met at GTXL1200's place in flint around noon (well most of us were there at noon!) on Friday to caravan up to Mackinaw City.
We arrived late afternoon in Mackinaw City and checked in at our motel (The Welcome Inn). The hotel was great as it was located just off of the straits and in downtown Mackinaw City. This allowed "the crew" to walk around downtown without having to worry about driving or parking. The motel worked well for divers as it was inexpensive, clean, and easy to deal with.
The dive plans for the weekend were morning 2 tank charters on Saturday and Sunday. Many of us had a desire to get on the Cedarville and the E. B. Ward. The planning then ended up being the Young and the Cedarville on Saturday and the E.B. Ward and Stalker on Sunday.
Saturday.
The group assembled at the marina in the morning. Captain Frank trailers his boat so we met him in the marina parking lot and loaded gear into the boat there. In no time, the boat was launched and we were on our way to the Young. Barracuda2 was the first to suit up and get in the water. I followed shortly after. Next was GTXL1200 and Mitten Diver. There were some equipment issues (I'll let those to elaborate if they want). Needless to say, they decided to descend off the back of the boat and swim to the wreck once they were on the bottom (more on that later!). Since they were taking some time, Barracuda2 and myself descended to check out the wreck. Last off the boat was JChoby and Kim. Shortly into our dive we Barracuda2 and I met up with them on the wreck.
The wreck of the Young was very cool. It is a fairly intact wooden wreck. The stern still has the wheel on it and the hand bilge pump is still on the deck. The bow of the wreck is a little broken up, but is a very interesting sight. Both Barracuda2 and myself were shooting video during our dives. My max depth on the dive was 114 feet. This was when I dropped down by the bow to check out the damage. My bottom time on the wreck was about 19 minutes with a total run time of about 36 minutes.
On our ascent to the surface, I started to hear a tapping at 50ft. After a little bit of confusion on my part, I realized it was the captain requesting us to return to the boat. The four of us (Barracuda2, JChoby, Kim, and myself) finished out ascent and safety stop. Upon surfacing the captain told me to hurry back onboard as we had to go and pick up some divers that were floating away from the boat. (Ask GTXL1200 and Mitten Diver for details).
After rounding up the wayward divers we headed over to the Cedarville and took a nice hour and a half surface interval. For those that haven't dove the Cedarville, it is MASSIVE! We were anchored on the bow of the wreck. This time GLXL1200 and Mitten Diver were the first to get in the water as a team. The second team consisted of Barracuda2, JChoby, and Myself. Kim followed up on her own for a short dive as she had cold hands. This wreck is an awesome wreck to dive. Our group descended on the bow and headed to the pilot house. The wreck lays on it starboard side with a portion of the pilot house burried in the bottom. Because of its angle on the bottom, the layout can be a little confusing. The group spent most of the time around the pilot house and also checking out the self unloading boom. I think we saw less than 25% of the wreck. This is one that I would like to go back and dive a few more times! Our bottom time on the wreck was about 17 minutes with a total run time of about 37 minutes. Max depth for me was right at 100ft.
After the diving, the group had to get air fills. The closest fill was Straits Scuba in St. Ignace (across the bridge). We headed over after loading up tanks. When we arrived there was no one at the shop. We made a few phone calls, but had a backup plan of going to the dive shop in Cheboygan (Northern Michigan Dive Center). A quick call to Northern Michigan Diver Center confirmed they were open and we quickly headed there for fills.
Sunday
For Sunday, Captain Frank had his boat at a slip in the marina. Since we were able to leave all the gear (except tanks) on the boat, the morning loading was a little easier. Since there was some question to the weather for the day, we all decided the earlier we got out the better.
The plan for the day was to get over to the Lake Michigan side of the bridge and dive the E.B. Ward. Once moored to the wreck, it was evident that the wind was starting to pick up and with it the waves. All of us quickly got in the water and descended to the wreck. What a great wreck! The deck of the wreck sits at about 110 feet. Many of the holds are open and the diver can look down into the wreck. Due to its depth and the group diving a recreational profile I was unable to descend down into the holds and do much exploring. Barracuda2 and I swam to the bow to see the anchors still in place. I swam over the side of the bow and descended down to 120ft. What an amazing view of the bow of the vessel. I had about 15 minutes of bottom time on the wreck and had a total run time of about 32 minutes.
Since the wind was picking up (as were the waves) the group decided to head back over to the Lake Huron side of the bridge that would probably be more protected. The plan was then to dive the Stalker. Just after arriving on the site of the Stalker the charter boat Rec Diver from Straits Scuba showed up and tied off the stern of the Dill Emma. This time, I ended up being last off our boat. I descended onto the wreck to find visibility not as good as I was hoping for. The wooded wreck is broken up on the bow and the stern with the decking of the mid section pretty well intact. I swam around the wreck and did swim into the hold of the mid section of the wreck. From discussions with the others in the group after the dive, the divers from the other charter boat had stirred up the bottom before I got to the wreck. Since I was last in, I cut this dive relatively short (visibility sucked anyway) so my bottom time was about 17 minutes with a total run time of about 30 minutes. Max depth on this dive was about 90 feet.
I hope to put a video compilation together from this trip. So stay tuned! But, do to other diving commitments, its going to be a little bit before I can dedicate some editing time for it!
This was a great weekend with the GLWC! There are many inside stories that I am sure will come out at the fall Meet and Greet. Trips like this are the reason for scuba diving. I couldn't have asked for a better trip or a better group of dive buddies! Thanks guys!
"Beneath the sea another world exists; Tugging me by my ankles and my wrists; A morning wind comes and blows me away out to where the dolphins play." - Samples
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Originally Posted by Divin'Hoosier
Denny ... I hope you can find all of the wrecks this time.
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