One of my recently certified AOW students as well as Diverbrian, my husband and myself went out with Garry Biniecki of Huron Explorations for four dives on Lake Huron this weekend. Linda was our divemaster and did a great job both in the water and on land where she led us to the best place in town for breakfast. They really do "give 110%" as advertised in their brochure and I know I'll definitely use them again next time I get in the area.
Saturday the weather was gorgeous and the water was flat calm which I've heard is a real treat for Huron divers. Our first dive was on the Mary Alice B. a cute tug that sits upright in about 90 feet of water. The ships wheel is still on its stand and there is a ladle beside the sink in the galley. The visibility wasn't great, another boat was already moored to the site when we arrived and some of their divers were kicking up quite a bit of silt from the wreck. Linda watched one guy with a 7 foot yellow octopus hose attempt to descend with that thing flapping behind him regulator and all. It ended up tied in a knot around the line before he ever got to the bottom. She said he never did tuck it in just kept dragging it along after it was untied.
Our second dive was on the Regina a 250' package freighter that rests nearly upside down in about 80 feet of water. There are two moorings here one on the stern and one on the bow. We took the stern mooring and the "silting crew" moored on the bow. Luckily they were unable to screw up the visibility for us this time and we enjoyed being able to see 30 feet or more. The ship is nearly upside down so there isn't a lot to see without penetrating but some of the cargo is spilled on the sand and Linda took us a few yards away from the wreck to see two ketchup bottles lying on the bottom. She said there used to be 12 but people have stolen the others; by the way it is a felony to remove or disturb artifacts in the Great Lakes and they will take your boat, car and equipment if they catch you taking anything but pictures. We returned to the side of the wreck and saw the extra prop blade, a wheelbarrow, a few cases of canned goods (probably corn and beans), coal and a pile of pitch used to make repairs on the boat. The anchor chain is taut but we didn't follow it because the anchor is about 400 feet from the wreck.
Sunday the weather was threatening and Garry said we'd go out and see what we could get to. The Sport, a 57 foot steel hulled tug that sits nearly upright in about 50 feet of water is close to shore so it was our intended target. Garry asked Bruce and I if our group was comfortable diving in the rougher conditions and when we said "yes" he decided that we could do the Regina first if we kept the dive to 20 minutes, stayed near the stern where we were moored and listened for a call-back signal that would be given if the conditions worsened. The water was choppy near the Regina with waves in the 1-2 foot range making getting ready on a small boat a little more interesting than the previous day. A fifth diver had been added to the group so we were also a little more crowded which just adds to the fun
The visibility was still good and Bruce and I found a broken flask-shaped bottle sitting on a piece of wood as well as a piece of pottery that was probably part of a bowl. I saw my first Burbot and pointed it out to Bruce, what a strange looking fish! The head looks like a catfish but it has the body of an eel. It looked like it was dead when I first saw it, it was just laying in the sand but as we watched it we could see its gills moving.
Our second dive was on the Sport. The water was a little smoother here but the impending storm made Garry tell us to keep the dive short again. This wreck is easy to see in a 20 minute dive. We saw the whistle laying on the deck, the shovel, the steering mechanism which lays off to the side and is unique because it has a double wheel as well as the broken prop. The plaque that had been installed has been removed due to deterioration. Visibility was great, you could see the entire wreck plus out into the sand so we probably had 70+ feet.
All in all we had a great time! Actually we had such a good time that Bruce and I have decided to change our vacation plans for the summer. We were originally going to spend the last 2 weeks of August (running into Labor Day) out west but now we're looking at doing a 2 week Michigan wreck diving trip. If anyone is available to dive weekdays in any part of Michigan in late August let me know, we'll probably need more than just the two of us to book a boat.
Ber :lilbunny:
Saturday the weather was gorgeous and the water was flat calm which I've heard is a real treat for Huron divers. Our first dive was on the Mary Alice B. a cute tug that sits upright in about 90 feet of water. The ships wheel is still on its stand and there is a ladle beside the sink in the galley. The visibility wasn't great, another boat was already moored to the site when we arrived and some of their divers were kicking up quite a bit of silt from the wreck. Linda watched one guy with a 7 foot yellow octopus hose attempt to descend with that thing flapping behind him regulator and all. It ended up tied in a knot around the line before he ever got to the bottom. She said he never did tuck it in just kept dragging it along after it was untied.
Our second dive was on the Regina a 250' package freighter that rests nearly upside down in about 80 feet of water. There are two moorings here one on the stern and one on the bow. We took the stern mooring and the "silting crew" moored on the bow. Luckily they were unable to screw up the visibility for us this time and we enjoyed being able to see 30 feet or more. The ship is nearly upside down so there isn't a lot to see without penetrating but some of the cargo is spilled on the sand and Linda took us a few yards away from the wreck to see two ketchup bottles lying on the bottom. She said there used to be 12 but people have stolen the others; by the way it is a felony to remove or disturb artifacts in the Great Lakes and they will take your boat, car and equipment if they catch you taking anything but pictures. We returned to the side of the wreck and saw the extra prop blade, a wheelbarrow, a few cases of canned goods (probably corn and beans), coal and a pile of pitch used to make repairs on the boat. The anchor chain is taut but we didn't follow it because the anchor is about 400 feet from the wreck.
Sunday the weather was threatening and Garry said we'd go out and see what we could get to. The Sport, a 57 foot steel hulled tug that sits nearly upright in about 50 feet of water is close to shore so it was our intended target. Garry asked Bruce and I if our group was comfortable diving in the rougher conditions and when we said "yes" he decided that we could do the Regina first if we kept the dive to 20 minutes, stayed near the stern where we were moored and listened for a call-back signal that would be given if the conditions worsened. The water was choppy near the Regina with waves in the 1-2 foot range making getting ready on a small boat a little more interesting than the previous day. A fifth diver had been added to the group so we were also a little more crowded which just adds to the fun
The visibility was still good and Bruce and I found a broken flask-shaped bottle sitting on a piece of wood as well as a piece of pottery that was probably part of a bowl. I saw my first Burbot and pointed it out to Bruce, what a strange looking fish! The head looks like a catfish but it has the body of an eel. It looked like it was dead when I first saw it, it was just laying in the sand but as we watched it we could see its gills moving.Our second dive was on the Sport. The water was a little smoother here but the impending storm made Garry tell us to keep the dive short again. This wreck is easy to see in a 20 minute dive. We saw the whistle laying on the deck, the shovel, the steering mechanism which lays off to the side and is unique because it has a double wheel as well as the broken prop. The plaque that had been installed has been removed due to deterioration. Visibility was great, you could see the entire wreck plus out into the sand so we probably had 70+ feet.
All in all we had a great time! Actually we had such a good time that Bruce and I have decided to change our vacation plans for the summer. We were originally going to spend the last 2 weeks of August (running into Labor Day) out west but now we're looking at doing a 2 week Michigan wreck diving trip. If anyone is available to dive weekdays in any part of Michigan in late August let me know, we'll probably need more than just the two of us to book a boat.
Ber :lilbunny:
