Trip Report - Diving w/ NPursuit out of East Chicago Marina

[fleep]

Met up with the usual suspects at the East Chicago Marina in Gary Indiana. A couple cops, a couple blokes in the medical industry, myself (the token sys-admin geek) and a dive newb or two. We all agreed that the best part of Gary Indiana is a couple miles off shore and below the water.

NPursuit's operation (www.npursuitcharters.com) was awesome:
Captain Mike was a great host. He was very professional, had a great sense of humor and made sure we had a fun time no matter our level of training. Before we left the slip he made sure we all knew where the life preservers and the O2 kits were and gave us a brief overview of emergency procedures. He knows the southern tip of lake Michigan like the back of his hand and was able to describe the wrecks/dive profiles to perfection. He even had pre-printed handouts that contained a quick history of each wreck that we visited! Top notch operation, and I'm sure his fishing trips are equally as fun (for those of you who would prefer fishing over diving ... :P)
DiveMaster Dave was also great. He checks everyone's gear, helps you put your fins on at the back of the boat and attended to everyone's needs. It's neat to watch an experienced instructor work with the less experienced divers-he calmed their anxieties above water by talking with them and underwater he exuded a sense of calm confidence that really improved the dive for these divers. Apparently he is a professional underwater videographer as well; I would love to see some of his work!

Suffice it to say-N'Pursuit did a great job for us, and I will definitely be going back for more! Thanks again Cap'n Mike!

Water Temp: ~72deg
Max Depth: 58'
viz: 15'-25'
Wrecks that we dove: Tacoma, Material Services Barge (loved it!), Train Car Transport and The Louisville

[SteveC]

Thanks for the report. Sounds like a cool dive.

[MgicTwnger]

I've been diving with and arranging charters with Capt. Mike for years. Allways a great time, he is the best. His op is especially good for first-time lake Michigan divers in as far as the wrecks are shallow, close-in, and well documented.

[b1gcountry]

Thanks for the report. Sorry I missed it. Did you dive your doubles?

BTW, I'm going to be up in the Milwaukee area on Oct 24-25 if you're interested. On Greg's boat.

Tom

[DiverBeth]

Thanks for the report and also mentioning divemaster Dave, he's a great guy too.

[fleep]

BigCountry:

"Did you dive your doubles?"
---yip, had looootsa air, prolly coulda done all 4 dives on the one fill. Ended up using singles for the afternoon dives since there is no convenient place to get quick fills @ the marina. thx 4 ur help ordering and setting these up, I've been enjoying learning to dive with them this season