Almost Certified

[ashtree68]

Hello everyone,

Just finished my classroom work and will be doing my open water cert weekend of sept 11th and doing a couple dives the following couple of weekends in Haigh Quarry. Where else are some good places to go diving? I know the lake has some pretty good wreck diving, which needs advanced certification, but other than that where's some good places to dive for beginners?

Thanks, and look forward to diving and meeting with some of you!

 

[scuba_frog]

Congrats on your almost certification. Where about Chicago are you (city/suburbs). Haigh is great. Water is a little warm right now and the algae bloom makes vis terrible. But it is still worth it.

Another option would be Pearl Lake is South Beloit. Pearl Lake Home Page Let's just say, it's ok.

If you want to drive thee is also Mermet Springs about 6 hours south.

North is Wazee Lake in Black River Falls, WI.

And yes, Lake Michigan does have a lot of wrecks. Some are shallow enough where an OW cert is sufficient. However, the water is pretty cold and a dry suit is recommended. You can dive it wet, but you will freeze below 30 ft.

By the way, I saw you post on the other thread, I will send you the information as soon as I find it on my hard drive...lol.

 

[ashtree68]

Thanks for the recommendations on dives and the CASA information.

I'm located in the city near UIC campus, I'm a student and don't have a car so getting up to the meetings may not happen too often though they sound fun and interesting.

 

[DiverBeth]

Welcome to the pool. Scuba frog is right about diving in the lake. There are a couple of the shallower wrecks which you can do in a 7mm. Get some experience diving at Haigh so you feel comfortable in open water. Lake Michigan can be a bit intimidating and I have found sometimes the hardest part of diving it is getting to the dive site. Once you're underwater that can be the easy part.

Another thing I might recommend is joining Chicago Scuba Meetup the website is The Chicago Scuba Meetup Group (Chicago, IL) - Meetup Membership is free and we meet the third Monday of the month at Lalos on Clyborn. You can get there by public transportation.

 

[ashtree68]

Thanks, I'll check that out.