I'll be in Buffalo this summer, so ....

[EAN]

are there any must dives in the area?

I figure it is cold water, but I have a dry suit cert without a dry suit. About as useful as a driver's license without a car.

 

[fppf]

River drifts are fun in the Niagara
There are a few shallow wrecks out of Buffalo, nothing to write home about.
There are really good wrecks out of Dunkirk and West field which is more west in the lake. Those are deeper, most are 100 feet plus.

Then there are quarries in Canada so bring your passport.

 

[EAN]

River drifts are fun in the Niagara
There are a few shallow wrecks out of Buffalo, nothing to write home about.
There are really good wrecks out of Dunkirk and West field which is more west in the lake. Those are deeper, most are 100 feet plus.

I suppose I'll need a dry suit for any of these dives, right?

 

[fppf]

Well
That depends on your thermal tolerance. As a native Buffalo person I don't even get a coat out until it drops into the 30's.

That said, the river and quarry water temps in June start to get into the 60's. By late July and into Aug temps can hit the very low 70's. It is back down hill by the end of Aug. A 2 piece 7mm suit can get you diving from June through end of Sept if you don't get cold to easy.

The deeper dives are a different story. We have really big thermalclines in lake Erie. The first thermalcline moves down slowly through the summer bottoming out at about 80 feet or so. Past 20-80 feet depending on the time of year temps are in the mid to low 40's year round. Past 110-120 feet you can hit a second thermalcline most times that drops into the high 30's to 40 year round. The bigger issue is with a wet suit it crushes down to a 3mm suit and you freeze, but there are a lot of people that do those dives wet. Just not for very long.

I would not suggest a new dry suit diver to even attempt the deeper dives. The diving up here is VERY different than in the tropics, past 30 feet or less most times you can't see the surface. Most times at 120 feet you must use a light even at noon. People get narced and freak out rather then be all bubbly and happy. Not something you want in unfamiliar gear.

Don't mean to scare anyone, just keeping it real. I think its worth the effort to learn to dive these wrecks. There some of the best presurved and most are from the 1800's. But it does take effort to do it.

 

[Tavi]

There are a lot of Awesome wrecks in Lake Erie!! The deeper you go, the better shape they're in. Definately worth the training and the equipment.

Check out the calender on Discover Divings Website

It's early yet, so check back as the season gets closer. They often do charters to some of the Shallower wrecks. They go out with Osprey Charters for the deeper ones.

Let me know when you get here. If you're going out to Discover Diving's shop I'll meet you there.

 

[EAN]

There are a lot of Awesome wrecks in Lake Erie!! The deeper you go, the better shape they're in. Definately worth the training and the equipment.

Check out the calender on Discover Divings Website

It's early yet, so check back as the season gets closer. They often do charters to some of the Shallower wrecks. They go out with Osprey Charters for the deeper ones.

Let me know when you get here. If you're going out to Discover Diving's shop I'll meet you there.

Thanks. I will definitely visit the shop to check things out. Due to paying off some debt, I will not be able to purchase a dry suit anytime soon. I will work toward that for some future deep wreck dives.

 

[Tavi]

Thanks. I will definitely visit the shop to check things out. Due to paying off some debt, I will not be able to purchase a dry suit anytime soon. I will work toward that for some future deep wreck dives.

My first Drysuit cost me $300 on e-bay. It worked fine for a year while I saved up for the drysuit I wanted.