Lake diving ?

[totalangel]

Ok - now that would bite!

I've been on platforms where I couldn't see the person 5 feet anyway from me...but I don't think I would dig less vis than that! It does however make you more careful - don't want to crash into anything!

I think the vis around the midwest dive sites may be unusually bad this summer - seems the southern area has been getting quite a bit of rain and that really hampers the vis. Spent a few days diving in southern Illinois a couple of weeks ago and the vis was bad even below the thermocline (not that I spent much time below - it was 42 degrees and I was in a 3 mm :wacko: ).

Midwestdvr - just make the most of the local diving until you can be to the ocean!

 

[nitroxbabe]

True, most lakes & quarries are great for training as there's not much to see and conditions are not terribly challenging.

The Great Lakes are a different story. They're actually inland freshwater seas.

We went out this AM to dive a newly sunk wreck in Lake Michigan but had to abort when the lake kicked up to 8's. People and gear were flung all over the cabin and one poor guy lost his lunch: we're lucky we didn't lose HIM over the side with all the rockin' and rollin'.

The Great Lakes are generally not considered a "training ground". Conditions are cold (this summer 41-55F) and challenging. The lakes contain thousands of wrecks from 1679 to the present, found at depths from 15 to 1000 feet deep. The cold and fresh preserves the wrecks. I've dove ships that wrecked a hundred years ago that are still intact and penetratable.

Unfortunately, dive season will close soon. The lakes start to get unpredictable in the fall. When things kick up, the lakes can get amazingly rough. Recently I dove Isle Royale in Lake Superior. As we passed the Rock of Ages lighthouse, the captain told me that the very worst storms can cause waves 40 feet high. That was half way up the lighthouse. The poor lighthouse keeper (it's automated now though). It was a storm like that which sank the Edmund Fitzgerald (I'm sure ya'll have heard of that - who hasn't).

I'm lucky to live within driving distance of such fantastic resources as the Great Lakes. I could go on but it might get boring.

 

[CMH777]

I dive lakes quit often and normally the deeper you go it does get clearer. The thermocline doesn't make the water get clearer. I have seen it clear at 15 feet get down to no vis and then back to really clear again. On your lake here at around 40 feet vis gets really good 30 to 40 feet. It stays that way until around 100ft then it starts getting dirty again.

 

[ScubaKathleen]

Hey midwestdvr

Another lake very close to Bull in AR is Norfolk lake. Ive dove there several times now. They have things sunk that you can dive on and there are a fair amount of fish. I use the 101 Boat Dock, they are super nice! My dive club is going out there again the weekend after labor day...I'll let you know how the vis is. Another place I hear from the DM's that near by is Mermett springs in IL but I havent dove there yet.

Happy Diving

 

[zeN||]

Wow Nitroxbabe, I had no idea the GLs was so formidable, I for one would love to hear more about diving the GLs,
on another point.....diving in a lake around here, while it's not too exciting, any water is better than no water, and lots of exercise, viz was 1-3 feet today, lots of jet skis on the water, a major danger (I have noticed the lowest lifeforms generally are riding on these contraptions), I was crawling on the bottom, going around some rock formations, viz suddenly turned to 6 inches, surge (near the shore), and all of a sudden I find myself bumping an overhang, that was dicey for a minute, crawled out of the cavelike formation, popped my sausage and surfaced, sure enough, the jet skis were tearing up the water all around me, this is a real danger in lake diving in my area cheers zeN||

 

[SDAnderson]

1) Does the viz improve past the thermocline? I didn't bother going down below it. You could say I was just a little scared.

Sometimes, yes, sometimes, no. It's not uncommon for silt to settle on top of the thermocline and take awhile to slowly filter through. Visibility of 10ft or less is not uncommon in many smaller lakes, so exercise caution. Be sure you're ready for that drop through the thermocline though, temps can fall 20F in two feet - that can "refresh" you right to the front of the choir.

2) Are there specific equipment that would be useful to have when diving in lakes? Mike, the DM, was kind enough to show me throughout the dives all the possible points of entanglements- tree limbs, numerous fishing lines. Wasn't diving with a knife then but wouldn't consider diving without it now.

In addition to a knife, a pair of EMT shears (Sea Snips, penny shears, whatever you want to call them) is a good idea. They're actually better at cutting monofilament, especially the invisible stuff, and you're less likely to cut yourself or your buddy. The gear really doesn't change much.

Nitroxbabe is correct about the Great Lakes - we got our butts pounded out there today and that's not uncommon enough to be fun. It's cold and deep and the storms can kick up a tempest that will make North Carolina divers cringe. Then again, we've got the best preserved wrecks and we don't have to wash the salt from our gear, so it ain't all bad.

Steven

 

[Tractor Tom]

...but living in Michigan, I've been spoiled. We dive the inland lakes too. I had a great dive day on Higgins Lake on a Saturday about 6 weeks ago. Three weeks ago, we were in Kingston, Ontario, diving the Lake Ontario wrecks, some of them 100-150 years old. Wooden sidewheel paddle boats, with 30' tall paddlewheels standing upright on the bottom of the lake in 80' of cold water is a real sight to behold.

Yes, it can and will get rough on the Great Lakes. We used to keep a 26' sailboat in Saginaw Bay in Lake Huron. Sometimes a sustained wind would come up from the North East and the waves would fetch all the way across the lake from Georgian Bay, and roll into Saginaw Bay. When they would hit the shallow water of the bay, I would find myself trying to sail home in 6-8' waves (in a 26' boat!) which can be quiet a chore. The waves rolling in, would raised the water level in the bay, sometimes by 2-3'.

The very cold water allows us to enjoy good visability (50' is not unheard of in a dive weekend) and protects the wrecks from rot. The only real problem these days is the zebra mussles, who grow on everything down to about 100'. The good news is, the zebra mussles also filter and the visability in the lakes is better than ever! Yes it can be cold. Three weeks ago in Kingston, on the Munson at 112' the temp was in the high 40's or very low 50's depending on where you were. But the visability was pretty good, and we even had good light filtering down through that 112' of water to light the decks!

Great diving in the GREAT LAKES...

 

[diverbrian]

Diving in the Great Lakes is fun for the reasons mentioned. I can think of nowhere else that a hundred year old shipwreck can look like it was kept in a time capsule.

Having said that, people would do well to remember that there is a REASON so many ships were wrecked on those lakes. If you respect them, you will be fine. If not, well.... Darwin needs a few more in his waiting room.

Higgins Lake is closer to what I would consider a "training ground". It is cold with decent (but not great visibility). I typically can get to about 60 ft. and spend most my dive at 30-40 ft.

No, it isn't the ocean or the Great Lakes, but it keeps me sharp and gives me experience. Experience is always good.

 

[nitroxbabe]

Hi there Reefraff! Have you recovered from our wild ride yet?

I need your schedule so we can try The Great Barge Hunt again!

We're diving Sunday, hopefully the Willie and Dredge, and Kurt is diving on Monday w/o me (that dirty rat ;-0 - no room for me on the boat).

Maybe we'll know better by Monday what the marine forecast is for next week - is that a possibility for you??

 

[SDAnderson]

Sorry, I can't do Monday - I'm leaving tomorrow for Whitefish Point and won't be back until late Tuesday. I'm pretty well calendar-jammed until the weekend of Sept 20/21. Either day is fine with me, if you can do that, call the starship and see what he's got available.