Threaded Mode | Linear Mode

***jasondbaker*** · 03-10-2003, 12:15 PM,

Jon, did you attend Chris Kohl's recent speech in Green Bay? I didn't go but my father attended and said it was a great presentation. I have read his great lakes wreck book several times.

FreediveWI · 03-11-2003, 09:32 PM,

I didn't make it to that one, but I have talked and had dinner with him and his wife before. I think that he should be at Ghost Ship's this weekend. He was there last year.

Jon

FreediveWI · 03-13-2003, 05:34 PM,

THe Dredge #6 is a great dive for everyone. It starts at 25' and goes down to 74'- below the lake bottom
Jon

FreediveWI · 03-14-2003, 07:59 PM,

Fred,

Here is the Niagra.
She is a great little wreck off of Port Washington in about 40'. THere is usually a lot of fish on her. The paddle wheels were upright when I started diving her- a long time ago. She has had them broken off by dive boats trying to them over the years. :'(

Jon

freediverND · 03-14-2003, 08:39 PM,

Jon,
wow, the viz actually looks great there! I'm going to have to get over that way sometime in the near future.
Fred

gzscuba · 03-30-2003, 10:48 PM,

So is there much current around the wrecks on the Lake Michigan/Wisconsin shore? I think I'd like to try Lake Michigan out this summer, and I'd like to deal with as few complications as possible - my scuba skills are still sorta rough.
Thanks,

-Greg

FreediveWI · 03-31-2003, 12:15 PM,

Greg,

You'll find Lake Michigan to have weak, or no, current most of the time. We get big waves out there, but not normally a whole lot of current. The waves all depend upon the wind direction and strength.

NOW, having said that I will tell you that we had a week or two of current out there last summer that rivaled anything that I have ever dove in while down in Cozumel or West Palm Beach! :o
It was crazy trying to freedive in it because the blades of my fins kept getting bent in half by the current flying past my decent line. Once I broke through the thermocline, at about 60', it calmed down. It was really wild on the surface and I might have ended up swimming for a couple of people. ;D Let me restate that while this is possible, it is not common.

When the current is that strong we put a "granny line" in the water for the divers to use. A "granny line" is a line that goes from the stern of the boat, where the divers jump in, all the way up to the mooring line and is tied off at a depth of 20'-30'. This allows you to jump right in and get underwater as fast as possible. It also gives you a rope to pull yourslef along to get to the mooring. Any diver can pull against a current with a lot less effort than swimming. This gets you to the wreck quickly and not out of breath. The use these lines a lot out on the west coast along with trail lines that can be hundreds of feet long.

IF you are new to Lake Michigan, you might want to try out one of the many shore dives along the lake. If that sounds like too much work you could book yourself on one of the Monday night, beginner's night, charters on the LenDer.

The dives go to all of the wrecks in less than 40' of water and they are usually limited to smaller groups so that you won't feel too rushed to get in. Also, they are less money than the regualr dive charters because the shallower wrecks are in closer to shore. this has proven to be an excellent way for many new divers to get thir feet wet adn progress into some really top notch divers in a slow, and comfortable, manner.

Hope that helps.

Jon

gzscuba · 03-31-2003, 03:30 PM,

Cool, thanks for the info, Freedive. Big Grin

Are there any good guidebooks to the wrecks, if I wanted to do a shore dive? My buddy (fiancee) and I have become pretty comfortable with shore diving after a bunch of trips to Devil's Lake. (Granted shore dives are a lot easier when you only have to haul your gear across the road, and there are no waves...)

Are the wrecks marked with buoys, or do you have to know what you're looking for?

-Greg

***jasondbaker*** · 03-31-2003, 04:04 PM,

gzscuba, welcome to the forum!

You can make dozens of shore dives up in the Door County peninsula. If you stop by Green Bay Scuba (see diveshop listing on home page) you can pickup a small guide that lists all of the shore dive sites. I'll be up there around July 4th and you are welcome to join me.

scubert · 04-23-2003, 08:26 PM,

Jon,
I've done the Appomatox, Josephine,Sebastopol, and know the location of the Volunteer, but are the HR Bond and Sumatra shore diveable? and if so what is the best jumping off point to reach them?
thanks