Two lake huron dives for inspiration!!!! And maybe a wreck diving book? Or great beginner scuba book?

[halocline]

Are there dives in Lake Huron that you think have it "all" for divers- one for beginners, and one for next season that is for intermediate level divers? I'm thinking of recommendations for shipwrecks that have a well-documented and interesting story that I can read up on, and that is also visually interesting/beautiful. If the wreck is near Tobermory all the better because that's less than 7 hours drive for me. Or Alpena, MI or Saginaw Bay maybe? Crazy old shipwrecks are very interesting to me as I studied history in school!!

I'm only 22 days from my open water course in Cancun with Alvaro Gonzales at Alwaysdiving.com. I'm reading Jill Heinerth's book "Into the Planet" right now and will follow that with "Diver Down" by Michael Ange. I'll probably finish both of those this weekend so is there a great beginner wreck-diving book that I should read or general beginner scuba book- or something that will teach me a bit about cold water diving? I do understand that to actually learn cold water I need to dive cold water, just wondering if there is a primer out there that might introduce me to some of the concepts and/or challenges of cold water diving. My plan is to do some quarry diving in Gilboa with an instructor once I get back from Mexico- Gilboa is only an hour away from me!!

Do you mean that in 22 days you will take your OW class in Cancun, or that you took your OW class in Cancun 22 days ago? I guess with regards to Great Lakes diving it doesn’t matter that much, because diving to 70ft plus in cold water is a completely different experience. Do you know how to dive with a dry suit? If not, you’ll want to learn! I wouldn’t even think about doing a deep dive in really cold water in a wetsuit.

 

[HamTrainChickenLaser]

Do you mean that in 22 days you will take your OW class in Cancun, or that you took your OW class in Cancun 22 days ago? I guess with regards to Great Lakes diving it doesn’t matter that much, because diving to 70ft plus in cold water is a completely different experience. Do you know how to dive with a dry suit? If not, you’ll want to learn! I wouldn’t even think about doing a deep dive in really cold water in a wetsuit.

Now it's 21 days from now- the last week of May I will be in Cancun!!!!

I don't even know how to dive in a wetsuit at this point! Nor do I know how to dive in a rash guard! I'm just trying to learn all that I can in the time that I have left before I go. Dry suit, no- but I am all about that. My tentative plan is to return with my OW and then do Extreme Scuba Makeover with a local UTD instructor so my trim and buoyancy are managed well. Should that all play out in fine fashion then it's off to the races and AOW and dry suit are next. The best laid plans of mice and men, no?

OK OK there is a bit of lie in there- not completely new to diving. I did live on the Big Island for a couple of years and did a ton of free diving but obviously that's nothing like scuba.

 

[halocline]

Now it's 21 days from now- the last week of May I will be in Cancun!!!!

I don't even know how to dive in a wetsuit at this point! Nor do I know how to dive in a rash guard! I'm just trying to learn all that I can in the time that I have left before I go. Dry suit, no- but I am all about that. My tentative plan is to return with my OW and then do Extreme Scuba Makeover with a local UTD instructor so my trim and buoyancy are managed well. Should that all play out in fine fashion then it's off to the races and AOW and dry suit are next. The best laid plans of mice and men, no?

OK OK there is a bit of lie in there- not completely new to diving. I did live on the Big Island for a couple of years and did a ton of free diving but obviously that's nothing like scuba.

I would probably stick to warm water for a while, get some practice after your OW class in a similar environment where you took the class. A week in Cozumel, maybe with some follow up help from a good instructor, would be a great experience for you. And it would be amazingly fun.

Then when you have a bit of confidence in warm clear water with minimal exposure protection, you’ll be more ready for the much more demanding setting of cold water in a thick wetsuit.

One other thing about buying a dry suit, if I remember correctly, you’re the guy who’s losing quite a bit of weight, is that right? Dysuits are expensive and you’ll want to wait until you get to a stable weight before buying one.

 

[HamTrainChickenLaser]

I would probably stick to warm water for a while, get some practice after your OW class in a similar environment where you took the class. A week in Cozumel, maybe with some follow up help from a good instructor, would be a great experience for you. And it would be amazingly fun.

Then when you have a bit of confidence in warm clear water with minimal exposure protection, you’ll be more ready for the much more demanding setting of cold water in a thick wetsuit.

One other thing about buying a dry suit, if I remember correctly, you’re the guy who’s losing quite a bit of weight, is that right? Dysuits are expensive and you’ll want to wait until you get to a stable weight before buying one.

OK this is where it gets tricky. My thoughts were that to be able to progress at a reasonable pace, I need to use local resources like the Gilboa quarry. Maybe this isn't the best thinking. My initial plan was that after the open water in Cancun I would get my extreme scuba makeover done here locally and then go to Utila for my advanced open water. Does that make more sense?

Yes, still losing weight at a pretty good clip and I'm 253 now so I have more to go- quite a bit more. I've seen some dry suits for sale locally on craigslist and facebook marketplace but I don't know if that's something that is problematic to buy used. Now granted, everything can be problematic to buy used but with all of the scuba equipment out there it seems it would be a shame to ignore it.

 

[halocline]

OK this is where it gets tricky. My thoughts were that to be able to progress at a reasonable pace, I need to use local resources like the Gilboa quarry. Maybe this isn't the best thinking.

It would be very good to dive locally once you have the experience and confidence, not to mention exposure protection, to do so successfully. It’s probably better to first get more experience in the same forgiving environment where you are taking the OW class. Cozumel is right there, and has world class diving. If you can even take a few extra days to reinforce all the new things you’ll learn in class, that’s very helpful.

 

[HamTrainChickenLaser]

It would be very good to dive locally once you have the experience and confidence, not to mention exposure protection, to do so successfully. It’s probably better to first get more experience in the same forgiving environment where you are taking the OW class. Cozumel is right there, and has world class diving. If you can even take a few extra days to reinforce all the new things you’ll learn in class, that’s very helpful.

I can't extend that trip unfortunately- my wife can't take as much vacation as I do. But definitely I can do Cozumel on the next trip, or Utila, or someplace warm. I appreciate the advice!!

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

OK this is where it gets tricky. My thoughts were that to be able to progress at a reasonable pace, I need to use local resources like the Gilboa quarry. Maybe this isn't the best thinking. My initial plan was that after the open water in Cancun I would get my extreme scuba makeover done here locally and then go to Utila for my advanced open water. Does that make more sense?

Yes, still losing weight at a pretty good clip and I'm 253 now so I have more to go- quite a bit more. I've seen some dry suits for sale locally on craigslist and facebook marketplace but I don't know if that's something that is problematic to buy used. Now granted, everything can be problematic to buy used but with all of the scuba equipment out there it seems it would be a shame to ignore it.

I would say go for and dive at Gilboa. When I was Divemaster ing, we would travel down and do our open water checkouts at Gilboa quarry. Yes it's cold but it's a controlled environment, it's not like out in a lake or ocean and there is a lot of fun stuff sunk there to see.
The biggest issue with buying a used drysuit is to make sure it doesn't leak. Also make sure the valves and seals are in good shape and don't need to be replaced.

 

[HamTrainChickenLaser]

I would say go for and dive at Gilboa. When I was Divemaster ing, we would travel down and do our open water checkouts at Gilboa quarry. Yes it's cold but it's a controlled environment, it's not like out in a lake or ocean and there is a lot of fun stuff sunk there to see.
The biggest issue with buying a used drysuit is to make sure it doesn't leak. Also make sure the valves and seals are in good shape and don't need to be replaced.

I will have to weigh all of these options!! It's hard NOT to consider Gilboa when it's so very close to me. And White Star is also very close. Either one is just a tiny bit over one hour from my house. But a 7mm wet suit won't do it, true? Valves and seals on a dry suit are pricey to replace? There is a pretty big discrepancy between when a dry suit costs new and what they are being offered for used so that makes me wonder. BUT- that is true of almost all scuba gear. Dive shops around here rent dry suits also, but at $100 each time that adds up.

 

[HamTrainChickenLaser]

It would be very good to dive locally once you have the experience and confidence, not to mention exposure protection, to do so successfully. It’s probably better to first get more experience in the same forgiving environment where you are taking the OW class. Cozumel is right there, and has world class diving. If you can even take a few extra days to reinforce all the new things you’ll learn in class, that’s very helpful.

OK so as I re-read this, it seems like if I am working with an instructor for my first times at a local quarry it's not as much risk- true? I do see what you are saying though- just jumping in with a totally different kind of diving and fresh water instead of salt and very cold water instead of bath-water warm- the risk goes way up for me. Having an instructor there covers a lot of bases- things like "dude you don't want those gloves your fingers will be frozen solid in minutes" instead of just finding that out on my own when I am 40 or 50' underwater. Then boom- oh hey, my buoyancy and trim are all messed up and my fingers are frozen and I am starting to panic...not good.

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

All our students wore rental 7mm wetsuits. The water temps above 60ft is very doable in a wetsuit. The water is warmer in the late summer and the fall. The "shallow side" is where all the fun stuff is at. The Gilboa website posts the current water temps. If you haven't got a wetsuit already, I would look into a hooded sem-idry suit.

The valves aren't too bad but the seals can be pricey to replace.