I did a thread last year on Great Lakes diving for beginners, and now want to do one on advanced recreational diving.
Great Lakes diving for beginners
I’m on my way back from Mackinaw City (dive buddy is driving), where we did a 3 day weekend of 2 tank morning charters. We went with Shipwreck Adventures of Two Rivers, WI. Capt Greg Such is excellent (he’s also a TDI instructor trainer and does a lot of RB training). The shallowest dive we did was about 70ft (Wm H Barnum wreck) and the deepest was the Eber Ward (140ft to the bottom, deck at 117ft). First day was Cedarville (110ft to the bottom) and Barnum, second day, double dip on the Eber Ward, third day double dip on the Cedarville. With the Ward being so deep and the Cedarville so long (604ft), multiple dives were wanted to get a better look at them.
Unfortunately, if you want to dive the Straits, it seems you now have to pick a charter op that will trailer their boat in from elsewhere. Greg brings his boat over for multiple trips a season. Capt Jitka Hanakova from Milwaukee (Shipwreck Explorers) brings her boat up for specific dates each summer. Black Dog Charters also does the Straits. There was Northern Michigan Dive Center in Cheboygan, but they’ve closed perhaps a year ago. Straits Scuba in St. Ignace doesn’t seem to be operating much. That also means there are no fills in the area. Greg and Jitka both have their own compressors and can support rec and tech fills. Or just bring enough filled tanks to support the dives you want to do. The closest fills are in Alpena (Thunder Bay Scuba) and perhaps Traverse City, both at least 90 min away.
The diving in the Straits is awesome, but the season is pretty much Memorial Day to sometime in September. The Straits Underwater Preserve hadn’t put in any of their buoys yet due to the continued bad weather this spring. Greg’s boat put out two of the preserve’s buoys this weekend.
There are advanced recreational dives as well in Thunder Bay (Alpena), Sanilac (southern Lake Huron), and Milwaukee/Port Washington, WI. The far southern Lake Michigan wrecks are pretty shallow.
Please add in your experiences.
Great Lakes diving for beginners
I’m on my way back from Mackinaw City (dive buddy is driving), where we did a 3 day weekend of 2 tank morning charters. We went with Shipwreck Adventures of Two Rivers, WI. Capt Greg Such is excellent (he’s also a TDI instructor trainer and does a lot of RB training). The shallowest dive we did was about 70ft (Wm H Barnum wreck) and the deepest was the Eber Ward (140ft to the bottom, deck at 117ft). First day was Cedarville (110ft to the bottom) and Barnum, second day, double dip on the Eber Ward, third day double dip on the Cedarville. With the Ward being so deep and the Cedarville so long (604ft), multiple dives were wanted to get a better look at them.
Unfortunately, if you want to dive the Straits, it seems you now have to pick a charter op that will trailer their boat in from elsewhere. Greg brings his boat over for multiple trips a season. Capt Jitka Hanakova from Milwaukee (Shipwreck Explorers) brings her boat up for specific dates each summer. Black Dog Charters also does the Straits. There was Northern Michigan Dive Center in Cheboygan, but they’ve closed perhaps a year ago. Straits Scuba in St. Ignace doesn’t seem to be operating much. That also means there are no fills in the area. Greg and Jitka both have their own compressors and can support rec and tech fills. Or just bring enough filled tanks to support the dives you want to do. The closest fills are in Alpena (Thunder Bay Scuba) and perhaps Traverse City, both at least 90 min away.
The diving in the Straits is awesome, but the season is pretty much Memorial Day to sometime in September. The Straits Underwater Preserve hadn’t put in any of their buoys yet due to the continued bad weather this spring. Greg’s boat put out two of the preserve’s buoys this weekend.
There are advanced recreational dives as well in Thunder Bay (Alpena), Sanilac (southern Lake Huron), and Milwaukee/Port Washington, WI. The far southern Lake Michigan wrecks are pretty shallow.
Please add in your experiences.
