I would wait until another trip. As others have mentioned, the lake will be quite cold. I checked my log for some wrecks further north (Two Rivers, WI) and the temperatures were 35°-39° top to bottom the first week of May.
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Hello! First post on the board, but have been reading for a couple months now. This seemed like a good thread to post in given its recency rather than starting a new one.
A little background, live in Chicago, no car, have some of the equipment needed for a Lake Michigan dive. I've figured out that I'll need to rent a car and rent some gear. I can get that sorted on my own.
I've found the previously mentioned Double Action Dive Charters out of Hammond that looks like a great outfit.
Now where I'm at is that I have no buddies! Dive buddies that is. Also, my experience has either been training or all vacation guided dives. I'm comfortable in the water, but I've never planned and dove with just me and a buddy before.
The Double Action Dive Charters website FAQ recommended their FB page as well as this board for finding a buddy. Does anyone have any tips for a Chicago area site with decent traffic to find a buddy?
Do the charters have buddies for hire?
Seeing as they are mostly wrecks, I imagine planning a dive at a mostly consistent depth should be fairly straight forward and actually a pretty good learning activity, but I may be off here.
Any advice or tips are appreciated! I mostly just want to get a few dives in this summer to shorten the duration between vacation diving.
Thanks.
If you don't have a car, you might like this: You can rent tanks, etc. from Double Action's dive shop partner (owned by the same family), Dive Right in Scuba. With 3 days notice, they will bring your rental gear to the boat. Last year the fee was $35. You will have to check to see if that's changed.
You say you've never dived with just a buddy. Great Lakes diving is unlike what I've heard tropics diving is like (I haven't dove the tropics yet. No desire to). There isn't a guide to lead the entire group together. You descend on the mooring line to the wreck, and you and buddy do your own thing. The Double Action boats are different from what I've been told about other Great Lakes boats. They often have a DM on board. DM helps folks get geared up, in the water, etc. They will often dive themselves, but they don't lead the group. They might buddy with someone on the boat by themselves.
No buddies for hire on the boat. You can buddy up with someone on the boat. I've done it myself. Just be honest about your experience level.
The wrecks are pretty straightforward. Descend on the mooring/anchor line and have at! Make a note of where the mooring/anchor line is located on the wreck. There are a couple of the shallower wrecks that have holds you can swim through - if you have experience doing such things, such as the Material Service Barge, and the Holly Barge. But since you are a newer diver, I am going to strongly recommend you not do that until you have more experience.
Have you ever been in a 7mm before? If not, you need to take a 7mm and yourself out to Haigh Quarry in Kankakee and get used to it. As I've posted on SB several times, I have seen experienced warm water divers be unable to do their Lake Michigan dives because they are not used to all the neoprene. You will also need a hood and gloves. I prefer 3mm gloves when diving wet for more dexterity. But that's your choice.
Bring a light. It helps to get a better look at stuff. Don't expect tropical visibility. If we have 30-40ft viz, that can be a good day.
Great Lakes boats have fin-on ladders. Center post with rungs coming out from the sides, aka Christmas Tree ladder. You leave your fins on! Don't take them off!
Take whatever your favorite anti-sea sickness meds the night before AND the morning of the charter. Waves on the Great Lakes come much closer together than on the ocean. That chop feels differently than ocean waves, I am told. If the waves are more than 3 ft, the boat doesn't go out. I've lost one too many dives to feeling a bit "off." I just take Bonine before ever charter now.
Wrecks for you: Material Service Barge, Tacoma, Louisville. The MSB and the Tacoma are around 35-40ft, the Louisville is 60ft. You want the $120 wrecks out of Hammond as those are the shallow ones.
This season is going to be interesting. I've been used to DA's 6 pack boat, SunDog. But they just got a 47ft boat that's coming up from North Carolina, the SeaQuest II. It can handle 16 divers. This will be a new experience for even the regulars.
As for finding buddies, you can post on the Chicago Scuba Meet Up's FB page. This is especially good if you want to hit Haigh and need a ride. People will post they need a ride for Haigh, and will pay the driver's admission fee ($25). The Double Action FB page is also a good place to find a buddy. The Great Lakes Wrecking Crew FB is another place.
If you let me know ahead of time when you'd like to dive the lake, I'm willing to dive with you if you let me know ahead of time, if I'm in town, and don't have a buddy already arranged. I have a season pass for the boats, so I'm out on the boat most weekends, both days.
Please let me know if you have any more questions. PM if you like. I'm not trying to scare you off. Just being honest and laying it all out there. There's nothing I like more than diving my beloved Great Lakes wrecks. It's actually bordering on an obsession. If people let me, I can go on and on.