Great Lakes diving for beginners

[Marie13]

Know exactly what you mean - unclip a shoulder strap, chest clip, waist clip and finally last shoulder clip if you have to. Usually only unclipping the one shoulder strap makes it really easy to roll out of your BC, sometimes do both though - way easier on the lower back coming up the ladder for me.

I dive a BP/W. There are no shoulder clips to unclip.

 

[Marie13]

The Wreck Diver out St Ignas Michigan

St. Ignace.

 

[ChuckP]

I dive a BP/W. There are no shoulder clips to unclip.

Uggh - forgot about that. I know someone makes them that way cause I looked at them sometime ago. My computer gets caught also, even when it's the last arm out but my back loves the feeling...

 

[JEEP PIRATE 08]

I want to dive torch lake off of Lake MI, has anyone been there? how is it? is it worth driving from TN to dive it?

 

[Stoo]

I witnessed a free flow at 80 ft when a student with brand new reg assummed that expensive means cold water proof. Wrong! It still needs an optional cold water kit installed. Only sherwood air leak system is freeze proof. Even then, be ready for it.

There are lots of good options in cold water regs. A lot has to do with tuning as well. Typically, most recreational diving in the summer won't be faced with this. In May, absolutely.

 

[Marie13]

I was asked how you get used to cold water.

Easy - you dive it early and often! Get in the closest quarry or small inland lake right after it opens in April. Temps of 45F will stand you in good stead when you dive the Lakes later in the season.

Diving wet: I’d do a Bare Evoke 7mm, Lavacore hooded vest with my regular 5mm hood on top. 5mm boots with neoprene socks inside. Rash guard over my bathing suit. Good coat for the boat. The $150 I paid for my Surf-fur was worth every penny. I always did 3mm gloves as I wanted some dexterity. I could deal with slightly chilly fingers.

Diving dry: plenty of threads on proper drysuit undies. Cotton bad. Merino wool good. I’m trying out my wool base layer for the first time this weekend. Dry gloves are a necessity.

Fleece hat if it’s really cold topside.

 

[Marie13]

To give you an idea of the weather on the Lakes right now. First pic of Chicago forecast in Lake Michigan, and the second is Thunder Bay in Lake Huron.

 

[Stoo]

I dive a BP/W. There are no shoulder clips to unclip.

There can be. We dive from RHIBS here, so dump out tanks in the water and haul them in after. I just put a "weight-belt buckle" on my left shoulder. Others have those plastic clip things.

It's not "hogarthian' but in 20 years, I've cut two shoulder straps on guys that got their arms pinned behind them with no reg in their face and were about to start drowning ;-)

 

[Stoo]

Weather you say? I shot this 30 years ago in early December, near Tobermory. Those cliffs are 70' high.

 

[maj2]

Weather you say? I shot this 30 years ago in early December, near Tobermory. Those cliffs are 70' high.

My parents built a place near Stokes Bay (not far from Tobermory) on Lake Huron in the late 1980s. They left most of the trees between the house and the lake standing for protection.

Their neighbour built around the same time, but clear cut everything between the house and the shore. They came up one weekend during the build after a good November/December storm (probably one just like those photos) to find their newly (and probably poorly) installed windows blown in and their broken remains lying on the floors of each room that faced the lake.

If you took those shots 30 years ago, it might even have been the same storm. Timing would have been about right.

Once the place was built, I always enjoyed watching those storms come in over Lake Huron. That side of the Bruce Peninsula had a flat topography, though, so you never got the waves smashing into the cliffs quite like that. Still impressive though...