Illinois divers, check in

[NaCL H2O Boy]

MgicTwnger once bubbled...


35 degrees at 90'. My suit lost a lot of it's insulating properties at that depth.

Ouch! Yep, I'd say a 7mm wouldn't cut it at that temp. I'm getting chilled just thinking about it.

 

[NaCL H2O Boy]

jreihl once bubbled...
I live in the city and have been to Haigh Quarry, Pearl Lake, and some wreck diving out of Milwaukee. If you are interested in wreck diving, I hear there are some great books by Chris Kohl.

I was certified this summer and have been using Scubaboard to find buddies. I have met up with some great people from this website.

Happy diving.

All of my freshwater diving has been done at Haigh. How is Pearl Lake? I've heard that Pearl has freshwater jellyfish, so I've been dying to see if it's true.

 

[SwimJim]

I dove the Willy with Jerry Guyer last summer, and nothing was said about needing a pony rig. Is thiat like a cold weather thing?

If you take a gander at Jerrys web site, you'll find that this is one of his requirements for diving off his boat in winter. Not a bad idea really as regulators do have a nasty tendency to freeze up in winter. As you guessed, its a cold weather thing.
The shop I got certified for ice diving required a pony rig. The club I belong to does not.
A freeze up occurs in the first stage. On most reg's the first stage will freeze open causing a free flow that cannot be stopped short of turning off the tank valve. You must take the second stage out of your mouth and "sip" air off of it until you either get your buddies octo or switch to your pony. If you don't, the air shooting through the freeflow is so cold that you can get frost bite on your gums. Not a good thing.
You can cut down the chance of a freeze up by having your reg maintained, in my case having a cold water diving kit installed(seals the 1st stage), and not over breathing your reg. Also, when its real cold out, do not breath or even test your reg until your in the water.
Take an ice diving class and you'll learn all the ins and outs.

Dive safe

Jim

 

[erich]

Hantzu701 and I made e-mail acquaintances on this board last week and this morning we dove Haigh. Hantzu701 has a shiny new Whites Nexus Shell suit and I had a 3 mil + 7 mil contraption. I was really psyched to "tough" out the cold, but to my amazement I had no trouble with the water temp. I even had my cooler of hot water for the suit preheat and I didn’t need it (warm water surface interval was nice though for the feet). All in all I met a very good dive buddy in Hantzu and had a great time. To tell you the truth I would be back tomorrow in a heartbeat, only six- eight divers all day and two very enjoyable dives.

 

[NaCL H2O Boy]

erich once bubbled...
Hantzu701 and I made e-mail acquaintances on this board last week and this morning we dove Haigh. Hantzu701 has a shiny new Whites Nexus Shell suit and I had a 3 mil + 7 mil contraption. I was really psyched to "tough" out the cold, but to my amazement I had no trouble with the water temp. I even had my cooler of hot water for the suit preheat and I didn’t need it (warm water surface interval was nice though for the feet). All in all I met a very good dive buddy in Hantzu and had a great time. To tell you the truth I would be back tomorrow in a heartbeat, only six- eight divers all day and two very enjoyable dives.

What was the temp, and how was the vis? I would imagine that the vis would be fairly decent if there were that many divers out there. If they stay open much longer, I might try taking another drive over there.

 

[jreihl]

I was also at Haigh this morning. The vis was 15-20+. The water temp was approx. 48 degrees. Saw a huge northern pike, large catfish, and a turtle just hanging out.

Great day for diving! It didn't start raining until we were packing up. Unfortunately Haigh closes next Sunday for the season.

 

[diverjed]

Just checking in.

Chicagoland diver looking to go diving.

Anytime, anywhere.

How goes Jason?

 

[Backtanner]

Since I am somewhat new to the Midwest and have only dove California and Maui just how warm do the inland lakes (Haigh quarry or Pearl lake) around the Chicago area get in the warmer months. Just the thought of ice diving sends shivers down my spine (pun definately intended)!

 

[theskull]

In late summer the surface temp can reach 90 F. A thermocline at 20 or 30 ft. will divide the temp to 55 - 70 F depending on the source (spring-fed waters will still be colder at depth). If you go deep enough you'll find a second thermocline and temps as low as 35 F in some lakes.

Hope you'll continue to dive and learn to love the cool waters, as we do. Perhaps a dry suit is in your future?

theskull

 

[crawford]

Better late than never.....

Another Springfield guy here, though more than half my dives this year were in the southeast (and heading back to Northern Florida end of December).

Transplanted southerner still adapting to cold water.......