In need of vast amounts of education

[pcarlson1911]

Hey folks -
I am new to the sport, however I have been badly bitten.

I recently returned from a drive trip to Jamaica, and (not wanting to sound full of myself) Diving seems to come naturally to me.

I am a short drive from Lake Erie and have acess to a 27' boat and chaters. I am a teacher and would like to spend my summer diving the wrecks of erie and the great lakes.

A road trip is in the planning stages to hit alpena, harbor springs, the straights, whitefish point, and the keewenau penn. maybe the west shore of lake mi on the way home.

My Goals are:
1. to log 75+ dives this summer
2. to be a safe independent Great lakes diver (including superior)
3. to have a full compliment of equipment by the end of the season.

I have:
Tanks, mask fins snorkels, bcd, 3mm full (iknow it's not enough)

What do I need to know?
What do I need to get?

I am purposefull leaving this as open as possible. I am very comfortable in the water which could be seen as a plus, but I'm worried that I am over confident.

give me the real scoop please.

 

[Dean810]

#1. You need more dives, so get going!
#2. More thermal protection. You already know that. Many of us get drysuits, for which you will need a little training on. You might be fine with a 7mm wetsuit in shallower waters after the lake warms up, but that would really cut back on my season.

If you haven't dived in a lake yet, try some quarries to get a feel for it. Viz will be less than I am sure you experienced in Jamaica, plus bouyancy will be noticably different.

You seem to have the basic equipment, although you didn't mention gages. You will decide what else you need as you go.

But nothing beats just diving more to find out what you need to learn!

 

[SwimJim]

I would suggest you do an internet search to find and join a local club. The local guys will clue you in to what works in your area. You will also gain access to local guys and gals to dive with. Most often finding a good dive buddy is the hardest part of diving. Have fun, dive safe.

Jim

 

[pcarlson1911]

Got the dive buddy taken care of, I married her right before Jamaica.Came back w/o a tan. No sun at 40 feet below.

I am looking for a club though, we would rather dive with a group of people.Safer, learn more, and gas has never been cheap at the marina.

I'm thinking about 7mm withhood and gloves for me and a two piece 6.5 for her with hood and gloves. Diving for us will start in late april and contiue through mid october?

I am stuck on regulators and guages. From what I have read here and other places, what works in warm water might not in cold. Diving in Superior will likely be a yearly experience.

I'm looking at a MAres abyss with analog guages now, and after we learn the tables, wrist computers to max our time.

pc

 

[Tavi]

If you're that serious about diving the Great Lakes don't waste your $ on wetsuits. Go Dry!!

 

[caverdave]

Hi Paul.

There's no real quick advise on any of this... other than "go diving" and in many cases even that is "all to simple".

I must say I'm jealous, boat, summers off, and built in dive buddy...

Have you done much research on how deep you are planning on going? In some respects this will start hinting on where your needs might be. For instance if you have no intention of going deeper than say 60' or so then its a different list of potential requirements as opposed to someone that is thinking about one day doing deeper dives beyond the normal recreational level.

On the wetsuit. I picked up a 3mm farmer at the suggestion of the LDS, and found it a bit chilly, so then went to a 7mm, found it to be a PITA as far as bouyancy characteristics and soon found myself realizing why folks were diving dry.

Gilboa Quarry is not all that far from you. Lots of good folks going there and makes for great place to try out skills, equipment etc... Might be a good first exposure to cooler water.

If you are working/talking with one particular dive shop. I'd probably encourage you to talk to some others. Gets lots of opinions, and ask lots of "why's" to those opinions. And pay particular attention to the answer to the "why's". Some of my local dive shops have very tailored responses, they aren't "wrong" just that their diving didn't match where I was wanting and/or able to dive (closest shop goes to Bonair regularly and doesn't seem to go local except for check out dives once a year... I can't do bonair yet, and enjoy diving enough that once a year check out dives didn't cut it). If and/or when you find a shop or group of people that are doing exactly the things you are wanting to do, then pay attention to what they are using and doing. Until then keep researching...

If "tech" is potentially in your future, then you may want to keep posing questions and closely listening... You are almost perfectly positioned though, there are a wide number of shops and people (non affiliated with a shop) that I'm sure can help.

Not sure if I've answered anything or not... hopefully it was worth reading...

If interested I'm trying to convince myself and a couple other local buddies to head up to Gilboa on the 18,19th of March. And/or there is a dive show in Detroit on the 18th of March- - dedicated to the great lakes... what a fantastic place to get more information...

DUI does a "dog day" demo at Gilboa in the spring. A very nice opportunity to try out dry diving and a wide variety pack of drysuits (all made by DUI). If dry is a possibility for you (almost has to be in my opinion- - Tavi said it best), then this would certainly be worth looking into.


Dave

ohhh and just because I can't shut up... it never ceases to amaze me that every dive shop I've been in recommends what they sell, and almost never seems to suggest something they don't sell. Lots of them selling "tech gear" and yet haven't done tech diving for years... make sure of who you are talking too...

hey at least I'll tell you I don't know anything. I don't. But I can share my experiences (limited as they are) and hopefully you can learn from them...

ok, I think I've given enough fodder to the "flamers" for now...

Dave

Got the dive buddy taken care of, I married her right before Jamaica.Came back w/o a tan. No sun at 40 feet below.

I am looking for a club though, we would rather dive with a group of people.Safer, learn more, and gas has never been cheap at the marina.

I'm thinking about 7mm withhood and gloves for me and a two piece 6.5 for her with hood and gloves. Diving for us will start in late april and contiue through mid october?

I am stuck on regulators and guages. From what I have read here and other places, what works in warm water might not in cold. Diving in Superior will likely be a yearly experience.

I'm looking at a MAres abyss with analog guages now, and after we learn the tables, wrist computers to max our time.

pc

 

[SDAnderson]

You don't say how much training you have but, at the very least, you should get trained through Rescue. For someone looking to seriously dive the Great Lakes, a wreck class (with or without penetration) is a good idea to - wrecks can bite even if you never go inside them. With the schedule you have planned, nitrox will help you spend more time in the water but it might not be "required."

It sounds like you're doing the Michigan loop which is a fine way to get started. I would probably do it differently, looping Lake Huron with stops at Alpena, St. Ignace, Paradise, Tobermorey and Long Point. All in all, it's better diving and about the same number of miles, though you'll have to spend some time drinking Canadian beer. If you don't already have a copy, check out The 100 BEST Great Lakes Shipwrecks, Volume I and The Great Lakes Diving Guide, both by Cris Kohl. They're excellent references, including semi-accurate LORAN and GPS information for oodles of wrecks.

You're going to want a good drysuit for this adventure. A wetsuit simply isn't going to be warm enough for all the diving you have planned. Don't cut corners on safety gear for the boat and for the water, it can get rough out there. Also, if you're going to do this from your own boat, you'll need sonar, GPS, LORAN and radio gear and to know how to use them.

Let us know how the adventure goes, we're all insanely jealous. Well, at least I am.

 

[pcarlson1911]

Dave - Thanks for the meaty post.

As far as depth goes, I will certainly be staying inside the recreational limits. Nitrox is a possibility in the future, but for the coming 365 days, I wil opt for 19%. I have made the decision to only buy gear that is nitrox compatible.

On staying warm. I am hearing loud and clear the push for dry, and I will say you are probably right. I have a line on a 7mm for $150. The cost of going dry would mean no diving this year. Unless someone can argue a big safety risk, we will have to deal with the lack of convieniece of 7mm for me and a two piece 6.5 for her.

I am looking to join a diving clubin the area in addition to visiting local diveshops to seek out those that are doing what I want to do. I have leared in previous life experiences that equipment purchase mistakes can be costly.

Iwon't be geared up in March, and I 'm saving my pennies to dive, so I will have to pass on Gilboa, but interestingly enough I will be in Detroit that weekend, so the dive show is a definate go. Do you know it's location? Novi Expo center?

Your final comment about equipment is interesting. "My Dive Shop" is a small one that only carries one regulator. The Mares abyss. The shop "highly reccomends it."

thanks for the response Dave.
pc

 

[pcarlson1911]

reefraff -
I couldn't agree more regarding education. Currently only open water, I have done the night and deep dives for adanced ow. Next will be wrecks. Rescue is an excellent idea and should be prettystraightforward as I lived in a lifeguard stand every summer from 16-25.

My trip route is partially determined by the fact that I attended Michigan Tech in Houghton. Iwant to intro my wife to my "northern roots" So, that leads us right to the copper country. The Huron loop will be in the future.

I agree with you on the dry suit. I do want one. Want is the key word. The reality is with the summer off as a teacher comes a matching salary. I think we will make it with wetsuits, hoods and gloves. dry will be for 2007.

Safety gear while diving will consist of a sausage, a whistle, a signal mirror, snorkle, and knife. anything else that shouldn't be left behind?

Talk to me about safety gear for the boat. It isn't mine, and I'm a safety nut. First aid kit, fire ex, pfds, are obvious. If you were heading to the middle of lake Erie with me what else would you want on board?

Thanks reef.
pc

 

[SDAnderson]

Safety gear while diving will consist of a sausage, a whistle, a signal mirror, snorkle, and knife. anything else that shouldn't be left behind?

If conditions are good and you're going to be close enough to swim to shore, that's probably enough for a personal rescue pack. If not, each diver should also have a strobe and a dye pack.

Talk to me about safety gear for the boat. It isn't mine, and I'm a safety nut. First aid kit, fire ex, pfds, are obvious. If you were heading to the middle of lake Erie with me what else would you want on board?

An O2 kit and an epirb plus the radio. Though Erie can be pretty tough in a stiff west wind, Superior is the one you never turn your back on. If you haven't taken a boater safety course, add that to your To Do list.