Kyle SPangler

[ComputerJoe]

Dove her Tuesday on a very wet and chilly day, the wind came up 1 hr after we returned. Presque Isle now requires $6 to launch a boat at their launch, $24 will buy you a year pass.

Viz was crap until we cleared the thermocline...at 150'. Then we had 40+ feet. Sure was comfortable at the deep stop right on up to 10'. I don't believe it, but my new DiveRite Trio says our low temp was 50 degrees, that would make it about 60+ degrees down to 150' by my recogning, I doubt that but then I was plenty warm hmmm...

Artifacts keep appearing on her overhead, there is quite a family of jugs and things arranged up there for the less adventurous to examine, I sure hope no one drops an anchor on them or worse.

Weather has been hit and miss, miss, and miss again but we had a 6 hour window we made use of. There is only one mooring remaining on the bow, and I half thought about sinking the surface float for the winter but they are Stan's moorings and so I left it alone and hope Indian Summer is on its way. The sub-surface float was 1/3 filled with water and holding it's own. Freighters pass pretty close and we had one as we arrived and another pass just as we surfaced. Traffic appears to be picking up.

 

[Thunder Bay Minnow]

Joe,

I heard the sanctuary expansion was aproved by congress.

That wreck would now be in it. Correct?

But it sounds as if divers are already conserving the artifacts by leaving them for all to see.

I know I have heard NOAA having issues with the "gathering" of the artifacts. But the concern you showed is the same as I have heard from them. One anchor and a whole pile of artifacts are gone!

Jeff

 

[alpenadiver]

Jeff, the latest I had read was the the expansion bill has passed the House, and it was moved on to Congress. It is nice that divers are leaving artifacts, however without a proper mooring buoy to tie off too on the surface, a swinging anchor from 180' above will not be kind to any glass or crockery artifacts sitting on the decks. Until the Lake Carriers, and NOAA come up with a compromise on buoys near the shipping channels.

 

[dab]

There is no reason for anyone to "drop an anchor" or anything else on the deeper wrecks in this area. They all have good moorings with subfloats, are generally cared for by those who visit them on a regular basis and all of them have great artifacts to see.

 

[alpenadiver]

dab, I agree wholeheartedly, however if a group of divers who have never dove up here, and use there own boat, might not be aware of the sub-surface buoy, or the line attached may no longer be there. Then they opt for "plan B" drop the anchor. It's going to happen.

 

[ComputerJoe]

First, the House of Reps had passed a Bill to expand Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary to encompass all the waters out to the International border with Canada extending east from southern Alcona County and Northern Presque Isle County. The Senate has yet to act on their Bill to do the same.

Secondly, ALL the wrecks in that area do not have good moorings! Those that were there this year are Spangler, Windiate, Florida. That leaves Norman, Typo, Defiance, and Audubon without moorings. They come and go and those without in all likelyhood still have the poly attached and wrapped around a mast or something from an earlier attempt.

If only a surface jug is placed it is common for the line to get cut or the float to flood and head for the bottom. If a sub-surface jug is placed it is more resilient but if the tag line acquires a growth of algae without a float that two will sink.

The way Stan has been doing it is by far the best way, allowing for a subsurface buoy to remain year round, sinking the surface float in the late Fall, and in the Spring a live boat dive to 20' to refloat the surface tag line is all that is needed.

No one in his right mind would drop an anchor if there is a visible mooring. Problem is that most are not aware that there very well may be a sub-surface buoy at 20' only needing to have its float refloated. Even though they may be aware of the sub-surface float without very accurate GPS numbers it would be very hard locating it with a coating of algae camouflaging it.

 

[dab]

dab, I agree wholeheartedly, however if a group of divers who have never dove up here, and use there own boat, might not be aware of the sub-surface buoy, or the line attached may no longer be there. Then they opt for "plan B" drop the anchor. It's going to happen.

I suppose there are a lot of things that could happen, but I see this as a rather unlikely scenario. I've spent a lot of time on these wrecks, especially over the last 5 years, helped repair/replace some of the subfloats and surface lines. I've not noticed any damage to the smaller schnooers due to anchors or other man made events. Most of the divers I've encountered qualified to make these dives have a great deal of respect for them.