Lake Huron/Port Sanilac Trip Report

[tiggrr]

Went diving with some friends in Port Sanilac this weekend. We used Four Fathoms dive shop and charter and they were great!

Four Fathoms. Scuba Equipment, Training, Michigan Wreck Diving.

The shop has 2 rooms with 6 bunks, 2 bathrooms, a full kitchen, living area with 2 couchs, and a balcony with a grill. $25 a night to stay after diving your brains out! We brought our own food and even left some beer for our Captain John. Sure did make it easier to do 6 dives and not stress too much about the surface stuff. I was even able to do a load of wash so I could be super fresh for Sundays dives. lol

We rolled in Friday night and made a dive plan for the morning. As we were getting ready, a nice thunderstorm rolled in and we just waited for the ok from Capt'n John and we were off at a reasonable time.

The first 2 dives were my old favs...The Regina and Mary Alice B. The weather stayed calm and relatively flat.

Couldn't get the Regina all in one shot!

Got a decent shot of the Prop.

Had some fun on the Mary Alice B playing in the wheel house.

 

[tiggrr]

After a hefty lunch and fills at the dive shop, we scooted about 20 min down the road to Lexington to dive the Charles S Price and the Sport. It was a beautiful sunny drive to the dock and everything looked great when we went in. Tom and I were diving singles so, we popped into the first hatch of the swim thru and had some fun navigating thru. The 4 other guys in doubles dipped into the 2nd 'larger' hatch. Here's a few from the Price..

Pickens doing his thang....

When we came up, the weather had changed to 1-3ft and a hefty thunderstorm rolling in. It was a little cramped on the Minnow sized dive boat trying to stay warm. One it cleared, we hit the Sport and it was an awesome dive!! The warmest of the weekend! Awesome because it was a lot of fun with my fav dive buds. Playing with the Gobis and general goofing around. Unfortunately, my camera died right before we got in so....no pics.

 

[tiggrr]

Had a hefty dinner and got some good rest for the deep/cold dives of the weekend. The day was perfect. High 70's, sunny, and flat as a mirror water! This was my first dive on the New York so, I chose to leave my camera and concentrate on the dive. My bud Tom brought his pony bottle and I spent most of the dive glued to his right side. Right next to his pony. It was freakin cold. I wore a 7mil Farmer Jane Henderson Hyperstretch with a 3mil Pinnacle hooded vest and a 5 mil Henderson Hyperstretch hood. Also, 7mil boots with socks and some 5 mil gloves. My only complaint is that I need better gloves. I'm looking forward to the New York again so I can enjoy it a little more next time.

Here's Tom and his beloved Pony.

The Col B Williams was by far my favorite wreck of the weekend. I wish I had the book but, from what I recall...it sank in the mid to late 1800's and its wood. haha It was the only wreck that had that Pirateship look about it. I'm just saying that is what I liked about it. The Zebra Mussels are kind of thin this year and you could see the grain of the wood in some areas. Got a couple of nice pics.

Here are my numbers for the weekend.

1. Regina 73 ft 32 min 52 degrees
2. Mary Alice B 85 ft 25 min 49 degrees
3. Charles S. Price 51 ft 29 min 53 degrees
4. Sport 45 ft 39 min 56 degrees
5. New York 110 ft 26 min 43 degrees
6. Col. A.B. Williams 75 ft 28 min 49 degrees

I had a great time and can't wait to go back!

 

[erparamedic]

Nice report, Tig.... hmmm... did I see this someplace else too?

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Great report Tiggrr! It was a great trip. Thanks for coordinating everything and all you did for us while we were up there! You're a sweetie!

 

[Jchoby]

I agree. Great trip report!

 

[gtxl1200]

Very nice I have dove all of those wrecks. I have also used Four fathoms in the past. When did they get a rental to rent?

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Very nice I have dove all of those wrecks. I have also used Four fathoms in the past. When did they get a rental to rent?

He's actually turned two rooms in the back of the shop into small bunk rooms. One has two 2-bed bunks and one has one. Also, upstairs there is a huge living area with two pull-out sofas, a full kitchen and a nice porch with a gas grill. It also has two full bathrooms. It is just about perfect for a group of six. Also, since he trailers the boat, it's right there to load before heading out. It really couldn't have been much better!

Here's a link to Tiggrr's post on Zendiving.com. It has a few more pictures, including some of yours truly.

 

[Jchoby]

I will have to go back and do some of those dives again. The bunk house deal sounds great....makes getting fills and getting ready to head a snap. I will have to see about setting up a trip in the near future as I missed the Regina the last time I was there.

 

[Tiny Bubbles]

Hey, who turned the REGINA right side up?

Nice trip report.