Wisconsin
May 22, 02 my wife Sandy and I dove the wreck of the Wisconsin in Lake Michigan. The Wisconsin is a freighter that sank in 1929 (I think). The wreck sits upright in 130 ft with the railing at about 100 ft. The wreck is intact with the super structure gone and the deck collapsed in places. There are several vintage vehicles in the hold and seeing them was the objective of our dive. This same dive was called due to weather last week. It was almost canceled this time due to weather and the lack of other divers. We solved the problem of the other divers by offering to pay more ourselves. We dont have much free time so we didnt want to reschedule. Besides we wouldnt let the scheduling of this dive interfere with our cave diving. Not having other divers solved the weather problem. They were forecasting 4 6 foot seas, which is something we are accustomed to so the decision was made to go. Not having other divers to consider made the go/no go decision easier (possible). Six footers in the lakes are meaner than six footers in the ocean. The dive was made with 20/30 trimix and O2 for deco. We planned a max depth of 130 with a max bottom time of 30 min. Im told its possible to hit almost 150 inside but the cars were our objective. Tables were cut with Voyager and deep stops (ok, the dive wasnt deep) added manually. We descended on the line just far enough to get out of the rough surface conditions, performed S-drill and last min. checks and down we went. The entry to the hold is just below the mid-ship mooring. Visibility was great so we took a moment on deck to take in the sight of that huge ship spread out before us then headed over the side to the hole. After a brief survey of the entry we signaled OK and entered. I tied off just inside and slowly moved off toward the vehicles installing a secondary tie off a few feet further in. This area of the ship is a real obstacle course with pipes planks and other debris protruding from all directions. The slightest touch will raise a cloud of extremely fine silt. This dive is a true test of a divers anti-silting technique. It looks like the room was designed to shred dive equipment. I spotted the first vehicle after going only a few feet. If I knew exactly where to look I probably could have seen it from just inside the entrance. The car is partially buried and the view blocked by debris so we worked our way toward the rear of the vehicle. After a short distance I realized I had lost interest in the cars and was having a ball negotiating the debris, running the line and just poking around. No it wasnt narcosis, I was diving 20/30 trimix remember. It also occurred to me that the debris seemed to get thicker in the direction we were going and eventually we would have to turn around. I found a spot where I could turn so I did. Sandy appeared disappointed that I was turning but I prefer to learn a wreck or cave through progressive penetrations. Sandy backed up a ways and turned also. Upon reaching the exit we noticed that the rout around the other side of the vehicles looks clearer. There is a large pile of debris to pass but it looks as though it clears beyond. Well check that rout on the next dive. We exited about 18 min into the dive. We ascended the short distance to the deck and stopped to review our schedule. We had schedules for 10, 20, 30 and 40 min. We chose to start our ascent on the 20 min schedule rather than extending our tour and with it our hang time. Surface temps are low making long hangs uncomfortable. One must forget something on every trip and this trip was no exception. I left my dry suit booties at home and my feet were down right frigid. After another brief pause to enjoy the deck view we began our ascent. There was a mild current, just enough to make it a pain to hold position and with the way the line was bouncing holding on to it would be a rodeo ride. This was not a good day for long deco, at least not the way we were rigged.
Note to self: dont deco on mooring line or .try diving in nice weather.
We will plan a longer dive on this wreck later in the season when we can deco in warmer water.
May 22, 02 my wife Sandy and I dove the wreck of the Wisconsin in Lake Michigan. The Wisconsin is a freighter that sank in 1929 (I think). The wreck sits upright in 130 ft with the railing at about 100 ft. The wreck is intact with the super structure gone and the deck collapsed in places. There are several vintage vehicles in the hold and seeing them was the objective of our dive. This same dive was called due to weather last week. It was almost canceled this time due to weather and the lack of other divers. We solved the problem of the other divers by offering to pay more ourselves. We dont have much free time so we didnt want to reschedule. Besides we wouldnt let the scheduling of this dive interfere with our cave diving. Not having other divers solved the weather problem. They were forecasting 4 6 foot seas, which is something we are accustomed to so the decision was made to go. Not having other divers to consider made the go/no go decision easier (possible). Six footers in the lakes are meaner than six footers in the ocean. The dive was made with 20/30 trimix and O2 for deco. We planned a max depth of 130 with a max bottom time of 30 min. Im told its possible to hit almost 150 inside but the cars were our objective. Tables were cut with Voyager and deep stops (ok, the dive wasnt deep) added manually. We descended on the line just far enough to get out of the rough surface conditions, performed S-drill and last min. checks and down we went. The entry to the hold is just below the mid-ship mooring. Visibility was great so we took a moment on deck to take in the sight of that huge ship spread out before us then headed over the side to the hole. After a brief survey of the entry we signaled OK and entered. I tied off just inside and slowly moved off toward the vehicles installing a secondary tie off a few feet further in. This area of the ship is a real obstacle course with pipes planks and other debris protruding from all directions. The slightest touch will raise a cloud of extremely fine silt. This dive is a true test of a divers anti-silting technique. It looks like the room was designed to shred dive equipment. I spotted the first vehicle after going only a few feet. If I knew exactly where to look I probably could have seen it from just inside the entrance. The car is partially buried and the view blocked by debris so we worked our way toward the rear of the vehicle. After a short distance I realized I had lost interest in the cars and was having a ball negotiating the debris, running the line and just poking around. No it wasnt narcosis, I was diving 20/30 trimix remember. It also occurred to me that the debris seemed to get thicker in the direction we were going and eventually we would have to turn around. I found a spot where I could turn so I did. Sandy appeared disappointed that I was turning but I prefer to learn a wreck or cave through progressive penetrations. Sandy backed up a ways and turned also. Upon reaching the exit we noticed that the rout around the other side of the vehicles looks clearer. There is a large pile of debris to pass but it looks as though it clears beyond. Well check that rout on the next dive. We exited about 18 min into the dive. We ascended the short distance to the deck and stopped to review our schedule. We had schedules for 10, 20, 30 and 40 min. We chose to start our ascent on the 20 min schedule rather than extending our tour and with it our hang time. Surface temps are low making long hangs uncomfortable. One must forget something on every trip and this trip was no exception. I left my dry suit booties at home and my feet were down right frigid. After another brief pause to enjoy the deck view we began our ascent. There was a mild current, just enough to make it a pain to hold position and with the way the line was bouncing holding on to it would be a rodeo ride. This was not a good day for long deco, at least not the way we were rigged.
Note to self: dont deco on mooring line or .try diving in nice weather.
We will plan a longer dive on this wreck later in the season when we can deco in warmer water.
