August is fast approaching, and It is time to get out of the quarries and into the lakes. My club has the LenDer reserved for the weekend of August 11-12 for two tank diving starting at 8am. We will be diving on the LenDer, one of the best
boats for diving in southern Milwaukee. Captain Jerry is highly regarded
by the local wreck diving community, and he seems like a real nice guy
from the conversations we had on the phone while planning this trip. Both
days will feature one 2-tank boat dive leaving at 8am. The cost for each
day is normally $90, but we are receiving a discount to $75/day. If we
can manage to get 12 divers, the price will drop to $67/day. The boat
should be back into the docks by 1PM on Sunday, so we will be able to
drive back home after the dives on Sunday. As is typical of
Great Lakes charters, you are responsible for your own equipment,
including tanks and weights. Air fills will be available at the dock,
and nitrox is also available. According the the website, you air fills
are included in the price of diving, but I have not confirmed this with
Jerry.
The area around Milwaukee is very popular for wreck diving. There are
more than 25 wrecks that are visited by the Len Der alone. By far the
most popular is the Prins Willem V; popularly known as the "Willie".
This former Dutch freighter was so destined to be a wreck dive that she
was actually sunk twice! The first time she sank was at the start of
WWII. The Netherlands sunk her in shallow water to pose a navigation
hazard for the invading Germans, and also to prevent her capture. After
the War, she was raised and completed to serve as a trans-Atlantic
package Freighter. She braved the rough Atlantic for about a dozen years
before colliding with the Barge Sinclair in 1957, and sinking in 80ffw.
You can dive her now, and after 50 years of being on the bottom, she is
still completely intact; the cold, fresh water preserving her almost
perfectly for half a century. Her Deck rises to 55 feet, and her masts
come even higher. Popular sights are he bow, with the letters "PRINS
WILLEM V, AMSTERDAM" still proudly displayed on her upper hull. Also
popular are her wheelhouse, and masts, which appear in many photographs
on the Len Der's website. See here for more info on the
Willie:
http://www.len-der.com/shipwreck/wreck/willie.php
So, what's the diving like in Milwaukee? The water is not the carribean.
Visibility is better than most places the club goes, but a good day is
still only 30-45ft. The worst it gets can be 5-10, but tends to be
better the farther offshore you get. If conditions are challenging, we
will rely on Captain Jerry to find the best place he can for us. Water
temperture this time of the year can be a crapshoot. The bottom of lake
Michigan is pretty much constantly around 40degrees. Fortunately, Lake
Michigan goes down to
800+ feet, so we will only be in the comparative shallows. The surface
800+ can
get as hot as 90 degrees this time of year if the conditions are calm,
and the sun is hot. If the wind blows south, it can push all the hot
water down South, and the entire water column can be in the mid-80s. If
the wind blows north, it will take all that warm surface water North,
and pull up some cold bottom water for us! So the best bet is to bring
some flexible exposure protection. Diving Dry, and bringing some varied
undergarments is probably the safest bet, but a 7mm with a hooded vest
should also be a pretty versatile combination.
Lodging is left at the discretion of those interested, and
transportation can be arranged into carpools for anyone interested once
we figure out who is coming. I am opening up the charter to anyone outside the club, in the hopes we can
get enough people to get the reduced rate. If I can get the reduced
rate, everyone will receive a partial refund of their shares ($67/day
instead of $75.)
Tom
PS I originally posted this last week, but the site was down. If interested, contact me by PM asap. We still have about four slots open on the boat, and it will be First come first served for anyone who is interested.
boats for diving in southern Milwaukee. Captain Jerry is highly regarded
by the local wreck diving community, and he seems like a real nice guy
from the conversations we had on the phone while planning this trip. Both
days will feature one 2-tank boat dive leaving at 8am. The cost for each
day is normally $90, but we are receiving a discount to $75/day. If we
can manage to get 12 divers, the price will drop to $67/day. The boat
should be back into the docks by 1PM on Sunday, so we will be able to
drive back home after the dives on Sunday. As is typical of
Great Lakes charters, you are responsible for your own equipment,
including tanks and weights. Air fills will be available at the dock,
and nitrox is also available. According the the website, you air fills
are included in the price of diving, but I have not confirmed this with
Jerry.
The area around Milwaukee is very popular for wreck diving. There are
more than 25 wrecks that are visited by the Len Der alone. By far the
most popular is the Prins Willem V; popularly known as the "Willie".
This former Dutch freighter was so destined to be a wreck dive that she
was actually sunk twice! The first time she sank was at the start of
WWII. The Netherlands sunk her in shallow water to pose a navigation
hazard for the invading Germans, and also to prevent her capture. After
the War, she was raised and completed to serve as a trans-Atlantic
package Freighter. She braved the rough Atlantic for about a dozen years
before colliding with the Barge Sinclair in 1957, and sinking in 80ffw.
You can dive her now, and after 50 years of being on the bottom, she is
still completely intact; the cold, fresh water preserving her almost
perfectly for half a century. Her Deck rises to 55 feet, and her masts
come even higher. Popular sights are he bow, with the letters "PRINS
WILLEM V, AMSTERDAM" still proudly displayed on her upper hull. Also
popular are her wheelhouse, and masts, which appear in many photographs
on the Len Der's website. See here for more info on the
Willie:
http://www.len-der.com/shipwreck/wreck/willie.php
So, what's the diving like in Milwaukee? The water is not the carribean.
Visibility is better than most places the club goes, but a good day is
still only 30-45ft. The worst it gets can be 5-10, but tends to be
better the farther offshore you get. If conditions are challenging, we
will rely on Captain Jerry to find the best place he can for us. Water
temperture this time of the year can be a crapshoot. The bottom of lake
Michigan is pretty much constantly around 40degrees. Fortunately, Lake
Michigan goes down to
800+ feet, so we will only be in the comparative shallows. The surface
800+ can
get as hot as 90 degrees this time of year if the conditions are calm,
and the sun is hot. If the wind blows south, it can push all the hot
water down South, and the entire water column can be in the mid-80s. If
the wind blows north, it will take all that warm surface water North,
and pull up some cold bottom water for us! So the best bet is to bring
some flexible exposure protection. Diving Dry, and bringing some varied
undergarments is probably the safest bet, but a 7mm with a hooded vest
should also be a pretty versatile combination.
Lodging is left at the discretion of those interested, and
transportation can be arranged into carpools for anyone interested once
we figure out who is coming. I am opening up the charter to anyone outside the club, in the hopes we can
get enough people to get the reduced rate. If I can get the reduced
rate, everyone will receive a partial refund of their shares ($67/day
instead of $75.)
Tom
PS I originally posted this last week, but the site was down. If interested, contact me by PM asap. We still have about four slots open on the boat, and it will be First come first served for anyone who is interested.
