Mystery Bouy off Hope Island

[Juggernaut]

Sorry for the lack of nautical teminology but I am recounting this from memory.
My brother and I left the Cedar Beach dock going towards Hope Island near Penetang.
I believe we where heading to the Michigan?
We went up the 'left hand' side of the island, the opposite direction one would go to reach the 'lighthouse'.
On the way we passed a black bouy with some markings on the float. We thought this looked interesting and decided to dive down and see what was down there on our way to the Michigan.
The weather had become very rough and I had my young son with us so we did not want to take him to deep this early on in his diving career. I decided to go down on my own (for a short distance) to see if anything was worth the effort at this time.
I was running down the line pretty quick and with the water so clear in this area I stopped and checked my depth and I was already at about 40' with no bottom in site. I decided this was not the time and returned to the boat.

I was wondering if anyone knew what this bouy was attached to. We are planning to be in this area again soon, before the weather turns bad.

Thanks

Craig

 

[Groundhog246]

We were over that way on the long weekend. Dove the Marquette and the Lottie Wolf. I didn't see the buoy you describe. Could you provide more info on the shape? If it was a spar (tall/skinny) buoy, and in the depths and location you descibe. quite possibly a net marker from one of the commercial fishermen.
No idea what kind of boat you have, but I'd suggest adding a fishfinder if you don't already have one. It gives you depth (no sense ina quick look see if the bottom is at 150 feet). There are spots over 300 feet deep between Christian and Beckwith Islands. When we passed over the Marquette we were able to "see" her on the fishfinder and make sure we didn't anchor on the wreck (not knowing that the marker float is tied to one of the anchors with 1" rope and we could have asfely tied to that line.

 

[Juggernaut]

You could be right on the nose about the fisherman possibility.

According to our charts we aproximate the bouy to be in about 90' of water.
We are diving off a Zodiac so do not have a lot of extra room but a depth finder etc is in the works.

I think the bouy had a styrofoam float with what looked like a plastic tube for a shaft and a black plastic rectangle on top as a flag.

Thanks for the interest.

 

[Groundhog246]

Sounds exactly like a net marker. Might be better you didn't reach it (entanglement).

Did you dive the Michigan? We throughly enjoyed the Marquette and Lottie Wolf. We tried to locate the Mapledawn on Monday on our way past to go home (keep our boat in Meaford), but stopped when we got to 10 feet of water (we draw 4) and still 200 yards or more from the lat/long we were given.

Would love to do the trip again this year. but since it's a days travel each way from our home port, not likely that time will permit.

 

[Juggernaut]

YIKES!!!

I sure hope it was not a net marker that would have been really scary to run into especially considering the weather above and the fact I had gone down by myself.(I know never a good idea)
I never expected net fishermen to be out in the lake.

Thanks Again

 

[Groundhog246]

Not having seen it I can't be sure, but I have seen them setting and hauling in the Hope/Christian/Beckwith area last summer, so I'd give really good odds it was. Certainly the description is right for one. That's what those big steel "fishing tugs" do. They can set over a mile of net, leave it a day or two, then come back, pull it, remove the catch (fish) and either move or re-set the net. We had one stay overnight in Meaford a couple of weeks ago. They set in depths anywhere from about 40 feet to 300+.
And you're right, could be scary.

 

[Juggernaut]

I guess we will have a better idea when we return in a week or two. If the bouy is gone it probably was a net.

On the subject of fishfinders for diving I am looking on E-Bay etc. but am not really sure what I should look for.
I am not interested in using it for fishing, only diving.
Do you have any hints?

Thanks Again

 

[Groundhog246]

I much prefer a fishfinder (charting) over just depth (digital) and oddly enough the fishfinder is usually less. I use a Hummingbird Piranha 2. Not sure if they have a portable version of it, I do know they have a portable version of the Piranha 1 see it here. I've seen them at both Canadian Tire and Walmart.
I also saw a really small, self contained unit on Ebay quite a while ago, that I considered getting for future dinghy use (scouting ahead into an new/unknown anchorage). Looked to be about the size of an onlder Gameboy.
For example, when we were approaching the Marquette, I wasn't aware that the marker line was secure enough to tie on to. I could "see" where the wreck was on the bottom and anchor well away. Our friends on their boat, with just a digital depth, could not "see" the wreck and could only follow our guidance.