New to Diving the Great Lakes

[cmneus]

Hello, I have about 50 dives and a few specialty and a Rescue cert. done all in the Caribbean. I've lived on the shore of Lake Michigan all my life but have never dove here. I'm planning on starting to work on my Divemaster soon and am nervous about my first cold water dives. How would you compare it to tropical waters? Is the visibility really as bad as I've heard? What is there to see besides wrecks? I'm afraid I'll freeze the whole time, and I know this sounds odd.....being a diver and all.....but I've always been a little scared of cold, deep, dark water which is why I've always loved diving in the clear tropical water. Yes, I have done dives in water up to 130 feet but in the Caribbean the visibility is so great that it never bothered me. I have a night diver certification and love night diving, but for some reason the cold water lakes make me nervous. I don't know if this makes sense, I think it's an irrational fear.....but anyway....maybe some reassurances from you divers who know the Lake well would help! Thank you!

 

[Dr Dog]

Hey

I cannot speak for Michigan, but I can for Erie and Ontario. Vis is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. At worst 20 feet at best 60 ish. The problem with the Great lakes is the weather that can whip up at anytime.

As far as what there is to see. 1 would be zebra mussels. They coat everything, and are quite in tune to your presence also. There should be fish, nothing like the colorful beasties of the caribbean, but Bass, Sturgeon, Pike, Goby, and others.

Now the water is normally "ocean" cold, you are best diving with at least a 7mm wetsuit on with hood gloves and boots. But it ain't nothing to be afraid of. I dive the cold everyweek

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I guess the best answer is ... it depends. I've been a local diver since being certified in a local quarry. In the Great Lakes up in your area, viz can range from 10'-50' or more. I've seen 70'+ below the thermocline at times. In our inland lakes and quarries, it can be as bad as 1-2'. I've actually assisted with Open Water courses as a DM in local quarries in 5' of viz. Now that's a challenge!

Cold water diving is an entirely different animal than Caribbean diving. Far more exposure protection is required (heavy wetsuit or ideally drysuit, hoods, thick gloves) and there are unique equipment concerns as well (first stage free flow). If you're going to start DM locally, I'd highly suggest you begin to work with your local shop or local group of divers to begin to get experience diving locally. I'd start now while the water's "warm" (at least above the thermocline).

I'm curious. Why are you wanting to become a DM? Being a DM up here in the Central US frequently (mostly as a matter of fact) requires local diving. I've been a DM myself and one aspect we were expected to bring to the table was expertise and experience in local diving. An instructor has enough to worry about putting students in the water, they need a DM who has alot of local experience in various conditions that they can count on. Sounds like you have quite a ways to go in order to provide this type of assistance to an instructor. Not trying to dissuade you, but rather just challenging you to be realistic about what's involved.

 

[Reallydg]

Since you haven't been diving in cold water, it's the fear of the unknown. The good news is that you'll have plenty of opportunity to get to know cold water as the season continues. If you're nervous, find some easy shallow dive spots and start out there, and work up to it. One big issue is the different thermal protection. Heavy wetsuits or drysuits, plus hood and gloves is going to make a difference on mobility, buoyancy, and dexterity.

As mentioned above, spend some time reflecting on going for your DM. I'm not saying don't do it. Just reflect on it. And before you go for it, make sure you're not only comfortable in the local conditions but also that you really want to do it. I have three other divers in my family. All of them do just fine in local conditions. One will dive with me anytime around here. One, while he can handle the cold and does fine in low viz, has no desire. He only dives when I take him some place warm and clear. My free advice (worth what you paid for it) is just go diving around here for a while first. And then decide.

 

[DiverBeth]

I would echo some of the above. Try diving in a quarry first, one that's become a dive site. You will need at least a 7mm wetsuit for thermal protection and if you want to dive lake Michigan I strongly suggest getting drysuit certified. Below the thermocline it can be in the low 40s all summer long.

I've experienced viz as bad as 2' and as good as 100'. The last couple of summers I would say on my dives it's been averaging about 40'.

That all being said I love diving in the lake. The shipwrecks are fantastic. In fact this Sunday I'm headed up to Milwaukee to dive the Milwaukee Carferry and the Prinz Willie. Of course there are no pretty fish and not too many fish period but exploring around the wrecks and in the wrecks if you're trained for penetration. I've found it interesting to see the changes in the wrecks over the years. The old wooden ships examining the craftmanship of parts that are still together is amazing. Also I've learned about a lot of the wrecks, when they went down cause of sinking and general history of the ship. Some have quite the story.

I started diving locally because I can't always get away to warm waters and I've never regretted it.

 

[cmneus]

I'm not planning to work as a DM anytime soon! that's just the next cert in line and I just want to take my sweet time with it and get lots of experience and a lot more dives under my belt so why not work towards the next cert while doing so? Since I haven't been able to get back to the Caribbean I've decided that I miss diving so much that I'm giving the cold water a chance and once I start I know I won't stop! I'm surprised to hear that the visibility is that good. I am so excited I'm nearly crawling in my skin to get out there! Just a little nervous, but these posts have made most of that fade. For reasons I care not to specify I haven't been able to dive in way too long.....and the Caribbean just isn't anywhere in the near future, but I can't go much longer without being in the water!

---------- Post Merged at 05:11 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 05:07 PM ----------

Thank you DiverBeth, that is exactly what I wanted to hear, that you started diving locally because you can't always get to warm water, and never regretted it, I'm almost certain I will soon be saying the same thing! Your reply was perfect! And I do have wreck and penetration certification so that is what I am most looking forward to!

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I would suggest you forget the DM idea and find a good Intro to Tech class. Then get some dives in. After that take a wreck class from a technical wreck instructor that dives these wrecks on a regular basis. Just diving on wrecks in the great lakes, let alone doing penetration on them, is a lot different than doing an artificial reef in warm water. These wrecks have not been cleaned. Add to that 40 degree water, low light, and silt and you have a recipe for trouble if you don't know what you are doing.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I'm not planning to work as a DM anytime soon! that's just the next cert in line and I just want to take my sweet time with it and get lots of experience and a lot more dives under my belt so why not work towards the next cert while doing so?

I've seen many divers with this attitude and it's simply not true. Becoming a DM means becoming a dive professional. The focus is not about developing new skills or abilities as a recreational diver, it's about beginning to learn the system of scuba education and associated dive leadership. It's not the "next cert in line", it's actually the first cert in an entirely different line all together. Many folks find that out too late. Make sure you understand what you're getting into.

There's nothing wrong with becoming a DM and perhaps eventually an instructor. What I have a problem with is the way many training agencies, especially PADI, push DM as if it's the next logical stop after Rescue. Well it's not. It's the logical step for someone who wants to help teach others to dive. In all honesty, if you're not going to move onto instructor eventually, why bother? It's simply not worth it. I know far more DMs who got the cert and DMed for 1-3 years before giving it up. It's actually more the norm vs. moving onto instructor. For those folks, it was a waste of a good bit of time and money.

 

[cmneus]

I appreciate your answer, I was always told that next is DM, and didn't know any differently....I will look more into this before getting into it. This makes me upset at the Dive Shops I've spoken with...they've all pushed it.....just like you said. Ok, thanks for giving me the truth before jumping in too far! I feel so naive...and they've just been pushing me along.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I appreciate your answer, I was always told that next is DM, and didn't know any differently....I will look more into this before getting into it. This makes me upset at the Dive Shops I've spoken with...they've all pushed it.....just like you said. Ok, thanks for giving me the truth before jumping in too far! I feel so naive...and they've just been pushing me along.

I know exactly what you mean. You're not the only one that these shops have duped. They've pushed it because it makes them money. It's as simple as that. The shop (and PADI assuming that is the agency in question and it almost certain is) make money by pushing you along from course to course to course, and they make the most money by pushing you into the professional ranks. I bet they didn't tell you that, once completed, being a DM requires an annual PADI professional membership ($100/yr) and liability insurance ($300/yr). That's $400 per year just for the 'privilege' to be a DM. I bet they also don't pay their DMs a thing (or very little) and expect them to assist with courses for free or next to nothing. It's pretty much a scam and many, many divers get sucked along. There are some solid shops out there that don't do this, but unfortunately it's the norm in my experience.

A better path would be to get the training you need to do the diving you want to do ... and then get out a dive regularly. Being from WI, that means local diving unless you can afford alot of travel. So find a group of local divers and get out and dive. I have found many of the buddies I dive with right here on SB. Start easy and gain local (lower viz, colder water) experience slowly. A drysuit might be a great idea at some point in the future. Enjoy the tropical diving when you can fit it in, but add to that the experience to dive in other environments.