Tiggrr, Lancelot, and myself planned a dive trip to Lake Michigan over the 4th of July holiday for some wreck diving. Through recommendations, we chose N'Pursuit Charters and set a date for July 3rd.
I was visiting relatives (good excuse for a dive trip.
in the Chicago area and Tiggr/Lancelot were about four hours away in Michigan. We planned to meet up the afternoon before at the Majestic casino which is just a quarter mile from Pastrick Marina where N'Pursuit has their slip. Upon arrival to the casino on Sunday, we looked like a couple of bumbling idiots as we tried to find each other. Tiggrr and Lancelot were already at the casino. I phoned in to say I was standing in the lobby (hotel). They said, "oh, great, so are we." I told them that I surely didn't see them. They told me to head out of the lobby and walk to the left and I should be able to see them. They were coming from the *CASINO* lobby it turns out via the walkway. I had to run to the bathroom so that was down the hallway. When finished, I walked out of the bathroom and chose the next nearest exit and walked left. After walking outside, I surely did not see them. I could see the casino. It was about one hundred yards and was connected to the hotel by a walkway. I thought the walkway would take too long so I jumped in my car and raced over to the casino lobby. After parking in the parking garage and racing inside the casino, I phoned Tiggrr/Lancelot again to say "I'm here!" They tell me that they don't see me. I asked which lobby they were in. They said, "We're in the hotel lobby." CRAP! I JUST came from there. After I hit the bathroom, they must have walked alongside the hotel to the lobby while I was inside the hotel walking toward the casino lobby. We had to have walked right past each other but obviously would have never seen each other. Being inside the casino now and not wanting to move my car again, I turn to ask a lady where I can locate the walkway back to the hotel. She informs me that the walkway is down for maintenance. Somewhat shocked, I proceed to tell her how unlikely that is since two friends just used the walkway to get to the hotel. After verbally dancing with this casino worker for a minute, I gave up and told her to just fogedaboutit and that I would just DRIVE over to the hotel. I tell Tiggrr and Lancelot not to move one step from the lobby and that I would be right over (again..). When I walked into the hotel lobby this time, we hit pay dirt. It was time for dinner and gambling. Lancelot and I heard from Tiggrr several times during dinner and gambling that she had this feeling like she forgot something. (Remember this one folks. Hehe) We brushed it off as the typical trip feeling.
So, we get back to the room and Tiggrr unveils her golden surprise that she has been warni.... err, telling me about. If you haven't had the pleasure of knowing Tiggrr, her surprises can involve things such as fire, pain, trauma, and therapy. It's not always in that order either. Hehe. Has anyone in the audience ever heard of "candeling"? :huh: Well, after the explanation, I felt like a caged monkey in a research lab. The procedure goes like this. A special wax candle is rammed in your ear. It's then lit...ON FIRE... and is burned down to the nub in hopes of sucking out all of the waste products in your ear. Mmmmmm, oh boy, what fun! I can't remember the last time I've had this much fun since I waxed my crotch. ...LOL (j/k) I must have been really tired because I volunteered to go first. It's a strange feeling. That's for sure. You hear crackling and popping from the burning candle. You feel the heat as the candle burns down close to your ear. The whole time, everyone is laughing and staring in awe. When the candle is burned to it's limit, it's removed and cut open for examination. The exam shows just what
a nasty person you have been. Ear wax and other unmentionables are identified. It was a rather, uhhmm, unique experience. Hehe. To my amazement, I think it even resolved my hearing problem that I've had going on for the last couple of months. Ahh, another great experience with my dear friend Tiggrr. Who else would bring me such unique opportunities? Lancelot went next in the human candeling trials. Needless to say, I had to document the procedure visually
The weather in the Chicago/Gary area had been calling for rain for the last several days before our dive day. It hadn't rained that I know of. When we woke up on Monday for our trip, of course, it was raining, lightning, foggy, and windy. Ahh, perfect dive conditions. LOL All I could think about is being blown out twice in as many weeks. I was urged to call Captain Mike as we woke at 06:00 to find out if we were heading out or not. We were supposed to meet at the dock at 08:00. I was a bit hesitant to call Captain Mike at 06:00. I was concerned about pissin' off the captain of a vessel we would be riding at great distances from land by waking him from his deep sleep. I initially sent him a text message. That went with no response for fifteen minutes or so. So, at 06:30, I figured if he wasn't up by now, it sure was time to be up to get ready. Hehe. Well, as you could guess, I did wake him up. Oops. He informed us that he would make "the call" once we were at the dock. So, we gathered our stuff and ventured down to the marina. We sat until 07:30 waiting for Captain Mike to show. We passed the time by goofing off on a pair of FRS radios since it was raining and neither vehicle had enough room for all three of us. Tiggrr was getting nervous so she placed another call to Captain Mike to let him know we were at the marina and looking out for him. He said, "You guys wake up pretty early, don't you?" Hehe. Captain Mike didn't know what kind of dive junkies he had on his hands. The Captain told us to go ahead and haul our gear down to slip F-4 Since we were full of energy and raring to go.
The marina had wheelbarrows to use for heavy tanks and such. So, tanks were loaded and the rest we heaved down the walkway on our shoulders heading to slip F-4. The docks were lettered starting with "A" where we were started walking. The poundage of the gear was starting to tax us as we progressed down the walkway. We couldn't see "F" row since there was a bend in the walkway. So, of course, after we trudged for miles :lol: with this gear, we ran out of letters AND docks. It then became real obvious to us that we were on the wrong side of the marina! DOH! . Oops. So, back we go. After loading the gear back in the cars and running over to the other side of the marina, we find Captain Mike at the boat. We met the two other divers (two locals) that were to be on our trip today as well. The boat holds a maximum of six divers. Captain Mike needs a minimum of four to make a trip.
Ok, so now we've got all the gear loaded and our rigs all set up for the first dive. Captain Mike has already warmed up the engine makes the announcment that we're about to leave the dock. He makes the last call for equipment. With no objections, he proceeds to goose the throttle for our departure. About one hundred feet away from the dock, Tiggrr pulls her face out of her dive bag and blurts out, "OH MY GAWD! I KNOW WHAT I FORGOT. .....(ready for this?)..........MY FINS!!!" LOL :lol: After getting a dose of sheet from everyone on the boat, Captain Mike informs her that he has a spare set of fins on the boat. She has dodged, yet, another bullet. Hehe...After a thirty minute boat run, we arrive at the Louisville wreck. It's in fair shape for a 140' wooden steamer that caught fire and sank in 60fsw on September 29, 1857. I have only video of this one.
Wreck: Louisville
Jump time: 09:13
Air temp: 80f
Surface temp: 68f
Bottom temp: 57f
Dive time: 41 minutes (max 45 min. dive time allowed)
Gas: EAN37
Max depth: 55fsw
Visibility: ~40'
Upon getting back on the boat, we headed over to the David Dows wreck. It was a large 5 masted schooner that sank in 40fsw in 1889 6 miles east of Chicago. It was the largest ship on the Great Lakes for some time. There is not much left of this wreck. It was an interesting dive though. The lumber used for the ship that we saw was in pretty good shape.
Wreck: David Dows
Jump time: 10:35
Air temp: 80f
Surface temp: 70f
Bottom temp: 63f
Dive time: 46 minutes (max 45 min. dive time allowed)
Gas: Air (don't ask...)
Max depth: 34fsw
Visibility: ~25 feet
continued...
I was visiting relatives (good excuse for a dive trip.
in the Chicago area and Tiggr/Lancelot were about four hours away in Michigan. We planned to meet up the afternoon before at the Majestic casino which is just a quarter mile from Pastrick Marina where N'Pursuit has their slip. Upon arrival to the casino on Sunday, we looked like a couple of bumbling idiots as we tried to find each other. Tiggrr and Lancelot were already at the casino. I phoned in to say I was standing in the lobby (hotel). They said, "oh, great, so are we." I told them that I surely didn't see them. They told me to head out of the lobby and walk to the left and I should be able to see them. They were coming from the *CASINO* lobby it turns out via the walkway. I had to run to the bathroom so that was down the hallway. When finished, I walked out of the bathroom and chose the next nearest exit and walked left. After walking outside, I surely did not see them. I could see the casino. It was about one hundred yards and was connected to the hotel by a walkway. I thought the walkway would take too long so I jumped in my car and raced over to the casino lobby. After parking in the parking garage and racing inside the casino, I phoned Tiggrr/Lancelot again to say "I'm here!" They tell me that they don't see me. I asked which lobby they were in. They said, "We're in the hotel lobby." CRAP! I JUST came from there. After I hit the bathroom, they must have walked alongside the hotel to the lobby while I was inside the hotel walking toward the casino lobby. We had to have walked right past each other but obviously would have never seen each other. Being inside the casino now and not wanting to move my car again, I turn to ask a lady where I can locate the walkway back to the hotel. She informs me that the walkway is down for maintenance. Somewhat shocked, I proceed to tell her how unlikely that is since two friends just used the walkway to get to the hotel. After verbally dancing with this casino worker for a minute, I gave up and told her to just fogedaboutit and that I would just DRIVE over to the hotel. I tell Tiggrr and Lancelot not to move one step from the lobby and that I would be right over (again..). When I walked into the hotel lobby this time, we hit pay dirt. It was time for dinner and gambling. Lancelot and I heard from Tiggrr several times during dinner and gambling that she had this feeling like she forgot something. (Remember this one folks. Hehe) We brushed it off as the typical trip feeling. So, we get back to the room and Tiggrr unveils her golden surprise that she has been warni.... err, telling me about. If you haven't had the pleasure of knowing Tiggrr, her surprises can involve things such as fire, pain, trauma, and therapy.
It's not always in that order either. Hehe. Has anyone in the audience ever heard of "candeling"? :huh: Well, after the explanation, I felt like a caged monkey in a research lab. The procedure goes like this. A special wax candle is rammed in your ear. It's then lit...ON FIRE... and is burned down to the nub in hopes of sucking out all of the waste products in your ear. Mmmmmm, oh boy, what fun! I can't remember the last time I've had this much fun since I waxed my crotch. ...LOL (j/k) I must have been really tired because I volunteered to go first. It's a strange feeling. That's for sure. You hear crackling and popping from the burning candle. You feel the heat as the candle burns down close to your ear. The whole time, everyone is laughing and staring in awe. When the candle is burned to it's limit, it's removed and cut open for examination. The exam shows just what a nasty person you have been. Ear wax and other unmentionables are identified. It was a rather, uhhmm, unique experience. Hehe. To my amazement, I think it even resolved my hearing problem that I've had going on for the last couple of months. Ahh, another great experience with my dear friend Tiggrr. Who else would bring me such unique opportunities? Lancelot went next in the human candeling trials. Needless to say, I had to document the procedure visually
The weather in the Chicago/Gary area had been calling for rain for the last several days before our dive day. It hadn't rained that I know of. When we woke up on Monday for our trip, of course, it was raining, lightning, foggy, and windy. Ahh, perfect dive conditions. LOL All I could think about is being blown out twice in as many weeks. I was urged to call Captain Mike as we woke at 06:00 to find out if we were heading out or not. We were supposed to meet at the dock at 08:00. I was a bit hesitant to call Captain Mike at 06:00. I was concerned about pissin' off the captain of a vessel we would be riding at great distances from land by waking him from his deep sleep. I initially sent him a text message. That went with no response for fifteen minutes or so. So, at 06:30, I figured if he wasn't up by now, it sure was time to be up to get ready. Hehe. Well, as you could guess, I did wake him up. Oops. He informed us that he would make "the call" once we were at the dock. So, we gathered our stuff and ventured down to the marina. We sat until 07:30 waiting for Captain Mike to show. We passed the time by goofing off on a pair of FRS radios since it was raining and neither vehicle had enough room for all three of us. Tiggrr was getting nervous so she placed another call to Captain Mike to let him know we were at the marina and looking out for him. He said, "You guys wake up pretty early, don't you?" Hehe. Captain Mike didn't know what kind of dive junkies he had on his hands. The Captain told us to go ahead and haul our gear down to slip F-4 Since we were full of energy and raring to go.
The marina had wheelbarrows to use for heavy tanks and such. So, tanks were loaded and the rest we heaved down the walkway on our shoulders heading to slip F-4. The docks were lettered starting with "A" where we were started walking. The poundage of the gear was starting to tax us as we progressed down the walkway. We couldn't see "F" row since there was a bend in the walkway. So, of course, after we trudged for miles :lol: with this gear, we ran out of letters AND docks. It then became real obvious to us that we were on the wrong side of the marina! DOH! . Oops. So, back we go. After loading the gear back in the cars and running over to the other side of the marina, we find Captain Mike at the boat.
We met the two other divers (two locals) that were to be on our trip today as well. The boat holds a maximum of six divers. Captain Mike needs a minimum of four to make a trip.Ok, so now we've got all the gear loaded and our rigs all set up for the first dive. Captain Mike has already warmed up the engine makes the announcment that we're about to leave the dock. He makes the last call for equipment. With no objections, he proceeds to goose the throttle for our departure. About one hundred feet away from the dock, Tiggrr pulls her face out of her dive bag and blurts out, "OH MY GAWD! I KNOW WHAT I FORGOT. .....(ready for this?)..........MY FINS!!!" LOL :lol: After getting a dose of sheet from everyone on the boat, Captain Mike informs her that he has a spare set of fins on the boat. She has dodged, yet, another bullet. Hehe...After a thirty minute boat run, we arrive at the Louisville wreck. It's in fair shape for a 140' wooden steamer that caught fire and sank in 60fsw on September 29, 1857. I have only video of this one.
Wreck: Louisville
Jump time: 09:13
Air temp: 80f
Surface temp: 68f
Bottom temp: 57f
Dive time: 41 minutes (max 45 min. dive time allowed)
Gas: EAN37
Max depth: 55fsw
Visibility: ~40'
Upon getting back on the boat, we headed over to the David Dows wreck. It was a large 5 masted schooner that sank in 40fsw in 1889 6 miles east of Chicago. It was the largest ship on the Great Lakes for some time. There is not much left of this wreck. It was an interesting dive though. The lumber used for the ship that we saw was in pretty good shape.
Wreck: David Dows
Jump time: 10:35
Air temp: 80f
Surface temp: 70f
Bottom temp: 63f
Dive time: 46 minutes (max 45 min. dive time allowed)
Gas: Air (don't ask...)
Max depth: 34fsw
Visibility: ~25 feet
continued...
