wb416
Contributor
A group of us BAD divers (Sandusky Bay Area Divers) went to Tobermory for our Bi-Annual trip there. This was the first time that I could make it to this event (last time I couldnt get off work; prior to that I wasn't a diver). I've heard people refer to Tobermory as the Fresh Water Wreck Diving Capital of North America. I'm sure there are some that will dispute that, because I hear of many incredible places in the Great Lakes, Georgian Bay, and/or St. Lawrence Seaway
all of which I hope to visit someday.
Tobermory is the northernmost point of Bruce Peninsula that juts up sharply between Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. This peninsula and the large scattering of islands form a hazardous pinch point for shipping traffic that traversed between lake and bay, providing a plethora of wrecks for divers of all experience levels. In fact, the Fathom Five National Marine Park contains over 20 documented wreck sites.
Among those that joined us for diving was Scott Lang (Scooter) who had just joined the club this year to get more diving in. It's been my pleasure to have over 20 dives with him this year, including his first drysuit dive. Also I'd invited others along for the dive weekend, even though there aren't club members, Kelly and her friend Fred.
Friday
Some of us took a full or half day off work to drive up to Tobermory. I had a 7.5-8hr drive from Fremont, and Kelly had a 9 or so hour drive from Pittsburgh. Going through Canadian customs (waiting in line) around 10AM took about a 1/2hr, and I was asked the typical questions. Other than that, the drive was very uneventful for me . .just long.
When I arrived, I went to the Diver Registration center to buy my Yellow Tag that was required for diving in the Fathom Five National Marine Park. After this, I headed out to find the lodging. On my way down the road, I heard someone yelling my name and turned to see Kelly and Fred gearing up. I hate to admit it, but I was a bit road weary and wanted to find the rooms first before even considering diving. Shortly there after, Greg and Roger showed up and decided to get a shore dive in. It turned out that I wasn't mentally ready for diving yet, but I found something that I could get into ICE CREAM. Yum!! This definitely helped me forget the road trip!
Saturday
On Saturday we loaded up onto a boat from G&S Watersports for a 3-dive day. This boat was a converted fishing boat, not like the one used for the Michigan UP dives, but for those that remember the other style of boat use for fishing in Fairport, MI. It was the enclosed variety with large upper deck side panels cut out of the port side to allow access to the water, fresh air and sunlight.
The first wreck we visited was a 131 ft barque named "Arabia" sitting upright in 110 ft of water. A barque is wooden vessel that had sails that were square-rigged and could typically only catch wind from one side of the sheets. She was built in 1853, and foundered in October 1884 next to Echo Island. This is considered an advanced recreational dive site because of the depth, cold, and variable currents. I wouldn't personally do this dive with a single AL80, but some did and were fine. Kelly, Fred, Scott, and I had doubles, and some of the tech divers in the club had their deco bottles with them.
I was buddied up with Scott, Kelly, and Fred for this dive. Even though my primary buddy for this dive was Scott and Kelly's was Fred, we agreed to scout around the wreck together. From what I could gather, most of the wrecks in this Park have a mooring line that is anchored to a cement piling. This one was no different. From the cement piling, a line runs to the starboard side of the wreck and attaches near the front.
The Arabia has a hull structure that is largely intact, but all of the decking has collapsed. I think that the wheel had been taken and subsequently returned to the wreck because it was displayed on the starboard side of the wreck near a large placard placed in honor of someone that died diving on the wreck during the archeological survey. In fact, it's my understanding that several people have died diving on the wreck because they underestimated the skills, experience, or equipment this dive should have. In fact, it was sobering to see in my brief research that there are more diving deaths (?13) listed for the Arabia than any other wreck in the Great Lakes
The wreck has a very nice intact bowsprit, with large chains, large anchor, small secondary anchor, and nice windlasses, all in the same proximity. The main mast was fallen to the port side with an angle of 45° toward the bow. We followed the mast out a short distance and it was curious that it abruptly ended, perhaps attributed to the weather conditions when it foundered. We spent approx 20 minutes on the bottom and took and nice slow ascent back to the boat.
Dive 1 Summary:
Depth: 103 ft
Time: 47 minutes
H2O Temp: at depth 45°F, at surface 63°F
Air Temp: 70°F
Surface Conditions: Flat with mild current
Gas: EAN30
Our second wreck site was the Charles Minch. This 155 ft schooner was built in 1867 in Vermilion, OH about 10 miles from where I work. This schooner sunk in October 1898 when it was driven into the rocks in Tecumseh Cove on Cove Island. You'll find the anchor from this wreck on display in downtown Tobermory across from the diver registration center in Little Tub Harbour. A schooner, unlike a barque, is a fore-and-aft rigged sailing vessel that allows the ship to move by catching wind from either side of the sheets. It is rigged similar to today's modern sport sailing vessels, unlike the barque which have the traditional square rigged look like the Mayflower vessels. From what I can gather, schooners were the "work-horse" vessels of the Great Lakes prior to utilization of steam power.
The Minch is very flattened and retains little relief. A large portion of the wreckage is on the gently sloping rocks that it crashed into from 10 - 40 ft in depth. Scattered among the wreckage are many of the components, like the wheel and such. While searching various timbers, we were amused to find that we had stumbling onto crayfish copulation season. These dudes and dudettes were getting it on everywhere! It was an amusing distraction while combing the cove for pieces of the Minch.
Dive 2 Summary:
Depth: 34 ft
Time: 45 minutes
H2O Temp: at depth 55°F, at surface 63°F
Air Temp: 70°F
Surface Conditions: Flat
Gas: EAN30
Our third dive of the day was the schooner Sweepstakes. It was built in 1867. In 1885 is struck Cove Island and was damaged, but was towed to Big Tub Harbour before it sank. Today, divers and "tourists in glass bottom boats" visit it. While the superstructure is missing, the hull and decking is remarkably in tact. It has had some additional support work done to keep it as a showpiece for the divers and the glass-bottom-boat-crowd. Some planks have been added to the decking, and the holds have been sealed in a unique way to prevent penetration diving. You can drop down into the holds, but all access to the holds has vertical bars to prevent access under the decks. At first I thought I was looking at prison ship of some sort, but then realized that the locks were shiny Masterlocks! I'd make a good detective, eh?!? This was a nice shallow third dive where all the "bottom" time was spent in the warmest layer of water.
Dive 3 Summary:
Depth: 23 ft
Time: 37 minutes
H2O Temp: at depth 63°F, at surface 63°F
Air Temp: 70°F
Surface Conditions: Flat
Gas: EAN30
On Sunday evening, the proprietor of the Lodge invited us over for a Wine and Cheese party. By the time I was done snacking and drinking, I didn't have much room for our buffet dinner that was planned later. Our party was crashed by a group of divers that is a sister club of ours in Ohio, located near Cleveland. They are LEWD divers (Lake Erie Wreck Divers). So the party had both BAD and LEWD divers everywhere! The only two that weren't, were from Pittsburgh, and we haven't figured out what they are yet!! Maybe they're both BAD and LEWD, or just RUDE (?Ready Underwater Diving Ethusiasts)!
Sunday
A storm system was supposed to pass through during the night so as not to impact our diving, but when we awoke on Sunday, we found the winds howling and the temperature below 10C° (50°F). The captain said he'd take us out, but he didn't think we actually be getting out of the boat, so they decided to call off the charter for the day. I was a bit disappointed, but not extremely. We'd been scheduled to dive twice on the Niagara II, but since it was one of those intentionally sunken wrecks, I wasn't so jazzed about it. After all, part of the allure to me of this area, as a diver, is the multitude of wrecks that have sunken in peril. I'm sure it would have been a great dive though, especially after reviewing the DVD I bought of it's sinking.
Most of the club divers left by early afternoon, but a few of us stayed the night so we could continue shore diving on Sunday afternoon. Since there was only one shore diving location that remained protected from the rough conditions, it looked like all of the divers had found it. It took a while for us to find a parking spot, but when we did, Kelly, Fred, and I visited the remains of several tug boats: Alice G, Robert K, John & Alex, and unknown. For a shallow shore dive, there was plenty of structure and detail left on some of the wrecks. In particular, the Alice G, had the stack laying on it's side, donkey boiler, and a medium size Scotch boiler. And of course, there were plenty of crayfish to entertain us with their shenanigans.
Dive 1 Summary:
Depth: 34 ft
Time: 69 minutes
H2O Temp: at depth 63°F, at surface 63°F
Air Temp: 55°F
Surface Conditions: Choppy
Gas: EAN30
Sunday evening was filled with Ice Cream, snacks, libations, and a very relaxing and colourful sunset.
Monday
I left bright and earlier (before sunrise) to begin my trek home. But before I left, I had to walk down to the dock to see the beginnings of the sunrise coming up over the water from the opposite direction it had disappeared the night before. Very fulfilling to see the sunset and rise in the same 12 hour period. The drive was uneventful (but I watched a cool sunrise on my way back) and I got right into an open lane at the U.S. Customs border crossing. When the agent learned that I was a diver, he asked if I'd been to Munising yet because that was one of the areas that he really liked diving. I think he mentioned the ?Smithmore and another wreck up there. Seems to me I remember BigO, Campana, Kelly, or Brock diving one of the wrecks he mentioned.
I grabbed a leftover Sunday Detroit paper that I read for lunch. It was funny it had a 3 page article about the shipwrecks in the Alpena, MI Thunderbay area that Greg, Dean, Joyce and others had done a couple of weeks early. After stopping for a leisurely lunch on the north side of Detroit, I continued toward home and arrived around 2pm. My journey was over.
This was a very relaxing weekend of diving, and spending time with waves, sunsets, sunrises, and new/old friends.
wb
Tobermory is the northernmost point of Bruce Peninsula that juts up sharply between Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. This peninsula and the large scattering of islands form a hazardous pinch point for shipping traffic that traversed between lake and bay, providing a plethora of wrecks for divers of all experience levels. In fact, the Fathom Five National Marine Park contains over 20 documented wreck sites.
Among those that joined us for diving was Scott Lang (Scooter) who had just joined the club this year to get more diving in. It's been my pleasure to have over 20 dives with him this year, including his first drysuit dive. Also I'd invited others along for the dive weekend, even though there aren't club members, Kelly and her friend Fred.
Friday
Some of us took a full or half day off work to drive up to Tobermory. I had a 7.5-8hr drive from Fremont, and Kelly had a 9 or so hour drive from Pittsburgh. Going through Canadian customs (waiting in line) around 10AM took about a 1/2hr, and I was asked the typical questions. Other than that, the drive was very uneventful for me . .just long.
When I arrived, I went to the Diver Registration center to buy my Yellow Tag that was required for diving in the Fathom Five National Marine Park. After this, I headed out to find the lodging. On my way down the road, I heard someone yelling my name and turned to see Kelly and Fred gearing up. I hate to admit it, but I was a bit road weary and wanted to find the rooms first before even considering diving. Shortly there after, Greg and Roger showed up and decided to get a shore dive in. It turned out that I wasn't mentally ready for diving yet, but I found something that I could get into ICE CREAM. Yum!! This definitely helped me forget the road trip!
Saturday
On Saturday we loaded up onto a boat from G&S Watersports for a 3-dive day. This boat was a converted fishing boat, not like the one used for the Michigan UP dives, but for those that remember the other style of boat use for fishing in Fairport, MI. It was the enclosed variety with large upper deck side panels cut out of the port side to allow access to the water, fresh air and sunlight.
The first wreck we visited was a 131 ft barque named "Arabia" sitting upright in 110 ft of water. A barque is wooden vessel that had sails that were square-rigged and could typically only catch wind from one side of the sheets. She was built in 1853, and foundered in October 1884 next to Echo Island. This is considered an advanced recreational dive site because of the depth, cold, and variable currents. I wouldn't personally do this dive with a single AL80, but some did and were fine. Kelly, Fred, Scott, and I had doubles, and some of the tech divers in the club had their deco bottles with them.
I was buddied up with Scott, Kelly, and Fred for this dive. Even though my primary buddy for this dive was Scott and Kelly's was Fred, we agreed to scout around the wreck together. From what I could gather, most of the wrecks in this Park have a mooring line that is anchored to a cement piling. This one was no different. From the cement piling, a line runs to the starboard side of the wreck and attaches near the front.
The Arabia has a hull structure that is largely intact, but all of the decking has collapsed. I think that the wheel had been taken and subsequently returned to the wreck because it was displayed on the starboard side of the wreck near a large placard placed in honor of someone that died diving on the wreck during the archeological survey. In fact, it's my understanding that several people have died diving on the wreck because they underestimated the skills, experience, or equipment this dive should have. In fact, it was sobering to see in my brief research that there are more diving deaths (?13) listed for the Arabia than any other wreck in the Great Lakes
The wreck has a very nice intact bowsprit, with large chains, large anchor, small secondary anchor, and nice windlasses, all in the same proximity. The main mast was fallen to the port side with an angle of 45° toward the bow. We followed the mast out a short distance and it was curious that it abruptly ended, perhaps attributed to the weather conditions when it foundered. We spent approx 20 minutes on the bottom and took and nice slow ascent back to the boat.
Dive 1 Summary:
Depth: 103 ft
Time: 47 minutes
H2O Temp: at depth 45°F, at surface 63°F
Air Temp: 70°F
Surface Conditions: Flat with mild current
Gas: EAN30
Our second wreck site was the Charles Minch. This 155 ft schooner was built in 1867 in Vermilion, OH about 10 miles from where I work. This schooner sunk in October 1898 when it was driven into the rocks in Tecumseh Cove on Cove Island. You'll find the anchor from this wreck on display in downtown Tobermory across from the diver registration center in Little Tub Harbour. A schooner, unlike a barque, is a fore-and-aft rigged sailing vessel that allows the ship to move by catching wind from either side of the sheets. It is rigged similar to today's modern sport sailing vessels, unlike the barque which have the traditional square rigged look like the Mayflower vessels. From what I can gather, schooners were the "work-horse" vessels of the Great Lakes prior to utilization of steam power.
The Minch is very flattened and retains little relief. A large portion of the wreckage is on the gently sloping rocks that it crashed into from 10 - 40 ft in depth. Scattered among the wreckage are many of the components, like the wheel and such. While searching various timbers, we were amused to find that we had stumbling onto crayfish copulation season. These dudes and dudettes were getting it on everywhere! It was an amusing distraction while combing the cove for pieces of the Minch.
Dive 2 Summary:
Depth: 34 ft
Time: 45 minutes
H2O Temp: at depth 55°F, at surface 63°F
Air Temp: 70°F
Surface Conditions: Flat
Gas: EAN30
Our third dive of the day was the schooner Sweepstakes. It was built in 1867. In 1885 is struck Cove Island and was damaged, but was towed to Big Tub Harbour before it sank. Today, divers and "tourists in glass bottom boats" visit it. While the superstructure is missing, the hull and decking is remarkably in tact. It has had some additional support work done to keep it as a showpiece for the divers and the glass-bottom-boat-crowd. Some planks have been added to the decking, and the holds have been sealed in a unique way to prevent penetration diving. You can drop down into the holds, but all access to the holds has vertical bars to prevent access under the decks. At first I thought I was looking at prison ship of some sort, but then realized that the locks were shiny Masterlocks! I'd make a good detective, eh?!? This was a nice shallow third dive where all the "bottom" time was spent in the warmest layer of water.
Dive 3 Summary:
Depth: 23 ft
Time: 37 minutes
H2O Temp: at depth 63°F, at surface 63°F
Air Temp: 70°F
Surface Conditions: Flat
Gas: EAN30
On Sunday evening, the proprietor of the Lodge invited us over for a Wine and Cheese party. By the time I was done snacking and drinking, I didn't have much room for our buffet dinner that was planned later. Our party was crashed by a group of divers that is a sister club of ours in Ohio, located near Cleveland. They are LEWD divers (Lake Erie Wreck Divers). So the party had both BAD and LEWD divers everywhere! The only two that weren't, were from Pittsburgh, and we haven't figured out what they are yet!! Maybe they're both BAD and LEWD, or just RUDE (?Ready Underwater Diving Ethusiasts)!
Sunday
A storm system was supposed to pass through during the night so as not to impact our diving, but when we awoke on Sunday, we found the winds howling and the temperature below 10C° (50°F). The captain said he'd take us out, but he didn't think we actually be getting out of the boat, so they decided to call off the charter for the day. I was a bit disappointed, but not extremely. We'd been scheduled to dive twice on the Niagara II, but since it was one of those intentionally sunken wrecks, I wasn't so jazzed about it. After all, part of the allure to me of this area, as a diver, is the multitude of wrecks that have sunken in peril. I'm sure it would have been a great dive though, especially after reviewing the DVD I bought of it's sinking.
Most of the club divers left by early afternoon, but a few of us stayed the night so we could continue shore diving on Sunday afternoon. Since there was only one shore diving location that remained protected from the rough conditions, it looked like all of the divers had found it. It took a while for us to find a parking spot, but when we did, Kelly, Fred, and I visited the remains of several tug boats: Alice G, Robert K, John & Alex, and unknown. For a shallow shore dive, there was plenty of structure and detail left on some of the wrecks. In particular, the Alice G, had the stack laying on it's side, donkey boiler, and a medium size Scotch boiler. And of course, there were plenty of crayfish to entertain us with their shenanigans.
Dive 1 Summary:
Depth: 34 ft
Time: 69 minutes
H2O Temp: at depth 63°F, at surface 63°F
Air Temp: 55°F
Surface Conditions: Choppy
Gas: EAN30
Sunday evening was filled with Ice Cream, snacks, libations, and a very relaxing and colourful sunset.
Monday
I left bright and earlier (before sunrise) to begin my trek home. But before I left, I had to walk down to the dock to see the beginnings of the sunrise coming up over the water from the opposite direction it had disappeared the night before. Very fulfilling to see the sunset and rise in the same 12 hour period. The drive was uneventful (but I watched a cool sunrise on my way back) and I got right into an open lane at the U.S. Customs border crossing. When the agent learned that I was a diver, he asked if I'd been to Munising yet because that was one of the areas that he really liked diving. I think he mentioned the ?Smithmore and another wreck up there. Seems to me I remember BigO, Campana, Kelly, or Brock diving one of the wrecks he mentioned.
I grabbed a leftover Sunday Detroit paper that I read for lunch. It was funny it had a 3 page article about the shipwrecks in the Alpena, MI Thunderbay area that Greg, Dean, Joyce and others had done a couple of weeks early. After stopping for a leisurely lunch on the north side of Detroit, I continued toward home and arrived around 2pm. My journey was over.
This was a very relaxing weekend of diving, and spending time with waves, sunsets, sunrises, and new/old friends.
wb
