Thanks for the reply, I just told Larry to give the weekend to the other group.
Did you folks end up diving with Frank Rosinski on Dill Emma? He was there for several weekends. I know our groups found some gear his divers lost and returned it while we were on the Stalker. I've picked up a few more items from the bottom recently but I don't know who lost it, so it gets added to my gear pile. Please contact the Straits of Mackinac Preserve if you lose gear up there, if you give me a good idea what you lost and where/when, I'll do my best to recover it for you. You can reach me through the Saint Ignace Chamber of Commerce, which is where the Preserve headquarters is.
I have seen many folks here on the board saying they would like to dive the Straits, but they seem to be waiting for a group to charter with. IF you have the appropriate gear (drysuit and cold-water regs recommended) and skills (many wrecks in 90-140 ft), you can contact Larry to see if there is room for you as a walk-on. Sometimes you have to go through the shop thas has the charter, other times Larry will just add you on. It all depends on whether there is space on the boats, and your skills match the group doing the charter. The Rec Diver can handle over 16 divers at a time (diving single tanks) but it gets crowded when the load reaches 12, so he usually doesn't add divers from outside the chartering group to the boat then. The Intrepid is now limited to 6 divers, but this weekend I think they have room for one or two more.
I started calling him for space as a walk-on a few years back, and now I dive so much that I bought a house in Saint Ignace. I love it up there, they always have activities going on and there are fireworks every Saturday night from July 4 to Labor Day. With the arrangement of shipwrecks between the two lakes we can usually find a divable wreck that is in the lee of the land someplace, even when other areas can't. We have folks get blown off in Alpena or Whitefish call us and come down to dive in the afternoon.
You may have to be persistant about trying to reach Larry, he has no Internet access when he is up north to run the boat. You need to email well in advance or call his business number (listed above) and time your call for when he can talk. Taking calls while the boat is running is difficult (and noisy), so late afternoon or early evening might be best. He is retired from his day job now so he is easier to reach than in years past, but he is still a busy guy. Once he gets to know you he will try to fit you in whenever possible.
All the wrecks are currently moored for the season and I'm working on a mid-ships mooring for the Cedarville. Come on up and dive with us soon. The Straits of Mackinac Shipwreck Preserve is also holding a fund-raising Treasure Hunt on August 14 at the American Legion Park just as you come down the hill into downtown Saint Ignace. We usually have a variety of prizes, and the dive is a shallow shore dive so you don't need the cold-water gear for this. We try to give away an aluminum 80 cf tank as part of the Grand Prize. Please join us and help raise money to pay for buoys and line!
Did you folks end up diving with Frank Rosinski on Dill Emma? He was there for several weekends. I know our groups found some gear his divers lost and returned it while we were on the Stalker. I've picked up a few more items from the bottom recently but I don't know who lost it, so it gets added to my gear pile. Please contact the Straits of Mackinac Preserve if you lose gear up there, if you give me a good idea what you lost and where/when, I'll do my best to recover it for you. You can reach me through the Saint Ignace Chamber of Commerce, which is where the Preserve headquarters is.
I have seen many folks here on the board saying they would like to dive the Straits, but they seem to be waiting for a group to charter with. IF you have the appropriate gear (drysuit and cold-water regs recommended) and skills (many wrecks in 90-140 ft), you can contact Larry to see if there is room for you as a walk-on. Sometimes you have to go through the shop thas has the charter, other times Larry will just add you on. It all depends on whether there is space on the boats, and your skills match the group doing the charter. The Rec Diver can handle over 16 divers at a time (diving single tanks) but it gets crowded when the load reaches 12, so he usually doesn't add divers from outside the chartering group to the boat then. The Intrepid is now limited to 6 divers, but this weekend I think they have room for one or two more.
I started calling him for space as a walk-on a few years back, and now I dive so much that I bought a house in Saint Ignace. I love it up there, they always have activities going on and there are fireworks every Saturday night from July 4 to Labor Day. With the arrangement of shipwrecks between the two lakes we can usually find a divable wreck that is in the lee of the land someplace, even when other areas can't. We have folks get blown off in Alpena or Whitefish call us and come down to dive in the afternoon.
You may have to be persistant about trying to reach Larry, he has no Internet access when he is up north to run the boat. You need to email well in advance or call his business number (listed above) and time your call for when he can talk. Taking calls while the boat is running is difficult (and noisy), so late afternoon or early evening might be best. He is retired from his day job now so he is easier to reach than in years past, but he is still a busy guy. Once he gets to know you he will try to fit you in whenever possible.
All the wrecks are currently moored for the season and I'm working on a mid-ships mooring for the Cedarville. Come on up and dive with us soon. The Straits of Mackinac Shipwreck Preserve is also holding a fund-raising Treasure Hunt on August 14 at the American Legion Park just as you come down the hill into downtown Saint Ignace. We usually have a variety of prizes, and the dive is a shallow shore dive so you don't need the cold-water gear for this. We try to give away an aluminum 80 cf tank as part of the Grand Prize. Please join us and help raise money to pay for buoys and line!
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