Stupid question from a non-cave-diver

[PerroneFord]

Art... don't forego the opportunity to dive the cool wrecks of the Great Lakes!! They'll tide you over until you get back to the caves!

I am counting down the days until I can slip into the waters of the Great Lakes and enjoy some of the wrecks there. That will mark a historical point in my diving.

Any significant wrecks there you would recommend to a novice diver? Say 100ft or less, with decent vis? I am hoping to see some generally intact wrecks, but am not sure how deep I have to go to get them. Here in the Gulf Coast, it's often 200ft or below. And it will be a WHILE before I get there.

 

[wb416]

I am counting down the days until I can slip into the waters of the Great Lakes and enjoy some of the wrecks there. That will mark a historical point in my diving.

Any significant wrecks there you would recommend to a novice diver? Say 100ft or less, with decent vis? I am hoping to see some generally intact wrecks, but am not sure how deep I have to go to get them. Here in the Gulf Coast, it's often 200ft or below. And it will be a WHILE before I get there.

That's pretty subjective, but how about I give you a few areas that I know of that's great for recreational diving of wrecks in 100-120ft (or less) in the Great Lakes Waterways:
St. Lawrence River (1000 Island Region)
Kingston, ON
Barcelona, NY
Port Sanilac, MI
Alpena, MI
Mackinac, MI (Straits)

There's many more, but these are some of the larger concentrations in areas I know (others will know Lake Michigan and Superior better than I) (e.g. Milwaukee, Chicago, Whitefish Point, etc)

If you have a specific area in mind, then more specifics and operators can be recommended.

 

[PerroneFord]

What I was getting at was are there any wrecks of historical signficance that might fit the bill. Here in Florida I will be doing the Henrietta Marie (oldest slave ship ever found in the US), The Pirates Lady/Gunsmoke (tied to a double homicide in my local area and my instructor did some of the underwater crime scene investigation on), and perhaps a couple of other out of the way wrecks. I will also try to dive each Freshwater spring in N. FL. over the course of 2006. I also hope to do AOW, Adv. Nitrox, and DIRF. I figure between those two diving goals, and my classes, I'll have plenty to keep me busy for the year. In 2007, I think I'll be ready to do some Great Lakes diving, and some N.C. diving.

 

[wb416]

What I was getting at was are there any wrecks of historical signficance that might fit the bill.
..snip..

Almost all Great Lakes wrecks were working freighters (wooden sailing ships, wooden steamers, steel freighters, barges, etc).... but each can be thought of as diving a museum, especially regarding the quality of the wrecks below the thermocline from 100-200 years ago... It's the history of our commerce as a colony and nation! Since there aren't many artificial reefs in the Great Lakes, most also are associated with tragedy, and can be somber dive events.

...so your question is way to broad too answer simply...

...but one example of historical significance was the Great Storm of 1913 that took the lives of almost 250 sailors on the Great Lakes. I started a thread on it here.

 

[mart1]

500 dives? Well, longer than a two year plan, then. Have done Fundies and will be working on those skills. Got a long way to go.

Well you could start with cavern now, but if you want to do it in Mexico it depends on where you live. If it is a long trip it makes more sense to wait a bit and then take the full cave course all at once.
I would accept students for Cavern with 50 dives, for Intro minimum 100, for full cave minimum 250. Success not guaranteed.
My experience is the more dives you have the more you get out of cave diving, and the better the chance you make the certification. And the more you will enjoy cave diving
I see too many people starting at cave diving and dropping out again, and I think this has to do with them being not really ready for it. Because I cannot imagine dropping out for any other reason!

mart

 

[PerroneFord]

Taking cavern early makes far more sense here in Flordia where we have MANY of them, and they really open the diving experience. I have come to appreciate preparing yourself as soon as possible to dive your local resources. For us that means caverns and caves. For others it means deep and drysuits. For some lucky folk it means AOW and fish ID on the local reefs!

TSandM, if you want to do caven, you can head to Florida. It's taught every weekend just about here in N. FL. , by somebody.

 

[artw]

yeah there is plenty of nice stuff in the Great Lakes, some of it dating back to the 1800's but honestly it doesnt appeal to me after being in the Cavez
yeah yeah I know I am an hour's drive away from the best freshwater diving in the world. Yawn.

 

[wb416]

yeah there is plenty of nice stuff in the Great Lakes, some of it dating back to the 1800's but honestly it doesnt appeal to me after being in the Cavez
yeah yeah I know I am an hour's drive away from the best freshwater diving in the world. Yawn.

I think you need to move to Mexico to live near the caves, because it's blasphemous for you to live where you do in Ontario and say what you just did!

 

[JimC]

I know I am an hour's drive away from the best freshwater diving in the world. Yawn.

Dito! Double yawn.

I take full responsibility for runining local diving for you.

 

[Jason B]

but honestly it doesnt appeal to me after being in the Cavez
yeah yeah I know I am an hour's drive away from the best freshwater diving in the world. Yawn.

I hear ya, I'm a 2 hr ride to the NC coast and wrecks galore, but I'd rather be in cave country.