Frankenmuth_Tom, gtxl1200-Ted, and cldwdiver-Dave (me) went on a combination camping/diving trip to Traverse City Michigan this past weekend.
The weather was great, the camaraderie was better, and the diving was .... well... so-so. I grew up in TC, so I had a number of shore diving spots in mind that I used to hit on a regular basis.
I knew it had not been a while since I last dove them, but I looked it up tonight, and it has been since 1997 since my last dive there. Absence makes the memory fonder.
Thursday night we all traveled upnorth to TC. (Yes, upnorth is one word in Michigan.)
Tom had brought enough Black Forest micro-brew beer for us each to have a nice taste around the campfire. Thanks Tom! Not enough to prevent diving the next day though.
Bowers Harbor Marina on Old Mission Peninsula
You have to park at the DNR boat launch around the corner and swim the short distance to the edge of the drop-off and the marina. They dug out the sloping drop-off around 1990 to make the marina deeper. So it has a fairly sharp drop-off to 50-60 feet, then gradually slopes out into the harbor. We were there early in the morning so we could search underneath the harbor and all its boats for boat treasure.
After we had swept back and forth we realized that we were not the only ones with this idea. That was the cleanest harbor bottom any of us had ever seen. Nothing, nada, zip, and zero was found. Except, for a virtual carpet of the ever elusive Zebra Mussel. This had been a combination sand, gravel, and weed-bed bottom back in 1997.
Next, we went to the right of the DNR boat launch along the much shallower drop-offs there. The first one drops to about 20 feet, tables, and then drops to 35 and gradually descends out into the bay. We swam along the lower level for about 20 minutes and then back along the upper level. This time there were less zebra mussels and more crayfish. Still not as visual or pretty as I remembered. Plus, we did not see any fish, which previously had been the big draw for this dive.
We threw our gear in the vehicles, left our drysuits half on, drove through TC and out to West Bay Marina. The marina has a large boulder/rock wall that usually had lots of fish along it. The trench next to the wall has filled in some and now starts at 10 ft, out to about 20 ft at the end of the wall. This time there actually were schools of Rock Bass and Large-mouth Bass swimming along with us. Also some schools nestled up in the rock crevices to look at. I then took us South, over a slight sandbar, and along the drop-off at 25 ft until we reached the old tugboat wreck. It is now totally encrusted in Zebra Mussels. But, it has not caved in yet. We also saw a large carp and a couple of nice bass near the wreck.
Saturday morning we went to the Power Plant Pipes. These are the warm water exhaust pipes that go at least 3/10 mile out into the bay. Heavy breathers should bring a snorkel in case they run out of air. Maximum depth is 35 ft, most in the 20-25ft range. We snorkeled over to the pipes using a 60 degree heading from chest-deep water. We descended and followed them out. There were logs and stuff around the pipes, lots of crayfish. We only saw a few bass. Plus some garbage items pushed up against the pipes by wave action.
There are actually two pipes. When they cross, bear left for the longest one. We finally reached the end. It is a 10ft cube of fence enclosing crushed rock. We circled it twice and headed back. This site actually makes a good night dive once you know how to find the pipes.
Then we went back out on Old Mission Peninsula to the Archie Roadside Park. It is about 5-6 miles from town, where Center Road breaks away from the bay after being next to the shore. The historical marker says there was once a village named Archie here. I had only been swimming here, never diving. We went out and found a sloping drop-off and followed it northward. We then re-traced our path a little deeper on the return. Once again, we were surrounded by Zebra Mussels and crayfish the whole way. It was nice and sunny and relaxing. But the patterns of zebra mussels on sand were starting to wear a little thin by now.
While Ted stopped for some gas for his truck, I stopped and picked up some beer and steaks on my way back to the campsite. We grilled steaks over the fire for supper, enhanced by the yummy side dishes from Toms wife. That evening we told True Diving Stories and other Real Life Adventures around the campfire.
It was absolutely a great trip and I would repeat it with these guys anytime.
Thanks a lot Tom and Ted.
The weather was great, the camaraderie was better, and the diving was .... well... so-so. I grew up in TC, so I had a number of shore diving spots in mind that I used to hit on a regular basis.
I knew it had not been a while since I last dove them, but I looked it up tonight, and it has been since 1997 since my last dive there. Absence makes the memory fonder.
Thursday night we all traveled upnorth to TC. (Yes, upnorth is one word in Michigan.)
Tom had brought enough Black Forest micro-brew beer for us each to have a nice taste around the campfire. Thanks Tom! Not enough to prevent diving the next day though.
Bowers Harbor Marina on Old Mission Peninsula
You have to park at the DNR boat launch around the corner and swim the short distance to the edge of the drop-off and the marina. They dug out the sloping drop-off around 1990 to make the marina deeper. So it has a fairly sharp drop-off to 50-60 feet, then gradually slopes out into the harbor. We were there early in the morning so we could search underneath the harbor and all its boats for boat treasure.
After we had swept back and forth we realized that we were not the only ones with this idea. That was the cleanest harbor bottom any of us had ever seen. Nothing, nada, zip, and zero was found. Except, for a virtual carpet of the ever elusive Zebra Mussel. This had been a combination sand, gravel, and weed-bed bottom back in 1997.
Next, we went to the right of the DNR boat launch along the much shallower drop-offs there. The first one drops to about 20 feet, tables, and then drops to 35 and gradually descends out into the bay. We swam along the lower level for about 20 minutes and then back along the upper level. This time there were less zebra mussels and more crayfish. Still not as visual or pretty as I remembered. Plus, we did not see any fish, which previously had been the big draw for this dive.
We threw our gear in the vehicles, left our drysuits half on, drove through TC and out to West Bay Marina. The marina has a large boulder/rock wall that usually had lots of fish along it. The trench next to the wall has filled in some and now starts at 10 ft, out to about 20 ft at the end of the wall. This time there actually were schools of Rock Bass and Large-mouth Bass swimming along with us. Also some schools nestled up in the rock crevices to look at. I then took us South, over a slight sandbar, and along the drop-off at 25 ft until we reached the old tugboat wreck. It is now totally encrusted in Zebra Mussels. But, it has not caved in yet. We also saw a large carp and a couple of nice bass near the wreck.
Saturday morning we went to the Power Plant Pipes. These are the warm water exhaust pipes that go at least 3/10 mile out into the bay. Heavy breathers should bring a snorkel in case they run out of air. Maximum depth is 35 ft, most in the 20-25ft range. We snorkeled over to the pipes using a 60 degree heading from chest-deep water. We descended and followed them out. There were logs and stuff around the pipes, lots of crayfish. We only saw a few bass. Plus some garbage items pushed up against the pipes by wave action.
There are actually two pipes. When they cross, bear left for the longest one. We finally reached the end. It is a 10ft cube of fence enclosing crushed rock. We circled it twice and headed back. This site actually makes a good night dive once you know how to find the pipes.
Then we went back out on Old Mission Peninsula to the Archie Roadside Park. It is about 5-6 miles from town, where Center Road breaks away from the bay after being next to the shore. The historical marker says there was once a village named Archie here. I had only been swimming here, never diving. We went out and found a sloping drop-off and followed it northward. We then re-traced our path a little deeper on the return. Once again, we were surrounded by Zebra Mussels and crayfish the whole way. It was nice and sunny and relaxing. But the patterns of zebra mussels on sand were starting to wear a little thin by now.
While Ted stopped for some gas for his truck, I stopped and picked up some beer and steaks on my way back to the campsite. We grilled steaks over the fire for supper, enhanced by the yummy side dishes from Toms wife. That evening we told True Diving Stories and other Real Life Adventures around the campfire.
It was absolutely a great trip and I would repeat it with these guys anytime.
Thanks a lot Tom and Ted.
