Want to dive Great Lakes -- where to start?

[Marie13]

Monohansett stern


Pics are Monohansett prop, me on the Montana.

 

[Marie13]

The DM Wilson was my favorite wreck. Decking gone, but lots of framing to swim through. It was fabulous.

 

[Marie13]

The yellow line in the DM Wilson pics goes from the bow to the mooring. The marine sanctuary makes a point of keeping the moorings away from the wrecks, but IMO, some of them were rather too far away from the wrecks in lower viz.

 

[Schwob]

What were the bottom temps?

 

[Marie13]

Day 1
Grecian, 93ft, 48F
Monohansett, 20ft, 68F
Montana, 66ft, 52F

Day 2
Lucinda Van Valkenburg, 60ft, 48F
DM Wilson, 49ft, 52F
Nordmeer, 40ft, skipped due to topside conditions

 

[Schwob]

@Marie13 : Thanks.

 

[Marie13]

This was taken on the stern of the Grecian. She's a steel freighter that went down in 1906 on the way to Detroit for repairs. She was unloaded, and no lives lost. Her middle has collapsed which gives access to her innards. Very neat to see. Didn't go inside her, even for a swim through, but I did on a later wreck.

 

[Stoo]

How cold does it get in the water there?

I've always maintained that doing one dive in a wetsuit is easy, even in 40° water. If it's early season, you're going to be REALLY cold... like shivering uncontrollably, hands basically feel like someone beat them with a hammer, and you won't feel your feet for an hour. (All assuming a top of the line suit, that fits properly, and is 7+7mm.

The hard part, is on subsequent dives. After that first dive, it will take many hours to truly warm up, plus three meals, a nap, and a quart of hot chocolate. Climbing back into a (now wet) wetsuit an hour after the first dive, is just plain painful.

 

[Marie13]

The quality of the Thunder Bay wrecks is impressive. We dove wrecks from 18ft (Monohansett) to 100fr (Grecian). Lots of variety for inexperienced to very experienced divers.

I'm used to wrecks in southern Lake Michigan that are encrusted with zebra mussels. There were a lot less on the Thunder Bay wrecks.

 

[matt86]

Looks like a great trip! It is awesome getting on a wreck that's not totally covered in zebra mussels. We dove the wreck of the Bermuda in Lake Superior earlier this summer, and I was amazed at the lack of mussels.

The quality of the Thunder Bay wrecks is impressive. We dove wrecks from 18ft (Monohansett) to 100fr (Grecian). Lots of variety for inexperienced to very experienced divers.

I'm used to wrecks in southern Lake Michigan that are encrusted with zebra mussels. There were a lot less on the Thunder Bay wrecks.