Question What mix to use for 200ft (60m)

[broncobowsher]

There was a recent discussion with some so-cal friends. They are all on rebreathers. Filling at home. Some comments about so few places around where they can get a mix filled.

I would have you (the OP) inquire about getting trimix fills locally. Don't assume you can get them.

When I travel to So-cal for diving I bring my own fills. I've never had a fill in Cali for anything besides air and O2.

 

[rjack321]

Hey there. First off this post is not intended to be a short cut around training but rather I'm trying to decide if I should look into rebreather or stay open circuit. I am pointing out I have not takes any "tec training" yet. I'm planning to take TDI sidemount and start AN/DP by the end of this year or early next year depending on finances. I am planning to do as much of my diving in sidemount as possible so (4 cylinders or less).

My ultimate goal is to get over to the Great Lakes and dive the shipwrecks in Lake Huron, Michigan, USA, it seems that a lot of the wrecks are at about the 200ft (60m) mark. So my question is what mix of trimix would I be using for these dives? I have a young family so I can see myself being able to get away for 1 week (7days) a year for this kind of trip. a 7 day trip likely means 5 days of diving, I hear the common rule of thumb is "2 deco dives a day keeps the doctors away" I'm not too sure if 200ft(60m) is considered a big deco dive, if it is then it would be "1 deco dive a day keeps the doctors away".

So If I'm doing 5-10 dives a year to 200ft does a rebreather make sense? Would anyone be willing to help me out with what I would be expecting to carry when it comes to back gas and deco gas?

Exactly what timeframe are you thinking of making these trimix trips? Your choice of destination and operator will dictate what gases you can even get at all.

Sidemount wont be popular on any boat I've used in the Great Lakes - most of those skippers think it's a stupid fad that vastly increases their level of effort and crap around the boat - which is all true, plus its totally unnecessary. Backmount plus a bottom stage for 2x 180-200ft dives per day (plus deco gas) is much less stuff and way easier.

 

[Tracy]

So it sounds like youre saying the cost of rebreather for 5-10 dives a a destination is too expensive but filling OC bottles is getting harder to do? I plan to dive locally (southern California) to build up experience (and time on a rebreather if I get into one) but my big goal is to get to Lake Huron to see the ship wrecks.

That is exactly right. If you are diving trimix every weekend, the unit will pay for itself and training within a year. If you do a few deep dives per year, it won't ever get there.
But on the other side, more and more places won't even deal with OC trimix so it may become that you just can't do them on OC anymore.

Reach out when you are thinking about heading this way. Brian @ Blackdog and myself are the two boats on Huron that rent and fill tanks, mix or not. Both of us are booked 1-2 years in advance, so make your plans nice and early. 2025 is about half booked.
Don't think the deep wrecks are all that the Great Lakes have to offer, we have a lot of great recreational shipwreck diving. You can always come check out the wrecks at your current cert level. That greatly expands the available charter boats as well.

DRIS runs a boat down in Port Sanilac MI dadivecharters.com
Fully Tek runs a boat out of Port Franks, ON. They do technical trips as well but I don't think he fills trimix. sidemountboat.com
Capt Travis runs a boat in Alpena MI
Diver's Den in Tobermory, ON has numerous boats diversden.ca
Nautical North has boats in Cheboygan and Mackinaw City nauticalnorthfamilyadventures.com
Capt Dan runs a boat in St Ignace stignacescuba.com

All of those boats cater to recreational diving in Lake Huron. Nautical North and Capt Dan both have air/nitrox fills available as well.

Reading that back, it sounds like Brian and I don't do recreational, that isn't the case at all, I was just stating that you have additional options in the recreational range.

 

[rjack321]

That is exactly right. If you are diving trimix every weekend, the unit will pay for itself and training within a year. If you do a few deep dives per year, it won't ever get there.
But on the other side, more and more places won't even deal with OC trimix so it may become that you just can't do them on OC anymore.

Reach out when you are thinking about heading this way. Brian @ Blackdog and myself are the two boats on Huron that rent and fill tanks, mix or not. Both of us are booked 1-2 years in advance, so make your plans nice and early. 2025 is about half booked.
Don't think the deep wrecks are all that the Great Lakes have to offer, we have a lot of great recreational shipwreck diving. You can always come check out the wrecks at your current cert level. That greatly expands the available charter boats as well.
DRIS runs a boat down in Port Sanilac MI
Capt Travis runs a boat in Alpena MI
Nautical North has boats in Cheboygan and Mackinaw City
Capt Dan runs a boat in St Ignace
All of those boats cater to recreational diving in the Lakes. Nautical North and Capt Dan both have air/nitrox fills available as well.

Reading that back, it sounds like Brian and I don't do recreational, that isn't the case at all, I was just stating that you have additional options in the recreational range.

Small plug for Ryan and Isle Royale charters who runs recreational charters and tech charters. Not Lake Huron but very much a travel worthy destination coming from afar

 

[rddvet]

Both of us are booked 1-2 years in advance, so make your plans nice and early. 2025 is about half booked.

Holy sh-t I didn't know that. I have a few more friends that are great lakes divers and will finally make it up there. Didn't realize it was that busy

 

[Tracy]

Holy sh-t I didn't know that. I have a few more friends that are great lakes divers and will finally make it up there. Didn't realize it was that busy

Ryan, the captain mentioned above has been booked 2-3 years out for the last 5 years.
I always tell people to just book him, you have three years to make the logistics work out. I don't think anybody has ever booked a week with Ryan and not had an amazing time.
As we keep losing dive boats, the remaining boats book further and further out.
Sallot missed out on a charter this year after he waited a couple months to book it. It is a good problem for me, but annoying when you are on the other end.

 

[tmassey]

Ryan, the captain mentioned above has been booked 2-3 years out for the last 5 years.
I always tell people to just book him, you have three years to make the logistics work out. I don't think anybody has ever booked a week with Ryan and not had an amazing time.
As we keep losing dive boats, the remaining boats book further and further out.
Sallot missed out on a charter this year after he waited a couple months to book it. It is a good problem for me, but annoying when you are on the other end.

It isn’t that bad for recreational dives in the Lake Huron Thumb area (mainly Port Sanilac). I think it’s rare for the Go Between (the DRIS/Double Action Dive Charters boat) to sell out more than a week or two out, if at all. There’s probably 6-10 wrecks you can do at 130 feet or shallower.

If you want the wrecks between 130 and, say, 180, it‘s harder. Divers Inc. scheduled two weekends of charters this summer on those wrecks. I think they all sold out — or most did, anyway —but *both* weekends got cancelled! (Boat trouble the first weekend, weather the second.) I was scheduled to go out on both weekends…

It was a real bummer…. But I managed to snag a last-minute spot on @Tracy ’s boat for the first weekend, which was nice. It’s a great boat (and crew ) to go out with. If you can get on, which is hard on a boat scheduled years in advance…

The wrecks below 180 are even harder to get to. There are charters, but at that level I don’t know of too many boats or dive groups that are up for random strangers, You kind of have to know people, and it’s usually a private charter.

But the takeaway is: you don’t need a rebreather *or* trimix to dive Lake Huron, from the Thumb or from Alpena (or from Mackinaw/St. Ignace, either). There are a few options to choose from for advanced recreational dives. It’s much easier to get on those trips, too.

Tracy is a great resource, and he gave you a bunch more to check out, too. There’s no need to invest 5 figures in a rebreather to get started, either. OC will get you on plenty of wrecks here. And if 5 years from now He gets too hard to get for OC, by then you will have plemty of first-hand experience to decide how best to move forward.

 

[rjack321]

The wrecks below 180 are even harder to get to. There are charters, but at that level I don’t know of too many boats or dive groups that are up for random strangers, You kind of have to know people, and it’s usually a private charter.

Is it plausible *anywhere* to walkup tech dive?

All of my trips have been private full boat charters, although on one of my trips I buddied up with a "filler" who was substituting for a last minute cancellation based on the skipper's recommendation. We did about eight 150 to 250ft dives together over those 5 days. He's a cool dude and I have dove with him again on a later trip too.

 

[Tracy]

Divers Inc. scheduled two weekends of charters this summer on those wrecks. I think they all sold out — or most did, anyway —but *both* weekends got cancelled! (Boat trouble the first weekend, weather the second.)

I know it is petty, but I laughed pretty hard when that happened.
When you are banned from every boat except one, it eventually catches up to you.

 

[rjack321]

When you are banned from every boat except one, it eventually catches up to you.

This is a story we should hear!