Looking to dive Lake Superior/ Minneapolis

Drmike

Hi guys,

I have a business trip mid to end July to Minneapolis and was thinking of taking my MK15.5 along for a spot of fresh water wreck diving.

Is anyone here diving around there and can hook me up? Any adivse on what to do/expect?

Cheers
Mike

WBA

Hi Mike,

I don't have any personal info to share but you could ask here : http://www.mnscuba.com/yabbse/

They have a small rebreather forum and should be able to give you some info. End July is a great time for diving in the Great Lakes.

Cheers

Wayne

Skipbreather

Hi Mike-

If you’re going to be in Minneapolis the guy you want to get in touch with is Ron Benson www.goingunder.net . He’s tops in Rebreather training & operations in the area. As far as wrecks go, it depends on how much time you have available.

For my money the finest wreck diving in all of Lake Superior is in Isle Royale National Park. Isle Royale is a very large island (10 miles x 50 miles) located in the northwestern part of the lake. All diving there is done by boat, either live aboard or private. The remote nature of the island makes it a very suitable site for Rebreather diving since the sheer volume of gasses that must be carried for multi day diving of the deeper wrecks OC can be prohibitive for all but the largest of dive boats. All operators must be self sufficient since the nearest dive shop of any kind is probably 100 miles away.

The wrecks there span the 1870’s to 1947. They are buoyed and protected by the National Park Service. One of the really special things about Great Lakes wreck diving is that historic wood wrecks remain intact. It is truly amazing to dive a 140 year old wreck and have all the wood still there! The oldest wood wreck I’ve dived in the park is the Cumberland, a steam side wheeler that sank in 1877. The bottom in the area is so treacherous that 22 years later the steam propeller Chisholm sank on top of it! The deepest wreck in the park is the Kamloops (60 to 85 m). It holds much the same lure for Great Lakes divers that the Doria does for those on the East Coast.

A great book about the wrecks there was published in 1994. It was an adaptation of a survey done by the park service and it includes copious amounts of historical information as well as pictures and wrecksite maps. It makes a great read even if you have no plans to visit the park. “Shipwrecks of Isle Royale National Park The Archeological Survey” published by Lake Superior Port Cities, Inc., Duluth, Minnesota.

Oh- bring your woolies! Bottom temperatures are often in the 4 deg C range, even in August!

Hope this helps.

Best,
Ken

Drmike

Thanks guys for the great advice.


Cheers
Mike