Lake Michigan Wreck Diving (report)

[jasondbaker]

Imagine diving on 3-masted schooners built in the mid 1800's, enjoying 30+ foot visibility, and 68deg water temperature -- all accessible by shore.  Sound like some tropical paradise? Think again.  This is wreck diving in Green Bay and Lake Michigan.  And this is my report.<br><br>I drove to Sturgeon Bay, WI, located at the foot of Door County.  For the uninititated, Door County is the finger-like peninsula on the eastern coast of Wisconsin.  I visit my folks in Sturgeon Bay a couple times a year.<br><br>My father, who stopped diving in 1984, recently told me about some of the wrecks in Door County.  Many of the wrecks are accessible via shore.  In fact, the dive shop in Green Bay has identified at least 30 quality shore dives in Door County alone.  The visibility has greatly improved recently due to the zebra mussel invasion. I conviced my father to take a scuba refresher course and get his old equipment serviced.  He even went out and bought a new wetsuit.<br><br>We set out Friday for our first day of diving.  We planned to do two shore dives from the Quarry Co. Park, located west of Sturgeon Bay, in Green Bay.  I expected the Bay side to be warmer and have less visibility than Lake Michigan.  <br><br>Our first wreck dive was the "Hurd".  The Hurd was a 128' wooden steamer built in 1869 and scuttled in 1913.  We entered the water via a boat ramp.  The water temp was mid 60's at the surface and a cool 46deg below the 15' thermocline.  The visibility was about 15-18' -- not bad at all by MN standards.  I was amazed to see such an old wreck. The hull was still intact and I could see the wooden decking.  This was also a surprisingly big wreck.  I also could not believe the number of fish here.  I enountered a school of at least 50 walleye, each was 20+ inches.  This really felt like ocean diving. <br><br>One note about the zebra mussels.  These critters are EVERYWHERE and on everthing.  I can see why the visibility has improved greatly over the years. There must be billions of them in the lakes.<br><br>All of our shore wreck dives were VERY shallow -- 12-25' -- making these dives suitable for novices.  In fact, these were my shallowest dives of the year. Many of these ships ran aground or struck shoals close to the shoreline.  <br><br>Our second shore dive was in a location about 500 yards south of our first dive.  We entered the water via a very rocky shoreline.  The entrance was a bit tricky.  The rocks were slippery and the wave action had increased.  The second wreck was the "Mueller".  The Mueller was a wooden freight steamer built in 1887 and scuttled in 1933.  The visibility was not as good (10') as the first wreck due to the waves.  Again I saw an abundance of fish at this location.<br><br>We decided to go to the northern part of the peninsula for our second day of diving.   We drove to Garrett Bay on the northwest side of the peninsula.  Garrett Bay was still on the Green Bay side.  We entered the water at an old boat ramp and proceeded out to about 25 feet of water.  The water temp was about 54deg at the bottom.  The visibility was amazing -- 30-35'.  We dove the "Fleetwing".  The Fleetwing was a 3-masted schooner built in 1867 and sunk in 1888 due to pilot error.  This wreck was located in several big pieces.  We found the collapsed hull with the ship's ribs marking the general shape of the hull. <br><br>After this shore dive we drove up to Gills Rock at the tip of the peninsula.  We visited Dinosaur Divers -- the only dive shop in Door County.  They offer daily boat charters to the deeper wrecks.  They dive on huge wrecks that are incredibly well preserved.  Daily charters cost $60-80 for two wreck dives.  You need to provide ALL equipment.  Tank fills are expensive -- $8. Note, these trips can take 6-8 hours due to the long travel time required to reach some of the wrecks.  Plan ahead. The deeper wrecks are located in VERY cold water (30's).  A drysuit is highly recommended.  I plan to take a charter trip with them next time I visit.<br><br>Our fourth and final dive took place at Jacksonport, on the eastern shore of the peninsula in Lake Michigan.  I figured that this would be the coldest dive of the trip.  I was wrong.  It was the warmest.  We entered the water at the boat ramp by the local park.  The bay here is very shallow.  We had to dive through moderate surge for a couple hundred yards to reach more than 15' depth.  The water temp was a balmy 68deg.  We reached an old pier structure at about 12'.  There were remains of several unknown wrecks scattered throughout the area.  <br><br>Door County offers wonderful diving only 5 hours from Minneapolis.  You can do charter trips or inexpensive shore dives.  The dive shops in Green Bay provide a really nice map of regional shore dives.  Also, I bought a great book called "The Great Lakes Diving Guide" by Cris Kohl.  Buy this book now.  It includes over 900 known wreck sites (of the 10,000 lost ships) across all of the Great Lakes (including North Shore dives).  <br><br>I plan to dive in Door County again in the near future.  Next time I might have to take some local buddies.  <br>

[LKunze]

Jason that sounds awesome.  Definately let me know when you're going back I'd love to go!

[DanL]

Jason,<br>Great report! Thanks for taking the time to tell us about the trip.<br>Sounds like a great dive trip.  I would definitely like to go along, and that charter dive sounds unmissable!<br>Thanks,<br>Dan<br><br>(do zebra mussels transfer on dive equipment, etc?)

[jasondbaker]

<br>I don't see how zebra mussels could attach themselves to your dive equipment.  Your body, and equipment, don't present an optimal location for the mussels.  Plus you are only diving for a short period of time.  The edges of the mussels' shells may present a snag or tear hazard.  You won't find the mussels on the deeper wreck sites. <br><br>A local boater told me that he anchored out for an afternoon and at the end of the day his anchor was completely covered with mussels. The critters work fast.<br><br>Part of me wishes that these mussels were in the local lakes just for the increased visibility.  But, I'm sure there are significant environmental impacts.

[MNLakeDiver]

Great report, I'd love to head out for a weekend dive trip

[hgs_notes]

I saw that a dive shop in Virginia, MN is planning a weekend trip to Door County in August. It's called Tall Pine Scuba. and thaey do have a web site.<br><br>HG