About a year before the trip, a friend of mine invited me to a “Great Lakes Wreck Tour”. The trip was a bit over 2 weeks long with 12 days of diving planned over 3 different areas. The boats had been booked 3 years in advance and only had 6 spots total. It involved 50+ hours of driving and diving in 38F water to depths ~200ft. Our fearless leader is an experienced diver in the area and organized everything to show it off to those unfamiliar. I paid my deposit and started getting prepped to see something new. I had been diving in the Great Lakes before, a few times, but never to these sites.

My opinion is that most cold water divers primarily dive the cold to tell other people how cold it was, instead of for the dive sites. The contest for having the coldest, most miserable dive in low visibility is a contest I’m happy to lose. I was prepared to be underwhelmed by this trip and disappointed in the effort, driving and cold – especially since two days before the trip I was diving in 85F warm Florida where our Pompano/Boca wreck sites are full of hundreds of fish species, coral, and big critters like goliath groupers and sharks. (It’s hard to measure up to South Florida diving.) I was, happily, proven wrong. While the cold water nerds absolutely exist, the dive sites we visited were proper nuts.

The Great Lakes are diveable 3-4 months a year. The appeal is very old, well-preserved wrecks. A combination of temperature and water conditions keeps wrecks over 100 years old pristine, looking like they just sank. The feeling of swimming around a wooden schooner with the masts still standing is hard to overstate. While I’d seen old wrecks before, the locations we visited are unparalleled. What they lacked in marine life (there were no fish on most dives) was reimbursed with museum-quality history. Without helium, I bet I would’ve seen Jack Sparrow swimming around with us.

Gear

The biggest hurdle for this kind of diving is thermal protection. 38F is very different than the 72F caves I routinely dive in, or the much warmer ocean. Even when we have cold water upwellings in South Florida it’s a thermocline at depth in the mid 60Fs. I had no recent experience in dry gloves, which were a requirement for this trip. I picked up a new ring system, gloves and thicker undergarments, as well as a new hood.

My biggest fear was the drysuit. It had ~ 1 year of diving on it and 6+patches. I wasn’t confident the suit would hold up. I wasn’t too concerned with the dry gloves, although it was a new system I have used dry gloves before.

• Layer 1: FE J2
• Layer 2: FE Xerotherm
• Layer 3: Venture heated vest
• Layer 4: FE Halo AR
• Gloves: Halo AR
• Socks: Halo AR

My venture heated vest was the star of the show. I typically used it during the last 1/3 of the bottom and on deco. Typically, I turned it off after hitting the thermocline because it was too hot. It ran at level 1 and when the thermocline was shallow, on 2 (of 3). Heated gloves and heated thighs would’ve been awesome – but I didn’t feel it was needed.

My dive buddies were of varied origins and experience levels, but all of them were more experienced with cold water diving than I was. Most of them used thinsulate wool gloves and socks with Santi BZ400 series thermals, some with heat, some without. They all had 1 less layer than me but were just as warm, if not warmer. I do pretty well in cold water, so I assume that their undergarments were warmer than mine – even without active heating. The dexterity of the FE halo AR gloves also left something to be desired. They were bulky and square-shaped with lots of stitches on the fingers. I’m confident they offered similar/less warmth with more bulk. I realised most of my struggles with the drygloves were because my thermal layer was significantly bulkier than everyone else’s. For my next trip, I’ll mimic their thermal choices with wool gloves and a Santi 400ish undersuit.

I used my choptima for these dives. There was another chest mount unit on the boat, but everyone else used a backmount CCR. Backmount units are always faster to get into (one less step in kitting up), but I still like my chop.

• Double 50s with trimix appropriate for the dives, one set with hypoxic and the other with normoxic gas.
• 80 of 30/30
• 80 of 50
• 40 of 100

Fills

The dive boats all offered fills, but we brought plenty of gas and 2 boosters. This was excessive, but it made us very independent.

Diving

These kinds of dives require a lot of work. Gearing up in thick undies, reduced dexterity with dry gloves, cold water, and deep diving is a unique combination. While it’s reasonable, the work has to be worth it. It’s important to have plenty of experience with your drysuit, rebreather, and deep diving. Drygloves offer a level of complexity when dealing with problems. Cold increases your susceptibility to issues like hypothermia (obviously), Oxtox, and DCS.

Doing the dives is obviously easy. Diving isn’t that hard. The bigger issue is dealing with problems. For example, on descent – going quite quickly – my drysuit disconnected. I was properly squeezed, including my hands, and popping the hose on with the gigantic dryglove rings wasn’t something I’d practiced much recently. A LPI nipple o-ring extrusion was another issue, but by then I had found more dexterity in the gloves and disconnected it easily. These were small issues, but small issues handled incorrectly can have big consequences. That’s a common misconception with deeper/colder/longer dives – the diving part is simple. The bigger marker for success is the ease of problem-solving that comes with experience.

Failures

Everyone experienced some kind of failure during the trip.

• Leaking regs
• Failed hoses
• Leaking dry gloves
• Dryglove getting disconnected underwater
• Drysuit getting disconnected on descent
• Zippers getting pulled open during giant stride
• Torn neck seal
• Torn wrist seal
• Forgotten wrist bungee for a poofy dry glove on ascent
• BCD inflator leak
• Two separate CCR controller floods – Shearwater was incredible and overnighted us two loaner computers to finish the trip. They charged us $0.

Plenty of spares, a good attitude, and the confidence to not dive are all important on a trip like this. Knowing how to do basic repairs on equipment, and even advanced repairs, should be a requirement for all technical divers. Everyone brought their own spares kits but we pooled resources to prevent having tools in duplicate at all times.

The lakes also have notoriously variable weather. We had dives canceled due to conditions, and that was part of the understanding when getting started. Earlier in the season is better for weather, but the thermoclines aren’t there. 38F top-to-bottom would’ve been much less fun than the 50-60F deco conditions we had. Sacrificing a few dives for waves was a logical choice to have comfy deco.

Locations
Leg 1: Presque Isle, MI – Lake Huron
Leg 2: Whitefish point, MI – Lake Superior
Leg 3: Isle Royale, MI – Lake Superior

Lodging

We organized airbnbs for the first two stints of the trip. This gave us a kitchen to do our cooking, washers/dryers and comfy beds. Both locations are popular vacation destinations so there were plenty of options and they made for fun afternoons by the firepit engaging in mild socialization activities.

Food

We primarily cooked as a group. We luckily had a talented cook on the trip who took the lead on meals. This saved money and time compared to eating out every night. Plus, it’s much higher quality. I hate paying for a mediocre meal after a day of diving. While some of the local restaurants looked ok – most didn’t. We did breakfasts as a group including parfaits, breakfast sammies, and pancakes.  We packed a lunch daily to take on board and had snacks on the boat to keep our bellies full after the cold. Blackdog charters made cinnamon rolls after the first dive of the day. Those were awesome. Below the Grade had custom decorated diving cookies – also tasty. Discovery was a fully catered experience and absolutely spectacular.

Dive Overview

A snapshot from my computer – the depth is my max depth, not necessarily the max depth of the site.

My favorite wrecks:

• Kamloops
• Mitchell
• Norman
• Windiate
• Florida

Details on many of these wrecks are here: https://thunderbay.noaa.gov/shipwrecks/

Most trip reports and posts about Great Lakes wrecks include a novella of copy/paste history on each wreck. I’m not going to do that. I’ll highlight interesting facts but you- with the power of google – can get all the fun deets on each wreck’s history.

Trip details

Travel day 1

Headed from South Florida to North Florida to stay the night and grab my drysuit.
~5hours of driving

Travel Day 2

Hit the road early and arrived just South of Cincinnati after ~12 hours

Travel Day 3

A short ~8 hours to finish the drive.
Lodging at an AirBNB on Long Lake outside of Alpena
Dinner: gringo tacos
Prepped food for breakfast and lunch for day 2

Diving Day 1

Our first day in Presque Isle. We dove with Blackdog charters. Capt Brian and Andrew ran the boat. Brian is a legend in the area and has been running Great Lakes Charters for a long time. Brian and Andrew both did a fantastic job. The boat (Blackdog) had a roomy galley and lounge area where we hung out for the short drive to the site before hopping onto the deck to gear up. They used a carolina-style downline. All the sites here were moored by a government agency. The buoys are removed at the end of the season and attached again the next summer. Subfloats (called murder balls because of their ability to commit homicide) stay year round.

The wrecks were all covered with invasive zebra mussels. This absolutely takes away from the pristine nature, but also gives crystal clear visibility. The murkier shallow water prevents some ambient light from making its way to the wreck, but even a small flashlight would work fine on these wrecks.

Day 1

After a bumpy ride out we dove the Kyle Spangler. Spangler had 2 standing masts, a visible helm and wheel, exposed rudder and demolished front from colliding with another ship, or perhaps a curb.

Dinner – Croc Pot chilli with cornbread. Lawd that felt nice.

Day 2

Smooth surface conditions and a quick ride out.

Norman – Large steel ship Plates and platters are strewn on the bottom. A lifeboat, unsuccessfully launched, sits off the side. The helm, with two wheels, sits off the side of the main structure. Perfectly spaced cargo holds make up most of the ship and the engine rooms are accessed with a bit of a squeeze. I forgot my camera on this dive and wanted to return ASAP because it was so cool.

Florida – huge package freighter with blown up stern and an engine just plopped on the bottom like it had been purposefully placed there. Gauges, cups, and cargo were visible. This wreck is too big to appreciate in one dive. We immediately requested a second.

Dinner: Burgers and a wedge salad

Day 3

Typo – Super cool schooner with coal debris field. Rigging littered the deck. These schooners are proper creepy.
Florida – Worth it to do again, I’d go another time or two as well.
Dinner: Chicken tacos

Day 4

Norman – Much needed second dive
Windiate – Schooner with mystery story. Lifeboat on stern. Insane smashing of wood floorboards in stern quarters from a clearly violent end. Incredible dive site.
Dinner: Ate out on the way to Whitefish point

Day 5

Rest day
Visited the shipwreck museum and saw the recovered bell of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Collected stones on the beach. It was very enjoyable.

Dinner: Pasta with garlic bread

Day 6

Whitefish point. No mussels here. Water is less clear, 42 on bottom, 62 on deco. Some current on these sites. Ho Hum (Below the Grade) was captained by Tracy. This is a unique vessel made exclusively for diving. The dive gear benches were adjustable to standing height for ease of entry. Tracy also has a diver lift – this is opulent.

Mather – Low viz on the bottom for this dive, especially compared to the other sites. Not a ton to see here but everyone says it’s the best wreck in the area. Evidently the wreck gets variable visibility because of its location. I think the Mather deserves a second visit to figure out what’s so cool.

Panther – Lumberyard of a wreck – very demolished. Some tools laying around. Lots of carp and borbout and was pretty much the only fishy wreck we saw.

Dinner: Chuck roast tacos

Day 7

Comet – Very dark at the bottom but much clearer than the Mather. Most of the wreck is mushed and spread out but it was still absolutely awesome. The engine is still standing, with a neat painted logo on the side. The support arches rise up from the floor like giant ferris wheels. Tools and trinkets are scattered around.

Vienna – Clear and interesting. Paint still visible on walls, slightly visible name on stern, big props. Head in the aft compartment.
Dinner: Leftovers

Day 8

Osbourne – Wooden steamer, lots of trinkets strewn about, big anchors.
Mitchell – This was a decision from a group member who read about it in a book. It’s not dove often and we installed the mooring ourselves. Noone we talked to had dove it before, including the capt. From first look the Mitchell seems boring. She’s totally upside down with the prop up, easily visible. However, the Mitchell was a blast. The coal field, impact site, and clay banks from crashing into the bottom were all super cool. The highlight however was the inside. An access hatch allowed us to enter the engine room and crew quarters. As it was our first dive and time was limited after installing the mooring, we did light penetration but all of us wanted to return to explore more. Light bulbs and toilets being in the wrong spots (since she’s upside down) was bizarre. The wreck was filled with nasty silt so penetration is not a great idea without a competent team and good navigational practices.

Day 9

With two controller failures and only one backup controller I sat this day out so the other failure buddy could get a dive in (he missed the previous day). I waited at the house for the overnight shipment from shearwater with our two loaners to arrive to sign for it. This was a bummer because the site was (evidently) spectacular. They dove the superior city, a large steel freighter – like a mini Fitzgerald.

Day 10

~10 hour drive to Grand Portage

Day 11

Isle Royale is touted as the best Great Lakes diving for a few reasons. One is the remote nature. The island is ~44 miles from the mainland so it’s a liveaboard charter. The other is the Kamloops. The “loops” is a proper Great Lakes mystery wreck. While not as old as some of the other vessels we visited, the loops is an absolutely insane wreck.

We dove with Ryan – Isle Royale Charters – on the Discovery. 4 beds in the bow, 2 on a cot and a fully stocked kitchen make this boat a cosy but capable liveaboard. There is also a full fill station (compressor, 2 boosters, trimix and oxygen). We also had the option to camp on the island after arrival. I like to camp so I brought a tent.

We motored 6 hours to the Kamloops and enjoyed our first dive there. The wreck is covered in cargo. Pipes, boxes of hammers broken open, rolls of chicken wire. Everywhere you look there’s something to see. The Kamloops was the shining star of the trip and I understand why people dive it exclusively when doing Isle Royale Charters. It’s nuts. The cargo is spilled out everywhere and the ship is gorgeous. The telegraph is still visible, stuck in it’s last position, the helm and dog house glass is eerily intact, and the evidence of humanity is a stark reminder of the tragic fate of the crew. It’s especially creepy staying on Isle Royale, knowing that many of the crew’s last nights were on that island, not far from where you’re comfortably sleeping. It’s worth the expense to only see the Kamloops and everyone wanted more dives to explore the wreck. As it was our first day, the shallower thermocline limited the dive for everyone. we were prepped and excited for more dives on the famous wreck, with a better understanding of the temperatures and the layout. Unfortunately, that wasn’t in the cards for us this trip.

Day 12

Congdon – This wreck is split in two, on either side of a shallow shoal. We tied in on the forward side of the stern section and made our way down to the stern. The congdon hit the bottom so hard her rudder went up through the fantail and is protruding from the stern deck. That was super cool. The helm is visible and the engine room is easily accessed. There is an American flag painted on the engine. Absolutely awesome.

Emperor – This wreck started very shallow and then got deeper (which is true of all wrecks I guess). The holds were empty but the giant twisted metal of this huge wreck was impressive. The stern was covered in signs of life. Bunks, the galley, sinks, cups and plates scattered the floor telling a story of a ship where people lived. Putzing around was a hoot and the bow section lay comfortably in the shallow warm water. Looking forward from the bow it was apparent why the ship sank – the ground came very close to the surface there.

The weather wasn’t looking great for the next few days and we had a minor medical incident so at this point we made the decision to motor home 2.5 days early. We missed more dives on the Loops and were all disappointed but it was the right decision under the circumstances.

Day 13

Started the long drive home ~25 hours.

Finances

Diving/Lodging: $3,000

Food costs for the group meals was ~$120 for 6 people over 9 days. Fills varied depending on who brough boosters and gas. Fuel and lodging on travel days was a few hundred dollars. The budget for everyone was $5,000/person and we were all under budget.

Takeaways

I started this trip expecting to be underwhelmed. A few old wooden wrecks and cold water. Knock it out and plan the next badass South Florida diving trip. I was proven wrong. The experience, expense and effort required to do the dives we did was rewarded in full. It was an insane trip and I’m happy I was invited, able to go, and had such a great team.

• Get experience in your configuration before doing deep+cold+remote – it’s not aquarium diving and you need to be able to solve problems.
• Choose reliable gear and bring spares – gear fails.
• Pick a great team – one shitty team member in an intimate setting like this destroys the dynamics.
• Be ready to work for the reward – if you’re getting worn out after every dive then you’re not in good dive conditioning.

If you’re interested in an adventure like this…well, it’s not advertised typically because of the whole great team point above. They’re also planned years in advance. My team has bookings for future trips and we’re excited to share the experience with others who are interested so – reach out!