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SurfLung
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Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2011 2:03 pm
First Name: Eben
Location: Alexandria, MN
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2020 Dive Schedule

Wed Sep 11, 2019 3:29 pm

2020 EXPANDED Dive Schedule
- I'm looking for suggestions on diving destinations, special events, and other opportunities. Not necessarily in our upper midwest area. Maybe we can fit something in nationally or at least regionally. And maybe it can run for more than just a weekend.
- Also, I'm thinking in terms of RECIPROCATION... You come to dive near MY house and I'll come to dive near YOUR house. The thing is, we may need the local guy to act as guide and front man to show us where to dive, suggest hotels, and restaurants, etc. Here's an example:

Mike Curran...
- Mike dives in the Black Hills SD. Look up some of his videos on YouTube. We'd like him to come and dive with us at Fortune Pond. But how about we schedule a dive out in HIS neck of the woods, too? He dives in the Pactola reservoir and his videos make the water look clear.

Terry Stevens...
- Terry lives in north central Michigan where Torch Lake and Crystal Lake offer beautifully clear water. I've been there and seen those lakes. There's close proximity to Lake Michigan, too. Terry's usually got something scheduled when we want him to come dive with us at Fortune. But maybe he can show us where to go and dive with us if we're camped out in his front lawn? :)

SwimJim...
- Jim lives on a beach on Lake Michigan. The water in front of his house looks as clear as the Caribbean (judging from the videos). He knows of Shipwrecks with easy shore access and not-too deep either. Is there a dive trip nearby?

DiverDon...
- Don is up in Marquette, MI. He comes to dive with us sometimes at Fortune. But he can't always get away. Lately he's been publishing videos of himself diving in Crystal clear waters right in the local harbor. Is that a dive trip we can do?

SurfLung (me)...
-I've got several ideas of my own but the Forum keeps kicking me out and losing them... Did it 3 times now. So, I'll write the rest offline and just paste the finished copy in when I'm done. No time to keep trying right now. :(
SurfLung
The Freedom and Simplicity of Vintage Equipment and
Vintage Diving Technique are Why I Got Back Into Diving.

swimjim
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First Name: Jim
Location: Belgium WI

Re: 2020 Dive Schedule

Wed Sep 11, 2019 6:59 pm

I like your style Eben. There is some great diving in my "neighborhood" But, the wrecks are accessible only by boat. That actually leads to two problems. Access to boats and Lake Michigan being somewhat fickle. Just like your better half, Lake Michigan will let you dive when she wants to. That being said we have a good local dive shop that runs a Six pack out of Port Washington. If we set something up in July when that lake is at it's calmest, we would have a running go at getting it done. I could see a BBQ at Casa de Swimjim as part of the festivities. Food for thought anyway.

Swimjim

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SurfLung
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First Name: Eben
Location: Alexandria, MN
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Re: 2020 Dive Schedule

Thu Sep 12, 2019 10:55 am

- Thanks Jim! Hey I wonder if we could have an alternate lined up so that we'd have somewhere else to dive even if Lake Michigan doesn't cooperate. BBQ at your Casa would be a great sweetener to the whole trip! :D

More Possible Dive Destinations...

OreBeGone - This is a lake in northern Minnesota that is formerly an iron mine that filled up with water. It was set up as a tourist/dive destination several years ago and has underwater attractions: Helicopter, speedboat, airplane, school bus, trolley cars, and a few others. Rich and I went there in August and it was packed with divers and swimmers... There are two parking lots positioned up the hill from the lake and a campground up on top. Diving was pretty excellent... Visibility 40-50 feet. Orebegone is in Gilbert MN which is just outside of Virginia, MN.

Eagle Lake - This is a lake that has "Fresh Water Coral" that still grows. Jacques Cousteau is said to have dived here on one of his expeditions. You can find it straight out from the boat ramps at depths of 35 feet. Considered an exceptionally clear lake, it is not real deep and has white sandy bottom. So, it looks like caribean blue water from up on the hill as you drive in. Actual visibility when we went there was 15-25 feet... I couldn't tell for sure because I was diving where divers had stirred up silt and after that I was diving where thare had not been divers... That was a fast scooter ride along a weed bed. Clear enough for riding a scooter should tell you something. Located a few miles northwest of Ashby, MN.

Square Lake - This used to be THE place for clear water diving in Minnesota when I was in HIgh School (back in 1972). It was beautiful... Water visibility was 25+ feet. There was a definite and health weed bank you could see clearly from the surface... So you could actually free dive as well as scuba dive. Since then the DNR has deemed it necessary to make this lake have full access to the entire Metro community... The installed one of those freeway style bopat ramps and three huge parking lots. They tried to introduce trout... (if its not already there why isn't it considered an invasive species?). Anyway this once beautiful lake is now a victim of over-use, invasive species, trout nutriant clouding, etc. So, sometimes in the Spring and Fall is can be really clear again. But in mid summer it's 5-10 feet. There are some attractions underwater: Speed boat, canoe, airplane tail, platforms, etc. Square Lake is just northwest of Stillwater, MN
SurfLung
The Freedom and Simplicity of Vintage Equipment and
Vintage Diving Technique are Why I Got Back Into Diving.

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ScubaLawyer
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Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 11:25 am
First Name: Mark
Location: Laguna Beach, CA

Re: 2020 Dive Schedule

Thu Sep 12, 2019 11:07 am

Or, we could all meet up in Bonaire, have a few drinks with little umbrellas in them, and dive vintage if the mood suits us. :)

Ignore me, I'm sitting in the DMV feeling sorry for myself waiting to get my driver's license renewed with the new Real ID. I'm number 356 and they called 1 through 5 in the last hour. Argh.
"The diver who collects specimens of underwater life has fun and becomes a keen underwater observer. .. seek slow-moving or attached organisms such as corals, starfish, or shelled creatures." (Golden Guide to Scuba Diving, 1968) :D

swimjim
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Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2006 12:28 am
First Name: Jim
Location: Belgium WI

Re: 2020 Dive Schedule

Thu Sep 12, 2019 5:13 pm

ScubaLawyer wrote:
Thu Sep 12, 2019 11:07 am
Or, we could all meet up in Bonaire, have a few drinks with little umbrellas in them, and dive vintage if the mood suits us. :)

Ignore me, I'm sitting in the DMV feeling sorry for myself waiting to get my driver's license renewed with the new Real ID. I'm number 356 and they called 1 through 5 in the last hour. Argh.
In Wisconsin our DMV's are much faster, but the guy handing out the new license's only speaks Vietnamese......

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SurfLung
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Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2011 2:03 pm
First Name: Eben
Location: Alexandria, MN
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Re: 2020 Dive Schedule

Thu Sep 26, 2019 9:30 am

What About fitting OHIO into our Midwest Schedule?
- Sea Hunt Jerry and I were on the phone this morning (he's heading up to Ore-Be-Gone) and he said that instead of 3-4 trips to Fortune we should combine a couple and go to Ohio for a week at Gilboa or White Star. I hadn't thought of it that way. For me, the trips I would replace would be the ones to Wazee though. Wazee has been disappointing too many times. Fortune pond is just too good to miss any chance I get to go there.
SurfLung
The Freedom and Simplicity of Vintage Equipment and
Vintage Diving Technique are Why I Got Back Into Diving.

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simonbeans
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First Name: Allan
Location: Rochester NY

Re: 2020 Dive Schedule

Thu Sep 26, 2019 6:34 pm

Jerry’s idea is a fair one in some respects. The Ohio “vintage” weekend is fun in that you get to see some friends and possibly enjoy the gear swap or sale. Diving in Gilboa Quarry is decent as viz can be 30’+. It has interesting features and an abundance of “stuff” in it. Lots of “trained” trout and others. White Star is another story. Usually poor to fair viz, lots of dive students and the routine “stuff”. Water is warm above the thermocline and cold below. In any case, both fit into my definition of Quarry: Hole in ground, full of water, in which they put junk.
Check out my website: www.vintagescubastuff.com

swimjim
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Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2006 12:28 am
First Name: Jim
Location: Belgium WI

Re: 2020 Dive Schedule

Thu Sep 26, 2019 8:06 pm

No offence to Ohio, but I can dive the same stuff at Wazee. I would like to darken Allan's door step at some point. We have something in common. Really interesting local diving! Plus I haven't spent any time in his part of the country. I lived in Reading Pa for four years back in the 80's. They have real live seafood out there! Hard to come by in the Midwest. Sounds like a road trip if I could swing it and Allan is interested. Hint..... :D

scubapeter
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First Name: peter
Location: Macedon NY

Re: 2020 Dive Schedule

Mon Sep 30, 2019 9:31 pm

IMHO Western NY has a lot to offer for diving. Niagara and St. Lawrence Rivers, Lake Ontario, and the Finger Lakes offer different but equally rewarding experiences. We tried a sand dog here in 2014.

swimjim
Master Diver
Posts: 1694
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2006 12:28 am
First Name: Jim
Location: Belgium WI

Re: 2020 Dive Schedule

Mon Sep 30, 2019 11:23 pm

scubapeter wrote:
Mon Sep 30, 2019 9:31 pm
IMHO Western NY has a lot to offer for diving. Niagara and St. Lawrence Rivers, Lake Ontario, and the Finger Lakes offer different but equally rewarding experiences. We tried a sand dog here in 2014.
Wanted to attend that one but finances just wouldn't allow it. It's on the list so to speak. I'd love to check it out some day. :wink:

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