This is what you crazy Americans need to do :-)

1) Take out a map of North America
2) Locate a country called Canada (it's the little country just North of
the USA ;-) )
3) Look for about 5 big blue blobs and a long thick blue line on the map.
They are right on the Canada-US border.

You have now found the Great Lakes and St Lawrence Seaway.

You have big, deep, cold lakes with tons of wrecks.  These lakes get very
bad storms on them, hence the wrecks.  It is tough diving, but different
than ocean diving.  Not tougher.  Not easier.  Different.

The St Lawrence is a monster river with wrecks 250' deep.  I've heard that
it goes down to ~500', but I really don't know.

I've also done the St Clair River when I had a GF that lived there.   I
didn't dive it during the *good* season.  I did my dives in March-Apr.
The vis was 4 ft, the dives were shallow, I couldn't see much of any of
the wrecks, none of the locals were diving, and there was a ripping
current.  It wasn't a 10 kn current (or whatever someone suggested).  I'd
really like to do the dives again with a little more vis.

Steve (the occasional ocean diver)


On Wed, 1 Aug 2001, Duane Liptak Jr. wrote:

> Thom & Cobber,
> 
> While I acknowledge the sea-trials of boat diving, I'm having trouble
> feeling "manly appreciation" for ocean OR lake divers.  Try driving to the
> middle of nowhere on dirt roads, throwing a canoe in a mud choked stream,
> and then proceeding to fill it with 104's, stages, and deco bottles.   Hope
> rednecks don't strip truck.  Paddle and/or drag (mostly drag(through
> thigh-deep mud)) said canoe for 2 hours upstream to spring run.  Drag canoe
> up log-jammed spring run.  Arrive at spring basin (using the term loosely).
> Finally get to paddle (100 ft).  Watch very carefully for "floating logs
> that move".  Don drysuits while being eaten alive by west nile carrying
> mosquitos and downing malaria medication.   Don condom cath in record time
> to avoid having a "skeeter on yer peter".   Don bottles and fins while
> standing in knee deep muck.  (Fins slide on easier though)  Grope around in
> 4' vis for cave entrance.  Find colder water and 10' vis.  Yahoo.  Tie into
> main line laid circa 1975.  Swim for-frigging-ever.  Wonder why floor is
> covered with thousands of square feet of orange marshmallow fluff looking
> stuff. Swear to boost FHe for next dive to see if this is a hallucination.
> Contemplate updating tetanus booster as soon as dive is over.   Find going
> tunnel, dump reel.  Vis had increased to 40 ft on way in.  Vis is now zero
> on the way out due to ceiling perc because we are the first idiots to bother
> coming here since the dawn of time.  Survey by Braille.  Deco out in 4' vis
> basin.  Get bumped by 4' long catfish, have heart attack thinking it is an
> alligator.  Wait 1/2 hour for bubbles to dissipate.  Load canoe, weakened by
> blood loss.  (Damn mosquitos were waiting for us)  Drag/paddle back.  Fight
> off rednecks at truck who insist dive partner has "a real perrty mouth".
> Begin preparations for dive 2 and hope Tally clears soon, as the banjo music
> fades in the distance.
>     The above events are a true (mostly) account (exaggeration) of a typical
> (as far as you know) dive in Xxxxxx county, XX (can't tell).  The names of
> the rednecks have been changed to protect the inbred.
> 
> Keeping it light,
> Duane  ;-)
> 
> 
> 
> ...
> 
> --
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