Michigan UnderWater Divers Club

Paw Paw Lake Fire Lanes – Watervliet

dwmack — Fri, 18 May 2012 23:31:56 +0000

A beautiful day to be in the water anywhere. The temperature was warm enought that there were swimmers in the lake today and flushing the wet suit to stay cool was necessary. That says its summer and certainly time to be diving.

Conditions were similar to Wednesdays dive, 8′ to 10′ visibility, managable weeds, and no “bumping” carp today. And yes, there were ladies in the water swimming near the fire lane, ski boats buzzing around, and ponton boats doing the circuit.

Another nice day to dive – Wish you could have been their too!

O-yea, check out the keepers for today

Saint Joseph River Run

dwmack — Thu, 17 May 2012 23:26:14 +0000

: Carronda Boat Launch

The Big Lake was too rough to play in today so it was back to the river we went.

We initially spent some time checking out areas around boat launches for targets to dive on then settled on checking out a log dam/jam for possible fishing gear & tackle.

The current in the outside bends was very fast and necessitated the use of a rope to assist the individual in the water and especially to provide a secure path back to the boat. When doing this type of dive having surface support/ tending very is necessary.

A day on the river is better than a day in the office even if you don’t go home with any keepers.

Diving Paw Paw Lake Fire Lane (Watervliet side)

dwmack — Wed, 16 May 2012 23:15:30 +0000

: Fire Lane off Lake street – Watervliet side

A nice day of diving on Paw Paw Lake via a fire lane on the Watervliet side.

The surface water temperature was in the low 60′s which was good to the first thermocline at 15 feet. It was a bit windy on the surface and the lake was choppy but surprisingly the visibility was 8 to 10 feet.

Saw a good number of fish, bumped by a large carp (again), live clams but no crayfish. The weeds in the shallows are workable. Noted that the chemical release form was posted and referenced it was OK for diving after May 10th. It appears there will be an additional dump in June so look for posting near public piers and boat launches before diving.

There was a keeper or two found this dive – check treasures to see

Lake Michigan Mowing the Lawn

dwmack — Tue, 15 May 2012 22:52:27 +0000

Setting up the boat

Ken & Mac got out on Lake Michigan on Tuesday to obtain firm GPS numbers and scans of the two water intake crids located off Jean Klock beach. The are at 36′ and 40′ and are good 20 minute dives each. Surface water temperature was ~57F.

The remaining afternoon was passed doing grids looking for the PV-2 Neptune bomber that was dumped offshore in 1950 and trying to get firm numbers on a old wreck off the North pier.

It was a nice way to spend the day and we even got a little sun burn

Bob Lake 16 – Allegan

dwmack — Mon, 14 May 2012 01:12:20 +0000

Kirk W and Bob S dove lake 16 today.

It was a chilly 43 at the bottom which made the upper thermocline a wonderful 54 degrees! This was especially welcome due to the leak in my left glove, my index finger kept getting colder and colder.

Visibility was at least 25-30 feet and it was very bright at 80 ft. The new LED lights work great, 25 watts is a lot of light!

Paw Paw Lake – Fire Lane in Watervliet, MI

dwmack — Wed, 09 May 2012 04:15:02 +0000

Paw Paw Lake was a little windy with moderate wave action. The water is warming up (at least 55F) , weed growth getting dense in the shallows until you hit 10’ on the incline.

Visibility today averaged 3 to 4 feet, found a good number of live clams, bumped up against one very large carp (startled us both!) , misc smaller fish. Some treasures but nothing nice enough to take home.

The sun was out and it was a great day to dive and even saw two die hard swimmers playing off the Forrest Beach pier.

Rockaway Wreck – Lake Michigan, South Haven

dwmack — Sat, 05 May 2012 04:07:27 +0000

Great dive on the Rockaway today.

We had 8 ft vis, 15feet with a good light! Temperature was 48 degress F at 65 ft and 54 degrees topside.

Three divers with a little rain and 1-3 ft waves. Good way to start the weekend! Already looking for next weeks dive, how about Mac’s wreck….?

Diamond Lake on the “South Bend” wreck

dwmack — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 03:58:56 +0000

Great dive today at Diamond Lake on the South Bend wreck.

Visibility was around 10 ft, water temp was 51F, and the dive bell was interesting too.

Five (5) divers in the boat made a full load but it’s was only a short trip from the launch to the wreck. Thankfully Kirk had the gps numbers The new boat ladder was a success too!

Shipwreck Explorers – Spring Break Activity Day

dwmack — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 23:45:44 +0000

: North Berrien Historical Museum Coloma – Kids Day

Today, four MUD Club members participated in the Shipwreck Explorers Spring Break Activity Day held by the North Berrien Historical Museum located in Coloma, Michigan.

The activity day included hands-on crafts and demonstrations related to the museum’s new shipwreck exhibit.

Participants received a sailors hat, made their own message in a bottle, crafted a light -up model of the Saint Joseph Lighthouse, had sail boat races, met divers who explore shipwrecks and had the opportunity to try on dive equipment and handle all sorts of dive related gear.

The Muddies had over 120 kids pass thru their various stations. The most popular station was dressing in dive gear and having their photo’s taken.

This was a fun day for all, especially the bigger kids, the Muddies themselves

New Diver

Manatee State Park – FL

admin — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 02:12:51 +0000

Jim, Josh and Darrin decided to brave clear, warm water and get some dives in. The first dive was at Manatee State Park. Water was 70 degrees F and vis was 100′ plus. We proved you can silt up the bottom but in less than a minute the vis will clear up. The green hole was much better than it looked.