Lake Michigan Dive

With the short summers we have here in Wisconsin, everyone does their best to make the most of the season.  We at Manta Divers are no exception.

 On Saturday, 6 lucky Team Manta members joined me on two Lake Michigan dives off the catamaran, Mai Tai. I say the participants were lucky, but perhaps quick is a better descriptor.  This dive outing was booked within a week of being posted on our calendar. We left McKinley Marina in Milwaukee at 8am and headed out to the Prinz Willem and the Dredge, two of the lake’s most popular wrecks. The lake was flat as could be, so the 40 minute cruise to the site was particularly enjoyable. I enjoyed sitting on the bow watching the sun climb in the sky, letting the lake breeze blow my hair.

Though the water was exceptionally flat, exceptional underwater visibility was not a guarantee. However, when we got to “The Willie’s” mooring, it looked quite promising.  We all geared up and entered the water, bracing for those first trickles of frigid Lake Michigan to seep into our suits. (That is to say all of us but the drysuit divers!)   After checking that everyone was squared away, we signaled to start the descent. 

It is imperative in Lake Michigan that divers descend with at least an eye on the mooring line. The thing is that there may be a mild current and even if a diver thinks that he is descending straight down, he may not.  It is exceedingly easy to miss the wreck all together, and not be able to find it at depth.  Therefore, we made our descent along the mooring line and soon were at 70 ft. looking at the stern of the Prinz Willem.  We could see almost to midship from that vantage point, so we all knew we were in for a treat.  We toured around the 258ft ship, now encrusted in mussels and algea. With such great water clarity, divers were better able to get a sense of the majesty of this ill-fated vessel.   As the wetsuiters got cold, and others came to the end of their air, the group ascended and ended the dive.

Photo by Scott Durban

We sat around the charter boat discussing the dive and rehydrating while Captain Rick ferried us to our next site, the Dredge No. 6.  At the Dredge’s mooring, we could see the top of out of the “spuds” for this upside down wreck, portending another clear water dive.  Again we jumped in, checked that everyone was ready and started our descent.  The Dredge is one of my favorite dives, with its inverted position, all the spools and rope hanging underneath, and the huge dredge shovel. On past dives on the Dredge, I had to piece together in my mind what the whole thing looked like from small 10ft.snapshots, but on Saturday, we could almost see it in its entirety. So cool!

We will definitely make some dates to do this again next year, but believe me when I say to get your money in ASAP once the dates are announced, or you will be missing out again!