Chicagoist: Ask Chicagoist: SCUBA Diving in Lake Michigan?

TC Pete

Tue, 19 Jun 2007 10:52:00 -0600

Gee, sounds like a different Lake Michigan. Up here the water is clear & clean. Visibility is 50' on a poor day. Wrecks, Pilings, Marine Life all in ample supply. Cold, yeh well thats why they make dive suits. Sure Warm Water Diving is oustanding, but we can't all afford to live in the Bahamas year around. If your discouraged by the diving in Chicago, try moving a few miles out into the lake where the pollution from the city is not as evident. If you don't dive, try it, or just close your mouth lest your foot become lodged there forevermore...

Cheap Seats

Sat, 26 May 2007 11:32:05 -0600

As a veteran of hundreds of dives in Lake Michigan and nearly as many in Haig Quarry I can say while it may be cold it is not murky nor dark. While not the warm clear waters of the Bahamas the visibilty can run up to 130 feet. Normal visibilty is 30 feet. The shipwrecks can be boring to spectacular with some of the very best 90 miles north in Milwaukee. The Pince Wilhelm is rated on of the best ten in the world by Scuba Diving Magazine. Off the Chicago River is and area where they dumped debris from the Chicago fire - the historic event not the soccer team. There is everything from bricks to old tools. Diving Lake Michigan is not for everyone but for those of us lucky enough to love it the Midwest is a great place to dive.

superchunky

Fri, 25 May 2007 15:50:01 -0600

I dont dive so I dont have first hand experience, but I have heard of a wreck off of Wilmette that you can dive on from the beach. Also the wrecks are much more preserved in the cold fresh water than they are in tropical salt water. It would be pretty cold but they make equipment that helps quite a bit with that. As far as visibility I dont have a clue.

Ferdy

Fri, 25 May 2007 13:48:09 -0600

Non-cellphone owner. I swim like a lamprey, though.

Spook

Fri, 25 May 2007 12:13:29 -0600

cool about diving "da thruth" is that you don't need to know how to swim, although I think it helps.....now as far as you stupid........wait wait,wait my crystal ball grows clearer, Ferdy, a three foot lamprey will attach its tiny teethed sucker to you in the near future while you wade in Lake Michigan, so bring your cell phone to call 911!

da truth

Fri, 25 May 2007 11:53:47 -0600

spook- white people can't jump and black people can't swim. It's fine.

Ferdy

Fri, 25 May 2007 11:27:20 -0600

Spook - What are you, a squeamish old church lady?

Spook

Fri, 25 May 2007 11:07:46 -0600

Screw that! There's a reason Tails didn't include a picture of divers in Lake Michigan! Cause you can’t see jack down there and its cold! Who wants to be swimming along in the cold army green muck and bump into a rusted old car probably with a body inside, I'm sure those fish with cancerous holes in them are charming as well, and of course I'd rather risk being bit by a moray ell a nasty old Lamprey any day. I belive the Chicagoist word is grooossssss Heck I don't like to wade in Lake Michigan let alone dive in it

Joseph J. Finn

Fri, 25 May 2007 10:55:24 -0600

Not just ships; there are also plenty of trainers from WWII flight training.

Ferdy

Fri, 25 May 2007 10:01:37 -0600

At least there are no sharks!

jk

Fri, 25 May 2007 09:54:14 -0600

Alex: And who invented it? Mallory: Magellan!

Mike

Fri, 25 May 2007 09:49:00 -0600

I did a shipwreck dive in Lake Michigan via Wisconson. It was cold, visability was poor, and did I mention it was cold? Definately go tropical if you can. There's so much more to see in the ocean rather than cold murky Lake Michigan.

Ferdy

Fri, 25 May 2007 09:20:20 -0600

If you don't dive anywhere how do you know Lake Michigan is boring? Dumb.