Advice Needed: Superior Dive Sites / Charters out of Duluth Superior Area.

[Qix]

Hi,

A small group of us (~6) were planning on diving in Lake Superior this August. The group is  experienced, mainly warm water divers but everyone is comfortable diving 7mm, hood gloves, boots etc. In the past we've had good luck diving the Madeira in mid August where a couple of dives in 7mm has been no problem.

Then we saw that the lake would be warming up more than usual this year.

So we started wondering if anyone here would mind recommending charters & dive sites that would be within REC limits but would be more interesting than the Madeira and/or impossible to reach w/o a dive boat. We would prefer to go out on a weekday if the operator is okay running his boat during the week. Most of us are Nitrox certified and would probably dive it if available.

Also, for anyone who's dove the Madeira this summer (our backup) - is the lake still down low making this entry as easy as it's been in the past few years?

Finally, if lake temps do come up like they say, will all dives still have a colder thermo down deep or does this warmer temp really extend down deeper (say ~100ft)?

[Dragon Eye]

I can recommend Superior Wreckreation for a charter.  I went on their first outing early this year in May and had a wonderful time. At that time the lake was down a number of feet and many pieces of metal from the Madiera were out of water.

Someone else will have to weigh in on the thermocline, but it's Lake Superior- it's always chilly.

[arcFlash]

Jay in Duluth () is known to be an excellent host but you should call him and ask your questions directly.

Superior on exceptional weather may be 64 degrees to 80ft or so but you should not expect it, it's a freak thing. I know I was on the other side of the large piece with my wife (in the sand patch) and it was clear and 64. We could see the small waves ripple the surface so 75feet vis and warm.

Expect skull crushing cold. You can train by eating a quart of vanilla ice cream in 60 seconds. I'm kidding of course, it is mixed on temp but it's likely mid to low 40's.

If you can get the visibility to be safe you should not miss the opportunity to dive the Wilson. It's my favorite.

[flyboy65]

Yes, do contact Jay.  The Wilson is a great wreck, visibility may be a bit low, but who needs to see more than 20' away anyway, right?  Also out there are the Mayflower and the Adams wrecks...one of which was carrying sandstone for the construction of our old Central High School.  She sank around 1890 or 91, and wasn't discovered until around 1991 or so...pretty neat. 

As far as temps go, "freak thing" is right on.  You just never know.  I have been on the Madiera with surface to 90' temps around 65 degrees.  I'd have to refer to my logbook to be sure...but you just never know! 

Good luck, have fun, and Jay will be a great host!

[jasondbaker]

Water temps are pretty consistently warm in late August-early Sept.  You could try to book a charter around that time.  I'm definitely going to try to get on Jay's charter in a couple months.

[Dragon Eye]

You may want to call now to set up something for later- when out with Jay he mentioned how full his schedule was already.

[Qix]

Thanks for the replies, sounds like there are a couple of good options and things will probably be pretty busy by then. I figured the warmer temps probably won't extend down that deep so we'll have to factor that in. Myself and one other person will probably dive dry but the rest of the group are in 7mm so hopefully we'll find a time, location and temp that works for the whole group

[mattd]

Then a boat is essential. Don't waste ime getting cold on a surface swim. On the boat you go right in and when you are cold, you are right back out. Dump you gear and sneak inside with a warm drink if you'd like.

I don't think there are a lot of options. I think everyone is talking about the same guy. Jay runs Superior Scuba and his boat is named Superior Wreckreation.

[moff0019]

Just to add a current conditions update. Yesterday the vis was 30-40 feet on the Madeira and temp was 39F at 55 feet....toasty!