January 16:  Back to the river again today and as you can see we have a little snow and very little ice. Air temperature maybe 30F and the water a chilly 38F. And yes I am wearing a dry suit but do use the red thermos to keep hot water ready for my gloves and in case we have a regulator freeze. to thaw out.

January 09:  The river ice has gone away with just a little skim ice along the shore line.  Not a lot of melted snow run off  yet so the river current is not bad. Had 3 other divers with me today.  Afterward we went to the “Nugget” in Niles for hot soup and coffee while we debriefed the dive.

At about 1145 PM we entered the waters of the Saint Joseph River as it flows through the Whirlpool Basin in St. Joseph, MI.  and exited at about 0010 hrs to begin the 2016 dive season. This is an annual event the MUD Club has been doing since 1976 and is my 40th in a row 🙂