Saint Joseph River , Fisherman’s Park – Where the grass is green (unless covered in snow). The building is the new Whirlpool Office Complex on Main street in Benton Harbor, MI.

On Saturday, November 25, I participated in the Michigan Underwater Divers (MUD) Club Annual “Turkey Dive”.  The event notice specifically said  to expect cold water, very low visibility, steep river side, moderate current and you will not be disappointed.  Something to do with truth in advertising.  It also mentioned that  Bubble Watchers (surface support personnel) and anyone offering manual support were welcome.

Now, there is some debate as to why its called a Turkey Dive, though most believe it’s because it’s held the weekend after Thanksgiving. Others think that it’s because many do not consider the turkey to be very intelligent and therefore the same goes for divers who are going to dive in a cold river in November. Especially when it’s known to have limited visibility (zero to maybe a foot), usually a fast current, and hazardous rip/rap along its banks.

With all that said, the dive has been a MUD club annual event for 25+ years.

Now the site is not always at Fisherman’s Park in Benton Harbor. Sometimes the current is too fast or the river is covered in ice. So, when that occurs, we find an area with slower current or thinner ice.

The specific site depends on the river conditions that week. This year, it was held along the banks of Fisherman’s Park (by the new Whirlpool building) right off of Main Street in Benton Harbor, Michigan.

The hardcore divers come early and setup ice shanties with heaters to enable them to don & doff their dive suits, and stay warm while doing so. That part’s real critical if you’re diving in a wet suit – especially after the dive and you’re all frozen up.   Some of us older divers have gotten smarter as we’ve gotten older and figured out that dry suit diving is a great deal warmer.  And just because we always use to do the dive in wet suits doesn’t mean we still have to do so to maintain our macho image.

This year, the divers had a warming trailer available that allowed 6 divers at a time to don & doff their gear in absolute comfort and have warm clothing to put on afterward.

Club members who chose not to dive, but came out to show support for the turkeys – I mean divers – are always appreciated because they provide extra hands and muscle to help divers set up their gear and assist them getting in to and out of the water.  People on the shore line provide an important  safety factor for the divers in the event of a diver problem or emergency.

In addition to the heated trailer, this year we also had a warming shelter/windbreak set up  with hot drinks and sweet treats to keep everyone fortified against the elements.

We had two divers diving rebreathers, one doing sidemount, and the remaining divers using standard scuba gear.  Other than being very breezy,  it was a very nice day for a dive, though the visibility could have been a tad bit better. Hats off to Rhonda, who did the dive wet, unlike the rest of us old guys going dry.  After the dive, and with all the gear stowed, we adjourned to the local Pizza Hut to continue discussion on the day’s dive and those planned.

Here are a few pictures from the 2017 Turkey Dive.