February 20, 2016: Recovery Ice Dive – Gravel Lake, Lawton, MI

Scuba

Today was a recovery day for a ice fisherman that dropped his cell phone.  Jim was my tender for the dive. The water was clear until I was on the bottom and began searching then the visibility was zero.  It was a fun dive and successful recovery 🙂

Pictures are as follows:  Ice entry setup – Jim in dry suit as my tender – just a little over 4″ of ice – looking at the hole  as i am going down – vegetation above the bottom before the search begins – actual visibility as search continues – Jim pulling me home 🙂

 

 

February 13, 2016: Another Ice Dive at Lake 16

Scuba

Ice conditions change at a drop of the hat so when you have good ice you take advantage of it. Today we had good weather, we anticipated good visibility and some willing souls to brave the driving conditions. This is a pictorial of the days activities.

Changing ice shanties, hole cut, platform in, wheel spokes shoveled ready to dress and dive.
Trailer with dive gear – keeps it off the ice & snow. Here you can see part of the shoveled out wheel.

 

 

Good picture of the entry point with platform in. Good visibility.
Picture of the cut ice moved under the hole for replacement after the dive. Ice has minimal honeycomb.
Under the ice by the platform

 

 

 

 

 

 

This platform really makes a difference when entering or exiting the ice.
Surface line down to submerged platform.
Submerged platform just about directly under the hole

By submerged platform looking up toward the staging platform and hole. Hence the adage” go toward the light”

This is called the phone booth. The top part was air trapped inside making a dry chamber that you can stand in and if another diver entered you can remove your regulator and talk if you wanted to..

 

One of the several boats around the base chains of the submerged platform. With low visibility the chains are a entanglement hazard.
Another boat and rocking chair
Christmas tree forrest

 

Diver on the submerged platform

 

 

 

 

 

February 07, 2016: Lake 16 Ice Dive

Scuba

This was our first real ice dive of the year at Lake 16 in Martin, MI.

My line tender is out of the picture holding the yellow rope, the shore tender is helping me with my gear, the backup diver is behind me sitting on a board so his butt does not freeze to the ice.

 

January 09, 2016: River dive at Marmont

Scuba

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.