Throwing $$ Money $$ into the Ocean

No.  I did not buy a boat.  But, if you ask my wife, my scuba diving adventures and expenses can sometimes resemble the throwing of "hard earned" money into whatever body of water I happen to be in.  Today it was again White Star Quarry in Gibsonburg, Ohio.

It has been a number of years since I have had the opportunity to dive with my friend Marshall Karp, but I was happy to be able to get together today with him.  While the visibility was less than White Star-like due, no doubt, to the storms in that area over the past days, we still managed two dives from the northern step off area.  We visited the traditional spots, including the cement block house, crusher pit, sail boat, buoyancy course (PVC tubing), platforms, police cruiser, and more.  But what really got my attention more than the 15ffw visibility and 56ºF water below the thermocline (thank you DUI drysuit) was that I had the privilege share in Marshall's 100th dive...and this quarry-bottom object that caught my eye:

Maybe my wife is right??

East Breakwall Barge

What a beautiful day on Lake Erie!

photo courtesty of MAST & Linda Pansing

After 16 years of certification, diving OTHER Great Lakes, the Caribbean Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean (not to mention numerous inland bodies of water), I finally made it to Lake Erie which is just over 50 miles away from my home!

While I have no underwater photos of our two dives, I can tell you that we had calm waters, about 80ºF air temperature, and a smooth ride on board the Holiday.  My dive buddy for the day, Zach, and I were assigned the southeast section of the wreck between the 0 to 20 foot mark.  While visibility at 40' depth (mid-50º F water temp) was tolerable at up to 10 feet, it took only the slightest sculling to 'silt up' the area.  Our two dives were complicated with several technical difficulties and we certainly could have accomplished more of our tasks.  Nevertheless, the beautiful north coast views of Cleveland's Lake Erie and about 20 MAST members working together on the project made for a good day.