Hi from Oregon and Chicago

[SteveB]

Hi SM people. This is sort of an intro and question rolled into one.

I am from Oregon and dive alot here and in Washington State, but have a question for anyone who dives the Great Lakes.

I am staying in Chicago in August and have reserved a spot on a charter out of Milwaukee to dive the Willie and a ferry. I have a drysuit or a 7mil farmer john that I can take. What would you recommend? Will that be enough or overkill? Would a 5 mil jumper be better? Basically what I am asking is what should I bring for thermal protection in August???

Also, any divers in the Portland area say hi, and let me know if you would like to hook up for a dive sometime.

Steve

[Sarah]

Hi Steve,

Welcome! I hope we get some Great Lakes divers to answer your question.

[acelockco]

Bring The Drysuit!!!!!

[Quero]

Hey there Steve! Welcome to the ScubaMag world....

If you get tired of drysuit diving and want to see some pretty fishies and coral, come visit me in Thailand, the Land of Smiles after warm-water dives!

[Zero]

G'day and welcome aboard Steve.
Id say go with the drysuit. You can always add or take away thermal layers underneath if needed.

Matt

[gangrel441]

My recommendation would be for the drysuit. That said, last weekend I dove the Willie and the Dredge 906 in a 7/5 full body jumper and a 5mm hood. A little chilly down my spine where the zipper is, but aside from that, I was pretty comfy down to a depth of 70'. My buddy was a fairly new diver, and we hit his turn pressure before the water temps became uncomfortable.

Who are you going out with? Len-Der is the only operation I have used up there, but I was pretty happy with them.

[SteveB]

Thanks all for the replies. I will try and stuff the drysuit in the luggage. I am going on the Nordic Diver, which I believe is the sister boat to the Len Der. I will be there on Aug 12.


Hi Quero,
Thailand, huh. You must be spoiled. Warm water would be a shock to my system.

Thanks
Steve B

[gangrel441]

Thanks all for the replies. I will try and stuff the drysuit in the luggage. I am going on the Nordic Diver, which I believe is the sister boat to the Len Der. I will be there on Aug 12.

Have a great time out there! I'd offer to book a spot and go out there with ya, but it looks like I will be out of town that weekend.

[Quero]

Hi Quero,
Thailand, huh. You must be spoiled. Warm water would be a shock to my system.

Thanks
Steve B

You get used to that kind of shock really quickly. "Spoiled" about encapsulates it!

[Mountain Dog]

Welcome to the gang.

I hail from Wisconsin and have posed the same question to my diving friends in the Milwaukee area. Let's put it this way. They all dive dry. I am told that bottom temps off Milwaukee, even in August, can be in the 40's.

Mountain Dog