Munising, MI August 2010 - Our Birthday Weekend

Lake Superior 70 Degrees and FLAT AS GLASS! We never thought we would have conditions like this on Superior - the treacherous lake - even in August!

The Luda Chris on its second voyage on Superior stayed true to her character. Effortlessly transporting four divers, and two sun worshipers for two days straight, and to top it off threw in a rescue. We are beginning to think she likes showing off!

Day One: Two dives (Smith Moore & Selvick) and a tour of the Pictured Rocks. Spent some time on the sandbar in the middle of the channel where we were certain we could easily be in the Caribbean. We had a shore lunch where Gretchen decided to retrieve some rocks and also draw the attention of the Park Rangers. We also found a creek to play in!

Day Two: Three shallow dives (Bermuda, Hettler & Manhattan) and Murray Bay. After the dives, we pushed the boat into the sand in Murray Bay and enjoyed the scenery. Gretchen decided to clear the water of any debris and hauled rocks and wood out of the water for hours. We watched and shook our heads. (The dog has a problem!)

The rescue... Exhausted we returned to the boat launch with plans for dinner and ?? but waiting at the launch was the Munising Sheriff requesting our assistance. Four kids in a paddle boat were taking on water and without life jackets. He picked the fastest (and coolest) boat at the launch to ask for help. Turns out the Munising department boat was in a state of disrepair so we were his only option. Of course, we welcomed him onboard and start pounding our way back to Murray Bay. Side Note: The Luda Chris can reach speeds of up to 55 mph, however at this speed stuff tends to start flying around! There was S#*& flying EVERYWHERE, and the Sheriff was holding on for dear life. In the middle of all of this, Dan says, "I'm not sure my "flare gun" is legal in Michigan." I groan and secretly hope the Sheriff doesn't notice. We continue to make a beeline for the kids.

Midway there, we hear a pontoon boat has safely recovered the kids (Teenagers!), however the paddle boat is still out there listing in the water and it needed to be recovered. So we continued on where Dan and the Sheriff pulled it onto the side of the boat to let it drain, and then fully placed the entire paddle boat into the back of the Luda Chris! Yup, a whole four person paddle boat will fit into the stern of the boat.

Turns out the four teenagers knew there was a crack in the paddle boat but took it out anyway. They were in 80 feet of water in LAKE SUPERIOR, which is known to be treacherous, WITHOUT LIFE JACKETS. We dropped the paddle boat on the shore and said goodbye to the knuckleheads. After dropping the Sheriff off at the launch, we loaded the boat, grabbed some dinner and crashed!

Thanks to the gang for joining us and to Fred for contributing some of the pictures. (View more of Fred's photos here.) For more information about the dives visit DeepSixScuba.com.

P.S. The Sheriff never said one word about the flare gun!