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koimaster
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Aquastar Deepstar Resurfaces
Lac Supérieur was so named by French explorers, not because it is the largest freshwater lake on Earth or for its picturesque rugged coastlines, but because it is the northernmost of the five Great Lakes. Spanning almost three degrees of latitude between 46 and 49 degrees north, it's no wonder Superior never really warms up. Sure, the surface temperature can get tepid in late summer, prompting shrieking kids to cavort at its rocky beaches, but descend a few feet, and it's barely above the freezing point. In late August this year, at 76 feet deep, it was 9ºC (that’s 43ºF for those of us that trade in old money). And my hands were going numb.
I was exploring the wreck of the Madeira, a 436-foot steel schooner barge that wrecked against a cliff on Lake Superior's north shore in November of 1905. The Madeira has become an annual adventure for me ever since I started diving. Great Lakes diving is world class, thanks to the number, and extraordinary condition, of its shipwrecks. The Madeira site is only three hours up the highway from my home, making it an easy weekend adventure. Best of all, the wreck is accessible, via a long swim, from shore. She was first explored in 1955 by a tough Duluth, Minnesota-based dive club that called themselves the "Frigid Frogs." And by tough, I mean guys that were diving in all seasons in rubber wetsuits, thin gloves, single tanks, and no dive computers. The risks of hypothermia, frozen regulators, and the bends were very real back then, and I think about these early diving pioneers every time I’m kicking around the crumpled stern of the Madeira in my cozy drysuit.
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/aquas ... ntroducing
I was exploring the wreck of the Madeira, a 436-foot steel schooner barge that wrecked against a cliff on Lake Superior's north shore in November of 1905. The Madeira has become an annual adventure for me ever since I started diving. Great Lakes diving is world class, thanks to the number, and extraordinary condition, of its shipwrecks. The Madeira site is only three hours up the highway from my home, making it an easy weekend adventure. Best of all, the wreck is accessible, via a long swim, from shore. She was first explored in 1955 by a tough Duluth, Minnesota-based dive club that called themselves the "Frigid Frogs." And by tough, I mean guys that were diving in all seasons in rubber wetsuits, thin gloves, single tanks, and no dive computers. The risks of hypothermia, frozen regulators, and the bends were very real back then, and I think about these early diving pioneers every time I’m kicking around the crumpled stern of the Madeira in my cozy drysuit.
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/aquas ... ntroducing
1946-2006
“Your heart was warm and happy
With the lilt of Irish laughter
Every day and in every way
Now forever and ever after."
