LAKE HURON DIVER - DISTINCTIVE SPECIALTY Aquatic Adventures of MI Distinctive PADI Specialty

June  

 Lake Huron is the second largest of the Great Lakes by surface area and the fifth largest freshwater lake on Earth. Its history is integral to the exploration of the New World by Europeans being the first great lake discovered by Jacques Cartier in 1615. It is important to divers because more than a thousand shipwrecks have been reported on it, including, according to some reports, Le Griffon which was the first European ship to sail on the Great Lakes. The greatest concentration of these wrecks lies near Thunder Bay (Michigan), beneath Lake Huron, near the point where eastbound and westbound shipping lanes converge.  These wrecks are protected in the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Other locations in the lake where wrecks are protected are: The Detour Passage Underwater Preserve surrounding Drummond Island and the St Mary’s River near Sault Saint Marie; The Fathom Five National Marine Park in the Georgian Bay of Ontario, Canada; and The Sanilac Shores Underwater Preserve off the thumb area of Michigan.

The goals of Lake Huron Diver training are:

 Demonstrate a basic understanding of the role that Lake Huron plays in the overall hydrological system of the Great Lakes as well as an understanding of its history in the settlement and economic development of the United States.

Visit the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center in Alpena, Michigan (www.thunderbay.noaa.gov), The Great Lakes Maritime Center in Port Huron, Michigan (http://achesonventures.com/MaritimeCenter) or the Great Lakes Lore Maritime Museum in Rogers City (http://www.gllmm.com/) and gather information about the particular wrecks explored. 

Course Standards:

Prerequisites:                                    PADI Advanced Open Water Diver, Great Lakes Wreck Diver

Minimum Age:                                  15 years

Ratios Open Water:                          8:1 is weather dependent    4:1 Minimum Ratios:

Depth Maximum Depth                  100 feet

Hours:                                                Recommended: 8 (2 Classroom; 6 Research)

Minimum Open Water Dives:         4

Materials and Equipment -  Student:

• Student and Instructor equipment as outlined in the PADI Instructor Manual, General

  Standards and Procedures

• Purchase appropriate reference materials

• Download a scuba medical questionnaire (PDF)

***Please note that we have a Course Cancellation Policy in effect ***