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New to the area.....site suggestions?

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WreckRunner

Well-Known Member
Aug 11, 2007
130
23
58
Hello all,

I just moved from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Woodstock, IL and am looking for some sites to do some freediving training.

something in the 80-150 ft range is preferable, but anything will do.
Is there anything that deep around other than Lake Michigan?

Does anyone have any suggestions, or can you point me in the right direction?

Any help would be appreciated.

Jeremy B.
 
Closest thing to you, but you need a boat to get to the good stuff, is Lake Geneva. She's 141' to the bottom and fairly clear. Lots of boat traffic in the summer time.

If you can drive a bit, and most Illinois divers do, i would suggest Red Granite quarry as a closer spot. It's reported to be anywhere from 168'-238' deep but I've never found that hole that drops that far down. After countless dive in there 120' is the max I've found- and it's black as night down there due to the type of sediment buried in the bottom.

The best option is to join us for freedive-a-palooza up in Lake Wazee. The lake is clear and drops to 319'- making it the the deepest lake in the state.

There's also Big Green lake (236') but there's a reason is called Big GREEN Lake. :head

Lake Michigan is your closest,a nd best, option if you have access to a boat. There are plenty of wrecks just over the Illinois border that you can train on if you wish. The SS Wisconsin has a top deck at 110' and drops to 132' in the sand, or you can head out to the Rosinco at 186'.

Hope that helps.

Jon
 
Thanks, that's a big help.

going to go check out Geneva today. This board is very encouraging.....I didn't expect to see so many freedivers up here.

I'm looking foward to trying ice diving as well......I think.
This is going to be an adjustment. I upgraded all my gear for cold water....just gotta get my hands on a good dry suit.

Thanks again.

Jeremy
 
There are LOTS and LOTS of lakes that'll get ya to 80....120 is getting a little harder. I'm pretty much a total new guy around here but take my advice....Everyone I know that freedives says just listen to Jon.

He is packed full of info on freediving.

Just his reports and advice alone make this web-site the coolest thing since sliced bread. Not to mention all the other guys and gals on locally but from throughout the world to. Oh....and Island Sands....She's just plain sexy...Even if you don't know what she looks like (and she DOES look good) - read some of her posts on here...I'm getting hot all over!
 
red granite and wazee are pretty close to where i live. tons of smaller spring fed lakes as well.
 
I wouldn't go with a dry suit for the cold water, go with a good open cell freediving/spearing suit in the 5mm range...

Do a search for the countless threads that state this opinion. I went throught the same questions last year & am very happy with my 5mm Ellos open cell inner, super stretch nylon outer. You won't be disapointed.

Gene
 
Thanks for the advice. I have a 7mm wetsuit that will do for now. I was thinking of the dry suit for scuba dives later in the year. My last 4 years in Florida have made me somewhat of a pansy I suppose.


After checking out Geneva and being pretty excited, I decided to also go check out "Pearl Lake" in South Beloit.......I should have done more homework. The owner was an ass to me, even before I uttered the phrase "freediving". Apparently you aren't allowed in the deeper portion of the lake without a tank on your back due to his insurance restrictions.

The conversation played out like some bizzare after-school TV special on discrimination....

Ahh well......

Lake Geneva looks like a good spot to play around while I try to figure out some spots on Lake Michigan. It's fun figuring out a new area, but very time consuming.

Thanks for all the help.

Jeremy
 
I should have warned you about Pearl Lake- he was an ass to me as well and i have had many other instructor buddies go to bat for me to let us in there and the guy won't budge on his position. I imagine your conversation with him went much like mine did- like talking to a :head .

If your going to scuba dive around here you'll want a drysuit. For diving all the, good, wrecks in Lake Michigan you'll need one. I'll go ahead and pimp my father-in-law's dive shop here for a good price on a suit. Just make sure you talk to Jerry when you call and make sure to mention my name: Len-Der: Milwaukee scuba diving charters to local shipwrecks, survey and salvage services, Lake Michigan, Great Lakes

I'd go with a Viking or a DUI around here, but he might have some good prices on a Diving Concepts suit as well- we use them all and it just depends what's in stock at the time. He also runs the largest dive charter operation on the lake so you might want to jump on board for one of those as well.

There's a dive shop/charter boat on Lake Geneva, but they have been less than excited about freedivers as well- the owner won't even return my phone calls to try and run a freedivng charter through them.:rcard

Jon
 
Thanks Jon, I'll definitely keep him in mind. I appreciate the info.

I have a small boat that I think will do well enough on Lake Geneva (ski boat). Actually I have had that little boat out in the Atlantic.......not wise, but when you need to dive, you need to dive. I have a few good stories about those little adventures.

And I ran into that same kind of anti-freediving nonsense in South Florida. There was a boat that I taught scuba off of for quite some time, but they would get really nasty if I mentioned freediving from their boat. Which was odd since they rarely left the 30-40 foot reef sites. I'm pretty new to freediving, and wasn't aware that you guys were such troublemakers.

Anyways......."Pearl Lake" was not a big loss. The drive was a nice introduction of diving days to come. I saw a lot of corn prior to seeing any water. I seriously doubt I will return to that little gem.

In addition to the ski boat (as fine a craft as it is).....I have a 2 seater dive-yak that I built a 5' pvc flagstand for with a full size boat flag. It made a great freediving platform out in the ocean and was visible from a good 1/2 mile to a mile away. I'm sure there is a bay or something around here suitable for getting some use out of it. That and I'm sure I can find some use for it in the snow after a few of your local brews here (I find Leinenkugel Red to do just fine).

Thanks again for all the help. Maybe we can get a group out in Geneva soon. Somebody has to have a pontoon boat around here, right?

Jeremy
 
I freedive the wrecks off of my in-law's charter boat and he's fine with it- actually likes it since I can go down and check on the divers so he knows who is where and how much deco they need to pull before they come back up. It also easy for me to zip back down and grab a mask or weightbelt that some one drops while climbing back up the ladder- especially if I have my scooter with me.

There are a number of wrecks in Lake Michigan that start in 5' of water and go as deep as your training will allow. Down in Illinois they are mostly shallow, but as you work your way up the coast the water drops off quicker and the wrecks become deeper- and more intact! There are some other guys down your way who dive in Lake Michigan with dive kayaks- Jim, (freedivechicago) comes to mind. They could point you out to the shallower wrecks.

Lake Geneva gets even nicer in the fall when the boat traffic dies down. Nick (kehl) and Rob (cigarlung) dive there quite a bit and could show you where to enter from shore- or might be interested in a boat ride. Nick lives, and works, right on the lake and Rob is close enough to use it as his main diving lake.

We have some spots to hit up here once things freeze up and I put together an ice (free)dive every winter if your interested.

Jon
 
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