My daughter and I went for a dive in Grand Traverse Bay today. The visibility was awesome. I can honestly say it had to be 70 feet or more. I decided to wear my open cell 5mm bottoms with my thermic pile lined 3mm top - which has a hood that goes on separately over the high collar. With it and 5mm henderson super-stretch gloves I was very comfortable. Large, cloud-like schools of various types of fingerlings were in evidence - as were schools of small suckers, yellow perch, smallmouth bass and the occasional pod of carp. Even saw a lake whitefish - which is a little unusual for this area. It was a great chance to check out the prescription lenses in my Cressi Matrix. I found I really did not need to equalize the mask down to the 8-10 meter maximum depth around the breakwall where we dove. The peripheral vision is just fantastic - which I think allways helps me feel more relaxed.
Went back later in the day to enjoy the wonderful play of sunset lighting along the rocks and schools of fish. I made this a much longer dive and swam out to the end of the breakwall. Surface water temp is around 8 or 9C (48F) - with a significant drop in the thermalclines. The water out deep was a beautiful deep blue toward the bottom, with even more impressive visibility. More carp were in evidence late in the day - cruising by in three or four small schools, curious, but not enough to slow much - their amber color contrasted nicely with the deep blue and shifting play of refracted sunlight.
I was really pleased to be so comfortable in the lighter suit top. I really don't care for my 5mm open cell top - it makes me feel way to isolated from the environment. The separate hood and thinner neoprene on the 3mm 'summer' suit allows much greater freedom of movement and a better sense of the water. I suspect the temp in the thermalcline approached what I experienced earlier in the winter - but I had only very faint queasiness - I think a slight occasional chill around the back of the neck may have helped with this. Good houror so with only a faint chill.
Also tried my daughter's Cressi Garas. These are MUCH more difficult to swim with on the surface than my sporasubs - though I'm sure I could work it out given time.
Went back later in the day to enjoy the wonderful play of sunset lighting along the rocks and schools of fish. I made this a much longer dive and swam out to the end of the breakwall. Surface water temp is around 8 or 9C (48F) - with a significant drop in the thermalclines. The water out deep was a beautiful deep blue toward the bottom, with even more impressive visibility. More carp were in evidence late in the day - cruising by in three or four small schools, curious, but not enough to slow much - their amber color contrasted nicely with the deep blue and shifting play of refracted sunlight.
I was really pleased to be so comfortable in the lighter suit top. I really don't care for my 5mm open cell top - it makes me feel way to isolated from the environment. The separate hood and thinner neoprene on the 3mm 'summer' suit allows much greater freedom of movement and a better sense of the water. I suspect the temp in the thermalcline approached what I experienced earlier in the winter - but I had only very faint queasiness - I think a slight occasional chill around the back of the neck may have helped with this. Good houror so with only a faint chill.
Also tried my daughter's Cressi Garas. These are MUCH more difficult to swim with on the surface than my sporasubs - though I'm sure I could work it out given time.
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