Dive Review of Straits Scuba/Driftwood Motel in
The Continental USA/Straits of Mackinac

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Straits Scuba/Driftwood Motel, Sep, 2006, by Michael Bosveld, MN, USA . Report 2801.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	The best part of the trip was the wrecks. I was blown away by the wrecks states of preservation, and conditions. Each wreck we dove was mostly intact, and in great shape. These are all cold water dives made using a dry suit. We had to provide all our own gear including tanks and weight. Air fills were available at the dock. The boat was comfortable, but with 17 divers aboard it as not very spacious. All the wrecks are in deep water from 70 to 120 feet deep. This limited the bottom time for both air and NDC time. I am planning to return next year after completing my staged decompression diving certification, and bring double tanks. We dove five wrecks in three days and were blown off the wrecks on one morning. The wrecks were the Cedarville, the Eber Ward, the Sandusky, the William Young, and the Minneapolis. The wreck of the Cedarville lies in 45-110 feet of water is three quarters inverted and broken in half. The Cedarville was a steel hulled ore carrier, and was so large that I only had time to explore the stern section during our dive. The Eber Ward is a wooden hulled ship in 90-110 feet of water. The wreck is upright and from the main deck down is mostly intact. This wreck provides for 2 decks of penetration with very open cargo holds. The penetration time was short due to the depth of the wreck. The Sandusky is in 60-85 feet of water. It was the least intact of the wrecks we dove but still provided many interesting sites, chief among these is the ships figurehead. The William Young lies in 90-120 feet of water. The wreck provides a single deck of penetration with a nice swim through at the bow. The ships wheel is still onboard and in good shape. The Minneapolis is in 80-125 feet of water. This wreck is a very large wood ship, and the boiler and parts of its engine are in great shape.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	North Shore of Lake Superior
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	51-62°F / 11-17°C	Wetsuit Thickness	0
Water Visibility	25-40 Ft/ 8-12 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Asked to watch both Air and NDC time for each dive.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	The wrecks are in wonderful shape. There are no special facilities for photographers.

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Dive Review of Straits Scuba/Driftwood Motel in The Continental USA/Straits of Mackinac

Straits Scuba/Driftwood Motel, Sep, 2006,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Straits Scuba/Driftwood Motel in
The Continental USA/Straits of Mackinac