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| A PIRATE SHIP
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These Divers did....
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| Designed by divers for divers. It goes through an annual Coast Guard Inspection. The boat is Coast Guard certified to carry 18 passengers. |
As far as we know, it is the only boat on the Great Lakes that can carry more than 6 people without having a lifeboat. |
| *First Aid Kit *Oxygen *Epirb (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) *3 Fire Extinguishers *The latest electronics *Twin swim platform *Twin 225 hp outboard motors *Marine Radio *21 Life Jackets |
Coast Guard licensed Captain with a 100-ton Masters license and over 30 years expierence on the Great Lakes |
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| This means we can take the boat to the marina closest to the dive site.  |
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 In fact, we have trained our crew to be alert and always watching and ever vigilent while waiting for new divers  This allows you to park close for unloading gear from your car. Once you assemble your BC & regulator on your tank, just hand the tank up to one of our crew members.  You can then hand them the rest of your gear and they will put it with your tank.  Be sure to let them know if you have a preference when it comes to getting in the water-meaning if you want to be one of the first in or one of the last-this way they can put your gear in the most logical place.  Once all the gear is loaded on the boat, you can park your car while we launch the boat. Once you are on the boat, you will be given our "Welcome Aboard" speech, which goes into a little more detail about how things work and what to do in the case of emergency.  Please pay attention to this speech. You will have plenty of time to organize your gear once we pull away from the launch ramp. Plus, it's pretty obvious this is a very interesting speech, notice how most of the attention is focused on listening?  All the divers are excitedly looking forward to the demonstration portion.........  at this point we have one of our crew members show you how to put on a life jacket properly, as well as how to secure it & how to work the attached lights |
Keep in mind, if it's on the boat, there is a good chance it will get wet. If you have car keys, cell phones or wallets, I have a place on the boat to safely store them. I do not have room, however, to keep clothes, towels or shoes dry. On large charters, we prefer to keep big gear bags off the boat. Generally once people have all of their gear out for a dive, it stays out until the end of the charter. The gear bag just gets in the way. Although we can and have hit speeds up to 60 mph, we prefer to save that kind of speed for an emergency. Unless of course there are no customers on the boat and we see another "fast" boat looking at us funny. That's when we feel the need to let them know they shouldn't act like they have the biggest fastest boat around. (keep in mind, with the exception of me, Mrs Captain, the boat has an all testosterone Captain and Crew.) Men just can't let themselves be beat out by other men. But like I said, behavior like that is reserved for non-charter trips. When it comes to charters, on a flat day, our average speed will be around 45 mph. Bumpy days we go a bit slower. The speed we travel is based on lake conditions as well as customer preference. Some people prefer a slower ride, while others have been known to do their best to taunt Ralph into "flooring it" Customer safety always comes first. Also, if you are wearing a hat, be sure you keep it on your head. Boat rule is that if someone's hat goes flying into the lake, we will abruptly turn around to retrieve it, and you must immediately put it back on your head. And of course, smile pretty to have your picture taken!  And not even the Captain is immune to this rule!!  |
| We can't say it never happens, but it's very infrequent.  This is an example of seasick in Door County, when you don't want anyone to know...he never did hang his head overboard, so maybe looking at the horizon does work! Although, it doesn't work as well as my method...best cure I know is to sit under a tree! Works everytime!! |
If the wreck is marked with a buoy, we'll just tie up to it. If it's an unmarked wreck, it may take a few minutes before we are ready to throw the anchor. It's better we spend some time getting you as close as possible to the wreck so you don't have to waste time, air and energy swimming a couple hundred yards to get to it. |
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(which people pay as much attention to as the preflight safety speech you get on an airline), we will assist you with a portion of the gearing up process. Once you have on your suit, weights, boots and hood, you can put on your tank/bc/regulator set up. Carry your fins, gloves and mask to the front of the boat. -this is where it is useful to be loaded in order. Helps to avoid the diver at the back of the boat having to walk through the rest of the divers to get to the front. Once you are at the front of the boat, you'll have a seat on the boat edge between the railings.   From there, we will assist you with putting on your fins, and gloves, we'll check to be sure your mask is on correctly. We'll even spit in it if you want. Or, we can defog it if you forgot to. We'll double check that your hoses are connected and that your air is on and that zippers are zipped, and clips are clipped, and velcro is velcro'd When it comes to diving, your gear is your life support. Its proper assembly is critical. You are in charge of your gear. We will double check your gear to help assure your safety, but keep in mind, with the exception of Ralph, the boat crew is only human. So please, be sure you are connected properly and that your tank has enough air for the dive.  If you realize you have assembled your gear incorrectly, this is the mandatory "Oops" signal.  Once fully geared up, you will be instructed to hold your mask on with both hands and to place your guages, octo and other hanging parts in your lap. Once given the "all clear" you'll back roll off the boat and into the water.    Once you pop back up, please give us the "OK" signal.  You can then swim to the anchor line or buoy and wait for your buddy then proceed down the line to the wreck.   |
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   While we put your gear back in the tank rack   You can then swim to the back of the boat, remove your fins and come up the swim step. Be sure you take your fins, gloves, and mask with you when you return to your spot on the boat. You can then help yourself to the beverages and munchies we provide. |
| We can either go directly to the next wreck, or head into shore for some surface time. |
This further lessens the chance of becoming seasick since you aren't just sitting in the boat rocking with the waves. Plus many marina locations have places to eat or buy snacks. |
   Or if you prefer, you can grab a quick nap between dives.   |
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