Join us on August 9th at 7pm at Benvenuto’s Fitchburg for our next meeting and speaker:
This Month we welcome Paul Dearlove as our featured speaker.
Paul Dearlove, deputy director of Clean Lake Alliance will talk to us about their vision, how they plan to get there and what we can do to help. Clean Lakes Alliance is a nonprofit organization devoted to improving the water quality of the lakes, streams, and wetlands of the Yahara River Watershed. They are a unique partnership of diverse stakeholders who are building on and expanding upon decades of ongoing efforts to preserve and restore our waters. Their goal is to raise community awareness of the issues facing the watershed, advocate for the welfare of our lakes, and help procure the necessary funding to clean and protect these waterways. They work closely with state, county and local government agencies, waterway user groups, lakefront property owners, and community nonprofits to serve as both a positive voice for the promotion of our cherished lakes and a fundraising vehicle for achieving these ends.
Hope you’re all having a great beginning to the summer. Join us on July 12th at 7pm at Benvenuto’s Fitchburg for our next meeting and speaker:
This month we welcome back Brendon Baillod. Brendon is an award winning maritime historian and author. He has been researching Great Lakes shipwrecks for over 20 years. His research has resulted in hundreds of shipwreck discoveries and he has appeared on the History Channel, Discovery Channel and National Geographic Channel discussing Great Lakes shipwrecks. He is president of Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association and is on the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council. He is active with other maritime boards and organizations. Brendon will give his presentation “Ghosts of Milwaukee Coast: Top Ten Ships Still Missing Off Southern Wisconsin”. Brendon always gives a great presentation, so plan on attending.
We had 8 divers attend the Four Lakes Scuba Club Pearl Lake dive. The weather was perfect with sunshine and warm temperatures. Visibility was good but the water was cold below the thermocline. We saw nesting blue gills, walleyes, bass, and turtles. There were multiple sunken boats to see, plus a bus, sub and crane. We had a cookout between dives. Thanks to Andy, Gayle, and John for pictures.
Hope you’re all having a great spring so far. Join us on June 14th at 7pm at Benvenuto’s Fitchburg for our next meeting and speaker:
Due to an unexpected turn of events, our speaker for June will be rescheduling to later in the year. Instead of mussels, our own John and Ellen will be presenting on their world travels around La Paz, Mexico and the Bahamas. June is also Dive Safety Month. Hope you all can join us!
We had great weather and turnout for our annual picnic at Lake Mendota. We had 17 attendees (if you count two dogs) and five divers. The water was really clear! We found a few really neat bottles and a little bit of trash. Thanks to John H. for the photos and Randy for the video below.
All of your own gear. There are no air fills or rentals at Pearl Lake.
Diving at Pearl Lake requires a dive shop to sponsor us, and Diversions Scuba offered to do that. The copies of your ID/dive cert/dive insurance card, $30, and liability form need to be dropped off at Diversions by Friday morning, June 16th. If the shop is closed, leave it in their mailbox. Alternatively, bring it to the monthly meeting on Wednesday and John can drop it off for you.
We will plan to do 2-3 dives. Bring a lunch and beverages (no alcohol allowed). The site isn’t assigned yet, but we’ll try to get a site along the north or east shore.
We had wonderful weather for our second weekend of dives. Thank you to everyone who came out to help! Special thanks to Dane County for providing the barge on both days.
On Saturday, a group of six took the barge from Fish Camp to Lake Kegonsa Williams Point. Last year we found a lot of anchors, but John and Ellen lost most of them when their float tipped. This year unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) we didn’t find nearly as much–maybe six anchors total.
We made up for that on Sunday with a big group at the Lake Mendota Lake Street Boat Ramp. Some of the divers went towards the Memorial Union and found signs, a ladder, two skateboards, a handful of vape pens, sunglasses galore, a dorm moving cart, a wallet with ID and credit cards, and the typical assortment of bottles, cans, and Solo cups. Brad and Greg both found cell phones, and one of them turned on! Tami even found a unique toy. Most of the divers went to the right along the fraternities, and they pulled up a staggering number of chairs and other big things.
Hope you’re all having a great spring so far. Join us on June 14th at 7pm at Benvenuto’s Fitchburg for our next meeting and speaker:
Lisie Kitchel is a Conservation Biologist with the WDNR Bureau of Natural Heritage Conservation, formerly the Bureau of Endangered Resources. She is trained as an aquatic ecologist and works on rare aquatic species statewide. She has been chasing our native mussels and other aquatic organisms around the state for over 20 years. Conservation of our native freshwater mussels is her passion and one which she enjoys sharing with others who enjoy the lakes, rivers and streams of Wisconsin.
Our native mussels/clams of Wisconsin
We will explore one of Wisconsin’s most diverse, yet hidden treasures, the freshwater mussel. Learn all about our state’s 50 native species, where they can be found, their fascinating life cycle, including their dependence on fish and ways they fool them, and amazing contributions to the history of Wisconsin, from food to buttons to pearls. You are guaranteed to come away with a greater appreciation of these unique animals and their beauty.
The first weekend of cleanup dives is in the books. We had a great turnout–thanks for those who joined us!
On Saturday, the group pulled 17 anchors, a rake, and two buckets of bottles, cans, and miscellaneous junk out of Lake Waubesa. There was a surprising amount of trash from fishers, including a lot of anchors. This one will definitely be on the list to revisit in future years.
Despite the rains on Sunday, we had a great turnout for a new location in Lake Monona‘s North Triangle. We got nine full mesh bags of bottles, cans, and plastic bags; plus two anchors, a grill cover, sign, and hubcap.
The full Lake Waubesa cleanup crew. Photo by Austin.
Most of the cleanup crew on Lake Waubesa. Photo by Austin.
The haul from Lake Waubesa
Some friends who joined us on Lake Waubesa
Looking out at the dive site
Trash from Lake Monona cleanup dive
Lake Monona Cleanup Crew. Photo by John.
We’ll be diving the other two lakes next weekend! Here’s the information again:
May 20 Lake Kegonsa. This dive is full. For those of you with a reservation, the barge will be leaving from the Fish Camp boat launch. If you didn’t make the cut or arrive late you can still join the dive unofficially by shore diving from Pleasant Springs boat launch. There is a $5 fee to park there. As you enter the water turn right (West). This shore dive would be an on-your-own dive, not a club event. You would need to arrange for your own buddy and there will be no briefing. You can leave trash on the barge before swimming back.
May 21 Lake Mendota. We will shore dive from the Lake Street ramp. The Madison Lake Rescue uses this ramp for emergencies so do not block it. You will have to drop off your gear and find parking. There will be a barge that will come to you for larger items and to empty your goodie bag. We will not be diving from the barge. Randy and Rob have volunteered to help get the garbage on the barge. If the weather is nice consider lunch on the Terrace after the dive. Hoofers and Diversions did a clean up dive off the Terrace earlier in the year, but there is plenty of garbage especially off of the fraternities. This is another site that can have a lot of boat traffic. As always, have a dive flag and look up before ascending.
