Joseph Reynolds

Thunder Bay, Ontario

story by Joseph Reynolds

photos by Dan Lovik, Joseph Reynolds, and Roger Southwick

The usual suspects gathered for the annual trek to Thunder Bay Ontario. Veteran divers of Lake Gitcheegumee. Legends. The likes of Rich, Roger, Dan, and Sam. This time they were joined by Vuk of the Republic of Croatia, by Dan's son Nate, and Joseph, curiously, an ex-SCUBA diver.

Joseph relaxes in the beautiful heated pool at the Kingsway Motel

In past years, there were fantastic successes and spectacular failures. Would the talisman placate the Spirit of the Lake? Would the Cold North Wind take a nap this July? Would the intrepid group be able to make more than one dive this year? Let's look inside the journal of one of the participants:

We were going in July this year because we heard Lake Superior is not as windy in July. Indeed, few sailboat races are held in July. Also, to ward off failure, we brought some new good luck charms this year. Anyway, we all met at my house in Rochester early Wednesday morning, loaded gear, and headed up to Northfield to pick up Roger. Well, Rich headed up with Sam and Vuk. Dan, Nate and I headed back to Dan's house to pick up some FRS radios so we could talk on the road. Rich brought his 20 foot Rendova, and Dan brought his 18 foot Bayliner.

Sam with Jeff from Thunder Country Diving

We never did quite make it to Roger's house. Rich got there, loaded Roger, and left for the SCUBA Center in Eagan. Vuk needed a wing for his BCD. We stopped, and looked at the wing, then pressed on, northward to Canada. Our first gas stop was at Hinckley: $160. Towing two boats is expensive. Just past Duluth we stopped at Jay Hansen's house. Jay runs SCUBA charters up to Isle Royale and had a wing that Vuk could borrow. We took it, and continued past the pretty blonde Canadian customs agent with the steely eyes. Up, up, up, into Thunder Bay.

Our first stop was Thunder Country Diving, run by Wally and his son Jeff. We met Jeff at the store, chatted for a while, and made plans. Then we checked into one of the finest motels in the city, parked the boats, got some booze (I got Jameson Irish Whiskey), and went to Montana's for dinner. Erin was our server. Our little group got sleepy around midnight, and woke up early the next day.

Rich helps Vuk gear up for a dive on the Howard

Thursday, July 3

We ate breakfast at one of the finest establishments in the city: Husky's Station. When diving, nothing can beat a two-egg breakfast with some coffee to wash it down. We filled up the boats, got some water, picked up Jeff at the SCUBA store, and headed back south to the U.S. Border. Little Trout Bay road takes you right to the boat lanuch at Little Trout Bay. We launched the boats and dove on the Howard. When Nate jumped in, he lost a fin. Fell right off his foot. But he managed to grab it and put it back on. The wind picked up a bit during the dive, and we ran for Smuggler's Cove, right on the U.S./Canadian border. Apparently, during prohibition, when they were being chased by the border patrols, smugglers used to dump their cargo here, and then claim they were just night fishing. We didn't find any rum.

Nate prepares to snorkel in Pigeon Cove

Pigeon Cove MN Dan, Nate, Vuk, and Joseph in Pigeon Cove

Turns out, it was Jeff's birthday, so we went to the Keg, a fine dining establishment. The food was pricey (especially since we had been used to $1US buying more than $1CAN) but good. Our server was Marlys, who also works with Jeff at the SCUBA store. Wally came out that evening to make sure his son got back home okay. We spent the rest of the evening drinking, smoking cigars, and watching a movie: Blazing Saddles.

The General Store at Silver Islet

Friday, July 4

We got up early again, ate at Husky's, and got some more Fig Newtons at the grocery store. We had almost run out! Then we went to the Dive Store to pick up Wally. Rich got his credit card back from the cigar store. And we drove around the point to Silver Islet, at the northern (eastern) tip of Thundey Bay. We managed to avoid several sets of deer on our way in. Silver Islet was a working silver mine from several decades ago. Over the years, The Lake had smashed the facility back down into rubble. We were going to dive on that rubble.

The public boat launch was built on top of the old loading dock. There was now a big, blue general store nearby, and a warm shack for changing into our dive wear. Lake Superior is a giant refrigerator, consistently 50 degrees. We launched and motored out to the Islet. I could see the footings for great loading docks and sea walls in the water below the boat. Wally went in with Rich, Roger, and Sam. Dan, Nate, and Vuk followed.

Wally gives us a tour of Silver Islet

Nate had a broken fin strap; it was replaced. I stayed on the boat and video taped the event. At one point, the intrepid divers were standing on the edge of the mine shaft, in only 3 feet of water. The divers who went with Wally had a grand tour of the wreckage. The others wallowed around in 12 feet of water, with a 2 foot surge. Then we motored out to Walrus point, and back to the dock. Roger, Nate, and Rich dove on the old piling, looking for treasure: plates and bottles from 100 years ago.

The rest of us unloaded the boats and checked out the general store. Wally bought us cinnamon rolls. I spoke with the with ladies who made them. We told them stories of diving on the lake, they told us about living in the area and its history. They also told us how they get rid of their broken plates and bottles. Finally our three divers came up, cold and tired. We helped them out of their gear, loaded the boats, and headed back to town. We noticed Rich was dragging his boat's electrical connector. We got cleaned up at the motel watched the other guests go to and fro. One of them was a truck driver waiting for a part to fix his truck. We went to Boston Pizza and got two large "Meateor" pizzas. Later that evening, we drank and smoked, and tried to watch "The Fifth Element" but it didn't play right, so we watched "Galaxy Quest" instead.

Rich and Sam at Silver Islet

Saturday, July 5

Rich couldn't find his truck keys the following morning. We breakfasted and stopped at the "Real Canadian Superstore" for more Fig Newtons. This time we launched at the Port Arthur Marina right in Thunder Bay. There were signs for a blues festival. The weather was lovely. We were headed for the Welcome Islands, across from Silver Islet and in the mouth of Thunder Bay itself. We had had great weather this year. We attribute our good fortune to the our talisman, a rubber chicken we hung upside down on the boat's light bar. Every time we went out, we engaged in a ceremonial group-throttling of the bird. We anchored on top of the Green River, a lovely large wooden shipwreck. I filmed Dan and Nate go in, followed by Rich and Roger, and then Sam and Vuk. I didn't get much me time, because I saw Dan and Nate's bubbles coming up the anchor line. So I filmed them struggling out of their gear and getting back into the boat.

Anchored over the wreck of the Green River

The wind was picking up the whole time. Water was sloshing between the boats. After the dive, we circled around a bit, then headed for one of the rivers and marvelled at the large-scale industrial structures on the shoreline, such as Abitibi-Bowater (nyse:ABI). Of course, we were stopped by the harbor police. I couldn't quite make out what they were saying... something about where we got the boat, where we were staying... the usual chit chat. We pulled the boats out of the water, and the blues festival was going on full-strength. But we could neither see it nor hear it.

I don't really need to tell the rest of the story. We stopped at the dive store to settle up the account for air fills, etc., and then to The Beer Store, our motel, and Canadian Tire, for old time sake, and for Rich to get some epoxy and pliers to fix his boat. We ate at Jack's bar for dinner. A blues band was playing at 10pm. Our waitress was a stunning Italian woman named Natalie. Cleverly, we left just before the band starting playing and went to the OLG Casino.

Cruising the industrial backwaters of Thunder Bay

Rich won $150, but promptly lost $30 of that. Nate peed. The rest of the group grew weary of the spectacle and left to smoke and drink and watch the comings and going at the motel. I stayed with Rich to witness the spectacle.

Sunday, July 6

On Sunday we woke up to thunder and rain. We ate our final breakfast at the Husky Station south of town. I stole a handful of game pieces, and we ripped them open on the ride back, but not a one of them were winners. (So I was really doing them a favor.) We made it through US Customs, and stopped at Temperance River Falls, in Silver Bay to look down at the Hesper, Two Harbors for gas and food, then back at Jay Hansen's house to return the borowed wing. A quick stop in Duluth and we promptly hit the Holiday Weekend Congestion. This time Dan was dragging his boat plug. We pulled it off and repaired it at Roger's house. I went over some landscaping plans with the lady of the house. Then we drove back to Rochester.

So what were the actual dives like? You just have to find out for yourself!