Great Lakes Expeditions and the FIAT Promo Event in Chicago

Today for Great Lakes Expeditions..... we had an absolute KICK ASS day spending all day as a Support Vessel for an official FIAT promo event! These cars were a HUGE hit driving around the Chicago Waterfront, Navy Pier, the Play Pen, and the Chicago River.

New boat for 2013 season

Hello guests and visitors of Great Lakes Expeditions.

We wanted to introduce our new vessel that we shall be using during the 2013 season. The "Fun Follows Too" is a Cruiser Yachts 330 Express. She is a 2008, 35 foot overall size vessel. We are still operating out of Diversey Harbor on "L" dock like last year. You will find that she is a very nice vessel , and is perfect for an enjoyable and comfortable Boat Trip.

Here are some examples of what she looks like:

Dock Box Table Tops for your West Trac Marine Dock Box

Here is a great idea for everyone that has a West Trac Marine Dock Box for their slips in the Chicago Harbor system.

These are custom built Table Tops that you can attach to the top of your Dock Box. The cost to have one built is $225.00. You can even customize your Dock Box Table Top with your boat name. This is at an added cost depending on the logo that is to be created to place on the Dock Box Table Top.

For more information please contact glexpeditions@gmail.com

Updates for Great Lakes Expeditions 2013 boat season

Hello Great Lakes Expeditions Guests,

We wanted to send out an update for the upcoming 2013 Boating Season. Currently our boat, the Double Jameson, is still in her winter storage undergoing maintenance and upgrades. We did not want to have this work being done on her to delay our ability to provide services to all of our guests for the 2013 season. So we shall be utilizing a new boat for the 2013 season. We shall still be operating out of “L” dock at Diversey Harbor. With our using a new boat this season, we will be updating our 2013 Pricing for our services.

Boat Trips:
-Basic Boat Trip to the “Chicago Play Pen” for 3 hours…. $855.00
-Additional Per Hour Rate for Boat Trips….. $285.00
-Deposit for Boat Trip Bookings….. $285.00
-Fuel Surcharge is dependent on the amount of travel time for the Boat Tour.
These prices will break down to $95.00 per person (based on 12 guests) for a 4 hour trip.

All Boat Tours are PAID IN FULL before we leave the dock. See our INFO Page and SHOP Page for more details on prices, Boat schedules, and other general information for your questions.

Cancellation Policy:
As a general rule, we will go out if the waves are four (4) feet or less. Guests with a 10-day advance notice may cancel a trip without penalty. If a guest should cancel within 48 hours of the scheduled trip, there is no refund of the deposit. In the event that the weather does not cooperate and the charter never takes place, we will gladly reschedule your charter for another date with no loss of deposit or fees. We will monitor the weather up until the day of the charter and we can all make the decision together as to whether or not to go out. The Captains of the Boat always have final say when it comes to weather conditions. We will not take any charter out in bad weather that could potentially cause harm to the passengers, vessel or crew. We want you to have a good time and tell your friends about our services. The deposit is refundable in the event of bad weather BEFORE the charter takes place or can be applied for another date. Once the collective decision is made to go out, then we are out and the charter is underway and no refund for weather will be given.

Please feel free to contact us so that we can get your dates scheduled on our calendar. We look forward to having all of you with us this coming summer.

Regards,
Great Lakes Expeditions Team

Email: glexpeditions@gmail.com

The 2013 Boating Season is almost here……

Great Lakes Expeditions has added a new feature to our Website home page: Point n Click access for our Lake Ontario dive operations on the Lyn Lee.

Here is the 2013 Dive Charter and Boat Charter pricing….
Diving:
-2 Tank Dive….. $120.00 per diver
-1 Tank Dive….. $95.00 per diver
-Fuel Surcharge is dependent of what wreck we go to

Boat Trips:
-Basic Boat Trip to the “Chicago Play Pen” for 3 hours…. $750.00
-Additional Per Hour Rate for Boat Trips….. $250.00
-Deposit for Boat Trip Bookings….. $250.00
-Fuel Surcharge is dependent on the amount of travel time for the Boat Tour

All Boat Tours are PAID IN FULL before we leave the dock. See our INFO Page and SHOP Page for more details on prices, Boat schedules, and other general information for your questions.

Please feel free to contact us at glexpeditions@gmail.com

Met up with Gulen Dive Resorts

We had the chance to meet up with Orjan Sandnes from Gulen Dive resorts in Norway.


Welcome to one of Norway's best diving destinations

Gulen Dive Resort is located at the entrance to one of the world's most spectacular fjords, and travel destination.

The nature offers the same spectacular adventures under water as above. Gulen Dive Resort is Norway's leading dive Destinations, and have visitors from all around the world.

Here is the link to their company website: http://www.gulendykkesenter.no/

Met up with Northern Explorers from Norway

We met up with Sven Gust with Northern Explorers at the Boot International show in Dusseldorf Germany.

Below is information about their company and the link to their company website:

Northern Explorers is a specialist for diving-, fishing- and adventure tours in Scandinavia/Northern Europe.

We do not go where all the others walk - we make our own tracks, together with you.

This is a link to their website: http://www.northern-explorers.com/about.htm

Great Lakes Expeditions heads to Dusseldorf Germany

Well we are already hard at work getting Great Lakes Expeditions more exposure Internationally. We will be heading to the Boat Show in Dusseldorf Germany this year to promote our Dive Charters in Chicago and Kingston Ontario...

http://www.boat-duesseldorf.com/

Look for more interesting events coming up from Great Lakes Expeditions for the early parts of 2013! And of course....we look forward to seeing everyone again for this coming Boating Season in Chicago!

Straits of Mac dive trip 9/15/2012

Made a trip out to the Straits of Mac wreck on Sunday 9/15/2012.... please see our Galleries Page for pics and Video of the dive.

This was our first dive back in Lake Michigan on our new Evolution Rebreathers from Silent Diving.

Kingston Ontario Dive Trip Aug 30th - Sept 10th 2012

Please see our Galleries Page for pics from our Dive Trip to Kingston Ontario. This was a great trip to visit our sister ship Lyn Lee in Kingston.

We participated in a Silent Diving Rebreather course. We also went through our Advanced Nitrox course as well as Mixed Gas Diving course for the Evolution Rebreather.

The weather was terrific....warm and sunny the whole time. Water temp was on average about 73 degrees......even at 135ft! We visited several wrecks in the 1000 Islands area of Lake Ontario, the Marsh and Comet to name a few. The visibility was not the greatest for pics and video unfortunately.

Lyn Lee Dive Boat in Kingston:


Captain Damon and Jason "Little Dude" enjoying a dive:

Chicago Air and Water Show 2012

I hope everyone was able to enjoy this years Chicago Air and Water Show!! It was an awesome weekend out on the water and the Blue Angles were great as ever.



We also loaded a few really cool videos from the boat as they were flying by past us right outside Diversey Harbor entrance. Go to the Galleries section on our website to see.

See you on the water everyone!

Captain Damon

Join us at the Chicago Scene Boat Party July 28th, 2012

We will be attending the Chicago Scene Boat Party July 28th, 2012. Ask us about details on joining us for the party!

http://www.chicagosceneboatparty.com/

Professional Photography Service for our trips

We are providing professional photography service for both our sightseeing tours and our underwater diving trips.

Studio 702 Chicago will provide the photographers. They can also be found at
www.studio702chicago.com

We can provide a CD with all the pics for you to have at the end of the trip to take home for you to use as you wish.

Please contact us for details.....

Straits of Mac dive trip June 30th, 2012

This was a Dive Trip to the Straits of Mac dive wreck on June 30th, 2012. John Slivka and Keith Pamper came along for the fun on a great day for diving the wreck. Water temp at 73 ft was 50 degrees..... it was 95 degrees topside on the boat. The underwater pics are thanks to Keith Pamper of Studio 702 Chicago.



Take a look at the pics on our FaceBook page and here in the Photo Gallery.

New photos posted for Double Jameson

Check out our Facebook page for a bunch of new photos of the Straights of Mackinac Dive trip June 2nd, 2012 and the Double Jameson.

Photos were taken thanks to Fred Teifeld / Studio 702 Chicago studio702chicago.com

See our Facebook page for updates also.. www.facebook.com/pages/Great-Lakes-Expeditions

Straits of Mackinac Dive pics...

The Pics are now posted for the first dive trip of the year for the Double Jameson..... The Straits of Mackinac ship wreck....June 2nd , 2012

Custom Dock Box Table-tops

Here is a great idea for everyone that has a West Trac Marine Dock Box for their slips in the Chicago Harbor system.

These are custom built Table Tops that you can attach to the top of your Dock Box. You can even customize your Dock Box Table Top with your boat name.

For more information please contact glexpeditions@gmail.com

Straits of Mackinac dive wreck trip... June 2, 2012

Pictures coming soon from the Dive trip we made to the Straits of Mackinac dive wreck.

Data from the trip...
Surface Air temp: 73 degrees
Surface Water temp: 62 degrees

Wreck bottom: 73ft midships, 78ft at the bow due to a bit of sand washout
Water temp for dive: at 73ft....water temp was 55 degrees

Visibility: 15-20ft

Marine live: Small amount of Bass to be seen

Transit time to wreck site from Diversey Harbor: 35 min


Dive Pics are in the Photo Gallery for the Dive trip on June 2nd 2012

Dive Trips on Double Jameson Q&A

Here is a list of some questions we have been asked about Great Lakes Expeditions, Dive Trips, and the Double Jameson:




Do you have a current US Coast Guard Captain license and for which classes of vessels? Yes…my brother and I both have Master 50 Ton Captains Licenses with Great Lakes endorsement.



How is your vessel classified by the USCG? If you operate an uninspected passenger vessel, do you have it regularly inspected by the USCG regardless? We have an uninspected vessel, and yes we have had it inspected by the Coast Guard. The applicable certification stickers are displayed on the boat.



Are you required to carry an EPIRB? Do you carry one even if not required? No we are not required to carry an EPIRB since we are an Uninspected Vessel status. However, we do have a handheld portable emergency radio with GPS location and emergency transmission.



How many passengers (not including crew) is your vessel rated to carry and how many divers can comfortably be aboard? We can take 10 people comfortably. We only wish to take up to 6 divers at a time.



Do you have a regular first mate and/or dive master(s)? What qualifications do they have (e.g. dive master from a certification agency, USCG captain’s license, etc.) What dive agency qualifications do you have in addition to USCG licensing? My brother Adam and I are both Licensed Master 50 Ton Captains. We will both be going out on the dive charters so one shall act as Captain and one shall act as 1st mate. We both have our Great Lakes endorsement as well as Assisted Towing license. We are both CPR and First Aid certified, Marine Radio Operator certified. I have my Advanced Open Water Diver through PADI, Wreck Diver, Nitrox, and Safety Diver. We do not provide Dive Masters for our dives.



Do you give a briefing on the location of all safety and first aid equipment, diver recall procedures, and dealing with contingencies (e.g. not coming up the line)? Yes…. We go through a safety briefing about the boat while still at the dock. Then once we reach the dive site I will give a briefing on in and out procedures and all related safety procedures.



Are you willing to quickly educate one of our organizers or members on the operation of your vessel including radios, EPIRBS, etc. in the event you are indisposed (dealing with an emergency)? These safety briefings are always gone over with all of our guests while at the dock. We also have clearly labeled and displayed emergency procedures and operations of safety equipment in the event the crew is unavailable. In addition, we would be happy to go through radio operations and basic control operations with a designated group leader.



What extra dive safety equipment does your vessel offer? E.g. DAN oxygen kit, rescue sling, O2 hang tanks, expanded first aid kit, AED, etc. Are you and your crew trained in the use of these safety devices? We have a DAN full medical kit, DAN O2 kit, and we intend to add an AED sometime this season. As far as in water safety equipment… we have a safety drop line off the back swim platform as well as a safety line running the length of the boat to the anchor or mooring lines from the dive sites. Electronically….we have a GPS map plotter and navigation system, Radar and Sonar. My brother and I are trained on all the equipment we have onboard.



Does the boat have deck space sufficient for two to three people to attend to an unresponsive diver? There is plenty of room on the dive deck for this type of a situation.



Do you have a current comprehensive liability insurance policy? Are you required to carry such a policy by a state, city, or port authority? We are fully licensed and insured following the stated regulations from the city, state and DNR with regards to operating a Commercial Dive Vessel.



Under what conditions (weather, lake conditions, boat safety, diver safety, diver comfort) do you cancel a charter? In what weather conditions do you allow the clients to make the decision to go or not? We will cancel a Dive Charter when we feel the conditions are dangerous due to high winds or storms. If the waves are greater than 4-5 ft…. we shall cancel a dive trip as well. Regarding a self-terminated dive trip from the clients…. We will always ask our clients if they are comfortable. However, it is still our right as the Captains of the boat to make the final call for overall boat and personnel safety due to weather.



What additional “diver comfort” equipment and services do you supply (e.g. camera bucket, table, dry area, snacks, water)? We do provide several services and comforts….. While onboard we have digital TV reception, XM Siruis Radio with brand new sound system, spacious front deck for sunning and roomy below decks cabin. Regarding Food and Beverages….. all of our clients have the option to have us provide this service. We will arrange to have custom lunches made from local Chicago Restaurants (such as Carmichaels, Greek Island, and Phoenix) . As for beverages…we will have water and sodas for all of our guests when we are providing the food and beverage service. Clients are also welcome to bring any food or beverages they wish onboard as well. We will be happy to provide coolers for these. Other OFF BOAT services we do for our clients…. We can set up LIMO service to pick them up and drop them off from their dive trip. We also offer the use of the Diversey Yacht Club facilities for our guests after their trip. They can shower and change, have a meal, or enjoy the Bar and outdoor patio facilities.

Offering Limo service for your Dive or Boat trips...

Wondering how to get to Diversey Harbor with your group?? Don't want to have to worry about parking and getting trough traffic to and from your trip with us??? Let us know if you would like us to arrange for Limo to come pick you and your group up from one location and make it easy to get to and from Diversey Harbor. This service can easily be arranged with us when we set up your trip. Contact us for details and costs.