Dive the Shipwrecks of Lake Superior
There is a dive shop with rentals of tanks, weights and air refills.
Captain Peter Lindquist and his daughter Kate will take you out on the 38′ Wreck Express, the newest addition to our fleet. The Wreck Express is 12′ wide and can be loaded up with 14 divers for some great diving in the Alger Underwater Preserve. If space available family and friends can join the divers for a great day on the water. The Wreck Express has an upper sun deck, 1 head, large indoor cabin space and runs at 16 knots., and easy access to the water .
Morning and afternoon dives. Individual and group rates. Dive shop and air service at dock.
Primary scuba dive sites in Munising Bay, Munising Michigan, in the Alger Underwater Preserve:
The BERMUDA dive site is a very popular for both beginners and advanced scuba divers. A merchant schooner of 394 tons, she was launched at Oswego, NY, in 1860, and sunk with no loss of life in October of 1870. Although this wreck lies in only 30 feet of water, it is protected from ice and wave damage. The result is an intact 145 foot schooner sitting upright and waiting for visitors. The BERMUDA was 136 feet in length, 26 feet in beam and l l feet, 9 inches in depth.
The HERMAN HETTLER , a 235-foot wooden steamer wrecked on Nov. 23. 1926, was launched in 1890 at W Bay City, MI as the steamer WALTER VAIL. The HETTLER was laden with a cargo of table salt when she encountered a typical November storm in 1926. She was headed for the shelter of Grand Island, near Munising, Michigan, when she struck a reef along the island’s west side and was destroyed on the 23rd. All of her crew escaped before the steamer broke up. In 30-40 foot depths of outstanding visibility.
THE KIOWA, a steel bulk freight steamer of 2,309 tons and 251 feet was launched in 1920 at Wyandotte, Michigan. The KIOWA was blasted by a tremendous gale on November 30, 1929. The shifting of her unstable cargo of flax seed made her unmanageable, and she went on an Au Sable reef, several miles west of Grand Marais, Michigan. Five lives were lost, but the other 16 crewmen were saved in a courageous rescue effort. The wreck is located in 20-40 foot depths.
THE MANHATTAN , a wooden bulk freight steamer of 1,545 tons, 252 feet in length, launched in 1887 at Wyandotte, Michigan, and sunk Oct. 26, 1903. She was caught in a gale and seeking shelter in the East Channel when her wheel chains broke and she went up on a reef. Soon thereafter a fire broke out and the ship was a sheet of flame. Her crew escaped to safety. The burned hulk is in 20-40 foot depths off the east shore of Grand Island.
The STEVEN M. SELVICK , a steel tug of 70 gross tons, 71 feet in length and 19 feet beam was intentionally sunk off Trout Point in May of 1996 for the Alger Underwater Preserve. She lies in approximately 70 ft. of water and is 1600 yards east of Grand Island’s Trout Point. Even though the tug lies in 70 ft. of water, the pilot house starts in 40 ft. of water, making a great dive for beginners to experts.
The SMITH MOORE , a 260-foot three masted steamer which sank July 13, 1889. Bound from Marquette with her holds filled with iron ore, the freighter was running in a dense fog when she was rammed by the similarly sized steamer JAMES PICKANDS. The PICKANDS never stopped and, though she remained afloat for some time, the MOORE was fatally damaged. After the fog lifted, her distress signals brought the freighter M M DRAKE to her assistance. The MOORE’s crew was taken off and the steamer herself taken in tow, but she sank on her approach to Munising.
The Wreck Mysteries – Where Are They Now?
Rumors, legends and stories of shipwrecks abound in the Grand Island area. 30 ships are known to have gone down in the area of the Pictured Rocks. Of these, nearly half remain undiscovered.
