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Our Glass Bottom Boat Fleet…
A Brief History
Munising Bay has always been a treasure trove of maritime artifacts with numerous shipwrecks preserved in Lake Superior’s frigid waters.
Until a few years ago, the only way to visit this “maritime museum” was to brave the cold by diving into these waters. That was before Captain Pete Lindquist came up with the idea of a Glass Bottom Boat Shipwreck Tour.
The first year the wrecks were viewed by looking over the side of a small six passenger boat, Phyllis Anne, using Polaroid sunglasses. The response was positive, so Captain Pete acquired the nine-teen passenger, Dive Master,designed and installed a 2′ x 8′ viewing area.
In 1996, Captain Pete expanded the viewing area to 4′ x 10′, which offered guests an excellent view of the wreck sites. The response was enthusiastic enough that the following year he purchased the Ninety passenger, Miss Munising.
June of 2001, Fireball was purchased from Key West, FL. It was already designed as a glass bottom boat. Captain Pete explored all options for the best way to get it into the great lakes and decided to drive it home himself! Up the Mississippi you ask? No. Intracoastal waterway? No. He decided those routes were just too slow. He needed to get the boat here as soon as possible and get it operational to meet the overwhelming tourist demand. He left the Keys and traveled the open Atlantic Ocean all the way up to New York harbor, and then into the rivers and canal systems that lead into the Great Lakes.
After nine adventure filled days, running 23 hrs./day, stopping only for fuel, 2 guys with the Fireball arrived at the Shipwreck Tour dock on the 3rd of July.
One of the most memorable moments of the trip for Captain Pete and his crew member Jimmy was seeing New York from the Harbor in a way that was soon to be altered forever that coming September…