Straits of Mackinac report 7-9 and 7-10-2005

[schultz]

In four years in coming here, this had to be one of the best conditions for both wind and wave in many a season. While the skies were cloudless for the three days we were in St. Ignace, the winds managed to cooperate as well, giving us only 1-2 foot seas. Air temperature ranged from the mid 80’s during the day, dropping to a comfortable low 70’s. Water temps ranged from mid 60’s at the surface to low 40’s on some of the wrecks. And depending on the wreck, visibility was anywhere from 30 to 80 feet.

Considered a long weekend trip, we dove only on Saturday and Sunday, but managed to get in a total of six wrecks. There were a total of eight people aboard the boat, including several walk-ons, making travel on the Rec Diver very comfortable even with multiple tanks and stage bottles. Most in our group have traveled previously to some of these wrecks, while two with in the group were about to experience shipwreck diving in the Straits for the first time.

To get everyone acclimated to the idea of doing deep, freshwater, current dives, our first wreck was the Sandusky. With only a depth of 83 feet, she’s a real treat given that she’s been down nearly 150 years and remains mainly intact, making her the oldest known shipwreck in the area. Sank in 1856, the Sandusky is a 110 foot wooden brig that foundered during a violent gale with all hands lost. Some of the features to look for are the bowsprit and the elaborately carved figurehead directly beneath it. 

Our next stop was the mighty ship Cedarville. According to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Research database, at 588 feet in length this boat is the third largest boat to vanish in the Great lakes. While carrying a load of limestone, she sank in 1965 when struck mid-ship in heavy fog by the Norwegian freighter Topdalsfjord. Resting in 105 feet of water, and given the mild current, we decided to give our newcomers an overview of the Cedarville by essentially doing a drift dive the entire length of the boat.

Starting from the stern, we splashed in and descended quickly to the bottom, swimming around open hatches, and portholes you can look into. We then drifted around the hold areas of the vessel, which are totally open and make for relatively easy swim throughs for experienced divers. Coming out of the seventh hold and into the eighth, you find yourself in the middle of the crack of the ship where the Topdalsfjord had struck her. We posed for a few pictures at the crack, and then continued the rest of the dive all the way to the pilothouse, where from our perspective, the  “malfunctioned” radar screen hangs from the ceiling.

Our third dive took us to the William Young. This 139 foot schooner was only recently re-discovered in 2002 and lies in 120 feet of water. She was lost in a collision in the Straits on October 5, 1891. Having something so recently discovered in the area is always a real treat. There are artifacts on the vessel (some are even tagged for tracking purposes if ever stolen) that are nice to see.

The fourth wreck we went on was the M. Stalker, a 135 foot wooden schooner that sank in 1886. At a depth of only 85 feet, it makes for a nice off-gassing dive at the end of a long day. The captain had talked this wreck down quite a bit by stating that the bow and stern were pretty smashed up, and with our expectations lowered, we were honestly surprised by how she looked. My only regret was that I didn’t bring my camera on this particular dive since I thought we wouldn’t see much. There’s always next year!

Day two and we decide to do one of my favorites – the Eber Ward. She is a 213 foot wooden steamer that sank in 1909. At a maximum depth of 140 she starts getting out of the realm of recreation divers, but fortunately her deck lies at about 120 feet. Last year I went into her lower aft hold to photograph her only remaining light bulb (it still has a vacuum in it!), but this year I focus on her bow holds. Since she sank while hauling grain, you can see a dozen or so hand-trucks scattered all over in this location. Every time I visit here, I find something else I haven’t seen before, and in the lowest bow hold, I found another one of these hand trucks lying out in the open. Aside from the mussels, it looks like it could be used even today.

Our final wreck we dove was the Minneapolis. Located in 124 feet of water, and almost under the Mackinac Bridge, this 226 foot wooden steamer sank 1894. This is a nice wreck in that she has a HUGE four-blade propeller and there tons of other debris to investigate. I’m not certain why, but every time I visit this wreck she is swarming with longnose suckers. Personally, it’s a nice change of pace to see suckers instead of those ugly burbots.

[JacobsonC2]

wow!  ;D nice write up! what did you use for a camera? strobe? settings?

i am heading up there this weekend for two days of diving and it looks like it will be a great time. post some more pics if you have them please.

[schultz]

Thanks. I currently use a Canon G5 in an Ikelite housing. I have replaced the original housing's strobe are with a dual-strobe arm. The left arm has an Ikelite DS-50 substrobe, while the right has an Ikelite DS-125 sub strobe. I'm using them in TTL Sensor mode (i.e. no sync cord), which according to Ikelite's website meand I should set the camera to shutter speed of 1/100. I've had mixed results so I've been exerimenting with the setup a little.

[schultz]

Here's a few more.... (Look how calm the water was)

[JacobsonC2]

wow, more nice pics.

i have a olympus c-7070 without a strobe and was just wondering how well it will work without a strobe. this will be my first time playing in the water with it. hopefully i wont flood it.

[schultz]

That's a nice camera... what kind of housing do you have for it? Should work reasonably well I would think, but I suspect you'll eventually want a more powerfully flash.

BTW - here's a few more pics...

[Omicron]

Nice photos - I'll be up there in a couple of weeks...those pictures really make me look forward to it!

[scubert]

Great pix.  I really need to get up there one of these seasons.

[Chris H]

Next year when you can deco with us.

[scubert]

That's why I'm doing the courses