Straits of Mackinac

[dfreeman]

Here is Tina checking out the hold of the Minneapolis. The Minneapolis sank when holed by ice in 1894. No lives were lost.

What I enjoy about this wreck is the physical plant, propellar and all the fish. This is my favorite wreck in the Straits along with the Eber Ward.

[dfreeman]

A better look at the hold

[dfreeman]

Here is Tina on the wreck. I think that Tina makes a better photo model than Jason.
Opinions vary.

[dfreeman]

Here is Tina at the boiler. Visibility could have been better on this dive, but it was still good.

[dfreeman]

Here is a picture of a winch. You can get a feel for the carpet of zebra mussels that are on the wrecks in this area. While the zebra mussels have helped water clarity, they take away from the details of these wrecks. Often you see where divers have swept away the zebra mussels to see the details.

[dfreeman]

We then went to the Sandusky to check out the figurehead that we had heard so much about. The bow of the Sandusky is the best part of this dive. Here we have the anchor still on the old ship.

[dfreeman]

The Sandusky sank in 1856 in a storm with all hands. As is the case with many deeper wrecks in the Great Lakes, there are a lot of neat things still on these ships to see and to revisit history. The everyday on the surface becomes extraordinary 100 feet down on a wreck over 100 years old.

Here is deadeye. When did it fall during the storm that took the Sandusky crew?

[dfreeman]

Here is a capstan

[dfreeman]

Here is Jason and Fred taking in the wreck. You can see the hand operated water pump in the background. Was the crew working this pump when the end came?

[dfreeman]

The figurehead on the Sandusky is the highlight of this dive. Here are several views. Have not quite figured out what it is.