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The waters off Presque Isle, MI have been a busy shipping lane for decades and are home to a number of incredible shipwrecks. That, coupled with the usually excellent visibility, makes Presque Isle a "must dive" area for any avid wreck diver. The Cornelia B. Windiate was a three-masted schooner about 140' long. She left Milwaukee with a load of wheat bound for Buffalo in November 1875. She disappeared with all hands. It was generally thought she sank in Lake Michigan until her discovery in Lake Huron in 1986. The cause of her sinking is still debated today. She is incredibly intact with her forward mast rising to about 90'. Her main deck is at about 180'. |
The Florida was a wooden steamer 270 feet in length. The Florida was struck by the steamer George W. Roby on May 20, 1897. She sits in about 210' of water and is upright. She is intact from the bow back to the boiler room. The aft end of the ship is broken up, exposing the steam engine. There are so many interesting things to see on this wreck it's hard to list them all. The forward capstan cover is still there, with the writing still legible. The cargo holds are still stocked with various goods. The engine is exposed and easily explored. The bell is still lying in the wreckage. You can dive this wreck many times and still not see all of her treasures. The John J. Audubon (brig) and the Defiance (schooner) collided off Presque Isle in October of 1854. Both vessels sank and now rest a few mile apart on the bottom of Lake Huron. The Defiance is the more intact of the two, resting with masts still standing. Check out this blog entry for an interesting article, which also features amazing photos of these wrecks plus the Norman. The Norman was a steel steamer, just shy of 300' in length. She was yet another victim of a collision. The Norman collided with the Jack after encountering fog. The Norman sits at a depth just over 200'. Since she is the only intact steamer in the area, she offers a unique opportunity: an engine room to penetrate. She is one of the best dives in the Presque Isle area and because she is a steel steamer, offers a nice change from diving wooden sailing ships. Speaking of wooden sailing ships, there are two others in the area that I can't leave out: the Typo and the Kyle Spangler. The Typo is a beautiful schooner that sank in 1899. The front two thirds of the wreck is intact while the stern is heavily damaged. The bow area contains the anchors, windlass, and the ship's bell. The foremast is still standing and is quite an impressive sight. The Kyle Spangler is a wonderfully intact wooden schooner resting in about 180' of water. As is the case with many of the Presque Isle wrecks, she sank due to a collision in a fogbank. the Spangler's bow is damaged from the collision, but she is otherwise quite unharmed. Both masts are still standing and the aft cabin is also still attached. The ship's wheel is in place with the broken compass lying on the deck nearby. As with almost all Great Lakes wrecks, she is covered with zebra (or more correctly quagga) mussels. Divers, however, manage to keep her nameboard clear of the foreign invaders so one can still read her name clearly. |
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