Photo: Donald Tipton
Photo: Donald Tipton
Photo: Donald Tipton
Photo: Donald Tipton
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It's not just British divers who are wreck-crazy, the USA has it's fair share of rust-lovers too, many of whom like a lake dive or should we say 'Great Lake' dive. Words by Joseph Cocozza, photographs by Donald Tipton
With a deafening roar, the boat planes across the calm of Lake Huron. The aluminum
hull cuts a swath through the fog. There is no discernible horizon, just overlapping
clouds of mist.
I'm only wearing a thin cotton sweatshirt and my teeth are chattering uncontrollably.
My head is bowed and I cannot tell if the juddering of my body is due to the
morning cold or the vibrations of twin Mercury 135 outboards running at full
throttle. My thoughts are broken as the outboard's propellers slow down
and a ghostly image materialises out of the mist. Through the haze, a twisted
hulk of steel emerges from the depths. Over the engine roar, my guide exclaims:
'Welcome to the wreck of the German freighter Nordmeer'.
The Great Lakes of North America (which are actually inland freshwater seas)
have an extensive nautical tradition replete with a history of massive storms
and shipwrecks. Myself and photographer Donald Tipton were spending a week at
the Thunder Bay Marine Sanctuary on Lake Huron to photograph and videotape some
of the numerous wrecks. Designated in 1999, Thunder Bay is the first Marine
Sanctuary to be located in the Great Lakes.
Over the past 200 years the Great Lakes' shipping trade has had a national
and international significance. Moreover, they have resulted in uniquely designed
vessels. The 160 shipwrecks within the sanctuary constitute a microcosm of the
Great Lakes' commercial shipping industry. The foundations of Great Lakes'
shipping are vessels that transported wood, grain, ore, coal, passengers and
packet freight. Moreover, Lake Huron is the final resting place for an unusually
large number of early steel-propeller vessels, from the critical decades 1880-1920,
when changes in vessel design were rapid and short-lived. These sunken vessels
reflect significant transitions in ship architecture and construction methods.
Located in the city of Alpena, Michigan, the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
encompasses a total of 808 square miles of Lake Huron. Thunder Bay boasts an
impressive array of underwater cultural resources including shipwrecks, lighthouses,
historical remnants of docks and piers, and materials from historic and prehistoric
Native Americans.
NATIONAL MARINE SOCIETY
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) National Marine Sanctuaries
are underwater equivalents to the USA's National Park system. The purpose
of these sanctuaries is to conserve important historical and ecological sites,
to manage these marine environments and educate the public about them. There
are currently 13 National Marine Sanctuaries in the US, situated at a number
of sites from the US Eastern Seaboard to Hawaii and American Samoa.
Diving the Lakes
The Great Lakes offer cold, green-water wreck diving. In fact, it's much
like the New Jersey diving that I'm used to, or indeed the wreck diving
found around the UK. These freshwater inland seas have been dived since the
1960s, although back in those days it was mostly hardcore sports divers and
salvors. Today, the Lakes are popular with recreational divers and the wrecks
are accessible to sports divers and above.
Expect to see some big weather - winds and currents can be strong. Lake
Huron has water temperatures of between 7 and 12ºC in summer, and between 0º
and 5ºC in winter. Lake Superior to the north is far colder, with a water temperature
of roughly 2ºC year round.
Marine life is not abundant, but I've always been a wreck diver who thought
that fish got in the way of wrecks!
The Nordmeer
Depth: 10-17m
Type: freighter
Date of sinking: 28 November 1966
History
In the autumn of 1966 the freighter Nordmeer left Hamburg in Germany and travelled
across the North Atlantic. On 19 November the Nordmeer was heading for Chicago
when it passed Alpena. The seas were calm and the visibility was clear when
the 130m ship hit a limestone reef, which ripped her bottom. A local Canadian
pilot on board had instructed the ship to steer out of the shipping lanes and
directed her dangerously close to the limestone reefs that run along shore.
Water immediately flooded into Hold Three. The Nordmeer quickly took on water
and settled on the 10m shoal. The coastguard picked up 35 members of the 43-man
crew and the remainder stayed with the captain in the hope that they might be
able to rescue the ship. A few weeks later, on 28 November, a major storm hit
the area. The captain ordered his remaining crew to abandon ship and a coastguard
helicopter rescued all eight of the stranded men.
The Nordmeer was grounded on the shoal and the hull split in two. Over the years
the hard winters of ice and wind have gradually torn the wreck apart.
The dive
Rolling back into the misty waters wearing twin-tanks and OMS wings, Don and
I swam over to the bow of the Nordmeer and descended. The Nordmeer is an unbelievably
beautiful shipwreck, with its twisted steel beams and passageways at odd angles.
Shafts of light criss-crossed through open hatches and portholes. The forecastle
deck at a 45-degree angle slopes up to the surface. This is a big wreck and
would take a dozen dives to fully explore. Our videographer, Mike, decided to
head aft to the engine room while Don and I lingered in the forward section.
With lots of ambient light, the Nordmeer is a photograph-rich environment. I
held Donald's back-up camera as he clicked through 36 exposures of Fujichrome.
After exposing a total four rolls of film, we headed back for the surface.
Of the dozen wrecks we dived in the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary the
Nordmeer is said to be the most special shipwreck - for me, it was wreck-diving
nirvana.
Wrecks galore...
The Grecian
Depth: 33m
Type: bulk freighter
Date of sinking: 15 June 1906
This ship sank while being towed from Detroit for repairs. The wreck is mostly
intact. We traversed the intact hull and the windlass, chains and rudder came
into view. The steam engine and boiler protrude from the deck. Recent reports
indicate that the stern is collapsing.
The Monohansett
Depth: 5m
Type: bulk freighter
Date of sinking: 23 November 1907
Carrying a cargo of coal, the Monohansett was travelling from Cleveland to Canada
when the weather turned rough and the captain to decided anchor behind Thunder
Bay Island. A fire broke out in her engine room and quickly spread to the cargo
of coal. Water which was pumped in the hold to extinguish the coal fire caused
the ship to sink.
Today the wreck lies off the Thunder Bay Island in full view of the Thunder
Bay lighthouse. It is a shallow wreck, so much so that it can be explored while
free-diving. When diving the Monohansett, you can swim to the island and explore
the historic lighthouse.
The wreck has broken into three sections and offers excellent visibility and
large numbers of fish. The propeller and boilers are still visible.
The Montana
Depth: 25m
Type: packet freighter
Date of sinking: 6 September 1914
Built in 1872, the Montana worked the Great Lakes for 42 years. This is a spectacular
wreck dive and a great example of unique Great Lakes' ship design. The
Montana lies at 25m and is mostly intact. The windlass and capstans are very
photogenic and the engine and boiler stand up to 10m below the surface.
EB Allen
Depth: 32m
Type: schooner
Date of sinking: 18 November 1871
The EB Allen sank in thick fog as the result of a collision with the sailing
ship Newsbound. The Allen was en route from Chicago to Buffalo carrying a cargo
of grain when the collision occurred. The wreck is in good condition, and the
anchor chains, windlass and rudders are still in place.
Barge N0 1 - The Colonel Sanders
Depth: 15m
Type: lumber barge
Date of sinking: 8 November 1918
Barge No 1 was in tow when she sank because of rough November waves. Today the
remains of the 100m-long ship are spread out over the bottom. Sidewalls and
planking are still intact, as is the steering quadrant at the stern. The wreck
was given the nickname 'Colonel Sanders' because when the ship sank
she was carrying 200 crates of chickens. Many chickens washed ashore alive.
So many, in fact, that the coastguard held a huge chicken barbecue for the local
community.
William Peter Thew
Depth: 26m
Type: Lumber hooker
Date of sinking: 22 June 1909
The Thew sank as the result of a collision with the steamer William Livingston.
Today the wreck rests in 26m of water and is badly broken up. The boilers and
engine sit up on the muddy bottom.
Getting there
The Great Lakes diving season runs from mid-May until the end of September.
Flights to Alpena, Michigan are available with Northwestern Airlines from London
Gatwick via Detroit, expect to pay around £500 for return. There are plenty
of hotels and guesthouses in the area. DIVE recommends that you contact a travel
company such as Trailfinders (tel: 020 7292 1888) which can tailor your travel
and accommodation to suit you.
For more information about Thunder Bay see the website http://www.thunderbay.noaa.gov
