Lake Huron Wreck Diving by Dave Oney

Lake Huron Wreck Diving
Author: Dave Oney

Dove with a local charter boat from Lake Erie, who took his boat to Port Sanilac MI, for the week. Scuba Recovery is the name of the boat. First wreck was the Charles S. Price, a 504' freighter that went down in a storm in 1913. She lies at 64 feet deep. Seemed like I was going down the decent forever before she appeard. And boy did she. This was my first wreck dive and I was amazed at the size of this thing. The line was tied around the stern, near a prop that looked as big as my house. The wreck is upside down. We went along the starbord side looking in all the portholes, and huge tears and holes in the hull. Some of the other divers penetrated, by my buddy and I are not trained to do so, so we watched from the outside. We made it to the bow, and agreed time to go back, so we returned on the port side, after a fairly swift swim. Up for a saftey stop, then out. Nice wreck with multiple penetration points. For some reason, I didnt feel a thermocline at all. Dive time 32 minutes at 65 feet. Next wreck was the Sport tug. 56 feet long and 49 feet deep. She lays upright tilted towards her starboard side. Very intact, couple of open deck ports, tools still laying on the deck, huge wood, intact deck boards, the prop lays on the bottom near the huge wood rudder. Also, a nice plaque on a pole put there by the Michigan Underwater preserve. 45' for 39 minutes. Very nice dive. Next was the Eliza Strong, 205 feet long, went down in 1904 in 28 feet of water. Not much to see here, this wood ship supposedly burned. Deck planks, a bunch of steel pins, bolts and nails. And a few large steel bands that must have ran around the ship. And a sink. Not sure if it belonged to the ship, but a sink. Not much of a wreck, but if your dive plan at the end of the day allows for it, why not? Seeing enough, we came up early. Bottom time of 30 minutes, and depth of 24 feet.

The second day we went out for a ride to the Tug, Mary Alice B. Shes 65' long and lies in 92 feet of water. She sank while being towed by another Tug in 1975. She lies completely upright, and in outstanding condition. The line is tied off right by her name near the open wheelhouse. Near the door is a sign that says "authorized personel only" I immediately authorized myself, and went on in. Inside the first thing you see is the ships wood wheel, in great condition also. I also noticed old navigational and electronic gear, all still intact. There was also a axe still in its holder on the wall. I looked up to find air still trapped against the ceiling. I went back out to look around, and found dishes still in the galley, and other items still in the head. She also still has several tires strapped to her sides that were used as dock bumpers. Visibility was worse on this dive, about 15 feet, but still a nice dive. Lotsa Gobeys. Not many zebras. I didnt make it to the rear of the boat to look at much back there. The towers/stacks/ and hoits are all still upright and still have the pullys and other gear also. Temps at the surface were 69, and Id guess at the bottom at 55. again, no thermocline. Dive time was 26 min at 84 feet. The second dive was the Regina, A 250 foot steel freighter that went down in 77 feet of water in a strom in 1913. She lies upside down in good condition with the exception of a hole/tear in the middle. we went down the line that is attached to the stern, and again I was in awe of the huge prop and rudder. I went down to the bottom ad started to swim towards the bow. When we got to the tear, the 2 wreck divers got out thier reels, and went to work. I continued towards the bow, stopping at each porthole to watch for the divers inside, I cought a glimse of their lights a couple of times. This wwreck is also covered with zebras. I ade it almost to the bow whenI noticed a huge anchor about 10 feet up, I went up and looked it over, and notice a 3 word name on her, but never did figure it out. I continued to the bow where I saw another big chain on the bottom that I figured would lead to the other anchor, I followed it for quite a ways, then decided I needed to turn around and head back to the line. Up for a saftey stop. 75 feet for 22 minutes. The wreck divers had made it about 70 feet, left a line in there, and came back out. Third dive was another on the Regina, this time when I went down, I poked around the stern for a few minutes to find the name Regina in large brass letters. The wreck divers went back in on the line they left in before, to try to come out another hole near the bow. I started to check out the nice big debre field. Its all on the starboard side. The stack looks like it was unbolted, and placed there. Not a dent in it. The masts are HUGE. I also found ladders, broken bottles, a two wheeled cargo cart, and some steel cables that wereattatched to the masts. I also noticed that almost everything had a plastic tag with a number on it that the state of Michigan used to identify everything, and to try to make it stay there I guess. Up for a saftey stop. 75 feet for 26 minutes. Geat Dives!!! The wreck divers now had a rope from one opening to another, about 120 feet apart.

Dave