Date: June 3-5 and July 22-24

I can’t think of a more convenient area (for SASS) with quality shipwrecks then the Straits of Mackinac. The ‘Strait’ is the narrow passage separating the upper and lower peninsulas. Over 100 ships have met their doom in this area. What we have left is a rich history of maritime travel. Some sites are shallow (30ft), but the focus of this trip is on wrecks that rest in 70-120ft of water. Visibility is usually exceptional, ranging from 40 to 80 feet. Water temperatures are comfortable. Most people dive in a standard 7mm suit. Best of all, you’ll be diving on schooners, steamers and freighters that are in very good condition.

Accommodations are in St. Ignace and just 1-2 blocks from the dive dock and air fill station. Several restaurants and Sheppler’s Ferry Boat service to Mackinac Island is also within walking distance. This makes it a perfect vacation for families. You’ll dive on schooners while kids dive into the hotel pool. You explore a freighter, while they explore the fort. By early afternoon, everyone meets up for a fudge run to Mackinac Island.

View some images from the 2010 trip...

Price:
$399* for June 3-5
and $435 for July 22-24

Package Includes:

2 days of dives (4 dives total)

2 nights hotel accommodations based on double occupancy

hotel breakfast

hotel taxes

S.A.S.S. t-shirt and group leader

* All Great Lakes trips are weather dependent. We have listed focus shipwrecks for each destination, however, Mother Nature does not always agree with our choices. The charter boat captain has complete say in choosing sites if the conditions are unfavorable. They also can and will cancel charters if they feel the weather conditions are unsafe. (As we like to say, those shipwrecks are down on the bottom for a reason. Let’s not add to the collection.) The boat’s policy determines the refund, not Sub-Aquatic Sports. We STRONGLY suggest purchasing travel and dive insurance.

Payment: A $100 non-refundable deposit is necessary to guarantee space on a trip. Final payment is due 30 days prior to departure. Refunds will only be given when we can refill your space. If this is possible, a $50 service charge will apply to cover additional advertising expenses, and the time it takes to change paperwork, reservation, etc.

Please remember that most charters only hold six divers. Space is extremely limited. Please don’t procrastinate. Sign up Today!

SHIPWRECKS:
Cayuga: 98' 290' steel ship w/two decks, 4 masts, round stern, plain stem. Upright and intact has easy penetration with spare propeller blades stored aft on the lower deck. Has machinery and pontoons that were used in salvage attempt.

Cedarville: 105' 588' steel freighter w/ one deck, 2 masts, round stern, curved stem. Intact and lying on her starboard side, this wreck has confused many a diver who penetrates, some have been trapped. There is much to see from the outside of this ship. Colonel Ellsworth 84' 137' wood ship w/one deck, 3 masts, square stern and plain stem. Intact with a windlass, mast and mast lay on bottom off port bow. Easy penetration with many deck fittings.

Eber Ward: 140' 213' wood ship w/two decks, 1 mast, round stern and plain stem. Top deck is in approx. 113' of water. 2 anchors and 1 mushroom anchor present with engines, unusual cargo unloading machinery and tools present. Lifeboat off the starboard stern.

Fred McBrier: 104' 161' wood ship w/one deck, 2 masts, round stern, plain stem. Lies upright and mostly intact with a lot of machinery present.

J.H. Tiffany : 103' 137' wooden ship, somewhat broken up and lies near the Cayuga. A good second dive after the Cayuga.

James R. Bentley : 150' 178' wood ship w/one deck, 3 masts, square stern, and figurehead. Upright and intact with mizzenmast still present. Belaying pins, anchors, windlass, and ground tackle w/figurehead under the bowsprit.

M. Stalker: 85' 135' wood ship, upright and intact. The stern is broken apart w/windlass, centerboard, bilge pump, some mast sections wire rigging, centerboard winch. Hard wreck to visit due to being in ferry traffic.

Maitland: 84' 133' wooden ship with one deck, 3 masts, square stern and plain stem. Divers can penetrate this intact wreck. Has a raised forecastle, windlass and many deck fittings. Built in 1861, the three-masted bark, Maitland, plied Great Lakes waters for only ten years before sinking in an unusual setoff collisions on a June night. The Maitland cleared Chicago with 18,000 bushels of corn bound for Buffalo on Friday, June 9, 1871, Buy Sunday night; she was approaching the Straits for transition from Lake Michigan to Lake Huron. She never made the crossing. A Maitland lookout sighted the lights of a schooner approaching them directly on a collision course about 10 p.m. on a clear, fog-free, slightly breeze night. Captain Brown ordered the Maitland steered hard to port in an attempt to avoid collision. The move came too late. The Maitland and the approaching schooner, Golden Harvest, glanced off each other starboard to starboard, but not without snagging rigging. The Maitland’s bowsprit and starboard anchor caught the Golden Harvest’s rigging and sailed away with it so forcefully that both of the Golden Harvest’s mast crashed down, fatally injuring the second mate. The Maitland’s bowsprit broke off during the encounter. The damage to both vessels was bad but not enough to sink a ship. Unfortunately, the Maitland had not seen the OTHER schooner that was running behind and a bit off the starboard side of the Golden Harvest. This was the vessel, Mears, which sliced neatly and directly into the Maitland’s wooden hull. The Maitland sank within five minutes from the fatal impalement. The Maitland’s crew hastily took to the yawl boat and rowed safely to Machinac City. The Mears was towed to Chicago for repairs and later ended her career in 1869 when it was stranded in Au Sable on Lake Huron. The Maitland now sits in 85’ of water, with the starboard gunwale rising to a depth of 70’, while the port gunwale is situation at 76’. The middle of the ship has the centerboard winch, while the stern displays the cabin outline, the rudderpost, and the rudder itself turned hard to port, frozen forever in its final defensive posture trying to avoid the collision. The stub of the bowsprit, broken of when snagged by the Golden Harvest rigging can be seen as well as the bilge pump, Samson posts and a windlass.

Milwaukee : 96' 185' wood ship, upright but broken up. The propeller and windlass are still present. Good second dive after the Cayuga.

Minneapolis: 124' 226' wood ship, upright and intact. Has a large fire box boiler, single-cylinder low-pressure steam engine and a 12' four blade propeller and a donkey steam engine. Often a strong current on this ship.

Northwest: 73' 223' wood ship broken up. Have a donkey steam engine and other machinery. This is an interesting dive, but can be confusing due to the disarray of wreckage.

St. Andrew : 61' 135' wood ship upright and mostly intact. Easy dive with windlass, centerboard and bow in good condition.

Sandusky: 83' 110' wood ship upright and intact. Scroll figurehead, bowsprit, jib boom and two anchors, dead eyes, old boots, wood stove and belaying pins still can be seen. Very popular wreck. The Straits of Machinac often called the crossroads of the Great Lakes, presents many hazards to brigs that pass through. The Straits are guarded at both the east and west ends by many shoals and reefs. Once inside these, the early navigator was forced to steer a tight course to avoid stranding on one of the many islands or on the shoreline of the constricted Straits passage. In severe storms, strong gales or darkness, a Strait passage on a brig was indeed a real challenge. Once such brig that accepted this challenge and lost was the Sandusky. This vessel and all her crew were lost in a violent storm in the Straits of Mackinac in 1856. Throughout her lifetime, the Sandusky changed hands several times. In 1856, she was acquired by a new set of owners who apparently caused disgruntlement among the crew. Two men, Samuel McQue and Charles O’Shea deserted the vessel. They were arrested by the Chicago gendarmes and placed in jail. Later they were released in to the custody of Captain Thomas H. Smith of the Sandusky and forced to board the vessel and sail to Buffalo. Unknown to McQue and O’Shea, this action was tantamount to signing their death certificates, for the Sandusky was destined to shortly become yet another victim of the deadly Straits of Mackinac. On September 18, a violent gale sprang up on the northern end of Lake Michigan. The brig, Columbia, saw the Sandusky sink with men clinging to her mast but was unable to render assistance. The side-wheeler Queen City, bound for Chicago, set out from Mackinac to the aid of the distressed sailors.

Newell Eddy: 170' Wood ship with three masts and crow's nest, capstan and donkey steam engine for anchors. Lots of lines that can tangle with visibility no more than 10'.

Uganda: 207' 291' wood ship upright and intact. Center cabin still standing w/anchors, mechanical equipment, engines and boilers. Can be a strong current and extreme depth makes this a dangerous dive.

William H. Barnum: 74' 218' wood ship upright and mostly intact. Engines, boilers, windlass and other machinery are still present. Slight penetration under the forward deck is available. Great depth and relaxing dive, this wreck has many fish and crawfish present.