Diving into the depths

 

The huge steam engine and propeller of the wooden steamer Chisholm that was wrecked in 1989 sits at a depth of about 140 feet off the lighthouse on the Rock of Ages reef and lighthouse. Photos provided A line of divers' tanks underscores the view of Lake Superior and its shoreline from the RLT Diver III. Divers can explore the massive steel winches of the 525-foot Great Lakes freighter The Emperior, which ran aground in 1910. The wreck sits about 80 to 150 feet below the surface of Lake Superior. The Congdon struck the Canoe Rocks reef in 1918 and eventually broke in half. The bow is largely intact and tilts at a sharp angle beneath the water off Michigan's Isle Royale. Buoys such as this mark diving sites off Isle Royale in Lake Superior. Photo provided Dive-site features Here are some of the shipwrecks divers will find off Michigan's Isle Royale. Congdon Bow 532 feet, steel freighter, depth: 65-106 feet The Congdon struck the Canoe Rocks reef in 1918 and eventually broke in half. The bow is largely intact and rests at a sharp angle. The ship's cargo and some equipment were salvaged before it broke up and sank. The pilothouse wheel and navigation equipment are gone, but the sheer size of this ship and fact that the thick steel is torn like paper is an awe-inspiring sight. It's a great example of a typical Great Lakes steel cargo freighter. Emperor Stern and Bow 525-foot steel freighter, depth: 80-150 feet The Emperor also ran aground on Canoe Rocks in 1910 and then split in two. The stern is intact but rests at a lower depth. The stern is such an interesting wreck it would take several dives to see it all. The bow is a separate dive, and unlike the Congdon, the pilothouse of this wreck is missing and the bow decks are greatly broken up. Still, a lot to see including intact porthole window and massive steam-powered winches. The aft hull portion of the bow is above the lake bottom, which makes it possible to cross underneath, giving you an idea of the immense size of these Great Lakes freighters. Monarch 240-foot wooden steamer, depth: 10-70 feet The Monarch ran aground in 1906 at Blake Point. The majority of the wreck lies in water ranging in depth from 10 feet to more than 70 feet. The ship is mostly broken up. In addition to the boards on the lake bottom, the site is littered with numerous artifacts of cargo and hardware (anchor, grain bottles, bathtub, tools, boxes of steel rivets, etc.). The ship ran aground in a blinding snowstorm. One of the crew braved the freezing cold water and rough waves and made it ashore, climbing rock cliffs to attach a rope. A line was rigged, and the passengers and crew were all ferried ashore with this rope except for one crew member who fell and died in the icy water. The rest of the survivors were able to build a fire and even made meals with canned salmon and supplies carried from the ship. Eventually, the group hiked seven miles across the island in the snow for rescue. 5 Finger Bay tug Wooden tug, depth: 20 feet This wooden fishing tug is in a shallow water bay and was apparently scuttled or lost at anchor. Name is unknown. Chisholm engine Wooden steamer, depth: 140 feet This deep-dive site is near the lighthouse on the Rock of Ages reef and lighthouse. It's so deep and cold, you must make sure you and your equipment are up to the challenge and that you have backups. I personally dove to 147 feet and for the first and only time in my diving career had a regulator freeze open, wasting part of my air supply (42 degrees on the bottom). I was really glad I had brought a spare air tank. Fortunately, I didn't need to use it. The dive boat also was prepared for an emergency with an oxygen line that extended to the 15-foot decompression stop. The Chisholm site features a huge steam engine and propeller of the ship that ran aground and broke up in 1898. This reef is also the site of the Cumberland and the Cox wrecks, both of which are nearby and the reason the lighthouse was constructed here.

Ken Fagerman is a Granger resident.

As an avid sport diver, I have dived in most of the scuba diving preserves in the Michigan waters of the Great Lakes. But until this year, I'd written off Isle Royale as too remote.

And indeed Isle Royale, accessible only by boat or float plane, is remote -- 20 miles from the nearest mainland coast.

So like most divers, I'd confined my excursions to the other 11 official scuba-diving preserves within the Michigan boundaries of the Great Lakes. These preserves mark and protect concentrations of shipwrecks that have collected during the hundreds of years that commercial shipping has operated in the lakes.

But this summer, I jumped on an offer to fill in a spot on a four-day live-aboard scuba trip to the waters off the rocky and rugged Isle Royale National Park.

My charter boat was the RLT Diver III of Fairmont, Minn., captained by Ralph Thoren, who makes regular summer, multiday scuba-diving trips

to the island. Our boat was self-contained and fully provisioned for seven people with onboard air compressors to fill scuba tanks and mix gases, oxygen for accelerated and safety decompression, radar, a radio, a global positioning system and depth finders with backups to find the wrecks and navigate the dangerous waters.

We had planned to leave the Portage, Minn., harbor early on July 18. But when I arrived the night before, after a two-day, 15-hour drive from South Bend, the weather turned threatening, forcing us to quickly depart.

We all settled in for the 3 1/2-hour cruise to Isle Royale's Washington

Harbor.

Getting onboard

We left after dark, about 9:30 p.m. At first, we couldn't see the light of the island lighthouse, but after a few miles, the Rock of Ages light came into view.

The reef this light sits on has been the location of some famous shipwrecks, some of which we planned to dive during our trip. Our destination was the North Gap passage and Washington Harbor. Ironically, this course took us right past the shipwrecked America, which struck bottom and was holed just as it was leaving that harbor and sank after beaching there. That fact and the night passage made me a bit nervous. After all, these are dangerous waters, which is why the wrecks are there.

About an hour out, we started getting rain and lightning. But, true to his word -- and with the help of radar, GPS and an eye kept out for freighters and logs -- Thoren safely got us to Washington Harbor, landing at about 1 a.m. We quickly made up the bunks and sacked out.

The next morning I had the opportunity to become better acquainted with the other divers, mostly Minnesotans affiliated with Thoren's dive shop.

Our plan was for a recreational-level trip -- no planned decompression diving. But we were still going to hit most of the major wrecks, weather permitting, and work our way up the coast to the north end of the island over the next few days, overnighting in the various bays and coves as necessary.

The America was our first dive site and is probably the most popular and well-preserved wreck at Isle Royale. This shipwreck lies near shore in the North Gap entrance to Washington Harbor.

The America, a 183-foot steel-hulled wooden passenger freighter now resting at depths of 3 to 80 feet, was launched in 1898 and had a long career carrying passengers, delivering mail and supplies and serving the many towns and villages along the shores of Lake Superior.

Holed as it was making its way out of the harbor in 1928, the America was ordered beached by the captain in an attempt to save it. The bow was run well up on the rocks, but the stern sank. Soon the entire ship slipped beneath the water.

Today it sits at a sharp angle and is very much intact. As a diver, you can swim through virtually all of the remaining portions of the ship (caution: tight quarters), including the crews quarters, galley, ballroom and engine room.

There is even a Ford Model T truck that never made it to its new owner. The ship's engine has an American Flag painted on it, and this is a famous feature you must see if you dive this wreck.

We didn't dive on all of the shipwrecks of Isle Royale, and it would probably take several trips and more elaborate gear to do that. The clear water, excellent visibility, lack of zebra mussels, fantastic and diverse shipwrecks and beautiful scenery, however, make Isle Royale a "must go there" for any scuba diver who enjoys wreck diving and the history of shipping in the Great Lakes.

The often heroic stories of the ships' sinking and rescue are interesting and make for some great reading during

the surface intervals between dives. It's also clear that divers and charter operators, along with the National Park Service, have done a great job developing, maintaining and preserving the resource. It's an effort that reflects the diving ethos: "Take only pictures; leave only bubbles."