jreihl
Registered
Has anyone dived the car ferry wreck at Diamond Lake in Cassopolis, MI? My folks live near there and I would like to check it out if it is worth it. I hear it is called the South Bend.
Diamond Lake Wreck
- Thread starter jreihl
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diver_paula
Contributor
No, but sounds interesting. I have ridden on a 'people' ferry they raised out of a lake in a Minneapolis suburb. A friend's father worked on the restoration for a couple years.
Let us know if you find anything out.
Paula
Let us know if you find anything out.
Paula
diver_paula
Contributor
OK - I was intrigued and started searching the web. One link I found is....
www.mlswa.org/diamond-lake-317/AboutDiamond.htm
Click on the links to the appropriate years and you'll find...
1913
The double-deck steamer SOUTH BEND caught fire and burned to the waterline off the north shore of the island.
1934
The derelict hull of the old steamboat SOUTH BEND, left on the northeast side of the Island where it sat for many years, was towed out to deep water and blown up with dynamite.
1976
Scuba divers Zoltan and Diane Tiser and some friends discover the wreck of the old steamboat SOUTH BEND off the northeast point of the Island
Probably not much to see, but do let us know if you learn more.
Paula
www.mlswa.org/diamond-lake-317/AboutDiamond.htm
Click on the links to the appropriate years and you'll find...
1913
The double-deck steamer SOUTH BEND caught fire and burned to the waterline off the north shore of the island.
1934
The derelict hull of the old steamboat SOUTH BEND, left on the northeast side of the Island where it sat for many years, was towed out to deep water and blown up with dynamite.
1976
Scuba divers Zoltan and Diane Tiser and some friends discover the wreck of the old steamboat SOUTH BEND off the northeast point of the Island
Probably not much to see, but do let us know if you learn more.
Paula
OP
jreihl
Registered
That's the same info I saw online today. I wonder what viz is like. Diamond Lake can get crowded on the weekends and has a lot of houses/cottages.
I wonder if the buoy is still in place.
I wonder if the buoy is still in place.
I sent the email to my friend's mom that has a house on Diamond Lake. She has never heard of the wreck, and her book about the history of the lake is back up at the lake house. She did mention that she will check with her neighbor that has lived at the lake forever.
Without telling her anything about the reported depth of the wreck, she did mention that the NE point of the island is one of the deeper parts of the lake (40-50 feet). So at least that is consistent with the South Bend reports.
Without telling her anything about the reported depth of the wreck, she did mention that the NE point of the island is one of the deeper parts of the lake (40-50 feet). So at least that is consistent with the South Bend reports.
dajmitch
Guest
I live pretty close to there, but haven't heard about it. I'll ask some of the old salty divers around here and see what I can come up with. In fact, maybe I'll head down there friday and check out the vis.
OP
jreihl
Registered
My buddy called them and it sounds like it is some wood and a boiler. Does not sound like a very intact wreck. We have still yet to find out if it is buoyed.
Thanks for the info. I would like to give it a shot off my family's boat this summer.
Thanks for the info. I would like to give it a shot off my family's boat this summer.
Jason,
I may help my friend's put their dock and boat in the water in a couple weeks at Diamond Lake. I'll see if I can swing by the area in the boat to see if there is a buoy.
I may help my friend's put their dock and boat in the water in a couple weeks at Diamond Lake. I'll see if I can swing by the area in the boat to see if there is a buoy.
jreihl:
My wife and I have a cottage on Diamond Island and she has been there Summers since 1948. The South Bend was sunk on the Northeast side of the lake. The bouy was removed a number of years ago.
The wreck is straight out from our cottage (yellow siding) in about 30-40 feet of water. It is not quite half way between shore and the island. This is some of the deepest water in the lake but not the deepest. That water is east of the wreckage.
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