Great conditions in the Straits. +

[kidsdream]

Today was the first day of a two day trip diving with Straits Scuba out of St. Ignace.

The weather was awesome - low/mid 70's topside with water temps in the mid forty's at depth. We dove the Sandusky and the Maitland.

The vis. was 50' to 60' and just the hint of current.

and




DSOA

 

[deeper thoughts]

40s temps are too cold for this wimp, I went swimming off my boat yesterday and the bay water was 90(ahhh)

 

[sleepdiver]

Congratulations on a good day of diving and some great pictures.

It is no fault of yours, but the photo of the anchor on the starboard bow used as the attachment point raises some serious issues. That line was not placed using materials provided by the local preserve committee that usually places a line on it.

In the last 5 years, at least 3 parts of the Sandusky have been torn away by vessels mooring on it. Not all of these have been recovered and they now lie at some lost location near the Snadusky. Recreational boats are not a problem. They do not displace enough water to be buoyant enough to tear things off in surging water (or lift things up).

There are at least 2 vessels operating in the Straits that do have the ability to lift someting even as heavy as an anchor off the deck. Both the Rec Diver (42') and Cake and Ice Cream (approx same length) displace enough water to provide enough buoyancy and "lift" in rough water to move considerable weight. Last year, a mooring line was attached to the Ward on a bow anchor resting on the deck and the Rec Diver was regularly lifting it up and down 2-3 inches. It was not a lot but the point is that it is enough to work something as heavy as an anchor loose.

The most recent part of the Sandusky was ripped away last fall when part of the windlass was torn away by Cake and Ice Cream. It was recovered, spent the winter in a bubbler in Mackinaw City and was returned last week by the State Police.

The problem now is that there is virtually nowhere left to safely attach a line to the Sandusky. The line attachment shown in the photo has more than one problem. It is at the bow where any scope in the line has potential to ensnare a part of the bowsprit in calm water at then take it off when water is rough or something heavy is attached (a steel boat). The bowsprint is unique and irreplaceable. Hooking it to a fluke on the anchor poses the serious and likely possiblity that the port side fluke will be lifted high enough (even 2 or 3") to actually and slowly work the anchor over far enough to let it slip over the starboard side. That may not damage the Sandusky but it will not be in its original condition. Unfortunately, there are few other good points to attach.

The anchor shown in the photo is not intended to hold anything when in a stored position. The anchor is meant to work when embedded on the bottom of the lake. That way the anchor can "dig" in to some extent and the heavy anchor chain adds to its holding power as it is "draped" along the bottom. That will not work if it is stored.

Most of the deck fittings (windlass and others) have already been loosened or torn away in whole or part so that there is nothing from the bow to the stern to attach a line.

The line was once attached to the port stern until the early 90's. That was discontinued when it was discovered that the stern boards were being separated by the pull on the line.

In short, the future of the Sandusky is in serious trouble. Its condition is in progressive decline. Because it is popular and well within recreational limits, most every diver wants to go there. Sadly, that may be what destroys it.

The local preserve committee is working on a plan to place a cement anchor block off the port stern, possibly this fall or early next year.

It can use donations to help this happen. If anyone is willing to help, donations can be sent to Janet Peterson at the St. Ignace Chamber of Commerce.

Thanks for the photo and the opportunity to talk about this. The local preserve committee hopes everyone has a great time diving in the Straits now and in the future.

 

[do it easy]

Sleepdiver- good point about preserving the wrecks. Especially in the Great Lakes, I think wreck preservation should be EVERY divers responsibility. We have many amazing wrecks out here that will last hundreds of years if not longer, so it is important to preserve the magic of the ghostships.

I think that most divers don't intentionally damage the wrecks, but it only takes a few careless or thoughtless divers to ruin it forever.

 

[Dean810]

40s temps are too cold for this wimp, I went swimming off my boat yesterday and the bay water was 90(ahhh)

Doesn't 90° water kill a lot of reef life? Isn't this a point of concern?

 

[cobaltblue]

Great Pics! Looks like the vis is as good up there as it was on Ironsides this weekend. Best vis we've seen in years on the Lakes this year. But man is it chilly. Surface was 44 out of Muskegon yesterday. Today Ironsides was 56 on surface and a balmy 41 on the wreck.

 

[sleepdiver]

I need to make a correction. In discussion with a friend who was on the Sandusky this last weekend, he told me the line is attached to the windlass. The same one from which a piece was pulled away last fall. This is just irresponsible on the part of whoever is placing it. It is not the local preserve committee.

Tho it is not attached to the anchor flute, the risk of it wrapping itself around the fluke remains. It requires only a few inches of movement and the balance of gravity will shift just enough to let the anchor tip over the starboard edge.

If that were to happen, several things could occur alone or in combination. If the anchor goes straight to the bottom, it could finish pulling the windlass off. If the line remains wrapped around the fluke it can pull the boat above down at least to some extent (probably less of a problem with a large steel boat). It would be a disaster for a small boat but that would be less inclined to pull anything.

Another option is that the line simply breaks and the anchor comes to rest wherever it finds convenient - possibly the bottom or resting against the hull. Of course there would be some recoil onboard whatever is tied to it above.are more and worse possibilities.

I urge divers to stay off the Sandusky until it can be properly moored. Dive boats, especially commercial ones, taking divers to the Sandusky are just greedy. If they really need to use it to make money, they have the ability to pay for and place a block. Please tell them this.

 

[kidsdream]

Congratulations on a good day of diving and some great pictures.

It is no fault of yours, but the photo of the anchor on the starboard bow used as the attachment point raises some serious issues. That line was not placed using materials provided by the local preserve committee that usually places a line on it.

The problem now is that there is virtually nowhere left to safely attach a line to the Sandusky. The line attachment shown in the photo has more than one problem. It is at the bow where any scope in the line has potential to ensnare a part of the bowsprit in calm water at then take it off when water is rough or something heavy is attached (a steel boat). The bowsprint is unique and irreplaceable. Hooking it to a fluke on the anchor poses the serious and likely possiblity that the port side fluke will be lifted high enough (even 2 or 3") to actually and slowly work the anchor over far enough to let it slip over the starboard side. That may not damage the Sandusky but it will not be in its original condition. Unfortunately, there are few other good points to attach.

The anchor shown in the photo is not intended to hold anything when in a stored position. The anchor is meant to work when embedded on the bottom of the lake. That way the anchor can "dig" in to some extent and the heavy anchor chain adds to its holding power as it is "draped" along the bottom. That will not work if it is stored.


In short, the future of the Sandusky is in serious trouble. Its condition is in progressive decline. Because it is popular and well within recreational limits, most every diver wants to go there. Sadly, that may be what destroys it.

The local preserve committee is working on a plan to place a cement anchor block off the port stern, possibly this fall or early next year.

It can use donations to help this happen. If anyone is willing to help, donations can be sent to Janet Peterson at the St. Ignace Chamber of Commerce.

Thanks for the photo and the opportunity to talk about this. The local preserve committee hopes everyone has a great time diving in the Straits now and in the future.

Just had to add a correction to your comments. The boat was actually attached to what appeared to be the samsel post on the bow - from the perspective of my image this is mid ship "across" from the anchor.

That said, a structured moring would be best; as tieing into a 150+ year old ship is not the best way to preserve a historic vessel like this.

 

[sleepdiver]

Hi Jeff.

Another diver confirmed what you said only he said it was the windlass.
However, the problem of wrap around always exists. I can speak from experience. I have placed the mooring on the Sandusky and every other ship in the Straits for the last 12 years. I cannot tell you how often lines are tangled with deck objects. Unless the lines are the right length they either have no scope and pull directly up when a vessel is attached or they have enough line that they wander around in calm water and get entangled the next time the water is rough or a vessel attaches.

The Straits Preserve Association is refusing to provide mooring materials for the Sandusky. (We believe some of its materials are being used on it without its consent.) If it continues to be moored, it will withdraw the rest of its buoying material from the Straits. That will force the operators to either buy real buoying materials, place a block or put up with jugs.

A very few individuals (2) have been buying all the line and buoys for the last 5 years. They have never been paid for them. One of them died in a diving accident last year. The other is not interested in seeing something he paid for used to destroy any ship. The line tied to the Sandusky is likely something they bought.

The Association has already impounded all but 5 of its buoys and will not release the others until this Sandusky issue is resolved (or the operators can buy them from the Association and do what they want). It is just not going to provide the means to destroy the Sandusky. You may have noticed that a lot of the "buoys" this year are homemade using PVC pipe or just jugs because there are not enough buoys to use. I believe that in one case a boat bumper is being used (Stalker).

We are really tired of the lack of concern or cooperation from operators and divers who do not see what is happening. The Rec Diver owner has not been diving on the Sandusky in more than 10 years. He has no idea what is happening there. The Association has tried every way it can to raise money for buoys and blocks. It just spent the last 90 days dealing with Lansing and asking for blocks and buoys just to get laughed at. No one, divers, operators or the state care enough to contribute. Divers in particular are mostly under the impression that this service is free to them and paid by the state or one of the vessel owners. Not true.

Since the Association owns all the lines, buoys and the unused line and buoys, the Association will bring its buoy program to an end at the conclusion of this season unless something seriously changes.

If the operators who are making money and the divers who use these lines want to see it continue, they should send donations to Janet Peterson at the Chamber of Commerce in St. Ignace.

The Association is committed to preserving the Sandusky even if it means the Rec Diver (the worst offender - Cake and Ice Cream is the second but it seldom goes there) and others have to stop making money off its destruction.

Just for the record, I am a very close friend of the Rec Diver owner and have known him many years. He is a good guy but I disagree very strongly on this and am not afraid to say so.

 

[kidsdream]

Sleepdiver,

I think many divers including myslelf would like more information related to the Straits Preservation Association and if properly handled would most likely support a small surcharge to maintain the moorings.

I truly could not follow your posts regarding "ownership" of the lines and comments about the "lack of concern of the divers" - how can I or any other diver have a conern about the association's issues if they are not aware of the issues.

Also what is the process of donations to the Chamber of Commerce getting applied to the mooring of the wrecks?

Do you have an engineering analysis of Sandusky to develop the optimum mooring design? Have you considered a fund raiser/dive outing in St. Ignace to support the proper mooring methodolgy that you suggest?