Lake Erie Wreck Diving
Saturday, August 28, 2004
We arrived at Wildwood Marina, Cleveland, OH at 8:15 am. The boat, Popeye, was schedule to depart at 9:00 am. The weather was looking fairly spooky. We had driven through a number of thunderstorms to get to the marina. The closest group of black clouds were heading from the Northwest at about 10 miles per hour. Popeye is a 33 foot steel working boat built was built by American Ship Builders for use as work boat for the maintenance of under water operations for the State Of Ohio. It is now the workhorse for Discovery Dive Charters & Tours and Underwater Research & Recovery.
Vitas Kijauskas was the Captain for the day and Mike Lindow joined us as the first mate. Our dive briefing included an introduction to the vessel that pointed out the emergency equipment, the marine head (that was clean!), the location of the hot soup, sandwiches and drinks that were included with the charter costs. We discussed the first wreck we were planning to dive with a brief description of the structure and items to look for.
We left dock at 9:10 am and started underway to the wreck of the Dundee. Location: Lat. 41 deg 41.333' Lon. 081 deg 50.629'. This is about 14 miles north of Rocky River, Ohio. The Dundee is a large schooner-barge that was built in 1893. It was in service for only 7 years before it foundered in a pretty severe storm in September of 1900. Of the seven crew on board, one life was lost, that of the female cook who was washed overboard. This wreck has six large holds (7'x14') that makes it easy to penetrate, but care must be taken because the mud and silt inside is easily disturbed. Some of the most striking features of this wreck is the anchor chain that is still hanging from the deck, the turnbuckles, and the workmanship still apparent on the deck and the knees of the vessel. Visability was limited to 5-10 feet. Maximum depth 69 FFW, dive time 47'. Temperature at depth 51F.
The second dive of the day was on the wreck of the Admiral. Location Lat. 41 deg 38.244' Lon 081 deg 54.197'. Nearly 10 miles NE of Avon Point, OH. This vessel was in service as a tug. It sank while towing the tanker Cleveco in severe weather and is believed to gone down with all hands (13) due to ice building up on the deck and being taken down by the waves. This was during a storm in December of 1942 that brought winds in excess of 70 miles per hour and 18 foot high waves.
This wreck has a bunch of things to see, notably the large wheel on the stern of the wreck that was used in the towing process. The wheelhouse is intact and allows for limited penetration. Maximum depth 65FFW. Dive time :34. Bottom temp 48F. Visability 10-15 feet.
When we returned to the surface, the winds had calmed and the water was nearly flat. The ride back to the marina took about an hour and a half.
These wrecks are definately a do again dive, hoping that visability is better.
Saturday, August 28, 2004
We arrived at Wildwood Marina, Cleveland, OH at 8:15 am. The boat, Popeye, was schedule to depart at 9:00 am. The weather was looking fairly spooky. We had driven through a number of thunderstorms to get to the marina. The closest group of black clouds were heading from the Northwest at about 10 miles per hour. Popeye is a 33 foot steel working boat built was built by American Ship Builders for use as work boat for the maintenance of under water operations for the State Of Ohio. It is now the workhorse for Discovery Dive Charters & Tours and Underwater Research & Recovery.
Vitas Kijauskas was the Captain for the day and Mike Lindow joined us as the first mate. Our dive briefing included an introduction to the vessel that pointed out the emergency equipment, the marine head (that was clean!), the location of the hot soup, sandwiches and drinks that were included with the charter costs. We discussed the first wreck we were planning to dive with a brief description of the structure and items to look for.
We left dock at 9:10 am and started underway to the wreck of the Dundee. Location: Lat. 41 deg 41.333' Lon. 081 deg 50.629'. This is about 14 miles north of Rocky River, Ohio. The Dundee is a large schooner-barge that was built in 1893. It was in service for only 7 years before it foundered in a pretty severe storm in September of 1900. Of the seven crew on board, one life was lost, that of the female cook who was washed overboard. This wreck has six large holds (7'x14') that makes it easy to penetrate, but care must be taken because the mud and silt inside is easily disturbed. Some of the most striking features of this wreck is the anchor chain that is still hanging from the deck, the turnbuckles, and the workmanship still apparent on the deck and the knees of the vessel. Visability was limited to 5-10 feet. Maximum depth 69 FFW, dive time 47'. Temperature at depth 51F.
The second dive of the day was on the wreck of the Admiral. Location Lat. 41 deg 38.244' Lon 081 deg 54.197'. Nearly 10 miles NE of Avon Point, OH. This vessel was in service as a tug. It sank while towing the tanker Cleveco in severe weather and is believed to gone down with all hands (13) due to ice building up on the deck and being taken down by the waves. This was during a storm in December of 1942 that brought winds in excess of 70 miles per hour and 18 foot high waves.
This wreck has a bunch of things to see, notably the large wheel on the stern of the wreck that was used in the towing process. The wheelhouse is intact and allows for limited penetration. Maximum depth 65FFW. Dive time :34. Bottom temp 48F. Visability 10-15 feet.
When we returned to the surface, the winds had calmed and the water was nearly flat. The ride back to the marina took about an hour and a half.
These wrecks are definately a do again dive, hoping that visability is better.
