Presque Island Trip Report

[beldridg]

I recently spent some time diving the fantastic wrecks of Presque Isle with Mel Clark and Greg Such at Shipwreck Adventures.

We had five days of diving planned and got blown out with wind and rain on one day. The other days we would typically dive two wrecks in 180-200' with runtimes between 90-120 minutes. The bottom temps were 38-40F with a mid-water temp in the 50s and a final deco stop temp around 61-63F.

If you have never been to the wrecks at Presque Isle, I highly recommend them and Greg has a fantastic dive operation. He has a lot of experience working with technical divers and his boat is perfect for 4-6 divers with rebreathers, bailouts, etc. And, as always, Mel organizes a great trip.

I've written posts for each of the six wrecks we dove and have linked to each of them below. Or, you can see all six at this tagged location: Lake Huron – Wrecked in my rEvo

Defiance (185 ffw) : Defiance (Lake Huron — 185 ffw)

Florida (200 ffw) : S.S. Florida (Lake Huron — 200 ffw)

Norman (210 ffw) : S.S. Norman (Lake Huron — 210 ffw)

Windiate (180 ffw) : Cornelia B. Windiate (Lake Huron — 180 ffw)

Typo (190 ffw) : Typo (Lake Huron — 190 ffw)

Barney (160 ffw) : F.T. Barney (Lake Huron — 160 ffw)

Below is a picture of the iconic lifeboat on the Windiate:

 

[kimh]

I grew up in Michigan - dived once on a relatively shallow wreck in Lake Michigan. Vis was not stellar.

Amazing photo - I wouldn't have thought it could be taken in Michigan. Obviously I underestimated the dive options. As I look at more underwater photography recently, I appreciate the image power of having your light sources far away from the camera & of self-illumination by the subject.

 

[sharknutz]

Amazing to see zebra mussels even the deeper wrecks. Thanks for sharing, it would be super cool to see you 3d model some of these!

 

[beldridg]

Amazing to see zebra mussels even the deeper wrecks. Thanks for sharing, it would be super cool to see you 3d model some of these!

Becky has already done a few of them and they are really good. The picture above is from the Windiate and here is a link to the model she built:

Cornelia B Windiate Shipwreck 1875 - 3D model by BeckyKaganSchott

The Cornelia B. Windiate was a 140 foot long three masted wooden schooner that disappeared in 1875 with its crew of 9. It was thought to have sank in Lake Michigan but it was found over a century later in Lake Huron. It’s very intact with its stern cabin and wheel, rigging, artifacts, anchors...

sketchfab.com

I would definitely like to go back and do some more diving there. If I do a dive on a wreck that doesn't already have a model built, I would, for sure, consider doing one.

Becky also currently has a "Bringing Shipwrecks to Life" exhibit at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum if you are ever up that area and is giving a talk about it on April 30th.

- brett

 

[beldridg]

I grew up in Michigan - dived once on a relatively shallow wreck in Lake Michigan. Vis was not stellar.

Amazing photo - I wouldn't have thought it could be taken in Michigan. Obviously I underestimated the dive options. As I look at more underwater photography recently, I appreciate the image power of having your light sources far away from the camera & of self-illumination by the subject.

The diving there is amazing. I've only been the Presque Isle but there are so many more wrecks to dive.

- brett

 

[sharknutz]

Becky has already done a few of them and they are really good. The picture above is from the Windiate and here is a link to the model she built:

Cornelia B Windiate Shipwreck 1875 - 3D model by BeckyKaganSchott

The Cornelia B. Windiate was a 140 foot long three masted wooden schooner that disappeared in 1875 with its crew of 9. It was thought to have sank in Lake Michigan but it was found over a century later in Lake Huron. It’s very intact with its stern cabin and wheel, rigging, artifacts, anchors...

sketchfab.com

I would definitely like to go back and do some more diving there. If I do a dive on a wreck that doesn't already have a model built, I would, for sure, consider doing one.

Becky also currently has a "Bringing Shipwrecks to Life" exhibit at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum if you are ever up that area and is giving a talk about it on April 30th.

- brett

That model is incredible! If I wasn't a few thousand miles away I'd definitely be attending her talk!

 

[kensuf]

I grew up in Michigan - dived once on a relatively shallow wreck in Lake Michigan. Vis was not stellar.

Amazing photo - I wouldn't have thought it could be taken in Michigan. Obviously I underestimated the dive options. As I look at more underwater photography recently, I appreciate the image power of having your light sources far away from the camera & of self-illumination by the subject.

I remember reading about diving in the great lakes and the visibility used to be really poor, then came the zebra mussels.

 

[mr_v]

I am bumping this thread - there is an opportunity to do the same trip or a very similar trip with the same crew. Aug 24-29. DM me for more info.