August, 2021.
Southern Georgian Bay near Penetanguishene (“Penetang”) has some of the most interesting and photogenic wrecks in the Great Lakes. Two of Cris Kohl’s “Top 100” ship wrecks are located here, and explored in this post. Accessible to all skill levels, and in warm, clear waters, these are just simply fun wrecks to dive.
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August, 2020.
Parry Sound is located on eastern shore of Georgian Bay, the northeastern arm of Lake Huron, and informally referred to as the “sixth” Great Lake. Set among the ruggedly beautiful 30,000 Islands, you’ll enjoy the scenic boat rides, and its inviting waters and shallow wrecks are suitable for new or advanced divers alike.
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June 2018.
The Eureka is a 130′ pre-Civil War , double-masted schooner. The ship foundered on Nov.1, 1883 due to a gale, enroute from Oswego, New York to Kingston with a load of coal . With luck the captain and six crew managed to escape without loss of life.
Only a handful of people have seen this wreck since it sank 135 years ago, and these are the first ever published photographs of this beautiful wreck. Needless to say, this is one wreck I’ll never forget dropping down on.
October, 2016.
When the weather is calm it’s time to take advantage of some of the more exposed, and seldom dived wrecks. One such wreck is the three masted schooner “The City of Sheboygan”, which lies deep in a very exposed area south of Amherst Island. It’s well preserved, mostly intact and regarded as one of Kingston’s “A” wrecks. The other wrecks on this dive- the “Wire Schooner” and “Bismarck”- are unidentified, rarely visited, and have their final resting place in an area that is known as the “Wolfe Island Graveyard”.
June 7, 2015
The Wexford wreck is a 250′ steel freighter, distinguished as one of Cris Kohl’s “100 Best Great Lakes Shipwrecks”. Located about 7 miles (11 km) Northwest of Grand Bend, in Lake Huron, Ontario, it combines history and tragedy with an adventurous and unforgettable dive.
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Nov.23, 2014
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(September 27, 2014)
Timing is everything in the late summer on the Great Lakes. It tends to be windy as the temperature difference between the land and water is at its greatest. I had two charters cancelled. But last weekend I took advantage of some nice weather at the last minute, and put together a charter for Saturday afternoon. Except a late first morning group, and a first response to a Mayday call almost derailed that plan too.
I’ve never dove Lake Erie from the American side, so I jumped at a chance to join a friend sharing an Osprey Charter from Barcelona Harbour, New York. Having a few hours to spend before boarding, we explored the nearby town of Westfield only a few minutes away. There we discovered an interesting museum, and a touching piece of American History that took place there- how Lincoln acquired his trademark beard. At the corner of Main st. and Portage st. in Westfield you will see a pair of statues commemorating this moving piece of Lincoln lore. (more…)
June 15, 2014
It must have just missed the cut in Cris Kohl’s book, “The 100 BEST Great Lakes Shipwrecks”. It has all the elements that make a great shipwreck: it’s largely intact, significant, beautiful, and reaches back to a very different time period (nearly 200 yrs).
The “Tiller Wreck” is a 94′ two-masted schooner that lies in 116′ of water about 4 km off Port Dalhousie, in Lake Ontario. It gets its name from the tiller which steers it, as opposed to a wheel, which was introduced around 1850.
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Kingston is considered by many to be in the top three scuba diving destinations in Ontario. Owing to its location where Lake Ontario empties into the St. Lawrence River, the area has enjoyed a rich maritime history since the 18th century. Consequently, the area has a high concentration of shipwrecks that are accessible to sport divers.
Diving in the Great Lakes is best in May and June when the weather (wind) is more predictable, and the visibility is at its highest (if you can stand the cold, that is). We had another sunny day, with calm winds, but frigid water temperatures of 41-43 deg F. The visibility was in the 30-40′ range.
The group decided to dive the Cornwall, a 177′ iron-hulled side-wheeler that was launched in 1855. It had a very checkered past (eg. deaths, fires, etc.), as it had sailed under three different previous names. It was later scuttled in 1928 by dynamiting after outliving its usefulness.
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