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TheWhitefish Point Underwater Preserve was established in 1987 to protect and conserveshipwrecks and historical resources on 376 square miles (970 km2) ofLake Superior bottomlands inWhitefish Bay and aroundWhitefish Point,Michigan. The formation of theMichigan Underwater Preserves helped stop controversy overartifact removal from shipwrecks of this area. The preserve is now known for deep, well preserved shipwrecks in clear water accessible toscuba divers with technical skill and experience. The preserve is one of the last places in theGreat Lakes to observe shipwrecks withoutzebra mussel encrustation.
Shipwrecks along the southern Lake Superior coast known as the "Graveyard of the Great Lakes" dramatically increased after the firstlock on theSt. Marys River opened this coastline to shipping in 1855.[2] Every vessel entering or leaving Lake Superior must pass Whitefish Point. TheWhitefish Point Light first established in 1849 is arguably the most important light on Lake Superior.[3] More vessels have been lost in the Whitefish Point area than any other part of Lake Superior.[3] Between the loss of theInvincible in 1816 and the sinking of theSSEdmund Fitzgerald in 1975, the Whitefish Point area has claimed at least 240 ships.[4] Vessels are funneled through Whitefish Baydownbound andupbound from theSoo Locks. Poor visibility from forest fire smoke, snow squalls, and Lake Superior's notorious fogs had deadly consequences with the traffic congestion. Lake Superior's 160 miles (260 km) of open water and storms from the northwest can build immense seas with offshore waves of 30 feet (9.1 m) or more. Such a storm sank theSS Edmund Fitzgerald 17 miles (27 km) from Whitefish Point in 1975.[3]
Sport diver Harrington reported that many of the shipwrecks of the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve were "stripped of importantartifacts in the 1970s and early 1980s.[5] The State of Michigan filed a lawsuit against the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) for illegal removal of artifacts from Great Lakes bottomlands.[6] The MichiganDepartment of Natural Resources (DNR) obtained a search warrant in 1992 and raided on the GLSHS's offices andGreat Lakes Shipwreck Museum.[6] The DNR found evidence the Shipwreck Society had:
...removed about 150 artifacts from wrecks located on state-claimed bottomlands. … Shipwreck Society official [Tom Farnquist] described the Society's actions as a kind of "damned if you do, damned if you don't" puzzle. By preserving the artifacts for display at the Whitefish Point Museum, Farnquist reasoned the Society was really doing the state's job for the DNR. DNR officer Carl TerHaar challenged Farnquist's line of reasoning however. "The story we get is, 'We're taking stuff before somebody else does.' That's a never-ending excuse … saying we'll take it before the next guy does. That's like looting in the L.A. riots," TerHaar commented.[7]
Many of the artifacts removed from shipwrecks by the GLSHS without permits are displayed at theGreat Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point by a settlement agreement with the state of Michigan.[6][8] The sport diving community raised a furious outcry over the disparity of special treatment for the museum divers who received no criminal prosecution while individual sport divers were prosecuted freely during the late 1980s and 1990s for removal of artifacts from shipwrecks. To this day many sport divers boycott the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.[5]
The Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve was established in 1987 to protect some of the region's most sensitive underwater natural and cultural resources with the central objective to provide enhanced management of shipwrecks.[9] The Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve is administered through theMichigan Department of Environmental Quality Submerged Lands Program and theMichigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries of the Michigan Historical Center.[10][11]
Scuba divers and history enthusiasts now help ensure the integrity of the preserve which is considered an underwater museum.[9]
Many of the twenty-three known shipwrecks lying in depths from 30 feet (9.1 m) to 270 feet (82 m) aremoored to protect the wrecks and enhance the safety of divers.[12]The preserve has good visibility and offers deep water diving on a variety of shipwrecks. The preserve is one of the last places in the Great Lakes to observe shipwrecks without zebra mussel encrustation.[13]Dry suits are recommended due to cold temperatures and unprotected coves or bays. Most of the dive sites are deep and divers must be certain of their ability and their equipment before they attempt to dive in this preserve.[14]
Foundered 2 October 1901 off Vermilion Point, along with her tow, the schooner,Michigan. Crew of both vessels were rescued by the propellersNorthern Wave andSuperior City with no loss of life.[15][16]
Sank 6 June 1858 40 miles (64 km)above Whitefish Point and 10.0 miles (16.1 km) from shore with the crew of twenty-one taking to the life boats before she sank.[15][17]
Jupiter
Wooden schooner barge
Driven ashore near Vermilion Point 27 November 1872 in an arctic gale when the towline parted from steamerJohn A. Dix and the schoonerSaturn.[16][18]
Foundered 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Whitefish Point on 23 November 1919 with bargeMiztec in tow. Seventeen lives were lost from theMyron. Only the Captain survived. He was picked up by theW.C. Franz when he was found drifting on wreckage nearIle Parisienne.[3][15][17]
Neshoto
Wood propeller
45 feet (14 m) to 55 feet (17 m)
Blinded from forest fire smoke, driven ashore and stranded 2.5 miles (4.0 km) east of Crisp Point Light, crew rescued by Crisp Point Life Saving Crew.[15]
Foundered 7 Sep 1887 after breaking tow from the steamerAustralasia 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Whitefish Point Light. All hands, 9 lives, lost.[15][17]
Pounded to pieces in 27 feet (8 m) of water on 21 September 1907 after she was stranded on a sandbar near the mouth of theTwo Hearted River with the loss of 6 lives. The 11 survivors made it to shore by lifeboat.[16]
Ora Endress S. S.
Fish tug
13 feet (4 m) to 15 feet (5 m)
Capsized and sank about 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Whitefish Point. The Whitefish Point lighthouse keeper and 2 other men rescued all 11 crewmembers.[16]
Pounded to pieces 27 November 1872 after grounding just west of Whitefish Point after breaking her towline with steamJohn A. Dix and sisterJupiter with the loss of 7 lives.[16]
^Allen, Thomas; Canfield, Edward (2001) [First published 1991].Life on a Lonely Shore (6th ed.). Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan: Lake Superior State University. p. 3.ISBN0-9706903-0-4.
^abcdStonehouse, Frederick (1998) [First published 1985].Lake Superior's Shipwreck Coast (6th ed.). Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios. pp. 11–12, 176, 267.ISBN0-932212-43-3.
^MacInnis, Joseph (1998).Fitzgerald's Storm: The Wreck of theEdmund Fitzgerald. Charlotte, North Carolina: Baker and Taylor, Inc. for Thunder Bay Press. p. 101.ISBN1-882376-53-6.
