Wisconsin shipwrecks easy to explore

The cold, fresh waters off Wisconsin’s Lake Superior coast have preserved hundreds of shipwrecks from the last century and a half, transforming their depths into museums of maritime history.

Armchair adventurers and divers alike can now easily explore seven of these wrecks thanks to a web site and a set of dive guides produced by UW Sea Grant Institute and the State Historical Society of Wisconsin (SHSW).

The web site, called Ice-Water Mansions: Shipwrecks of the Apostle Islands, features historical images of the ships, photos of the wrecks from archaeological investigations and accounts of the vessels’ histories and final voyages – including the grim fate of the three-masted schooner Lucerne.

On Nov. 15, 1886, the Lucerne departed Ashland, Wisc., loaded with 1,256 tons of iron ore and bound for Ashtabula, Ohio. Hit by a violent, sudden snowstorm, the ship turned back to seek shelter in the protected waters of Chequamegon Bay.

When the storm subsided four days later, the Madeline Island lightkeeper discovered the Lucerne’s masts jutting out of the water. The bodies of three men were found frozen in the rigging, encased in up to six inches of ice. The entire crew had perished.

The web site also recounts the fate of the 372-foot steel bulk carrier Sevona, the 338-foot wooden schooner-barge Pretoria and four other unlucky vessels.

For those who wish to venture beyond cyberspace, the dive guides will enrich a visit to the wrecks themselves. The waterproof, nine-inch-by-six-inch guides put site maps, historical information and technical explanations at divers’ fingertips. Exploring the wrecks in person offers “a history lesson like no other,” according to Jeff Gray, acting state underwater archaeologist at the SHSW.

“It’s like taking a trip back in time,” Gray said. “You leave the modern world behind when you visit the wrecks. You’re transported to a time when schooners and steamers ruled the Great Lakes. You get an appreciation for the critical role these vessels played in the development of the region and a respect for the men and women that worked the lakes. There’s no other way to get this close to history.”

The information in the shipwreck guides and web site is the result of hundreds of hours of archaeological and historical researching, mapping and documenting conducted by SHSW archaeologists and volunteers. The team has also surveyed a number of wrecks in Lake Michigan, from Kenosha to Door County.

UW Sea Grant and the SHSW will be producing a web site and guides for these wrecks over the next year and a half. For more information on the guides, call the SHSW at (608) 264-6493.

Since 1988, the State Historical Society of Wisconsin has surveyed, mapped and documented the underwater archeological resources of the state. This work will improve the management of historic shipwrecks and help develop underwater preserve areas to protect these cultural and recreational resources. The State Underwater Archaeology Program is part of the SHSW’s Division of Historic Preservation, under the Office of the State Archaeologist.

Created in 1966, Sea Grant is a national network of 29 university-based programs of research, outreach and education dedicated to the protection and sustainable use of the United States’ coastal, ocean and Great Lakes resources. The National Sea Grant Network is a partnership of participating coastal states, private industry and the National Sea Grant College Program, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.