35 Stunning Underwater Photos of Great Lakes Ship Wrecks

By Scene Staff on Mon, Aug 31, 2015 at 4:08 pm

Most of us visit Lake Erie for mid-summer barbecues or afternoons on the boat, but have you ever considered what lies beneath our Great Lake's surface? Some people have. In fact, whole communities have, such as the folks from Lake Erie Ship Wrecks, who have spent years diving and documenting their excursions in Lake Erie and beyond. We asked the Ship Wreckers, better known as Mike and Georgann Wachter, as well as one of their featured photographers, Vlada Dekina, if we could share some of their underwater images with our readers. Thankfully, they said yes.

All photos and information courtesy of V. Dekina and wrecksandreefs.com.

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Lake Huron - Dunderberg

The Dunderberg was built in 1867 and went down on August 13, 1868 in a collision.

Lake Huron - Dunderberg

The stern has a gaping hole where the cabin used to be.

Lake Huron - Dunderberg

It rests 130 to 155 feet below the Lake Huron surface.

Lake Huron - Dunderberg

The holds are big enough to swim through, Dekina says.

Lake Huron - Dunderberg

The bow has two intact anchors on each side.

Lake Huron - Cornelia B. Windiate

The ship was lost in 1857 near the Alpena/Presque Isle area.

Dekina writes: "She was just 136 ft long and 26 ft wide. She was only 2 years old when she failed to make an appearance at her final destination on her last run of the season between Chicago and Buffalo and was given up for lost. Since no records existed of Windiate passing through the Straits of Mackinac, she was thought to be lost in Lake Michigan for almost 100 years until she was discovered in almost 200 ft of water in Lake Huron’s famous “schooner valley” stretching few miles offshore between Rogers City and Alpena, Michigan."

Lake Huron - Cornelia B. Windiate

All masts are still standing and, on a clear day, all three are visible.