The Weekend Dive Package includes 5 dives in and around Thunder Bay in Alpena, Michigan aboard a 36' dive charter provided by Blackdog Dive Charters. Seats are limited. Package fee: $399 per diver for all 5 dives listed below.
Two days of some of the best wreck diving that Michigan has to offer. $100 non-refundable deposits are being accepted for a weekend in The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in 2024.
Two days of diving with Blackdog Dive Charters. Day one will visit 3 separate wrecks with a surface interval between each. Air fills will be available onboard to prepare for the second day of diving. Our second day will be a much longer ride out to a single wreck with so much to see that we'll dive it twice.
The 296 foot long steel steamer Grecian was launched in 1891 and had the misfortune of sinking twice. She collided with another ship in June 1906 and sank. She was raised but sank again while in tow. The second time she came to rest in about 105 feet of water. Her deck can be reached at 75 feet and divers can explore her triple expansion engine, boiler, decks and cargo holds. The middle portion of the ship is collapsing and can be disorienting. Consequently, mooring buoys are often placed on both the bow and stern. The bow is an excellent dive with good photo opportunities because it is intact and upright.
Lying nine miles from Alpena in 105 feet of water, Grecian’s intact bow and stern reveal its sleek design. Large portions of the steamer’s midsection have collapsed, providing access to early steel-ship construction details. The propeller, engine, boilers, and deck machinery are all in place.
This 430 foot ocean going freighter was lost in a collision on June 25, 1959. She was transporting a cargo of steel at the time. Her hull now rests in 80 to 130 feet of water. Unlike the typical laker, she is built along the lines of a “Liberty ship” with her cabins located mid-deck. She was heavily salvaged and her bow has been twisted to one side to permit access to her holds.
The Montana was launched in 1872. The 235 foot sidewheel steamer caught fire and burned to the waterline on September 7, 1914. The wreck lies in 70 feet of water although the double steeple compound engine rises 30 feet from the bottom. This is a good wreck for photographers who can capture dramatic pictures of the wreck as well as the game fish that inhabit her.
While Montana’s bow is broken open, much of the ship’s 236-foot wooden hull is preserved as are its windlass, capstan, and rudder.
This 430 foot ocean going freighter was lost in a collision on June 25, 1959. She was transporting a cargo of steel at the time. Her hull now rests in 80 to 130 feet of water. Unlike the typical laker, she is built along the lines of a “Liberty ship” with her cabins located mid-deck. She was heavily salvaged and her bow has been twisted to one side to permit access to her holds.
Monrovia is penetrable for those with proper training and equipment.
The SS Monrovia, recorded in Lloyd’s Register of Shipping as an “International Vessel,” saw 16 years of faithful service (1943-59) before being rammed in a dense fog by another freighter of the same size, the SS Royalton. An investigation revealed that both vessels were at fault for not following the “Rules of the Road at Sea.” There were no causalities. The 29 crewmen were rescued and taken to Alpena, where they caused quite a scene by demanding back pay before leaving. Registered in Liberia, the 432 foot, 7,076 ton ship had no company representatives around the Great Lakes, making it necessary for the money to be wired from Monrovia, Liberia to Alpena, Michigan.