Posted by Bob G. on June 11, 19102 at 23:03:59:
To those interested:
A project has begun to sink the "Straits of Mackinac" near Chicago in Lake MIchigan for use as a diver's reef. The ship was a former Michigan car ferry which has languished for years in Kewaunee, Wisconsin. A good pictorial history of the ship can be found on a Web site by Hart Smith (http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/1444/straits.htm). In the recent past The Neptune's Nimrods diving club, through its non-profit foundation, tried to garner support for sinking it off Algoma (http://home.new.rr.com/sinkthestraits/home.html). Now Pat Hammer, owner of Scuba Emporium in Orland Park, Illinois, and President of Chicago's Our World Underwater (http://www.ourworldunderwater.com) is trying to garner support for sinking it near Chicago. A not-for-profit foundation supported by OWU, the Tim Early Foundation (http://www.timearlyfoundation.org), with the help of the Our World Underwater Retail Association, is trying to get the funding necessary to do this. While 75% of the ship has been already cleaned, the remaining 25% will include the removal of paint and asbestos. The estimated cost of cleaning, relocation and sinking is estimated to be approximately $50,000, and the hope is to accomplish this by the end of June. Money and volunteer time is urgently needed. A contact person is Dave Wetherald at Scuba Emporium, 708-226-1614, scubadaver@aol.com. A positive note is that Dick Long of San Diego's Diving Unlimited International dry suit manufacturer and a promoter of "Ships to Reefs" through his organization (http://www.sdoceans.org/ship_reefs.htm), has donated a matching grant of $7,500 for the project. $6,000 of that grant has already been raised and they expect to meet their goal so that they will have a full $15,000, which will be enough to relocate the ship to the Chicago area. I will try to make future postings on the progress of this venture.