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From: Valerie V
Category: Shipwreck Research
Date: 09 Jul 2005
Time: 02:41:08
Remote Name: 24.247.15.58
Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates today publicly announced the discovery of two new shipwrecks off the coast of West Michigan.
In our 7th annual search with David Trotter, on June 12th, 2005, we uncovered the final resting place of the SS Michigan, a 204-foot steamer lost after a 40 day battle trapped in the ice off Holland in 1885. The wreck is in approximately 280 feet of water 17 miles off shore. Our team, with the help of affiliate technical divers, was able to positively identify the wreck from a number of features including anchors, smokestack, and most notably the Capstan cover which lists the name and the city in which it was built, Wyandotte, Michigan. While all features of the ship are present at the site, 120 years underwater have degraded the condition. The upper works are broken and lying on the lower deck. Unfortunately Zebra mussel cover much of the wreck, even at this extreme depth.
In addition, during our May search for Northwest Flight 2501, in which we teamed with Clive Cussler and sonar expert Ralph Wilbanks, we did not turn up the remains of the aircraft lost in 1950, but instead turned up a wreck that was presumed to have been completely scrapped and hauled away. Resting on a 30 degree angle, with its broken section impaled in the bottom at 160 feet, and its stern section (with 2 ten foot diameter props) in 120 feet, is what we believe to be the rear half of the Ann Arbor No. 5, a car ferry that was cut down to a barge and used as a break wall during construction of the Palisades Power Plant off South Haven. Records indicate that it broke up over the winter of 1969/1970, and was scrapped and hauled to Padnos Scrap Yard in Holland. We can now surmise that a portion of the ship was either left to the elements or trapped in the ice, which may have transported it to its final resting place approximately 10 miles off shore. While not an historic discovery of the magnitude of the Michigan, it will become West Michigan’s premier dive site, accessible to intermediate to advanced divers. Due to its severe angle, divers can choose how deep they wish to venture. Penetration is also possible. We extend out thanks to Clive Cussler and Ralph Wilbanks for helping us discover an excellent new dive site.
MSRA will be working this summer to document the two sites, after which time, we will publish the coordinates on our web site www.michiganshipwrecks.com. Please check out the web site for photographs of the two new wrecks which should be up and running soon.
Clive Cussler has made a commitment to continue the search for Flight 2501 in early 2006
Valerie Olson Van Heest