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WINTER 2016
LOCAL DIVING
LAKE MICHIGAN
the bottom. It’s an incredible sight
to take in. About 150 feet off of
the port side of the ship lies the
original wheelhouse, which in 1908
was converted to its chartroom.
Even after 86 years on the bottom
of the lake, the painted name
“Milwaukee” is still visible above
the chartroom doors. Farther down
the ship are train cars filled with a
cargo of sinks, toilets and bathtubs.
The
Milwaukee
has two massive
propellers. The starboard propeller
shaft sits atop the wheel truck
that smashed through the sea gate
during the ship’s descent to the
bottom. The U-shaped sea gate
on the stern is bent and mangled,
a testament to the ship’s violent
end. Along the rail deck one of
the railcars that breached the hull
can be seen. Depths range from
90 to 120 feet, and visibility can be
as much as 80 feet. It’s a fantastic
wreck dive, and those with the
requisite training will also find
much to explore in the engineering
spaces and crew quarters.
S.S.
WISCONSIN
The S.S.
Wisconsin
went down
in a violent storm just one week
after the
Milwaukee
. A 215-
foot steel-hulled passenger and
freight steamer, the
Wisconsin
was operated by the Goodrich
Transportation Co. It sank in
a storm six miles southeast of
Kenosha, Wis., on Oct. 29, 1929.
Nine crew members, including the
captain, lost their lives.
The wreck sits in 90 to 130
feet of water. Much of the ship’s
superstructure has collapsed onto
the deck or can be found among the
massive debris field. It was carrying
a mixed cargo of household goods,
radiators, heaters, stoves, furniture
and other boxed freight. Several
automobiles, including a Hudson,
an Essex and a Chevrolet, are feet
away from an open cargo door. The
stern and bow are visually striking
and offer great photo ops. The ship
is large and difficult to swim around
in one dive, so several dives on this
site are recommended.
PRINS WILLEM V
The next wreck we visited was
a 258-foot, Dutch-flagged steel
freighter called
Prins Willem V
,
Erik Foreman swims alongside the
schooner
Grace A. Channon
.
Above:
Dave Sutton looks at one
of the train car trucks sticking out
from the
Milwaukee
railroad-car
ferry wreckage.
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