The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve. Click image for larger view and image credit.
History Beneath the Waves: Exploring the Shipwrecks of Thunder Bay 2004
Russ Green
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve
Lake Huron's unpredictable weather, murky fog banks, sudden gales and rocky shoals helped Thunder Bay earn the unfortunate name of "Shipwreck Alley." Vessels bound to and from Lakes Michigan and Superior all passed by Thunder Bay, and during the Great Lakes' 200-year shipping history, scores of vessels ended their careers on the lake floor off Alpena, Michigan.
Established in 2000, the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve (TBNMSUP) contains one of the nation’s most historically significant collection of shipwrecks. Located in the northeast corner of Michigan’s lower peninsula, the 448 square mile Sanctuary contains 40 known historic shipwrecks. Archival research indicates that over 150 sites await discovery in and around the Sanctuary. From wooden schooners to side-wheel steamers to modern steel freighters, the shipwrecks of Thunder Bay represent a cross-section of Great Lakes maritime history and a tangible link to our past.
In 2004, archaeologists from the TBNMSUP, Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, NOAA Maritime Archaeology Center, and East Carolina University’s Maritime Studies (http://www.ecu.edu/maritime) and Diving Safety (http://www.ecu.edu/diving) programs documented two Sanctuary shipwrecks. The primary goal of the expedition was to create photomosaics of the schooner E.B. Allen and a newly discovered unidentified schooner.
The E. B. Allen belongs to a class of nineteenth-century Great Lakes schooners known as “canallers.” These were sailing vessels designed to pass through the locks of the old Welland Ship Canal that connected Lake Erie with Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River between 1845 and 1884. Canallers sailed from grain ports like Milwaukee and Chicago to Oswego, Rochester, Toronto, and Kingston. H.C. Piersons of Ogdensburg, New York built the 2-mast wooden topsail schooner in 1864. E.B. Allen was bound from Chicago with a cargo of wheat when it was sunk in a collision with the barkantine Newsboy on November 18, 1871. A popular dive site, the wreck of the E. B. Allen is in 105 feet of water.
The Kad'yak site map shows the bottom timbers of the ship's hull and locations of large artifacts including the anchors and cannon. Click image for larger view and image credit.
Archaeologists are holding a bronze gudgeon and pintle. This hardware was used to hold the rudder on the stern of the ship. Click image for larger view and image credit.
A group of researchers led by nautical archaeologist Frank Cantelas from the Maritime Studies Program at East Carolina University completed an archaeological documentation of the Kad'yak shipwreck site in July of 2004. The expedition included faculty and students from the university, scientists from the NOAA Kodiak Fisheries Research Center, Alaska's State Archaeologist and numerous volunteers. The National Science Foundation provided a grant to complement funding from the Office of Ocean Exploration.
Today the Kad'yak lies in 80 feet of water on a sandy and rocky bottom between two submerged ridges. Father Herman's chapel is just a short boat ride away. Due to wood eating marine organisms and stormy seas, the vessel has been considerably reduced from its original form. A portion of the wooden hull remains only because it was buried under the sand. A Cannon, anchors, a windlass, portions of the rudder and other iron and bronze artifacts lay scattered on the bottom where they fell as the ship deteriorated. One artifact, discovered on the third day of the project, identified the ship. This artifact, made of wood and brass, has the name Kad'yak imprinted in Cyrillic on a brass cap.
The research team comprehensively documented the site making detailed drawings of features and artifacts along with extensive photo and video recording. This information has been used to research the Kad'yak's history and interpret the vessel in light of its use by the Russian-American Company in Alaska. It is the only shipwreck from the colonial Russian period in the United States and has been listed on the U.S. Department of Interior's National Register of Historical Places for the significant role it played in Alaska's history.
