Isle Royale Trip Report

[nitroxbabe]

Just got back from a FABULOUS trip to Isle Royale in Lake Superior. We went on a 4-day charter with RLT Divers on the RLT Diver III. What a great time! I'll try to be concise but I don't know if I can control my enthusiasm at this point

My husband Kurt & I arrived at the Grand Portage Casino & Lodge after around a 10-hour drive. This is pretty much the only place to stay up there. Room was around $75. We took a ride over to the marina to check things out and met Captains Ralph & Brian, who were putting a fresh prop on the boat. Very nice guys, both!

The food was very good and plentiful, the company was great, and we were lucky enough to be the only 2 divers on the boat! While the boat can accomodate up to 6 divers, it would have been a bit crowded. If you go on this trip, go with close friends cuz you're going to share a room with them!

What to expect, generally, is great cold-water wreck diving, lots of beautiful nature scenery, conversation, and relaxation. Between dives, we picked Brian and Ron's brains, ate, napped, and read. It was great!

We had great weather the entire weekend, and had warmer-than-usual water temps (which we exchanged for lower vis, but hey, I'm not complaining!).

Day 1
We arrived early at the marina, loaded up and were cruising by 9 am. Brian was our Captain: Ralph and Brian take turns running the charters. We were also lucky to have Ron Johnson of the GLSPS (Great Lakes Shipwreck Preservation Society) along for the ride. The day could not have been more perfect: mild temperatures, sun shining, and a lake like a sheet of glass. Unreal.

First dive: the Cumberland. Max depth 55' for 45 minutes, bottom temp 41F, vis 25+. The Cumberland is a wooden side-wheeler built in 1871, which wrecked in 1877 with no lives lost. The Cumberland is pretty broken up, but was still interesting, with many nooks & crannies to poke around in. I think this was the "test" dive for the Captain's assurance.

Second dive: the America. Max depth 71' for 41 minutes, bottom temp 45F, vis 30+. The American is a fabulously preserved wreck which starts at 4' (you can actually stand on the bow with your head out of water), with the stern resting in about 70'. Penetrated bilge area/rear lavatory, social parlor/dining area, galley, engine compartment. The parlor boasts intact decorative woodwork, tables, and hutch. On the engine, you can still see a painted-on American flag, the crew's tribute to the vessel. I found an intact wine bottle near the engine compartment. The condition of this wreck is amazing, certainly in part to the efforts of the GLSPS which is working to preserve and reconstruct deteriorating wrecks. Ron was the best possible tour guide: he knows this wreck like the back of his hand.

Anchored in Florence Bay for the evening. I hoped to see a moose, but no luck. Later, the stars came out over a cloudless sky. You absolutely do NOT see stars like this anywhere else. We stood outside for some time admiring the sky and counting shooting stars.

Day 2
Captain Brian woke us up bright & early with the cheesy strains of the theme to Underdog. This song was to haunt us throughout the trip.

We motored up through the Amygaloid channel, passing near the grave of the Kamloops. This is a very deep wreck which we are not even close to being qualified to do, but a very compelling, tragic story. Some of the crew made it to shore, where they froze and starved for some time before being found in the spring. One woman left a sad note in a bottle for her parents.

First dive: the Emperor stern. Max depth 141 for 26 minutes, bottom temp 41F. The Emperor is a steel freighter launched in 1910. It is 525' in length with a beam of 56'. It is broken in half, with the stern sitting in 150' and the bow starting at around 30'. Each section is buoyed separately. WOW. This is a cool dive! The condition of the wreck and the artifacts impressed me throughout this trip. A brown man's lace up shoe lay undisturbed on the rear deck near the spare propeller blade. Coal still sits in the bins, the stern anchor still sits on the deck. Penetrated coal bins. Examined gigantic propeller.

Second dive: the Emperor stern again. Max depth 138' for 25 minutes, temp still 41F, vis 30-40. This time, we descended the mast which is perfectly intact with a ladder still attached. We penetrated the engine compartment. I found a section of wall with hatchmarks still visible. A creepy note: in 1975 a fully clothed, intact body of a Emperor crew member was found in the engine compartment. Glad we didn't find any more.

Third dive: the Emperor bow. Max depth 96' for 38 minutes, bottom temp 41F, vis 20-30. This section of the wreck lies on the bottom in such a way that there is a swim-thru under the hull. It's maybe 5' tall, but quite wide, maybe 25'. The hull in this area is completely intact. Very cool! We swam down the starboard side, did the swim thru, ascended the port side. You can still see large white lettering on the side of the hull. Penetrated anchor chain locker: all the original chain is still there, rusted together forever.

Fourth dive: the Monarch. Max depth 67' for 34 minutes, bottom temp 45F, vis 20-30. The Monarch is pretty broken up but still has a lot to see. Mooring line is in about 65', everything else is shallower. A silver pitcher sits undisturbed on a broken plank, a tribute to the "take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but bubbles" attitude of the divers who visit here. Many interesting artifacts lie around here. I got pretty cold a bit into the dive and had to abort a bit early and warm up. Brrrrr.

Motored over to Rock Harbor, where they have a marina and a warm shower, which was very welcome! Brian and Ron grilled up steaks for us. Later that evening the Northern Lights put on a spectacular show, accompanied by more shooting stars. A fox scurried around the picnic tables looking for snacks. Wow. But, still no moose.

Day 3
Another perfect morning. The lake is smoother than before, if that's possible. But, no moose.

First dive: the Emperor stern. Max depth 139' for 32 minutes, bottom temp 41F, vis 30-40. You just can't see all of this in even a few dives! Penetrated further into engine compartment and examined the intact machinery therein. Peered into adjoining rooms - tempting, but not enough bottom time to explore everything.

Second dive: the Congdon. Kurt went, I sat this one out. If you want details, I'll put him on.

Third dive: the America. Max depth 63' for 33 minutes, bottom temp 41-55F, vis 40-50. A bit of current today. Penetrated galley under dining parlor, went further back into the rear rooms where no light penetrated. Ron was our tour guide again and showed us where the GLSPS has been working back there. Very interesting but a bit creepy being all that way back into the ship. Ascended to upper deck, examined the remains of a piano and saw the remants of the black, red and white tile flooring there.

Fourth dive: the America. Max depth 67' for 31 minutes. Did this one in the evening. Swam down starboard side & checked out huge rudder. Checked out debris field on port side: again, the artifacts and condition are amazing. More intact bottles, baking pans from galley, wrought iron worked pieces, tile from piano salon.

Anchored at Windigo station for the night. No moose. Captain Brian says that there are always moose in the shallows in the morning here, he's sure I'll get to see one.

Day 4
Still no moose. Dang. Otherwise, a stunningly perfect day.

First and only dive: Chisholm engine. The Chisholm is a 270' wooden freighter launched in 1880, which wrecked in 1898. No lives were lost. The ship was grounded and could have been salvaged if not for violent storms which ripped her to shreds. The engine tumbled from the wreck and slid down to it's current position, upright and intact in about 150' of water. Max depth 138' for 21 minutes, bottom temp 41F, vis 40-50. The mooring sits on top of the engine in about 120'. The engine itself still has the enormous prop attached and the entire thing is over 30' tall. The workmanship which went into this engine is obvious and the condition is superb. Very cool way to end our Isle Royale trip.

We were back at the dock in the early afternoon, unloaded, exchanged emails, and said adios. Ron suggested that we might have more fun in Duluth than overnighting at the Casino again. He was right. They have a decent maritime museum, great Indian restaurant, and we were able to tour the William Irvine. This is a retired steel freighter similar in construction to the Emperor (although much larger!).

Thanks to Brian, Ron, and RLT Divers for a wonderful, memorable trip! We would definately do it again!

- Carla

[ABQdiver]

Great report!! I would love to make it up to the Lakes one of these days, sounds like it was awesome.

[Bob3]

A creepy note: in 1975 a fully clothed, intact body of a Emperor crew member was found in the engine compartment.

I don't recall which boat it was, but back in the '60s we spotted a hand in an engine room. Elsewhere the cook was floating upright in a passageway, still wearing his apron.
I have some pictures of the hand somewhere...

[kingdiver]

Go for it Bob. Scan it, post it. That's gotta be something else. How deep?

[nitroxbabe]

Yea, let's see the grody stuff!

[Bob3]

Scan it, post it. ... How deep?

I'll have to find the thing first & I'm on the road right now.
It was about 180' if I recall correctly. Been a while.

[Nitrox Junkie]

We went the last days of June leading into the July 4th weekend. We had a great time as well. Water was 37 deg out in the open water. Around the America it was quite a bit warmer. We did about the same dives but did quite a bit of diving on the Congdon bow. Did one dive on the Stern.... WOW was that spooky. I shot video of all the wrecks and they turned out well. We did a lot of the Emperor engine room even the Tool room at the back of the engine room. Did a swim through with the video. Also went in the coal hatch and the second hatch from the stern cabins. The dark space that we dropped into made me a bit uneasy but a very enjoyable dive in the end. We did the bow section of the Emperor and as directed by Brian went to where the hull becomes intact and did the swim through that you spoke of, also with the video camera. Went into the first intact hatch and shot some video, it was awsome. Shot a ton of video on the Monarch and the America. The last dive of the trip was the Chisholm engine which was quick to pass. Something to do with Residual Nitrogen. Shot video of the engine and the Propeller. I think I got to 142 on that dive. All in all it was a great trip. I went last year for the first time but this year I had a video camera which made it that much nicer. Great dives and Great people. Cant wait till next time.

Jeff "Great lakes diver"