Port Sanilac, Michigan
Lake Huron Shipwreck Dives
Shipwrecks of the Mary Alice B. and the Regina
July 4, 2004
Trip Report
 With only 8 days before the charter was scheduled to leave, I received an email from Rec & Tec Charters that there were still open spaces for the Fourth of July in Port Sanilac. On the Fun Dive the weekend before I talked with the divers and as it turns out, a whole lot of them were interested. The spaces filled up fast, and the day of diving that the Forth of July presented was fantastic.
Since it was a long drive up to Port Sanilac, we left Divers Incorporated very early in the morning to head north. We arrived in Port Sanilac and the weather was a bit overcast, but nothing that alarmed our captain, Gary. After boarding one of the coolest dive boats on the Great Lakes, the Sylvia Anne, we headed out to our first dive site, the Mary Alice B.
One of the most popular wrecks in the Sanilac Preserve, the Mary Alice B. sits upright and completely intact in a little shy of 90' of water. This little tug sank in the mid 1970's and still has many zebra mussel encrusted artifacts in plain view. The pilot house with the wheel is one of the spectacular sites on this wreck. The roof of the engine room, once in place, has now blown off to the starboard side of
the wreck leaving the engine room exposed from above for the curious diver.
 There was a resident Burbot or lawyer fish swimming lazily near the prop and the doors of the vessel were all open allowing the divers to peer inside.
After an hour long surface interval, the Sylvia Anne was moored over wreck of the Regina and the divers prepared for another fantastic dive.
The Regina was a package freighter that disappeared in the great storm of 1913. She was carrying a number of items of everyday general use. Imagine if you will a ship that was carrying an full load of inventory for a Meijers store and you will get a general understanding of the cargo it was carrying. The wreck was discovered in 1986 in about 80 feet of water and although much of it has been salvaged there is still a lot of
artifacts to be found.
Dropping down on the stern of the Regina , the massive prop and rudder came into sight quickly as there was spectacular visibility on the bottom. The Zebra Mussels and Gobies were everywhere but there was still a number of artifacts to see. The Brass name was still visible on
the stern. Peering inside the engine room, the engine is still hanging from its mounting as the ship lies almost entirely upside down. Just inside the engine room the electric room switch panel is visible with an eerie green light pouring in from the intact portholes on the hull. Since the wreck is lying upside down, it is very easy to get disoriented so great care must be taken while penetrating the wreck. It goes
without saying that you should have the proper training for penetration diving prior to attempting it.
Back outside the wreck is spectacular. The visibility was really fantastic and there was a ton of different things to see. The smokestack is lying on the floor of Lake Huron , nearby the cargo holds beckon with many interesting things to see from the outside peering in. At the bow, the
anchor chain is still "piano-wire" tight, reminding us of that terrible storm that caused the Regina to be here for divers in the first place.
Another reminder of the storms that Lake Huron is known for came as we were pulling into the Harbor. A rainstorm came by and the seas picked up and we were all glad that we had the good fortune of timing it so perfectly. The storm blew in quickly and by the time we had arrived at the dock it had eased up. To a person, we all agreed that it is really hard to get tired of the Regina and Lake Huron diving. We are
looking forward to our next visit.
| 
Call us! (734) 971 7770
