GLSA & WUAA SELF-SUPPORTING SUMMER FIELDWORK:
2026 UNIDENTIFIED STEAM TUG SURVEY PROJECT
Report by: Peter Kastella
Fieldwork Date: Thursday, June 25, 2026
Meeting Place: Jerry’s Silo Marina
Meeting Time: Arrival 4:00 PM Departure 5:00 PM
Survey Team Members Attending: John Tindall
Volunteers Attending:
John Tindall, Peter Kastella, Erik Davis, Scott Griffiths, Richard Tessell and Oona Tessell
Volunteers in waiting should someone cancel.
A number of volunteers were on the call list
Vessels Being Used: Sandy Ann
Objectives for the Survey:
Become familiar with the site, photograph if possible, determine datum point and location for centerline
Teams:
Team 1 John, Pete, Erik, Scott and Richard
Equipment Needed:
Team 1 – Video and still camera equipment
Future dates for the next dive: TBD
Review of the dive and findings:
The second dive on the unidentified steam vessel was used to familiarize divers with the wreck site and determine a good location for the datum point and centerline. The day was partly sunny and cool. There was a light breeze with waves of less than a foot. Captain Jason piloted the Sandy Ann in quick time to the wreck site, which according to Google Maps is .86 miles ENE of the main gap at GPS coordinates 43.03540 N 87.87027 W. All divers began suiting as soon as we left the dock. During the past week Jerry was able to secure a permanent mooring buoy to the center of the wreck. The downline is fastened to the remnants of the vessel’s steam engine. First in the water were John and Erik followed by Pete, Scott and Richard. Richard’s daughter Oona stayed aboard the Sandy Ann as surface support. Again, there appeared to be no thermocline with a water temperature of 42 degrees from the top to the bottom at 44 feet. No current was noticed. Visibility was less than 15 feet with a silty bottom which can be easily disturbed. Despite the visibility Richard was able to collect some video of the wreck with good shots of the boiler, what appears to be remains of the steam engine and the propeller. Pete found and retrieved the mooring line from last week’s dive. After reviewing the wreck, it was decided to run the centerline along the keelson. This will offer the least number of obstructions as most of the wreck is on the starboard side of the vessel. Offset measurements from the centerline should be easy to accomplish. The wreckage lays bow to stern, southwest to northeast at a compass reading of 60 degrees. The bow section ends abruptly while the stern ends with the partially exposed propeller. As of yet, no other wreckage has been discovered. Because of the holiday weekend, a dive on July 2 has not been decided.
The one tank dives are limited to six divers, with a minimum of five needed to pay for the charter. You can earn a guaranteed spot on a future charter if you serve as surface support for a week. Surface support does not pay a fee. Anyone interested in joining the self-supporting study should contact John to make sure there is space available. You are required to bring your own dive gear.
The Steam Tug Field Project is a GLSA & WUAA self-supporting project. Money received from divers, after paying the charter fees, is used to purchase new and replacement equipment for this and future self-supported projects on Great Lakes shipwrecks. Dive reports are posted at: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069646586530
“Preservation Through Documentation” ©Kimm A Stabelfeldt
For those of you who have not paid your annual dues for the WUAA group or need to join the group please go to the web site and do so. https://wuaa.org/index.php/store/WUAA-Yearly-Membership-p447692900