Thunder Bay · United States · Wreck · Freshwater
D.R. Hanna
The sanctuary's largest wreck, 162 m and inverted
Area photo: NOAA's National Ocean Service · CC BY 2.0
The largest wreck in Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary: a 162-metre (532-foot) steel bulk freighter that rolled over when a steamer ran into her in 1919 and now lies upside down at 41 m. She was carrying 377,000 bushels of wheat from Duluth to Buffalo when she went down. The scale is the point, and 41 m in cold fresh water still puts her past recreational limits.
Where it is and how deep
45.0842° N, 83.0866° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
You descend onto the inverted hull of a 162 m freighter, and the first impression is of a wall of steel running off into the dark in both directions. The Hanna rolled as she went down, so the deck is buried and what divers swim is the underside and flanks of the ship. NOAA's site photographs show a diver at the bow at close to 41 m (135 ft), and the stern in side view with its propeller and rudder still in place.
Most plans pick a feature and stay with it rather than trying to cover the whole 162 m (532 ft) of her. Bottom time at 41 m in cold fresh water disappears quickly, and the sanctuary asks that everything stays where it lies. Ascents are staged. The Hanna is not one of the sanctuary's seasonally buoyed wrecks, so the shot line is whatever the boat puts in rather than a fixed mooring you can plan a deco schedule around.
The wreck
- Vessel
- D.R. Hanna
- Type
- Steel bulk freighter
- Length
- 162 m (531 ft)
- Built
- 1906
- Sunk
- 1919
- Cause
- Run into and sunk by the steamer Quincy A. Shaw while carrying wheat from Duluth to Buffalo
- Lies
- Rolled over and resting upside down on the lake bottom
The D.R. Hanna was built in 1906 by American Ship Building Co. at Lorain, Ohio — 162 metres long (532 feet) with a 17 m beam (56 ft), a steel bulk freighter of the type that moved grain and ore down the lakes. On 16 May 1919, carrying 377,000 bushels of wheat from Duluth, Minnesota to Buffalo, New York, she was run into and sunk by the steamer Quincy A. Shaw. She rolled as she sank and settled upside down. NOAA records her as the largest wreck in Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Off-season | Off-season |
Season follows Thunder Bay: The season runs late May to early October, with July and August warmest; the lake is unworkably cold and rough otherwise.
Know before you go
- An overturned hull offers plenty of overhead and no easy exit — stay outside the structure unless you carry wreck-penetration training and reels.
Questions divers ask
What is the biggest wreck in Thunder Bay sanctuary?+
The D.R. Hanna. NOAA records the 162 m steel bulk freighter (532 ft) as the largest wreck in Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary; she lies upside down at 41 m.
Sources
- D.R. Hanna — NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
- Mooring Buoys — NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
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