Thunder Bay · United States · Wreck · Freshwater
Defiance
An intact 1848 schooner on an even keel at 56 m
Area photo: NOAA's National Ocean Service · CC BY 2.0
An intact wooden two-masted schooner of 1848, sitting at 56 m after a pre-dawn collision in which she struck the John J. Audubon and both ships went down. Fresh water has left the hull whole rather than broken, and the pairing with the nearby Audubon drew Robert Ballard and Jean-Michel Cousteau to study both wrecks. A technical dive, and a short one.
Where it is and how deep
45.2343° N, 83.2785° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The descent runs through cold, progressively darker water to a schooner that is still recognisably a ship. At 56 m the Defiance is intact rather than collapsed — 35 metres (115 feet) of two-masted schooner sitting where she settled after the collision. NOAA's site photographs show the bow resting on an even keel and a diver pausing at the crosstrees of a standing mast. Lights matter here: at this depth in Lake Huron there is little useful daylight left.
Because the wreck is whole, the route is simple and worth keeping simple: one length of the hull, a look at the deck line, and back to the line. Bottom time is brief and the ascent is the long part of the day. The Defiance is protected sanctuary property and has been documented in place by diving archaeologists, so everything stays where it lies — including on the John J. Audubon, which rests intact a few miles away in similar depth.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Defiance
- Type
- Wooden two-masted schooner
- Length
- 35 m (115 ft)
- Built
- 1848
- Sunk
- 1854
- Cause
- Struck the John J. Audubon in darkness and fog at 1:30 a.m., then sank a few miles on
- Lies
- Intact on the lake bottom in more than 52 m (170 ft) of water
The Defiance was built in 1848 by Captain Roby at Perrysburg, Ohio, a 35 m wooden schooner (115 ft) with an 8 m beam (26 ft). At 1:30 a.m. on 20 October 1854 she came southbound out of the darkness and fog into the mid-section of the northbound John J. Audubon. The Audubon sank quickly; the Defiance struggled on and finally sank a few miles away. Both crews survived. Dr Robert Ballard and Jean-Michel Cousteau have since studied the pair of wrecks, bringing national attention to two ships that now lie inside 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
- The site is deep enough that any problem is solved on the wreck rather than on the surface — carry redundant gas and lights and keep the plan short.
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Defiance schooner?+
The wreck rests at 56 m — 185 feet — in Lake Huron. NOAA describes her as intact and resting in more than 52 m (170 ft) of water, which makes this a decompression dive.
Sources
- Defiance — NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
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Similar dives elsewhere
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A 1940 Lunenburg schooner scuttled for divers at 17 m
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Twin propellers at the shot line, then the length of an upturned keel
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