Thunder Bay · United States · Wreck · Freshwater
Pewabic
The 1863 steamer lost in Thunder Bay's worst wreck
Area photo: NOAA's National Ocean Service · CC BY 2.0
A wooden twin-screw passenger and freight steamer of 1863, lost within minutes a few miles south of Thunder Bay Island when her wheelsman turned across the bow of her own sister ship. At least 35 people died, and the wreck at 50 m is both a National Register listing and a grave. Invasive mussels now encrust the timbers, which are otherwise held together by the cold.
Where it is and how deep
44.9648° N, 83.1039° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
You drop into cold, dim water and the wooden hull comes up out of the dark at around 50 m, a 61-metre nineteenth-century steamer (200 feet) sitting on the lake floor. Beneath the deck the timbers are furred over with invasive mussels, which flatten the detail and mean much of the ship is read by shape rather than by surface. Bottom time is short, and the dive is normally planned around one section of the ship rather than a full circuit.
The gash Meteor's bow opened in her side is the reason the ship is here. Around it the hull still carries the features NOAA has photographed on the site: the hogging arch amidships, the stern, the mussel-covered underside of the deck. The Pewabic is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and NOAA describes her as a gravesite and silent memorial, so the diving is strictly hands-off — nothing is moved, nothing comes up. Ascents run long, and the shot line back to the boat is the only sensible way home.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Pewabic
- Type
- Wooden twin-screw passenger and freight steamer
- Length
- 61 m (200 ft)
- Built
- 1863
- Sunk
- 1865
- Cause
- Her wheelsman turned across the bow of her sister ship Meteor, which cut a huge gash in her side
- Lies
- On the lake bottom at 50 m, timbers encrusted with invasive mussels
The Pewabic was launched in 1863 by Peck and Masters at Cleveland, Ohio, a 979-ton wooden twin-screw passenger and freight steamer. On the calm evening of 9 August 1865 she met her sister ship Meteor a few miles south of Thunder Bay Island; Pewabic's wheelsman turned into the path of the oncoming steamer, whose heavy bow cut a huge gash into her side, and she vanished within minutes. Meteor rescued many of an estimated 150 passengers, but at least 35 drowned in what NOAA calls Thunder Bay's worst maritime disaster. The wreck is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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 wreck is a grave and a National Register site: nothing is moved and nothing is taken. NOAA memorialises those who died both in the sinking and in later salvage attempts on her.
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Pewabic wreck?+
She lies at 50 m — 165 feet — in Lake Huron, which puts the dive firmly in technical range and rules out recreational profiles.
Can you take artefacts from the Pewabic?+
No. The wreck sits inside Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is treated as a gravesite for the at least 35 people who died in the 1865 collision.
Sources
- Pewabic — NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
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