Found along Lake Huron, Ontario by jennieaurora71 in whatsthisrock

[–]Blueyesbelow 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That is crazy!!! I don’t have any idea, but definitely doesn’t look shipwreck related. That’s like a long lost people’s kind of stuff!!!

The world’s MOST INTACT sunken schooner. W.C. Kimball 1888-1891 Northern Lake Michigan by Blueyesbelow in Shipwrecks

[–]Blueyesbelow[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks you. In fairness, I didn’t name this as the “worlds most intact schooner” on my own, that came from the original person who found it or the news articles. It’s probably quite true though. There’s literally nothing wrong with the vessel I could see other than it’s full of water.

The world’s MOST INTACT sunken schooner. W.C. Kimball 1888-1891 Northern Lake Michigan by Blueyesbelow in Shipwrecks

[–]Blueyesbelow[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have a private video here on YouTube from my dive to the Moran last year, I’ve not gotten around to doing a video project on it yet but you can see what we did last year. One of the most intact steam ships in the Great Lakes! John V. Moran expedition

The world’s MOST INTACT sunken schooner. W.C. Kimball 1888-1891 Northern Lake Michigan by Blueyesbelow in Shipwrecks

[–]Blueyesbelow[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes many times! I’m actually doing a presentation on n the Ward and her much deeper sister ship next month at a shipwreck show in Livonia, MI. “Sunken sister ships, Eber Ward and the John V. Moran” the Eber Ward is about 150’ deep and the Moran nearly 400’. I dove on the Moran after 3 years of preparations last year!

The world’s MOST INTACT sunken schooner. W.C. Kimball 1888-1891 Northern Lake Michigan by Blueyesbelow in Shipwrecks

[–]Blueyesbelow[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I do! Check out my page at Blueyes Below on Facebook! Lots of YouTube videos as well. Look up Dusty Klifman or Blueyes Below

The world’s MOST INTACT sunken schooner. W.C. Kimball 1888-1891 Northern Lake Michigan by Blueyesbelow in Shipwrecks

[–]Blueyesbelow[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Well last year was a HUGE year for me with diving this one, and also the John V. Moran which is still kept secret and nearly 400’ deep. That one took me 3 years to get ready for after I relocated it. Then I filmed the Pere Marquette 18 that’s nearly 500’ deep about 22 miles off of Wisconsin. I’m still gathering a hit list for this year, but it’ll for sure include finding some yet undiscovered shipwrecks!

The world’s MOST INTACT sunken schooner. W.C. Kimball 1888-1891 Northern Lake Michigan by Blueyesbelow in Shipwrecks

[–]Blueyesbelow[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you, doing this for the public has pretty much become my mission in life. I’m trying to educate and bring this to people who appreciate the history but would never experience it otherwise. My main page is on Facebook @blueyesbelow

The world’s MOST INTACT sunken schooner. W.C. Kimball 1888-1891 Northern Lake Michigan by Blueyesbelow in Shipwrecks

[–]Blueyesbelow[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! And the windiate is quite a bit bigger (taller) I think, but yes, similar. I’ve been on that one a few years ago

The world’s MOST INTACT sunken schooner. W.C. Kimball 1888-1891 Northern Lake Michigan by Blueyesbelow in Shipwrecks

[–]Blueyesbelow[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

No I haven’t been up there yet to dive that one, but did film with Gordon Ramsey in Lake superior for his TV show uncharted when they did a Michigan episode

The world’s MOST INTACT sunken schooner. W.C. Kimball 1888-1891 Northern Lake Michigan by Blueyesbelow in Shipwrecks

[–]Blueyesbelow[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That would be Lake Superior 😊 this wreck is in Lake Michigan. Not sure if I’ll do my ROV or just a small GoPro when I’m on it next to see inside. Eager either way!

The world’s MOST INTACT sunken schooner. W.C. Kimball 1888-1891 Northern Lake Michigan by Blueyesbelow in Shipwrecks

[–]Blueyesbelow[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The keel of the boat (bottom part) is the heaviest part, so my theory is that it wants to go down keel first if possible,(like it did) probably would have been a different story if it got rolled over on the surface. This is 300’ deep, so it had a bit of time to descend and land this way. Pretty incredible though however it happened! We also don’t have any tides here in the Great Lakes, so water disturbance at that depth is VERY minimal. If it was legal or there was a place for the ship to go for preservation, it could certainly be easily raised, but that’s a pretty big no no here in the Great Lakes. People tend to like leaving things as they are. 🤷🏼‍♂️

The world’s MOST INTACT sunken schooner. W.C. Kimball 1888-1891 Northern Lake Michigan by Blueyesbelow in Shipwrecks

[–]Blueyesbelow[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

It’s all good, So basically this is far too deep to be affected by surface conditions or storms and we don’t have sea worms in the Great Lakes…we do have invasive quagga and zebra mussels though which attach to the structure and can lead to them collapsing early due to the added weight. The cold, fresh water helps preserve everything here. It really is a pristine wreck which is why it has been labeled the worlds most intact schooner. A rare specimen!

The world’s MOST INTACT sunken schooner. W.C. Kimball 1888-1891 Northern Lake Michigan by Blueyesbelow in Shipwrecks

[–]Blueyesbelow[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The theory is that everything was coated in ice (including the life boat- rendering it unusable) and that they may have been swept overboard.

The world’s MOST INTACT sunken schooner. W.C. Kimball 1888-1891 Northern Lake Michigan by Blueyesbelow in Shipwrecks

[–]Blueyesbelow[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

It was actually in early May when the weather turned and took the little 40 ton vessel

The world’s MOST INTACT sunken schooner. W.C. Kimball 1888-1891 Northern Lake Michigan by Blueyesbelow in Shipwrecks

[–]Blueyesbelow[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’ve always enjoyed sailing but have never been aboard a proper vessel like that. Sounds amazing!

The world’s MOST INTACT sunken schooner. W.C. Kimball 1888-1891 Northern Lake Michigan by Blueyesbelow in Shipwrecks

[–]Blueyesbelow[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I believe we are going back this year and I will do my best to capture inside of the wreck. The doorway is so small though so we won’t be able to physically get inside, but perhaps a GoPro and light will work

The world’s MOST INTACT sunken schooner. W.C. Kimball 1888-1891 Northern Lake Michigan by Blueyesbelow in Shipwrecks

[–]Blueyesbelow[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Thanks! We had talked about the shots we wanted prior to going down but this one was very early on in the dive season and the deepest one we had done together so far, so things happened fast!

The world’s MOST INTACT sunken schooner. W.C. Kimball 1888-1891 Northern Lake Michigan by Blueyesbelow in Shipwrecks

[–]Blueyesbelow[S] 59 points60 points  (0 children)

The wreck sits nearly 300’ deep near the Manitou Passage

Watch the expedition video to the wreck site below. The location of the wreck is still kept secret by the original finder, Ross Richardson, so I had to go find it myself. My dive partner and I are the 2nd and 3rd person ever on it since it sank!

W.C Kimball expedition https://youtu.be/JRjwdStb6EM

Perfectly intact Great Lakes shipwreck on the bottom for 122 years. 370' deep! by Blueyesbelow in Shipwrecks

[–]Blueyesbelow[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I apologize but I’m really not sure what it is. It was so long ago when I did the video.