By Peggy Kurpinski
Guest Writer, Dive News Network

Michigan is well known as the Great Lakes state, the wolverine state and the “mitten” is clearly visible from space.  People living here are either yoopers or trolls, but to a select few, Michigan is known as the shipwreck capital of the world.
Michigan’s twelve underwater preserves contain bottomlands equivalent to twice the size of Delaware and encompass the largest fresh water system in the world.  For centuries, the Great Lakes, it’s rivers and lock systems, have connected the Midwest to the world, allowing for safe passage for settlers and ships, most of the time.

Every Great Lakes shipwreck diver has a “bucket List” of the shipwrecks they want to dive.  Some are dream dives, outside of the realm of possibility because of training, ability, comfort range, or the ship has not yet been found.  Some shipwrecks, within training and ability, involve extensive travel and remain on the bucket list for a long time.  The shipwreck of the Kamloops for many years was on my bucket list.  I had seen pictures of it, friends had already dove it, but for me, it remained a dream dive, until a few years ago.
The Kamloops was built in 1924 in Middlebro, England at the Furness shipbuilding company, for Canadian Steamship Lines. Small for the time, the Kamloops was only 250 feet long with a 43-foot beam and 14-foot draft. The Kamloops was built to the maximum dimensions of a ship intended to pass through the Welland Canal. The Welland Canal runs 27 miles from Port Colborne to Port Weller, Ontario on Lake Erie.  As part of the St. Lawrence Seaway, the canal allowed ships to avoid Niagara Falls by traversing the Niagara Escarpment

The Kamloops, intended to carry package freight between Montreal and Fort William, was powered by a triple expansion steam engine supplied by two Scotch boilers. This propelled the single screw Kamloops at an average speed of 9.5 knots. The unique construction feature setting the ‘Loops’ apart from the other bulk carriers of her time were the four tall Sampson or king posts.  Each Sampson post was rigged with a 5-ton derrick, used to load and unload freight. Near the derricks were the steam cargo winches used to operate the derricks.
In 1924, the Kamloops went to work from Montreal to Fort William with a hold full of grain on the return trip. It often operated well into December and the Kamloops twice ended her season trapped in ice in the St. Mary’s river, however, the crew continued to push her. In 1927, a winter storm put the Kamloops under the waters along with her entire crew. They had been hauling paper mill machinery, pipes, shoes, tarpaper and had a deck loaded with fencing materials at the time.  While slowly traversing the waters in a heavy northern, the Kamloops went down. She never reached Fort William.  By December 12, all ships had been accounted for except the Kamloops. The search continued sporadically until December 26 when all hope was lost due to the winter weather.

The following spring, fishermen of Isle Royale discovered the remains of the crew and parts of the ship near what is now called Kamloops point. The Kamloops has often been described as a Ghost Ship of the Great Lakes, just one of many ships lost in the Great Lakes with all hands and no trace for many years. Discovered 50 years later, in 1977, the shipwreck was in excellent condition.  The ‘loops, located within the boundaries of the Isle Royale National Park, is owned by the United States government and the National Park Service and is listed on the national register.  As in all the underwater preserves, it is illegal to remove artifacts from any of the shipwrecks.

The Kamloops rests on its starboard side, near Todd Harbor, with the stern in 180 feet and the bow sloping down to 270 feet.  The bow and the stern are two separate dives, due to time, depth and distance constraints.  The average water temperature of Lake Superior ranges from 60 degrees on the surface, in a good year, to mid-to-high 30’s at depth.  The wreck site is usually buoyed at the bow and the stern and can only safely be reached by boat.

The stern is intact and has much to offer with cabins, crew quarters, mess and galley.  The engine room and officers’ mess can be viewed without penetration through the intact skylights.  Many of the normal artifacts usually missing from shallower shipwrecks are still found on the ‘Loops, including a beautiful ship’s emergency wheel and stern ship’s telegraph.  The ship’s wheel was chained in place in the 70’s and is still there.  The bow is buried in the mud up to the centerline, past the anchor pockets.  Holds in the stern are filled with freight, including fencing, crates of shoes, lifesavers in wrappers and molasses jars.  Human remains can be found on this site and should be treated with respect. 
Getting to Isle Royale can be accomplished by personal boat but air/gas fills are not available on the island.  Unless you have your own compressor, the best way to go is one of the dive charter operators.  Not only do they know the island and the wreck sites, they also know where to dive if the weather turns bad, as it can do quickly and coves to hide in for a good night’s sleep.  Showers are available on the island, for a fee, at Rock Harbor and at Windigo.

Diving Isle Royale is an experience of a lifetime.  Waking up to loons, walking the trails with moose and enjoying one of the few places on earth that personifies wilderness, is an experience in itself.  Add to it shipwrecks ranging in depths from 20 feet to well over 250 feet, there is something here for everyone. 

 For more information on Isle Royale check out the National Park Service website at www.nps.gov/isro. ■

Charter Operators

Black Dog Dive charters
(507) 878-3247 or www.mn-blackdogdiving.com

Deep Thought Charters
(612)-419-0559 or www.SilentExplorers.com

Isle Royale Dive charters
(855)-348-3472  or www.isleroyalecharters.com

Superior Trips LLC
(763)-785-9516 or www.superiortrips.com