By John Touscany
In 2007, Boy Scout, Chris LaMarche had to find a project that would satisfy his community service requirement if he was to make Eagle Scout. At the time, Chris, a sophomore at Gladstone Area High School and a member of Boy Scout Troop 473 had recently become certified to scuba dive. His father and Scoutmaster, Gary LaMarche had been certified two years prior and was a member of the local rescue dive team.
It was brought to their attention that the shipwreck E..R. Williams was in desperate need of a permanent buoy anchor for the dive boats that frequent the shipwreck during dive season. “Up until recently, the buoy line had been attached directly to the wreck.” said Chris in a recent interview. “that was damaging the structure of the shipwreck.” And the idea for his community service project presented itself. Chris decided he would develop a plan to construct and place an anchor and sub-buoy at the site of the E.R. Williams shipwreck.
Great Lakes Shipwreck historian, Cris Kohl writes in his article “Top Five Michigan Dives” in Sport Diver magazine. “The three-masted schooner E. R. Williams lies upright and very intact in 105 feet of water in the Michigan part of northern Green Bay, an arm of Lake Michigan.
This ship sank near St. Martin’s Island during a severe storm on September 22, 1895, the crew escaping in the lifeboat. With anchors in place and a long portion of the bowsprit pointing the way, this wreck appears like it could sail away on its own hull very easily.” Chris’s first job was to get permits in place and the permits he needed had to come from two federal agencies: The Corps of Engineers and the Dept. of Environmental Quality, (DEQ). That took a year. “I learned the Corps of Engineers owns the lake bottom, the DEQ owns the water, and the Coast Guard owns the surface.” said Chris.
While waiting for the permits, Chris and his dad, Gary began developing designs for the anchor and the sub-buoy. “Bob Berg of M&M Diving in Menominee, MI was a big help with ideas for the anchor.” said Chris. Eventually they decided on a rebar reinforced one ton cement anchor.
The sub-buoy would be fabricated of aluminum pipe and sheeting into a four-sided box with large handles. And water-proof graphics would be placed on all four sides with information about the E.R. Williams, Chris’s Eagle Scout Project, and mention of everyone who provided support and help.
That same year, Chris also presented his project at Ghost Ship Festival in Milwaukee and was awarded $500 towards the cost of the project. Chris also raised money locally to help cover his costs. Chris says, “I was able to get contributions to cover 90% of our costs.”
To get the anchor and subbuoy to the site of the E.R. Williams out by St. Martin Island, Chris enlisted the help of the Coast Guard and the Mackinac cutter. “The Mackinac’s crane was easily able to lift the anchor onto the deck and later, lower it down to the 100+ ft. depth next to the Williams.” said Chris. “They have this incredible technology on the board that allows the ship to remain in one fixed place, in seas as high as 12 feet.” This also provided the Mackinac’s crew with the valuable experience of placing large objects on the lake bottom.
Once the anchor was placed, Chris and his Dad, Gary attached a line from the weight up to where the sub-buoy would stay, 15 ft. below the surface. Then a surface buoy with a boat line was attached to the sub-buoy. This allows a dive boat to easily moor itself to the wreck’s location without having to drop and drag an anchor, which could cause additional damage to a shipwreck’s structure.
When his project was complete, Chris received the Eagle Scout award and won Best Eagle Scout Project of 2010 for his region. Today, Chris is in his sophomore year at Michigan State and is studying microbiology. Great Job, Chris! Smart, ambitious young men like your will go far in this world. ■
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