You can find detail descriptions of Georgian Bay`s wrecks and dive sites. Just all information you need: location, history, accomodation info, underwater world, etc. For example: *The Mapledawn - Steel Bulk Carrier `` Type: Steel Bulk Carrier Length: 350` Built: Cleveland 1890 Sank: Christian Island, Georgian Bay, Ontario. November 30, 1924 History: The Mapledawn can jokingly be argued to be the longest wreck dive in the Great Lakes. The stern can be found off the west shore of Christian Island located in the southeast corner of Georgian Bay. T he bow is located off Quinte in Lake Ontario 250km away - much further if you don`t go over land. The steel freighter Mapledawn, with its massive in-line quadruple expansion engine, was originally launched as the Manola in Cleveland circa 1890. It is believed that as the Manola she was sold to overseas` interests to serve in WW1. It was required that she be cut in two for transit through the St. Lawrence, to be put back together at Montreal. However, the bow section of the Manola was lost in a storm off Quinte, putting an end to the sale. A new bow section was made, and she was reborn as the Mapledawn and launched in 1920, with a length of 350 feet. On Nov. 30, 1924 the Mapledawn was lost in a snowstorm. During the reduced visibility of the storm, this dive-site-to-be ventured too close to shore. Hitting one of the many submerged rocks in the area, a section of the stern with propeller and a portion of propeller shaft attached was snapped off, flooding the engine room almost instantly. This section lies in slightly deeper water just to the northwest of the main body of the wreck: the location of the rudder is unknown. Helpless without power or steerage and pushed by wind and waves, she was very soon hard aground. Two men made it to shore, hiked across the island to an Indian Reservation for help and all hands were saved. As a footnote to history, one of those two men returned some weeks later and tried to recover some personal effects left on the vessel during the disaster, but drowned in the attempt. Current Description: The wreck today lies upright in 15-30 feet of water 100 yards from shore, a large steel freighter in shallow water. Being on the exposed side of the island as she is, winter ice has changed her much over the years. My first of many dives on the Mapledawn was also my very first wreck dive, Labour Day weekend 1972. At that time, the bow section stuck out of the water 6 to 8 feet. The first 40 ft. of the bow were as if severed by a giant knife, rotated, then shoved open end down, the bow sprint pointing skyward into the air. The forward mast was parallel, but about 15 feet off the bottom. With this sign post it, was a simple matter to locate the wreck and tie up directly to the bow. At that time, it was possible to descend the bottom and enter the bow section , then ascend through the decks, past the anchor winches, eventually surfacing inside the chain locker. The 18`` diameter hawse pipes open to the outside and well above the surface of the water. Over the years, the bow section has been pounded lower and lower by ice until it`s now 10ft. below the surface, and the mast now lies flat on the bottom. The mid-section, making up the bulk of the wreck, is a field of flattened deck plating, some of which is inch-thick steel plates torn as if only newspaper. Small explorable passages abound. From time to time, a line is strung along the bottom to the propeller section, located apart from the wreck in slightly deeper water, the evidence of how a commercial transport became one of the top Ontario dive sites. If the line isn`t present, swim at about a 45 degree angle to the left, as the line of the wreck is behind you. Go over a hill of gravel and vis permitting (which it usually does), you should see the propeller section in about 35`. `` This and many other descriptions you`ll see on our website.

This is a great dive location for all divers and photographers, excellent visibilities are the norm on these shallow but exciting wrecks. Add to this the relatively warm waters, by Georgian Bay Standards anyway, and the sights of Georgian Bay Islands National Park. The most popular dive sites are: *Lottie Wolf Lottie Wolf - Built in 1866 as a three masted schooner. She was lost on Oct 16, 1891 heading for Midland a major grain rail head at the time, with 21,000 bushels of corn. The 126 foot schooner broke up in gale force seas in shallow water. Just of the Hope Island Lighthouse. Today the ship is broken up in twenty feet of water. *Michigan The Michigan was built in Bay City, Michigan in 1890 as a railroad car ferry. She was converted to a barge in 1924 with the removal of her engines. The 297 foot Michigan was engaged in removing the grain from the stranded Riverton at Hope Island in Nov 1943, when she was blown into the shallows by high winds. Today, the wreck lies in 5-20 feet of water with much machinery and metalwork to view. The key feature of the Michigan are the massive lifting winches and gears on her collapsed deck, the larger of these gears are over 10` in diameter. *Thomas Cranage The Thomas Cranage the longest wooden steamer to be built on the Great Lakes began life in Michigan in 1893. This 305 foot vessel ran aground Sept 25, 1911. The cargo of grain was removed, but the storms broke up the steamer. Today the scattered remains are found in 15-55 feet of water straddling Watchers Reef about 2 kilometers north of Hope Island. The largest portion of the wreck is the bottom of the hull in the shallow waters where she ran aground. All of the larger machinery was salvaged at the time of the disaster, including the engine. On the north side of the reef at depths approaching 55` lays the bulk of the Cranage, blown there by over 80 years of storms and ice. Other wrecks in the area include the Plucky, Saucy Jim and the Wawinet. Located a few miles to the north in the mouth of the Musquash River reside the remains of the schooners Wales, Ottawa, Ontario, and the Chippawa. Abandon in protected waters after the demise of the local logging industry. *Western Islands West of Hope Island sits a circle of treeless granite rocks covering the area about the size of a city block, the tops of which are less then a dozen feet above the water level. On the southern most of these rocks sits an unmanned lighthouse. This is currently the 3rd lighthouse to stand at this spot. It`s 2 predecessors along with the lighthouse keepers homes and personal effects can still be viewed by diving directly off the current lighthouse. The most noticeable are the remains of what must have been a very extensive collection of ``78`s``. Maximum depth is unknown, it`s a rather steep sloop, I have not gone below 80` at this site and the slope was continuing at the same angle.