Divers love to head north to Mackinac Island Straits to dive in the summer with water temperatures averaging 14 to 20°C (57 to 68°F) in the mid summer months. These Strait shipwrecks are time capsules and are protected by the Mackinac Shipwreck Preserve Straits, which covers an area of about 150 square miles.
The Mackinac Straits is a corridor between the lower peninsula of Michigan and the upper peninsula. The Mackinac Bridge links the property, and Lake Michigan is on one side of the bridge, and Lake Huron on the other. The field has tonnes of shipwreck gems beneath the waves.
The William Young schooner, Eber Ward, Brig Sandusky, and the SS Cedarville and Minneapolis freighters are all featured in this video, and are about 80-100 feet deep for diving. The Eber Ward is the widest at the prop, from 90 ft on the deck to 145 ft. On all these wrecks there is so much to discover. Charter boats are available to take divers out to the shipwrecks.
Mackinac Island itself is about 4 square miles in length and has a population of about 500 people year round. There are 1,600 hotel rooms (family owned, no chain hotels) and bed and breakfasts available to extend your scuba diving stay. Mackinac Island is popular for hiking, biking, horse-drawn carriage rides, “the fudge”, sailing and of course the Port Huron to Mackinac Island boat races, in addition to scuba diving.
No cars are permitted (emergency vehicles only) on Mackinac Island and thus the island retains its Victorian charm.
Video by Becky Kagan Schott @ Liquid Productions
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