SHIPWRECK OF THE TYPO

June 23, 2014


Shipwreck of the Typo
The next dive we did on this fine Saturday is the Shipwreck of the Typo.  The sun was trying to push through but the water continued to lay down for us allowing for glass conditions out on the lake and a nice swift ride to the wrecksite.  This wreck is resting at around 185 ft of water at the bottom of Lake Huron which was hit by another steamer and took four crew members with her along with her cargo of coal down to a depth of a 185ft.  The forward bow and top masts along with the respective rigging are all in tact with the forward bow of the typo sitting upright looking like a perfect example of what a eerie ghost ship would look like.

Shipwreck of the Typo
The dive will be our second deep dive of the day so I set my tables to 180ft. with a TDT of 41 minutes.  My total bottom time was only 15 minutes....again.  So much time, prep, money, and luck go into this and the smallest incompetency can not only ruin a dive but also put yourself at risk for injury or death....just for around 15-20 minutes to freeze and view a shipwreck, I must really like this...but do I? regardless, here we are at the pinnacle of my diving capability about to dive a second 180 ft. dive on air.  We giant stride off the boat and make our way to the mooring to descend down to the depths where the typos forward bow is resting perfectly in tact.
Shipwreck of the Typo
As we descend down into the hazy depths we get to about 110 ft and the top of the mast can be seen notating the ghostly appearance that stands suspended in water by a circular round tree log of a mast that fades away into the depths below.  As we continue to descend we start to see the foggy outline of a shipwreck becoming more detailed and clear as we get closer and closer to the deck at around 165ft. 

Shipwreck of the Typo
Shipwreck of the Typo
I looked to my left and I can see the ships mid section ripped open like a pinata spewing out its inner intestinal coal remains and piles of shredded wood from the damage that the typo took back in 1899.  I was reaching a new pinnacle depth of 180 ft which is the maximum depth I want to go without further training and trimix.  I made my way to the bow and came back around missing the bell completely and descending into the cargo hold of the Typo.  

Shipwreck of the Typo
 Every time I equalized my ears I could hear a huge drum beating and it would fade away shortly after, I thought I reached a new level of narcosis but it turns out that a diesel salty freighter was passing us in the distance yet the sound of the 100 BPM engine can be heard from below.   So here I am 180 ft. down hearing drum sounds in a ship that mimics a haunted pirate ship and about to enter into the cargo holds, that was an experience.
Shipwreck of the Typo
I make into the cargo holds and I am just not able to hold the camera right while hearing these drum sounds and making sure not to silt out the holds.  The mid ship was open and exposed so I came out from the exposed exit and start to ascend back to the line to follow my decompression procedure.  I was thinking about how amazing this ship was and I thinking that this one was so awesome that I am considering the Typo to be my new top three ship wrecks that I have visited ever since I started shipwreck diving. 
Shipwreck of the Typo

FLICKR: https://www.flickr.com/photos/exploration-worldwide/sets/72157645382947153/

 NOAA TYPO information: http://thunderbay.noaa.gov/shipwrecks/typo.html

VIDEO of the TYPO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WHuSb4Yyic

Thunder Bay Scuba : http://tbscuba.com/ 


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