Scuba Divers Appeal to Public to Uncover Mystery of 19th-Century Shipwreck

Divers are still baffled by the origin of a shipwreck that was discovered five miles off the coast of Lake Michigan last October.

The wreck of a 19-century ship was originally found during a scuba diving excursion by diver, Dan Mcalhany, in 1983 but it was so dark he didn't realise it was a shipwreck.

Mcalhany explained: "Initially when we found it, we found it by Braille. You're down there, you're looking at something, you can feel it with your hands, but you really can't see it."

Mcalhany returned to the site in October 2010 with two other scuba divers, Jim Scholz and Ken Reimer, and it was soon confirmed that it was a shipwreck from the 19th century.

"I almost drowned because I was smiling so hard that the regulator almost came out of my mouth," said Scholz.

Over the last year, the three divers have made numerous scuba diving trips to the site of the shipwreck, which lies 72 feet deep under the surface of the water in Lake Michigan. They have temporarily named the ship Mac's Wreck but they still have no idea where it came from.

Image by : diveimage, on Flickr.

The divers made an appeal to members of the public and other scuba divers last weekend at the Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven to try and find out where the ship originates from.

"We want to release the information about the wreck, get the public interest, hopefully find some more divers to hopefully come out and work with us next year," Scholz commented.

Reimer explained that it is difficult to learn more about the ship because the wreck is covered in sand. The diving expert is hoping that more divers will get involved, whether they are tourists taking scuba diving holidays or local, national or international recreational and professional divers, so that the ship's mysteries can finally be revealed.

Image by Images Of Life Photography, on Flickr.

"It's exciting to just try to find the history of it." Reimer added.

The divers are planning more wreck diving trips to the site and they are hoping that with the public's help they can find out who the ship's captain was and why the vessel sank.