GPS Location : N45°24.613' W83°45.983'
Depth: 194 Feet
Wreck Length: 136 Feet Beam: 29 Feet
Gross Tonnage: 288 Cargo: Cedar
Built: 1866 by E.M. Peck at Cleveland, Ohio
Wrecked: November 12, 1890
Description: When the steam barge Messenger caught fire at a dock in Rogers City it was cut free and allowed to drift out into the lake where it finally sank about 4 miles offshore. Its burnt hull sits upright on the lake bottom with rudder, engine and anchors still in place. Click here to read more about the Messenger.
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary:
Enjoy diving the wrecks of Thunder Bay, but always respect the past. State and federal laws prohibit removing or disturbing artifacts. Future generations are depending on us to leave historic shipwrecks intact. Please take only pictures and leave only bubbles. Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary Shipwreck List
The sanctuary maintains seasonal moorings at many shipwreck sites. Available from May to September, the moorings make for safer diving and also protect shipwrecks from anchor damage. Sanctuary regulations require vessels to use moorings when present. Mooring Buoy Interactive Map