Day 6: The Pretoria
(August 03, 2004)
With an excellent weather window and a fix for the R/V Dawn Treader's electical ailments, we ventured to the Pretoria today. Launching from Red Cliff, it's a 20-mile run to the Pretoria. Lying off the the northeast shore of Outer Island, the outermost island in the Apostles, the Pretoria is the most remote of the Apostle Island wrecks. With calm seas the Dawn Treader can make the trip in an hour, but if the seas should build the trip can take much longer. Therefore, runs to the Pretoria must wait for excellent weather, and it doesn't get any better than we experienced today. Glass-calm waters made the trip quick and enjoyable.
Navigating through the many islands
The Pretoria was one of the largest wooden sailing ships ever built, measuring 338 feet in length (see Pretoria's site map). Scattered across the lake bottom, the wrecksite today covers an area similar in size to a football field. We had a lot of surveying to accomplish. Over three dives we surveyed approximately 50% of the wrecksite, but with our scuba tanks and film exhausted, we headed back to Red Cliff.
Portside mooring bitts
The
Pretoria lost a battle with a vicious northeaster in 1905. Dragging her anchors toward Outer Island, the ship began breaking up in the tremendous seas. The crew of nine tried to reach shore aboard the lifeboat, but capsized in the surf. The elderly Outer Island lighthouse keeper heroically entered the surf and pulled four men to safety.
Inverted windlass
Stempost draft marks
Today the Outer Island light still shines over the Pretoria's wrecksite, guiding mariners safely around Outer Island.
Photgraphing Outer Island Light
