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The wreckage of the wooden schooner Christina Nilsson lies in 11-15' of water on Outer Reef on the northern shore of Baileys Harbor, near the old lighthouse. The shipwreck is marked with a WHS seasonal mooring buoy. This dive site is boat entry only.
The Christina Nilsson was built at Manitowoc, Wis., in 1871. Named for a Swedish diva, the three-masted schooner was typical of late nineteenth-century Great Lakes bulk-cargo sailing vessels. The Nilsson�s final voyage began on October 23, 1884, when she departed Escanaba, Mich., with a cargo of pig iron. Bound for Chicago, she safely cleared Death�s Door passage, but a blizzard awaited her on the open lake. With tremendous seas building and swirling snow reducing visibility, Captain N.A. Hammer sought shelter in the Sturgeon Bay ship canal. Unable to find it, he turned around and ran north to Baileys Harbor.
In the blinding conditions, Capt. Hammer misjudged the harbor entrance and struck Outer Reef off the old Baileys Harbor lighthouse, fatally wounding his ship. The Christina Nilsson sank quickly in 15 feet of water, but the captain and seven crew members made it safely to shore. Salvage crews reclaimed much of the ship�s pig iron cargo, but the vessel itself was a total loss.
The site was documented by WHS staff and volunteers from the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association.
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