Mesquite Shipwreck, Lake Superior

[@3694627]

I served on the mesquite I was a QM1 my job was to keep her on top of the water, it broke my hart we I heard that she had gone down I left her in sturgeon bay WI in 1970

[@willsweat1242]

Excellent video, thank you for sharing. It should be noted that the USCGC Mesquite (WLB-305) had a long history before being scuttled after running around. She was built during WWII and served in PI until being placed in the Great Lakes in 1947. She remained there but she was sent to Grenada in Dec '84 and remained until Feb '85 during Operation Urgent Fury. She returned to the Great Lakes in April of '85 but was deployed off the coast of Florida in '88 - '89 doing law enforcement duties. The Mesquite again returned to the Great Lakes in April '89 and remained in service until she ran around on Dec 4th '89 at approx 2:00 am. At first the ships pumps could keep up with the water coming in but do to the wind and the waves by 6:00 am the Capt ordered all of the crew off the ship and they were taken in by a passing vessel ( The Cpt was subsequently faced court-martial and was convicted of hazarding his vessel. He appealed his conviction but that appeal was not heard. The Mesquite was scuttled in Jan '90 after considering other options and deeming them too costly for a WWII era ship which at that time had become an extreme maintenance cost. She had a long and beautiful career in service to the nation and today remains in service as one of the gems of the Keweenaw Underwater Preserve, in fact of the six vessels in the preserve, the Mesquite sets at the greatest depth and should be seen as something for the much more experienced diver. The Tioga (35 ft), City of St. Joseph (25 - 35 ft), John Jacob Astor (consider by some to be the oldest identified wreck in Superior 35 ft and the great-great grandfather of John Astor, who died years later on the Titanic), Langham (105 ft) and Wasaga (35 ft) are all part of the preserve.

[@VangoghsDoggo]

The Mesquite's sister ship, Sundew, is up in Duluth. It's retired, historical attraction. My uncle was a crewman on that boat, but served on the Mesquite periodically when they needed a hand. The two crews did that to cover for leaves or extra work.

[@jbrobertson6052]

I was going to ask about some history but now I don't have to thanks to you actually a big thanks to you and I was going to say that she had to have been cleaned out before being scuttled, 1 more question was she sunk in the same place that she ran aground???????

[@jbrobertson6052]

I have another question for you Was the Captain a Scapegoat????????

[@markpinther9296]

Great job on this video.

[@3694627]

I was a QM1 on her in68 to 1970 sure is sad to think of her like this. Nice job of filming

[@wirelessone2986]

Better than the scrap yard by far...she is sailing beneath the waves...safe for decades.Ihope your alive and well 9 years after your comment.

[@hammer5475]

Wow the video is so clear, unreal!!!

[@zoso41]

I was on the CGC Biscayne Bay when we maintained the security zone around the Mesquite and watched her sink to the bottom

[@TheDuchessWellington]

great video. Spooky ship in that so much was left onboard

[@mikeray1544]

Hey-somebody left the fridge open in the galley?

[@jasonflowers4173]

Mike Ray good job Carl! Now everything will spoil for sure!!

[@danw6014]

Hey. Who took the last beer?

[@umbrellacorpsoldier1]

Totally awesome. Hey I wouldnt mind diving on wrecks like that but how do I go about doing that?

[@markeast1574]

Great footage

[@ScubaCenterMN]

Nice video of a fun wreck. Good job John (and team).

[@kenbuzzard8738]

Why was it sunk an where is it AT??

[@visnichba]

I thought that there was still a pop machine on her somewhere.

[@scottfirman]

Someone had time to clean out that ship. My guess is they sent in divers to remove anything of value from her after she went down. I remember going on a tour of that ship years ago. It was old and they decided it was not worth raising her, so instead they went in and " cleaned" her out. Even the fire equipment was taken.

[@kelliebrooks9094]

That stripe on the bow she looks coast guard shippage

[@insertnamehere313]

That fish is holding down the fort for ya boys,God bless all Lakers.

[@scottfirman]

I was on that ship for a tour in 1982

[@JLange642]

Surprised at how much stuff was left aboard her. Almost like they just hauled her off the reef and let her sink without much in the way of salvage of the gear. Great video though!

[@kelliebrooks9094]

How did this ship get under water it was wreck above sticky out ??? Now ts sunk

[@4JohnJ]

It can be a tec dive, but it doesn't have to be. The depth is about 95 feet, which is not a technical depth. However, if you penetrate into the wreck, then that is a technical dive or if you stay down long enough to require decompression, then it would be a technical dive. So, this wreck can be visited in a technical or non-technical way. It is an advanced dive regardless, because of the remote location, cold water, currents, waves and the overhead environment.

[@bizwiz21]

Great video, do they sink these for fish? Otherwise why not scrap the metal?

[@ericpieper69]

they couldn't fix her is that why they sank her?

[@tonydeleo3642]

I wonder why she could not have been pulled off the obstruction, she looked in good shape otherwise?

[@boataxe4605]

Your not seeing her ripped out bottom. It was estimated that the cost of repairs would have been 44 million dollars and no one was going to put that kind of money into a 48 year old ship.

[@edgrigsby8610]

When did she go down? Why? And how deep?

[@filipdemski8303]

Stunning! How old is this ship?

[@4JohnJ]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USCGC_Mesquite_(WLB-305)

[@hockeyeatenburrito]

was this a tec dive?

[@RachelAMullins]

They didnt even bother to take the dishes out of the sink.

[@thomassteenburg7220]

As a NAVY and a COAST GUARD VETERAN I don't like to see our ships Intentionally sunk salvage them or cut them up for scrap and reuse them

[@wirelessone2986]

No this is far better and Iam a Navy vet and a diver...she lives for other generations to see in one piece

[@thomassteenburg7220]

then make a museum ship out of her-everyone can see

[@daddyrabbit835]

No zebra mussels! Bonus.

[@ToyotaGuy1971]

Yeah, what's up with that?

[@kenbuzzard8738]

Why was it sunk, and where is it AT??

[@stevekirksey9293]

Ken Buzzard Copper Harbor off the Keweenaw Peninsula in Lake Superior the crew was too young for a ship this size this is the deepest of the Great Lakes At about 1200 ft but they came to close to the rocky shoreline the hull was torn open one captain remarked at the time he would have tried to give her full astern but I remember seeing the under water video and the water was flowing in and out of the gash below the waterline and it was an aging vessel launched in 1942 the hull was like eggshells the cost to remove would have been into the millions so it gives divers another ship to explore hope this helped

[@Bloodworm77]

Very nice. What lighting system were you using?

[@phillipgarrow2297]

It seems like they could have saved it I guess they didn't care it's tax payers money at work

[@boataxe4605]

As a taxpayer I’m glad that they didn’t spend 44 million dollars (which was the estimated cost of repair) on a 48 year old ship.