Sinking of the Charles J. Kershaw

The broken wreckage of a wooden steamer scattered around the Chocolay reef are the only remaining reminders of a triple shipwreck and a heroic rescue. In the early morning hours of September 29, 1895, the Charles J. Kershaw was steaming through a northeast gale with the schooners Moonlight and Henry A. Kent in tow. Just as they neared the refuge of Marquette Harbor, the main steam pipe in the Kershaw's engine room burst, leaving the three vessels at the mercy of the storm. The schooners came to rest high and dry on shore, where their crews were able to jump to safety on the beach, but the Charles J. Kershaw was blown onto the reef a half mile off shore near the Chocolay River. The 14 crew members on the steamer were saved by the U.S. Lifesavers in a dramatic rescue as the Kershaw went to pieces around them.

The Dive Site

The remains of the Charles J. Kershaw surround the rock reef which caused her demise. A mooring buoy placed by the Marquette Underwater Preserve marks the location of the wreck's gigantic boiler, just inside the western end of the reef. Engine room debris is scattered all around the boiler and up onto the reef. A large section of hull comprising the starboard stern side of the vessel lies a short distance south of the boiler. A large sheet iron structure, probably the Kershaw's boiler house, lies nearby. On the offshore side of the reef, shifting sand and gravel occasionally reveal pieces of wreckage, including a hull section and one of the vessel's bilge pumps.

Diving the Kershaw

The wreck of the Charles J. Kershaw is accessible only by boat. Although the wreck buoy is easily visible from shore, it is nearly a half mile swim out to the wreck, beyond the range of prudent shore diving. Boats may be launched at Marquette's Lower Harbor Marina; from there the Kershaw is a 2 1/2 mile cruise on a course of 155°. The Chocolay reef is marked by a large green buoy a tenth of a mile off the reef; the white and blue mooring buoy for the Kershaw is located inside the reef line. Boaters need to exercise caution in this area, as the reef runs just below the surface for some distance north and south of the exposed rock.

Emergency Procedures

In case of emergency, the US Coast Guard monitors VHF radio channel 16. Marquette County Central Dispatch can be reached by calling 911. A recompression chamber is available at Marquette General Hospital.