Welcome to the Dive Alpena website,
this site is hosted by the Thunder Bay Underwater Preserve Committee.

The Underwater Preserve / Marine Sanctuary currently encompass 448 square miles of Lake Huron surrounding Alpena, Michigan.  The waters around the Underwater Preserve / Marine Sanctuary are commonly known as “Shipwreck Alley” due to bad weather, thick fog, and numerous rocky shoals which have led to the sinking of many ships, most of which have been well preserved, with the exception of the shallow wrecks which have succumb to the damages of ice, and wave action, however some the deeper wrecks look as if they could be floated off the bottom, and continue their voyage. The TBUPC members volunteer at numerous dive, sportsmen shows, NOAA’s annual ROV competition, and Maritime Heritage Festival both held annually in Alpena.

NOAA divers Chad Smith and Tane Casserley, along with boat operator Wayne Lusardi, deployed six seasonal mooring buoys on shipwrecks in Thunder Bay. The buoys were reattached to already installed lake bottom anchors, having been removed last fall to prevent ice damage throughout the winter months. Twenty anchors are positioned on 18 wreck sites and natural features in Lake Huron, and the remaining 14 buoys will be re-deployed in the next few weeks prior to the start of the recreational diving season. Wrecks currently buoyed include Oscar T. Flint, Scanlon's Barge, E.B. Allen, New Orleans, and two buoys on the Montana.