The Wreck Today: One of Long Point’s most famous shipwrecks, the Atlantic has been the subject of extensive litigation and was closed to diving at one point.
This dive is beyond the limits of sport diving as defined by all major certifying agencies. It should only be attempted by very experienced divers with specialized training for depths in excess of sport diving limits. She sits upright in 160 feet of water and you will reach the wreck at about 135 feet. Usually there is a tie-in line attached to her hogging arch. The upper decks have collapsed, but the middle deck and holds are still intact. Commercial diver, Mike Fletcher, who rediscovered the wreck tells of a pioneer wagon sitting in the holds and books that were still legible.
While zebra mussels have covered her, she is an impressive sight with her single mast still proudly erect and the forward rails waiting a passenger’s grip. Her paddle wheels stand fairly intact and the double helmsman’s wheel has fallen over and can be found protruding from the silt. Peering into the interior of the wreck, one might still see the passenger’s belongings and occasional artifacts of the time strewn about the wreck.
This dive is beyond the limits of sport diving as defined by all major certifying agencies. It should only be attempted by very experienced divers with specialized training for depths in excess of sport diving limits. She sits upright in 160 feet of water and you will reach the wreck at about 135 feet. Usually there is a tie-in line attached to her hogging arch. The upper decks have collapsed, but the middle deck and holds are still intact. Commercial diver, Mike Fletcher, who rediscovered the wreck tells of a pioneer wagon sitting in the holds and books that were still legible.
While zebra mussels have covered her, she is an impressive sight with her single mast still proudly erect and the forward rails waiting a passenger’s grip. Her paddle wheels stand fairly intact and the double helmsman’s wheel has fallen over and can be found protruding from the silt. Peering into the interior of the wreck, one might still see the passenger’s belongings and occasional artifacts of the time strewn about the wreck.
Atlantic
Additional information on the Atlantic is on page 16 of Erie Wrecks East.
Location: 358ºT 24 miles off Erie, Pennsylvania – 214ºT 3.1 miles off Long Point Light
Coordinates: Loran: 44522.7 58561.1 GPS:42 30.62080 05.086
Official #: None
Lies: bow west Depth: 155 feet
Type: sidewheel steamer Cargo: passengers
Power: vertical beam engine
Owner(s) Samuel Ward & Eber B. Ward of Newport, Michigan with Steven Clements of Chicago, Illinois
Built: 1849 at Newport (Marine City), Michigan by John Wolverton
Dimensions: 265’7” x 33’ x 14’6” Tonnage: 1155 gross
Date of Loss: Friday, August 20, 1852
Cause of Loss: collision with the propeller Ogdensberg
Coordinates: Loran: 44522.7 58561.1 GPS:42 30.62080 05.086
Official #: None
Lies: bow west Depth: 155 feet
Type: sidewheel steamer Cargo: passengers
Power: vertical beam engine
Owner(s) Samuel Ward & Eber B. Ward of Newport, Michigan with Steven Clements of Chicago, Illinois
Built: 1849 at Newport (Marine City), Michigan by John Wolverton
Dimensions: 265’7” x 33’ x 14’6” Tonnage: 1155 gross
Date of Loss: Friday, August 20, 1852
Cause of Loss: collision with the propeller Ogdensberg
