2016 Northwestern Michigan Archaeology Field School Project

Remote Sensing Survey – Cathead Bay and Northport Harbor

Cathead Bay

Participants in the 2016 Northwestern Michigan Archaeology Field School will begin a remote sensing survey in the summer of 2016, to locate 7, historic shipwrecks in Cathead Bay. Located off the northern side of the Leelanau Peninsula in Lower Michigan, Cathead Bay is relatively shallow and exposed to wind and waves of Lake Michigan from the north and northwest. In the event of rough weather, Northport Harbor will be surveyed instead, where there are suspected to be the remains of 6 Shipwrecks. See link to GIS map of the area.   

 Northport Harbor

The suspected Shipwrecks of Cathead Bay consists of 7 turn-of-the-century, schooners identified as:

Flying Venus

Fanny Hazelton

Trillium

Maid of the West

B. R. Loomis

Sardinia

Tribune

The suspected Shipwrecks of Northport Harbor consists of 6 turn-of-the-century, watercraft identified as:

Fanny Hazelton

Badger State

Flora

Rumrunner

Leander Choate

Gloria

The 2016 remote sensing survey will be conducted as a training and reconnaissance exercise to locate, position fix and photograph as many of the wrecks as possible. The shallow water areas of each bay will be explored using a Lowerance, HDS-12, Side-Scan Sonar. This equipment has been made available through a generous donation by the Northwestern Michigan College Barbecue Board.

The research objectives of the remote sensing survey will be developed by the field school participants.

This project is appropriate for both divers and non-divers and will be a boat based exercise.