Protecting Lake Michigan,
from the bottom up
Chicago’s history is underwater — over a century of it, sitting 25 feet down in protected shipwreck preserves. We help document it, teach it, and keep it exactly where it is.
“Take only photos and leave only bubbles.”
Printed on the Muskegon preserve sign — and how every one of our charters operates. Nothing comes off a site. We photograph it and leave it where it is.
The shipwreck preserves
Two ships. One lake. Over a century of history in Indiana’s waters of Lake Michigan, protected as underwater nature preserves.
J.D. Marshall
Wooden steamer · built 1891 · sank June 9, 1911
Muskegon (Peerless)
Christened Peerless in 1872 · abandoned 1911
The science on the water
Indiana University’s Center for Underwater Science has been conducting diver and photogrammetric surveys on both sites since 2016 — building 3D models to document the wrecks and support long-term baseline monitoring. Sail Shop captain David Lobo, with Double Action Dive Charters, provided the dive charter that put IU’s student scientific divers on both preserves.
The work is methodical and physical: auger anchors driven into the lake bed to hold marker buoys directly over the wrecks, multiple dives on multiple tanks, cameras and survey equipment documenting structure for the photogrammetric models. The clarity in Indiana’s shallow offshore waters is remarkable — the wrecks read clearly at 25 feet.
June 2026 — IU Center for Underwater Science survey days on the J.D. Marshall and Muskegon preserves. Read the full event report
Be part of it
Conservation here isn’t a donation page — it’s time on the water.
Dive the preserves
The J.D. Marshall and Muskegon are open to recreational divers. We run charters out of Hammond Marina — the same boat, the same crew, and the same route the IU team trusted.
Book a dive charter →Get certified
From open water through Scientific Diver (AAUS) — the credential IU's Center for Underwater Science uses — Sail Shop Chicago supports the training path.
Dive certifications →Bring your program
Academic programs, research institutions, and community organizations that need a vessel and crew that take the work seriously — reach out.
Contact us →Zebra and quagga mussels have colonized nearly every wreck in the lake, and each site is protected by law and by practice. Every charter we run is camera-only, guided, and small-group — because the history down there belongs to everyone, including the divers who haven’t gotten wet yet.