S.P. Ely Dive Site Description

S.P. Ely Site Description

Depth Range:
30 feet max 15 feet to the top of the deck

The schooner Samuel P. Ely is partially embedded in the west break wall of Agate Bay, Two Harbors, Minnesota. The stern of the ship is under layers of rock from the break wall and the bow points roughly westward toward the shore. The ship was 200 feet long and about 70 feet of the main deck remains with intact cargo hatches and mast holes. The forward part of the wreck is filleted out flat. The sides of the ship bend outwards from the intact middle portion of the ship toward the flattened bow area. Access is by boat only from the launch on the east side of the harbor. The boat ramp is large enough for just about any size boat you would want to launch there. The closer west shore is private railroad property which is posted No Trespassing. It is a fairly short and somewhat protected cruise across the harbor from the launch to the dive site and divers regularly shuttle small boats across this stretch to do the dive. Once at the site you can tie up and suit up on the break wall although it is rough concrete and can be hard on your boat. The GLSPS also maintains a mooring buoy by the wreck. One caution before you take your small boat across the harbor is to remember your compass. Fog can come in quickly on the North Shore especially in the spring and fall and the distance is far enough to make the navigation difficult in the fog. We have also dived the Ely through the ice in the winter and had excellent visibility when we did. Since the harbor is open to the lake, I would think twice about driving a car over the ice to get there, but an ATV or sled, if you don't mind a long hike, works fine.