Lake Name: Lake Superior
Shipwreck Name: John B. Cowle
Shipwreck Photos

Vessel Type: Steel Freighter
Location: Whitefish Bay, MI
Vessel Build Info: 1902, Jenks, Port Huron
Shipwreck Specs: 420x50x28, 4731g 3911n
Official Number: 77559
Names Other: none

Sinking Detail
Rammed by the large steel bulker ISAAC M. SCOTT(qv) and sank in 3 minutes. Heavy fog covered the area at the time. SCOTT and the passing bulker GOODYEAR picked up survivors.
Wreck located by divers in 1972.
Loss Date: 7/12/1909
Loss Place: 1 mi NW of Whitefish Pt.
Loss Life: 14 of 24
Loss Reason: Collision
Vessel Cargo: Iron Ore

Shipwreck Description
Due to its size and depth the Cowle is usually two separate dives from two separate moorings – the bow mooring and stern mooring. The bow dive is a view one of the few intact pilot houses in Lake Superior. Although stripped of its furnishings the pilot house is still very intact. The bow cabins are a Texas cabin configuration which is where the captains quarters and office are behind and slightly lower than the pilot house. The lake bottom is 220′ but the pilot house roof starts at 180′.

The stern is also a rare sight. From the break in the hull the stern slopes up toward the surface which puts the propeller and rudder well off the bottom. What an awesome sight to see a massive propeller and rudder looming above your if you drop to 190′ for the view. The shallowest point is the stern rail at about 140′ and the bottom below is 220′. When you descend on the stern you will see the remains of the auxiliary wheel with its rudder indicator on the top. There is also a stern anchor and several spare propeller flukes on the back deck. The boiler exploded when Cowle sank totally destroying the center of the stern cabins. The port side of the stern cabins is the most intact. You can also see the engine if you swim into the cabin wreckage.”

Dive Type: Technical
Depth Deck(ft): 185 ft
Depth Bottom(ft): 220 ft
Depth Deck(m): 56 m
Depth Bottom(m): 67 m

Additional Info: Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve