Boatnerd Discussion Forum

There is a schooner named Regina that sank off the Canadian coast in the 1800's. She is well sought after wreck that has been hunted since the late 70's. The steamer Regina lies 6 miles NW of Lexington in 75ft of water almost turtled. She was salvaged in the 80's but many things remain on the wreck. There are many shallow water wrecks in the Harbor Beach area, including one that we found last year on the beach! But the Pendall wreck matched the description quite well. Bob Mcgreevy searches for the shallower wrecks in the area, and he is one of the best when it comes to Historians in the area.

[quote="Guest"]Likely what you saw was the schooner barge Dorcus Pendell which had sought shelter during the 1913 Storm, ran agound behind the break wall, and remained there until Feb., 1914 when it burned to the water's edge and sank. The Pendell could have been salvaged, but the fire and sinking ended that, so its hull is likely what was being refered to - not the Regina. To sensationalize a simple story, it is twisted to make it "sound better." Rely on better sources.[/quote]

I don't think I was purposely being led astray. The person who told me this works for the City of Harbor Beach and is very knowledgeable about its rich maritime past. Granted he isn't the boatnerd that many of you are, he was very informative. Possibly it was he that was given the wrong info at some point.

[quote="Guest"]Likely what you saw was the schooner barge Dorcus Pendell ...[/quote]
Sure sounds like what you saw is the Dorcas Pendell. Here is more info from the Boatnerd Great Lakes Shipwreck File:

Dorcas Pendell
Other names : none
Official no. : 157124
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 3-mast
Build info : 1884, P. Rappelyea, E. Saginaw
Specs : 148x31x11, 408g 389n
Date of loss : 1914, Jul 6
Place of loss : near breakwater at Harbor Beach, MI
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : storm/fire
Loss of life : none
Carrying : ?
Detail : She was driven hard ashore in the "Big Storm" of Nov 8-13, 1913. She remained jammed in place until she caught fire and was destroyed the next summer, probably due to an overheated shipkeeper's stove.
Reportedly in poor condition when she went ashore.
Sources: eas,vbs,mv,slh,ns2,phr

Also found a photo of her taken in Vermilion Ohio along with some more info about the name Dorcas Pendell at: [url][http://www.vermilionohio.org/vermviews/vermviews-351.htm[/url]

Likely what you saw was the schooner barge Dorcus Pendell which had sought shelter during the 1913 Storm, ran agound behind the break wall, and remained there until Feb., 1914 when it burned to the water's edge and sank. The Pendell could have been salvaged, but the fire and sinking ended that, so its hull is likely what was being refered to - not the Regina. To sensationalize a simple story, it is twisted to make it "sound better." Rely on better sources.

What you saw is not the Regina. The Regina sank between Port Sanilac and Lexington. The wreck is located directly offshore from the Camp Cavell property just above Lexington. She sits upside down in about 80 feet of water. There are several good videos taken by divers showing the wreck posted on youtube.

I was in Harbor Beach (MI.) yesterday for a high school football game. I was told ahead of time that the hull of the Regina (victim of the Great Storm of 1913) was visible due to the low water levels. Sure enough when I arrived at the end of the Trescott St Pier, looking south, there was what appeared to be an upside down hull a few hundred yards out. What was confusing to me was that this "hull", if this is what it actually is, is within the manmade breakwall. I drove south along the beach 1/4 miles or so, trespassing on private property to get a better look but I still couldn't get close enough to see if this is in fact a hull, and is it the Regina? I guess I was assuming that she Regina would have been further off shore. Anybody have better information?