Defiance
Marker: recorded wreck position (Date not recorded).
Key facts
| Name | Defiance | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Ship type | schooner | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Cause of loss | Collision | Keyword match in English Wikipedia lead sentence |
| Nearest coast | United States | Natural Earth (public domain) |
| Position | 45.2343, -83.2785 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
Defiance was a wooden two-masted schooner built in 1848 at Perrysburg, Ohio, by Captain Roby. She was a grain-hauling vessel that met her fate on October 21, 1854, in a fatal collision with the brig John J. Audubon off Presque Isle in Lake Huron. Defiance sank shortly after the collision, but all crew survived. The wreck now lies upright and well preserved at a depth of 185 feet (56 m) in the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
Diving & visiting
The wreck of Defiance rests upright and mostly intact in 185 feet (56 m) of cold freshwater at coordinates 45°14.058′N 83°16.707′W. Both of her masts remain standing, and her hull shows minimal damage, offering divers a vivid view into mid-19th-century ship construction. The wreck is considered an exceptionally well-preserved example of a wooden schooner and is a notable attraction within the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The wreck has been documented extensively through photomosaic imaging, side-scan sonar, and underwater archaeology by institutions including those led by Dr. Robert Ballard and Jean-Michel Cousteau.
Location
- Recorded position: 45.2343, -83.2785 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Nearest coast: United States
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Defiance (schooner) (revision 1327879847), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “The wreck”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
- Norman 9 km
- MV Nordmeer 1966 · 14 km
- Kyle Spangler 21 km
- SS Pewabic 1865 · 33 km
- SS Choctaw 38 km
- F. T. Barney 1868 · 52 km
Browse more: North America wrecks · wrecks off United States