12/01/2025
Grab your cell phone, VR headset, or your Oculus headset and join me on a dive to the shipwreck Daniel J. Morrell. Footage was shot with the Insta360 One X2 in the dive case mounted on a DiveX Blacktip scooter. This dive is an external dive around the stern section of the shipwreck. We explore the main decks, both life rafts sitting on the bottom of Lake Huron at 218 ft, the large propeller and end the dive at the smokestack for a view of the steam whistles.
The Daniel J. Morrell was a large steel freighter that foundered in a storm on November 29th, 1966. All but one (Dennis Hale) were lost with the ship. The story of the Morrell was recounted by Dennis in his book "Sole Survivor". On the night of the disaster the ship broke in two during the storm with Dennis on the bow. The stern motored past the bow after breakup and continued on. The bow and stern are now separated by 6 miles. The bow sits upright in about 200 feet of water. The stern sits upright in 218 feet of water.
Making the last run of the season with Edward Y. Townsend, Daniel J. Morrell became caught in winds exceeding 70 mph (110 km/h) and swells that topped the height of the ship (20 to 25 ft (6.1 to 7.6 m) waves). During the early morning hours, Edward Y. Townsend made the decision to take shelter in the St. Clair River, leaving Daniel J. Morrell alone on the waters north of Pointe Aux Barques, Michigan, heading for the protection of Thunder Bay. At 02:00, the ship began her death throes, forcing the crew onto the deck, where many jumped to their deaths in the 34 °F (1 °C) Lake Huron waters. At 02:15, the ship broke in half, with the remaining crew on the bow loading into a raft. While they waited for the bow to sink, there were shouts that a ship had been spotted off the port bow. Moments later, it was discovered that the looming object was not another ship, but Daniel J. Morrell's aft section, barreling towards them under the power of the ship's engine. The bow then sank, throwing the raft into the lake. In the words of writer William Ratigan, the vessel's stern disappeared into the darkness "like a great wounded beast with its head shot off"
The remains of 26 of the 28 lost crewmen were recovered, most in the days following the sinking, although bodies from Daniel J. Morrell continued to be found well into May of the following year. The two men whose bodies were never recovered were declared legally dead in May 1967. The sole survivor of the sinking, Dennis Hale, died of cancer on 2 September 2015, at the age of 75.
Grab your cell phone, VR headset, or your Oculus headset and join me on a dive to the shipwreck Daniel J. Morrell. Footage was shot with the Insta360 One X2...
