Tugboat
Built: 1900 by Baltimore Dry Dock Company, Baltimore, Maryland
Length: 85 feet
Lost: December 11, 1985
Discovery: Located after the 1985 sinking
Location: 43.50.253 86.29.023, five miles north of Pentwater, Michigan, in Lake Michigan
Depth: 90 feet
HISTORY OF THE SHIP
The Comanche began its long working life in 1900 as the Richard Caswell, a tug constructed by the Baltimore Dry Dock Company. At approximately 85 feet long, it was built for utility rather than speed, with the compact, heavily constructed hull characteristic of working tugs of its era. Historical records list the vessel under U.S. official number 253654.
During its career, the tug passed through several owners and names. It entered U.S. government service during World War II as YTL-608, a small yard tug. After leaving government service, it returned to commercial ownership and operated under the names H. Thomas Teti Jr. and Seaway No. 1. It became known as Comanche in the early 1980s.
By the time it reached the end of its career, the Comanche had spent more than eight decades working on the water. Its final years proved particularly difficult. In May 1982, while at Detour, Michigan, the tug suffered extensive fire damage. Despite the damage, the vessel was not immediately abandoned. It remained in service and was eventually acquired for a new purpose.
THE SINKING
In December 1985, the Comanche was being towed across Lake Michigan toward Ludington, Michigan, where it was to be refitted for another use. The aging tug had no cargo aboard.
On December 11, the tow encountered heavy weather off the west Michigan coast. The Comanche began taking on water and ultimately foundered while under tow approximately five miles north of Pentwater. No lives were lost. Contemporary casualty records identify the vessel as a 112-ton U.S.-registered tug and specifically note that it had previously sustained extensive fire damage in 1982.
The sinking brought an end to a career that had begun in Baltimore at the opening of the twentieth century and had carried the tug through more than eight decades of changing maritime technology and ownership.
THE WRECK
The Comanche came to rest upright on the lake bottom in approximately 90 feet of water. Unlike many Great Lakes wrecks of comparable age, it remains remarkably intact. The Michigan Underwater Preserve describes the wreck as a fully intact tug sitting upright on the bottom.
The wreck’s compact dimensions and upright position make its original working configuration readily apparent. Divers can see the sturdy bow, hull structure, deckhouse, and other features that reflect the tug’s purpose as a powerful working vessel.
One of the most distinctive features is the heavily constructed bow. Divers have described the forward end as resembling a small icebreaker, with substantial steel framing extending down the sides. This robust construction reflects the demands placed on working tugs, which routinely pushed, pulled, maneuvered, and towed vessels much larger than themselves.
The Comanche now forms part of the West Michigan Underwater Preserve and is maintained as a popular recreational dive site. A mooring makes the wreck accessible to divers, and its location allows access from either Pentwater or Ludington. Visibility varies with lake conditions but is often favorable.
The wreck’s remarkably intact condition provides a valuable underwater record of a small working tug whose career spanned from the age of steam-powered harbor work into the modern era. After surviving more than 80 years of service, a wartime government career, a serious fire, and several changes of ownership and name, the Comanche finally came to rest on the Lake Michigan bottom while being towed toward what was intended to be its next chapter.