The Flint Story

Anchor

Last voyage of

the Oscar T. Flint

Propeller

On Nov. 24, 1909 the 218 foot O. T. Flint was northbound on Lake Huron, towing the barge Redington. She was loaded with limestone and salt. When abreast of Thunder Bay she experienced air pump problems, headed into the bay and came to anchor for repairs. Capt. John Sinclair went to bed in his cabin near the pilot house and was awakened before dawn by dense smoke. The fore of the vessel had caught fire, forcing the Captain to scurry aft with only his coat. The fire spread rapidly abaft, engulfing the pilot house, amidships, then aft to the galley and crew quarters. The 13 crew members and Captain had to abandon ship in a hurry. They launched two yawl boats barely escaping with their lives and a handful of possessions in the darkness before dawn.

The Flint burned vigorously and cast a yellow/red glow into the sky, alerting the fish tug Ralph about to steam from the North Point Fisheries dock. The Ralph headed for the scene. On Thunder Bay Island, the U. S. Life Saving Crew also noticed a ship afire and ran for the power rescue boat. Captain Person had the motor launch at the scene within an hour, picking up a portion of the crew not already aboard the Ralph. Each towed one yawl into Alpena after taking on a cold and miserable portion of the crew. After burning for most of the day, the Flint sank in a cloud of steam, in 40 feet of water. It was not a happy Thanksgiving Day for the Flint personnel....!

All the engine components, below deck machinery, and other non-burnables went down with the wreck. Her engine was later salvaged. The propeller lies in the sand nearby and two anchors are on her. Since she lies in only in 35 feet of water, the Flint is a popular dive attraction. She normally has a dive buoy attached.

GPS Numbers for Flint-----450145/832076 --Courtesy of Captain Lee Barnhill, Alpena.

The wooden ribs and planking show the effect of the fire that brought the Flint to the bottom. These oak members are pinned together with large bolts and iron rods. Just abaft this photo are a set of double pole bitts, used for bending the ship to the dock. Zebra mussels are visible as small, light colored spots.

The windlass used for retrieving the anchors and loading cargo is huge and in very good shape. It was placed here as part of the Divers Memorial. Steam pressure drove a small engine that engaged the gears shown. The anchor chain came off the windlass and passed through a hawse pipe into the chain locker.

Here is one of the main reasons people like to dive the Flint. There are two large stock anchors on the bow. Each weighs nearly 1,200 pounds and is complete in every detail. Some chain has been placed with them as part of the Divers Memorial.

Note the diver under the anchor shank and the size of the fluke (above left). The anchor chain and a typical diver for size reference (right photo). These chains were the bar-link type, which prevented the link from stretching.

This iron hatch grating allowed hot air and vapors from the engine room to escape. The lever on the right controlled one of the many warm air ducts that heated the crew quarters, galley and pilot house.

Here is a close-up of the tubes of the steam generating boiler. Hot air from the coal furnace below the tubes turned the water into steam, which was routed to the engine. The boiler on the Flint was about the size of a one car garage. Note the abundant zebra mussels.


This is an iron deck hatch (left photo). It allowed access to parts of the ship that were bulkheaded off. The right photo shows a pile of wire rope and miscellaneous deck debris.

A diver holds a cant hook or peavey, used for moving logs. Years ago this object might have been taken from the wreck as a souvenir. Today, divers respect the need to share and preserve all the maritime heritage left, so they simply replace the relic after looking at it.

To remove anything from any wreck in the Great Lakes is illegal. Michigan State Law.

Thunder Bay Map by Kathy Lookingland, MSU.
Thanks also to John McConnell for helping to interpret the dive photos.