The Great Lakes are said to be the home of more than 6,000 shipwrecks. During a recent visit to the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum, we learned about the shallow water shipwreck, the Novadoc. Photos, videos and the location of the ship intrigued us and we quickly developed a plan for getting to the Novadoc.

First, off the Novadoc was built in 1928 and was 253 feet long. The ship essentially looked like a scaled down version of the ships sailing the Great Lakes today. The Novadoc sank on November 11th, 1940 only a few hundred yards off the shore at Silver Lake Sand Dunes in approximately 12-15 feet of water.

Our plan to find and free dive the Novadoc was built around a full day of adventure. We packed up our gear, which included our inflatable paddleboards and arrived at the pedestrian area at Silver Lake Sand Dunes. We loaded all of our gear into our backpacks that our inflatable boards go into and started the trek across the dunes.

The hike across the dunes was full of hills and we were in the direct sunlight for much of the hike. We knew that would be the case and we planned accordingly with sun shirts, hats and plenty of water. With the weight of the paddleboards and all of the gear, the hike was not easy but we were hopeful that the payoff would be worth it. One we arrived at the beach we inflated our boards and set out onto Lake Michigan in search of the Novadoc. We had a general idea of where the wreck was located as a guide but actually finding it is part of the fun.

All of a sudden, there she was. We had found the Novadoc. The water was very clear and calm on this day so we were able to see the structure quite well. Many shallow water shipwrecks throughout the Great Lakes were wooden ships, but not the Novadoc. The ships steel structure is still very much largely intact sitting on the sandy bottom. With the overall depth being about 12-15 feet, parts of the Novadoc sat roughly 8 feet from the surface.

After getting a layout of the area, it was time to check the wreck out underwater. It is hard to describe in writing the experience of exploring the Novadoc. The sandy bottom, clear water, the ships size, structure and water depth all make for a unique experience.