The Henry C. Daryaw

STRONG CURRENT throughout this dive. The Darya is a 219 ft steel freighter that struck a nearby shoal on November 20th, 1941, carrying a load of coal, which is found in relative abundance nearby. The gash she suffered was too great and down she went with the loss of one crew member. She landed on the bottom inverted with bow upstream and is literally against a canyon wall to starboard with a mere ten feet separating them in spots. Hand over hand it down the line to the props to save your legs for later or, if you're with an experienced charter skipper you can drift onto the wreck from upstream. If you drift it and want easy recovery, grab the line at the props and make your way to the surface marker. If you take the line descent, once at the props, you have two choices. Head left down a secondary line and move to the cargo area and duck under and in to have a rest and explore this vast space. Check out the gash that sank her and if you're properly wreck trained, penetration here can be rewarding. The options are towards the bow, there is a hatch to get into the bow spaces ( well lit by port holes) but depending on your size, you may need to doff your gear to squeeze through. The other place to gain entry is via a doorway with inverted stairs, at the aft end of the cargo space, starboard side. Tie your line off on the stairs. You can turn right, go a short distance and then jog left to an electrical room or duck down a deck and emerge between machinery on the starboard side of the wreck. Alternatively, if you're not a mud puppy, you can instead go straight ahead from the doorway and down a corridor that's about 5 feet high and 40 or so feet long. At the end, drop down a stairwell and either exit under the stern ( very low here) or continue down the stairwell to the engine room. CAUTION: Even the best divers will stir something up here. It WILL silt out on you so get your look at the machinery while you can and never lose touch with your line. This wreck has claimed at least one VERY experienced diver in this area of the ship. Heading outside the wreck from the cargo bay and closest to the bow, swim, grab/haul to the bow and spiderman up to the top (bottom :))and get ready for the flying experience of your life. The current will whisk you almost dead centre down the hull. Grab the prop line or duck under the stern at the end. Personally, I'm usually too pooped to duck under as it will require some effort. If you chose to explore under the stern ( in the lee) from your descent from the props, there is a hatchway leading up and into the corridor and stairwell I mentioned earlier. The fish here almost always tend to be Walleye and are in abundance between the wreck and the canyon wall. By boat: The wreck is marked with a buoy.