Charity Island has a rich history, stretching back thousands of years. In 1819, Lewis Cass, the future governor of Michigan, embarked on a voyage of discovery on the Upper Great Lakes, seeking the headwaters of the Mississippi and making geological and resource observations of the new Michigan Territory. Fast forward to today, and Great Lakes Captain Tom Carriveau regularly makes this voyage during the summer season. Let’s find out how he got started.
Tom Carriveau had a passion for Great Lakes diving. Back in the 1980s, a young and eager Tom spent his time diving into top shipwreck sites in the Great Lakes and learning to cave dive in the crystal clear spring waters of northwest Florida. This form of diving is considered “technical”, meaning that Tom had to train and achieve certification at levels above what typical resort and sport divers train for. He started diving into depths exceeding 200 feet, requiring special gear and a special blend of air in his tanks called Trimix.
Tom was captivated by the deep shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. These ships are almost perfectly preserved due to the cold water, low oxygen levels, and the fact that ice doesn’t affect the ships during the long winter months. Some of these ships are so intact that the cargo, superstructure, and stacks are all as they were when the ship foundered in the 1860s! Tom dove one ship that was found with whiskey barrels, copper ingots, and all sorts of hardware and cookware still stacked in boxes below decks. Other ships were found to have grain and coal from the mid-1800s still in the cargo holds.
Carriveau became part of a unique fraternity of advanced technical scuba divers who sought to seek out and dive undiscovered Great Lakes ships. He bought and equipped a dive boat with underwater surveying gear, including a powerful wide-angle sonar and a tow-behind magnetometer. With this gear, Tom surveyed many miles of Lake Huron bottomlands and discovered and explored four large previously undiscovered shipwrecks.
While wreck diving was Tom’s passion, it was also expensive. Any boat owner will tell you the maintenance and upkeep for boating is a financial challenge. Adding the nuance of upkeep for technical scuba diving on top takes the budget up several notches. If he was to keep going, he had to take it to the next level. In 1990, Tom decided to train and obtain his 100 ton U.S. Coast Guard Master’s license along with being a technical divemaster.
With his license, Tom was able to work with Towboat US helping fellow boaters and sailors on the water. This service can range from taking gas or batteries to boats with breakdowns, towing them to shore, or even conducting full-scale marine salvage operations for a sunken craft. Tom also became knowledgeable and conducted dredging operations around the country. He became proficient in tug boats, barges, dredges, and related marine construction equipment.
One of Tom’s more enjoyable captaining experiences in the winter months has been to be a tour guide for the Everglades National Park Service in Everglades City, Florida. He takes 50 passengers on tours through the 10,000 island area of Everglades National Park. He learned the area and gave folks a sense of the history and unique wildlife of one of America’s largest national parks.
Charity Island has been a destination since the 1860s when the Charity Island lighthouse guarded the opening of Saginaw Bay. However, in 1939 the Gravelly Shoals Lighthouse was put into operation to be more in line with the shipping lanes and the island lighthouse was abandoned. The lonely tower and lighthouse fell into disrepair until 1992 when Robert & Karen Wiltse bought the Charity Island light-keepers’ home, rebuilt it, and became the Island’s only “full time” residents.
Carriveau began taking visitors out to Charity island in 2012. In 2018 he purchased a passenger craft from Manitou Island Transport out of the famous Fishtown in Leland, Michigan. It took Tom 30 hours to bring his boat from Portage Lake off of Lake Michigan to Caseville where it’s tied up today.
In 2018, Tom took possession of “The Lady of the Lake”. The craft is a U.S. Coast Guard inspected excursion boat that is licensed for 56 passengers plus crew. It has an upper deck for 20 passengers that offers spectacular views of the sunsets and evening stars. It also has an open deck with seating for 20 passengers and a forward enclosed area for 20 passengers. The “Lady of the Lake” was built in 1950 with a steel hull ¼” thick and Series 60-6 cylinder semi-truck type of diesel engine. She measures 50 feet and has a 14-foot beam and drafts only 4 feet. She has been totally outfitted with a new navigation system, new VHF radio with incorporated AIS (Automatic Identification System which displays real-time ship and marine traffic positions), GPS, DSC (digital selective calling for emitting distress signals), and intercom system. In addition, there is a new Bluetooth Stereo system!
Capt Carriveau and the “Lady of the Lake” operate out of Caseville Municipal Harbor and Port Austin. Visitors will be able to see the true tip of the Thumb and the outer Saginaw Bay by tour boat.
Sunset Cruises – On Monday and Tuesday the Lady of the Lake will take visitors on a 2 1/2 hour narrated sunset cruises out of Caseville. The trip departs at approximately 8:00 PM and returns 10:30 PM. A similar cruise will be taken from Port Austin Harbor on Wednesdays. From Port Austin Harbor passengers will see Port Austin Reef Light, Burnt Cabin Point, and Turnip Rock.
Charity Island Dinner Cruises – Schedules on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday Memorial Day through September. The Lady of the Lake departs from the Caseville Municipal Harbor at approximately 3:30 PM (1:00 PM on Sundays) Departure times vary because of sunset times. They need a minimum of 25 passengers in order to schedule a cruise. This trip is between 5.5 and 6 hours in length. It takes about approximately one hour to travel to Charity Island.
For more information about the Sunset and Charity Island Dinner Cruises call Capt. Tom at 989-550-1234 or visit Explorer Charters for details, schedules and costs. Explorer Charters offer company events, weddings, lighthouse tours, sunset tours, kayaking, scuba charters and many more commercial and charter services.
From his early days as a scuba diver to his current role as a Great Lakes Captain, Tom Carriveau’s journey has been filled with adventure and discovery. Today, he shares his passion for the Great Lakes with visitors, taking them on unforgettable journeys to the historic Charity Island. Whether it’s a sunset cruise or a dinner cruise, a trip with Captain Tom is a unique way to experience the beauty and history of this extraordinary region. So why not come aboard the “Lady of the Lake” and embark on your own voyage of discovery?
#GreatLakesAdventure #CharityIslandJourney
See the original post at [Charity Island – Travel to a Saginaw Bay Oasis](https://thumbwind.com/2019/04/14/captain-to-a-saginaw-bay-oasis-charity-island/).
