The giant 436 ft steel barge Madeira was built in 1900 for the iron ore trade. It was being towed by the steamer William Edenborn when it sank in the 1905 storm on the Minnesota North Shore near Gold Rock Point. One life was lost as the ship pounded to pieces against the rocky point. The others were saved by the heroism of one of the crew who scaled the cliff to secure a line so the rest of the crew could escape to the safety of the shore. Today the Madeira is the most popular Minnesota North Shore dive site. It has an excellent shore access and is moored annually by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Preservation Society. The giant model covers an estimated five to seven acres that the wreckage spans. It took Andrew Goodman eight dives and six hours on a DPV to cover the site while taking over 20,000 - 30 Megapixel images. It is the largest model the GLSPS team has successfully completed to date and was done as a service for the Split Rock State Park museum to help in their plan to refresh the displays of the site.
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