Fancy (Francie)

Francie 2016

N 42° 41.393′, W 86° 16.946′

(Name and history  updated with input from the Michigan Underwater Preserve Council in 2023)

Named for the wife of the first owner, the Fancy was originally a 43-foot, 1937 gaff-rigged Chesapeake Bay Clam or Oyster Dredge, and later a private sailing vessel operating out of New York City. Former owner Chris Veenstra stated that he purchased the vessel in 1986 and transported it to Grand Haven, Michigan where it was fully restored.

The Fancy (also called Francie by local divers) served as a Coast Guard-approved passenger vessel, providing sailboat excursions on Lake Michigan. In the early 1990s, an engine fire while at anchor in the Grand River left it inoperable. The vessel was secretly towed to her present location and intentionally sunk by unknown parties.

Diver Jason Blair and others visited the Fancy in 2016 and supplied the most updated location numbers.