2014 Shipwrecks Found

[southkogs]

I'm something of a Great Lakes Shipping Nerd when I have the time (which I typically don't), so I was interested with the recent story of the find of the Nisbet Grammar in Lake Ontario (Story HERE, HERE & HERE). I tried to find some information on the Dalwarnic, the boat that hit the Nisbet Grammar, but only found a little bit (she started life as the Canadian Harvester, but wound up in South America by 1946). The Nisbet went down without loss of life as Dalwarnic stayed on station to rescue the crew. Dalwarnic interested me only because there was a side-wheeler up on Superior somewhere - and I can't recall her name now - who had a bad habit of ramming other ships. I guess her skipper liked to get his runs DONE and would really plow out of port regardless of conditions.

BUT ... while looking at this another wreck was found this year, with a rather more than normally tragic story.

The 1899 wreck of the Nelson was found in August. She was a 200' schooner that went down while under tow. The tragedy comes in where the captain made some heroic efforts to save his crew and family, only to have one simple error leave him the sole survivor of the wreck. You can read that story HERE.

Anyway the history and boat geeks in me collided and I found it interesting ...

... not to mention a good reminder to pay close attention out on the water. She has little sympathy for error.

 

[moosehead]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vST6hVRj2A&list=RD9vST6hVRj2A#t=80

 

[moosehead]

Thanks for the post Southkogs. The links were a perfect melancholy read while listening to Gordon Lightfoot as I contemplate putting her into winter hibernation this weekend.

The Nelson captain's story is particularly sad, another great reminder to be vigilant at the helm. Note he was turning about to attempt shelter in Whitefish Bay, same as the EF.

 

[southkogs]

There's a lot of history up there in the lakes that is very interesting. The romance of the big lakers is even more interesting (in a geeky way) for me. I like readin' about all of those boats. The wrecks are all tragic in a way, but some are actually kinda' funny - the Ann Arbor 4 was a particular boat for disaster, but one kludge she had coming outta' Michigan in November was pretty humorous as the entire crew survived and had individual stories about gettin' home. I can't find the story reproduced anywhere to link to, though.

The wreck of the Fitz is so famous. I haven't been up to Whitefish point in about 10 years, but the last time I was at the shipwreck museum they were playing Llightfoot's song. Cool. It's a good song and completely fits the museum. It finished up as I was a couple of displays into the first exhibit ... and the next song on the list? The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot.

No kidding ... over and over and over ... the whole time I was there

Sorry to drive a winter layup "knife" in ya' Moose.

 

[moosehead]

^FWIW, I don't think you need to be a geek to appreciate these stories. Any waterman, adventurer, or outdoorsman finds them both haunting and a great learning experience. Families of lost seaman hold a special place in our hearts no matter what waterway they may be connected to. Feels like every major port city along the coasts or Great Lakes has a seaman's museum of some sort. My in-laws are from Duluth, it and the neighboring town of Superior are by every category hard-living sea towns despite the lack of salt water.

A couple of fun facts that jumped out in these stories:

- There are 350 shipwrecks in the Great Lakes over the years - that we know about
- Superior covers some 32,000 square miles - my home lake is the second largest in CO and is 11.5 square miles large
- It took a search team of scientists with highly sophisticated sonar more than 6 years to find the Edmund Fitzgerald, and they had meaningful intelligence in advance about its whereabouts
- No doubt, Lightfoot's song loop in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum becomes another "It's A Small World"

Lastly, my wife and I are looking at Tennessee waterways as a place to retire and avoid 5 months of hard water.

 

[nwcove]

great read sk!! but when i read the title i thought there was 2014 wrecks found!!

 

[southkogs]

great read sk!! but when i read the title i thought there was 2014 wrecks found!!

... totally missed that when I wrote it. Hysterical.

Moose, you're very correct. It's some amazing stuff when you start lookin' at it. During the great heydays of GL shipping there were some fantastic boats and incredible sailors.

Superior covers some 32,000 square miles

... and can at times be more dangerous than the Atlantic ever considered. Lives lost on the lakes are interesting to me. I've been at the Sailors Cathedral in Detroit when they've re-rung the bells for the Fitz' crew, and it really is moving. Men built impressive ships (c'mon, whalebacks are pretty cool), sailed in some nutty conditions (the Great Lakes in November are nothing to sneeze at) and some lost their lives.

... my wife and I are looking at Tennessee waterways as a place to retire and avoid 5 months of hard water.

Y'all come on. When you're ready, let me know and I'll give you some suggestions. I've been here 17 years and while Michigan will always have a special place in my affections, Tennessee is one of the most fantastic places on God's Earth. I'm really fortunate to live here.

 

[southkogs]

HERE's the best I can find on the Ann Arbor 4 and her ill-fated follies.

The part of the story that I have (somewhere) isn't mentioned in the article. Here's the "best of my memory" version:

The crew disembarks as the 4 bottoms in at Elberta, MI one of the men tries to work out how to get back home to Frankfort, Michigan. They get off the ship in the early morning hours of the 23rd in 1923, but none of them have anything with them. So this fella' trying to get back to Frankfort (not too far away) winds up hooking up with a road shoveling (snow) crew and working with them in order to get back home. Basically he shovels all evening and into the wee hours of the morning eventually walking the rest of the way back home. Getting in in the early hours of the morning, he opts to go meet his wife at her family's general store where she works during the mornings.

Just coming off a sinking ship, shoveling all night in the same clothes and essentially looking like death warmed over he stumbles into the store and sits down on the first chair. Here's the funny part: she walks in, sees him and immediately begins laying into him for his appearance and why he would think for a moment to come into the store looking so horrible! He should know better, etc., etc., ... we've all heard similar rebukes

... then, mid-tyrade, she picks up a bundle of newspapers that have been delivered bearing the headline: ANN ARBOR 4 sinks! That's when she realizes he SHOULD have been out on the lake, not here!

His quote in the article was that kept him from getting yelled at from her for almost three whole months.

 

[hungupthespikes]

Thanks for posting southkogs, nice read. I've lived around Lorain/lake Erie off and on for almost 50 years and love the stories of the great lakes. Up until about 7 years ago I'd never seen Lake Superior. That is one mean looking lake, mind you I'm in the UP Snowmobiling so it's the middle of winter. Still it's just plan scary, like the northern Atlantic.
Lake Erie looks like "your OK, you can always swim to land like an inland lake" not true, but that's the persona.
Lake Superior screams "you better be shipshape before you even think about leaving the dock.
huts

 

[moosehead]

^Ha! Thanks for the follow on the AA4, I'll attempt to use it on the Admiral next time I miss dinner and come in smelling like beer and fish.

While I surfed around looking for the AA4 story to no avail, I stumbled onto the fact that Superior also averages 40F water temp year-round, which helps create the weather effect and lake snow. Sheesh, and I thought our lake was cold. The chilly environs is also where the EF lyric came from "Lake Superior never gives up her dead" as evidently it is too cold to allow bacteria to decompose a body which normally causes it to be bouyant and more readily discoverable.

Ahoy Southkogs, you are a true southern gent and obviously relish your home port. So much so, I may take you up on your offer one day.

 

[southkogs]

Thank you for the compliment Moose. If I ever achieve the status of a true "southern gent" I'll consider it a life accomplishment.

All the talk about Superior got me lookin' at something: I agree with y'all she's a scary lake at times. Like many things in creation, you wind up in awe and fear at the same time. Kinda' like trying to get close to a white tiger. It's so beautiful you want to see and even touch, but you're always aware of the teeth. All of the lakes are pretty - Whitefish Point and Pictured Rocks on Superior, Sleeping Bear and Traverse on Michgian, Thunder Bay on Huron and Point Pelee on Erie are just a few of the cool spots - but each lake has it's own set of claws and they've all taken lives.

Over 6,000 known wrecks on the lakes (not all of them found) and over 30,000 lives lost. Which lake has claimed the most?

Honestly, I can't find that information. It looks to me from a few things that I have that Lake Erie has had the most boats go down on her, but the highest concentration of wrecks is actually in the vicinity of Thunder Bay on Lake Huron. Second to that (I think) is the track from Grand Marias to Whitefish Point on Lake Superior. But those are just concentrated areas, not raw numbers.

Anyone know which lake has the most wrecks?

 

[moosehead]

Looks like it might be Lake Michigan due to the sheer amount of traffic historically from ports in Chicago and Milwaukee: http://www.chicagolife.net That stretch of water on Superior around Whitefish Point is known as Graveyard of the Great Lakes and has been designated Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve. It also looks like some of these 600'+ "Iron Rangers" literally snapped in half while plying the trough between two massive wave peaks. Can't take 'em broadsides nor head on, tough hand dealt.

 

[hungupthespikes]

Nearly 30 years ago. I use to go out of the plant for lunch and would talk to a retired ore ship captain who was on Lake Superior when the Fitzgerald went down.
His theory on the sinking was:

The skipper of the EF (flagship of the fleet) refused to get behind the islands and run behind them till the weather cleared, Most, but not all, the other ships where doing this.
The great lakes waves run 150 feet apart...but every now and then there is no wave, regardless of the height of the waves. (they were reported in excess of 35 ft.)
The EF was lifted on just two of the monster storm waves 300 ft. apart and that either broke it's back and/or popped the hatches. Either one would sink her.

 

[southkogs]

... either broke it's back and/or popped the hatches.

I thought I remembered seeing a video of how someone thought it would go if she broke in two, but I can't find it now. I know the Fitz is sitting on the bottom in two pieces, the stern flipped over.

 

[hungupthespikes]

double post

 

[hungupthespikes]

Discovery channel.....45 min. long but great watch
Tells 3 theories of why she EF went down.

https://search.yahoo.com/search;_yl...&ei=UTF-8&p=history channel edmund fitzgerald

 

[southkogs]

The theory of the ship being swallowed by a big wave is pretty intense when you think about it ... wow!