Lake Superior never gives up her dead, truer words were never spoken. For hundreds of years the lake called Gitchi Gumi has been claiming both cargo and lives. Constantly reminding people that Mother Nature is a tough Mistress. Many ships have been lost, the list is extremely long, to list them all in one article would be impossible.
For this article a variety of different ships will be included. Some are steel, while some are wood. Steam powered or rigged for wind with sails. During the past 150 years the ships running the Great Lakes have doubled, tripled, and quadrupled in size, power and capacity. With the majority of inter lake ore carriers being of the 1,000ft class these days, it’s only a matter of time before Mother Nature decides to add one to the collection in her graveyard.
Thomas Wilson: A Whaleback freighter, built in 1891 in Superior WI. Whaleback’s are a unique style of ship, looking more like a squat sausage with pointed ends. A rounded surface they look similar to a submarine. 308′ long with a beam of 38′ the Thomas Wilson was a steel hulled freighter. Propelled by steam from a coal fired boiler this ship only had 1200hp.
Operating for just over a year the Wilson was lost near the Duluth Harbor in June of 1902. Leaving port in clear weather the Wilson hadn’t yet closed her hatch covers when she collided with an inbound freighter. Sinking in about 3 minutes, she went down with 9 of her 20 man crew.
Samuel P. Ely: A three masted schooner, built in Detroit MI. Most remembered because of its involvement with the Iron Ore industry, the Ely was put to work hauling iron ore as soon as it was sea worthy. Launched in 1869, the Ely spent much of its time running between Escanaba MI, and Cleveland Ohio.
Later in her life she was more often towed as a barge behind the Sarah E. Sheldon. Eventually her sailing masts were removed relegating the wooden ship to cargo barge duty from that point on. In 1887 she was punctured and sunk in shallow water on Lake Erie. Re-floated she was repaired and returned to duty.
In 1896, while leaving Duluth, MN being towed by the Hesper, she had to be cut loose. Weather was such that the Hesper couldn’t manage it’s load. To survive she had to leave the Ely to fend for her self. Within a short time the Ely was into the rocks of the breakwater at Two Harbors MN. With heroic effort all crew members were rescued, but the 200′ ship was a total loss.
Hesper: Nine years later the Hesper met the same fate as the barge/schooner the Ely. A 60mph Northeaster drove her into the rocks at the edge of Silver Bay Harbor, about 25 miles north of where the Ely broke up. Luckily once again the crew was able to reach safety, just as the ship disintegrated.
Henry Steinbrenner: A 427′ iron ore carrier went down in 1953, during a late spring snow storm. With 75 mph winds 3 hatch covers blew off, by morning she was awash. Fourteen crew members were rescued from three life rafts, by other ships in the area.
USS Mesquite: The most recent sinking, she was sunk intentionally after running aground off the Keweenaw Peninsula on Dec. 4, 1989. The buoy tender was badly damaged in the grounding, and given up as lost after a storm pounded it beyond repair before it could be re-floated. The following summer it was scuttled in Bete Grise Bay in 100′ of water. Now it’s one of many wrecks available for divers to explore.
Edmond Fitzgerald: At 729′ in length, she was the longest to go down. Sunk near Whitefish Bay, she went down with a crew of 29 on November 10, 1975. The Big Fitz, as she was known, was originally a coal fired boat, but was converted to oil in 1971. Launched in 1958, she was plagued from the start. It took three swings before Mrs. Fitzgerald was able to break the champagne bottle over the bow. Considered a bad omen, it went from bad to worse as the boat was damaged upon hitting the dock while launching. Also during the event a spectator suffered a heart attack. During her 17 year career, the Fitz suffers 5 more collisions, and even lost her anchor in the Detroit river. Her demise came during a terrible November storm, possibly caused by rogue waves that had been reported in the area. Without warning she was overcome and sank, taking all hands down with her. Upon striking the bottom the ship broke into two sections, with the bow section landing upright, and the stern upside down close by.
As indicated at the top of this article, there are thousands of ship wrecks on the Great Lakes. To find more specific information about these ships and many more, be sure to read the full story at www.mnhs.org
Sailing the Great Lakes as a Merchant Marine is a life of adventure. There is no better scene then to be leaning back against the bulkhead in your chair on deck at the bow of this great monster . In the middle of the night, with a full moon as your only light. The water practically still as you slice through it in silence. Except for the low throb of the engine and propeller, located 1,000ft in the distance,at the stern of the boat. Working the boats is a wonderful experience, as long as Mother Nature is in a good mood. She can and will scare the hell out of you.
