Posted on 07/12/2005 10:32:15 AM PDT by nickcarraway
HOLLAND - A recent expedition by Holland-based Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates has led to the discovery of the final location of the Great Lakes passenger steamer S.S. Michigan, the remains of the car ferry Ann Arbor 5 and an unnamed barge.
The S.S. Michigan is one of MSRA's six most-sought-after shipwrecks and is the subject of a 2004 documentary called, "ICEBOUND! The Ordeal of the S.S. Michigan."
The S.S. Michigan sank on March 19, 1885, just four years after her launch.
The 30-man crew made it safely to shore after being stranded on the ice for 42 days.
MSRA board members Craig Rich, Valerie and Jack van Heest, Jan Miller and Ross Richardson teamed up with Great lakes shipwreck hunter David Trotter for the search in early June.
The vessel was found upright in more than 270 feet of water off Holland, making it a "technical dive" for experts only.
MSRA-affiliated scuba divers have made several deep dives to the wreck, beginning the process of documentation.
So far, they have seen the ship's massive anchors, the ship's wheel and the smokestack. Most intriguing, they located the capstan with the name "S.S. Michigan" and "Wyandotte, Michigan" inscribed on it. There is no doubt as to the identity of this shipwreck.
Built in 1881 as a sister ship to the S.S. Wisconsin by the Detroit Dry Dock Co. at Wyandotte for the Goodrich Transportation Co., the S.S. Michigan was a sturdy iron-hulled passenger steamer. She was 204 feet long and 35 feet wide, powered by a compound engine, which drove a single propeller.
The discovery of the Michigan came exactly one year after the team discovered an unnamed barge in the same general location.
Due to its clean condition and lack of equipment, this barge is believed to have been scuttled.
The site, off Holland, will make a fine technical-diver training location since it lies in 275 feet of water.
Earlier this year, a joint expedition between MSRA and Clive Cussler's National Underwater Marine Agency (NUMA) produced a number of interesting finds, but the location of Northwest Airlines Flight 2501 remains a mystery. The DC-4 airliner crashed into Lake Michigan off South Haven in 1950 with the loss of all 58 persons aboard.
Flight 2501 was en route from New York to Minneapolis when it encountered a severe thunderstorm late in the evening of June 23, 1950. Three crewmembers and 55 passengers perished in the disaster.
Ah, but the original Michigan shipwreck is Detroit!
On a similar note, in 1978 Ted Turner entered into the Chicago to Mackinac 333 mile race after his America's Cup victory. He downplayed the difficulty and his boat was demasted during the race due to the conditions. He raced it only once and supposedly stated it was far more difficult than sailing the open seas.
With a load of iron ore - 26,000 tons more Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed When the gales of November came early
The ship was the pride of the American side Coming back from some mill in Wisconson As the big freighters go it was bigger than most With a crew and the Captain well seasoned.
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms When they left fully loaded for Cleveland And later that night when the ships bell rang Could it be the North Wind they'd been feeling.
The wind in the wires made a tattletale sound And a wave broke over the railing And every man knew, as the Captain did, too, T'was the witch of November come stealing.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait When the gales of November came slashing When afternoon came it was freezing rain In the face of a hurricane West Wind
When supper time came the old cook came on deck Saying fellows it's too rough to feed ya At 7PM a main hatchway caved in He said fellas it's been good to know ya.
The Captain wired in he had water coming in And the good ship and crew was in peril And later that night when his lights went out of sight Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Does anyone know where the love of God goes When the words turn the minutes to hours The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay If they'd fifteen more miles behind her.
They might have split up or they might have capsized They may have broke deep and took water And all that remains is the faces and the names Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.
Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings In the ruins of her ice water mansion Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams, The islands and bays are for sportsmen.
And farther below Lake Ontario Takes in what Lake Erie can send her And the iron boats go as the mariners all know With the gales of November remembered.
In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral The church bell chimed, 'til it rang 29 times For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee Superior, they say, never gives up her dead When the gales of November come early.
© 1976 Moose Music, Inc.
I just read an article on the net about great lake ship wrecks. They said the preservation of the ships in freshwater was considerably better, especially in the deep cold frigid Great Lakes water.
Turner sailed the Fastnet that same summer where 15 sailors were klled and he still maintains that the Chi-Mac was the roughest race he had ever been in.
Get down. I love FR.
Speaking of the cook, I believe my brother's wife's uncle was that man. Is Kalmon the name?
From: http://info.detnews.com/history/story/index.cfm?id=114&category=events
Allen G. Kalmon, 43, second cook, Washburn, Wisconsin
My Mother-in-law tells the story of this man being a part-time bookkeeper for her parents dry cleaning business in Bayfield, WI. Just up Chequamegon Bay from Washburn. Don't know if true or not though.
I don't call it that.
not a problem, i do it all the time LOL
what do you call it then??, I call it one big big B**T A** cold lake
Where you in duluth in 85/86 when the Greek Saltie broak anchur and ran aground on Park Point, I can't remember the name.
I've wondered that myself, listening to this song.
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