https://www.shipwreckworld.com/articles/pioneer-wreckhunter-finds-lake-michigan-passenger-steamer-lost-for-130-years
EXCERPT: Pioneer Illinois Shipwreck Hunter and Scuba Diver Paul Ehorn is pleased to announce the discovery of one of Lake Michigan’s most sought-after missing ships.
The passenger steamer Lac La Belle had been missing in the depths of Lake Michigan since a stormy night in October of 1872. Ehorn located her upright, intact hull almost 150 years to the day after her loss. ... Many other wreck hunters had searched for the Lac La Belle, but the location of her sinking was poorly known, leaving a large search grid. In 2022, fellow wreck hunter and maritime historian Ross Richardson found a new historical clue that narrowed the grid down significantly.
Armed with the information Ehorn and his partner Bruce Bittner set out with Ehorn’s Klein sidescan sonar prepared for a long search. About two hours in on only their second pass, a large object crawled across the screen. They immediately turned around and viewed it at higher resolution, showing the unmistakable hogging arches of the Lac La Belle. “It was a moment of real jubilation” exclaimed Ehorn. “We knew we had done it.”
The wreck’s distance from shore and poor weather prevented Ehorn from examining the wreck for almost two years. Eventually Ehorn, who is now 80 years old, recruited divers John Janzen and John Scoles to dive and film the deep wreck. They were able to film the massive 217-foot ship, which is remarkably intact considering her violent end. “Although her superstructure is blown off, you can see all of her wooden framing and some of her cargo is visible,” stated Ehorn.
Ehorn’s plans for the wreck include creating a 3D photogrammetry model that will record the condition and layout of the wreck in detail before he releases the location.
Showing posts with label shipwreck. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shipwreck. Show all posts
4/22/25
WRECKAGE OF THE WESTERN RESERVE FOUND IN LAKE SUPERIOR BY MARINE SONIC TECHNOLOGY : UNDISCOVERED FOR 132 YEARS
There was one survivor...
Excerpt:
The Great Lakes can be more dangerous than the oceans
The Great Lakes have claimed thousands of ships since the 1700s. Perhaps the most famous is the Edmund Fitzgerald, an ore carrier that got caught in a storm in November 1975 and went down off Whitefish Point within 100 miles of the Western Reserve. All hands were killed. The incident was immortalized in the Gordon Lightfoot song, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”
Assistant Wisconsin State Climatologist Ed Hopkins said that storm season on the lakes begins in November, when warm water meets cold air and winds blow unimpeded across open water, generating waves as high as 30 feet. The lakes at that time can be more dangerous than the oceans because they’re smaller, making it harder for ships to out-maneuver the storms, he said.
NBC NEWS : EXPLORERS FIND WRECKAGE OF SHIP "WESTERN RESERVE"
Excerpt: The brothers towed a side-scanning sonar array behind their ship. Side sonar scans starboard and port, providing a more expansive picture of the bottom than sonar mounted beneath a ship. About 60 miles northwest of Whitefish Point on the Upper Peninsula, they picked up a line with a shadow behind it in 600 feet of water. They dialed up the resolution and spotted a large ship broken in two with the bow resting on the stern.
4/19/25
LAKE SUPERIOR IS THE RESTING PLACE OF OVER 350 SHIPS
MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY - LAKE SUPERIOR SHIP WRECKS
Excerpt: Of the estimated 10,000 shipwrecks in the Great Lakes region, only about 350 of them are located in Lake Superior. Of those, about 50 wrecks are presumed to be within Minnesota waters. Most of Minnesota's shipwreck history can be found in Lake Superior. Many wrecks have been located, but at least half lay undiscovered.In an effort to aid in the safe navigation of the often-treacherous waters, the U.S. Lighthouse Service erected lighthouses in key locations throughout the Great Lakes region. Split Rock Lighthouse was built in response to the great winter gale of November 1905 that claimed 36 lives and disabled or destroyed 29 ships.
Siren here! The SS Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank in 1975 - recent history - may be the most famous. Read this site and learn about some of the ships that sank during the Industrial Revolution. Many sunken ships have never been located!
11/15/22
18th CENTURY SHIP - HMS ENDEAVER - CAPTAIN COOK'S SUNKEN SHIP FOUND! NEWPORT HARBOR
DAILY MAIL : CAPTAIN COOK'S SUNKEN SHIP FOUND!
250 years have gone by but what remains of the HMS Endeaver has been found in NewPort Harbor. the Australian National Maritime Museum people accept that this is the ship. This article from February 2022 has some wonderful photos and graphics such as the ship's route.
Excerpt: Originally lauched in 1764 as the Eart of Pembroke, the ship was renamed Endeavour in 1768 by Britain's Royal Navy and prepared for a major scientific voyage to the Pacific.
From 1768 to 1771 Endeavor sailed the South Pacific, primarily to record the transit of Venus in Tahiti in 1769.
Cook then sailed it around the South Pacific searching for 'the Great Southern Land' charting the coast of New Zealand and Australia's eastern coastline before claiming the land for Great Britain on August 22, 1770.
10/17/22
THAT ICEBERG THAT SUNK THE TITANIC WOULD HAVE MELTED AWAY...
SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE : THE ICEBERG THAT SUNK THE TITANIC The story article begins with an explanation of SNOWFLAKES and SNOW FALL... How ICEBERGS form... and how little was known about icebergs back when the Titanic collided with one that might have only lasted a few more weeks of cold ocean.
Excerpt: When the Titanic sank in 1912, it plunged an astounding two and a half miles and hit the seafloor at more than thirty miles per hour. The ship's ocean grave was so remote that its location remained a mystery until 1985, when a team that had the benefit of government-developed submarines and deep-water crafts was able to take some blurry snapshots. It took seventy-tree years, almost an entire human lifespan, to find the most illustrious and fascinating shipwreck of all time.
3/28/16
SHIPWRECKS - HURRICANES - AND TREE RINGS : WHAT WE CAN LEARN ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE
WASHINGTON POST - ANCIENT SHIPWRECKS - CLIMATE CHANGE
EXCERPT:
To study shipwrecks, the new research drew upon historical records of no less than 657 wrecks of Spanish ships in the Caribbean between 1495 and 1825 — a period that started just after Columbus’s first expedition to the new world. All of the storms that were inferred to have wrecked these ships occurred prior to the earliest year in today’s official Atlantic hurricane database, which is kept by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and begins in 1851.... But to strengthen the analysis, the researchers also cross-referenced the shipwreck history with data from the rings of pine trees growing in the Florida Keys, which can also provide a record of hurricane history.
EXCERPT:
To study shipwrecks, the new research drew upon historical records of no less than 657 wrecks of Spanish ships in the Caribbean between 1495 and 1825 — a period that started just after Columbus’s first expedition to the new world. All of the storms that were inferred to have wrecked these ships occurred prior to the earliest year in today’s official Atlantic hurricane database, which is kept by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and begins in 1851.... But to strengthen the analysis, the researchers also cross-referenced the shipwreck history with data from the rings of pine trees growing in the Florida Keys, which can also provide a record of hurricane history.
5/24/14
HAS COLUMBUS' SHIP THE SANTA MARIA WRECK FOUND OFF HAITI?
WASHINGTON POST : SHIPWRECK OFF HAITI - SANTA MARIA inc video
Off the northern coast of Haiti and in only 10 to 15 feet of water...1492...a 15th century cannon.
"Explorer Barry Clifford said evidence that the wreck is the Santa Maria, which struck a reef and foundered on Christmas Day in 1492, includes ballast stones that appear to have come from Spain or Portugal and what looks like a 15th century cannon that was at the site during an initial inspection but has since disappeared." ... "Kevin Crisman, director of the Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation at Texas A&M University, said many Spanish ships sunk off Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and it will be difficult to confirm that this is the Santa Maria. The ship sank slowly in 1492 and the crew had time to strip it and remove valuable items that would help document the identity of the vessel."
Off the northern coast of Haiti and in only 10 to 15 feet of water...1492...a 15th century cannon.
"Explorer Barry Clifford said evidence that the wreck is the Santa Maria, which struck a reef and foundered on Christmas Day in 1492, includes ballast stones that appear to have come from Spain or Portugal and what looks like a 15th century cannon that was at the site during an initial inspection but has since disappeared." ... "Kevin Crisman, director of the Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation at Texas A&M University, said many Spanish ships sunk off Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and it will be difficult to confirm that this is the Santa Maria. The ship sank slowly in 1492 and the crew had time to strip it and remove valuable items that would help document the identity of the vessel."
1/25/14
SHIPWRECK "FROLIC" FOCUS OF ANTHROPOLOGY MUSEUM - CAL STATE CHICO
INTO THE BLUE MUSEUM EXHIBIT - SHIPWRECKS
"Into the Blue" is centered on the story of the Frolic that went down following a voyage from China to deliver luxury goods along the coast of Gold Rush-era California. Its captain, E.H. Faucon, working with outdated maps unknowingly steered the ship into Mendocino's treacherous coast. None of the ship's crew were lost, but its contents of silks, ginger jars and bottles of champagne were scattered among the waves."
"Into the Blue" is centered on the story of the Frolic that went down following a voyage from China to deliver luxury goods along the coast of Gold Rush-era California. Its captain, E.H. Faucon, working with outdated maps unknowingly steered the ship into Mendocino's treacherous coast. None of the ship's crew were lost, but its contents of silks, ginger jars and bottles of champagne were scattered among the waves."
7/29/10
SHIPWRECK NEWS HMS INVESTIGATOR found in WESTER ARTIC after 150 YEARS
"Canadian archeologists have found a ship abandoned more than 150 years ago in the quest for the fabled Northwest Passage and which was lost in the search for the doomed expedition of Sir John Franklin, the head of the team said Wednesday.
Marc-Andre Bernier, Parks Canada's head of underwater archaeology, said the HMS INVESTIGATOR, abandoned in the ice in 1853, was found in shallow water in Mercy Bay along the northern coast of Banks Island in Canada's western Arctic.
"The ship is standing upright in very good condition. It's standing in about 11 meters (36 feet) of water," he said. "This is definitely of the utmost importance. This is the ship that sailed the last leg of the Northwest Passage."
LINK TO THIS BREAKING STORY - and the story about the route across the sea!
Marc-Andre Bernier, Parks Canada's head of underwater archaeology, said the HMS INVESTIGATOR, abandoned in the ice in 1853, was found in shallow water in Mercy Bay along the northern coast of Banks Island in Canada's western Arctic.
"The ship is standing upright in very good condition. It's standing in about 11 meters (36 feet) of water," he said. "This is definitely of the utmost importance. This is the ship that sailed the last leg of the Northwest Passage."
LINK TO THIS BREAKING STORY - and the story about the route across the sea!
9/7/09
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