The Bannockburn

Among the most famous Great Lakes ghost ships of the 20^th century is that of the Canadian-registered steel freighter Bannockburn, sometimes referred to as the “Flying Dutchman of the Great Lakes”.

Figure 1.1

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The Bannockburn left Fort William, Ontario, now the city of Thunder Bay, on November 20, 1902, with a load of 85,000 bushels of wheat, bound for Midland, Ontario located on Lake Huron’s Georgian Bay. As she began her fateful journey, she was spotted the next day between Isle Royale and the Keweenaw Peninsula by another freighter, the Algonquin. For the few minutes the Bannockburn was in sight, nothing seemed particularly out of the ordinary for the crew of the Algonquin. That was until the ship disappeared in the mist. The Algonquin’s captain, James McMaugh, initially believed the vessel may have sank suddenly when he glanced away, but later concluded the somewhat foggy conditions.

Figure 1.3

When the Bannockburn failed to appear at the locks of Sault Ste. Marie, a search party was organized to find the missing vessel. A fierce storm hit on the night of November 21, and many had feared that the ship had fallen victim to the fury of the waves. There were several reported sightings along Superior’s north shore, but none of them were true.

Several days later, on November 25, the steamer John D. Rockefeller discovered a debris field near Stannard Rock, indicating that the ship had sunk, certainly with all hands. A cork life jacket was found a month later washed up on a beach in Grand Marais. But the most damning piece of debris was an oar with a tarp wrapped around floating among the driftwood of the Canadian North Shore. Carved into the oar was the ship’s name, “BANNOCKBURN”.

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Even more ominously, the Bannockburn has continued to be spotted as soon as a year after being lost. Several sightings have been reported of the ship sailing past Caribou Island bound for the destination which she never reached. Some accounts have reported the vessel being covered in ice, giving it a ghostly white appearance.

As of today, no one knows how the Bannockburn was lost nor have her remains been discovered.

Figure 1.1Title: "'BANNOCKBURN' AND BARGE 'MINNEDOSIA' ENTERING HARBOR-PORT COLBURNE, ONT."Creator: Marine Historical Society of Detroit GallerySubject: "The Bannockburn"Description: "A photograph of the Bannockburn towing a barge into Port Colburne, part of a much bigger photograph"Coverage: "Port Colburne, Ont."Resource type: "Image"Format: "JPEG"Language: English Source: "http://linkis.com/www.mhsd.org/qu1lA"
Figure 1.2 Title: "BANNOCKBURN IN DRYDOCK"Creator: Maritime History of the Great LakesSubject: "The Bannockburn"Description: "A photograph of the Bannockburn at dry dock in Kingston,"Coverage: "Kingston, Ont."Resource type: "Image"Format: "JPEG"Language: English Source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bannockburn_in_drydock.jpg" originally from the defunct "http://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/63331/data"
Figure 1.3 Title: "BANNOCKBURN"Creator: Capt. Bud RobinsonSubject: "The Bannockburn"Description: "A painting depicting the Bannockburn on a stormy sea"Resource type: "Image"Format: "JPEG"Language: English Source: "http://marineimages.50megs.com/photo3_2.html"
Figure 1.4-1.5Title: "SHIPWRECKS"Creator: Ivan WaltonSubject: "Bannockburn note card"Description: "Written account of the disovery of one of the Bannockburn's oars on Superior's north shore"Resource type: "Image"Format: "JPEG"Language: English Source: "Bannockburn, Shipwrecks, Box 4, Ivan Walton Papers and Sound Recordings, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan. "

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