1679 - An Ill-Fated Journey - Le Griffon

In early September, La Salle and the crew of Le Griffon sailed west from Michilimackinac into Lake Michigan and further southwest into Green Bay. There, on an island, he found the few members of his advance party who had remained loyal to him, discovering to his pleasure that they had acquired a small fortune in furs from their trade with the natives. La Salle then had these furs loaded into the cargo hold of Le Griffon and ordered a handful of his men to transport them to Fort Conti, asking the ship’s pilot to return to Lake Michigan as soon as the cargo was unloaded. Le Griffon departed on September 18th, 1679 just as a storm began to brew.

The vessel disappeared on her homeward voyage somewhere in the waters of Lakes Michigan, Huron, or Erie. Most assumed that the ship had foundered in a storm and was lost with all hands. This theory is supported by the discoveries of Albert Cullis, who manned the Mississagi Strait Lighthouse on Manitoulin Island in the 19th Century; in the late 1890s, Cullis reputedly discovered a watch chain, three 17th Century coins, and five human skeletons in and around a cave on Manitoulin Island. Le Griffon’s undiscovered wreck is considered today to be the Holy Grail of Great Lakes shipwreck hunters.

1874 - The Great Lakes Ghost Ship - Cornelia B. Windiate

Earned its nickname “The Great Lakes Ghost Ship” not because people on other vessels see the late-19th century schooner still sailing in foggy seas on Lake Huron, simply because it vanished one night in November 1875. The ship's crew of nine were never seen or heard from again. For years nothing was known about the Windiate nearly century after its disappearance divers found the ship in Lake Huron near Thunder Bay, standing upright in less than 200 feet of water and found with masts out and its cargo preserved in the cold water. 

Today the Windiate is in pristine condition, sitting upright in 185 feet of water. The three masts still stand with their rigging draped down through port and starboard deadeyes to an intact deck below. Thousands of bushels of wheat lie protected in sealed cargo holds, unusual for a sunken ship. A winding staircase, a stool, and a table are visible through the intact deck cabin windows; tangible artifacts that hint at life onboard a nineteenth-century canal schooner. The crew’s lifeboat, or yawl boat, rests silently alongside the starboard stern quarter.

The Windiate survives as a memorial to the crew and to the countless ships lost risking a November voyage on the Great Lakes. Deep water helps to protect the site from ice and storms, but challenges remain. Facing new perils from non-native mussels and increasing human activity, preserving the Windiate for the future will take the combined work of archaeologists, scientists, and divers.

1892 - Lost in the Fog - W.H. Gilcher 

Some excitement when the W.H. Gilcher was built in Cleveland in 1891. Gilcher was piloting an experimental steel hull. Excitement wouldn’t last very long. Year after it was built Gilcher while carrying a cargo of coal from Buffalo, New York, to Milwaukee the ship entered a cloud of fog while sailing through the Straits of mackinac. No one aboard the ship would ever be seen or heard from again. Some reports Gilcher has been seen since its physical appearance. The Steamer has been sailing through fog near Mackinac Island like it did on its fateful voyage in 1892. The same reports suggest that when the sunlight shines through the fog ships fog whistle sounds. 

SS W.H. Gilcher mysteriously disappeared at 2:20p.m on October 28, 1892 the ship sailed past Mackinaw, Michigan and was never seen again. Days later wreckage began to wash up on shores of the Manitou Islands. Bodies of two crewmen in life preservers were found on South Fox Island. No one knows what happened to W.H. Gilcher, a gale spread over lake Michigan, few ships around the island though they may have seen it in poor weather and dark night no one could say for sure. 

1892 - A Nightmare Come True - Western Reserve

Built of steel SS Western Reserve was faster, lighter, and could carry more cargo than other ships on the Great Lakes at the time. The fateful voyage across Lake Superior in August 1892 cracked it in half while moving through large waves. Twenty-two people on board including the captain's wife and three children barely escaped into two lifeboats before the ship sank. Shortly after being launched one lifeboat capsized two of its five occupants making it to the second lifeboat. The crew rowed for hours miles away from land lakes. Big waves tipped the lifeboat over throwing all nineteen people into the water. Only one solitary survivor made it to the beach. 

August night 1892 Benjamin Truedell woke from a sound sleep he had a nightmare he dreamt that the Western Reserve a Cleveland-built steamer sister ship of the W.H. Gilcher had sunk in Lake Superior. It was true the Western Reserve, sailing across Lake Superior, with the owner Peter Minch aboard sank its mast collapsed onto its deck then fell beneath the dark Lake Superior seas sixty miles offshore taking twenty-six of the twenty-seven occupants with it. Some say they still see Reserve sailing the seas of Lake Superior. Some reports of voices and laughter can be heard when the ship is in sight on the largest of the Great Lakes. 

1902 - The Flying Dutchman of Lake Superior - Bannockburn

On a snowy November evening in 1902, the SS Bannockburn vanished on Lake Superior with its crew of twenty-one. The wreck and crew have never been recovered, though since that fateful day this steamship acquired quite the reputation. An apparition of this ghost ship can often be seen during icy Lake Superior storms by many sailors. Some even claimed to see skeletons on deck. It became known as the “Flying Dutchman” of the Great Lakes.

In the experience of Clare Pioneer High School students learning about shipwrecks, weather phenomena, legends, and lore is interesting, but these ideas merely provide a spark for further exploration. The team envisioned much more for themselves as they investigated and researched -- they had the itch to explore. 

They contacted the Alpena Shipwreck Museum in February 2023 and asked about the possibility of a private boat tour with the goal of viewing and capturing their own content. Students held their collective breath in anticipation of an emailed reply. When Daniel Moffet's, NOAA Education Specialist, email popped into their email box, he was thrilled to arrange a private tour at a discounted price! The team of Pioneer writers, technicians, and multimedia groups were invigorated. 

On May 9, 2023, we traveled the two-and-a-half-hour trek by van to the Alpena Shipwreck Museum in Alpena, Michigan. Upon our arrival, we met with the Resource Protection Coordinator, Stephanie Gandulla, and she was just as excited as we were to board the Lady Michigan for a glass-bottom viewing of three wrecks.

Upon boarding, she asked if we had time to venture a little further out than normal to see the Davidson. We did, and her excitement swelled, "That's terrific! We haven't been out to see that wreck in over a year! This is truly a special day for all of us. We can't wait!"

With that, we were off. The weather was perfect. The water was smooth. And students were beyond excited with the possibilities as Katie Mester, our student photographer, began snapping candid shots immediately.

The Monohansett

In late 1907, the wooden bulk freighter Monohansett sought refuge from Lake Huron’s nasty November weather in the lee of Thunder Bay Island. The crew and vessel were protected from the storm, but not from an engine room fire that quickly spread through the cargo vessel’s old wooden timbers.

The Monohansett burned to the waterline and today is one of the most popular sites in the sanctuary. Readily accessible by kayakers, snorkelers, and divers of all abilities, a visit to the Monohansett often provides sanctuary users with their first shipwreck experience. In June 2011 a glass bottom boat will begin taking a new type of adventurer out for their first shipwreck encounter.

Just 500 feet west of Thunder Bay lighthouse, and in only 18 feet of water, the Monohansett is exposed to immutable forces of waves and ice. The bow is missing and the remaining wreckage is broken into three large pieces. The 4-foot diameter boiler reaches to within ten feet of the water’s surface with the openings to its steel drums exposed and the once-powerful steel propeller sits upright on the limestone lake bottom.

The James Davidson

Over 200 feet long, James Davidson was among the first of its ship type and a giant in its day. On one of its first trips, it loaded 110,000 bushels of oats at Chicago, the largest load carried on the Great Lakes at the time. After a relatively short career, it met its end on Lake Huron while towing the consort barge Middlesex from Buffalo, New York, to Duluth, Minnesota. James Davidson ran onto the southeastern tip of Thunder Bay Island in hazy weather, severely damaging its hull and becoming a total loss. The wreck has broken up over time and today the two largest remaining pieces are the hull and bilge sections. The engine and boiler were salvaged not long after it stranded.

The William P. Rend

Just 1.5 miles north of the Thunder Bay River mouth rests the nearly intact remains of a huge barge, William P. Rend. Built in 1888, the William P. Rend was among the largest wooden freighters on the Great Lakes. It worked for decades hauling bulk cargo such as coal, iron, and limestone.

On September 22, 1917, William P. Rend made its last run. Loaded with crushed limestone, the behemoth sprang a leak and quickly sank in 17 feet of water. No lives were lost, but attempts to refloat the barge failed and it was abandoned. Stretching the length of a football field, William P. Rend invites divers, snorkelers, and paddlers to explore a marvel of naval engineering. Its heavily built wooden sides nearly reach the lake surface, and iron bands that reinforce the massive hull crisscross the wreck. Near the stern, a boiler is toppled over on its side with other machinery. Willliam P. Rend's cargo, still within its massive holds, can be seen from the surface.

The Lady Michigan and her crew conduct tours with upwards of seventy guests. On this day, she hosted twelve of us for an unforgettable boat tour of three of the magnificently preserved shipwrecks Thunder Bay has to offer. We were witnesses to history in real-time. We dove deep into a discussion about wrecks, weather, preservation, and marine archeology with Stephanie Gulland. The captain of the Lady Michigan even invited us to join him in the pilot house of the Lady Michigan -- something he admitted never happens -- and, at one point invited a seasick student, Cierra Baldridge, to pilot the ship to help get her sea legs back under her. It worked! It all worked. 

Our Clare Pioneer High School expedition to Thunder Bay was an overwhelming success. Students walked off the Lady Michigan with a newfound admiration of the waters off the coast of Michigan.