An
unrelenting fury is often unleashed upon the unsuspecting sailors as they
embark on a treacherous and often unpredictable journey across the vast waters
of Lake Superior. Lake Superior has
been known to be one of the most dangerous of the Great Lakes. Lake Superior never gives up its dead when
the gales of November come calling. Words from a Gordon Lightfoot song depicting
the story about the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald in November of 1975. Throughout
history many
sailors and passengers lost their lives on the perilous waters of the mighty
Lake Superior.
Many shipwrecks in Lake Superior are
now being protected in underwater preserves and are accessible to recreational
divers. A glass bottom boat in Munising, Michigan provides viewing of some of
the shipwrecks off the coast near Munising. At Whitefish Point the oldest
active lighthouse on Lake Superior exists. It was constructed at the order of
President Lincoln. Lighthouses pepper the coast of Lake Superior. Interested parties have conducted research
and told the stories of over 300 vessels lost since the beginning of American
shipping in 1835. Approximately two dozen ships have mysteriously disappeared.
Does Lake Superior have a Bermuda triangle?
The first French explorers approaching the great inland
sea by way of the Ottawa River and Lake Huron referred to their discovery as le
lac superieur which properly translated, the expression means "Upper
Lake," that is, the lake above Lake Huron. Kitchi-gummi, a Chippewa Indian
translation, signifies Great-water or Great-lake.
Lake Superior is the largest of the
Great Lakes and it could contain all the other Great Lakes plus three more
lakes the size of Lake Erie. Many rivers and streams flow into the lake from
Canada and the U.S. The length is 350 miles and the breadth is 160 miles. The
average depth is 483 feet and the maximum depth is 1,332 ft. Shoreline length
is 2,726 miles. The Lake Superior drainage basin is rich in natural reserves
and the beauty of the lake and its surrounding land masses are of spectacular
beauty. The land is sparsely populated and it is economically dependent on its
natural bounties. These resources include metals, minerals, forests, and
recreational opportunities such as the national/state/provincial parks. It is
known to be one of the largest fresh water lake in the world and is also known
for its clear and old water along with its agate covered beaches.
Because of its vastness and the
stormy weather in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Minnesota and Canada,
notable and horrific shipwrecks and daring rescues have occurred throughout the
shipping seasons on Lake Superior. The most numerous wrecks occurred off the
Keweenaw Peninsula in Upper Michigan, at ports, and in the lake surround Isle
Royale. No roadways existed back in the 1800s. Much of the transportation was
carried out over the waterways. During the shipping seasons, cargo and
passengers were transported across Lake Superior.
The earliest sailing on these vast
waters occurred many centuries ago and in dugout canoes that were operated by
Native American people. In the 1600s and 1700s the fur traders came with their
Montreal canoes or Mackinac boats. During the late 1700s fur-trading schooners
made their appearance on the Great Lakes. These vessels were owned by the French
or the Northwesters of Montreal. It appears that the canoeing record surpassed
the other vessels as far as safety. There were only a few instances in which
canoes were sunk and lives were lost.
In 1835 the American Fur Company
assembled the 78-foot wooden schooner John
Jacob Astor at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. This vessel served the fur trade
on Lake Superior and developing settlements for approximately nine years. It
was lost at Copper Harbor in Upper Michigan in September 1844. There were no
deaths.
During the decade of the 1870s,
vessel travel at Sault Ste. Marie doubled. Cargoes of iron ore and copper were
transported to the East along with lumber. More than two dozen vessels expired
as a result of significant gales in
November of 1872. These gales produced monumental changes for Lake Superior
navigation. The port at Duluth was destroyed and the wooden sidewheeler John A. Dix and Saturn were badly damaged near Whitefish Point. The crew of the Saturn lost their lives, 15 lives were
lost.
The shipping industry increased its
business when it entered the 1900s. The tonnage traveling across the waters of
Lake Superior tripled. Many ships did not make it. The death toll was at 250
and 80 ships were lost in the deep waters. Among the disasters was the Hudson of the Western Transit Line. The
288-foot vessel capsized near Eagle River, Michigan on September 16, 1901 and
24 lost their lives. Another catastrophe occurred when a 262-foot steel grain
boat called the Ira H. Owen, the only
steel steamer to be sunk by the hurricane of November 27-29, 1905. The
hurricane stranded 18 ships and sank one. Some of the stranded vessels were
completely destroyed and there was a total of 31 deaths due to this storm.
There was a mystery disappearance of
the 468-foot steel ship D. M. Clemson
on November 30, 1908 which was lost west of Whitefish Point. The ship was only
five years old and it belonged to the Provident Steamship Company of Duluth.
The ship seemed to just fade away. Only two bodies were ever recovered and to
this day the ship’s demise is still a mystery. The loss of $330,000 was the
highest amount lost for an American ship on Lake Superior up until that time.
Marine safety was on the rise with
vast improvements since 1930 on Lake Superior. Only 17 major ships have been
lost due to various causes along with a few fishing crafts. The amount of
deaths reached 95, 81 were sailors and the rest commercial fishermen or
sailboat operators. Stricter qualifications were enforced for officers and
other improvements, such as better aids to navigation, improvement of
communication, and the technological advancements in electronics, better
equipment and more costly and better built ships and the more stringent
monitoring by the coast guard from Canada and the U.S.
Over the last 40 years the loss of
ships went down considerably. Only four ships were lost and several others were
near misses. One of the major disasters was when the 525-foot steel iron ore
carrier Emperor of Canada Steamship
Lines crashed into the Canoe Rocks near the northwest end of Isle Royale due to
poor visibility on the morning of June 4, 1947. The death toll was at 12
Canadian sailors who drowned. However, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Kimball was only four miles away and
came to their rescue after an SOS was sent. The rescuers saved the 21 Canadian
sailors who were clinging to rocks or sinking lifeboats. The ship broke in two
and was considered a total loss.
One of the most famous ship wrecks was
the 729-foot steel ore carrier Edmund
Fitzgerald Captain was faced with a horrific storm with hurricane winds on
November 10, 1975. All of the crew of 29 men died and the $8 million dollar
ship was lost forever. The ship was discovered to be broken in three places
down at the bottom of the lake only 17 miles from Whitefish Point. Many
investigators continue to argue about what caused the sinking of such a grand
ship. The Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point and the Valley Camp Museum in
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan provide visitors with information about the sinking
of this ship and the people who were on board the ship.
Lake Superior serves as a grave yard
for many lost ships throughout the shipping industry history of the Great
Lakes. Many people have conducted research and have written stories about the
various shipping disasters. Lake Superior is a large fresh water lake with many
lighthouses peppering its coast. The lake expands from Michigan to Minnesota
and borders parts of Canada. Steps have been taken to prevent further accidents
and losses, however, Mother Nature can still stir up things unexpectedly.
References
Marshall, J. (2005). Shipwrecks of Lake Superior. Duluth, Minnesota: Lake Superior Port
Cities, Inc.
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