NOVEMBER: THE DEADLIEST MONTH ON THE GREAT LAKES
*this is a copy of a social media campaign we did in 2024 featuring November shipwrecks in Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
*this is a copy of a social media campaign we did in 2024 featuring November shipwrecks in Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Facebook post from 11/3/24
But we can’t just blame the weather.
Other factors contributed to a higher frequency of lost ships, and unfortunately lost lives, this time of year. At least 20 vessels were lost in just Thunder Bay!
We are exploring it all in our NOVEMBER WRECKS social media focus for the rest of the month. Follow along to honor their stories, lives, and place in history.
Facebook post from 11/6/24
This historic photo is of the James H. Hall, a wooden three-masted schooner that ran into a stone crib when it swerved while trying to enter the Thunder Bay River on November 6th of 1916.
However, if you look for it there today you won’t find it.
In 1989, a local historic preservation group refloated the craft to a safer location, in front of the Alpena Yacht Club. If you were to explore the wreck today you’d find it consists of a lightly constructed lower bilge that runs 56 feet and the bow is entirely absent due to previous dredging. The Hall remains are in about seven feet of water.
Historic image of James H. Hall. Image courtesy of: Great Lakes Maritime Collection, Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library
James Hall
Facebook post from 11/7/24
This is a photo of the Kyle Spangler which rests in 180 feet of water today.
On November 7, 1860 off the Presque Isle coast, the schooner Racine collided with the Spangler and sent the vessel, full of corn, to the bottom of Lake Huron. The crewmen were taken safely onboard the RACINE. The remains of the Spangler are relatively undamaged except for the bow.
This two-masted wooden schooner sailed the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes. It was not discovered until 2003 and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Kyle Spangler
Facebook post from 11/8/24
We’ve got to talk about chickens and cars with this wreck!
But first a little history….
Four huge barges were constructed in 1895 for the Lake Michigan Car Ferry Barge Company to carry rail cars from Peshtigo, Wisconsin to Chicago. They were simply named NO. 1, NO. 2, NO. 3, and NO.4. Barge No. 1 ended up being sold and used for carrying other types of freight in the Great Lakes.
Fast forward to November 8th, 1918, when Barge No. 1 ran into a reef near Thunder Bay’s North Point and began breaking up and eventually sank. Shortly after, there were reports of crates filled with live chickens washing ashore on Thunder Bay Island….and subsequently an increase in chicken dinners.
Barge No 1 sonar scan
Facebook post from 11/10/24
Please remember the 28 souls who were lost during the sinking of the Isaac M. Scott on this day in 1913. They were caught in what has come to be known as the wickedest storm to ever hit the Great Lakes.
“No lake master can recall in all his experience a storm of such unprecedented violence with such rapid changes in the direction of the wind and its gusts of such fearful speed.” – Lake Carriers Association, 1913
The 504-foot long freighter was carrying coal to Milwaukee when it sailed into a white hurricane. Two major storms converged to produce blinding snow squalls, 35-foot-high waves, and 90 mph wind gusts. The massive ship rolled over and sank just east of Thunder Bay.
Today, as you can see from this video, it rests upside down in 180 feet of water.
The Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center, the visitor center for TBNMS, has an exhibit telling the story of the Isaac M Scott as well as a model of the 1909 freighter. Visiting is always free and the center is open seven days a week. We invite you to explore.
Facebook post from 11/12/24
“Fire! Fire! Cut the Messenger free!”
This was the cry heard when the propeller-driven steam barge Messenger met its end on this November day in 1890.
Docked in Rogers City, the 24-year-old steamer awaited departure as the crew finished dinner. Suddenly a massive fire erupted from the smokestack. An inferno, fueled by the cedar posts that filled the steamer’s holds, quickly engulfed the ship as the crew fled to safety. The crew cut the ship’s lines from the pier to prevent the flames from spreading to the dock and nearby piles of lumber.
Safe on shore, they watched Messenger relentlessly burn as it drifted miles out into Lake Huron. The vessel came to rest in 194 feet of water, four miles from the harbor.
Not surprisingly, most of the steamer’s upper hull and deck cabins are gone, having burned all the way to the waterline. The lower hull is intact, and divers can easily see signs of the damage caused by the fire.
Messenger
Facebook post from 11/13/24
130 YEARS AGO TODAY….
On November 13, 1894, the steamer John F. Eddy towed the massive 217-foot schooner John L. Shaw across Lake Huron. Headed for Chicago with a load of coal, the ships encountered a blinding snowstorm off Harrisville. The tow line between the two ships parted and the helpless Shaw began taking on water. The crew abandoned ship and drifted in their lifeboat for several hours before being rescued by a passing steamer. The violent storm claimed Shaw.
The wreck was located a few years later by a wrecking company, though planned recovery never happened. The wreck was forgotten until July 2007, when local fisherman John Gauthier stumbled across the site while setting nets. Located about seven miles from shore in 130 feet of water, the remains of the lost schooner offer an incredible opportunity for recreational divers. While the vessel’s enormous hull stands nearly intact, the schooner’s starboard side has fallen away and rests flat on the bottom.
John L Shaw
Facebook post from 11/15/24
On November 15, 1863, the two-masted schooner William H. Stevens ran aground on the rocks between Bird and Scarecrow Islands in Thunder Bay. In attempt to save the vessel, Stevens‘ crew threw 5,000 bushels of the cargo of wheat overboard. It didn’t help.
The steamer Parsons departed from Presque Isle and unsuccessfully attempted to free the schooner from the rocks. Again, it was an unsuccessful attempt.
Stevens‘ crew eventually stripped and abandoned the vessel, seeking safety on the mainland by small boat.
Today, the 117-foot shipwreck rests in just 10 feet of water, easily accessible to paddlers, snorkelers, and divers.
To learn more (and see more images) about the Stevens, head over to:
William H Stevens
Facebook post from 11/16/24
Carrying 418 tons of pig iron, the 183-foot steamer Portsmouth ran aground on Middle Island during a November 1867 storm. The wrecking steamer Magnet tried to salvage the cargo, valued at $16,000, but Portsmouth was encased in ice.
The ship’s owners recovered nearly all the cargo and machinery from Portsmouth the next June. They surrendered its final enrollment at Buffalo in August, leaving the ship to the elements and Lake Huron.
Portsmouth’s wreckage is located offshore of the Middle Island Life-Saving Station. Visitors will find the stern and a section of the ship’s keelson, or backbone, along with the engine mounts, and inner and outer hull planking. The shallow depth and crystal-clear water make Portsmouth an ideal place for paddlers, snorkelers, or divers to explore.
Portsmouth
Facebook post from 11/19/24
On Saturday night, November 19, 1966, Nordmeer was traveling to Chicago from Hamburg, Germany, with a cargo of 990 coils of steel destined for Milwaukee. It was the ocean-going vessel’s first freshwater voyage.
The night was clear. About seven miles north of Thunder Bay Island, the “salty” turned inside the flashing buoy marking Thunder Bay Shoal. With a shudder, its steel hull bumped to a stop, caught by the unforgiving rocks. Within seconds, all five of the cargo holds and the engine room flooded. The ship quickly settled to the bottom. The captain and seven crew members remained on the Nordmeer to supervise salvage operations.
A week later, as the ship was battered by 50-mile-per-hour winds and 22-foot waves, a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter team pulled the crew from the sinking ship. Area divers salvaged the valuable cargo and removed the fuel from the deteriorating ship.
Much of Nordmeer remained above water for decades before waves and ice finally ripped the steel ship apart. A red and white vent seen in the riverside dog park in downtown Alpena is one of many pieces salvaged from Nordmeer.
More artifacts can be viewed at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center. The center is open seven days a week and always free admission. Visitors can step aboard a life-size replica schooner, explore the bottom of a recreated shipwreck, watch films in the theater, and learn about many of the shipwrecks within the 4,300 square miles of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
Nordmeer
Facebook post from 11/20/24
We recruited a maritime archeologist to bring to life today’s shipwreck anniversary.
Press play to learn about the EB ALLEN that sank 153 years ago today after a collision. Thankfully no lives were lost.
Andrea Yoxsimer of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, talks about what it is like to dive on a wreck like this and how a tool called photogrammetry is bringing wrecks to life for more and more people.
PS – Andi (as she goes by) grew up in the Nevada desert and most recently spent two years in the South Pacific on the NOAA research vessel RAINIER. She started at TBNMS in May and says one of the reasons she applied for the position is because the shipwrecks here are well-known in the diving world due to the high level of preservation and ship diversity.
Facebook post from 11/21/24
We remember not only the ship W.C. Franz, but even more so the four lives lost 90 years ago today when this freighter was struck on the port side by another freighter named Edward E Loomis.
These ships were traveling well out into Lake Huron, with Harrisville being the closest port, through a heavy fog when the collision happened. Brief radio messaging from the Franz told of the incident and an urgent order to get to the lifeboats. Thankfully, some crew members were rescued by the LOOMIS.
Today the Franz rests at a depth of 230 feet in the southern part of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
Discover “shipwreck alley” at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center in Alpena. Open seven days a week.
W. C. Franz
: underwater photography by Mel ClarkFacebook post from 11/23/24
On the night of November 23, 1907, the freighter Monohansett hid behind Thunder Bay Island to avoid gale-force winds sweeping across Lake Huron. Shortly after 10pm, alarms sounded when one of the crew members reported fire. An oil lantern had tipped over, and a blaze quickly spread. It was the crew’s worst nightmare—the Monohansett’s old timbers were primed for burning, and the ship was loaded with 900 tons of highly flammable coal. The freighter became a furnace, and the crew had no choice but to abandon ship.
Tragedy was averted thanks to the daring crew of the Thunder Bay Island Life-Saving Station. Seeing the ship ablaze, the lifesavers swiftly rescued the crew. Had the freighter been on the open lake, many would have perished in Lake Huron’s cold November waters. The ship’s only lifeboat, a small yawl, would not have held all 12 crew members.
Monohansett is one of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary’s most popular shipwreck sites to visit. Today, the wreck rests in clear, shallow water just off Thunder Bay Island. It is regularly visited by divers, snorkelers, swimmers, paddlers, and boaters, all of which come to see its wooden hull, boilers, and machinery.
Alpena Shipwreck Tours offers glass bottom boat and kayak tours May through October (weather pending) that take many guests over the Monohansett and other wrecks. Stop in the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center to get more information and tour the exhibits featuring many other wrecks within the sanctuary.
Monohansett
Facebook post from 11/24/24
These are some of the remains of the Harvey Bissel that met its fate in Thunder Bay on this day in 1905.
This sturdy schooner went through many changes during the four decades that it sailed the Great Lakes. Originally rigged as a barkentine, it was made a three-masted schooner in 1874, and later cut down to a two-masted towbarge.
Like most of its contemporaries, the ship suffered many accidents during its long career. At age 39, the Harvey Bissel was wrecked for the last time between Thunder Bay Island and Presque Isle. Three weeks later it was salvaged and towed to Alpena to be dismantled and abandoned in the outer harbor.
The ship’s remains lie in the shallows of Thunder Bay in an area some refer to as the boneyard.
Facebook post from 11/25/24
On this day in 1909 the wooden steam barge Oscar T Flint caught fire in Thunder Bay and burned to the water line. The start of the fire is unknown according to a historic article from The Alpena News shared here, but thankfully all of the crew was able to escape and later rescued by the crew from the Thunder Bay Island Light Saving station. The article also references the sight from shore while the whole ship was ablaze.
A year after the sinking, dynamite was used to flatten the wreck since it went down in a main shipping lane used to get into Thunder Bay River and the port of Alpena.
Even after 3,000 pounds of dynamite, the Oscar T Flint is still a great site to dive and explore. It rests just 30 feet below the surface.
View more photos at:
Facebook post from 11/26/24
By the 1840s, tens of thousands of settlers arrived yearly in Buffalo, New York, in search of passage and opportunities further west. Fast, reliable and often opulent steamers, such as the sidewheeler Albany, carried these passengers across the Great Lakes to rapidly growing cities such as Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee and Chicago.
On November 26, 1853, a gale swept Lake Huron and drove Albany ashore as it struggled toward refuge in Presque Isle Harbor. After surviving a harrowing night of fierce wind and waves, the nearly 200 passengers and crew were rescued by local boats. Salvage efforts, winter ice, and storms eventually tore the wooden ship apart.
Today, sections of the steamer rest in as little as five feet of water less than two miles from shore in Albany Bay, named in honor of the wreck. A seasonal mooring buoy marks a 100-foot section of Albany’s lower hull and provides access to the wreck for paddlers, snorkelers, and divers.
of the ALBANY by Photic Zone
Albany by Photic Zone
Facebook post from 11/27/24
“Great Lakes Ghost Ship”
That is what the exhibit for the Corneila B. Windiate says at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center because the final moments before its sinking are a mystery.
What we do know, is that on November 27th, 1875, the 139-foot schooner, designed to carry 16,000 bushels of wheat, left Milwaukee, Wisconsin with 21,000 bushels. The crew of nine battled extreme cold and high winds as they sailed toward Buffalo, New York.
It is most commonly believed, that spray from huge waves may have coated the Windiate with layers of ice, adding a crushing weight to the overloaded ship. Handling the vessel likely became difficult and then impossible. After leaving Milwaukee, the ship and crew were never seen again.
Until divers found the wreck off of Presque Isle in 1986, few believed the Windiate ever made it to Lake Huron.
Sitting upright in 185 feet of water, the ship is frozen in time by cold, fresh water. With its masts still standing and the crew’s lifeboat resting silently nearby, the Windiate is a dramatic reminder of the dangers of late season travel on the Great Lakes.
Photo by Becky Kagan Schott
Facebook post from 11/29/24
For three years in a row, November 29th had an unfortunate shipwreck streak going.
1902 – Bay City
1903 – Ishpeming
1904 – John T. Johnson & B.W. Blanchard
Another thing these four wrecks have in common…..they are all shallow shipwrecks which are great for boaters, paddlers and snorkelers to explore as well!
In 1902, the 146-foot schooner BAY CITY was anchored off Alpena while waiting for a load of lumber. Suddenly, a fierce south wind whipped across Thunder Bay and the schooner dragged anchor and slammed into a lumber dock, leading to the sinking.
In 1903, the schooner ISHPEMING was bound for Alpena with coal for a cement company when it ran aground on a reef off Black River near Harrisville, Michigan. Several tugs tried to pull it off, but they could not get near enough due to the shallow water. The schooner was stripped of its sails and rigging.
In 1904, the steam barge B.W. BLANCHARD was towing the schooner barge JOHN T. JOHNSON when they were driven into the North Point reef by a blinding snowstorm. BLANCHARD was an immediate total loss, while several days of pounding in the surf of Lake Huron eventually destroyed JOHNSON as well. JOHN KILDERHOUSE, the other ship BLANCHARD was towing, was last to hit the reef and was able to be recovered.
Bay City, Ishpeming, Johnson, Blanchard
