Latest news with #WesternReserve
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Great Lakes history group finds speedy vessel lost in 1892
Mar. 16—WHITEFISH POINT, Michigan — After 132 years, the final resting place of the 300-foot steel steamer Western Reserve has been discovered roughly 60 miles northwest of Whitefish Point in Lake Superior. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society, using marine sonic technology side-scan sonar aboard the nonprofit's research vessel, David Boyd, made the initial discovery in late summer 2024. Subsequent remotely operated vehicle deployments confirmed the identity of the shipwreck, revealing a vessel broken in two, with the bow section resting on top of the stern in approximately 600 feet of water. "Knowing how the 300-foot Western Reserve was caught in a storm this far from shore made a uneasy feeling in the back of my neck," Darryl Ertel, the society's Director of Marine Operations said in a news release. The Western Reserve was a very important ship in her time. She was one of the first all-steel vessels on the Great Lakes, was built to break cargo shipping records and was deemed one of the safest ships afloat. One newspaper called her "the inland greyhound" for her outright speed on the lakes. Western Reserve was owned by millionaire Captain Peter G. Minch, a highly respected shipping magnate. Capt. Minch took a large part of his young family aboard his ship (under command of Captain Albert Myer) for a late-summer cruise up through Lake Huron en route to Two Harbors, Minnesota. The weather was pleasant until they reached Whitefish Bay, when rough weather led the crew to drop anchor to await better conditions. They soon weighed anchor and steamed into Lake Superior, a gale overtook the ship and at around 9 p.m., August 30, 1892, the Western Reserve started to break up and sink. The Minch family and the Western Reserve crew safely boarded and launched the vessel's two lifeboats. Almost immediately, one lifeboat overturned and many of the ship's crew disappeared. The remaining lifeboat occupants recovered only two of the crewmen. Within 10 minutes the big ship was gone, leaving one lifeboat with Minch family and the remaining crew aboard. They would be in the gale and darkness for the next 10 hours. Salvation was near at hand when a steamship passed them in the night. They screamed for a half-hour, but with no flares, they were not seen. At about 7:30 a.m. the next morning, they were within 1 mile of the shoreline west of the Deer Park Life-Saving Station (Lake Superior's southeastern shoreline), when the lifeboat overturned in the breakers. Only one survivor, Wheelsman Harry W. Stewart of Algonac, Michigan, lived to tell the tale. "Every shipwreck has its own story, but some are just that much more tragic", said GLSHS Executive Director Bruce Lynn. "It is hard to imagine that Captain Peter G. Minch would have foreseen any trouble when he invited his wife, two young children and sister-in-law with her daughter aboard the Western Reserve for a summer cruise up the lakes. It just reinforces how dangerous the Great Lakes can be any time of year." Director of Marine Operations, Darryl Ertel and his brother and First Mate, Dan Ertel, have been looking for the Western Reserve for over two years. "We side-scan looking out a half mile per side and we caught an image on our port side. It was very small looking out that far, but I measured the shadow, and it came up about 40 feet." Darryl explained, "So we went back over the top of the ship and saw that it had cargo hatches, and it looked like it was broken in two, one half on top of the other and each half measured .with the side scan 150 feet long and then we measured the width and it was right on so we knew that we'd found the Western Reserve."
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Explorers Just Found a 130-Year-Old Shipwreck
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." The Western Reserve cargo ship was supposed to be a modern marvel in 1892, but it split in two during a storm and sank. The wreckage took the lives of 27 people, with one lone survivor able to swim a mile to shore and recount the tale. The ship, revered for its speed and technology, used the same steel as the Titanic did just 20 years later. The Western Reserve was designed as a new class of technological shipbuilding in the 1890s. Created by millionaire owner Peter Minch, it was intended to smash speed records on the Great Lakes as it sailed between Michigan and Canada. One of the first all-steel cargo ships built—using the same steel that the Titanic opted for 20 years later—Western Reserve was a 300-foot-long 'inland greyhound.' That all ended tragically on August 30, 1892. With 28 people aboard the cargo-less ship (including Minch, his wife, his children, and other members of his family), a storm whipped up on Lake Superior. Sitting higher in the water than usual because of the lack of cargo, Western Reserve split in half. Wheelsman Harry W. Stewart was the lone survivor, able to get onto a lifeboat with others and then swim a mile in the lake to shore after the lifeboat capsized 10 hours later. The ship wasn't seen again until diligent explorers with the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society found the wreckage off Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It took members Darryl and Dan Ertel over two years of searching for the ship to find it. 'We side-scan looking out a half mile per side and we caught an image on our port side,' said Darryl Ertel, according to a statement from the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. 'It was very small looking out that far, but I measured the shadow, and it came up about 40 feet. So we went back over the top of the ship and saw that it had cargo hatches, and it looked like it was broken in two, one half on top of the other and each half measured with the side scan 150 feet long and then we measured the width and it was right on so we knew that we'd found the Western Reserve.' Crews then used a remotely operated vehicle to capture video of the broken ship, with the bow resting on top of the stern under approximately 600 feet of water. 'Every shipwreck has its own story, but some are just that much more tragic,' Bruce Lynn, Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society executive director, said in a statement. 'It is hard to imagine that Captain Peter G. Minch would have foreseen any trouble when he invited his wife, two young children and sister-in-law with her daughter aboard the Western Reserve for a summer cruise up the lakes. It just reinforces how dangerous the Great Lakes can be any time of the year.' Originally launched in Cleveland in 1890, the Western Reserve was the largest bulk carrier on the lakes at the time, and the first steel bulk carrier of the classic Great Lakes design, according to the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society. The tale of the tragic ending of the ship just two years later comes thanks to the lone survivor, who managed to find the U.S. Lifesaving Service station at Whitefish Point, Michigan. Stewart recounted sailing directly into a storm about 60 miles north of Whitefish Point, and after the ship broke in two 'halfway up the rigging,' it sank in just 10 minutes. Everyone on board was able to get into two lifeboats (one wooden and one metal), but the metal lifeboat capsized immediately. Stewart recounted that the wooden boat lasted 10 hours carrying 19 people, until it too capsized roughly a mile from shore. According to the historical society, Stewart said that he lost sight of the others, 'but the cries of the children, the screams of the women, and the moaning of the men were terrible for a few moments, when all became silent.' Stewart swam to shore, laid there for hours and then managed to make it another 10 miles to the lifesaving station. He attributed survival to a 'heavy knit close-fitting jacket.' While experts debated the stories and reasoning behind the Western Reserve failings, it was eventually accepted—especially following the rapid sinking of the Titanic—that the vulnerability of cheaper Bessemer steel contributed to the problem, and that the design (with the superstructure moved from the middle to the ends of the ship) added to the inherent fragility of the vessel. The new style of steel was determined to be relatively weak, and the pressure applied by the storm was too much for a metal that became more brittle in lower temperatures. The sinking of sister ship Gilcher just two months later (which had no survivors) helped substantiate the breakage theory. 'Knowing how the 300-foot Western Reserve was caught in a storm this far from shore made an uneasy feeling in the back of my neck,' Darryl Ertel said, 'a squall can come up unexpectedly anywhere and anytime.' You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
New York Times
13-03-2025
- General
- New York Times
A Groundbreaking Ship That Sank in Lake Superior in 1892 Is Discovered
On Aug. 30, 1892, the Western Reserve, a state-of-the-art ship en route to Minnesota, found itself in the middle of a gale in Lake Superior. Capt. Peter G. Minch, a millionaire shipping magnate traveling with his family, had been assured that the all-steel steamship would be safe and nimble on the seas. But the storm overtook the vessel, breaking it into pieces in the dead of night. The ship's crew and passengers boarded two lifeboats. One overturned almost immediately, and its crew disappeared. The other bobbed in the darkness for about 10 hours. Another ship passed, but despite screams for help, it continued its course. As the lifeboat neared land, it overturned again. A crew member was the only person among the 28 who had been on the Western Reserve to make it to the Michigan shore alive. On Monday, more than 132 years after the Western Reserve went down, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society announced that researchers had discovered the wreck of the ship, which was among the first all-steel steamships. Using solar technology, they worked for two years before finding it about 60 miles northwest of Whitefish Point, a cape in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It was near where the ship's sole survivor, Harry W. Stewart, had estimated that it had foundered. Researchers searched for two years before finding the shipwreck of the Western Reserve. Credit... Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society 'This is probably one of the most important shipwrecks this organization has ever found,' said Bruce Lynn, the executive director of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum run by the historical society in Paradise, Mich. 'It's astounding.' Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Shipwreck from 1892 found on bottom of Lake Superior
The wrath of Lake Superior has claimed countless ships throughout history, including the Edmund Fitzgerald-one of the most famous shipwrecks of the 20th century. But recently, a discovery was made of a ship that hasn't seen the light of day since before Oklahoma became a state. "The Western Reserve was a very important ship in her time. She was one of the first all-steel vessels on the Great Lakes, she was built to break cargo shipping records and was deemed one of the safest ships afloat," the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society said on its website. However, on Aug. 30, 1892, a gale overtook the ship, causing it to sink within a matter of minutes with only one of the 28 aboard at the time surviving. The ship was lost to the raging waters of Lake Superior until 2024 when it was discovered 600 feet below the surface about 60 miles northwest of Whitefish Point off the coast of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. A bell found amid the wreckage of the Western Reserve at the bottom of Lake Superior. (The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society via Storyful) Divers recently plunged into the depths of Lake Superior to capture images and videos of the shipwreck, revealing what the Western Reserve looks like more than 130 years after sinking. The ship had broken into two pieces, with one half on top of the other, which added to the challenge of finding it. Video of the shipwreck revealed snapped beams, a deformed hull and even a bell that had managed to stay intact.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Wreckage Of SS Western Reserve, Lost In 1892, Discovered In Lake Superior
We love a big boat, don't we, folks? From MV Evergiven to MV Mark W. Barker to good old MV Golden Ray, big boats are typically good for hours of family entertainment. Sometimes, however — especially if you have the honor of living in the Great Lakes Region — there's a darker side to messing around in boats. Somewhere between 6,000 and 10,000 shipwrecks litter Lakes Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior, and the lakes have claimed the lives of roughly 30,000 mariners and passengers since we started keeping records. While Lake Michigan has the most shipwrecks, and Lake Erie has the highest density, Lake Superior has, perhaps, the most famous. There are nearly 600 vessels scattered across the bottom of Lake Superior, everything from nameless barges and tugs to the legendary Edmund Fitzgerald herself. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum is located on Whitefish Point — a spit of land every bit as dangerous as the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn — along Lake Superior's southern shore in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. There are nearly 200 shipwrecks within spitting distance of Whitefish Point, including the aforementioned Fitz. So many, in fact, that locals call it the "Graveyard of the Great Lakes". One of these long-lost vessels, SS Western Reserve, has eluded discovery since she disappeared in a late-summer gale in 1892. In 2024, however, Darryl Ertel — Director of Marine Operations at The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society — discovered a wreck in 100 fathoms water some 60 miles northwest of Whitefish Point. It was a large vessel, broken in half with the bow section resting on the stern at a roughly 45-degree angle. At long last, the Western Reserve had been found. Read more: There's A Relic Runway From America's Failed Supersonic Future Hiding In The Everglades SS Western Reserve was laid down at the Cleveland Shipbuilding Company in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1890. One of the first ever lake propeller-driven lake freighters made entirely of steel plate, she was built for financier and shipping magnate Peter G. Minch's Minch Transportation Company. She was 301-feet long, 42-feet abeam, drew 21-feet of water, and had a crew of 26 officers and men. The ship's power plant was a thoroughly modern CSC triple-expansion steam engine that gave her a top speed around 12 knots, or 14 miles per hour. She was, by all accounts, a stout, fast, well-built ship that promised to revolutionize bulk shipping on the Great Lakes. Built to break cargo shipping records, Western Reserve entered service in late 1890. For the next year and a half, the big vessel carried countless tons of bulk cargo—typically iron and other bulk ores—without incident. She quickly gained a reputation for speed and safety, and was nicknamed "the inland greyhound". Unfortunately, her career was cut tragically short when, in 1892, she was lost in a Lake Superior gale with only one survivor. In late August of 1892, SS Western Reserve set sail from Cleveland, Ohio, under the command of Captain Albert Myer. She was in ballast and headed for Two Harbors, Minnesota, to pick up a cargo of iron ore. Along with her officers and crew were embarked her owner, Peter G. Minch, and Minch's wife, children, sister-in-law, and his sister-in-law's daughter. The weather was fair, and everything looked fine for a late-summer cruise across Lake Superior. By the time Western Reserve reached Whitefish Bay, however, the weather had started to turn rough. Captain Myer gave the order to drop anchor and wait out the weather. Eventually the winds died down, the ship weighed anchor, and they set off again toward Two Harbors. The lull in the weather was a fakeout, however, and the ship was hit by a massive squall at around 2100 hours that evening. She foundered in the heavy seas, and as Captain Myer gave the order to abandon ship, Western Reserve broke in two and sank. Two lifeboats were launched, and all officers, crew, and passengers escaped the doomed ship. Sadly, one of the lifeboats capsized almost immediately. The other lifeboat, containing Minch, his family, and a handful of crewmen, rescued the two survivors from the capsized lifeboat and made its way into the eye of the storm. They were almost rescued in the night by a passing steamer, but without any flares aboard, the passing ship's lookout missed the tossing lifeboat. The next morning around 0730, the lifeboat approached shore near the Deer Park Lifesaving Station, but rough surf capsized the boat less than a mile from shore. Only one person survived, Wheelsman Harry W. Stewart of Algonac, MI. The rest, including Minch and his family, drowned within sight of salvation. Western Reserve's foundering and the loss of her owner and his family sent shockwaves through the Great Lakes shipping industry and community. The disaster was even covered by the New York Times. At his post-rescue debriefing, Wheelsman Stewart's description of previously unreported metal fatigue throughout Western Reserve's hull and the rapidity with which she broke up suggested shady dealings on the part of Cleveland Shipbuilding. An investigation turned up evidence that CSC had used steel contaminated with sulfur and phosphorus in Western Reserve's construction. The addition of those elements to the steel made it weak and brittle, unable to stand up to the constant abuse of the Great Lakes shipping season. Nearly two months later, SS W.H. Gilcher, a ship of comparable size and speed to Western Reserve, disappeared in northern Lake Michigan with the loss of all hands. Gilcher had been built at the same time as Western Reserve and with the same steel. Outrage at the loss of both ships, a beloved ship's captain and his family, and the ensuing contaminated steel scandal led to serious changes in the laws governing what materials Great Lakes freighters could be built from. In late summer of 2024, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society research vessel David Boyd, under command of Director of Marine Operations Darryl Ertel, discovered an unidentified wreck northeast of Whitefish Point. "We (were) side-scan looking out a half mile per side and we caught an image on our port side," said Ertel in a story posted on the GLSHS website. "It was very small looking out that far, but I measured the shadow, and it came up about 40 feet. So we went back over the top of the ship and saw that it had cargo hatches, and it looked like it was broken in two, one half on top of the other and each half measured with the side scan 150 feet long and then we measured the width and it was right on so we knew that we'd found the Western Reserve." Once the results of the Sonar scan were analyzed, GLSHS performed a handful of ROV (remotely operated vehicle, think a small, remote-controlled submarine covered in lights and cameras) missions to the wreck site. Researchers confirmed the identity of the wreck as the Western Reserve using the ship's known dimensions and the existence of some identifying artifacts including the vessel's bell, foremast, and port-side running light. The Western Reserve's starboard running light — the only artifact ever recovered from the ship — washed ashore not long after the disaster and is now on display at the National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo, Ohio. Discovering a long-lost Great Lakes shipwreck is always satisfying, especially when it's one that researchers have been after for so long. It's also quite sobering, and a reminder of just how deadly the Great Lakes can be. "Knowing how the 300-foot Western Reserve was caught in a storm this far from shore made a uneasy feeling in the back of my neck, a squall can come up and anytime." Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
