5 Ships that Mysteriously Vanished on the Great Lakes
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 มิ.ย. 2024
- It’s often said that the Great Lakes of North America resemble inland seas. They are the largest group of lakes in the world by area and they contain 21% of the earth’s surface fresh water. They provide a vital link between rich natural resources and centers of industry, making them a key driver of economic growth in both the United States and Canada.
Their size, economic importance, and terrifying unpredictability have also made them some of the deadliest waterways in the world. From giant, state-of-the-art freighters, to modest cargo ships said to haunt the lakes to this day, here are the stories of 5 ships that vanished on the Great Lakes.
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Sources:
Ghost Ships of the Great Lakes by Dwight Boyer
Great Lakes Shipwrecks and Survivals by William Ratigan
Shipwrecks of the Lakes by Dana Thomas Bowen
www.britannica.com/place/Berm...
www.greatlakesvesselhistory.c...
images.maritimehistoryofthegr...
perdurabo10.tripod.com/ships/...
www.newspapers.com/image/2758...
www.newspapers.com/image/1801...
www.detroitnews.com/story/new...
www.freep.com/story/news/loca...
All music sourced from Epidemic Sound: www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
Chapters:
00:00 Great Lakes Ghost Ships
00:56 Twins of Doom:
SS W. H. Gilcher
6:49 The Seaman’s Lament:
SS Clifton
13:07 The Phantom of Lake Erie:
SS Marquette & Bessemer No. 2
17:36 One Last Run:
SS D.M. Clemson
21:03 The Flying Dutchman
of Lake Superior:
SS Bannockburn
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Thank you for watching! What's your favorite Great Lakes mystery?
Hmm, does “How did the Brits and Americans manage to build huge warships on Lake Ontario in the War of 1812?” count as a Great Lakes mystery question?
The rouse Simmons Christmas tree ship always sticks in my mind
Snow Snakes
I just find it interesting that essentially all shipwrecks ended in 1993. The only outlier is one glass bottomed pleasure cruise that sank and killed two. But even that happened in 2000.
I wonder why in the past 30 years, there’s only been one wreck which was a pleasure cruise and not even a large ship, when before that there were so many. Did shipping by boat across the lakes stop? Or are there new measures in place to protect them?
Just seeing multiple every decade and then hearing no cargo ships sank since 1993, and no other accidents have happened in 23 years. It’s odd to me without knowing why.
I’m assuming shipping slowed down and now it’s by plane. But surely some shipping still takes place?
Probably the Fitzgerald, because Gordon Lightfoot gets (happily) stuck in my head during any of your great lakes videos. I'm sure you also love the song. Everyone following this channel probably also loves the song.
Honey wake up! New Big Old Boats dropped!
Thanks darling, bring up cereal 🥣 and glass of juice 🥤 for me in bed 🛏️ 1:06
For some weird reason as soon as I opened the TH-cam app this morning , youtube sent me a pop-up message to evaluate this comment (???) And to rate it from "horrible" to "excellent".... I rated it as excellent and then they sent me another message to check why "on earth" 😆 I would consider to have this opinion about it.... I checked "it shows appreciation to the video creator" .... Well this is obvious but it baffles my mind why youtube would investigate this comment that has nothing "strange" or "unusual" in it....
Babe wake up, another copy and pasted comment
The shop sinkings seem too take all of the crews with them not many survivers. Seems very hazardous occupation to me
@Revived Darling go to bed. You just ratioed yourselves
I swam on Lake Superior in the mid-70's in July and was amazed how cold it was even though temps were in the mid-80's. I can't imagine what a winter storm would feel like. RIP to all victims of the Lakes ❤
I swam in Lake Michigan on a Chicago beach in the '60s in July. The sand burned our bare feet. I got as far out as to waist deep for just a minute or so (brrrr) and spent the rest of the trip sitting on a towel getting a sunburn. btw, all but lake Erie are topographically literal soup bowls. Storms and rogue waves can confound the most seaworthy vessel.
The average surface temp of Superior is about 45 degrees, even mid summer.
I made it up to my ankles before noping out.
@@johncmitchell4941 By soup bowls do you just mean uniform?
@@razy7609 Yes somewhat uniformly steep as one gets away from shore. Rare exceptions include much of lake Erie, Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay, and some of it's Georgian Bay in Canadian waters. IMO the best boating & sailing lakes anywhere, but ocean-like in their treachery.
September is usually when the water temps are the warmest…the summer sun has been beating down on the lakes but also depends on what the currents are doing as well. I live in Sheboygan right on the coast of Lake Michigan and we don’t go to the beach for swimming until really late in the summer…too damn cold the rest of the year
I love the fact that you cover all ships of the world. It is great learning about the great ocean liners, but it is also refreshing to learn about the lake boats that most of the world knows nothing about.
Well said 🎉🎉
The Great Lakes are fascinating yet terrifying at the same time
They have great power, and are routinely underestimated.
Great thing usually are
My favorite vanished ship of the Great Lakes is the SS James C Carruthers. Less than a year old, it was lost in the great storm of 1913 and remains lost to this day. It’s story and the evidence that it potentially got lost and foundered is fascinating.
which would explain why it wouldnt be claimed when found, they would have to render over the contents to the govt if they wanted to seize it for a ''museum'' or some b.s.
As someone who grew up on the Great Lakes I love these videos, keep them coming.
My father was a merchant marine on the great lakes.He wasn't scared of much...but the lakes.. lets say he had A healthy respect.. He'd tell stories about Superior and how regularly in the mornings they'd wake to the bow being completely covered in ice....in AUGUST...
Great job. When I was young, I used to dive shipwrecks in Lakes Superior and Michigan back in the 1960s and 70s. You have done a masterful job of research.
As a lifelong Michigander, i always love the great lakes freighter stories. Highly recommend going to whitefish point and the shipwreck museum. Also Soo Locks!!
Several years ago I traveled from my lifelong home in Kentucky to the UP. Visited the locks, Whitefish Point and the museum, and Mackinac Island. Of all the places I've vacationed, I have to say the UP is one of the most beautiful.
The Valley Camp is pretty cool..seeing the lifeboats of the Fitz is always been my favorite.
I've been to the museum. I've also seen Lake Superior in November During high wind.....scary
Actually I think my favourite Great Lakes ship mystery is that of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald.....the "mystery" being how a modern, well-built ship can sink on the lakes as late as 1975.....the recurring theme with all of these though seems to be the relentless pressure to squeeze just one more cargo trip across the Lakes in, before the ice forms.....and this then coincides with November storms and tragedy.
The Fitz filled my childhood with anniversaries and new info or hypotheses. Gorden Lightfoot just passed and they rang the bell at the mariner's church in Detroit 28 times...plus one for him. 😢. 'One last run' is a big theme cuz it can mean the difference between a profit or loss year. I just wish they had better weather prediction to be able to make those choices safer.
@@MarianneKat one of my favorite sad songs of all time. I've added it to so many spotify playlists. Gonna go listen again.
@@MarianneKat barf. Lightfoot only wrote that song to MAKE MONEY.
@@LokiOdinson-fz8ps Feelings dont pay the bills or keep the fridge full.
The relatives of the lost didn’t feel that way . They knew the song would make sure their loved ones were not forgotten.
Good morning fellow boat nerds! Going to watch this one while I stare out at the shores of Lake Huron.
I’m in cairns in Australia 🇦🇺
@@lisadolan689 Hello, Lisa. You are across the world from me but we are both here together because of boats! 🇦🇺🇨🇦
Just on the harbor dock at Lexington.
I was raised on lake Michigan..and it is very dark water. I loved learning to swim off the little beach..playing in the sand and .watching the ferry boats. I fell asleep listening to the fog horns and boats talking to each other. As a child it all seemed to safe, warm and homey..and i had zero thought about ships going down. Then one family as lost in the lake. Everyone was out looking for them and happily they were found safe. I looked at the dark water, my play yard, with a new respect..and caution. REST IN PEACE ALL WHO GO DOWN IN SHIPS!
the lakes always innately freaked me out. I grew up on a coast, so seeing the lakes that are so vast they look like the ocean just feels unsettling.
Storms on the great lakes can be quite unpredictable! In the early 80s , growing up, my mom , myself and step dad got caught up in a totally unexpected, horrific storm on lake Erie , in our 18 foot Chris craft boat. It was much like that scene at the beginning of Gilligan's Island...waves crashing over the boat, massive rocking back and forth, high winds blowing stinging rain onto you , etc it was terrifying...hours of this while my step dad ( who was very experienced ) , desperately tried to keep us afloat... Steering up front. We had no cover on the boat , either. Next thing you know, it was morning and I woke up from sleeping on one of the seats...we survived the night !!! We were all waterlogged and thankful to be alive after that night of hell. I'm 53 years old , its been 40 years now , and I've not forgotten one moment of it.
No kidding . As well have some memories . Worst one all riders bruised in some way . Fat lips , black eyes whatnot from being tossed about . Keeping forward into the waves and battle wind and diagonal current trying to keep trajectory took 5 times as long to get back to our port . we where alll half naked and enjoying a beautiful summer day 10 minutes before the storm hit
I don't imagine! I've been involved in a boating accident and you never forget the terror.
Haunting stories, well presented. My heart goes out to all those mariners who were lost. Thanks for remembering them through your video!
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The Lake, it is said, never give up their dead when the gales of November turn gloomy
BARF. Stop bringing up that damn song. little Gordy only wrote it to make money.
@@LokiOdinson-fz8ps no he didn't to make money. He wanted the 29 men remembered & he DONATED all the money to the 29 families left behind.
Your attitude is both disgraceful & disrespectful. Maritime Sailors Cathedral rang the bell for 30 times, 29 for the Fitz crew & the 30th for Gordon Lightfoot because of his death.
A big part of what makes the Great Lakes so dangerous is how unique they are. The overwhelming majority of freshwater bodies are far smaller, so most people with experience in large bodies of water got that experience on the open ocean. But the cold freshwater of the great lakes doesn't behave like saltwater in the open sea, and the relatively shallow depth causes situations like what became of the Clifton to happen where waves can cause ships to strike the lakebed. Their position in the middle of North America directly underneath the polar jet stream also means weather patterns are unlike what you find almost anywhere else on earth. The infamous November Gales can reach hurricane force winds, but winter storms build much more rapidly than tropical storms, meaning it's very easy to get caught out in them.
Very informative
thank you for mentioning the difference that traveling on a huge body of freshwater makes as opposed to all the experience people usually receive sailing on huge bodies of saltwater. The freshwater WILL behave differently, and the Jet Stream that you mentioned helps to create weather not found anywhere else. The Great Lakes are very, very unique and thus can be very dangerous.
This is a lovely memorial to the lost men and their families. Well done!
Super! Never enough stories told about the Great lake Ships & sailors.
A very familiar Great Lakes story. A freighter leaves port, an unexpected storm arises, Ship is never seen again.
Honestly…. Even back then how did someone thought that leaving a massive open deck in the back of the ship was a good idea? Jeez….
It’s interesting how many ships went missing on the great lakes.
The great lakes shipping age was interesting yet tragic. The lakes have their own weather and can fire up on a dime. The Edmund Fitzgerald fills my childhood, and I highly recommend visiting the shipwreck museum at whitefish point as well as the Soo Locks.
They're fearsome places.
There is 6 thousand shipwrecks on the great lakes beds from Superior to Ontario.
@@annbower6278 wow!!
I love living on Lake Ontario. I couldn't imagine living somewhere that didn't have a massive expanse of open water, it would feel claustrophobic. The ships are so huge, they're fun to watch coming into the Harbour.
Are you near Hamilton?
@@_Corndawgg I am! You?
@@GoBlueGirl78 i’m in Oakville but i go down there a lot to see the long ships pass
Likewise @Amanda
I also preferred living next to a lake instead of being stuck in the middle of place that had no lakes or oceans to be next to.
@@annbower6278fresh off the press humans like waterfront property
The lesson here seems to be, if your captain says, "This will be our last run of the season," then get off the ship NOW.
What we've learned is to just never take the last trip of the season.
I swear, at least half the shipwrecks happpen on the "one last voyage of the season"
I love these great lakes videos! Please do more! I love your channel.
Hi, love the videos, just wanted to mention that the Manitou Islands rhyme with two. But thank you for bringing attention to these stories that I otherwise would not have heard of or that I've forgotten
Until I happened upon a Great Lakes’ shipwreck video a few years ago, I had no idea the Lakes had great storms like this. Nice video, very descriptive and really appreciate the photos and clips. They always help in getting the picture of an event.
It's so hard to understand how/why some of these ships have never been found. Thank You for an excellent presentation of these haunting stories.
Nothing like waking up to some great lakes story
HUZZAH MORE GREAT LAKES
My interest in Lake Superior began a few years ago on a trip to Duluth MN. I went to the lighthouse and learned all about the ships that sank and were left in the lake. I originally thought.. no way.. this is a lake. But I learned to have a little more respect for the Great Lakes. I love learning about history that happened in a state that I’ve grown to love since moving here in 1997! Thank you for all your stories ❤
I would highly recommend people visit the various maritime museums around the great lakes. fascinating stuff.
Great video. Concise and respectful.
Being a western New Yorker, I fully understand the dangers of the lakes, the storm last Christmas was curtsey of lake Erie, I got around a foot and half in Niagara Falls, but just under 20 miles to my south in Buffalo they got 5 feet.
Thanks for this, Bob. Always entertaining and informative.
It's a good day when Bob uploads
Since I live in this area, I'm fascinated with these mini-oceans.
Another fantastic video. Thank you for doing such incredible content and things not usually spoken about (Great Lakes especially!)
Lake MI and Lake Superior are epic. I love MI. Lived here most of my life. Some great dive sites.
Thank you for not including the Edmund Fitzgerald. It's the Great Lakes greatest mystery and has tons of videos dedicated to it.
The video is amazing. I have watched new footage from ships and it is just spine tingling. The ocean/lakes terrifies me. But facinates me at the same time.
They are so unpredictable and beautiful.
Its heartbreaking to see the loss of such majestic ships and those who man them.
As a kid and teen, I would bike down to the port and watch the ships offload coal and ore for the steel mill and power plant. The area was call Hot Waters because the discharge from the plant warmed up the water around the boat launches. The ships were massive and the crews were always friendly. Seemed like they'd be there forever, but times changed and the shipping dwindled.#lorainboy
That was a sweet song for his friends. The sadness, hurt, and love in it are palpable.
This is one of my favorite channels.
I love the subject matter!
And you have a perfect voice to narrate these stories.
Big fan!
I grew up on Lake Erie. I am still amazed at how big the Great Lakes are! So glad I found your channel.
A pleasure as always and thanks again.
The Edmund Fitzgerald is my "favourite" mystery.
Fantastic work, friend!
As someone who grew up on Lake Michigan and spent a decade living near Lake Superior, I’m so glad you’re sharing these stories for future generations.
Who's going really going to remember? Rogue Waves on any of the Great Lakes?
@@scorpion19142001 it’s not about first hand accounts. I personally know a merchant mariner. It’s not easy work, but the stories from now and then are exciting. Obviously we’re past having most people alive remember any of these stories, but their accounts live on through this channel bringing their stories of bravery, ingenuity, sacrifice and camaraderie to life so that future generations will know what it took to build this country, put food on the table and build what we have today.🇺🇸🇨🇦
I used to work on ships like this… Lake Superior is no joke when there’s a bad storm!
Worked 1955 and 1956 on a Canadian Texaco tanker, Great Lakes and coastal trade . Great Lakes were rougher than Atlantic coast when weather turned.
Another fantastic video
I’m in love with your Channel!! Can you do a video about the Marysburgh vortex or like Lake Michigan Triangle? Those are probably the most mysterious areas of the Great Lakes
Thank you for another great video on Great Lakes ships. I really love your stories, but especially these concerning the ship of the lakes. Have you considered doing a story on the Christmas ship?
What was the Christmas ship? Never heard of it
@@cattandneil1504 It was a ship that brought Christmas trees from northern Michigan to Chicago. I don't remember all the details but it was lost in a storm no one foresaw in, I believe, the late 1800's. There is a book about it, published about 20 years ago.
New sub here from the UK 😊
Welcome aboard! :)
A frightening number of these were the last run of the season.
Thanks again for the content, excellent
Keep up the great content and presentation..your subs have been increasing at a good rate..a sign that many of us like good editing and subject matter that catches our attention..
Gotta tell you, I really appreciate you telling stories from Lake Superior, so many good men went down. I live in the Soo, the 1913 storm always gives me chills figuratively and literally.
I grew up in Paradise. I was a teenager when the Fitzgerald went down.
@@au7-721 Beautiful area, I wasn't around when the old Fitz went down, but I've been studying shipwrecks on the Great Lakes since I was about 7.
@@20thCenturyManTrad I watched your video on morality and the ten commandments. I have been saying we are living in a post Christian society. My folks were not Christians but everything I was taught was based on those commandments even though they didn't realize it. That is almost gone now in our society. Now society calls righteousness evil and evil is called righteousness.
Im a born again believer positioned in the risen Christ.
I still have alot of friends in Chippewa county. Alot of good folks live there but very few have a knowledge of God.
God bless you and I'd like to encourage you to make more videos.
@@au7-721 Well thank you, I'm honored. I'll try to work on those, I'm working on several projects, but I'll take that to heart.
Can you do more videos on Lake Erie shipwrecks?
I'm at a campground in Grand Marais in my tent, while it rains, listening to this videos in the dark 😌😊
I lov listening 2 these stories in bed to fall asleep..they mentally relax me..
its crazy to see back in the 1905 hydraulic cranes loading the ships lol
Love these stories, made all the more enjoyable by the old movie films which bring them back to life. Am I correct in thinking that both 'Bannockburn' and M&B No 2 have been found since this film was made?
Thank you for giving the length in feet and meters. As someone being used to meter it’s way easier to follow. Looking forward to your next video!
Agreed
as someone who can't visualize a multitude of yards OR meters, I tend to like the size of a football field (American football fields) 😅. I am joking, but not joking. very sad state of affairs on my part..... yet, I can parallel park with relative ease 🤷🏻♀️
As an American nurse, I can float between the two relatively well. When we had an Italian exchange student I was always calculating things in my head for him so I thanked my mathy engineer dad for that ability😂. I can parallel park if I must, but many social skills are beyond me. 🤷♀️
Or you can stop being lazy and do the conversion like everyone else.
Thanks for the upload. It's a great video very interesting.
I listen to your stories like radio shows on the porch...congratulations for having not only great photos but being an excellent narrator as well.
You asked about dreams related by different people about the same ships in distress. This is very common part of crime detection of awful crimes.
A young woman here in SC drowned her 2 little boys because a prospective rich boyfriend didn't like kids. She said a black man stole her car with the boys strapped inside. This was contrary to all profiles (normally the little boys would have been dropped off at a convenience store or something) and made the police suspicious, but they were also flooded with calls from all over the US from people who saw the children in a blue car at the bottom of a lake screaming. My daughter woke up in a cold sweat after her vision of this.
I'm wondering if this ship with the dreamers had something particularly malicious happen since normally the Lakes can be dangerous at times anyway. Sad story
Thanks for this wonderful series. As the History Guy says, these stories deserve to be remembered.
Love the stories told on the great lakes. Keep up the good work.
I am currently looking at fox island off my deck, hard to believe a boat like that going down right in front of me
Great video, I love spooky ships and trains
Perhaps you might enjoy the movie " Death Ship"? This reminds me of the Alkimos story ,off Western Australia.
@@murraykitson1436 yeah, I know it and have it on DVD 😁
Great stories, great job! Love this channel ❤️
Great job ! Entertaining, interesting and informative !!!
Beautifully done, sir
Great job covering these lost ships and their crews. It was quite an interesting watch.
Please do a story on those monstrously creepy Hulett unloading cranes!!
They look like giant grasshopper legs 🙈🦗
Great work BoB. I enjoy your content.
Thank you for another fine video! As always I’m impressed with the amount of research you put in. It’s amazing how much actual footage you are able to find as well as the skillful editing in of relevant shots and film
Exactly what I wanted when I woke up :D
Are there any stories of ships given up for lost that miraculously reappeared and survived?
Very much enjoying the Great Lakes content, excellent work!
How about a Lake Champlain feature, the lake that almost was a great lake?
I❤ this one 🕐
We’re gonna need a bigger boat.
Another excellent video!
Keep these coming....and others of course! 👍🏻👌🏻👏🏻🏆🥇
I love your videos. You deserve waaaay more subs. Keep it up
Informative and very listenable
Loved this video! Subscriber now!
Thank you! Welcome aboard!
Well done - thanks!
I love your informative and relaxed videos. I remember in an older video that you stated that you hated your voice. I thought you should know that both my wife and I chatted about your voice. We both believe your voice is different (from average, in a good way) and exceedingly soothing. Keep up the good work. 👍🏻
I used to live in whiting ind. Right off the shore you could see the shadows of smaller ships that went down. It was always spooky and us kids never really caught any fish around there. I remember as a kid the Whiting beach always smelled like dead fish with dead fish everywhere thanks to standard oil and the steel mills polluting the water.
Another great video. I love the atmosphere that you created with the soundtrack.
Yes another Great Lakes video!
Good evening,
My question stems from the multiple wrecks lost to the Great Lakes over the century of iron hulls, are they still on the “wrecks to find” lists by maritime authorities or let to rest never to be heard of ??? Sometimes wrecks found by accident ever reported or are they to just left to their deaths ??? When I started to find interests in lost wrecks of the Great Lakes, I was struck dumbfounded as to the deaths of so many that appended on the Lakes !!! I guess it was the wreck of the Fritz that start my interest … Gordon Lightfoot was one of the musicians I use to listen to and when he sung of the Fritz’s loss, sparked my interest in ”maritime folk music”, rose to a crescendo I guess … The loss of life is something I’ll never get over. Love your sight as it actually brins remembrance to the profound loss of husbands, lovers, young & old sailors of a time of romance in an innocent way I guess.
Forever in His service
Another great job.
Much Kudos to you. It's great to see your channel grow. The P&O line servicing India and the far East like Malaysia, Singapore, Australia etc would be interesting to cover including the 'Straths' from the inter-war period. Beautiful ships. Not many know of P&O as White Star and Cunard seem to dominate peoples minds when British shipping history is mentioned.
As a southerner new to the great lakes region, I find these stories fascinating. Thanks!
I'd love to hear about the N V Derbyshire (I think that's what they called it) that's a weird 1, went down with all hands and took ages to find it.
Very nice visuals.
Great video! Would love to see your take on an SS Rotterdam video!
Born and raised in Michigan my whole life and spent a lot of time in northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. Even in the most technically advanced ship from today, I would be nervous to be on Lake Superior in November -December ☠️ Absolutely gorgeous scenery, though ❤