Wisconsin historians have found a ship that sank in Lake Michigan 142 years ago almost completely intact.
The schooner Trinidad was discovered 270 feet deep in Lake Michigan off the coast of Algoma, Wisconsin by historians Brendon Baillod and Bob Jaeck.
“The wreck is among the best preserved shipwrecks in Wisconsin waters, with its deckhouse still intact, containing the crew’s possessions and their anchors and deck equipment still present,” they said in a statement.
The ship sank in the lake in 1881. Baillod and Jaeck found it in July, using survivor accounts and historical records, and then side-scan sonar, to determine the ship’s location.
Despite the passage of time, the ship was in almost perfect condition: the ship’s rudder was found at the bottom of the sea without a single piece missing. The main part of the ship was intact, with the poles detached. The deckhouse only had a notch in the roof, but the main structure remained largely intact.
Similar to a sailing ship with added sails, the 140-foot schooner was used primarily in the grain trade between Milwaukee, Chicago, and Oswego, New York.
The schooner Trinidad was found in 270 feet of water in Lake Michigan off the coast of Algoma, Wisconsin, in July by historians Brendon Baillod and Bob Jaeck. AP
The schooner Trinidad was discovered 270 feet deep in Lake Michigan.
Its last voyage occurred on May 11, 1881, when the Trinidad was carrying coal to Milwaukee and suffered a leak while traveling through the Sturgeon Bay ship channel. The ship sank 10 miles off the Algoma coast, “taking with it all of the crew’s possessions and the captain’s Newfoundland dog,” according to the news release.
Captain John Higgins believed the hull had been damaged while the ship was passing through ice fields in the Strait of Mackinac.
All nine passengers, including the captain, survived. They rowed the yawl for eight hours to the shore.
The ship’s original owners gave her no maintenance, causing her value to plummet. Insurance records show that the Trinidad was valued at $22,000 in 1867, but in 1878, she was only worth half that, Baillod said in a news release.
The main part of the boat was found intact, with the posts detached.AP
The hull had begun to leak, and the captain was nearly killed when a block fell from the rigging. In 1879 the ship was no longer fit to carry cargoes of grain and was sold.
In May 1880, the ship was commissioned to carry coal to the Silver Islet mines on Lake Superior, a route older ships had never taken. She hit a reef on her way to the pier, ripping 10 feet off the bottom.
The ship was quickly rescued and returned to service, Baillod said.
He was sent on what was supposed to be his last voyage, but the captain stopped halfway to wait out the winter. He sank shortly after resuming his voyage.
The ship sank on the lake in 1881 in a major wreck and was found using side-scan sonar to pin down its location. The two men found the location based on survivor accounts and historical records.AP
Baillod and Jaeck began their search for the Trinidad, built in New York in 1867, two years ago. Baillod became interested in the wreck while he was building a database of all known shipwrecks in Wisconsin waters, Baillod said.
Historians believed the wreck “ticked all the boxes” to be discovered, as the crew had given a good description of where the Trinidad sank and where it sank slowly, meaning there was a good chance it was still in one condition. part.
After consulting historical records of the ship’s route, along with the crew’s description of where it sank, Baillod was able to determine a search area of about a third of a mile.
They nearly missed the wreck with sonar, but after re-scouring the area, they discovered the ship.
A second team confirmed the wreck after taking measurements of the hull.
The two historians are working with the Wisconsin Historical Society to nominate the site for the National Register of Historic Places.
With mail cables.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn