Plymouth after her conversion into a schooner | |
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | Plymouth |
Owner |
|
Port of registry | Menominee, Michigan, United States |
Builder | Stephenson & Lafrinier |
Yard number | 19621 |
Launched | 7 March 1854 |
Completed | 8 May 1854 |
Acquired | 8 May 1854 |
Maiden voyage | 12 May 1854 |
In service | 12 May 1854 |
Out of service | 11 November 1913 |
Fate | Sunk in Great Lakes Storm of 1913 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Cargo Steamer/Schooner barge |
Tonnage | 846 GRT |
Length | 64.8 m (213 ft) |
Beam | 9.9 m (32 ft) |
Depth | 3.7 m (12 ft) |
Decks | 1 |
Installed power | High pressure (including HPNC) engine (until 1884) |
Propulsion | Screw propeller and 1 mast (converted in 1884 to 3 mast schooner) |
Crew | 7 |
Notes | Captain Alex Larson |
Plymouth was an American Schooner barge that sank during the Great Lakes Storm of 1913 in Lake Michigan, near St. Martins Island at the mouth of Green Bay, while she was being towed by the tug James H. Martin from Menominee, Michigan, United States to Lake Huron. [1]
Plymouth was built as a steamship in 1854 at the Stephenson & Lafrinier shipyard in Ohio City, Ohio, United States and launched on 7 March 1854. She was completed on 8 May 1854. The vessel served from 12 May 1854 until 1884 as a steamer before being converted into a 3 masted schooner. The ship was 64.8 metres (212 ft 7 in) long, with a beam of 9.9 metres (32 ft 6 in) and a draft of 3.7 metres (12 ft 2 in). The ship was assessed at 846 gross register tons (GRT). She had a high pressure (including HPNC) engine, driving a single screw propeller until 1884. [2]
Plymouth started her career as a Cargo steamer on the great lakes on 12 May 1854, but the ship was quickly plagued by a series of accidents. The first of these occurred on 29 October 1855 when Plymouth ran on a reef near Racine, Wisconsin on Lake Michigan, but she managed to be refloated and returned to service. A more serious accident occurred nearly a year later on 20 September 1856 when Plymouth collided with the Oswego (New York) bound 3 masted barge Colonel E. Camp near the Manitou Islands, North and South, in Lake Michigan. The barge sank in a few minutes, but the number of casualties or survivors are unknown. [3] The first reported deadly incident occurred on 2 September 1859 when Plymouth was caught in a gale off Point Aux Barques in Lake Michigan, resulting in the death of one crewmate. [3]
During the American Civil War in November 1862, Plymouth ran ashore again, this time near Long Point, Ontario in Lake Erie. The ship was refloated on 27 December 1862 and returned to service. Following the Civil War, Plymouth managed to retain a better safety record, but the aging ship had to undergo numerous repairs including being refitted with a new engine in 1877. The ship entered the lumber trade in 1880 and was converted to a 3 masted schooner in 1884. After her conversion she was grounded two more times, first on 24 October 1887 near Presque Isle, Wisconsin in Lake Superior, being refloated on 13 August. With the second time being on 12 November 1888 near Marquette, Michigan in Lake Superior. Her final incident occurred on 25 June 1898 when she collided with a railroad bridge over the Welland Canal. Surprisingly despite her old age, the ship gained a small bit of fame when she was photographed while carrying the largest load of seven foot cedar posts (100,000 in total) on the Menominee River in 1912. [4]
On 8 November 1913, Plymouth, loaded with a cargo of cedar posts, was being towed by the tug James H. Martin from Menominee, Michigan, United States to Lake Huron. While sailing through Lake Michigan, both ships were unaware that they were heading straight into the path of the deadliest storm in the Great Lakes history. Captain Alex Larson was in command of the Plymouth at the time, and was joined by six more crewmen and a federal marshall named Christopher Keenan who was on board because the ship was the subject of litigation. [5]
While underway, the storm began to grow in intensity and soon both ships were struggling in the worsening weather. Noticing that neither ship could make headway against the mounting waves, combined with the risk of both ships foundering if they stayed together, James H. Martin's captain decided to guide Plymouth to the safest waters he could find. This place appeared to be at Gull Island in St. Martin’s Passage near St. Martins Island at the mouth of Green Bay. When both ships reached the location, the tug's captain cut the towing line and headed into open water to seek shelter at Point Detour 12 miles (19 km) away. Plymouth stayed behind and dropped her anchor intending to sit out the storm along with everyone onboard until the tug returned. [6]
When the tug returned to the site two days after abandoning Plymouth, they discovered that the ship had disappeared. Everyones worst fears came true when the body of marshall Keenan washed up ashore at Manistee, Michigan several days later. [7] A note from Keenan was discovered in a bottle which had washed up 11 days after Plymouth had dropped anchor at Gull Island which confirmed that the ship had sunk with all hands after withstanding the full force of the storm for over 40 hours. The message read: "Dear wife and Children. We were left up here in Lake Michigan by McKinnon, captain James H. Martin tug, at anchor. He went away and never said goodbye or anything to us. Lost one man yesterday. We have been out in storm forty hours. Goodbye dear ones, I might see you in Heaven. Pray for me. / Chris K. / P.S. I felt so bad I had another man write for me. Goodbye forever." [8] [9]
Plymouth was one of twelve vessels lost during the Great Lakes Storm of 1913. A storm described in the book: Lore of the Lakes, as "The most disastrous that has ever swept our Great Lakes, both from loss of life and property this unprecedented." The storm of heavy snow, bitter cold winds and frightening high waves took the lives of an estimated 235 mariners, with Plymouth being the only ship lost on Lake Michigan. [1]
As of today, Plymouth is among the three ships that have never been found of the twelve that foundered during the Great Lakes Storm of 1913. A wreck, first believed to be that of Plymouth, was found in 15 metres (49 ft 3 in) of water, 460 metres (1,509 ft 2 in) off Poverty Island, Michigan on 21 April 1984. It has since been ruled out as the Plymouth and is most likely the Erastus Corning. [5]
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the lake is derived from early French explorers who named it for the indigenous people they knew as Huron (Wyandot) inhabiting the region. Hydrologically, Lake Huron comprises the eastern portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the 5-mile-wide (8.0 km), 20-fathom-deep Straits of Mackinac. Combined, Lake Michigan–Huron is the largest freshwater lake by area in the world. The Huronian glaciation was named from evidence collected from Lake Huron region. The northern parts of the lake include the North Channel and Georgian Bay. Saginaw Bay is located in the southwest corner of the lake. The main inlet is the St. Marys River from Lake Superior, and the main outlet is through the St. Clair River toward Lake Erie. Lake Huron has a fairly large drainage basin covering parts of Michigan and Ontario. Water flows through Lake Huron faster than the other Great Lakes with a retention time of only 22 years.
The SS Regina was a cargo ship built for the Merchant Mutual Line and home ported in Montreal, Quebec. Named after Regina, Saskatchewan, Regina had a tonnage of 1,956 gross register tons (GRT) and a crew of 32.
Miztec was built as a three-masted schooner in 1890. She was later converted to a schooner barge and served as a consort for lumber hookers on the Great Lakes. She escaped destruction in a severe 1919 storm that sank her longtime companion, the SS Myron, only to sink on the traditional day of bad luck, Friday the 13th in May 1921, with the loss of all hands. She came to rest on Lake Superior's bottom off Whitefish Point near the Myron.
The SS Kaliyuga was a steamship that sank with the loss of 16 lives on Lake Huron on the night of October 19/20, 1905. The wreck of the Kaliyuga has never been found, and the cause of her sinking remains a mystery.
The F.T. Barney was a 19th-century American schooner that sank in 1868. Her wreck in Lake Huron near Rogers City, Michigan, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
Orin William Angwall or Orin W. Angwall was an American lake captain, commercial fisherman, and politician. He served in the Wisconsin legislature and was mayor of Marinette.
SS Isaac M. Scott was an American Great Lakes freighter that sank during the Great Lakes Storm of 1913 in Lake Huron, 6 to 7 miles northeast of Thunder Bay Island, while she was traveling from Cleveland, Ohio, United States to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States with a cargo of coal.
The SS John Sherman, originally the USRC Sherman or USRC John Sherman was built for the United States Revenue Cutter Service in 1865 before being disposed of by the United States Government in 1872. It was a United States sidewheeler ship initially used as a Revenue Cutter on the Great Lakes of North America before being used for ferry service across Lake Michigan between the states of Michigan and Wisconsin. In 1874 the ship was chartered by Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad to become the first ship used by the company transporting freight and passengers.
Minnedosa was a four-masted wooden Great Lakes schooner launched in 1890. This was late in the era of sailing ships and it spent its career as a schooner barge, towed by a steam tug. It was lost with its nine crew and passengers and a heavy load of grain in a storm October 20, 1905 on Lake Huron.
Howard M. Hanna Jr. was a 500 ft (150 m) Great Lakes freighter that had a lengthy, 75-year career on the Great Lakes of Canada and America. Hanna was a product of the Cleveland Shipbuilding Company of Cleveland, Ohio. The ship was commissioned by the Richardson Transportation Company to haul iron ore, coal and grain. She had a cargo capacity of 9,200 tons of bulk cargo, or 323,000 bushels of grain.
The following index is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Wikipedia's articles on recreational dive sites. The level of coverage may vary:
Iosco was a Great Lakes freighter that served on the Great Lakes from her construction in 1891 to her foundering on September 2, 1905, when she and her tow, the schooner barge Olive Jeanette sank on Lake Superior. While Olive Jeanette's wreck was located in over 300 feet (91 m) of water about eight miles (13 km) off the Huron Islands in the 1990s, Iosco's wreck has not yet been found.
The Amboy was a wooden schooner barge that sank along with her towing steamer, the George Spencer on Lake Superior off the coast of Schroeder, Cook County, Minnesota in the United States. In 1994 the remains of the Amboy were added to the National Register of Historic Places.
SS Selah Chamberlain was a wooden-hulled Great Lakes freighter that sank in Lake Michigan in 1886, 6 miles (10 km) off the coast of Sheboygan, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States after being rammed by the steamer John Pridgeon Jr. with the loss of five lives. On January 7, 2019, the wreck of Selah Chamberlain was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and was given the reference number 100003288. She was the first shipwreck listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.
SS Russia was an iron-hulled American Great Lakes package freighter that sank in a Lake Huron gale on April 30, 1909, near DeTour Village, Michigan, with all 22 of her crew and one passenger surviving.
SS Vernon was a wooden-hulled American passenger and package freighter that sank in a Lake Michigan storm on October 29, 1887, near Two Rivers, Wisconsin, with the loss of between 36 and 50 lives, making her one of the deadliest shipwrecks ever to have occurred in Wisconsin. Only one of the people on board survived.
SS Toledo was an American Passenger/Cargo ship that sank during a storm in Lake Michigan near Port Washington, Wisconsin, United States on 24 October 1856 with the loss of 39 to 79 lives.