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Latest News From MSRA MSRA's semi-regular member newsletter may now be read on-line as a "flip page" publication at: http://issuu.com/michiganshipwrecks
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- 6 April, 2012
Historic Shipwreck Found by MSRA in Deep Water off West Michigan (April 5, 2012 Holland, MI) --The non-profit Michigan Shipwreck Research Association (MSRA) has discovered another shipwreck lost off the shores of West Michigan. MSRA directors, Jack and Valerie van Heest and Craig Rich, discovered the wreck of a schooner while working with side scan operator David Trotter last summer. It rests in utter blackness 350 feet beneath the surface of Lake Michigan about twenty miles off the coast of Grand Haven. It is a remnant of the Age of Sail on the Great Lakes when schooners provided the primary means of transportation. Some 2000 shipwrecks went down in deep water in Lake Michigan; hundreds more were driven into shallow water where they ended their days pounded to pieces by the surf. This shipwreck ranks as the deepest schooner yet found in Lake Michigan. MSRA divers waited until a calm day in October to make the dangerous dive because the water is warmest that time of year. They could only spend 15 minutes on the bottom but had to spend two hours decompressing, a process that rids the body of compressed nitrogen that could cause the bends. The diver’s video revealed an intact two-masted schooner about ninety feet long. A substance below deck may represent the cargo, possibly grain. The vessel has a unique scroll bow seen only on schooners built in the early to mid-19th century, making this a very old schooner. “In trying to identify the wreck, I researched a number of schooners lost off West Michigan, Valerie van Heest, author of several shipwrecks books and a museum exhibit designer, said. “Most went down carrying lumber, a buoyant cargo that normally ripped through the decks of wooded vessels when they sank.” Van Heest found only one lost ship that corresponded to the features and cargo of this wreck: the St. Peter, a schooner thought to have gone down in Lake Michigan closer to Wisconsin than Michigan. Built in 1868, the St. Peter, named for the Patron Saint of Sailors, was lost in 1874 on route from Chicago to Buffalo, New York, while carrying a load of wheat. The patron saint may well have been looking out for the crew because every man survived and later reported that they abandoned the sinking ship about 35 miles off Milwaukee. “If this is the wreck of the St. Peter, then it drifted east for some time, coming to rest on the opposite side of Lake Michigan, significantly father east than the crew reported,” Craig Rich, author of two local shipwreck books, noted. An official document that survived more than a century, indicates the St. Peter had a scroll bow, like found on the wreck. The van Heests and Rich have located fourteen wrecks while working in partnership with David Trotter, as well as nationally acclaimed author Clive Cussler. The trio has been able to easily identify some of the wrecks based on unique features. They immediately identified the Hennepin, a wreck that the team found off South Haven in 2006, when they saw the conveyor belt and A-frame that matched historic photos of the vessel. They knew they had found the Michigan in deep water off Holland when they saw the ship’s name engraved on the cover of a piece of machinery. Others shipwrecks, like this newly discovered schooner, don’t leave such obvious clues. Many schooners looked alike. Paint on name boards rarely survives decades underwater. “It requires significant research to be able to identify the wreck, and then the conclusion is tentative,” Rich said. “We plan to retrieve a sample of the cargo to have it chemically analyzed next summer,” Van Heest indicated. “If it proves to be wheat, we can be more certain it is the St. Peters.” Valerie van Heest and Craig Rich will present the story of this new discovery at an event at the Knickerbocker Theater on April 21, 2012. The event, Mysteries and Histories: An Evening Beneath the Inland Seas, is MSRA’s annual program which helps raise the money to conduct annual shipwreck searches. April marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, arguably, the world’s most famous shipwreck. Author Joan Forsberg of Chicago will be at the event to present a program about Midwestern people who survived and perished with the Titanic. Jack and Valerie van Heest will also present the story of the discovery of the Muskegon lumber schooner Thomas Hume, the subject of an archaeological study last year. Learn more about this new discovery at the April program. Tickets can be reserved at www.michiganshipwrecks.org. 2012 Shipwreck show is April 21, 2012 Please see: www.michiganshipwrecks.org/show2012.htm
2011 Shipwreck Show is April 16! For all the details, line-up or presenters and tickets information, please visit our show page. www.michiganshipwrecks.org/show2011.htm .
New Book Available
The lyrics of the hymn Eternal Father Strong to Save pay homage to sailors who risk their lives in the course of everyday work and aptly express the intriguing maritime heritage of Ottawa County, Michigan, a region along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan that saw many a ship and sailor lost. The lakeshore communities of Grand Haven and Holland became thriving commercial ports in the latter half of the 19th century and bore witness to the evolutionary changes in Great Lakes transportation. Early wooden sailing vessels were replaced by wooden steamers, which soon made way for steel vessels, which grew to include today's "thousand footers." Schooners laden with lumber and stone gave way to luxury passenger steamships ferrying Chicago’s wealthy tourists to Ottawa County’s grand tourist hotels.
Families were changed forever when husbands and sons were lost to
the gales of November, and fortunes were lost when vessel owners
tried to get just one more trip in before the harsh winters closed
the ports. Many of these vessels were simply overtaken by age,
mechanical failure or shifting sands. Some broke up on shore while
others were refloated to sail again. Some were left to rot at the
dock while others simply sailed over the horizon into oblivion never
to be seen again. Many now serve as “ice water museums,” attracting
scuba divers, explorers and historians to these shipwrecks that
comprise an important part of the early history of Ottawa County and
the Great Lakes region as well. 136 Pages - 55 photographs 2010 Shipwreck show line up announced The line up for the April 24, 2010 "Mysteries & Histories Beneath the Inland Seas" shipwreck show is set! Click here for details.
Shipwreck Group Announces Discoveries (Holland, MI) – Holland-based Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates has announced the discovery of a new shipwreck in the waters of Lake Michigan off Western Michigan. Working with noted author Clive Cussler’s National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA), MSRA has identified the remains of the Joseph P. Farnan, lost 120 years ago, in July 1889. Built at Cleveland, Ohio, in 1887, the steamer Farnan left St. Joseph, Michigan northbound for Escanaba at around 8:00 am Saturday, July 20, 1889. Only two years old at the time, the vessel was owned and captained by 41-year old Loren G. Vosburgh whose wife Belle and ten crewmen accompanied him on this run to deliver lumber. After battling heavy seas and high winds for more than six hours, a fire broke out in the engine room. The crew attempted to put the fire out but the pumps became disabled by the flames, and soon consumed the ship, destroying the lifeboats, and forcing the crew to assemble hatch covers and fenders to build rafts. When the makeshift rafts were complete, the crew abandoned ship about 17 miles west of South Haven. A watchman from the South Haven station of the US Life Saving Service, noted the Farnan’s lack of progress in heavy seas, then saw smoke on the horizon and dispatched the local steamer Glenn to the rescue. Arriving at the scene as the sun was setting; the rescuers spotted the survivors on the raft just as daylight was fading. Although some of the Farnan’s crew were burned while fighting the fire, all twelve persons made it safely to shore. When last seen, the Farnan was engulfed from stem to stern by a roaring inferno, drifting away from the rafts at an astonishing rate of speed and undoubtedly sank soon thereafter, becoming lost to the ages until 2008 when the joint MSRA/NUMA search team discovered the vessel using side scan sonar. The team also discovered a second shipwreck that appears to be a scuttled vessel as there is limited structure and no machinery. The identity of that vessel has not yet been determined. MSRA co-founders Valerie van Heest and Craig Rich will present the story of the Farnan as part of the annual shipwreck show "Mysteries & Histories Beneath the Inland Seas" at 7pm Saturday, April 25 at the historic Knickerbocker Theater in downtown Holland. The annual program is presented by Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates and the Joint Archives of Holland and features stunning underwater images and tales of local ships-gone-missing. The evening’s events will also include a program by MSRA’s partner, noted shipwreck hunter David Trotter, who will present the story of the Great Lakes largest schooner Minnedosa and its condition fifteen years after its discovery. Maritime authors and historians, Cris Kohl & Joan Forsberg, will present a program about the famous Great Lakes whaleback vessels and those that resulted in a complete loss, including the Henry Cort wrecked off Muskegon in 1934. MSRA’s Valerie van Heest, will also share a 40th anniversary perspective of the sad sago of the schooner Alvin Clark, which in 1969 was raised from the bottom of Lake Michigan after 105 underwater to serve as a museum. The Knickerbocker Theatre lobby will open to the public at 6:00, with books, DVDs and shipwreck artwork by the presenters available for sale. Raffle tickets also are available. Prizes include a shipwreck drawing, a cross-lake car ferry trip on the S.S. Badger, SCUBA diving lessons, books, DVDs and more. Advance show tickets are $12.50 per person for adults. Children 12 and under are free. Tickets are $15 at the door. Purchase of an annual MSRA membership at $25 includes one free ticket to the event. Tickets and memberships may be purchased online at www.michiganshipwrecks.org or by mail prior to April 20. The address is MSRA, 1134 Goodwood Ct., Holland, MI 49424. Advance tickets also may be purchased at the offices of the Joint Archives of Holland at 9 East 10th Street from 9am to noon and from 1pm to 5pm until April 23. MSRA is 501(c)(3) non-profit (Holland, MI) -- The United States Internal revenue Service has granted non-profit status under section 501(c)(3). This means that all contributions, bequests, transfers and gifts are now fully tax deductible. The letter of acceptance from the IRS may be viewed here. MSRA ANNOUNCES 2008 "Mysteries & Histories Beneath the Inland Seas" (Holland, MI) --Michigan Shipwreck Research
Associates presents the 10th annual “Mysteries & Histories Beneath the
Inland Seas” shipwreck show on Saturday, May 3, 2008 in Holland,
Michigan. The event will be held at 7:00 PM in the historic
Knickerbocker Theatre and feature the following presentations: MSRA Receives Grant (Holland, MI - December 2007) -- Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates recently was named recipient of a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council which will enable the group to work with the Heritage Museum, (formerly the Fort Miami Heritage Society) in St. Joseph, MI to develop an exhibit, curriculum guide, documentary film and hard-cover book. "From the Hennepin to the Thousand footers: The Rise of the Self Unloaders" will tell the story of the modernization of the bulk cargo shipping industry in the Great lakes. Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates Receives Grants (Holland, MI - Summer/Fall 2007) -- Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates recently was named recipient of two grants to further its work in shipwreck research, discovery, exploration, documentation and education.
The Michigan Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities awarded the group a planning grant for their new project, "The steamer Hennepin: Revolutionizing the Bulk Cargo Transportation Industry". The grant will allow MSRA to work with the Heritage Museum, (formerly the Fort Miami Heritage Society) in St. Joseph, MI to develop plans to include information learned from the shipwreck Hennepin in a new exhibit. Valerie van Heest, Director of MSRA and Project Director for the Hennepin grant Project said “This will be a great opportunity to interpret the remains of this historically significant vessel and share those findings with members of the public.” In addition to the work of the grant, Ms. Van Heest is also collaborating with historian, William Lafferty, PhD of Wright State University to nominate this vessel to the National Register of Historic Places. If accepted to the register, this will be the first shipwreck within Michigan waters that will be listed within a year of its discovery and before sport divers begin visiting the site. The pristine condition assures that the vessel has not been materially altered by visitation to the site and allows for a more comprehensive study of the remains. The lost steamer Hennepin was located by MSRA in 2006 during a sidescan sonar search of the lake bottom off South Haven. The historic vessel, which sank in 1927, lies upright and intact in 230 feet of water about ten miles offshore. Captain Ole Hansen and his Grand Haven-based crew all survived the sinking.
According to Kenneth Pott, Executive Director of The Heritage Museum,
"The rich maritime history and cultural traditions of St. Joseph/Benton
Harbor will be the theme of The Heritage’s next major exhibition,
scheduled to open in 2008, and we are looking forward to exploring the
roots of the bulk-cargo industry which still accounts for about 80% of
the boat traffic through St. MSRA Receives Grant (Holland, MI, May , 2007) -- A grant from the Great Lakes Shipwreck Research Foundation was accepted Saturday by Holland, Michigan based MSRA during the annual "Mysteries & Histories Beneath The Inland Seas" event. The announcement was made at the program by MSRA. This is is the sixth consecutive year that MSRA was awarded a grant from the group to continue research and documentation activities along the east shore of Lake Michigan. The grant, announced by Kimm Stablefeldt and Bradley Friend of GLSRF was made possible by proceeds from the annual Ghost Ships Festival in Milwaukee, WI in March 2007 and was formally announced at that program.NUMA completes 4th Search for 2501 (South Haven, MI - May 2007) -- Clive Cussler's National Underwater & Marine Agency search team has completed its 4th search of Lake Michigan bottomlands in a continuing effort to locate the remains of a 57 year old plane crash. The search, which began with a ten day effort in the autumn of 2004, followed by 30 day search periods in May of 2005, 2006 and 2007 has yielded no sign of Northwest Airlines flight 2501, a DC-4 airliner which crashed into the lake during a violent thunderstorm in 1950 claiming the lives of all 58 persons on board. Team leader Ralph Wilbanks, boat pilot Steve Howard and Underwater Archeologist Harry Pecorelli will return in May 2008 to continue the search, sponsored by Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates and funded by author Cussler. MSRA Announces 2007 program schedule (Holland, MI - January 2007) -- Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates has announced their appearance schedule for 2007 as follows: February 09, 2007 -- Our World Underwater, Chicago IllinoisMarch 23, 24, 2007 -- Ghostships, Milwaukee, WisconsinApril 24, 2007 -- Berrien County Historical Association.May 5, 2007 -- MSRA's own " Beneath The Inland Seas" event, Holland, MIMSRA opens Internet store MSRA has opened an online store at Cafe Press. MSRA members and others may purchase a full line of quality clothing, caps, tote bags and many other items -- all with the MSRA logo. All proceeds will go toward shipwreck discovery and documentation.Family Members of Northwest Airlines
MSRA recently has discovered the descendants of two crash victims, who will travel across country to attend the May Program and participate in search operations being conducted as a joint venture between nationally acclaimed author Clive Cussler, and MSRA. During last year’s program, attendees were treated to a feature presentation about the loss of Flight 2501. This year, during one of the four featured presentations, audience members will learn about the developing research and the continued search for the missing aircraft, and meet the family members of victims. Sunday, May 7, MSRA will conduct a commemorative service for the 58 victims out on the lake near the site of the crash. Reverend Mark Mast from Trinity Reformed Church, who will conduct the service, will join the families of the victims, MSRA board members, and special guests. The service will take place aboard MSRA member Chuck and Shirley Cooper’s, 53 foot vessel, the Seven C’s, and the group will travel from their dock at Anchorage Marina in Holland to the sight of the crash some 20 miles off South Haven. Pastor Mast will conduct a non-denominational service honoring Jean Kaufmann originally from Seattle, WA and Kenneth Skoug of Minneapolis, MN, both of whom perished in the crash along with 56 other individuals. Family members will toss a memorial wreath in honor of all the victims. Jean Kaufmann’s children, 62 year old William Kaufmann and 58 year old Brandi Holstein are traveling to Holland for the program and memorial service from California. Their mother Jean had taken a trip to Europe with family friends, and was returning home on June 22, 1950. She missed her plane and was rescheduled on Northwest Airlines Flight 2501 the following day. Six and two years old at the time, William and Brandi could not really understand the reason their mother never returned home from that trip. Years later, the crash still haunts them. Crash victim Kenneth Skoug’s son, Ken Skoug II, now 74, will travel from Virginia for the program. He was 18 years old at the time of the loss. He will be accompanied by his son, Ken Skoug III from Detroit. The elder Skoug was returning home to Minnesota from New York City where he was an executive of the Remington Rand Corporation. His second wife and his son had driven to St. Paul from New York earlier. They waited at the airport until nearly midnight but returned home after being given no information by Northwest Airlines about the status of the flight. The following morning a clergyman brought the news that the flight was missing and presumed lost." In addition to meeting the relatives of Flight 2501 victims, attendees will be treated to four other presentations: "The Search for the Bonhomme Richard" -- The evening’s keynote speaker, Ralph Wilbanks, archaeologist and sonar operator for Clive Cussler, is returning this year and will take a break from the ongoing Flight 2501 search operation to present his program He will share the ongoing search for John Paul Jones’ ship Bonhomme Richard lost in the North Sea in 1779 during the American Revolution. Wilbanks and famed author Clive Cussler are committed to locating the ship which sank after a fierce battle with the British frigate Serapis. It was during this battle that Jones cried out the now famous reply, “I have not yet begun to fight”. He went on to win the battle, but lost his ship. Wilbanks will share how he has "Not yet begun to search!” The audience will also be treated to the following programs: "Icebound: Found!" -- Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates will relate the story of the 2005 discovery of the S. S. Michigan after a three-year search using side scan sonar. The Michigan was crushed and sank after enduring a 40 day battle locked in the ice in Lake Michigan in 1885. The loss of the Michigan was the subject of a 2004 documentary by MSRA which has now been updated with incredible underwater video of the shipwreck which lies in 275 feet of water off Holland, Michigan. Be among the first to see this exciting video documentary! "Of Planes, Trains & Ships" – A program about the surprising discovery of the car ferry Ann Arbor No. 5, found last year by the Cussler/MSRA team while looking for the remains of Flight 2501. "Phantoms of the Deep" -- Share the excitement of four unique discoveries in one year with David Trotter, one of the Great Lakes' most prolific shipwreck hunters, and his Underwater Research Associates team. The annual shipwreck film festival will be held in conjunction with the Joint Archives of Holland at the Knickerbocker Theatre, 76 East 8th Street in downtown Holland on Saturday, May 6, 2005 at 7:00 PM. Tickets are $10 in advance by calling 616-738-9233, $12.50 at the door, or free with a $25 MSRA membership. Proceeds are used to further the search for and documentation of shipwrecks in Lake Michigan. MSRA Receives Grant (Holland, MI, May 6, 2006) -- A check was presented to MSRA members during the annual "Mysteries & Histories Beneath The Inland Seas" event in Holland on May 6, 2006 by Kimm Stablefeldt of Great Lakes Shipwreck Research Foundation. This is the fifth consecutive year that MSRA was awarded a grant from the group to continue research and documentation activities along the east shore of Lake Michigan. The grant, announced by Kimm Stablefeldt and Bradley Friend of GLSRF was made possible by proceeds from the annual Ghost Ships Festival in Milwaukee, WI in March 2006. Flight 2501 Search Resumes
(Holland, MI, April 28, 2006) – More than a half century after it made headlines as the single greatest aviation disaster in world history, Holland-based Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates and author Clive Cussler’s National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) will resume their search for a Douglas DC-4 airliner which crashed into Lake Michigan in 1950, later this week. Research gathered by MSRA over the winter, combined with input from several government agencies has helped the team further define the search area. Cussler, author of the Dirk Pitt adventure series, the Kurt Austin series, the Oregon Files series and several non-fiction books, again will send his search expert Ralph Wilbanks to lead the search effort. Working for Cussler in 1995, Wilbanks, along with Wes Hall and Harry Pecorelli discovered the Confederate submarine CSS Horace L. Hunley, solving one of the great mysteries of the US Civil War. This year, Pecorelli, along with Captain Steve Howard, will join Wilbanks and the MSRA crew during the month of May as they scan the bottom of Lake Michigan using sophisticated side scan sonar and magnetometer equipment. The NUMA organization joined the search late in 2004 when Cussler read about the local group’s interest in the lost airliner. His non-profit organization is dedicated to American maritime and naval history. Cussler and his crew of marine experts and NUMA volunteers have discovered over 60 historically significant wrecks. Beside the Hunley, NUMA is responsible for locating the Housatonic, the ship the Hunley sank; the U-20, the U-boat that sank the Lusitania; the Cumberland, sunk by the famous ironclad, Merrimack; the Confederate raider Florida; the Navy airship Akron; the Republic of Texas Navy warship Zavala, found under a parking lot in Galveston, Texas; and the remains of the Carpathia, the valiant ship that braved icebergs to rescue the survivors of the Titanic. Taking a break from the search, Wilbanks will serve as keynote speaker at MSRA’s annual “Mysteries and Histories: Evening beneath the Inland Seas” event on May 6th at 7:00 PM at the Knickerbocker Theater in downtown Holland. Wilbanks will present a program on "The Search for the Bonhomme Richard". He will describe the ongoing search for John Paul Jones’ ship Bonhomme Richard lost in the North Sea in 1779 during the American Revolution. Wilbanks and Cussler are committed to locating the ship; which sank after a fierce battle with the British frigate Serapis. It was during this battle that Jones made his famous reply, “I have not yet begun to fight”. He went on to win the battle, but lost his ship. Wilbanks will share how he has, "Not yet begun to search!” The audience will also be treated to the following programs: "Icebound: Found!" -- Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates will relate the story of the 2005 discovery of the S. S. Michigan after a three-year search. The Michigan was crushed and sank after enduring a 40 day battle locked in the ice in Lake Michigan in 1885. The loss of the Michigan was the subject of a 2004 documentary by MSRA which has now been updated to include incredible underwater video of the shipwreck which lies in 275 feet of water off Holland, Michigan. Be among the first to see this exciting video documentary! "Of Planes, Trains & Ships" – A program about the surprising discovery of the car ferry Ann Arbor No. 5, found last year by the Cussler/MSRA team while looking for the remains of Flight 2501 in 2005. "Phantoms Of The Deep" -- Share the excitement of four unique discoveries in one year with David Trotter, one of the Great Lakes' most prolific shipwreck hunters and his Underwater Research Associates team. The annual shipwreck film festival will be held in conjunction with the Joint Archives of Holland at the Knickerbocker Theatre, 76 East 8th Street in downtown Holland on Saturday, May 6, 2005 at 7:00 PM. Tickets are $10 in advance by calling 616-738-9233, $12.50 at the door, or free with a $25 MSRA membership. Proceeds are used to further the search for and documentation of shipwrecks in Lake Michigan. Further information and a ticket order form is available at the Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates’ web site. GLSRF grant again goes to MSRA March 2006 - For the 5th consecutive year, Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates will be awarded a grant from the Great Lakes Shipwreck Research Foundation to continue research, search and documentation activities along the east shore of Lake Michigan. The grant, announced by Kimm Stablefeldt and Bradley Friend of GLSRF was made possible by proceeds from the annual Ghost Ships Festival in Milwaukee, WI in March 2006. MSRA to present at Shipwreck shows (Holland, MI -Spring 2006) -- Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates has accepted the following invitations to present its latest finding at shipwreck events through the Midwest (click on logos for details):
March 18, 2006 - West Bloomfield, Michigan Sponsored by the Great Lakes Maritime Institute
March 24th & 25th 2006 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin Sponsored by the Great lakes Shipwreck research Foundation
May 6, 2006 - Knickerbocker Theatre, Downtown Holland, Michigan. Tickets for the event are just $10 in advance or $12.50 at the door. Presenters will include MSRA, Dave Trotter, and a special guest. Details to be announced.
MSRA ANNOUNCES SHIPWRECK DISCOVERIES (Holland, MI, June 2005) --A recent expedition by Holland-based Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates has led to the discovery of the final location of the Great Lakes passenger steamer S. S. Michigan, the remains of the car ferry Ann Arbor #5, and an unnamed barge. The S. S. Michigan is one of MSRA’s six most-sought-after shipwrecks and is the subject of a 2004 documentary called, “ICEBOUND! The Ordeal of the S. S. Michigan”. The S. S. Michigan sank on March 19, 1885, just four years after her launch. The 30-man crew made is safely to shore after being stranded on the ice for 42 days. MSRA board members Craig Rich, Valerie & Jack van Heest, Jan Miller and Ross Richardson teamed up with renowned Great lakes shipwreck hunter David Trotter for the search in early June, 2005. The vessel was found upright in over 275 feet of water off Holland, making it a “technical dive” for experts only. MSRA-affiliated scuba divers have made several deep dives to the wreck, beginning the process of documentation. So far, they have seen the ship’s massive anchors, the ship’s wheel and the smokestack. Most intriguing, they located the capstan with the name “S. S. Michigan” and “Wyandotte, Michigan” inscribed on it. There is no doubt as to the identity of this shipwreck. Built in 1881 as a sister ship to the S. S Wisconsin by the Detroit Dry Dock Company at Wyandotte, Michigan for the Goodrich Transportation Company, the S. S. Michigan was a sturdy iron-hulled passenger steamer. She was 204 feet long and 35 feet wide, powered by a compound engine, which drove a single propeller. The discovery of the Michigan came exactly one year after the team discovered an unnamed barge in the same general location. Due to its clean condition and lack of equipment, his barge is believed to have been scuttled. The site, off Holland, will make a fine technical-diver training locations since it lies in 275 feet of water. Earlier this year, a joint expedition between MSRA and Clive Cussler’s National Underwater Marine Agency (NUMA) produced a number of interesting finds, but the location of Northwest Airlines Flight 2501 remains a mystery. The DC-4 airliner crashed into Lake Michigan off South Haven in 1950 with the loss of all 58 persons aboard. Flight 2501 was en route from New York to Minneapolis when it encountered a severe thunderstorm late in the evening of June 23, 1950. Three crewmembers and 55 passengers perished in the disaster. MSRA and NUMA are further researching the details of the crash, and will expand the search grid for the 2006 expedition commencing in May. MSRA teamed up with Ralph Wilbanks and Steve Howard of NUMA for the month-long search. MSRA supplied the search vessel and crew while Wilbanks, who is well known for discovering the confederate submarine Hunley in 1995 off South Carolina, supplied the side scan sonar. While the DC-4 remains elusive, the team did discover the final resting place of a portion of what is believed to be the car ferry Ann Arbor No. 5. This 360-foot long, steel-hulled vessel was built in Toledo, Ohio in 1910, working the Great Lakes for nearly 60 years, before being cut down to finish her life as a barge. In 1969, under the ownership of the Bultema Dock and Dredge Company, the barge was used as a temporary break-wall during construction of the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in South Haven. Reports say that during the winter of 1969/1970 she was damaged by ice and broken up. In the spring, the remains were supposedly recovered and scrapped. However, the large portion of ship discovered by MSRA confirms that a large portion of the ship lies intact on the bottom of Lake Michigan. MSRA is seeking input from any individuals associated with the construction of Palisades Power Plant, former employees of Bultema Dock and Dredge, or those involved in scrapping the vessel. This newly discovered shipwreck will quickly become one of West Michigan’s premiere SCUBA diving sites. The wreck juts out of the lake bottom at a 45-degree angle, with the massive propellers and rudder accessible in about 120 feet of water – just within recreational diving limits. The remainder of the wreck is in nearly 160 feet of water providing more experienced and “technical” divers a challenge. While the upper works were removed during conversion to barge use, the railroad tracks, propellers and rudder remain in place. The exact location of the wreck will be released to sport divers once a complete survey is conducted to document the remains. MSRA is a Michigan non-profit corporation, the focus of which is to “Preserve Michigan’s Submerged Maritime History for now and forever.” To that end, the organization’s work includes RESEARCH, EXPLORATION, DOCUMENTATION and OUTREACH. The organization operates solely on a volunteer basis with financial support from its Board of Directors, memberships, grants and private funding. For the past eight years, MSRA board members have raised funds to conduct side-scan sonar surveys in Lake Michigan off West Michigan in an attempt to locate historic ships and share their stories with the interested public. To date we have covered approximately 200 square miles of bottomlands, and discovered the passenger steamer H.C. Akeley, the passenger steamer S. S. Michigan, the remains of Ann Arbor #5, and a 200’ long modern barge (probably scuttled). Perhaps one or more of these wrecks was previously discovered back in the 1970s or 1980s but their locations were kept secret. Our policy is to document the condition of the ships for the public record, through video, drawings, articles and film documentaries. We make our work available to the state and its concerned agencies. We also share our work with the public. Once that effort is complete, it is our policy to make the coordinates available to the diving public. We do this because the public partially funds our efforts. Craig Rich Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates www.michiganshipwrecks.org/michigan/htm
(April 2005) -- MSRA will present its annual "Mysteries and Histories Beneath The Inland Seas" event at Holland's Knickerbocker Theater in downtown Holland on Saturday, May 7 at 7:00 PM. Tickets for the event are just $10 in advance or $12.50 at the door. Presenters will include MSRA, Dave Trotter, Joyce Hayward and SPECIAL GUEST Ralph Wilbanks, the man who, along with author Clive Cussler, located the Confederate Submarine CSS Hunley! Click here for a pdf version of the invitation with all the details. Print it out and mail it in to reserve your seat today! GLSRF grant goes to MSRA again February 2005 - For the 4th consecutive year, Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates will be awarded a grant from the Great Lakes Shipwreck Research Foundation to continue research, search and documentation activities along the east shore of Lake Michigan. The grant, announced by Kimm Stablefeldt of GLSRF was made possible by proceeds from the annual Ghost Ships Festival in Milwaukee, WI in February 2005. MSRA Receives grant 13 April 2004 - For the third consecutive year, Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates has received a grant from the Great Lakes Shipwreck Research Foundation to continue research, search and documentation activities along the east shore of Lake Michigan. The grant, announced by Kimm Stablefeldt of GLSRF was made possible by proceeds from the annual Ghost Ships Festival in Milwaukee, WI in March 2004.
13 October 2003 - Michigan Shipwreck Research
Associates has again been asked to make a presentation at the annual
Ghostships event at the Four Points Sheraton in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
March 5 & 6, 2004. Further details will be announced at a later time Akeley Story to be told in Michigan History magazine 20 June 2003 -- Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates' discovery and documentation of the wreck of the steamer H. C. Akeley will be told in the July-August 2003 issue of Michigan History Magazine. The article was written by MSRA director Valerie Olson van Heest and includes several full color photos and a scale drawing of the ship as it rests on the bottom of Lake Michigan. Visit Michigan History magazine's web site for more details. MSRA Announces Program with Fort Miami Historical Society
MSRA Announces Program at Fenn Valley Winery March 27, 2003 -- Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates invites area residents, historians and those who seek "ships gone missing" to attend "MYSTERIES & HISTORIES" a new annual event celebrating our unique West Michigan Maritime history by focusing on shipwrecks lost in the area. This years event will be held at the Fenn Valley Winery in Fennville, Michigan on Saturday, May 10, 2003. If you have Adobe's free Acrobat Reader, click here to open your personal invitation which includes a map and ticket information.
March 16, 2003 -- Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates, a non-profit organization whose purpose it is to research, search, discover, and document shipwrecks in the Great Lakes, and create related educational programs was ward a grant to continue documentation work on the wreck of the H. C. Akeley. The exact amount of the grant, from the Great Lakes Shipwreck Research Foundation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin has yet to be announced. GRSRF raises funds through their annual "Ghostships" festival held in Milwaukee March 15 & 16, 2003. Exact grant amounts are dependent on the proceeds from the event. This is the second year the organization has been recognized for it's efforts to document the wreck of the H. C. Akeley -- discovered by members of the organization in May 2001. MSRA and Tri-Cities Museum Team Up for Akeley Show
March 13, 2003 -- Representatives from Michigan Shipwreck Research
Associates will team up with the Tri-Cities Historical Museum in Grand
Haven, Michigan to present a joint program celebrating the life of Healy
C. Akeley and revealing -- for the first time locally -- the story of
the discovery of the sunken ship bearing his name.
February 16, 2003 -- Michigan Shipwreck Research
Associates will present their latest video production at Ghostships in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin March 14-16. Jan, Val, Craig and Jack will be there
to present the story of the discovery of the H. C. Akeley in 2001 and
the difficulty of deep-water wreck identification and documentation. The
video is being produced by Chicago's Bob Gadbois who has worked with
members of the group on numerous occasions. MSRA Web Page Debuts February 15, 2003 -- Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates -- a non-profit organization dedicated to research, search, discovery, documentation and education regarding historic shipwrecks in the Great Lakes -- unveiled a new MSRA web page. The new page, www.michiganshipwrecks.org , will be used by the group to announce discoveries and communicate its mission of discovery and documentation to the public. MSRA is partially funded through a grant from
and by private contributions from people like you. Email the Webmaster Copyright 2003-200 8Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates |
MSRA
co-director Craig Rich's book is now available! Get your copy now!
For Those In Peril: Shipwrecks of Ottawa County Michigan
is for sale at 
