William B. Davock
N 43° 40.367′, W 086° 36.335′
1.9 miles off Little Sable Light, 215-240′ deep
The William B. Davock was a steel steamer built 1907 by Great lakes Engineering Works in St. Clair, MI. She was 420′ in length and 52′ wide with a tonnage rating of 7,200.
The Davock sank in 210′ of water off Pentwater, Michigan claiming the lives of all 32 men aboard and her cargo of coal. She sank during the Armistice Day storm on November 11, 1940 along with the Anna C. Minch and the Novadoc.
She was owned by the Interlake Steamship Co. (Pickands Mather & Co., Mgrs.) of Cleveland, Ohio. As with the Minch, there are theories that the two vessels collided in the storm.
Side Scan sonar image of the Davock by Deb Chase
The wreckage of the Davock was found in May of 1972 by John Steele, Kent Bellrichard and Bill Cohrs. She lies upside-down with coal strewn about and her rudder hard to port.
The following is the text from a Michigan Historical marker in Pentwater:
“The most disastrous day in the history of Lake Michigan shipping was Armistice (now Veterans) Day, November 11, 1940. With seventy-five-mile-per-hour winds and twenty-foot waves, a raging storm destroyed three ships and claimed the lives of fifty-nine seamen. Two freighters sank with all hands lost, and a third, the Novadoc, ran aground with the loss of two crew members. Bodies washed ashore throughout the day. As night fell, a heavy snow storm arrived. Rescue efforts by the Coast Guard and local citizens continued for three days after the storm. Three Pentwater fishermen were later recognized by the local community and the Canadian government for their bravery in rescuing seventeen sailors from the Novadoc.” These fishermen, aboard the Three Brothers, ventured out to rescue the men when even the official search and rescue agencies would not.
Early in 2015, Michigan Shipwreck Research Association announced the results of a 2014 survey of the wreck which revealed the cause of the Davock loss was a broken rudder, which jammed against the propeller breaking off one or more blades, rendering the vessel without steering or propulsion. This allowed the boat to fall into the rough of the waves, where it was swamped and perhaps capsized before sinking. It sank in more than 200 feet of water, taking all hands with it. Diver Jeff Vos captured the only video images of the wreck showing the damaged rudder and propeller.