120-year-old shipwreck discovered in Lake Superior
PARADISE, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - A 292-foot Whaleback vessel has been discovered nearly 120 years after sinking.
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) said it found the Whaleback vessel, Barge 129, in Lake Superior 35 miles off Vermilion Point in 650 feet of water.
GLSHS said Barge 129 sank on Oct. 13, 1902. The barge was in tow of the steamer Maunaloa, with a load of iron ore, when they hit a strong October storm. The towline connecting the two ships snapped.
The historical society said Maunaloa turned around in an attempt to reconnect the towline, but the wind and waves slammed the two ships together. Maunaloa's anchor ripped into the side of Barge 129.
As the barge began to sink, Capt. Josiah Bailey and his crew struggled to launch their lifeboat. The crew of Maunaloa helped the Barge 129 crew onto their ship as the whaleback sunk to the bottom of Lake Superior.
"I've looked for this ship for so long because it was a Whaleback," said Darryl Ertel Jr., GLSHS director of marine operations. "I was pretty excited. I couldn't wait to get the cameras on it".
"The whalebacks were pretty unusual ships," said Shipwreck Society executive director Bruce Lynn. "When we had the ROV on it, you could clearly see the distinctive bow with a part of the towline still in place…that was an incredible moment!"
However, the Shipwreck Society said they were surprised by the devastation of the ship.
"It's totally destroyed on the bottom," said Ertel. "It's nowhere near intact. It's at least 4 to 5 big pieces and thousands of little pieces. It's just disintegrated"
On Facebook, the historical society said they will continue to release additional information on the shipwreck.
Their page can be found here.
