MYSTERY SCHOONER

By Capt. Ron Burkhard

Many shipwrecks rest on the floor of Lake Huron off the eastern shore of Huron County. Out there is a unique area where five discovered shipwrecks lie in deep water, all within a three mile radius. This area is centered approximately eight miles NE of the Pointe Aux Barques Lighthouse. Four of these shipwrecks have been identified; the PHILADELPHIA, ALBANY, IRON CHIEF, and the HUNTER SAVIDGE. We shall describe several SCUBA dives made on the unidentified one, the “Mystery Schooner”.

There are many ways to identify a shipwreck. If there are survivors, their accounts of the tragedy are usually recorded and contain dates, descriptions, general locations, and other clues that will help a wreck researcher identify a shipwreck. If there are no survivors, the ship itself may provide clues. These may include a ship’s bell, name board, or identification number. If a physical description of the ship, or a shipbuilders dimensional records, were recorded and can be found, this can help identify the wreck lying on the bottom.

Hopefully, when a shipwreck is discovered it can be identified during the initial dives made on the wreck. If not, many more dives and some methodical research may be required. I have found one shipwreck and identified it by its physical dimensions and survivors accounts. It is rare to find a wreck and not be able to identify it. What is truly astounding is that I have heard there are three unidentified shipwrecks lying in the Thumb Area Great Lakes Bottomland Preserve.

All of these unidentified wrecks are wooden schooners that are pretty well broken up and have flattened hulls. Even though they have some unique features, their identity has remained elusive. Great Lakes wreck finder extraordinaire Mr. David Trotter has found two of them. Even with his wealth of experience of finding and identifying shipwrecks, he could not name these ships.

I first dove one of his unidentified shipwrecks during the mid-1990’s. I remember it as a cold, dark, and dirty dive. The visibility was bad and I only saw a small portion of the wreck. During the dive, I became caught in a line that was entangled on the wreck. Since I was alone, this caused a few exciting moments. The only good thing about the dive was the picture I took of a beautiful flower vase lying near a fallen mast. I was in no hurry to return to this wreck.

On October 2, 2001, some friends went out with me to dive on the Hunter Savidge. They had never dove the Savidge before and were looking forward to it. Using some lat/lon coordinates I had in my log book, we proceeded out to the spot and after some effort, hooked into the wreck. I told them to dive first, because I had dove the Hunter Savidge before, and if they reported that the visibility was poor then I would dive another wreck. Well, when they got back on the boat they said the visibility was about the best they had ever seen in Lake Huron. They had covered most of the wreck and described it in detail. After listening to their description, I had to apologize to Dale Purchase and Don Cunningham. Somehow, I had put them on the wrong wreck.

I suited up and went down. The wreck was lying in 155 of water and as I neared bottom the whole forward half of the ship became visible. This was absolutely the best water clarity I had seen off the thumb. It made diving this wreck a real pleasure. Instead of diving a wreck where you could only see the immediate area around you, here you could see whole sections of the ship and the surrounding lake floor. Using just a single tank, I took pictures of only the forward section of the wreck. However, I was able to identify enough of the ship to realize it was the mystery schooner I had dove during the mid-1990’s. Back on the boat, we were all excited about the wreck and decided to dive it again as soon as possible.

It was August 11, 2002 before we were able to get back to this shipwreck. This time I had double tanks and a video camera. Dale and Don dove first and reported back that the visibility was less than ideal—about 10-15 feet. I was still excited about seeing the wreck again and headed down the line. The grappling hook came into view and I saw it was snagged on the starboard stern rail. They had tied it in place with a safety line.

I checked my camera controls and turned toward the bow. Swimming over the port rail I passed deadeyes, burbot, and wire rigging. The rail was flattened in some places and standing up in others. The ship looked split open, flattened, with collapsed decks, and a few upright areas. As I passed a deck winch laying over the rail, I looked to my right and saw a centerboard box in the middle of the wreck. It stood about 5 ft. high. This was a shallow draft ship made for entering rivers and shallow harbors.

Beside the centerboard box, lay a beautiful two-sheave block. Forward of this was some collapsed deck, with a hole for the foremast. The mast was broken off and laying toward the bow area. A fife rail post rested by the hole. Going forward, a bilge pump came into view. Then a hatchway in the deck, which would have given access to the chain locker.

The anchor windlass came into view along with the rest of the smashed bow area. On the pawl post in front of the windlass I noticed small wooden brackets. Resting nearby were short metal rods that fit in these brackets. These rods were probably shoved through the anchor chain links to take the strain off the windlass. I smiled when I saw a horseshoe nailed near the brackets. Sailors often nailed a horseshoe on the pawl post to bring them good luck. Apparently, it didn’t always work.

Anchor chain twisted through this area and dropped over the rail down to the lake bottom. I followed it down to see the jib boom and bow sprint laying on the lake bottom. Resting there lonely and forgotten was someone’s shoe. More wreckage and chain were scattered around. I saw some coal and what looked like it may be a stove base. Swimming around the ship’s cutwater I saw an anchor chair coming out of a hawespipe. Following the chain up, I came to a magnificent wooden cross-stock anchor. One of the anchor flukes was resting on the starboard gunwale and there I saw a rack holding belaying pins. This is great diving when you get to see rare artifacts like these.

Going toward the stern, I passed the broken foremast again and noticed a metal band around the mast. It held what looked like a drum and gear device. Maybe it was used to assist with lifting. It was badly rusted. Past the centerboard box, there are whole intact areas of main deck collapsed onto the ships ribs. Then there are areas of busted and jumbled ships planking. I saw what looked like the base of the main mast. Past that, I swam rearward toward the end of the wreckage. It was hard to tell this was the stern area because it was so broken up. Swimming down to the lake bottom, I came across the rudder shoe. I thought the rudder was laying off to the side, but it was hard to tell. I looked around and under the wreckage to see if I could find dishes, the ships wheel, or anything interesting. All I found was another two-sheave pulley or block. Swimming a little further along, I came back to my starting point.

I still had plenty of air and was not cold, but I knew that a long decompression stop awaited me. I hurried to untie the safety line and looked around for a spot to re-hook the grappling hook. I saw a plank laying on the bottom out away from the wreck and decided it was a good spot that would be easy to free the hook from while back on the boat. After I freed the hook from the wreck, it pulled me along the lake bottom. I struggle to drag the hook over to the plank, against the resistance of the boat and 200 ft. of line. I finally re-hooked it after taking a beating. The dome port on my video housing and my suit were smeared with clay from the lake bottom and I was breathing hard. It is a hassle to reset the hook, but its even more trouble if you don’t move it and can’t free it from the surface.

Slowly, I swam toward the surface through warming water and brightening sunlight. I still had about 30 minutes before I could get back in the boat. This gave me plenty of time to think about the next shipwreck we will explore. We know the name of this shipwreck. She is an important archeological discovery because she was one of the first propeller ships on the lakes and also because of the person who designed her engine and propellers. Recently his name has been in the news concerning another ship he designed—the Civil War iron-clad Monitor. Its turret was recently raised from the ocean off North Carolina. His name is John Ericsson. The name of the shipwreck off Harbor Beach that we will explore is the Goliath.