goliath

By:  Capt. Ron Burkhard

On a calm and bright summer day, it is always a pleasure to pass by the Harbor Beach Lighthouse while leaving the harbor. The lighthouse is well-maintained by the Harbor Beach Breakwall and Lighthouse Preservation Society and is a reminder that this was a harbor of refuge for ships traveling along Lake Huron’s lower western shore. However, not all the ships caught in a storm could make it to this harbor and they are now resting on the lake floor within sight of this lighthouse. One of these ships sank on September 13, 1848, and was named the Goliath. We will make a SCUBA dive on this shipwreck and describe what she looks like resting on the bottom today. But first, let us look back into this ships’ history and its tragic end, which claimed so many sailors’ lives.

This is the oldest shipwreck that I know of in Lake Huron, but there are several other reasons she is special. She was among the first steam ships to use propellers and was the first to be designed exclusively to haul freight. Not only did she have twin-propellers and a high-pressure steam engine, but also they were designed by Mr. John Ericsson. He was a Swedish-born inventor who later became famous for designing the iron-clad Monitor for the Union Navy during the U.S. Civil War. The Monitor has been in the news lately because of NOAA’s efforts to raise part of the historic ship and preserve what remains on the bottom. For more information, visit www.monitor.nos.noaa.gov.

Ericsson was the inventor of the propeller and efficient steam engines. In 1839, he was awarded a contract to build the USS Princeton for the U.S. Navy. This was the first warship in naval history to be designed and built as a screw-powered ship. Before this, steam ships used paddlewheels on the stern or sides of the ship. This was a radical idea at the time, but we know today that most ships use propellers. However, the use of twin propellers did not prove to be popular. In the shallow harbors and rivers of the Great Lakes, the twin screws were prone to hitting the bottom or the docks. Today, most freighters on the lakes use single propellers, although there are exceptions. The Interlake Steamship Company has three 1000’ ships, including the Paul R. Tregurtha (the largest ship on the lakes, at 1,013’) that has twin propellers, along with twin rudders and a bow thruster.

Ericsson’s “Screw Propeller” patent, dated February 1, 1838, shows basically the same propeller used in 1846 on the Goliath. There is, however, a difference in how the propeller is mounted and driven. The propeller is best described as an iron rim with blades mounted on its outside diameter. It does not look like today’s highly efficient propeller designs. If you do not want to dive down to the Goliath to see what one looks like, you can still see one by driving up to Sault Ste. Marie, Mi. There is one on display by the Soo Locks visitor’s center. It sits just outside on the lawn.

The Goliath was enrolled on June 24, 1846, as a steam propeller with one deck, one mast, a plain head, and a round stern. I do not know if a photo or painting of her exists. She was 131’ long and had a gross weight of 280 tons. Her short life on the lakes started with a mishap on September 14, 1846, when she sank in shallow water during a storm. After resting on the lake bottom for two weeks, she was refloated. The 1847 shipping season was a record setting and profitable one for the lake freighter. On September 13 of the 1848 shipping season, the Goliath left Port Huron headed for Sault Ste. Marie with supplies for Lake Superior’s mining towns. She was carrying 30,000 feet of lumber, 20,000 brick, 2,000 barrels of provisions, 200 kegs of black powder, and 40 tons of hay.

The Goliath was last seen by pioneers near White Rock, who saw a burning ship far out in the lake. They said its’ mast and smokestack were tipped over. Later, they heard a terrific explosion. Also, the schooner Spartan ,which started up the lake three hours after the Goliath, said they saw the explosion. This great explosion from the 200 kegs of gunpowder was said to be heard from Port Huron to Port Austin. 18 sailors died aboard this ship. Some of their names will never be known because the records went down with the ship.

This ship is part of the Great Lakes Thumb Bottomland Preserve. It was first discovered in 1984 by the well-known wreck finder Mr. David Trotter. He kept its location a secret and it lay hidden until it was rediscovered in 1994 by wreck hunter Mr. Gary Biniecki, who is famous for finding the Regina.

The Goliath lies in about 100’ of water approximately 3.5 miles from the Harbor Beach Lighthouse on a 130-degree true heading. Having only dove on this wreck 4 or 5 times, I find myself wanting to return as quickly as possible to study it some more.

I had seen an excellent line illustration of the wreck done by Mr. Bob McGreevy, who is a well know marine and shipwreck artist. The drawing shows the ship resting upright on the bottom with only its’ engine/boiler, stern area, and some bow area reasonably intact. The sides of the ship lie flat on the lake bottom with the upper deck and superstructure blown away.

If you are lucky enough to have the correct information, it is always best to picture the ship’s layout and condition before you swim away from the descent line. No one likes getting lost in a cloud of silt or being disoriented by strange surrounding and going the wrong way. I speak from experience. Luckily, the last time I dove this wreck, August 22, 2001, the visibility was the best I had ever seen. When I drop down the line to a wreck, I always think about what aspect of the wreck I want to focus in on during that dive. What usually happens is that as I end the dive by going back up the line, I think of something I wanted to look at, but missed.

This shipwreck usually has a mooring line attached to the tallest part of the wreck, the engine, and that is where we will start our exploration. When the cylinder head of the steam engine came into view, I stopped to orient myself and set my camera controls. It was then that I realized I could see the whole engine, boiler, and stern area of the wreck. This was exceptional. I am fascinated by these old steam engines so I spent some time exploring the engine area and trying to name the engine components. There was a maize of rods, braces, pipes, gears, flywheels, and what looked like tin or copper tubes. Also present where the ubiquitous zebra mussels. As I turned for the stern and swam over the fantail area, I saw the top of the steering gear. This area was where Beniecki had found some human bone fragments so I swam over to investigate. Not finding anything, I went down inside near the rear keel area. Here, I noticed a small block, some brick, and the remains of a cooking stove that would have sat in the galley. This area is near lake bottom so I turned away, swum along the bottom, and around the stern area to examine the props.

To me the propellers are the most exciting feature of this wreck. I had never been able to see the whole area at once due to the poor visibility, but this time I could see both huge props with the rudder standing between them. The starboard prop was in excellent shape with only a chunk missing from a blade resting on the lake bottom.
The port prop was bent into an oval shape with one of the inner arms broken loose. These props are probably six feet in diameter and have six blades. Remembering what Ericsson’s 1838 patent drawing of his original props looked like, I could see the evolution in design in the eight years that had followed. These props had bigger blades and the shape more resembled today’s modern efficient propellers; almost like sawing a modern prop in half then taking the outer half and welding it to a steel ring. After taking 10 pictures of the props and spending way to much time in this area, I proceeded away from the stern area and back around the engine.

In front of the upright steam engine was its power source, the boiler. Even though this was a twin-screw ship, it only had one boiler. But, it was a big one. I swam around it and saw two doors through which the fuel would have been thrown on the fire. They were both closed.

Following the keelson forward, I noticed how silty the lake bottom was. Being careful not to kick up this silt, I stopped to examine the many bricks lying scattered about. The ship had been carrying 20,000 of these and some were still here. The one that caught my attention had the initials MFB molded into its’ side.

Moving on, I came to a beautiful white flowered vase lying among the wreckage. It is always a thrill to find something like this, something personal from the crew. Its’ handle was partially broken off. A picture of this vase appears on the cover of Michigan’s Thumb Area Vacation Guide for 2002.

Moving forward again, I came upon a big windlass. Its iron center was badly rusted and an iron hope hung off one arm. Past this is the bow area. The nose of the ship rises off the bottom, unlike the flattened sides of the ship. Nestled in this section are two big wooden cross stock anchors. I left this area quickly and swam back toward the stern. Looking out away from the ship, I could see its sides lying flat on the lake bottom. I did not have the time to explore them.

Reaching the engine, I started up the line. I then realized I missed identifying if this was a double cylinder engine or if it had a transmission to convert single engine power to the twin propellers. Later, studying McGreevy’s drawing, it looks like it has a double cylinder head. Another good reason to come back and dive this wreck.

As I hung on the ascent line decompressing, I thought about the mishap that occurred at the start of the dive. While diver buddy Don Cunnigham was tying the boat up to this wreck’s mooring line, my bow anchor became unattached and fell overboard in 100’ of water. He expressed concern at the loss of the anchor, but I told him every diver I know has a huge inventory of anchors. Don promised to recover it and, at first, I was concerned. I know divers who will jump overboard in a bathing suit to recover a penny dropped in 200 feet of water. However, Don explained he would look for it during his SCUBA dive since he was going down first. The excellent diver that he is, he did find it and bring it back aboard.

The next shipwreck we will explore is just outside the Harbor Beach harbor in less than 40’ of water. It has probably captured the fishing tackle of many unsuspecting fisherman. This ship rests on the bottom still holding its cargo of iron ore. It is the Chickamauga.