Explorers group discovers name of Lake Michigan shipwreck - w/video
April 22, 2012 at 5:47 am
Explorers group discovers name of shipwreck
By Laura Phelps
Special to The Detroit News
Holland— After months of research, a team of Lake Michigan divers determined their October shipwreck discovery has a name: St. Peter.
On the hunt for a different ship, the Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates' sonar stumbled upon another mystery: a schooner that sank in 1874. Board member Valerie Olson van Heest said they first spotted the shipwreck last summer, but the two divers had to wait until October when the waters are warmest. At 350 feet deep, the divers could only spend 15 minutes at the bottom, but the features were distinct.
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There are an estimated 6,000 to 10,000 shipwrecks in the Great Lakes and almost 2,000 alone in Lake Michigan. But there are laws against bringing them to the surface for fear of deterioration.
"These ships are well preserved in our underwater museum," she said.
The St. Peter was built in the 1860s and was making its way from Chicago to Buffalo, she said. A May storm sank the ship, though, but with enough time for the crew to escape. The seven-member team landed near Milwaukee after riding in a small boat for 35 miles, she said. Though the shipwreck was discovered much closer to Grand Haven, she said it's common for wood ships to drift for several miles before falling to the lake's bottom.
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http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120422/METRO/204220306#ixzz1snyOlglJ