There’s been a big find for the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society. Director Bruce Lynn says their research vessel found a long lost shipwreck, the Satellite, in Lake Superior north of Whitefish Point. That tug boat went down in 1879.
“The Satellite was towing five other schooners, which was not uncommon,” Lynn said. “They were older schooners that had probably had their masts cut down, and they were all carrying coal and coming up from Detroit. So, they had made their way up Lake Huron and gone through the locks and past Whitefish Point and on their way to Duluth. But something happened out there, and water started coming in around the stern area, probably the propeller shaft.”
Lynn says the crew tried to pump the water out for a couple of hours, but was unsuccessful. They were rescued by other ships, but the Satellite sank. He says they may create an exhibit about it at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Paradise, Michigan.
