More Wreckage

It was pouring rain when we got up this morning.  Plus, the prediction was for rain off and on for most of the day.  Time for some indoor Plan B type stuff.

We went to the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center, a museum which described many of the shipwrecks in the area. One of the central features is a replica of a schooner, complete with the flashes of lightning and roaring of the thunder and surf that this ship would have experienced during its last hours in a storm.

Those sailors didn’t have it easy. And their sleeping berths would never fit a tall Dutchman like me.

It was still raining when we emerged from the museum so we stopped at a couple thrift stores in Alpena.  In all our travels, we have not found thrift stores as nice as the ones in the Grand Rapids area.

We decided to view a couple of lighthouses in spite of the rain.  The rain had nearly stopped when we arrived at the Old Presque Isle Lighthouse, one of the oldest in the Great Lakes.  In front of this lighthouse was a bell.  This bell had nothing to do with the lighthouse, or even the area.  It was taken from the Lansing City Center Clock Tower.  How it ended up here I do not know.  It did have a nice ring to it, however.  A heavy clapper was available on one side and I pulled it back and let it go.  The resulting bong was beautiful and quite loud and could still be heard reverberating a minute later.

There was a family with several kids milling about, and after I rang the bell they got it in their minds they wanted to ring it, too.  The youngest kid was rather comical as he was not quite strong enough to pull down on the clapper.  As he hung, suspended from the handle, it slowly gave way.  He dropped to the ground and let it go.  Bong!  Another kid wanted a turn.  Bong!  As we walked back towards the RV, the bell could still be heard.  Bong! ... Bong!

We drove to the New Presque Isle Lighthouse.  This one has the distinction of being the tallest one in the Great Lakes.

Located near this lighthouse is another shipwreck.  The L.M. Mason was a wooden two-masted schooner launched in 1853.  On October 22, 1861, a fierce storm descended on Lake Huron. Violent northwest winds and a blinding snowstorm wreaked havoc. The heavy weather stranded 14 ships in the North Bay of Presque Isle. Remarkably, there was not a single loss of life, and all of the ships but one were eventually freed. The 125-foot schooner L.M. Mason remained stranded, and Lake Huron’s heavy seas pounded the schooner. Over time, ice, wind, and waves tore apart the vessel.  It now sits in 18 feet of water just offshore.

We parked the RV at the water’s edge and launched the kayaks.  It was about 0.7 miles to the wreck, an easy paddle.  Once again, very cool to see this and very accessible.  The depth and the ripples made it a little harder to see from the air, but it was very visible just looking over the side of the kayak.  I took several pictures by just dunking my phone in the water and snapping pictures under the surface.  It’s supposed to be waterproof and I’m happy to say it passed the test.

We made dinner right there along the water’s edge and then headed up to Thompson’s Harbor State Park.  Unlike most other Michigan State Parks, this one was deserted. Not one other person there.  Perhaps it’s because this park is undeveloped.  With only dirt roads and no campground or picnic area, most people choose to go somewhere else.

This is the site of another shipwreck.  The American Union was a three-masted schooner.  Larger than the typical sailing craft of the time, the 186-foot, wooden American Union’s giant size ultimately led to its demise. After 30 years of service on the Great Lakes, the American Union encountered a fatal storm on May 6, 1894. Strong winds and pounding waves drove the 3-masted barkentine aground at Thompson’s Harbor. Crew from the Thunder Bay Island Life-Saving Station came to the ship’s aid and rescued the entire crew. Lake Huron eventually tore the American Union to pieces.  Today, the wreckage of the American Union rests a quarter mile from shore in 10 feet of water.

Unfortunately, the remoteness of this undeveloped area means that the closest launch point is a couple miles to the north.  So, no kayak venturing for us, particularly this late in the day.

We hiked a mile-long trail that came out to the Lake Huron shoreline near the wreck.  I took my drone along and flew it over the wreck to get some pictures.  Not as fun as paddling over there and looking over the side, but the “eye in the sky” allowed us to see the wreck from the shore.

I also found other pieces of the same wreck a few hundred yards away.  Must have been quite a storm.

Thompson’s Harbor State Park does have a road that goes to the lake.  Nearly three miles of narrow gravel road will get you to a small turn-around by the rocky beach.  We stopped here and had ice cream while we enjoyed the lapping of the water on the rocks and the lengthening shadows.  So quiet, so peaceful.  It was hard to leave.