Ghost Ships of the Great Lakes: Lost Beneath the Waves (Full Episode) | National Geographic
TLDRThe Great Lakes are massive inland seas containing one-fifth of the world's freshwater. Through the centuries thousands of ships have sunk in their violent storms, littering the bottom with shipwrecks and remains from massive loss of life. Using advanced sonar and robotics, wreck hunters scan the lakes for valuable clues to solve mysteries of vanished ships. The recent discovery of the Curtis wreck after 100 years revealed haunting images and tragic tales of its ill-fated crew. Breakthrough finds like this shed light on lost souls and uncover secrets that faded into history for over a century in the graveyard of the Great Lakes.
Takeaways
- 😱 Great Lakes storms can arise suddenly and be extremely dangerous, sinking many ships over the centuries
- 🛳 The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum surveys Lake Superior for shipwrecks using sonar and ROVs
- 🚢 They discovered the long-lost wreck of the steamship C.F. Curtis, which sank in 1914
- 😔 The Curtis was towing two barges carrying lumber when a November gale hit, causing all three ships to founder
- 🔎 Finding debris from the ship's wheel and other artifacts humanizes the tragedy of the 28 lives lost
- 🌊 Freak November storms on the warming Great Lakes create extreme weather that catches ships by surprise
- 📰 Newspaper accounts help piece together how the Curtis, Peterson and Marvin met their fate
- 🤔 The museum team search for the Peterson after identifying the nearby wreck as the barge Marvin
- 🛥 A similar storm on Lake Michigan in 1898 wrecked the 300-foot wooden steamship L.R. Doty
- 👩🔧 Expert analysis of the Doty wreck suggests open hatches allowed flooding that caused it to sink vertically
Q & A
Why are the Great Lakes prone to dangerous storms?
-The Great Lakes are so large and deep that they can create their own weather systems. Sudden temperature changes combined with moisture and wind can quickly whip up massive storms.
How many ships have sunk in the Great Lakes over time?
-Since the 1600s, an estimated 8,000 ships have sunk in the Great Lakes, resulting in as many as 30,000 deaths.
What was the CF Curtis doing when it sank in 1914?
-The CF Curtis was towing two barges full of lumber when it encountered a freak November storm on Lake Superior and sank.
How does the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum search for sunken ships?
-The museum team uses sonar and ROV vehicles to systematically scan areas of the lakes to locate wrecks on the bottom.
What cargo was the LR Doty carrying when it sank?
-The LR Doty was overloaded with corn worth the equivalent of $1 million today when it sank in October 1898.
Why did the tow line between the Doty and Olive Jeanette break?
-Shock loading from high winds and waves put too much stress on the single tow line, causing it to break after about one hour.
How did finding the wreck of the Doty solve a longstanding mystery?
-Finding the Doty confirmed it went down farther north than previously thought, validating a newspaper account with the ship's location.
What ultimately caused the Doty to sink?
-Huge waves likely collapsed the deck hatches, flooding the ship causing it to sink stern first in just minutes.
How did the Olive Jeanette manage to stay afloat?
-The crew was able to raise a small sail to steer the ship and ride the towering waves until the storm passed.
What clues on the Doty suggest the actions of the crew?
-The fully turned rudder indicates they triedsteering out of the high waves in a last ditch effort to survive.
Outlines
First shipwreck found after 100 years underwater 🚢
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum team discovers the SS Curtis cargo ship that sank during a storm in 1914, while towing two other ships. The bow is remarkably intact after over 100 years on the lake bed.
Ship designs not made for Great Lakes storms ⛈️
The SS Curtis was a typical 1914 workhorse steamer, not made to withstand extreme weather. The storm likely caused the tow line to break between the three ships, leading to their demise.
Other two missing ships finally discovered 🚤
After finding the Curtis, the team searches for the two other lost ships. They locate an unidentified wreck, verified by ROV video to be the S.S. Marvin, solving part of the mystery.
Stern ripped off suggests shocking end 💥
The Marvin's mangled stern indicates it sank quickly, likely capsizing from the tow lines shock loading. But the wreckage reveals no clues yet to the Peterson's fate.
What sank the stately but overloaded ship? 🤔
The 298 ft. LR Doty, carrying heavy cargo, should have survived a storm, unlike likely overloaded smaller ships. Its pristine wreck shows something else led to its fast sinking.
Clue points to location but area still vast 🗺️
A cook's account places the LR Doty's sinking far north of where its debris washed ashore. This expands the search area greatly, needing further clues.
Underestimating weather bombs proves fatal ⚠️
Ships hauling valuable corn cargo often overloaded and sailed in marginal weather. Freak storms spanning the Great Lakes can strengthen explosively, known as "weather bombs".
Bow section found, capsize clues explain ⬆️⬇️
After years of failed searches using better data, divers locate the Doty's bow with its name visible. Damage suggests it capsized, leaving open hatches contributed to uncontrolled flooding.
Towing vessel somehow stays afloat 🤯
Shock loading from 30-40 ft. waves likely snapped the tow line to the Doty. Still, the smaller Oliver Jennette remained afloat for 2 days in the storm, with sails the only control.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Shipwreck
💡Storm
💡Wreckage
💡Sonar
💡ROV
💡Scuba gear
💡Debris field
💡Toe line
💡Weather bomb
💡Quagga mussels
Highlights
The Great Lakes contain one-fifth of the world's fresh water, are big enough to create their own weather, and have claimed about 8,000 ships and 30,000 lives since the 1600s
A team from the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum uses sonar and ROVs to search for sunken ships in Lake Superior, the largest and deepest of the Great Lakes
In 2021, the museum team discovered the wreck of the CF Curtis, a cargo steamer that sank in a storm in 1914 along with two barges it was towing
The Curtis was a typical Great Lakes workhorse that ran into trouble when a freak November storm struck as it transported 3 million board feet of lumber
Experts explain how the warmer lakes now lead to more moisture and extreme storms that can blow at 60-120 mph, creating a “weather bomb”
In 1898, the LR Doty, an overloaded 300-foot wooden steamer, sank quickly in a storm after its tow line to the barge Olive Jeanette snapped
The ship's cook reported seeing the Doty sink 60 miles north of expectations, allowing a team to finally locate the wreck in 2021
Testing shows the Doty's single tow rope would have experienced shock loading that caused it to break after about one hour in steep waves
Experts explain how attempts to turn the unmaneuverable Doty in heavy seas likely led water to collapse its open deck hatches and sink it
The towed barge Olive Jeanette had its cabin ripped off but stayed afloat with a small sail, at the mercy of waves crashing over its stern
The Doty's mostly undamaged rudder stuck hard to one side suggests its captain tried unsuccessfully to turn out of towering waves
Wheelbarrows and parts of the Doty confirm the identity, but the wide open hatches likely led water to collapse them and sink the ship
The bow is flipped upside down and the deck is clean, showing waves tall enough to strip it; the stern blew off as air rushed back in
Finding the Doty answers what happened to the ship, but the team still searches for the Peterson barge that sank with it
Each artifact found in wrecks like these provides clues about the people, technology, industry, and stories lost in these Great Lakes time capsules
Transcripts
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