Storm-battered shipwreck from 1891 discovered in Lake Superior: "Still beautiful after 130 years"
A ship carrying a load of coal when it sank in a storm in 1891 has been discovered in Lake Superior off Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The Atlanta is well-preserved in the extremely cold lake, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society said Thursday.
The shipwreck group posted photos and video with the name of the ship clearly visible at a depth of more than 600 feet, roughly 35 miles off Deer Park, Michigan. Video also clearly shows the ship's wheel, pump and broken-off mast.
"It is rare that we find a shipwreck that so clearly announces what it is and the name-board of the Atlanta really stands out," said Bruce Lynn, executive director of the shipwreck society. "It is truly ornate and still beautiful after 130 years on the bottom of Lake Superior."
The group said sonar technology had a critical role in locating the Atlanta.
The ship, which had its sails down, was being towed by another vessel when the line snapped during a storm, according to the group.
"The Atlanta was soon at the mercy of the lake, and the crew took to the lifeboat," the group said. "They pulled at the oars for several hours and eventually came within site of the Crisp Point Life-Saving Station. While attempting to land their small boat near the station, it overturned and only two of the crew made it safely to the beach."
The survivors said all three masts broke off during the storm, and sonar video does indeed show all three masts broke off flush with the deck and are nowhere to be found.
"No one has to ask where the Atlanta is anymore," said Darryl Ertel, the shipwreck society's director of marine operations.
