It's amazing that even after more than 100 years in the drink, a ship can still be in enough of one piece to be recognizable. But there it is:
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) is proud to announce the discovery of the wooden steamship, Adella Shores, one of the many ships that "Went Missing" over the years in the vicinity of Whitefish Point, MI. The Shores went to the bottom of Lake Superior with no survivors on May 1st, 1909.
As an aside, when ship nerds say "went missing," they mean a vessel "left the dock and was never seen again." That was true for the Adella Shores until very recently:
These ships "vanish with no survivors [and] no witnesses." Needless to say, they are often exceptionally difficult to locate.
A wise man once told us, "Superior, they said, never gives up her dead." This ship and many others have been lost to the lake over the years.
The Adella Shores was owned by the Shores Lumber Company and was named after both the company itself and the owner's daughter Adella. This being the early 20th century in America, the ship was launched with this quaint little detail:
Adella's sister, Bessie, christened the new ship with a bottle of water (v. champagne or wine) as the family was strict about alcohol consumption.
Superstitious sailors "might have seen that as a bad luck omen," and indeed the ship sunk twice before its ultimate fate, when it went down to the bottom of Superior while carrying a load of salt:
The Shores was following the larger steel steamship, Daniel J. Morrell, through a thick ice flow, with the Morrell plowing a path through the ice as they went. As both ships rounded Whitefish Point, they were met by a fierce northeast gale. The Shores was already two miles behind and out of sight of the Morrell. The Adella Shores was never seen again, disappearing with all fourteen crew members.
The vessel wasn't spotted again until 2021, when sonar revealed its location 650 feet underwater:
The ship was remarkably well-preserved, likely owing to its depth and the consistently cooler to cold temperatures of Lake Superior. Here's the boiler:
And midship, with exposed china on the bottom:
And a set of stairs:
And the forward cargo hold:
No human remains were spotted in the wreckage. The shipwreck society, meanwhile, clarified why it often waits years to reveal a wreck's discovery:
"Every one of these stories is important and deserves to be told with the utmost honor and respect. GLSHS has had some banner years of discovery…and a lot of research goes into each press release, ensuring that we tell the story accurately."
Good find, fellas. Keep up the great work.
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