Some reportedly unknown vessels in this section may inadvertently be listed elsewhere in the database
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U. S. Coast Guard motor buoy tender
Other names :
Official no. : none
Type at loss : steel motor buoy tender
Build info :
Specs :
Date of loss : 1967, May
Place of loss : on Gravelly Shoal, W side of Saginaw Bay
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : navigational error
Loss of life : none
Carrying : navigational buoys
Detail : This small CG vessel struck bottom and sank while placing buoys in the spring. She was later raised.
Sources : nsp,uscg
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U. S. Coast Guard motor rescue boat
Other names :
Official no. :
Type at loss : motor rescue boat, wood
Build info :
Specs :
Date of loss : 1933, Apr 10
Place of loss : Whitefish Bay
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : ice
Loss of life : none
Carrying : none
Detail : While on a rescue mission, this small rescue craft was caught in the ice and crushed, a total loss.
Sources : lssc
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U. S. Coast Guard motor patrol boat
Other names :
Official no. :
Type at loss : motor patrol boat, wood, probably a former yacht
Build info :
Specs :
Date of loss : 1947, May 29
Place of loss : near Presque Isle, NW of Marquette, MI
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : none
Detail : This Coast Guard vessel was attempting to aid the stranded gas screw FAVORITE (qv) when her propeller fouled her tow cable. Helpless, the boat was driven ashore and smashed.
Sources : ms
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U.S. COAST GUARD cable boat 56022
Other names :
Official no. : CG#56022
Type at loss : steel cable boat, converted U.S, Navy LCM
Build info : 1942-45 (WWII era) various builders
Specs : typically 50x14x4, displ: 64 t
Date of loss : 1977, Dec 1
Place of loss : several miles E of Nine Mile Point
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none of 3
Carrying : gear
Detail : Bound Oswego for Niagara, she encountered a storm and soon began taking water into her deckless hull. The Charlotte, NY CG station responded to her radio calls and rescued her crew. The boat was taken in tow but her cable parted and she went down. The Coast Guard claimed to have salvaged the boat soon after, but divers located her on the bottom, still intact, in 2005.
Article and photos regarding the wreck
Image of Navy LCM (attribution:By USN, Post-Work: User:W.wolny – US Navy Photo #: 80-G-475421, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=428903)
Sources : jk, bb,uscg
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fishing boat, name unknown
Other names :
Official no. :
Type at loss : commercial fishing boat
Build info :
Specs :
Date of loss : 1894
Place of loss : off Powell Point
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 2
Carrying :
Detail : This small vessel was reportedly lost
Sources : gwgl
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French Warships
Detail : The French reported having lost nine vessels on the Great Lakes in combat with the British during the French & Indian War (i.e. Seven Year’s War), 1755-62. Three are shown above: Le MARQUISE de VANDREUILL, L’IROQUOISE (see JOHNSON) and OUTOUAISE (See WILLIAMSON), but the names of the others are not reported. Two French vessels of about 90 tons and a number of smaller craft were reportedly burned in 1755 in a small bay on the downstream side of Grand Island [Burnt Ship Creek], Niagara R., to keep them from falling into the hands of the British. There is little contemporary support found for this report.
Sources : hgl,lo,wmn
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schooner, name unknown
Other names :
Official no. :
Type at loss : schooner, wood
Build info :
Specs :
Date of loss : 1900, Nov 18
Place of loss : 7 miles off Munising, MI
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : ?
Detail : This schooner reportedly sank in a heavy gale, but her crew were rescued by the tug WARD before the Lifesaving Service crew was able to get to her. No mention is given of her name.
Sources : gwgl,nsp
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unnamed Montreal canoe
Other names :
Official no. : none
Type at loss : Montreal-type cargo canoe
Build info :
Specs : 36 ft, 3 to 4 t. cargo capacity
Date of loss : 1816, Aug 26
Place of loss : Whitefish Bay
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 10
Carrying : cargo, prisoners
Detail : This large canoe capsized while under sail. Some of the lost were reportedly prisoners being transported.
Sources : ls,gwgl
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unnamed crane barge
Other names :
Official no. :
Type at loss : crane barge
Build info :
Specs : 40 ft
Date of loss : 1982
Place of loss : 1/2 miles off Holland, MI
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : (storm)
Loss of life : none
Carrying :
Detail : Sank, no detail.
Sources : alm
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unnamed dredges
Other names : had official names and numbers, but they are not reported
Official no. :
Type at loss : four dredge barges
Build info : varied
Specs :
Date of loss : 1926, June 8
Place of loss : at Toledo
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : none
Carrying : none
Detail : The four dredges and three tugs belonging to G. H. Breymann & Bros. Co. were lying to near the Cherry St bridge “boneyard” when they caught fire, possibly from a flying ember from a passing locomotive. The aged watchman and his family were barely able to escape with their lives before the fleet was destroyed.
See my entries for the tugs D.C. SHAW, G. H. BREYMANN and JOHN B. BREYMANN for more information. All three tugs and one of the dredges were operational at the time, but the other dredges were out of service.
Sources : mv,nsp
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unnamed drill rig barge
Other names :
Official no. :
Type at loss : drill rig barge
Build info : ?
Specs : ?
Date of loss : 1958, Nov 5
Place of loss : midlake off Erie, PA
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 5?
Carrying : drilling equipment
Detail : The barge was engaged in natural gas drilling when it went missing, reportedly with five men aboard. U.S. Coast Guard sighted the barge two days later, 15 miles off Erie. The presence of the men or the recovery of the barge was not confirmed.
Owned by Underwater Gas Development Corp. of Canada
Sources : nsp
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unnamed dump scow
Other names :
Official no. :
Type at loss : dump scow
Build info : “new”
Specs :
Date of loss : 190(8), Oct 13 or 14
Place of loss : off St Helena Island, Straits
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : ?
Carrying : ?
Detail : She foundered in a storm. She was reported by fishermen the next day, lying on her side in 35 feet of water, ¼ mile south of the St. Helena lighthouse.
Sources : nsp
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unnamed dump scow
Other names : none
Official no. : ?
Type at loss : dump scow-barge, steel
Build info : ?
Specs : ?
Date of loss : 1918, Aug 8
Place of loss : Niagara R., Canadian side S of old Toronto Power house
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : stranded
Loss of life : none
Carrying : dedge tailings
Detail : Engaged in dredging on the river, she broke her towline and headed for the falls. Her two crewmen dumped her load and she stranded precariously about 2,500 feet above the falls. The men were finally rescued after 20 hours in an heroic and dangerous rescue. The scow barge is still visible in the fast moving current, but has deteriorated in recent years.
For more detailed story, click here.
Sources : nsp,net
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unnamed ferry
Other names : none
Official no. : C none
Type at loss : wood ferry, probably a small sailboat or sailing scow
Build info : ?
Specs : “small”
Date of loss : 1839, Nov 25
Place of loss : halfway between Wolfe Island dock and Kingston shipyard
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 2 of 10 or 11
Carrying : passengers, bagged wheat and oats
Detail : This small Wolfe Island (called at the time “Long Island”) ferryboat capsized in a sudden squall, probably because her cargo shifted. Many small boats were immediately launched to the rescue, and were able to save all aboard except for two passengers, husband and wife, from Wolfe Island. The ferry drifted away and broke up on the rocks, despite the efforts of the steamer BROCKVILLE.
Sources : nsp,ss,rnc
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unnamed fishing vessel
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : fishing vessel of unreported type
Build info : 1853, Fairport
Specs : ?
Date of loss : 1853, May 19
Place of loss : 1 mi E of Fairport harbor
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 3 of 4
Carrying : none
Detail : As yet unnamed vessel was running her trials when she capsized in a storm. One man survived by clinging to the wreckage. Master and owner: Capt. William Kelley, Fairport.
Sources : nsp
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unnamed lightship
Other names : unknown
Official no. : C
Type at loss : privately-owned lightship, wood
Build info : ?
Specs : ?
Date of loss : 1880, late fall
Place of loss : Colchester Reef
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm,ice
Loss of life : none
Carrying : none
Detail : Late in the fall the crew of the lightship asked Dominion officials that she be relieved of her post, as the fall weather was worsening. The answer was in the negative, and a few days later the lightship was shoved from the reef by a storm and crushed by moving ice. Her crew was rescued with difficulty by a local tug. The ship owners had much difficulty in collecting for their loss, as the government disavowed any responsibility in the matter.
Sources : es,wo
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unnamed “magazine boat”
Other names :
Official no. :
Type at loss : scow
Build info :
Specs : small
Date of loss : 1905, Oct 14
Place of loss : above Bois Blanc Island
Lake : Detroit R
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : none
Carrying : 900 lbs dynamite
Detail : She stored the explosives for the dredge DYNAMITER, at work on the Lime Kiln Crossing. When she caught fire there was great fear that she would blast the whole area to pieces. Fortunately she burned her hawser, drifted ashore and burned out.
Sources : es
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unnamed private lightship
Other names :
Official no. :
Type at loss : private lightship, wood
Build info :
Specs :
Date of loss : 1883, Nov 10 or 11
Place of loss : S of Colchester Shoal
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 1
Carrying : none
Detail : A private lightship on station on Colchester Shoal, she was driven off her station and disappeared. On the 13th it was said that she had gone to pieces, after the tugs BOB HACKETT and SWAIN had searched for her. Much concern was felt at Detroit for her keeper, Capt. James Forrest. By the 23rd the ship was reported to be lying all over the reef and Capt Forrest was presumed lost. His body was not found until June of the following year.
Sources : nsp,es,eb
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unnamed Pile Driver
Other names : none
Official no. : ?
Type at loss : pile driver, wood
Build info : ?
Specs : ?
Date of loss : 1892, Aug 18
Place of loss : near Muskallonge Lake Lifesaving Station
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : none
Detail : Sprang a leak and foundered in a gale. USLS saved her one crewman, as they had done on July 15 of the same year, when the same thing had happened.
Sources : usls,gwgl
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unnamed schooner
Other names : ?
Official no. : ?
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 2-mast
Build info : probably early 1800’s
Specs : 55x15x?
Date of loss : ?
Place of loss : off Oak Orchard, NY
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : ?
Loss of life : ?
Carrying : No cargo found
Detail : Located by sonar in 2008. No shipwreck incident has yet been associated with this wreckage.
The beamy little schooner has two “daggerboards” [drop-keels] protruding through the deck.
Sources : jk
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unnamed scows (2)
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : scows, wood
Build info :
Specs :
Date of loss : 1851, Sep 13
Place of loss : Braddock’s Bay, near Genessee, NY
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying :
Detail : Sheltered from a storm in Braddocks Bay, with the small sidewheeler GEORGE CLINTON (qv). The CLINTON left one of the scows at anchor and made arun d=for open water with the other, but both were lost. The CLINTON was also wrecked. Owned by Ontario Steam and Canal Boat Co., Oswego
Sources : nsp,wmn
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unnamed scow
Other names :
Official no. :
Type at loss : scow, wood
Build info :
Specs : “small”
Date of loss : 1882, Oct 24
Place of loss : at Whitefish Point
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : lumber camp supplies
Detail : This small scow was in tow of the yacht/supply boat GRACE (qv) when that vessel’s engine failed in a storm enroute to Goulais Bay. The scow eventually came ashore and was subsequently towed to Whitefish Point, where she pounded to pieces in the waves.
Sources : nsp
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unnamed scow
Other names :
Official no. :
Type at loss : scow, wood
Build info :
Specs :
Date of loss : 1897, Oct 24
Place of loss : off “old Chicago”, Chicago harbor
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : unreported
Loss of life : 1
Carrying : ?
Detail : This unnamed vessel sank in Chicago harbor with the loss of one life.
Sources : h
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unnamed scow
Other names : seen in some sources as “Perry & Co.”
Official no. : ?
Type at loss : wooden scow
Build info : ?
Specs : ?
Date of loss : 1900, Nov 20
Place of loss : E of Grand Marais, at Deer Park, Mich
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 5
Carrying : steel rails
Detail : In tow of the tug ANDREW J. SMITH, she swamped and foundered in a gale. She had pulled away from her dock during unloading to keep her from washing ashore. The five men lost were all lumbermen and were accidentally trapped aboard when the tug pulled out. Owned by D. N. McLeod of Newberry, Mich.
Sources : gwgl,lssc,nsp
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unnamed scow
Other names : ?
Official no. : ?
Type at loss : wooden scow
Build info : ?
Specs : ?
Date of loss : 1900, Nov 20
Place of loss : off Whitefish Point
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : 200 tons steel rails
Detail : In tow of the tug ANDREW J. SMITH, she swamped and foundered in a gale. Owned by Frank Perry of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
Sources : gwgl,lssc,nsp
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unnamed scow
Other names :
Official no. :
Type at loss : scow, wood
Build info :
Specs :
Date of loss : 1902, May 2
Place of loss : Duluth harbor
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : unreported
Loss of life : 1
Carrying : ?
Detail : She sank in the harbor with the loss of one life.
Sources : gwgl,lss,is
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unnamed scow
Other names :
Official no. :
Type at loss : scow, wood
Build info :
Specs : “large”
Date of loss : 1895, May 20
Place of loss : bet. Hammond’s bay and Cheboygan, Mich
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : capsized
Loss of life : none
Carrying : lumber camp equipment, 22 lumberjacks
Detail : In tow of the tug DANA on a short open lake trip, she capsized and began to founder. Quick thinking on the part of the DANA’s skipper is credited with saving all aboard.
Sources : nsp
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unnamed scow
Other names :
Official no. :
Type at loss : scow, wood
Build info :
Specs :
Date of loss : 1902, Oct 26
Place of loss : off Vermilion Pt.
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : ?
Detail : This small vessel broke up and foundered in a storm off Vermilion Pt. Her crewmen made it to shore safely.
Sources : lss,is
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unnamed vessel
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : sailing vessel
Build info : ?
Specs : ?
Date of loss : 1805, Dec
Place of loss : mouth of Salmon River
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 4
Carrying : general cargo
Detail : The vessel, bound from Oswego to Sandy Creek, foundered in a storm. One of the bodies of those lost later washed ashore. The vessel was from the Canada side.
Sources : wl
Great Lakes Shipwreck Files 
