Post Viewed Most in 2012

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and Great Lakes speaker. She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has written three books about the Great Lakes [A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach *a Heartland Indie Bestseller*, A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk *winner of the Great Lakes Great Reads Award*, and A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure]. To learn more about her work, or to book her as a speaker, go to http://LakeTrek.com

Thank you all for reading my blog. It has now surpassed 150,000 page views!

Our fascination with Great Lakes shipwrecks made this the 
post with the most views in 2012:


Shipwrecked!

Along the Great Lakes shoreline there is evidence of how dangerous these vast inland seas could become in a storm.

Shipwreck on North Manitou Island

Even with the guiding lights along the shoreline, many ships were lost. The Manitou Passage between the Manitou Islands and the shoreline of Michigan's Lower Peninsula was especially treacherous.

Portion of shipwreck in water near North Manitou Island

One clue that a ship (specifically, a steamer that burned coal) has gone down is the presence of coal washing up on land. Along the NW corner of North Manitou Island, I came across handfuls of coal mixed with zebra mussel shells.

This wreck was recently exposed near Sleeping Bear Dune

Shipwrecked!

Along the Great Lakes shoreline there is evidence of how dangerous these vast inland seas could become in a storm.

Shipwreck on North Manitou Island

Even with the guiding lights along the shoreline, many ships were lost. The Manitou Passage between the Manitou Islands and the shoreline of Michigan's Lower Peninsula was especially treacherous.

Portion of shipwreck in water near North Manitou Island

One clue that a ship (specifically, a steamer that burned coal) has gone down is the presence of coal washing up on land. Along the NW corner of North Manitou Island, I came across handfuls of coal mixed in with zebra mussel shells.

This wreck was recently exposed near Sleeping Bear Dune

Lake Huron Shipwreck

I came across this odd pattern in the sand south of Port Sanilac.




I stopped, because I had seen this before...








My boot in one shot gives some scale to this piece of ship that washed up onto the Lake Huron shore.

The protrusions are iron spikes that once held a ship together. The wooden boards are covered with a layer of sand.

Location:Port Sanilac, MI

The Treacherous Manitou Passage

In Benjamin J. Shelak's Shipwrecks of Lake Michigan, he says that "...treacherous weather, numerous islands,and reefs waiting to smash unwary vessels, and frequent boat traffic, the northern region of Lake Michigan was the scene of some very early wrecks."

On my way home from my time at Torch Lake, I wound my way down the shoreline and stopped to do some hiking in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. This is one of my favorite stretches of the lake; the Manitou Islands sit just offshore here.

I hiked several miles south from the Maritime Museum at Glen Haven.

I walked for miles without seeing any other people or even footprints on the shore. There are large dunes here and there are few access points to the lakeshore.

Here's what I came across on this little traveled stretch:

It was rather camouflaged under the sand and pulsing waves, but as I investigated, this was revealed:


















This 25 foot section of wooden boat was held together by metal rods and braces. I hiked back to the Maritime Museum and spoke to the rangers. They didn't know about this find, so when I got home I e-mailed my photos to them.






Here's a photo with my (size 11) foot in the shot to add some scale to the size of these boards:


I've asked the rangers to let me know if they find out more about this piece of ship, so I'll post more when I hear from them.

YES, I discovered a SHIPWRECK!
(Well, at least a piece of it...)