Bayfield Wisconsin Sail Boats Article

A trail to the state's shipwrecks

Trail leads to watery graves of many state shipwrecks

By MAUREEN BLANEY FLIETNER

Special to the Journal Sentinel

Sunday, May 5, 2002

Sturgeon Bay -- Beautiful locations, heroic rescues, romance, violent storms, watery graves, superstitions -- no, not the latest TV survival series, but elements of a new Wisconsin "trail."

A grand opening of the first phase of Wisconsin's Maritime Trails is planned for this summer in Door County. What better place, really, for a trail of maritime tales than in the county that holds "Death's Door," the legendary ship-killer passageway between Lake Michigan and the Bay of Green Bay?

And what a past! Why did the Fleetwing run at full canvas into the Garrett Bay shore during a storm? Bad luck? Insurance fraud? A superstition come true? Or were the ship's officers distracted by the female cook as the ship approached Death's Door?

Was it just fateful coincidence that now finds three ships forever locked in a watery embrace near Pilot Island?

What about the nighttime rescue of the crew of the Nichols by lighthouse keeper Martin Knudsen and his assistant? Through blowing snow and sleet, they encouraged the crew to jump from their rolling schooner to relative safety with them on the icy deck of a nearby wrecked schooner before assisting them to shore.

Who would have thought that the epitome of 19th-century steam technology is right off Cana Island in the wreck of the 300-foot- long wooden bulk carrier Frank O'Connor, one of the largest steamers ever built? Most examples have been scrapped, but here Wisconsin has one underwater that still displays its huge steam engine and boilers as well as anchors and 12-foot propeller, said Gray.

While many parts of Wisconsin's history have been torn down or altered, its submerged history can now surface to public awareness through the trails.

When people think of shipwrecks, said Gray, they think of pirates and gold. But in the waters of Wisconsin, they can look at the schooners and steamers -- what most of our wrecks are -- that drove the economy. The ships may not seem the most glorious, but they connected Door County and Wisconsin with the rest of the world.

Well-preserved wrecks

"Today, people tend to forget the importance of the Great Lakes to who we are and how Wisconsin formed. There is a sail and anchor on the state flag. Wisconsin is here because of its geography," said Gray.

"Some of the best-preserved shipwrecks in the world are in our backyard. There are more than 700 shipwrecks in and around Wisconsin," he said.

When people visit these shipwrecks, "they go back and touch history. They visit the time of the schooners and steamers.

"When you descend to a wreck, it slowly appears for you and you know it hasn't seen the light of day for maybe 120 years. And when you've done the research, you really connect with its own great story. It's a fascinating way to study history."

The trails' objectives -- to interpret and to preserve -- will be carried out in four regions: a Bayfield-area trail along the Wisconsin shoreline of Lake Superior, Door County-Green Bay, mid- lake, and lower-lake trails along the Wisconsin shores of Lake Michigan.

Research has been going on since 1988 on Wisconsin's "submerged cultural resources," said Gray. Wisconsin Historical Society and University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute archaeologists have sorted relics on the lake bed by knowing the vessels' rig type and the dates they were lost.

Because of this wealth of information, the shipwrecks are the first component of the trails, said Gray, with the other elements to be incorporated over time.

For this first phase, the trails will include moorings or permanent anchors that remain on the sites to be used by visiting boats. The mooring will eliminate damage to the wrecks from anchors being dragged into or dropped on the sites.

There are 12 moorings in place right now -- four in Door County, four in the Apostle Islands and the remainder from Sheboygan to Milwaukee.

Thirteen more are in the works, most of which are expected to be approved this summer in time for the trails' opening. Of these, five are in Door County with the rest from Algoma to Racine. They would include both deeper water sites and those to which people can wade or snorkel.

Shoreline components

The trails also will have on-shore components. The opening will showcase six dynamic, colorful land markers in Door County that will be "awfully tough to walk by without looking at," said Gray. The markers will provide photos, maps, the history and significance of shipwrecks at their nearest public access points onshore. Gray expects another 50 signs among all of the trails in the coming years.

The trails will tie into the lighthouses that helped guide sailors and into the maritime museums that enhance Wisconsin's connection with its past. The Door County Maritime Museum at Sturgeon Bay, for one, said Gray, already has an interactive computer station focused on maritime history. The Wisconsin State Historical Society and UW Sea Grant Institute have been working extensively with local historical societies and other organizations in establishing the trails.

The trails also have an online aspect. A user-friendly Web site is being designed. Although it is not up yet, the public can enjoy underwater views of the wrecks, ships' histories, descriptions of their final days, a look at the debris fields and more on the present site: ./shipwrecks/.

When the new site is up, a link will be provided.

Jim Robinson of The Shoreline Resort in Gills Rock is pleased with the attention the trail will bring to the shipwrecks. He knows the lure of the wrecks personally and from the customers of his dive charters and cruises. The former Chicago-area resident started diving in 1966, fell in love with Door County and has been living there for 26 years. He has been running the charters and motel for nine years.

He describes wreck diving in the Great Lakes as "like swimming through an underwater museum. The Great Lakes, because of their colder water, preserve the wrecks. Also we don't have the marine life like in the ocean that basically leaves nothing."

He also supports the idea of preservation and appreciates the attitude of the new breed of divers. "Years ago, in the '60s and '70s, it was fair game to grab what you could."

Change in attitude

Divers, for example, who found the Fleetwing in the 1950s, tore up its hull for souvenirs. The Niagara, which went down between Port Washington and Sheboygan and was considered perhaps Wisconsin's greatest treasure trove of 19th-century artifacts, was stripped by treasure hunters when they found it in the mid-1960s.

"But divers progressed," said Robinson. "Conservation was taught."

Robinson has helped Gray with moorings to protect the wrecks. With these marker buoys, he said, boats can now hook up and a diver can follow the chain down and know exactly where they are in the debris field. Most wrecks, he said, have individual buoys. One popular dive site, the Frank O'Connor, has two moorings, one on the bow and one on the stern. He also directs people to several shore dives, including three wrecks off Bullhead Point in Sturgeon Bay. There, what is left of the Empire State, the Ida Corning and the Oak Leaf pokes above the water surface.

The wrecks attract diving clubs and divers from throughout the Midwest. Bob Duchrow is one of those lured to the underwater world.

"Years ago, wreck hunters got a lot of press," said Duchrow, a veteran wreck diver from the Milwaukee area. "For several years now, news about our marine heritage hasn't been prevalent. I think that bringing to the public an awareness of this resource is a good thing.

"I started diving in the mid-'70s because I was curious about what's under water, which is why most people start. As the years have gone by, I've become more aware of what's available. The weightlessness, the mystery, are fun, the frosting on the cake," he said, but what has made it a passion for him has been "seeing where a ship lies, its final resting place and learning what happened to it in the process of sinking and over the years under water."

Documenting conditions

There's a lot of history out there -- there are about 13 wrecks just in the Milwaukee area, he said, and divers are enjoying better visibility because of the zebra mussels. "What I do now is document on photos and video what I find," he said.

For those who prefer to view wrecks from above, Robinson's Shoreline Resort, for one, offers a sunset/shipwreck cruise. The one- hour cruise aboard Robinson's former . Navy patrol boat stops over the wreck of the Fleetwing, the schooner that sank in 1888 in shallow water. "We can pull over it and view the ribs and keel on the bottom," he said.

There are many shipwrecks out there -- Death's Door alone still holds the remains of many brigs and schooners lost in the 1800s -- and many other components of the trail to blend together. It is an ongoing project.

"I hope the trail is never done," said Gray, but always improving, with more signs, new interpretations and new museum exhibits.