A shipwreck has been discovered 600 feet below the surface of Lake Superior, more than 150 years after it sank.
The 144-foot Nucleus had a “checkered past” after previously sinking twice, and once rammed and sank another boat on Lake Huron, The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum said in a news release announcing the discovery.
The Nucleus was a barquentine ship, a common 19th century style that had three or more masts that used a particular type of sails.
The museum said that it had been carrying a cargo of iron ore when it was caught in a storm along Shipwreck Coast, in the southeast corner of Lake Superior, on 14 September 1869 and began taking on water.
The crew abandoned ship and were apparently rescued by a passing schooner without any loss of life.
The Nucleus is one of the oldest ships to have been recovered from the great lake and the discovery was “pretty significant”, the society’s executive director Bruce Lynn said in a statement.
“Considering its age, the fact that it is a barquentine and we can’t overlook the vessel’s checkered past,” Mr Lynn said, describing it as a “bad luck barquentine”.
“The wreck site is littered with shovels too…and a few dinner plates, which speaks to their work and shipboard life.”
The Shipwreck Society discovered the ship 600 feet under the water’s surface using sonar equipment in 2021, and positively identified using a remote operated vehicle the next year.
Director of marine operations Darryl Ertel Jr said the the wreck was in surprisingly good condition, adding that the stern and port side was still in tact.
“I was more excited about it because at first, I thought it was totally in pieces on the bottom.”
