SS M.M. Drake (1882)
Encyclopedia
The SS M.M. Drake (1882) was a wooden steam barge
that towed consorts
loaded with coal and iron ore on the Great Lakes
. She came to the rescue of the crews of at least 4 foundering vessels in her 9 year career only to meet the same fate in her final rescue attempt. The Drake sank in 1882 off Vermilion Point
after a rescue attempt of her consort Michigan. Her rudder
, anchor
, and windlass
were illegally removed from her wreck site in the 1980s. They are now the property of the State of Michigan. The rudder is on display as a loan to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum
and the anchor and windlass are on loan for display to Whitefish Township Community Center. The wreck of the Drake is protected as part of an underwater museum in the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve
.
as a wooden steam barge and named for the line superintendent of her building company, Mr. Marcus Motier Drake. The Drake started her career in September 1882 by towing the barge F.W. Gifford. In 1883 she was chartered for Lake Erie
to Duluth, Minnesota
for coal and from Marquette, Michigan
to Lake Erie for iron ore. In 1885 she was re-admeasured and had upper decks added at the Union Dry Dock Company in Buffalo, New York
. James Corrigan of Wickliffe, Ohio
became her third and final owner in 1889.
During her nine year career, she came to the rescue of distressed vessels and she had several mishaps of her own, including stranding on a reef in 1882, running ashore in 1888 near Cheboygan, Michigan
, and striking a bar and sinking at the dock in Duluth, Minnesota
in 1889. In 1883, the Drake rescued the crew of her consort, the 347-ton schooner Dot (the former Mary Merrit), when the Dot began leaking and sank off Grand Marais, Michigan
. In 1889, the Drake picked up 3 passengers and the 15-man crew from the wooden steam barge Smith Moore that had been sideswiped by the James Pickands in heavy fog. The Drake towed the Moore for 6 hours when the Moore finally sank only 300 feet from the bar at the mouth of the Munising, Michigan
harbor. In 1900, the Drake rescued the 8-man crew from the leaking schooner-barge R. Hallaran that foundered off Keweenaw Point
near Stannard Rock Light
. The Drake saved at least 4 crews from foundering vessels during her career but her final rescue of her own consort's crew caused a fatal blow to her structure that resulted in her suffering the same fate.
with her consort, the 27 year old, 3-masted
schooner barge Michigan, both heavy with iron ore loaded at Superior, Wisconsin
. The masters of the red-hulled
vessels of the James Corrigan line were following the practice of the early twentieth century shipping industry of sailing in foul weather to avoid losses from delays regardless of risk to life and vessel and towing aged wooden, schooner barges to increase profitability. As the Drake labored through frigid rain and 55 miles per hour (88.5 km/h) wind, by 2 October 1901 the seams of the Michigan's planking began to leak at a rate that overwhelmed her pumps. The flooded and dense iron ore cargo made it likely that the Michigan would sink without warning before the dawn of the day.
Captain John McArthur Jr. of the Michigan ordered the thick towing hawser
pulled in within hailing distance of the Drake to communicate their status by shouts amplified with a megaphone. It was decided that the Michigan's crew would be removed in the pitch black night as there was no chance of launching the Michigan's yawl
in the prevailing winds. The Michigan was drawn up to the Drake so that her bow
was up against the Drake's stern
quarter on the leeward side. With the two wooden hulls grinding against each other, the crew of the Michigan leaped to Drake when the waves brought the two decks
level to one another. Just as the last of the Michigan's crew were safely transferred to the Drake, the wind carried the Michigan into a sea trough causing her jib
boom
that jutted forward from her forepeak to rake across length of the Drake. The Drake's after cabin was fractured and her tall smoke stack was loped off and shoved overboard.
The Drake was mortally wounded. The loss of her smoke stack prevented a proper draft to her steamer to form a full head of steam to her engines and part of that steam was diverted to the pumps needed to stay ahead of the flooding below decks caused by the fractured after cabin. Without full steam, the Drake's Captain J. W. Nicholson could not keep her from hanging up in the sea trough in gale force winds even though he ordered the crew to break up her cabins to feed a wood fire that burned hotter than a coal fire.
When the Northern Wave, a 2 year old steel package freighter
, headed upbound out of Whitefish Bay
shortly after 6:00 AM that morning, she spotted the struggling Drake flying a distress signal from one her masts and the crew frantically swarming the cabins with fire axes and bare hands. When Captain M.S. Peterson eased the Northern Wave to the windward side of the foundering Drake, three crew members leaped to the deck of the Northern Wave. Heavy seas prevented the steel Northern Wave from staying alongside for a rescue of the Drake's crew without risking her wooden hull. The Northern Wave attempted to tow the water-logged Drake but the hawser immediately snapped. Captain Peterson informed Captain Nicholson by megaphone that he would standby in case the Drake's crew could be taken off but both knew the near impossibility of launching the lifeboats in the gale.
By late afternoon the Drake had slowed to a crawl due to her inability to keep up steam. The Northern Wave still hovering nearby. The situation appeared hopeless until the steel freighter, the Crescent City, came upon the struggling Drake. The Crescent City was nearly twice the size of the Drake and she used her massive hull to provide an artificial lee from the gale force wind. The Michigan's cook, Harry Brown, leaped toward the Crescent City before the two vessels were close enough and was swallowed by Lake Superior. The rest of the crew waited until the hulls of the two ships were grinding together and all of them safely jumped to the Crescent City by 5:00 PM. The Crescent City reached the Soo Locks
with the Michigan and Drake crews at 2:00 AM on 3 October 1901.
The Drake was a $35,000 loss and the Michigan was a $19,000 loss.
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The schooner-barge Michigan was never seen again after the night of 2 October 1901. The wreck of the Drake was first discovered by Captain Campbell of the Liberty just 4 days after she sank on 6 October 1901 when he was downbound for the Soo Locks
. Captain Campbell reported that the Drake was located between Vermilion Point and Whitefish Point lying on her side in 40 feet (12.2 m) of water with about 5 feet (1.5 m) feet of water over her with a floating spar
still strung to the hull. The wreck of the Drake lay forgotten on the bottom of Lake Superior for 77 years until she was rediscovered at 46°46.588′N 85°05.933′W in 1978 by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) who subsequently removed her rudder, windlass, anchor, and a sign board in the 1980s. Michigan’s Antiquities Act of 1980 prohibited the removal of artifacts from shipwrecks on the Great Lakes bottomlands. The Evening News reported a Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment 1992 raid on the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum
and its offices that found evidence of 150 artifacts illegally removed from the state-claimed bottomlands, including artifacts from the Drake. Following a settlement agreement with the GLSHS, the Drake's rudder, anchor, and windlass
are now the property of the State of Michigan. The rudder is on loan to the GLSHS for display nearby the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum and the anchor and windlass is on loan to Whitefish Township for display next to its community building.
Great Lakes diver Harrington reported that the Drake's wreck lies scattered on the lake bottom about 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) from Vermilion Point. Oleszewski reported that decades of winter ice and spring and fall storms smashed the remains of her upright keel leaving only the boiler standing. The Drake's wreck site is protected for future generations of scuba divers by the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve
as part of an underwater museum. Divers who visit the wreck sites are expected to observe preservation laws and "take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but bubbles". Harrington cautions that "divers must be certain of their abilities and equipment" when diving the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve.
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
that towed consorts
Consort (nautical)
Consort is a nautical term for unpowered Great Lakes vessels, usually a fully loaded schooner barge or steamer barge, towed by a larger steamer that would often tow more than one barge. The consort system was used in the Great Lakes from the 1860s to around 1920...
loaded with coal and iron ore on the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
. She came to the rescue of the crews of at least 4 foundering vessels in her 9 year career only to meet the same fate in her final rescue attempt. The Drake sank in 1882 off Vermilion Point
Vermilion Point
Vermilion Point is a remote, undeveloped shore with a rich history lying west of Whitefish Point, Michigan, on a stretch of Lake Superior’s southeast coast known as the "Graveyard of the Great Lakes" or, in the title of a book by noted Great Lakes maritime historian , ""...
after a rescue attempt of her consort Michigan. Her rudder
Rudder
A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...
, anchor
Anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα .Anchors can either be temporary or permanent...
, and windlass
Windlass
The windlass is an apparatus for moving heavy weights. Typically, a windlass consists of a horizontal cylinder , which is rotated by the turn of a crank or belt...
were illegally removed from her wreck site in the 1980s. They are now the property of the State of Michigan. The rudder is on display as a loan to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum
Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum is located at the Whitefish Point Light Station north of Paradise in Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The light station property was transferred to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society , the Michigan Audubon Society , and the United States...
and the anchor and windlass are on loan for display to Whitefish Township Community Center. The wreck of the Drake is protected as part of an underwater museum in the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve
Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve
The Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve was established in 1987 to protect and conserve shipwrecks and historical resources on of Lake Superior bottomlands in Whitefish Bay and around Whitefish Point, Michigan. The formation of the Michigan Underwater Preserves helped stop controversy over...
.
Career
The M.M. Drake was constructed in 1882 in Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
as a wooden steam barge and named for the line superintendent of her building company, Mr. Marcus Motier Drake. The Drake started her career in September 1882 by towing the barge F.W. Gifford. In 1883 she was chartered for Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
to Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
for coal and from Marquette, Michigan
Marquette, Michigan
Marquette is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Marquette County. The population was 21,355 at the 2010 census, making it the most populated city of the Upper Peninsula. Marquette is a major port on Lake Superior, primarily for shipping iron ore and is the home of Northern...
to Lake Erie for iron ore. In 1885 she was re-admeasured and had upper decks added at the Union Dry Dock Company in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. James Corrigan of Wickliffe, Ohio
Wickliffe, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there are 13,484 people, 5,604 households, 3,754 families residing in the city. The population density is 2,898.2 people per square mile . There are 5,787 housing units at an average density of 1,243.8 per square mile...
became her third and final owner in 1889.
During her nine year career, she came to the rescue of distressed vessels and she had several mishaps of her own, including stranding on a reef in 1882, running ashore in 1888 near Cheboygan, Michigan
Cheboygan, Michigan
Cheboygan is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 5,295. It is the county seat of Cheboygan County....
, and striking a bar and sinking at the dock in Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
in 1889. In 1883, the Drake rescued the crew of her consort, the 347-ton schooner Dot (the former Mary Merrit), when the Dot began leaking and sank off Grand Marais, Michigan
Grand Marais, Michigan
Grand Marais is an unincorporated community in Burt Township, Alger County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located on Lake Superior at and is the eastern gateway to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore via H-58....
. In 1889, the Drake picked up 3 passengers and the 15-man crew from the wooden steam barge Smith Moore that had been sideswiped by the James Pickands in heavy fog. The Drake towed the Moore for 6 hours when the Moore finally sank only 300 feet from the bar at the mouth of the Munising, Michigan
Munising, Michigan
Munising is a city on the southern shore of Lake Superior on the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 2,539. It is the county seat of Alger County...
harbor. In 1900, the Drake rescued the 8-man crew from the leaking schooner-barge R. Hallaran that foundered off Keweenaw Point
Keweenaw Peninsula
The Keweenaw Peninsula is the northern-most part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States. As of the 2000 census, its population was roughly 43,200...
near Stannard Rock Light
Stannard Rock Light
The Stannard Rock Light, completed in 1883, is a lighthouse located on a reef that was the most serious hazard to navigation on Lake Superior. The exposed crib of the Stannard Rock Light is rated as one of the top ten engineering feats in the United States. It is from the nearest land, making it...
. The Drake saved at least 4 crews from foundering vessels during her career but her final rescue of her own consort's crew caused a fatal blow to her structure that resulted in her suffering the same fate.
Final voyage
On 1 October 1901, the Drake headed into a storm on Lake SuperiorLake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
with her consort, the 27 year old, 3-masted
Mast (sailing)
The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
schooner barge Michigan, both heavy with iron ore loaded at Superior, Wisconsin
Superior, Wisconsin
Superior is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 26,960 at the 2010 census. Located at the junction of U.S. Highways 2 and 53, it is north of and adjacent to both the Village of Superior and the Town of Superior.Superior is at the western...
. The masters of the red-hulled
Hull (watercraft)
A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
vessels of the James Corrigan line were following the practice of the early twentieth century shipping industry of sailing in foul weather to avoid losses from delays regardless of risk to life and vessel and towing aged wooden, schooner barges to increase profitability. As the Drake labored through frigid rain and 55 miles per hour (88.5 km/h) wind, by 2 October 1901 the seams of the Michigan's planking began to leak at a rate that overwhelmed her pumps. The flooded and dense iron ore cargo made it likely that the Michigan would sink without warning before the dawn of the day.
Captain John McArthur Jr. of the Michigan ordered the thick towing hawser
Hawser
Hawser is a nautical term for a thick cable or rope used in mooring or towing a ship. A hawser passes through a hawsehole, also known as a cat hole, located on the hawse....
pulled in within hailing distance of the Drake to communicate their status by shouts amplified with a megaphone. It was decided that the Michigan's crew would be removed in the pitch black night as there was no chance of launching the Michigan's yawl
Yawl
A yawl is a two-masted sailing craft similar to a sloop or cutter but with an additional mast located well aft of the main mast, often right on the transom, specifically aft of the rudder post. A yawl (from Dutch Jol) is a two-masted sailing craft similar to a sloop or cutter but with an...
in the prevailing winds. The Michigan was drawn up to the Drake so that her bow
Bow (ship)
The bow is a nautical term that refers to the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is most forward when the vessel is underway. Both of the adjectives fore and forward mean towards the bow...
was up against the Drake's stern
Stern
The stern is the rear or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite of the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Originally, the term only referred to the aft port section...
quarter on the leeward side. With the two wooden hulls grinding against each other, the crew of the Michigan leaped to Drake when the waves brought the two decks
Deck (ship)
A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary deck is the horizontal structure which forms the 'roof' for the hull, which both strengthens the hull and serves as the primary working surface...
level to one another. Just as the last of the Michigan's crew were safely transferred to the Drake, the wind carried the Michigan into a sea trough causing her jib
Jib
A jib is a triangular staysail set ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bow, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast...
boom
Boom (sailing)
In sailing, a boom is a spar , along the foot of a fore and aft rigged sail, that greatly improves control of the angle and shape of the sail. The primary action of the boom is to keep the foot of the sail flatter when the sail angle is away from the centerline of the boat. The boom also serves...
that jutted forward from her forepeak to rake across length of the Drake. The Drake's after cabin was fractured and her tall smoke stack was loped off and shoved overboard.
The Drake was mortally wounded. The loss of her smoke stack prevented a proper draft to her steamer to form a full head of steam to her engines and part of that steam was diverted to the pumps needed to stay ahead of the flooding below decks caused by the fractured after cabin. Without full steam, the Drake's Captain J. W. Nicholson could not keep her from hanging up in the sea trough in gale force winds even though he ordered the crew to break up her cabins to feed a wood fire that burned hotter than a coal fire.
When the Northern Wave, a 2 year old steel package freighter
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
, headed upbound out of Whitefish Bay
Whitefish Bay
Whitefish Bay is a large bay on the eastern end of the southern shore of Lake Superior between Michigan and Ontario. It begins in the north and west at Whitefish Point in Michigan, about 10 miles north of Paradise, Michigan and ends at the St. Marys River at Sault Ste. Marie on the southeast...
shortly after 6:00 AM that morning, she spotted the struggling Drake flying a distress signal from one her masts and the crew frantically swarming the cabins with fire axes and bare hands. When Captain M.S. Peterson eased the Northern Wave to the windward side of the foundering Drake, three crew members leaped to the deck of the Northern Wave. Heavy seas prevented the steel Northern Wave from staying alongside for a rescue of the Drake's crew without risking her wooden hull. The Northern Wave attempted to tow the water-logged Drake but the hawser immediately snapped. Captain Peterson informed Captain Nicholson by megaphone that he would standby in case the Drake's crew could be taken off but both knew the near impossibility of launching the lifeboats in the gale.
By late afternoon the Drake had slowed to a crawl due to her inability to keep up steam. The Northern Wave still hovering nearby. The situation appeared hopeless until the steel freighter, the Crescent City, came upon the struggling Drake. The Crescent City was nearly twice the size of the Drake and she used her massive hull to provide an artificial lee from the gale force wind. The Michigan's cook, Harry Brown, leaped toward the Crescent City before the two vessels were close enough and was swallowed by Lake Superior. The rest of the crew waited until the hulls of the two ships were grinding together and all of them safely jumped to the Crescent City by 5:00 PM. The Crescent City reached the Soo Locks
Soo Locks
The Soo Locks are a set of parallel locks which enable ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. They are located on the St. Marys River between Lake Superior and Lake Huron, between the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario...
with the Michigan and Drake crews at 2:00 AM on 3 October 1901.
The Drake was a $35,000 loss and the Michigan was a $19,000 loss.
Wreck history
Soo Locks
The Soo Locks are a set of parallel locks which enable ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. They are located on the St. Marys River between Lake Superior and Lake Huron, between the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario...
. Captain Campbell reported that the Drake was located between Vermilion Point and Whitefish Point lying on her side in 40 feet (12.2 m) of water with about 5 feet (1.5 m) feet of water over her with a floating spar
Spar
In sailing, a spar is a pole of wood, metal or lightweight materials such as carbon fiber used on a sailing vessel. Spars of all types In sailing, a spar is a pole of wood, metal or lightweight materials such as carbon fiber used on a sailing vessel. Spars of all types In sailing, a spar is a...
still strung to the hull. The wreck of the Drake lay forgotten on the bottom of Lake Superior for 77 years until she was rediscovered at 46°46.588′N 85°05.933′W in 1978 by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) who subsequently removed her rudder, windlass, anchor, and a sign board in the 1980s. Michigan’s Antiquities Act of 1980 prohibited the removal of artifacts from shipwrecks on the Great Lakes bottomlands. The Evening News reported a Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment 1992 raid on the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum
Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum is located at the Whitefish Point Light Station north of Paradise in Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The light station property was transferred to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society , the Michigan Audubon Society , and the United States...
and its offices that found evidence of 150 artifacts illegally removed from the state-claimed bottomlands, including artifacts from the Drake. Following a settlement agreement with the GLSHS, the Drake's rudder, anchor, and windlass
Anchor windlass
A "windlass" is a machine used on ships that is used to let-out and heave-up equipment such as for example a ship's anchor or a fishing trawl.An anchor windlass is a machine that restrains and manipulates the anchor chain and/or rope on a boat, allowing the anchor to be raised and lowered. A...
are now the property of the State of Michigan. The rudder is on loan to the GLSHS for display nearby the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum and the anchor and windlass is on loan to Whitefish Township for display next to its community building.
Great Lakes diver Harrington reported that the Drake's wreck lies scattered on the lake bottom about 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) from Vermilion Point. Oleszewski reported that decades of winter ice and spring and fall storms smashed the remains of her upright keel leaving only the boiler standing. The Drake's wreck site is protected for future generations of scuba divers by the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve
Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve
The Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve was established in 1987 to protect and conserve shipwrecks and historical resources on of Lake Superior bottomlands in Whitefish Bay and around Whitefish Point, Michigan. The formation of the Michigan Underwater Preserves helped stop controversy over...
as part of an underwater museum. Divers who visit the wreck sites are expected to observe preservation laws and "take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but bubbles". Harrington cautions that "divers must be certain of their abilities and equipment" when diving the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve.