Respect

We passed through the Straights of Mackinac Ship Wreck Preserve this morning and took a moment to pay our respect to all the souls lost or harmed in this area. We passed the wrecks of Maitland, Fred McBrier, Sandusky and the Eber Ward to name a few. Thanks Gord McCormick for providing the wee dram for Poseidon and the crew of Moon Dance IV.

Located where two great lakes meet, the straits are subject to volatile winds and currents that can push even today’s lakers around. Imagine the poor souls on wooden sailing ships trying to navigate through here in a gale.

The preserve contains 12 marked shipwrecks, with additional sites in the shallows near shore, and others in deeper waters nearby. Frequent fog, ice, and narrow shipping lanes were the cause of most area wrecks. Half a dozen lighthouses in and around the preserve testify to the dangers that existed prior to the invention of radar in the 1940’s. Tragedies have continued, however. One modern wreck within the boundaries of the preserve is the Cedarville, a self-unloading freighter that sank in 1965 after a collision in fog.