Shipwreck of the Month

Shipwreck of the Month: Manasoo

By: Courtney Kingery, UHM MOP Student

Sailors have been travelling across the Great Lakes since the 1600s and still do to this day. With a high amount of traffic, there are more opportunities for accidents to occur in this area. There are a suspected 7,000 ships at the bottom of the Great Lakes but only 2,000 have been discovered. It is the goal of researcher Cris Kohl to uncover as many shipwrecks as he and his team can, and as they do so, they are helping close the gaps in historical knowledge. Cold fresh water helps preserve both the shipwrecks and the stories locked within their hulls.

In 1928, the Manasoo sank in the Georgian Bay. This ship is well preserved with the rooms being identifiable and the pilot house unscathed, which is rare in a shipwreck. But just because the wooden wheel is in place after 90 years of being in the bottom of the Great Lakes does not mean this ship is going anywhere anytime soon. Neither is the 1927 Chevy Coupe that has been patiently waiting to drive to its destination for almost 100 years. This car is a topic of conversation because it is the only one so far that has been found within a shipwreck in Lake Huron. Similar to modern ferries which transport people and their vehicles to various ports, this steamer was carrying people, livestock and this intact Chevy to Owen Sound. Interestingly enough, the owner of this vehicle was one of five passengers who survived the ordeal.

In mid-September of 1928, the stern started to take on water, most likely because a hatch was left open by accident. Once the captain noticed something wasn’t right, he tried to steer the ship to the closest piece of land but this maneuver was unsuccessful. In the end, 16 passengers and around 100 cows died as the ship sank to the bottom of Lake Huron, with the front of the ship lifted upwards, in excellent condition. Historical records explain that one lifeboat was in the water when large waves and possible cattle movement caused the ship to roll on its side before it started its vertical descent. Roy Fox, the oiler on the ship, was sucked under but somehow made

The propeller of the Monohansett, in the Great Lakes. Photo by: NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Flickr.

it to the surface and found the one lifeboat which saved his life.

When hearing this story, it is hard to believe that someone would forget to close a door that important to the buoyancy of a ship. Come to find out, there is a belief that a ship will have bad luck if its name is ever changed. The Macassa, built in 1888 was relocated in 1927, where she was then named Manasoo. Coincidence? Probably, but tales like this fuel the superstition. Shipwreck researcher Kohl will continue to search for the remaining ships in the Great Lakes, hoping to have the same luck finding a well-preserved and historically interesting shipwreck like they did with the Manasoo this summer, in 2018. •

The wheel of a sunken ship in Lake Huron. Photo by: Michael Schout, Flickr.