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Wisconsin father-daughter duo observe shipwreck
A Wisconsin angler sportfishing successful the fog this week discovered the wreck of an abandoned tugboat submerged successful the waters of Lake Michigan for much than a century, authorities officials announced Friday.
Wisconsin Historical Society Maritime Archaeologist Tamara Thomsen said that the nine confirmed that Christopher Thuss recovered the wreck of the J.C. Ames. Thuss was sportfishing successful Lake Michigan disconnected the metropolis of Manitowoc successful foggy conditions connected Tuesday erstwhile helium noticed the wreckage successful 9 feet of h2o disconnected a breakwater, she said successful a connection to The Associated Press.
The nine said that according to the publication "Green Bay Workhorses: The Nau Tug Line," the Rand and Burger shipbuilding institution successful Manitowoc built the J.C. Ames successful 1881 to assistance determination lumber. The tug was 1 of the largest and astir almighty connected the Great Lakes, with a 670-horsepower engine.
In this Thursday, May 15, 2025 photograph provided by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Tim Pranke, a unpaid diver for the Wisconsin Historical Society, approaches the wreckage of the J.C. Ames tugboat which was scuttled successful 1923 and was rediscovered connected Tuesday, May 13, 2025, conscionable disconnected the Lake Michigan shoreline successful Manitowoc, Wis.
Tamara Thomsen / AP
The tug served aggregate purposes beyond moving lumber, including transporting railway cars. It yet fell into disrepair and was scuttled successful 1923, arsenic was the signifier past erstwhile ships outlived their usefulness, Thomsen said.
The vessel had been buried successful the soil astatine the bottommost of the water for decades earlier storms this wintertime seemingly revealed it, Thomsen said. A deficiency of quagga mussels attached to the vessel indicates it was lone precocious exposed, she said.
Historians are racing to find shipwrecks and downed planes successful the Great Lakes earlier quagga mussels destruct them. Quagga person go the ascendant invasive species successful the little lakes implicit the past 30 years, attaching themselves to woody shipwrecks and sunken craft successful layers truthful heavy they yet crush the wreckage.
"These kinds of discoveries are ever truthful breathtaking due to the fact that it allows a portion of mislaid past to resurface. It sat determination for implicit a 100 years and past came backmost connected our radar wholly by chance," Thomsen said successful a statement. "We are grateful that Chris Thuss noticed the wreck and reported it truthful we tin stock this communicative with the Wisconsin communities that this past belongs to."
In September, maritime historians Brendon Baillod and Bob Jaeck announced they had discovered the wreck of the John Evenson, a towing tug was mislaid successful June 1895 portion assisting a freighter arsenic it was entering the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal successful Lake Michigan. The 2 historians besides recovered the schooner Margaret A. Muir successful June 2024.
In March 2024, the wreck of the steamship Milwaukee, which sank aft colliding with different vas successful 1886, was found 360 feet beneath the water's surface successful Lake Michigan.
That find came conscionable a fewer months aft a antheral and his daughter found the remains of a ship that sank successful Lake Michigan 15 years earlier the Milwaukee, successful 1871.
Experts estimate more than 6,000 ships have gone down successful the Great Lakes since the precocious 1600s.
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