3 Strange Lake Superior Mysteries

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There's a reason they say Lake Superior never gives up her dead. The largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area, Lake Superior's cold and treacherous waters have claimed numerous lives. Here are three eerily similar stories of ships that vanished on Lake Superior: the SS Manistee, the SS Ira H. Owen, and the French minesweepers SS Inkerman, and SS Cerisoles.
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Sources:
Went Missing by Frederick Stonehouse
Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes by Dana Thomas Bowen
www.duluthnewstribune.com/new...
Image Credit:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Ca...
Music and Select Stock Footage:
Epidemic Sound: www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
Artlist: artlist.io/
Chapters:
00:00 Lake Superior
1:39 Rotten Wood: SS Manistee
10:00 Luck Runs Out: SS Ira H. Owen
15:39 Lost in Foreign Waters: Inkerman and Cerisoles
Disclaimer: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you. Thank you for supporting my channel so I can continue providing free high-quality historical content.

[@BigOldBoats]

Find a nature-inspired watch you will love at www.holzkern.com/en_world/bigoldboats and be sure to enter the code BIGOLDBOATS15 at checkout to get 15% off. Thank you so much for watching! You all are the best!

[@Jac5b]

What about the Badger State?

[@Jac5b]

The one near Algonac, Mi

[@Jac5b]

They look so similar

[@waitingforanalibi2224]

Hello, I love your narration and tone. Been watching quite a while now! Can I ask what the name of the score from the 1:40? mark is called, if you know off the top of your head?

[@bobsbasementhotrains3020]

Great video

[@blackoutlol2857]

There’s just something eerie about knowing there’s a lake full of corpses.... brings a whole new meaning to a body of water 😅

[@brodyberry6253]

😆😂 But there’s not though not really. Most of those bodies become fish food ect.

[@bradcalton6447]

You do not recognize the bodies in the water

[@PereMarquette1223]

Look up the SS Kamloops. Still has a body on board, a well known one.

[@brodyberry6253]

@@PereMarquette1223 Hell yeah i’ll check it out i’m pretty big into maritime stuff well and just history stuff in general. And not for nothin but while there might be a SKELETON emphasis on SKELETON or parts of one at least here and there. There aren’t a bunch of bodies just sitting around in the ocean for several reasons. One being that water of and kind is a terrible environment for a human body to stay over time especially a dead one. And while cold water and darkness all this kind of thing can greatly slow down the rate of decomposition IT CAN NEVER COMPLETELY STOP IT. So with the passage of time and being subjected to underwater elements, currents, fish/marine organisms eating and moving the body. Then over let’s say 50-100 years there’s no bodies left other than maybe a bone here a bone there. Or maybe not because those may be covered in sediment js.

[@MorrisHillmanVideos]

As did (does?) the 'EDMUND FITZGERALD'.

[@ernestweaver9720]

I have been on the shore of Superior. Unless you have been on it or stood right next to it. You just can't grasp how massive that body of water really is. I was in the USN and that is the only body of water that made my spine shiver. No other Ocean, Sea, Bay or river has bothered me. But that Lake actually scares me and I have no clue why.

[@juliemanarin4127]

I live in Chicago...same with Lake Michigan

[@claudiadarling9441]

She's got a real "don't f*ck with me" vibe. The weather can change fast on all the lakes. Since they are smaller the period between the wave action in big storms tends to be shorter, so the 20/30ft waves hammer unrelenting. The landscape around Superior and many of the other lakes is just so raw too. Some of the rock right at the surface in the Minnesota Arrowhead is billion year old volcanic rock.

[@superhawk3057]

I agree with ervery thing you said. I also was in the navy and have swam in superior in july with my lips turning blue.

[@549RR]

Our family camp (cottage) is on the north shore, about half way between the Soo and Wawa. It generally takes until August for the lake to get really comfortable for swimming, but in the big sand bays, like Batchawana, it’s usually fine in July.

[@thomasdahlquist7119]

Pilots that I recall seeing interviewed attribute the lake's danger to its relatively small size, resulting in wave reflection from the various shores that create what they called "confused waters". You can't always just point the bow into the swells and ride things out, since some other trouble might be coming at you broadside at any time.

[@jimjimmyjam8242]

First time on lake Superior we took our ski boat out on an absolutely beautiful calm day. I anchored on a sand bar, closed my eyes for about an hour and woke up to 2-4 foot waves and heavy wind. The more time you spend up here you learn to never let your guard down. Lake Superior makes sure you won't forget that

[@andrewrife6253]

If you ever do a follow-up video, I recommend looking into the Kamloops. It's a shipwreck with the body of a crew member still in it that is known to follow divers around the ship. The story of it is crazy and the last moments of the crew who made it ashore are tragic.

[@wirelessone2986]

Nobody knew that but the diving community until a popular female mortician made a big deal out of it on a You Tube video,Now ALL the kids who dont give a rip about wrecks go to watch the very rare footage of ole whitey floating...it had like a dozen views a few years ago...now..its an internet kid hang out.

[@northwoodsrailproductions4538]

@@wirelessone2986I’d argue it’s based on where you are. Growing up around the Great Lakes I’d heard the story a few times before, but it’s thanks to videos like that which happen to get everyone else’s attention. Wouldn’t argue it’s the worst thing though, since sometimes it can spark further learning about the history

[@ripwednesdayadams]

@@wirelessone2986lol tons of people knew about it before caitlin did a video. it wasn’t some big secret. there’s videos going back to the 90s about it. get over yourself.

[@wirelessone2986]

@@ripwednesdayadams BULL SHIT I remember the count

[@wirelessone2986]

@@ripwednesdayadams Tons of people my ass

[@ss-2203]

Please keep up the Great Lakes stories. You are literally the first person on youtube to thuroughly cover these forgotten stories over more famous shipwrecks of history. I look forward to your next videos.

[@pfadiva]

@Martime Horrors covers quite a few Great Lakes wrecks. Great channel by a working mariner.

[@northwoodsrailproductions4538]

@@pfadivanot a large number of videos from him (obviously due to his line of work), but definitely one of the highest quality channels I’ve seen in a while. Definitely worth a viewing if you ask me, absolutely worth viewing his videos about the Morrell and Bradley among others

[@AG-iu9lv]

Except for all of the lakeside historical societies which have scads of excellent great lakes maritime videos. Check those out, they're thorough and done by passionate people, most of whose whole families grew up around the lakes for generations, and they'd be appreciative of every single view.

[@evanmalin539]

I’m working on the lakes as a cook on the ships. It’s mid July and out in the middle of the lake you can see your breath even on a sunny clear day

[@NealBones]

Truly appreciate all of the Great Lakes content lately!

[@michelwayne03]

The Great Lakes videos are by far my favorite!

[@veronicamartha5354]

In Wawa, Ontario there are old drawings from native people who lived there showing an angered, stormy spirit . Lake Superior always gave me very specific feelings about its energy

[@MarianneKat]

Lifelong MI, love the Great Lakes. Lake Superior is a beast, and those treading thru it must be brave and wise. There's a lot of amazing history here. I highly recommend anyone who likes these videos to visit the shipwreck museum at whitefish point in da UP. Worth the beautiful drive. ❤

[@brenkirgaming4586]

I live in Southern MN and there’s something so enticing to me about having a place, a body of water so magical or mysterious like Lake Superior just sitting north of me, waiting to claim another person if they aren’t careful

[@random22026]

The month of November, and Lake Superior sailing excursions, DO NOT MIX.

[@AG-iu9lv]

I would avoid all the 5 lakes in October and November. I grew up in Chicagoland and brutal doesn't begin to describe lake weather.

[@random22026]

GOOD ADVICE. 😌😌@@AG-iu9lv

[@ardoronro6677]

I've had a lot of morbid curiosities over the years, but ship wrecks and disappearances has always been the most fascinating subject I come back to time and time again.

[@jozefbaran6189]

It's hard to believe that the people in charge of ships and shipping companies have not learnt to not sail out in November.

[@norml.hugh-mann]

Everybody that made the calls to send out these ships are long dead. Nobody got forced to do anything, in the US workers can quit at any time or turn down any voyage they deem unsafe. These men Chose their fate by trusting the wrong captian or letting their need for money conquer their good sense. Its a tragedy sure, but its not like they were sent into battle under orders. Its just a job.. Ships are both much safer now, as well ad weather forecasting..but most importantly the companies have learned expensive lessons from their past and just dont put their expensive investments in jepordy anymore. The witch of November keeps the ports full nowdays

[@foxymetroid]

They learned their lesson. They learned they could make more money sending their ships out on "one last run" than by playing it safe. After all, the lives being lost were not the lives of the owners, but of people simply trying to put food on the table.

[@americanshack176]

They knew about the dangers. Every boat and man was replaceable. The dollar ruled the day

[@ScottieFindsFish]

my grandfather was out on the lake one early morning. dense fog and low visibility. he said to himself “wow loooks like were the only ones out here” when suddenly his communications radio went off and a voice said “im here.” he says he ran the boat back to the ramp and drove home in silence

[@AG-iu9lv]

I would have bolted, too. There's something extra about the lakes that I would not mess with.

[@gulfy09]

Should of ask who's this

[@kruksog]

​@@gulfy09it was death himself.

[@devindawson2922]

Would you mind covering the story of the SS Vestris? It is a rarely talked about shipwreck in my area (Hampton Roads) and I was hoping you could shed some light on it, thank you!

[@caledonianrailway1233]

Your content is superior

[@sisterspooky]

😂

[@brianjones7660]

The stories are rather Erie………..😮

[@kevinmiller7792]

Thank you for these great stories, the histories behind them, and bringing to the fore how big and dangerous the Great Lakes can be.

[@atheistsince1210]

The Witch of November- crew had no idea what they left to chance I’m always thankful to be on dry land whenever I’m in sight of those Great Lakes .

[@yvonneollivier7088]

There is nothing more relaxing than a video by BOB, when lying back, propped on pillows, hot coffee on the bedside table, in the soft gray, hazy morning just as the birdies have ended their morning chorus. Great atmosphere...it might rain. I can see Lake Superior at the end of my road, a half mile away, if I go into the upstairs sitting room. I keep thinking, I ought to feel more unsettled over these sinkings. I know that I would do, if I were involved in one of these cold, wet, suffocating tragedies. Time and emotional distance from the unfortunates may have the effect of turning these histories into "stories". Our gracious presenter has a beautiful voice and perfect delivery. It's like...yes, this is terrible, but stay calm... Positive effect. It causes appreciation of the life one has.

[@mbryson2899]

I grew up in Chicago. Much of my adult life was spent on the California coast. Lake Michigan is every bit as terrifying as the Pacific Ocean. "Lake" does not approximate her fury.

[@jasondh7377]

Lake Superior is no joke.

[@roughneckadv5720]

I've lived in Michigan for all of my 36 years and have spent much of that time fishing on the great lakes. I'm always fascinated with the history of shipping on them and hearing forgotten stories like these. Thanks for another awesome video, and I am looking forward to hearing more great lake stories. Keep them coming ❤

[@owenpurvis2633]

Another great video of largely forgotten history. Living in Wisconsin, I especially enjoy the Great Lakes stories. Good job.

[@JohnDavies-cn3ro]

Facinated by the paddle steamer car ferry at the start! The French gunboat tragedy I've heard about before, but not the other two ships. I enjoy these stories - and this chennel is a definite 'must watch' whenever a new title comes up.

[@samgerman2883]

Big Old Boats + A Beachfront View= pure happiness

[@Dulcimertunes]

Your research and calm, articulate manner of speaking make these videos A+

[@juliemanarin4127]

Those lakes can be as treacherous as an ocean...I live in Chicago and they are unbelievably huge!

[@Sassymouse88]

They're pretty much inland oceans! 😅

[@randomkeir]

I remember being in a taxi when I lived in Chicago years ago. Leaving downtown headed to the north side on Lakeshore Drive and seeing huge waves from Lake Michigan splash onto LSD. That was pretty damned scary.

[@slavkovalsky1671]

Gordon Lightfoot wasn't kidding about the gales of November...

[@mbvoelker8448]

I'm always happy to see these videos on lesser-known disasters. So much better than rehashing well-known events without new information. These people deserve to be remembered.

[@effieborchert985]

I grew up on that lake and my daughter is growing up on it now. You have to have equal measure of respect and fear for her, if you want to survive her.

[@jwalkerblk]

Great stories thanks for covering the minesweepers! That was the largest loss of life from any incident on lake superior. 78 souls 😢

[@dwaggs01]

Was just at the great lakes shipwreck museum At whitefish point. Awesome museum if anyone can check it out. So many chilling stories.

[@tashalynn29]

That is on my bucket list. I really want to go see it!

[@wendywhite4537]

That was amazing. I like mysterious shipwrecks. Hearing about them, i mean. Thank you for telling their stories with respect

[@the_major]

As a great lakes man, I'm really enjoying these more obscure great lakes episodes you've been doing. Keep it up!

[@DieUnstillbareGier]

As the shipgeek I am, I’ve never heard about these ships in this video. You really bring the forgotten out of the dark, Bradley. Amazing job!!

[@trent3872]

This channel has fast become one of my favorites. I never realized how early ocean liners even existed.

[@Blatsen]

I appreciate that you cover Great Lakes ships and shipwrecks instead of just covering the Titanic or other famous ships ad nauseum like so many other KZbin channels do.

[@joslynscott466]

Excellent. I live near one of the Great Lakes and I've been told many times that our storms rival the North Atlantic. Your research was accurate and your voice very soothing.

[@earlyburg]

I relocated to Buffalo 10 years ago and I love learning about the Great Lakes Region in the old days. Thanks for this whole channel.

[@lazzyfare4721]

Fantastic body of work on your video's and this one in particular. Also you do a great job of narration. The late great Gordon Lightfoot sung it so well with this line "The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead". The indigenous peoples of the Great Lake territories understood this about the lakes, that she gave you life and she could take life in return.

[@gecepetangomango1190]

I've heard and known that saying for a very long time. "The superior lake never gives up her dead" I always wondered why. Creepy to understand how much the saying is accurate

[@gizmo8361]

One of my brothers, Ronnie, was a Master Diver and he told me once that he loved diving in the deepest, coldest and blackest water. He was diving a wreck near Brockville, Ontario when he had a heart attack at only 58. He would have loved to dive in Lake Superior, in fact he may have done so.

[@liam1428]

Why do I like this channel? Probably because of the narrator. He has a calming voice and great black-and-white content. It fits my mood and where it doesn't, it puts me there

[@edwardcowan7012]

I was born in Detroit and spent a lot of time on the Great Lakes. Great video

[@brenkirgaming4586]

Oh my gosh yes!!! Lake Superior video! Thanks so much! Video about my favorite place in the world and a place my home state of Minnesota is connected too!!!

[@johnholland5523]

Watched an episode of Expedition Unknown. Apparently the Great Lakes Shipwreck Society found documents that a French sailor’s body did wash up on Michipicoten Island.

[@lordcantiismyname]

BIG OLD BOATS FOR MY BIRTHDAY!?!?!? YAAAAAYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

[@NealBones]

🎉🎉🎉 Happy Birthday 🥳

[@psycho_penguin1]

Happy Birthday!

[@flapjackfae]

I love your channel. Factual, respectful histories. Keeping the stories alive, and honoring those lost.

[@jordanpeterson5140]

Starting off a Lake Superior with a shot of Split Rock Lighthouse is just the logical choice. Very nice.

[@jz865]

I am grateful for this content, but I have to admit, when he said Lake Superior and the sweeping shot was from St. Joe on Lake Michigan, it took me out a little;-)

[@jamest2401]

I gotta say, if I were a Lake Superior mariner, and November rolled around, I’d be like, “I’m off the clock, man!”🤨

[@johnwurfel2862]

Thank you for these fine historical accounts.

[@Bobbymaccys]

I don’t know what it is, but BOB vids give me more chills than any horror movie.

[@thejudgmentalcat]

Lake Superior is the scariest of our 5 Great Lakes imho

[@Uncle_Fred]

I'd argue that in general, that's true. However, there a hidden secret terror in the Great Lakes. Most of the time, Lake Erie is unremarkable. However, there's something about it's east-west configuration that matches the prevailing storm winds, combined with its shallow waters. The lake can turn on a dime into a terrifying and unpredictable sloshing bathtub of murky brown waters. These events are short-lived, and only happen once or so a year, but I'd argue they are more chaotic feeling and thus scarier than Superior's storms.

[@johncmitchell4941]

@@Uncle_Fred The Marquette & Bessemer went down under such conditions and is still being searched for.

[@apancher]

Another awesome video! You're very good at immediately hooking the viewer and keeping them engaged in the story!

[@greenbeenie2]

THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING A WAY OF REMEMBERING THESE SHIPS AND SOULS LOST TO TIME....GOD BLESS THEIR SOULS, MAY THEY REST IN PEACE. AGAIN, A HUGE THANK YOU.....GOD BLESS ALWAYS

[@go4brookle761]

Love to see your content. Keep up the great work!

[@GeneGal43]

Totally heard AskaMortican in my head while you read your intro!

[@Shipnerd194]

Brilliant video as ever, keep up the good work!

[@thatcrimewriterchick]

I absolutely love Lake Superior. I love all the Great Lakes. (What can I say? I'm a Michigander!) It's a beautiful lake, but she definitely has some deadly powers and many secrets. She's a lake that commands respect.

[@sheldonshniklefritz95]

its surreal when the fog rolls in at night you can hear the freighters pass by, and damn that lake is cold I swam in her. you have to treat it just like the ocean and assume every wave is trying to kill you, because it is.... and when your remote any accident could very well be your last mistake.

[@davecoppedge3196]

I live in Sault Ste. Marie by the locks. I love your videos I listen to them while I’m working. I like your voice and the background music

[@mcfrenchfry2196]

Great job these ships deserve to be remembered well done

[@Raellives]

Who’d ever believe there are French warships and sailors at the bottom of a Great lake?

[@randomlyentertaining8287]

Don't forget, France used to own most of Canada directly above the Great Lakes until the French and Indian War, after which it was ceded to Britain. So it wouldn't be surprising.

[@scruffscruffeton986]

Sitting in my living room watching the four foot, (approx.) swells smash into my Huron shore while taking in this video. I love this land, and lake.

[@jakemitchell3535]

Great upload! I had no clue the water temp hovered right above freezing year round.

[@MarianneKat]

Superior is very deep and hence very cold. Swimmers in the lake are either brave or crazy, prolly both. Winters in da UP are frigid and snowy, with snowfall from Oct to May. One must shovel the roof or risk collapse.

[@claudiadarling9441]

@@MarianneKat Late in summer near the shore it's not so bad. If it's a hot day it's kinda nice. Definitely not the Caribbean though.

[@paulcilluffo]

Hay the work and detail you put into your great lake stuff is right on the money I live in MICHIGAN and you have a uncanny way of hitting all the right stuff in your story and you do it in a way to really drive home all the important aspects of the subject nice work thank you if you have not been to some of our museums all over the great lakes you should take a trip like to Port Huron any how good stuff

[@bloodvypa783]

Awesome little documentary. I love learning about incidents that are virtually unknown or forgotten to most people. Finding this channel was a very happy accident. Thank you for all your hard work in researching, producing & uploading these videos, great job.

[@steinarvilnes3954]

Seems like most of the sinkings on the lakes take place in the month of November?

[@RobertFischer333]

Living in Duluth for 13 years, my relationship with Lake Superior is deep, no pun intended. Thank you for the history lessons.

[@markbilyeu6326]

I was born and raised in Michigan. I was always fascinated with the history of the Great Lakes.

[@timd4524]

That second ship had to be the unluckiest ever.

[@WilliamEricStone]

Where I live from my front porch I can see where the Ontonagon River flows into Lake Superior. The storms on that lake in November and December, before she freezes over in January are like nothing one will ever see. Swells 30 foot tall, and 90 MPH North winds.

[@AcaliahWolfsong]

The best way to start my morning at work!! I get to listen to another awesome video from BoB

[@NealBones]

Could we pretend that airplanes in the night sky... oh wait, not that B.O.B 😂

[@chendaforest]

​@@NealBonesI could really use a wish right now...😂

[@tomlindsay4629]

Great work on finding so many photos.

[@omac1962]

They are more like inland seas , I'm from Detroit Michigan I grew around those lakes Beauty and the beast at the same time.

[@arx9113]

Another brilliant video, keep on going man!

[@biotasticmann]

The Lighthouse at 1:16 is the St. Joseph North Pier Inner and Outer Lights on Lake Michigan!

[@micheleaday3902]

Never Underestimate The Waters Of Lakes Or Oceans Respect All Waters And Gods Creatures Great And Small❤

[@alecleeburn3619]

i ENJOY THIS CONTENT PLEASE KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK

[@katfayegarrett3872]

Another great video! The Great Lakes are like mini, freshwater oceans.

[@jenniferlevine5406]

Another fine documentary! Thanks so much for the video, the high quality you maintain and the excellent stories well told.

[@zacharypotvin6579]

Great to hear about Ontonagon, I grew up like 20 minutes from there.

[@laughingman6426]

Perfect. Love this format of video and stories.

[@HMSPrinceofWhales53p]

I'd heard that at least one crewman's remains were found from the Inkerman or Ceresolis in the 1920s

[@kalifogg6610]

Yeah, Expedition Unknown recently did an episode on the lost ships and one or two bodies washed onto an island wearing odd uniforms.

[@chrismarley3536]

❤️ your handle. Too clever!

[@ArthurTheLibraryDetective]

.Just came across Big Old Boats...been 'binge watching'...and this Scripture came to mind:: (Rev 20:13--The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. )🙏💞💞..Those lost will be found.njn

[@headmonkeyboy]

Boy this one was really good, I'm sending my friend a link to see the Inkerman as he runs Black Cat Models from France. I'm hoping he will maybe release 1/350th scale models of these minesweepers. While he specializes in WW2 ships, he is open to other time period suggestions. 😀

[@InlandSeas]

Would be neat to make this a series for each lake! I would like to suggest the second deadliest, Lake Erie (which has the most shipwrecks of the five.) Would also like to suggest the Black Friday storm of 1916 and Armistice Day Storm of 1940

[@farfle]

Thank you for another fabulous Great Lakes story!

[@haydenphalen153]

Always got great stories to tell! Love the channel

[@thewhiskyscout1238]

I always like watching your videos and the ones based on the Great Lakes are my favorites though. The view of Split Rock light house at the end was wonderful. Great job!

[@jameswg13]

Always love learning new mysteries and stories

[@wattsnottaken1]

I grew up fishing for smallmouth bass on lake superior. It’s amazing how giant this lake is. Though to ge fair, all the Great Lakes are HUGE 😮😅

[@DaughterofLir]

Yayy! A Big Old Boats drop to make my Saturday! Excellent. ❤

[@GLK-London]

Another fascinating video. Your work is very much appreciated.

[@bobmarch8275]

One hays summer day in 1982 I seen the ss Manistee on lake Michigan. I tune around to tell my wife hay look at this old boat when I looked back it was gone.

[@rollertoaster812]

Are you planning on making this a series and making a video like this for the other Great Lakes?

[@RJFP67]

I get a kick out of people who’ve never seen the Great Lakes. These are fresh water inland oceans.

[@daren7889]

My father , a former US Naval officer and someone who loved sailboats! Dad said people underestimate the power of the Great Lakes! The Great Lakes are very dangerous and it is difficult to find a safe harbor! We did most of our sailing on the Chesapeake Bay , this bay has many safe places to escape to if the weather gets rough! 🤔🤗🥰⚓⛵⚓🌅⚓GO NAVY! 🤗⛵⚓

[@glennmorrissey5309]

Great documentary. Love it!