Mysterious Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes

[@clayfoster8234]

For those who didn’t grow up around the Great Lakes their size is kind of hard to grasp; they’re not lakes; they’re more like miniature oceans. And shipwrecks are spectacularly preserved in lake superiors fresh water that has two temperatures: ice and melted ice.

[@mangot589]

IKR? I made a comment on another channel about them being more like inland seas, and months later they’re still commenting it.

[@QBCPerdition]

Not really oceans, but definitely seas

[@ryanf1425]

I’ve lived beside or near 3 of the 5 most of my life and now beside the st Lawrence which is the outflow. They are no joke

[@victoriaeads6126]

The ONLY thing that keeps them from being seas is the salinity. If there was a term for a fresh water sea, every Great Lake would qualify, along with Lake Baikal and a few other spectacular bodies of water. I've spent some time on Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. I've also spent time at the Atlantic shore and even the Bay of Finland on the Baltic. In terms of greatness and majesty, the Lakes are definitely Great.

[@vincentmorello83]

I love you covered this subject it has always fascinated me I live right between Erie and Ontario, I’d love to hear how he tells the story of the real devils hole in Niagara Falls , Ny.

[@thedamnyankee1]

"By the the twelfth Century the ship was declared missing" I think it was a bit after that, Simon.

[@brandonshebester9574]

Had to listen twice. Glad I'm not the only one who noticed!

[@vladsnape6408]

Perhaps the people who declared the ship missing were time travellers.

[@devinecatlady]

Haha. Simon making a mistake??! It's a rare thing, I think. He speaks so quickly that I almost missed it, but my brain said something didn't sound quite right. Lol.

[@BrandonJKelly-qx9ub]

That's not the only time error in this one. Check at 07:00: "By the late 1950s" about a Civil War era ship.

[@Textile_Courtesan]

I thought I was hearing wrong and played it a few times. I didn't want to say anything.

[@janedunlap6879]

Never underestimate Gitchee Gumee. That was drilled into my head as a kid. I use to go fishing on Lake Superior with my dad and grandpa. Storms roll in from out of nowhere.

[@canadaehxplained77]

The sky just turns green...

[@janedunlap6879]

@@canadaehxplained77 yep, if you're lucky. Sometimes you can barely see your hand in front of your face from the fog. At 16, had to drive along the lake as fog rolled in to be home for curfew. I literally followed a trucks taillights and hoped they were heading to Munising, and lucked out. But they could've driven into the lake and I would've followed because I couldn't even see the road. Of course this was before cell phones, lol, at least in the UP.

[@janedunlap6879]

@@canadaehxplained77 I love your name, btw. Maybe I should be UP EhXplained, lol.

[@canadaehxplained77]

@@janedunlap6879 That's intense! We're from the other side of the lake.. same thing, but there's more cliffs than coast! And thank you.. our channel is all about stories from across Canada - and of course, some that have to do with our awesome neighbours too ;)

[@janedunlap6879]

@@canadaehxplained77 I just ventured a look at your channel. It looks great!! I only watched one so far, but I'll be catching up on the rest, probably later today. I subbed! I'm a fan already. I'm a displaced yooper, living in Florida, and miss it so much. Still hoping to move back up, but hubby is a Florida boy, so he'd freeze as soon as, well August rolls around. So I've gotta ease him into cooler weather. Mountains of North Carolina first, then I'll convince him, one day. My grandma passed last year, so we don't even have a good place for a long vacation without the expense anymore. I live vicariously through videos, from inside in the ac, because I can't take the heat! So keep your vids coming, and enjoy a few minutes of nice fresh, non broiling weather for me!

[@knuckleupgaming2405]

Absolute legend. Hopefully he does cover the Edmund Fitzgerald, the anniversary of its sinking just passed a few days ago

[@joz6683]

If he does then he has to use the Gordon Lightfoot song of the same name that commiserate the ship and her crew.

[@nascarrocks1234]

Glad I’m not the only one who knows about the Fitzgerald

[@n.e.knight120]

I’m glad I’m not the only one thinking the same thing. An ‘absolute legend’ indeed. I got excited about the video thinking the Edmund Fitzgerald was going to be one of them. It was a disappointment when it wasn’t. On the flip side the song of same name by Lightfoot would be a good addition if Simon were to a video on this Ill fated freighter.

[@sarahbaker2342]

My husband's great grandfather was an engineer on Big Fitz during her second season, he's been using Gordon Lightfoot's song as our alarm for over a month. Simon better cover it, Dagnabit!

[@kiramiller568]

@@sarahbaker2342 I'm actually kind of glad that he didn't cover the fits because generally speaking everybody kind of knows about that one. However there's a really good video from ask a mortician on the Fitzgerald

[@patodonnell3328]

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down Of the big lake they called Gitche Gumee The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead When the skies of November turn gloomy With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed When the gales of November came early

[@brandonshebester9574]

Thought it would make the list for sure

[@patodonnell3328]

Cmon man, you missed the Fitzgerald.

[@x-changex-outx-oner8224]

Gordon Lightfoot did a great job with that song.

[@Finallyfree423]

@@patodonnell3328 think Simon did that on purpose. I don't live anywhere near the Great lakes and I know about it. Never heard of the ones in the video though.

[@knuckleupgaming2405]

Maybe it’s getting it’s own stand alone video on one of his other channels

[@ZekeGraal]

Caitlin Doughty / Ask A Mortician has an excellent episode on her channel about the perfect preservation in the lakes. "The Lake that Never Gives up her Dead" is what it's called.

[@Beryllahawk]

Yeah, that was a (pardon the pun) chilling video

[@me-if2bj]

Caitlin's video was excellent

[@garylefevers]

I love her channel to start with, was glad she did that episode in particular. Especially since that man was related by blood to one of the unfortunate victims.

[@danhemming6624]

So it's sung by Gordon Lightfoot and the song of The Edmund Fitzgerald.

[@pamike4873]

@@danhemming6624 Yepper. "The lake it is said, never gives up her dead, When the skies of November turn gloomy".

[@inkshop963]

I live in a small town in Southern Ontario, close to Lake Erie. Our cottage and many nearby were partially furnished by furniture that floated in from wrecks, probably at the beginning of the 20 century, or perhaps in the late 1800s. The wicker pieces were probably, older than the maple pieces. I am typing on an old wicker desk that was found right now. We don't know which boat it was from or the circumstances of its sinking.

[@wirelessone2986]

Write down details from family members that witnessed it if they are still alive.That way you know wich piece came from a ship

[@Scout-Fanfiction]

That's cool! Pieces of maritime history given new purpose :).

[@TechMan1900]

I live by Lake Erie and it’s still something to see 1000 ft freighters on a freshwater lake. 20 ft waves are also not uncommon in the fall and winter here.

[@rogerhinman5427]

I grew up by Lake Ontario. These lakes are closer to inland seas than what many people think of as lakes. My wife grew up in Massachusetts and when she took her first look across Lake Ontario from the pier I used to fish off as a kid she just stared and looked from right to left and back again. I asked her what was wrong and she said "I've never seen a lake before where I couldn't see the other side. I feel like I'm looking out on the ocean." When those lakes get stormy they're nothing to mess with. I've seen the ends of the piers loaded up with ice 12 feet or higher from the waves hitting them during the Winter. There are maps showing all the known shipwrecks in each lake and all the lakes are littered with them.

[@johnh1001]

I also reside right directly on the north shore of the Great Lake Ontario . Living beside Lake Ontario is much more like living beside and ocean , except its fresh water . Just over 30 miles south over the lake is Buffalo , New York . On a nice clear sunny day the Buffalo ski line can be seen from my city Toronto .

[@TheValleygirl1981]

I grew up on the shores of Lake Ontario too. That's where I learned how to swim!! And believe me it's way colder then any lake has a right to be!! Lol where I grew up the water didn't get warm enough to swim in until the last few weeks of August!! Lol

[@funnelvortex7722]

@@johnh1001 You are most likely seeing a mirage not the skyline itself directly. There is a weird mirage effect over the Great Lakes where buildings and trees below the horizon can sometimes appear at or above the horizon due to atmospheric lensing, it sometimes happens in southern Michigan where the Chicago skyline can be occasionally seen under specific atmospheric conditions despite actually being below the Earth's curvature. Also in your case what you are seeing is not Buffalo, Buffalo is over 60 miles away from Toronto and is on Lake Erie, you are either seeing Hamilton or St Catharines via the aforementioned mirage effect.

[@mpbMKE]

I'm in Milwaukee, and even the comparatively narrow Lake Michigan disappears over the horizon.

[@zarasbazaar]

My husband said something similar when I showed him Lake Ontario. He's from New Hampshire. I grew up in Rochester. I miss living next to water, but I don't miss that lake effect snow.

[@nicholasvonziethen7647]

I know my comment will probably be buried under the rest, and I am a bit intoxicated so bear with me. Simon; you are an absolute powerhouse of information and community service. I'm subscribed to ALL of your channels and actively follow each one. I absolutely love getting informed while I smoke my nightly bowl, and I adore the fact I can get consistent, thorough coverage on ANY plethora of topics from the same guy! I'm a pretty liberal dude but even my conservative father loves your channel. I share links with him throughout the night as I find topics you cover I think he'd also enjoy. I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you for everything you do. My whole family looks forward to your uploads. My parents used to think that KZbin was just used for people posting skits and home videos, but thanks to you they view KZbin as the next generation of informed television. Your work is absolute top quality with no equal. Sure you could find a guy that might cover WWII a bit more thorough, but you'd be hard pressed to find that same guy making a video of world events and important biographies! We come here to see YOU give us the good word, we're not just hear for the word in general; we love YOUR take on the world around us. We're all honored in my household to have access to such quality programming without the need to pay off Comcast. I might not be able to pay you my cable bill but godamn I'll always make sure to give you that 100% watch time! Happy holidays mate, from my family to yours. You're an absolutely irreplaceable icon, Simon, all your writers included! (Except Danny, that man needs a seat in Valhalla! He's on a whooole other level of scripting!)

[@Benoit262]

I'm impressed by the fact you pronounced Sault Ste. Marie correctly lmao. 90% of people who read the name get it wrong in my experience.

[@shaymarie878]

Right? I lived in the UP my whole adult life in DeTour, and it’s always Salt Saint Mary 🙂

[@Omnonymous]

I've got family in Sault Ste. Marie (good family pastie recipes.) and always loved hearing the creative attempts to tackle that particular place name.

[@Joshtheboss705]

Home sweet home!!

[@Benoit262]

@Dillon Brunschon Sault Ste. Marie was founded by French Jesuit Missionaries in the 1600s. It's pronounced like Su. It means Saint Mary’s Rapids or Saint Mary’s Falls.

[@Soph27199]

And yet he pronounced Kamloops wrong the first time lol

[@randallfabian6640]

When my father was diving The wreck of the Emperor off Isle Royal in the 1960s, he met an old timer that said the Kamloops was full of Canadian Whisky bound for the US during prohibition.

[@janedunlap6879]

They're still discovering and rediscovering wrecks all around Michigan. There are massive sand dunes along the coast, including one that made an entire city disappear. As the dunes move, with wind, various relics become uncovered. It's pretty crazy!

[@AcidGlow]

Really enjoy these videos that look back into a time of history. 🙂

[@canadaehxplained77]

Canadian history is super interesting - we love telling the stories!

[@Axisoffear94]

"The catastrophe was responsible for more deaths than the Titanic" I didn't know 844 was a larger number than 1,500

[@guyincognito2851]

The sad thing is, roughly 900 crew members and 600 passengers died on the Titanic... So when people or other sources report the 844 deaths on the Eastland, they sometimes say "more people" died rather than saying "more passengers" died... (Crew members are people too, right?) I'm sure someone else wrote the script and Simon was just reading it.

[@thefonztm]

@@guyincognito2851 Danny! Your light ration is RESCINDED.

[@riveroffire6985]

My grandfather was a crew member on the "SS JP Morgan Jr" when it collided with the SS Crete in June 1948 on the Great Lakes durning a storm and fog. It crushed the forward crew's cabin. Luckily neither sank but 2 men died in the collision. I have vintage photos we found in my great grandfathers attic of the ship before and after the collision. I have the pictures of the full crew, Captain Quinn, the coal room, the boiler room, the engine room, and even the ships mascot, a little dog named "Tiny". My grandfather took very good pictures of the damage. I also have pictures of the look -out who was spotting at the time of the collision, and pictures of the tug boat that steered the damaged ship to safety after the collision. The ship was eventually scrapped in 1980. I also have pictures of many other steam ships operated by Pittsburg Steam Company on the Great Lakes as well as the different harbours. Fascinating stuff.

[@dlbstl]

You should scan them and send them to my museum that has Great lakes memorabilia

[@riveroffire6985]

@@dlbstl I would love to. Can you give me information where to send the scans of the photos?

[@mkbarber65]

Thank you Simon, I live on the North Shore of Lake Erie near Long Point which is known as the graveyard of ships. Every year or so a new wreck is found or identified. There are many that are easily accessible to even novice divers. Thanks for the great content.

[@janicesullivan8942]

My father had neighbors (a father and son) who were aboard the Eastland, he could hear the family crying for days and mourners visiting the home to pay their condolences. He said the family’s cries were so mournful that his family cried too, just hearing them.

[@johndavies1090]

I first heard about the Eastland through a book of veteran picture postcards, which featured several of the well known shots. Took me nearly fifteen years to learn the back story though - I live in Limey land, where Chicago is better known for events on one particular St Valentines Day

[@mahnamahna3252]

Bodies in shipwrecks of Lake Superior are "ghosts" they dont decay, but become pale "waxed" floating bodies in the shipwreck

[@Backwoods_Squatch]

adipocere.

[@mahnamahna3252]

@@Backwoods_Squatch thats it! 👍 I couldn't think of the word att kzbin.info/www/bejne/q2GvmGx-rsx4gMU Great video, great channel

[@l33th0b0]

Superior dose not give up Her dead.

[@mountainmamma1643]

CHIMICHANGAS MAKE MY DEKKKK HARD AS STEEL

[@neuralmute]

There's one on the Kamloops wreck who is considered to be a sort of "friendly ghost" to visiting divers. I've only dived in Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, but I've seen video of the Kamloops "ghost" floating gently through the wreck, and he seems strangely peaceful. Btw, the water at the bottom of Lake Huron and Lake Ontario is cold enough for this to occur as well. In fact, Toronto uses water from Lake Ontario as a natural coolant to air condition all the biggest buildings in the city every summer.

[@Randomstuffs261]

2:33 By the twelfth century? The ship was declared missing 700 years before it sank? What is this

[@FussyPickles]

it went back in time, hence mysterious

[@choughed3072]

Had to rewind to make sure I heard that correctly lol.

[@888johnmac]

yeah .. that's what he said .. i think Simon has so many channels & scripts he's loosing the plot

[@Finallyfree423]

@@888johnmac probably hung over from all the coke he snorts during Business Blaze videos.

[@katielancaster6376]

@@Finallyfree423 allegedly

[@bobthebrickbuilder1876]

I was literally, standing in the checkout line at Goodwill thrift store, yesterday, talking about all the shipwrecks in the Great Lakes... Good timing, Simon, that's what I call synchronicity.

[@StockAndFinish]

2:34 That's AMAZING! I didn't even know 20th century wrecks COULD be declared missing in the 12th century.

[@jameskubica5463]

I think if you made this video you could probably make an entire episode on the Edmund Fitzgerald.

[@ewestner]

He probably already has.

[@katielancaster6376]

I think he has on one of his channels

[@andreaski100]

Ask The Mortician does a fantastic episode on this

[@katielancaster6376]

@@andreaski100 it doesn't really matter the topic, it's prolly a fantastic episode : D

[@andreaski100]

She really is amazing

[@garyhandt3858]

as a young lad growing up in Ontario Canada the SS Edmund Fitzgerald was a legend sinking and even a song was made of it ..great story i was surprised you didnt include that ship wreck

[@waffles4322]

I've dove on the Kamloops, its definitely haunted. His name is Grandpa, his body can still be found trapped in the engine room, and you can see him walking around, working, relaxing, etc as if she was still sailing.

[@lucifer-ic9th]

Please tell us more!!!

[@decoservices]

Another great episode Simon. I spend almost every summer weekend diving the various wrecks of the Great Lakes and there is some very interesting history on the bottom. A couple nuggets, a German WWI submarine and many Avengers aircraft when Lake Michigan had training aircraft carriers for WW2. Keep up the great work and I really appreciate all the work that goes into all your channels.

[@K1ddkanuck]

This one needs a part 2. And maybe 3.

[@thomasmarren2354]

Where is Edmund Fitzgerald? Are you going to do a Megaprojects or Geographics on it then?

[@Nikephorus]

Yeah I thought it would be the last one in the video since it's probably the most famous ship lost on the great lakes.

[@Austin_Niepołomice]

@@Nikephorus it’s also still a bit of a mystery as to what initially caused it to sink. At least equally a mystery compared to the Kamloops.

[@MegaBluebone]

The Fitz has already been chronicled in dozens of videos. just google it if it really interest you.

[@richardprice3070]

Simon, I heard that in the 1800s a ship returning from Chicago to Milwaukee filled with Irish sank. Almost every Irish family in Milwaukee and the grief was so great it caused rhe vast majority of Irish to leave the city. Would love if you could find more on this Lake Michigan shipwreck and do a video.

[@yokoshemp]

Back in '76 I was happily fishing out of a rowboat on a bright, calm, sunny day. Suddenly a violent wind struck blowing to the East which was straight out into the lake for me. They called it a Derecho. Some sort of unusual weather front. I was young and well conditioned to rowing my boat and made straight for shore. I had to drag the boat down the beach to get home. Larger boats did not have my luck and I watched one swamp and sink. It was a lesson about how quickly the big lakes can kill that I never forgot. Sometime I'll tell you the story about nearly freezing to death while ice fishing. In Michigan get tough or die is not a joke.

[@dillondoty1346]

Are you telling the truth?

[@bmxerkrantz]

​@dillondoty1346 I'll back him up sailing on Erie. the storms ain't no joke. I burned 3-4 hours outside sandusky Bay, waiting for things to chill enough to get into protected waters. often suspected tornadoes turn out to be straight line winds (derechos have bands of straight line winds that come through). and it seems at least once a year I have to tack to hold a heading because the wind shifted 180 degrees.

[@Temp0raryName]

I can see how that would make a good training ship. "If you do anything wrong, this ship will roll over and drown you all in this freezing water. It has done so before! Remember the dead and learn from their mistakes."

[@sinnedsinister]

Thank you for including the Eastland. People outside Chicago don't know about this ship accident at all despite the loss of life.

[@angelachouinard4581]

Nice to see some lesser known wrecks covered. If you run out of material you could easily do a part two or three like you do on other channels Simon, The Great Lakes are as bad as the Bermuda Triangle for lost ships.

[@bmxerkrantz]

worse since the Bermuda triangle has the same sink ship stats as the majority of the ocean. people just focus on what did happen there. take any other similar sized patch of ocean, and you will get a similar number of shipwrecks.

[@LtColShingSides]

Whenever anyone outside of the US askes where I'm from they usually don't know where Michigan is, but once I tell them it's the one that looks like a mitten they automatically know

[@johnpatz8395]

I feel your pain, I’m from Western NY, about halfway between Buffalo NY and Erie PA along the Lake Erie shoreline, but anytime I’ve told someone I’m from Fredonia NY they all assume it’s part of NYC.

[@mangrove]

And then we point on our hands where we're from in Michigan.

[@DMAN590]

Could also say the one surrounded by the great lakes.

[@rich7787]

I usually just tell them “I’m from Detroit, this is a robbery!”

[@moocyfarus8549]

Not all Epic Canadian shipwrecks live underwater some of us are perfectly happy on land 😂

[@jeffstowe4860]

As usual thank you sir for these informative and educational docs.

[@zombiedropper1013]

You could honestly make a series out of this, I mean, there’s just so many shipwrecks in the Great Lakes

[@johnniemiec3286]

What about a Great Lakes Geographics? Or a mega project video on the work the Army Corp of Engineers has done around the Great Lakes would also be interesting.

[@TheRich464]

Thank you Simon! You should do a side project on the St Lawrence seaway and the welland canal! Thanks for all you do!

[@canadaehxplained77]

Or - you could check out our video on it! It was one of my favourite stories to tell!

[@trishapellis]

"Lake Superior is nearly 3 times larger than Belgium" Belgians everywhere: "He mentioned Belgium!" Source: there's a hilarious video floating around somewhere on KZbin about the time Hugh Laurie insulted Belgians, then went on a Belgian talk show, they showed that clip of him insulting Belgians, and the audience cheered and the host told him they're just so happy you mentioned Belgium

[@HarrisonJBounel]

@2:35 I'd like to hear more on how a ship that sank in 1927 was discovered in the 12th century!

[@ceceliaclarke264]

Thank you for this comment. This speaker has wonderful, accurate details, but then sometimes as he gets into dates and numbers...he really gets off track. His commentary on the ship built in "1840" is also somewhat confusing. He talks very fast, so it's difficult to know, but he makes it sound as though this ship, built in 1840, was in service into the 1950s, was sunk, then was re-discovered in 1981, as a sunken wreck. Don't know what this section is supposed to mean. Seems fairly certain that no ship has ever been in service on the Great Lakes for 110 years. I myself would not feel very safe, on a 110 year old ship. Perhaps he was supposed to say "1850s"????

[@lundimardi1975]

Thanks again Simon! Two further nautical suggestions for you: firstly, the MV Kalakala, one of the first streamlined deco ferries and secondly, what about extending the theme of this video with one on the lost ships of Bass Strait? Happy new year!

[@Paul_Ch52]

Ah, yes, the Temporal Laws. With an infinite improbability drive (and a strong Brownian Motion producer) you can lose a ship today and finally notice it is missing 700 years ago.

[@DoctorStrangeFate]

I've been watching your content for some time now and its been great! We have a family cottage on Whitefish Bay, AKA Lake Superior. I'm what is known as a Boat Nerd around these parts. Thanks for bringing some well deserved attention to some under appreciated history! The Fitz is obviously the most well known tragedy but there are other ships that went down that should be remembered as well!

[@MajesticSkywhale]

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down, of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee

[@stephenphillip5656]

"The lake (it is said), never gives up her dead when the skies of November turn gloomy..."

[@augustvonmackensen9785]

What I got from this video is that there were steam ships in 12th century. A truly informative channel.

[@operator.k]

"The Great Lakes: Glacial Graffiti" Geographics title suggestion

[@johnpatz8395]

I like it!

[@ieuanbriers]

Loved this, really hope you are thinking of going a Part II?

[@robertphillips6296]

The building that served as a temporary morgue for the victims of the SS Eastland was later converted into a television studio where the Opera Winfrey show was produced.

[@rayvanstone3740]

I live at the Port of Goderich on Lake Huron , we have a grave at the locale cemetery many unknown sailors that washed up on shore, many from the Great Storm of 1913. There are around 60 ship wrecks off of Goderich , they have gave it the nickname The Bone Yard .

[@thejudgmentalcat]

Thanks for highlighting little-known shipwrecks instead of the Edmund Fitzgerald. There are plenty of videos about it.

[@michaelkellys3906]

Please do vids on the other mysterious shipwrecks in the Great Lakes. Also, a vid on treasure / artifacts recovered from shipwrecks in the Great Lakes would be neat!

[@Explosionman27]

How could you do a video on great lake shipwrecks and not mention the Edmund Fitzgerald? That's the most famous shipwreck in the UP and arguably the most famous wreck the Lakes have claimed.

[@katielancaster6376]

That's why it's lesser known

[@Explosionman27]

@@katielancaster6376 out of all the thousands of wrecks in Lake Superior, the Edmund Fitzgerald is the one we learn about first, either through word of mouth or song. For many it's the one that's remembered annually because so many people still remember the victims.

[@QBCPerdition]

It's not especially mysterious. This was a video about mysterious wrecks, not famous ones eulogized by Canadian folk singers. 😀

[@popuptoaster]

hardly mysterious then is it?

[@JeffDeWitt]

Not mysterious and it's not really in the UP, it's on the bottom of Lake Superior on the Canadian side.

[@extraordinary_ordinary]

Not really sure why but hearing Simon mention my hometown of Sault Ste. Marie made me incredibly happy.

[@walkera1041]

1:55 is Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. It's a beautiful sight to see. I'm surprised Simon didn't cover the Edmond Fitzgerald as it's the most famous shipwreck in the great lakes!

[@cerhart7172]

Thank you for highlighting ships other than the Edmund Fitzgerald on this one. There's plenty of video about her, but there are a great many weird sinkings in the Great Lakes that nobody ever hears about.

[@missheadbanger]

it's so big the water stays cold year-round, I tried swimming in the lake and had to get out a few minutes later. I hope you do a video on the Edmund Fitzgerald.

[@degs24]

Exceptionally enjoyable and well done video.

[@IceFerret2]

I won't say anything about the Civil War sometime after the 1950's. 7:00

[@lilitharam44]

Mr. Whistler, please do a video on the wreck of the "Sultana." It's not widely know about and as a local Memphian, it has always fascinated me. Cheers!

[@TheLadyMaul]

The Kamloops definitely did not exist in the *twelfth* century, lol! But there is at least one body down there, and he is quite real. You can find an excellent video about it over at Ask A Mortician. Complete with footage of said body.

[@angelachouinard4581]

The Ask a Mortician video was good, She really explained well how the cold water preserves everythin, even bodies.

[@mattwilliams4222]

I was thinking the same thing, I was like wait, what? I rewound it a few times to see if that's what he really said, and yes, he did. Maybe a teleprompter issue or typo?

[@marthahawkinson-michau9611]

@@mattwilliams4222 Probably nothing more serious than simple teleprompter fatigue. Have you seen how busy Simon is?

[@mattwilliams4222]

@@marthahawkinson-michau9611 Oh yeah, I know he's the hardest working man on KZbin! ..... Allegedly.

[@DamonMcLean1]

Ayy a video about my state! Fantastic as always!

[@darby_dz]

There needs to be a mega projects episode on the Edwurd Fitzgerald...

[@Austin_Niepołomice]

If it was a military ship it would get one :p I kid but it really should but I feel like it will only make us Midwest folk happy and not get views.

[@ephennell4ever]

'Edmund'!

[@Blackcat008]

I feel like I fine a new Simon Whistler channel every other week

[@Backroad_Junkie]

A couple of comments. The title of the video starts with "Mysterious", so the E Fitzgerald probably wasn't included because it's well known why it went down. The Eastland sank on the Chicago River, not far from the Great Lakes, but not on the Great Lakes. The little boy (who they said was the only person not identified, "Number 396"), was later identified as Willie Novotny, age 7. He was unclaimed at the start, since the rest of his family died on the Eastland. His body was later identified and claimed by his Grandmother.

[@markmh835]

Thank you for "solving" that "mystery" for the rest of us.

[@oldenweery7510]

@@markmh835 Yes, I'm glad to hear it, though I pity the grandmother for her losses. Stay safe.

[@FreshwaterNautical]

As a resident of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and a sailor on the Lakes myself as my career during the Summer months, I know these lakes well, and the stories that follow.

[@thomash8501]

You're losing it, Simon. The SS Kamloops was declared missing 700 years before it was built? How is the SS Eastland incident responsible for more deaths than the Titanic? SS Eastland deaths: 844, Titanic: over 1500?

[@Sprocketboy1956]

His comment about the Titanic is misleading, as was a Smithsonian article about the SS Eastland that cited the numbers. In terms of passengers (vs crewmembers), more were in fact lost on the Eastland but the Titanic lost 829 passengers and 649 crew so overall fatalities were considerably higher.

[@misternasty2216]

@@Sprocketboy1956 you fact checked this but didnt bother stating the number of casualties on the Eastland ?

[@jack2holland]

It the worsts in us history

[@Sprocketboy1956]

@@misternasty2216Thomas H already did that in his comment: 844 was the total for the Eastland.

[@Sprocketboy1956]

@@jack2holland No, the worst ship disaster in US history would have been the Sultana, a Mississippi steamboat that sank in 1865, killing 1,700.

[@montanak833]

Shout out from Sault Ste Marie!!

[@constipatedinsincity4424]

Most of its Booty was looted in the 90's . The people that publicly found the ship took my than 100 bars of gold . They only admitted to finding the wreck after the coast guard approached them!

[@ccrider5398]

When you take a ferry across Lake Michigan, there is quite some time during the voyage when you cannot see land in any direction. While there aren't huge mountains on either side of the lake, the cliffs and hills on either side have gone below the horizon. Waves can be 30' on Superior, 23' on Michigan, 24' on Huron, 13' on Erie, and 25' on Ontario. While it's the captain decision, the ferries don't usually go out in waves over 12'.

[@SuperAfranks]

But,sometimes you can see Chicago across the lake? It's just a mirage!!! So is hell.

[@john-paulsilke893]

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down Of the big lake they called Gitche Gumee The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead When the skies of November turn gloomy With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed When the gales of November came early The ship was the pride of the American side Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most With a crew and good captain well seasoned Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms When they left fully loaded for Cleveland And later that night when the ship's bell rang Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'? The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound And a wave broke over the railing And every man knew, as the captain did too T'was the witch of November come stealin' The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait When the gales of November came slashin' When afternoon came it was freezin' rain In the face of a hurricane west wind When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin' "Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya" At seven PM, a main hatchway caved in, he said "Fellas, it's been good to know ya" The captain wired in he had water comin' in And the good ship and crew was in peril And later that night when his lights went outta sight Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Does any one know where the love of God goes When the waves turn the minutes to hours? The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her They might have split up or they might have capsized They may have broke deep and took water And all that remains is the faces and the names Of the wives and the sons and the daughters Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings In the rooms of her ice-water mansion Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams The islands and bays are for sportsmen And farther below Lake Ontario Takes in what Lake Erie can send her And the iron boats go as the mariners all know With the gales of November remembered In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed In the maritime sailors' cathedral The church bell chimed 'til it rang twenty-nine times For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down Of the big lake they called Gitche Gumee Superior, they said, never gives up her dead When the gales of November come early

[@bendepeel7846]

Live in Northern Michigan love great lakes maritime history great job on your video wish it were longer and had more content

[@mbryson2899]

The Western Electric clock tower was within view of where I grew up. Lots of neighborhood elders were eyewitnesses to the Eastland disaster, some because they'd been on that company excursion. and many would tell the story to us kids. (Cicero, Illinois was a great place for learning history when I was a kid. People socialized on their porches and after dinner would often just sit around talking with various neighbors. Kids were welcomed if we could shut up and not fidget. Our town was famed for Al Capone and the 1951 race riot which got so out of control that the National Guard had to come out to stop it. Organized crime was also significantly present and powerful. I learned a lot.)

[@oldenweery7510]

Ah, I remember those days myself! People used to sit on their front porches and call back and forth, and people walking by would stop in for a few minutes. Our porch was screened in and we practically lived out there in the summer, taking meals and ignoring the reruns on TV until after dark. So much has been lost... Stay safe.

[@AaronAaron247]

As someone who grew up in Erie PA it’s cool to see them get some attention; thanks for this video!

[@micahphilson]

Wow, absolutely nothing about the most famous of them all, the Edmund Fitzgerald?

[@benjaminbeitz4023]

Love the videos 👍, should do one on the first powerlines.

[@canadaehxplained77]

The lake it is said never gives up her dead... Oh Lake Superior how you amaze me.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:05 - Chapter 1 - SS Kamloops 3:45 - Chapter 2 - SS Eastland 6:40 - Chapter 3 - The keystone state

[@evanulven8249]

Great "Lakes." They're more like a collection of inland seas.

[@alankovacik1928]

then you've never sailed on them, they are really fresh water oceans

[@motorola762]

They are also fresh water

[@stevehomeier8368]

Props to you for including the Eastland disaster

[@johnransom1146]

Where’s the Edmund Fitzgerald?

[@LolUGotBusted]

At the bottom of Lake Superior.

[@JeffDeWitt]

@@LolUGotBusted Except for her bell, which is at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.

[@Dfturcott]

This was really good, but maybe you could do a side video about all the airplanes that have been lost in the great lakes, specifically with all the World War II training missions that happened in the area and the handful of different training planes that crashed in the water

[@ir0nknight721]

Edmund Fitzgerald, on the lake that never gives up its dead.

[@guyincognito2851]

I love your videos! Thank you from the Great Lakes state of Michigan!

[@robjohnston1026]

says eatin by wolves shows a mountain lion 🥴

[@mobius1engage562]

Could you do a part two on this? Also there have been a lot of instances of planes crashing or disappearing on the great Lakes too

[@talonfortytwo2719]

No mention of the Edmund Fitzgerald? It is the most fames Great Lakes ship wreck.

[@kiramiller568]

And that is probably why he didn't mention it as just about everybody knows about the Edmund Fitzgerald and if they didn't they know about it through the comments LOL

[@Scout-Fanfiction]

I've got a soft spot for any vids Simon does on his channels about MI. I lived there for nearly two decades. I know there's a boatload of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes, but could we get a 2nd vid?

[@joncrow3228]

Sounds like the divers in the first story were experiencing nitrogen narcosis combined with fear.

[@keithlonghurst3347]

Please do more on the shipwrecks of the Great Lakes!

[@ewestner]

Pretty sure that first ship is pronounced KAM-loops, not KAMP-loops. There's only the one P in the name.

[@Tallyhawk9]

Great video but you missed another fascinating detail tied to the SS Eastland! You mentioned that the navy bought her and she served as a training ship during WW1 (renamed USS Wilmette). At the conclusion of WW1, the German fleet, including its U-boats was turned over to the Allies. One of those U-boats (UC-97) was taken back to the US as a war prize, studied, and then sailed around the great lakes as part of a drive to sell war (post-war?) bonds to pay off the debt incurred in the conflict. The German U-boat attracted lots of crowds and was quite helpful in the effort to raise money. By 1921, she wasn't of any further use and was towed out into Lake Michigan to be used as target practice and sunk by.....USS Wilmette (a.k.a. the SS Eastland)!

[@johndavies1090]

I'd wondered how a German submarine had reached the bottom of the Great Lakes, when referred to a few posts above this. Thanks for the story.

[@synthWizkid]

6:56 by the late 1950's? Slow down and read what your interns write...

[@Damons-Old-Soul]

Stopping at most parks along Erie, in NE OHIO, I see signs and plaques for different ship wrecks. Erie may be the shallowest of The Great Lakes, but it has also made her one of the most deadly. The Lake can go from calm to 6'-8' waves with major storm squalls in under an hour (oftentimes, half-hour or less.) The first thing you learn when boating on Erie is to head to shore at the first sign of rain. From there, head to the closest harbor to wait out the storm. Respect Her and She'll be good to you, don't and She'll have Her way regardless.

[@ddieter02]

Right? What about the waves from Sunday's storms?

[@jamiegodwin3070]

12th century?

[@sirrliv]

I'm surprised you didn't mention the amazing and tragic story of the SS Daniel J. Morrell, The Ship That Rammed Itself. Cliffnotes version: She was a 603-foot iron ore carrier launched in 1906. Like many ships of her type, including the more famous Edmund Fitzgerald, she had a specialized 3-part layout: Bridge and crew quarters in the front, cargo holds in the long flat middle, and engines at the back. On the night of 29 November, 1966, the Morrell was steaming through a severe storm with winds topping 70 mph and waves up to 25ft high. At roughly 2:00 am, the old ship began her death throws, breaking in half on the surface. As the bow began to sink and the crew took to the liferaft, shouts rang out of another ship sighted through the storm. But it wasn't another ship at all, but the stern section of the Morrell, still pushing forward under full steam. According to some accounts, the stern section collided with the bow section, knocking the liferafts into the freezing water before steaming off into the night to eventually sink 5 miles away. Tragically, what followed for those who made it into the rafts was some 40 hours in freezing, stormy waters. Of the 29 crewmen aboard the Morrell, only one, 26-year-old Watchman Dennis Hale, was found alive.

[@jessicacrislip5001]

Yes more people need to know about the morrell ! My grandpa was Dennis hale . Him being able to live 36 hours in that water and live to tell his story …….

[@ewestner]

"I am your boy with the bl...oh, wait..."

[@piperjaycie]

I hope one day he introduces a side projects video with that and doesn’t reference or acknowledge it 🤣😊

[@ord4r857]

this needs a part 2

[@jaromor8808]

2:34 12th century? lolwut?

[@jacobdrum]

There are so many more Great Lakes shipwrecks to do! PART II please!

[@jacobdrum]

Also, is there a possible Geographics or other video in the Great Lakes tsunamis?