The Great Lakes weather is far different than what most seamen are use to on the the ocean. It can change very quickly. In the spring and fall time, blinding snowstorms can race over the waters. Freezing temperatures can cause thick ice to coat over a ship’s topside, making everything unmanageable. Also in the fall, storms can come out of the North and cause hurricane like winds and huge waves, that are very powerful. This could explain the dissapearance of these ships.

On Lake Michigan, the Griffon mysteriously vanished without a trace in 1678. This vessel was never found, although many sailors reported seeing this ship on the waters after it disappeared.

In 1892 the Western Reserve went down in Lake Michigan. But before this ship sank, Captain Truedell had a dream that he claimed was very real. He said the Western Reserve was going to sink with its owner, Peter Minch, onboard. This dream did come true. The Western Reserve did sink with the entire Minch family onboard. Captain Truedell actually recognized Peter Minch’s body when it washed up to shore. The ship is still spotted in the foggy waters of Michigan.

The Bannockburn otherwise known as “The Flying Dutchman Of The Great Lakes” was a very famous steamer. It set sail on November 20, 1902 and just simply disappeared on Lake Superior with of 20 crew men. No wreckage was ever found. What makes this a little different is the number of sightings that have been reported, even to this day. Most of these sightings do occur in the month of November.

In December 8, 1909 a 334 foot railroad car ferry, he Marquette and Bessemer #2, carrying 32 hopper full of coal sank in Lake Erie. It is thought that it started taking on too much water and was not able to pump it off fast enough. Sailors for many years swore they could hear the ship’s whistle. What is very mysterious is, they say you can see this ship from the air but divers cannot find it.

A viscous storm sank the Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. All of the crew went down with her. The ship was found broken up at the bottom of the lake. However, many sailors reported seeing this ship afloat years after it sank and completely untouched by the storm.