Happy Holidays and welcome aboard this week's episode! Andrew and Michelle cover the wonderful yet tragic lore of the Rouse Simmons, the Christmas tree ship, and her beloved captain, Captain Herman "Santa" Schuenemann. The legacy of the Rouse Simmons lives on today with the USCGC Mackinaw making the same trip for the past 25 years. Tune in this week for some holiday cheer!

Sources:

https://shipwreckmuseum.com/visit/whitefish-point-light/#:~:text=Whitefish%20Point%20marks%20the%20eastern,the%20vicinity%20of%20Whitefish%20Point.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rouse_Simmons

https://www.pfri.uniri.hr/bopri/documents/05-ME-tal.pdf#:~:text=The%20tramp%20is%20an%20unspecialized%20type%20of,grain%2C%20coal%2C%20bauxite%2C%20phosphates%20and%20iron%20ore.

https://www.navsource.org/archives/12/179895.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simmons_Bedding_Company#:~:text=In%202012%2C%20Simmons%20and%20its,%2C%20LLC%20of%20Doraville%2C%20Georgia.

https://lakelandboating.com/the-modern-day-christmas-tree-ship/#:~:text=In%20fact%2C%20each%20year%20on,Schuenemann%20would%20have%20recognized.

https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2006/winter/christmas-tree.html#:~:text=The%2052%2Dton%2C%20two%2D,late%2Dseason%20Christmas%20trees%20runs.

https://seahistory.org/sea-history-for-kids/christmas-tree-ship-rouse-simmons/

https://www.wanderingeducators.com/best/stories/shipwrecks-great-lakes-rouse-simmons-christmas-tree-ship

https://www.milwaukeeindependent.com/syndicated/christmas-tree-ship-final-voyage-rouse-simmons-lake-michigan/

https://www.atlanticarea.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/District-9/Ninth-District-Staff/Prevention-Division/Cutters/MACKINAW/

Welcome aboard part two about Le Griffon, one of the most notorious Ghost Ships on the Great Lakes. Join Andrew and Michelle as they go through some potential occurrences that happened to cause the loss of this ship. Is it technically found? Is it still missing? Find out on this week's episode of Under the Waves!

Sources:

https://washingtonisland.com/le-griffon-the-griffin/#:~:text=Le%20Griffon%20is%20often%20mistakenly,and%20the%20government%20of%20France.

https://www.wisconsinshipwrecks.org/Vessel/Details/252?region=index#:~:text=may%20have%20looked-,1679,southern%20end%20of%20Lake%20Michigan.

https://www.greatlakesfisheriestrail.org/collection.asp?ait=jv&jid=19#:~:text=In%20the%20late%201700s%20the,used%20in%20the%20fur%20trade.

https://www.greatlakesexploration.com/steve-libert

https://doorcountypulse.com/the-search-for-la-salles-lost-ship-le-griffon-continues/#:~:text=Of%20the%20four%20vessels%20that,late%201686%20during%20a%20squall

https://doorcountypulse.com/holy-grail-great-lakes-le-griffon/

https://wdet.org/2021/05/21/possible-resting-place-of-great-lakes-most-iconic-shipwreck-unveiled-with-photos-and-new-book/#:~:text=The%20Griffin%20disappeared%20returning%20from,Garden%20Peninsula%20in%20Michigan's%20U.P.&text=Map%20dating%20to%20the%20late,academic%20researchers%20and%20French%20archeologists.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2024/09/22/griffon-shipwreck-great-lakes-lake-michigan-steve-kathie-libert/74956091007/

https://divers24.com/the-legendary-1679-wreck-of-le-griffon-finally-found/

Hosts Andrew and Michelle dive into a history lesson regarding the making and build-up of Le Griffon. Le Griffon, now seen as a ghost ship, was the second European ship to sink on the Great Lakes following the Frontenac which was actually en route to and carrying supplies for the building of Le Griffon. Settle down to enjoy this step back in time and learn more about Le Griffon prior to her sinking... or disappearance? Find out next week. Anchors away!

Sources:

https://www.michiganseagrant.org/topics/great-lakes-fast-facts/lake-superior/

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/shield#:~:text=The%20Canadian%20Shield%20refers%20to,least%201%20billion%20years%20old.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9-Robert_Cavelier,_Sieur_de_La_Salle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Hennepin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Griffon

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_de_Br%C3%A9hant_de_Galin%C3%A9e

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_sounding#Sounding_Line

https://www.up.edu/garaventa/did-you-know/st-clare.html#:~:text=for%20us%20all.-,St.,known%20as%20the%20Poor%20Clares.

https://www.discoveryuk.com/mysteries/what-happened-to-the-lost-ship-le-griffon-and-was-it-ever-found/

https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/389?revision_id=244

Join hosts Andrew and Michelle as they discuss the making of the St. Lawrence Seaway along with one of the worst shipwrecks on the St. Lawrence River. In 1963, the SS Roonagh Head and the MV Tritonica didn't pass like ships in the night, they collided in a very unfortunate wreck that put all parties involved to blame. Welcome aboard this Great Lakes adjacent shipwreck episode.

Sources:

https://shipsoftheclyde.com/happenings/single?id=14807

https://www.heritagetrust.on.ca/plaques/lost-villages-of-st-lawrence#:~:text=On%20%22Inundation%20Day%2C%22%20July,farming%20community%20on%20Sheek's%20Island.

https://www.britannica.com/place/Saint-Lawrence-River

https://www.croisieresaml.com/en/the-st-lawrence-river-facts-history#:~:text=As%20the%20ice%20retreated%20due,river%2C%20which%20brought%20human%20occupation.

https://www.croisieresaml.com/en/the-st-lawrence-river-facts-history#:~:text=As%20the%20ice%20retreated%20due,river%2C%20which%20brought%20human%20occupation.

https://shippingtandy.com/features/head-line-belfast-ulster-steamship-co-ltd/#:~:text=These%20included%20three%20masted%20barques,Irish%20headlands%20e.g.%20Inishowen%20Head.

https://www.shipsnostalgia.com/media/roonagh-head.215693/

https://www.marinelink.com/news/discovering-largest-shipwrecks-st-500050

https://theconversation.com/discovering-the-three-largest-shipwrecks-in-the-st-lawrence-river-191979#:~:text=Lawrence%20River%20in%20Qu%C3%A9bec%20waters,of%20the%20Empress%20of%20Ireland.&text=In%20the%20days%20following%20the,and%20close%20to%20the%20surface.

https://www.shipsnostalgia.com/threads/tritonica.10017/

https://trinkmag.com/articles/once-and-future-st-laurent/

https://greatlakes-seaway.com/en/the-seaway/

This week's episode sounds more like a trip to the gym than a shipwreck, at least initially. Join hosts Andrew and Michelle as they learn about the wide-spreading mussel (not muscle) problem of the Great Lakes, but how these little buggers have inadvertently helped uncover the long lost SS Africa. So come out of your shells, don't clam up now, and come aboard this shuck-filled adventure! Okay, maybe they went a bit overboard, but they crack themselves up. These jokes practically write themselves!

Sources:

https://www.michiganseagrant.org/topics/great-lakes-fast-facts/

https://watershedcouncil.org/invasive-species/zebra-mussels/#:~:text=In%20just%20a%20few%20years,dominance%20in%20our%20Great%20Lakes.

https://www.invasivespeciescentre.ca/invasive-species/meet-the-species/fish-and-invertebrates/zebra-and-quagga-mussels/#:~:text=Although%20similar%20in%20appearance%20to,flat%20underside%2C%20will%20fall%20over.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freshwater_drum#:~:text=Aplodinotus%20grunniens,-Rafinesque%2C%201819&text=The%20freshwater%20drum%20is%20also,Canada%2C%20and%20the%20United%20States.

https://inspiredplanet.ca/uncategorized/africa-shipwreck-discovery/

https://www.shorelinebeacon.com/news/local-news/finding-africa-in-lake-huron-a-shipwreck-revealed

https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/documentary-filmmakers-find-1895-steamship-wreck-in-lake-huron/

https://waterlibrary.aqua.wisc.edu/the-recently-discovered-shipwrecks-of-the-great-lakes/

https://www.bayshorebroadcasting.ca/2023/10/10/shipwreck-found-off-the-bruce-peninsula-though-to-be-the-africa/

https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/returning-to-africa/

Join hosts Andrew and Michelle as they unbiasedly cover perhaps the cutest little boat they've learned about yet. Meet Sport - a 1873 tugboat who holds the titles of being the first steel tugboat on the Great Lakes, the first vessel made out of Bessemer steel (the new way to process steel) in North America, and the first shipwreck in Michigan to receive her own Michigan Historical Marker. Join your hosts in getting attached to one of the cutest things to float on the lakes and welcome aboard!

Sources:

https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/priority-landscapes/great-lakes/great-lakes-aquatic-invasive-species-/#:~:text=Yet%20the%20lakes%20also%20hold,in%20the%20Great%20Lakes%20basin.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/metallurgical-coke#:~:text=1%20INTRODUCTION,to%20the%20NSC%20test%20procedure.

https://hawkinsrails.net/mainlines/ble/ble.htm

https://nmgl.org/the-operation-of-tugboats-on-the-great-lakes-spring-1981/#:~:text=Tugboats%20seen%20in%20Great%20Lakes,tug%20and%20often%20considerably%20longer.

https://nmgl.org/fire-fighting-ships-fall-1961/#:~:text=Early%20Use%20of%20Tugs,tug%20with%20a%20suitable%20pump.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_(shipwreck)

https://3dshipwrecks.org/shipwreck-sport-tug/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XGTpgCEgZg

https://lakeorionreview.com/great-lakes-great-dives/

Some shipwrecks are just so old that facts can be a bit contradicting. The PS Niagara is one of those wrecks. Join hosts Michelle and Andrew as they weed through the probable embellishments that make the storytelling about the night the PS Niagara went down even more intense. And listen in for how the ship almost claimed two more modern-day lives as well as the uncovering of a small doll that survived the wreck.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_steamer

https://www.wkar.org/history/2015-08-31/luxury-on-the-great-lakes-the-era-of-palace-steamers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_1812

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steerage#:~:text=Steerage%20is%20a%20term%20for,down%20on%20steerage%20passengers%20below.

https://www.wanderingeducators.com/best/stories/shipwrecks-great-lakes-niagara

https://wisconsinshipwrecks.org/vessel/Details/455

https://diveaai.com/niagara

https://wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS10122

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/107951490/mary-keck

https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/local/door-co/2016/12/09/artifacts-help-tell-story-steamships-past/95214932/

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=47079

https://tripsintohistory.com/2013/02/09/the-palace-steamers-of-the-great-lakes/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_gale#:~:text=November%20gale%2C%20the%20Witch%20of,Gulf%20air%20from%20the%20south.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beam_engine#:~:text=A%20beam%20engine%20is%20a,of%20compounding%20an%20existing%20engine.

http://www.oceantreasures.org/blog/wreck-diving/lake-michigan-shipwreck-of-1856-almost-claims-2-more-lives.html

Welcome aboard this week's episode! Join Andrew and Michelle as they learn about the SS Appomattox, one of the largest wooden steamships and built by the famed James Davidson. Tragically, her working life was cut short when she ran aground off the coast of Wisconsin on November 2, 1905. Come learn the ins and outs of the fascinating wooden bulk carriers that dominated the Great Lakes for a time. Anchors away!

Sources:

https://gandernewsroom.com/2022/01/07/5-ghost-ships-believed-to-still-be-sailing-the-great-lakes/

https://diveaai.com/ss-appomattox1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Ball_Line_(trans-Atlantic_packet)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packet_boat

https://www.eekwi.org/great-lakes/humans-and-great-lakes/great-lakes-ships#:~:text=The%20largest%20of%20the%20Great,make%20them%20very%20efficient%20carriers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Container_ship#:~:text=Modern%20container%20ships%20can%20carry,World%20War%20II%20freighter%20ships.

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/appomattox#:~:text=in%20British%20English-,(%CB%8C%C3%A6p%C9%99%CB%88m%C3%A6t%C9%99ks%20),ending%20the%20American%20Civil%20War

https://www.getmyboat.com/journal/how-to/bilge-on-a-boat/#:~:text=Sterndrives%20for%20Boats-,5%20years%2C%208%20months%20ago,boat's%20electrical%20system%20are%20used.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Appomattox

https://www.wisconsinshipwrecks.org/vessel/Details/31

https://pbswisconsin.org/watch/university-place/university-place-diving-wreck-appomattox-ep-693/