Deep Sea Detectives

Aug. 31, 2005

Four persons managed to survive the sinking in a lifeboat, but were not discovered until days later after they had perished from exposure.

When the car ferry Milwaukee sank during a fierce Lake Michigan storm in October of 1929, there were no survivors and the wreck rested undiscovered for nearly 50 years. A number of western Michigan residents were among the 52 people lost aboard the vessel.
Last month, a 10-member crew from The History Channel traveled to Manistee, Ludington and Grand Haven to probe the mystery of the lost car ferry for an upcoming documentary. “Deep Sea Detectives” is produced by Lone Wolf Documentary Group of Portland, Maine for the History Channel. The shows will likely air next year in January or February.
Reenactment scenes were shot in numerous locations and many area mariners and historians were interviewed and video taped for the production. Traverse City meteorologist Greg McMaster was invited to provide a forensic analysis of the powerful 1929 storm. Crewmembers of U.S. Coast Guard Station Manistee donned period style clothing to portray the role of the Coast Guard in searching for survivors and clues to the ship’s loss.
The National Historic Landmark, S.S. City of Milwaukee, moored in Manistee, was built to replace the sunken Milwaukee, and being the only likeness of the sunken vessel, was used extensively in the production.
The History Channel crew went to Ludington to ride aboard the car ferry Badger and then traveled down to Grand Haven, visiting the Grand Trunk depot and waterfront where the Milwaukee last hailed from. The production wrapped up with actual dives on wreck, located in 120 feet of water, approximately seven miles north of Milwaukee.

DIVING LEGEND
The show’s hosts Ritchie Kohler and John Chatterton are widely recognized as the individuals whom the New York Times’ best seller book “Shadow Divers” is based on and are considered legends in the diving community.
Rocky Collins wrote and produced the episode.
“These shows use a detective format and state of the art diving technology to solve lingering mysteries. We make use of the two thirds of the world that’s underwater and endeavor to make learning about history, culture and natural resources exciting and fun” remarked Collins.
The Milwaukee was originally built in 1901 as the Manistique Marquette and Northern #1 and sailed carrying train cars and passengers from Northport at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula to Manistique in the Upper Peninsula. In 1908 it was purchased by the Grand Trunk Railroad, renamed Milwaukee and put on a run from Grand Haven to Milwaukee.

FATAL TRIP
The ship was last seen leaving Milwaukee in the teeth of a northerly gale at 3 p.m. on October 22, 1929. One of the few clues to the fate of the ship was a message case with a note from the ship’s purser found along the beach on the Michigan shore. Four persons managed to survive the sinking in a lifeboat, but were not discovered until days later after they had perished from exposure.
Many theories and accusations were made as to why the Milwaukee was lost. The Great Lakes car ferries sailed year-round for over 100 years in some of the worst conditions imaginable. Over this century of operation only three vessels were lost at sea, interestingly all designed and built by the same shipyard. This led some to believe there was an inherent flaw in structure or design common in all three vessels. Others believe the train cars broke loose on deck, fatally damaging the ship; some yet attribute poor seamanship.
Although looting has compromised the integrity of the wreck since its discovery in 1974, “Deep Sea Detective” divers hope to answer some of the lingering questions about the Milwaukee’s loss when diving the site. You’ll just have to tune into the show to find out if the mysteries will be solved.

Writer Jed Jaworski is a maritime historian and former curator with the S.S. City of Milwaukee.