WHITEFISHPOINT, Mich. – A wooden steamship that went missing 112 years ago with 14 people presumed dead was found at the bottom of Lake Superior.
The Adella Shores is one of many ships that “went missing” in the area of Whitefish Point, Michigan. According to the GLSHS, the phrase “went missing” is used to describe a vessel that left the dock and was never seen again. There are no survivors, no witnesses, and no recovered wreckage.
The GLSHS discovered the Adella Shores more than 40 miles northwest of Whitefish Point. It is at the bottom of Lake Superior, under more than 650 feet of water. It is believed to have sank with no survivors on May 1, 1909.
History of the Adella Shores
The Adella Shores was built in Gibraltar, Michigan in 1894. It was a 195-foot, 735-ton wooden steamer that was owned by the Shores Lumber Company and named after the owner’s daughter, Adella.
Adella’s sister, Bessie, christened the ship with a bottle of water instead of champagne or wine. The family had strict beliefs about alcohol. At the time, sailors saw that as an omen of bad luck.
The Adella Shores sank twice in fifteen years in shallow waters. It was refloated each time and put back on the water.
On April 29, 1909, the ship was headed for Duluth, Minnesota with a load of salt. It was following a larger steel steamship, the Daniel J. Morrell, through a thick ice flow. The Morrell was plowing a path through the ice as they traveled.
When both ships rounded Whitefish Point, they faced a northeast gale. By that point, the Adella Shores was two miles behind the Morrell and already out of sight. The Adella Shores was never seen again.
While some debris were found, the bodies of the 14 sailors were never recovered. Captain Millen of the Morrell believes that the Adella Shores struck a large ice flow, punctured the hull, and quickly sank.
Finding the Adella Shores
In the summer of 2021, Darryl Ertel and his brother Dan were towing the society’s Marine Sonic Technology side-scan sonar system when they found the shipwreck.
“I pretty much knew that had to be the Adella Shores when I measured the length of it, because there were no other ships out there missing in that size range,” Darryl Ertel said. “As soon as I put the ROV down on it for the first time, I could see the design of the ship and I could match it right up to the Adella Shores.”
Underwater video from wreckage of Adella Shores
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society shared underwater video from the wreckage of the Adella Shores. Watch in the embedded video player below, or at vimeo.com.
“People often ask us why we wait so long to release shipwrecks that we find,” GLSHS Content/Communications Director Corey Adkins said. “Every one of these stories is important and deserves to be told with the utmost honor and respect. GLSHS has had some banner years of discovery . . . and a lot of research goes into each press release, ensuring that we tell the story accurately.”