On the evening of September 21 , 1924 , the cargo steamship SSCliftonmet its end in Lake Huron while carrying a 2200 - ton load of crushed stone from Sturgeon Bay , Wisconsin to Detroit . The vessel was likely caused to drop by a gale , and the catastrophe lead in the deaths of 25 crew members . piece of wreckage were later found , but the freighter ’s resting place in the end remained a whodunit . Now , more than 90 years later , the Associated Pressreportsthat the SSClifton ’s locating at the bottom of the Great Lake has been corroborate .
Scuba diver David Trotter — who ’s reportedly locatedmore than 90Great Lakes shipwrecks — break the SSCliftonin September 2016 , following a 30 - twelvemonth hunting . He waited to publicly share the news until his company , Undersea Research Associates , was able to look into and document the steamship ’s remains last summertime .
Trotter had spent decades search for the SSClifton , but encounter it was at last a matter of serendipity , he says . In June 2016 , Trotter and his squad were survey two wrecks — the schoonersVenusandMinnedosa , which sank in 1887 and 1905 , severally — when they recognize yet another submerged ship . They lumber its coordinates , but only managed to get a closer look several months later , in September 2016 , during a quick honkytonk trip .
GoPro footage corroborate that the ship in question wasa whaleback steamer , a alone character of nineteenth century cargo steamship with low , rounded hulls , deck , and deckhouses , which were design to trim down down on water and jazz resistance . “ TheCliftonwas the only whaleback ship left in Lake Huron that had n’t already been regain , ” Trotter said , fit in toWZZM - TV . “ There was no question we had found theClifton . ”
The USSCliftonsits on its side , around 100 mil south of where some shipwreck hunting watch ab initio believed it had sink . Its bow is shatter , likely from the collision with the lake ’s bottom , while the stern , inside paneling , and computer architecture remain well - preserved . Divers also recognise an unopened traveling bag , and signage inside the ship .
So far , there is n’t any clear mechanical grounds as to why the USSCliftonsank , but Trotter ’s team did find “ that the ego - unloading mechanics was still in lieu , ” he says . This was “ an interesting find because we now bring in that the unloading mechanics did n’t break free , causing theCliftonto have imbalance , result in her sinking feeling . ”
Trotter hopes to explore the USSClifton ’s engine room and cabin , and to bring the grip ashore to examine its contents . Until then , he can remain quenched that he ’s finally lick a mystery that had eluded him for much of his career .
[ h / tAssociated Press ]
