By Pam Wright
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A December storm on Lake Erie has yielded the wooden bones of a mystery ship from the lake’s tempestuous depths.
The sight caused Erieau resident Elma Renders to do a double take Dec. 5 as she walked along the beach on Mariner’s Road.
“It had been so windy here and when I looked out, I said, ‘What is that?’” Renders told The Voice, explaining the water-logged debris resembled an upside-down boat, approximately 20 feet in length.
“It was a powerful storm,” she said of the blustery gale that led to the discovery. “It was absolutely wild out there.”
Renders is among the residents curious about the origins of what appears to be parts of a hull, linked to an era when boats were the nautical work horses carrying goods and raw materials around the Great Lakes. During the 1800s, historians say Lake Erie’s marine route from Detroit to Buffalo was once one of the busiest in the world.
Erieau Marina owner Dave Barnier said he’s not surprised at the latest find.
“It’s not the first time parts of a boat have washed up on shore,” the long-time Erieau resident said. “I’m not going to say it’s common but it’s not unusual.”
Barnier thinks the ship’s remnants may belong to a wooden steamer called The Lycoming that burned to the waterline at the Erieau pier in 1910. The boat was then towed to the other side of the Erieau channel and later purposedly sunk about six miles offshore.
The Lycoming and The Colonial, which also sank on the lake, were sister ships, he added, carrying coal, lumber and stone from port to port. However, there are dozens of other wrecks the lake claimed over the years.
Barnier said Lake Erie’s storms can be merciless.
“It can be devastatingly rough out there,” he added. “All the boats on the bottom of the lake are proof of that.”
It is unknown if any historical groups will examine the wreck’s scraps to try and determine their origin.
But they may have to act quickly, Barnier said, because the mystery ship could vanish as quickly as it came.
“They appear and then another storm comes and they disappear,” he said.
