- Adella Shores disappeared in 1909 with 14 crew members on board in Michigan
- 115 years after the ship disappeared, a society has found the missing ship
- It was found more than 40 miles from its last location in more than 650 feet of water.
A “cursed” wooden steamboat that disappeared on Lake Superior in 1909 with 14 crew members on board has finally been discovered.
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society says they found Adella Shores after she disappeared on May 1, 1909 in Whitefish Point, Michigan.
Adella Shores, who locals feared had been cursed after his sober owners baptized him by breaking a water bottle on his helmet instead of alcohol, was found more than 40 miles northwest of Whitefish Point, more than 650 feet of water.
The 195-foot ship was built in Gibraltar, Michigan, and weighed 735 tons, and was owned by Shores Lumber Company.
Images taken of the wreck show that the large timber appears to have remained virtually intact in the water.
Adella Shores was found more than 40 miles northwest of Whitefish Point in more than 650 feet of water.
The 195-foot ship was built in Gibraltar, Michigan, and weighed 735 tons, and was owned by Shores Lumber Company.
The ship is named after the daughter of the owner of Shores Lumber Company, Adella.
Adella’s sister Bessie had named the boat with a bottle of water, as the family had been strict about alcohol consumption.
Sailors of old see this as a bad omen, as the Adella sank twice in shallow waters in fifteen years.
On both occasions she was refloated and put back into service before disappearing in 1909.
On April 29, the ship was headed to Duluth, Minnesota, with a cargo of salt and had been following a larger steel steamship through a thick flow of ice.
As both ships rounded Whitefish Point, they encountered a strong gale and the Adella was left behind and out of sight of the Morrell.
The ship and the fourteen crew members were never seen again, and some debris but no bodies were found.
The captain of the larger steamship they had been following believes that the smaller ship may have hit a large ice stream and pierced its hull, sinking rapidly.
In the summer of 2021, the society’s director of marine operations, Darryl Ertel, and his brother Dan were netting with sonar and found the ship.
The ship is named after the daughter of the owner of Shores Lumber Company, Adella.
On April 29, the ship was headed to Duluth, Minnesota, with a cargo of salt and had been following a larger steel steamship through a thick ice stream.
As both ships rounded Whitefish Point, they encountered a strong gale and the Adella was left behind and out of sight of the Morrell.
In the summer of 2021, the society’s Director of Marine Operations, Darryl Ertel, and his brother Dan were netting with sonar and found the ship, as seen here.
Ertel said: “I knew it had to be the Adella Shores when I measured its length, because there was no shortage of other boats in that size range.”
“As soon as I put the ROV in for the first time, I was able to see the layout of the boat and was able to compare it to the Adella Shores.”
Marine historian Fred Stonehouse added: “Not only is she a member of the ‘Went Missing’ club, those ships on the Great Lakes that disappeared with all hands decades later, only to be discovered. She still tells a very moving and fascinating story.
‘People who are actively searching for shipwrecks, like the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society, are helping to answer that story.
And they continue to search for those who have not yet been told or found. For this, they deserve the highest praise.
