Wreck of Three-Masted Cargo Ship Discovered in Lake Erie
The Great Lakes are a source of inspiration for wreck hunters, and new finds turn up every year. The latest, announced this week by the National Museum of the Great Lakes and the Cleveland Underwater Explorers (CLUE), is the wreck of a stone-carrier, the bark Clough.
The Clough was a 125-foot, three-masted sailing ship built in 1867. It was in service for just a year before its sinking on September 15, 1868.
"This discovery represents both a significant chapter in Great Lakes maritime history and a meaningful continuation of David VanZandt’s legacy," said Carrie Sowden, Director of Archaeology and Research at the National Museum of the Great Lakes.
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The project was personal for the group. CLUE's founder, David VanZandt, died in a diving accident in 2024 during the identification effort for the Clough. Sowden told the Detroit News that VanZandt, 70, had sustained a medical issue while submerged and did not survive.
Just last week, another Great Lakes Shipwreck find was announced - this one in Lake Michigan off Racine, Wisconsin. The find was the luxury passenger steamer Lac La Belle, which went down in a storm in 1872; it was discovered by two experienced wreck-hunters, Paul Ehorn and Bruce Bittner. Ehorn, who is 80, no longer dives; two recruited divers, John Janzen and John Scoles, went below to gather evidence for the wreck identification.