The May Flower was a wooden hulled scow schooner that sank on June 2, 1891 in Lake Superior off the coast of Lester Park, St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States after capsizing with a load of sandstone blocks. In 1994 the shipwreck site was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Video May Flower (shipwreck)
History
The May Flower (Official number 92025) was built in 1887, in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin by master carpenter Harry Johnson. She had a length of 147.3 feet (44.9 m), her beam was 27 feet (8.2 m) wide and her hull was 7.3 feet (2.2 m) deep. She had a gross register tonnage of 230.4 tons, and a net register tonnage of 218.88 tons. She was a two-masted scow schooner which meant that she could sail on her own, or towed by a steam powered vessel. Although she was a Great Lakes scow, her constructional features are more similar to the scows used in New Zealand than the scows used on the lakes.
Maps May Flower (shipwreck)
Final voyage
On the day of June 2, 1891 the May Flower was bound for the Duluth, Minnesota with a cargo of sandstone which was to be used in the construction of Duluth's High School. She was sailing in good weather and was propelled by a wind blowing from the northwest. Her master, Captain Zirbest ordered the May Flower's sails to be lowered. Soon after her sails were lowered, the May Flower's cargo shifted; this caused her to capsize. Three of her crew members were saved by the tugboat Cora A. Sheldon, but sadly Captain Zirbest lost his grip on the lifeline that was thrown to him, and drowned. Historical accounts are unclear about weather the May Flower was sailing under her own power, or she was being towed by the Cory A. Sheldon.
The May Flower today
The wreck of the May Flower was discovered in 1991. Her remains lie in 90 feet (27 m) of water about 500 feet (150 m) off the busy shipping lane about four miles east of the Duluth Harbor entry. Her hull is partially buried in sand featuring an intact bow and stern, but her midsection is broken, and almost completely covered with sand. Visibility at the site is usually poor, this is because she is close to the Lester River. The visibility varies from 10 feet (3.0 m) to 15 feet (4.6 m), although the visibility seems to bee the best in the autumn. Her anchors and windlass bot still remain attached to her bow. Her windlass is the only known one of its type in Minnesota waters. Today only two partially intact scows are known to exist on Lake Superior. The May Flower in Minnesota, and the Grey Oak in Thunder Bay.
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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