Old Bookaroo
Silver Member
- Dec 4, 2008
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On November 27, 1960, the Liberian freighter Francisco Morazan came to grief at the south end of South Manitou Island, Lake Michigan, in a blinding snowstorm. There are some 150 shipwrecks in The Manitou Passage - from the Fox Islands to South Manitou, and between the Manitous and the mainland.
The Morazan was the last major shipwreck on Lake Michigan (after the Carl D. Bradley in 1958) and the last on the Upper Great Lakes until the Edmund Fitzgerald went down on Lake Superior.
Here is a shot from Google Earth showing the current state of the wreck:
Take a look at the lower left-hand corner and you will see the bones of another vessel - the Str. Walter L. Frost, lost on November 4, 1903. When she went aground the Morazan rode directly over the Frost. Shallow water Great Lakes' wrecks can move - often due to ice.
This is the Frost shortly after she went aground. Her upper works didn't last long in a Lake Michigan winter.
Here is where the wrecks lie today:
For the record, over the years both wrecks have been thoroughly salvaged and are now protected from anything except visits. Although no one died when the Morazan was wrecked at least one swimmer has drowned here since then. The Lakes can be deadly and deserve respect.
Good luck to all,
~ The Old Bookaroo
Sorry for the extra thumbnail (below) - I don't know how to remove it.
The Morazan was the last major shipwreck on Lake Michigan (after the Carl D. Bradley in 1958) and the last on the Upper Great Lakes until the Edmund Fitzgerald went down on Lake Superior.
Here is a shot from Google Earth showing the current state of the wreck:
Take a look at the lower left-hand corner and you will see the bones of another vessel - the Str. Walter L. Frost, lost on November 4, 1903. When she went aground the Morazan rode directly over the Frost. Shallow water Great Lakes' wrecks can move - often due to ice.
This is the Frost shortly after she went aground. Her upper works didn't last long in a Lake Michigan winter.
Here is where the wrecks lie today:
For the record, over the years both wrecks have been thoroughly salvaged and are now protected from anything except visits. Although no one died when the Morazan was wrecked at least one swimmer has drowned here since then. The Lakes can be deadly and deserve respect.
Good luck to all,
~ The Old Bookaroo
Sorry for the extra thumbnail (below) - I don't know how to remove it.
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