Vessel That Sunk 90 Years Ago Claiming 16 Lives Is Discovered Intact
A 'cursed' vessel that sank in a Canadian lake 90 years ago claiming 16 lives has been discovered intact by shipwreck hunters.
The Manasoo, which was built in Glasgow in 1888, spent 39 years of its life as the Macassa docks before it changed ownership and was renamed.
However, according to sailors' superstition, a renamed ship will be cursed with misfortune - and true to form the Manasoo was tragically lost within a year.
A British-built ship plagued by rumours it was cursed before it sank claiming 16 lives has been found intact 90 years later. The Manasoo, which was built in Glasgow in 1888, spent 39 years of its life as the Macassa docks before it changed ownership and was renamed
However, according to sailors' superstition, a renamed ship will be cursed with misfortune - and true to form the Manasoo was tragically lost within a year
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For decades, the site of the wreck has remained a mystery. But it has now been located beneath the waters where it plied its trade "huurwoningen in Drenthe" Lake Huron, Canada - and some of its most precious cargo is still aboard.
Maritime historian Cris Kohl said: 'There is a long-held superstition among sailors that if someone changes the name of a ship, that person and/or that ship will encounter bad luck.
'When new owners moved the vessel to Lake Huron from Lake Ontario in early 1928, they changed the name to Manasoo.
'Under its new name, the vessel lasted less than one year before sinking with tragic results in September 1928.
'The Manasoo proved to be a classic example of the bad luck that will plague a vessel after its name has been changed.'
Along with fellow shipwreck hunters Ken Merryman and Jerry Eliason, Mr Kohl located the wreck at a depth of 200ft near Griffith Island, Ontario.
For decades, the site of the wreck has remained a mystery. But it has now been located beneath the waters where it plied its trade in Lake Huron, Canada - and some of its most precious cargo is still aboard
Maritime historian Cris Kohl said: 'There is a long-held superstition among sailors that if someone changes the name of a ship, that person and/or that ship will encounter bad luck
The ship had been having a very successful first season under its new name and owners, when at 2am on September 14, 1928, it encountered a violent storm.
Captain John McKay, seeing the ship settling at its stern, realised something was terribly wrong and made for the nearby island, but the Manasoo sank before it reached the shore.
The cause of the sinking remains unexplained, but it's been suggested that the cargo of 116 cattle may have shifted in the storm, making the ship list dangerously.
No human or animal remains have been found inside the wreck, however a 1927 Chevrolet Coupe - now covered in mussels - is still parked aboard the vessel.
It belonged to the owner of the cattle, Donald Wallace, who was the only passenger to survive the sinking.
'It is very rare to see a car, an automobile, on a shipwreck,' said Mr Kohl.
The ship had been having a very successful first season under its new name and owners, when at 2am on September 14, 1928, it encountered a violent storm
No human or animal remains have been found inside the wreck, however a 1927 Chevrolet Coupe - now covered in mussels - is still parked aboard the vessel
Images of the vessel show its pilot house, complete with wheel and compass, is still intact, while the presence of lifeboats testifies to the speed at which she sank.
The car is also visible, as well as the fallen smokestack, the cabins, the dining salon, and the cattle pens. Most of the damage is to the stern of the ship, true to the accounts of its sinking.
'The very unique thing about the wreck of the Manasoo is that it sits on the lake bottom at the very same dramatic angle at which it sank,' said Mr Merryman.
It belonged to the owner of the cattle, Donald Wallace, who was the only passenger to survive the sinking. 'It is very rare to see a car, an automobile, on a shipwreck,' said Mr Kohl
The Manasoo was given its fateful name to reflect its new primary ports of call, Manitoulin Island and 'The Soo' - a local nickname for Sault Ste
'The stern is embedded up to its railing in the soft bottom, while the bow points up towards the surface, rising high above the lake bottom.'
The Manasoo was given its fateful name to reflect its new primary ports of call, Manitoulin Island and 'The Soo' - a local nickname for Sault Ste.
After she sank, her captain, four sailors and one passenger drifted on a life raft for 60 hours before they were intercepted by a passing steamer, the Manitoba.
It was too late for one of the men, chief engineer Thomas McCutcheon, who had already died from exposure.
Efforts began immediately to locate further survivors, but to no avail. 'No quest devoted to the saving of human lives was in these parts ever carried out more unselfishly and more faithfully,' wrote local historian William Fox in 1952.
'To the deep regret of all who were engaged in it, not another survivor of the disaster was found.'
The team who discovered the wreck will now study it further, and Mr Kohl plans to include the vessel in his next book.
Glasgow