Lake Huron shipwreck found after more than 100 years

Jim Schaefer | Detroit Free Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Shipwreck from 1913 'White Hurricane' finally found Shipwreck hunters complete the quest of finding the Hydrus, a 400-foot steamship that's been lost for over 100 years in Lake Huron.

DETROIT -- Since the Great Storm of 1913, the 436-foot steamship Hydrus had been lost in Lake Huron. It sank, most likely on Nov. 9 of that year, during a storm so ferocious it has been called the “White Hurricane.”

The sky unleashed a blizzard over the Great Lakes, hitting Lake Huron hardest with wind gusts up to 90 m.p.h. and waves to 35 feet. The Great Storm, even today, is the worst recorded on the lakes. There were a dozen major shipwrecks from Nov. 7 through 10, and eight of them were on Lake Huron. More than 250 people perished. The Hydrus had been headed south toward the St. Clair River, iron ore in its belly. The ship lost everyone on board, a crew of 22, including five found frozen to death in a lifeboat that washed up in Canada.

Since that time, every ship believed to have gone down in U.S. waters in Lake Huron was discovered except the Hydrus. Veteran shipwreck hunter David Trotter has had it on his wanted list for 30 years. Along the way, he has found scores of other ships and even a few airplanes as he scours Lake Huron’s bottom every year with his crew. It was Trotter who, in 1985, found another of the 1913 casualties, the John A. McGean, which was heading north in Lake Huron with a load of coal when it went down.

Along the way, he has found scores of other ships and even a few airplanes as he scours Lake Huron’s bottom every year with his crew. It was Trotter who, in 1985, found another of the 1913 casualties, the John A. McGean, which was heading north in Lake Huron with a load of coal when it went down.

On a clear, blue July afternoon, there he was, aboard his Obsession, waiting for his longtime diving friend Marty Lutz to come back up from below. Trotter gave up deep diving a few years ago because of the toll it takes on the body. But he still captains the boat and runs the show. On this day, Lutz and another diver, Greg Grieser, had the honor of diving to confirm what everyone on board hoped. Lutz was the one who got to the Hydrus first, the one who saw the expanse of deck materializing from the murk.

After a short time on the bottom, Lutz and Grieser made their way slowly back up, following their bubbles to the surface. Trotter could hardly stand the wait as he leveled a video camera at the returning team.

“Is there a shipwreck down there, Mr. Lutz?” Trotter asked.

“Yes, sir,” Lutz said. “It’s an awesome wreck, too.”

“I love it,” Trotter said.

If this sounds easy, and fun, that’s because this story has been about the end game — the initial discovery on sonar, the confirmation dive, the celebratory beers with dinner afterward. But Trotter got here by putting in the work — and accepting the risk. He has seen injuries associated with deep diving. And one of his longtime friends died in 2014 after a disastrous dive with another crew.

The crew found the Hydrus last July Trotter happened to be watching the sonar image of the lake bottom a little after 7 p.m., as the boat was piloted by Jared Daniel, a young man from Casco Township who joined the team five years ago and was obsessed with finding the Hydrus. When an outline of the ship popped onto the screen, so detailed one could count the cargo hatches, there were shouts and high-fives and back-slaps. They had a video camera running at the time.

“Holy ... mackerel, that’s a big freighter!” Trotter yelled. “That could be the Hydrus.”

Other ships from this storm have been found turtled, or upside-down, and collapsed to the point where they are tough to explore. The video Trotter’s team shot confirms the Hydrus is a divers' dream.

“This is great stuff,” Trotter said, mesmerized.

Read the full story on Freep.com.

Contact Jim Schaefer: 313-223-4542, jschaefer@freepress.com or on Twitter @DetroitReporter