AH-WR-0504

Joseph S. Fay

Wooden Bulk Freighter · United States · Lost 1905 · Thunder Bay & Lake Huron

A wooden freighter towing a barge in a Lake Huron gale, sunk after a wave swept her mate overboard and her crew fled by lifeboat.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Joseph S. Fay was a wooden bulk freighter launched in 1871 at Cleveland. On October 19, 1905, while towing the barge D.P. Rhodes from Escanaba to Cleveland with iron ore, she was caught in a violent storm on Lake Huron. Unable to hold a course, she cut the barge loose to try to save herself, but a wave swept her mate overboard and the remaining crew abandoned ship as she foundered. She now lies broken in shallow water near Alpena, a popular dive and snorkel site.

Vessel

Built: 1871
Builder: Quayle and Martin
Yard: Cleveland, Ohio
Material: Wood
Length: 216 ft
Beam: 34 ft
Tonnage: 1221
Propulsion: Steam, single screw
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: October 19, 1905
Cause: Storm
Location: Off Alpena, Lake Huron
Water: Lake Huron
Voyage: Escanaba, Michigan → Cleveland, Ohio
Cargo: Iron ore
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: 1
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 19 ft
Condition: Broken remains, partly onshore, partly in shallow water
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Within Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary; National Register of Historic Places