03/08/2017
More New Shipwreck Discoveries Featured at this Weekends Ghost Ships Festival!
"Fire, Wind and Waves"
The newly discovered wrecks of the Venus and Montezuma
Saturday, March 11th - 10am-1045am
Crowne Plaza, Milwaukee Airport
Join one of the Great Lakes most accomplished wreck hunters this weekend in Milwaukee. David Trotter is back at Ghost Ships to tell the tale of discovery of two newly discovered wrecks in Lake Huron...the Venus and Montezuma.
The Great Lakes are loaded with shipwrecks. Thousands have been discovered over the years but many are still waiting in the depths, untouched by man since they plied the surface of our sweet water seas.
Two schooners that foundered on Lake Huron back in the late 1800s have remained Michigan maritime mysteries for well over a century, until they were both recently discovered by renowned shipwreck hunter David Trotter.
The Venus, which has been on Trotter’s bucket list for quite some time, was found 40 miles off the coast of Pointe Aux Barques, Michigan. Once an image appeared on his side-scan sonar, Trotter sent three divers down to the treacherous depth of nearly 300 feet to confirm the identity of the mystery schooner. The load of grindstones in her hold told her tale and revealed her name.
In June 2016, Trotter and his dive team found another wreck, the schooner Montezuma, which went down in Lake Huron Oct. 3, 1871. Trotter was excited about finding the Montezuma because she was one of the earliest-built vintage schooners of the time period. Trotter and his team were searching in Lake Huron about 35 miles east of Oscoda, Michigan, when an image appeared on the side-scan sonar in an approximate depth of 170 feet.
The day the Montezuma sank, a heavy haze caused by enormous fires near the area had made visibility nearly impossible. Despite the conditions, the shipping lanes in Lake Huron remained open and active. According to historical records, the schooner Hattie Johnson was traveling two points off her course when suddenly a green light of the Montezuma appeared across her bow. The Johnson struck the Montezuma just forward of the main rigging with such force the Montezuma was nearly split in half. As the Montezuma was sinking, its crew abandoned ship and went aboard the Hattie Johnson, which sustained some damage, but wasn't sinking.
Trotter is thrilled to be able to go public with these two discoveries and to be able to share the history, discovery and underwater footage his divers were able to collect with the Ghost Ships Festival
