Wreck of the Henry B. Smith found

[Jared]

The sidescan image I've seen, does not show much. The Bradley wreck looks similar except the Smith is buried in mud. High resolution sonar is needed for this. A fish cam is all good for trying to identify a wreck, but it cannot manuver like and ROV. Time and patience is required for things like this.

[Andrew]

Any diagrams of how she looks on the bottom? I'm talking an artist's impression type deal.

[Chief]

OK so I blew the last one. I should have read the whole article. The main thing that still bothers me is why the EOT was at Full Ahead. If she broke in two on the surface once a crack or any indication of a break was indicated the Prudent Mariner would have rang up "All Stop". There is a possibility that she broke when she hit the bottom. The location of any cargo will help determine whether she broke on the surface or when she hit bottom. This is going to be a repeat of the Fitz and we will probably never know what really happened. The more information we can get from the video the better chance of figuring out what happened. Great job to the folks that found her. Keep up the great work, as there are still a lot of missing boats out there.

[Jared]

I doubt the boilers blew. The Argus also crumpled midships and sank. The only difference is that the Argus lies turtled on the bottom and is 1/2 the depth of the Smith. She was also carrying coal instead of ore which explains why she lies turtled.

[MilwBob]

Article quotes the divers clearly stating that the bow & stern sections are largely intact, with the most damage at the mid-section.

[Chief]

I still would like to see some pictures of the stern. I still believe that her boilers let go and she went to the bottom in a matter of minutes. Looking at the EOT it is at full ahead. Possibly the engineers either screwed or tied down the safety valves to get a little more power to weather the storm the boilers blew. In doing some reading there were a couple ships that had boiler explosions and the ships sank in 5 minutes or less. If the ship was in the process of foundering the EOT would most likely be at Stop. I can see it now, steaming along barely making headway and the Captain ordered the engineers to screw down the safety valves to try and make some headway. All of a sudden there is a rumble from and the stern and the ship starts to sink immediately, The engineers in the boiler room are already on there way to that big lake in the sky, or atleast parts of them are. The engineers in the engineroom are already in water over their heads, The crew is still trying to figure out what happened when the Smith slides to the bottom of the lake. This has all happened in a matter of 5 minutes. A couple of the crew have managed to grab life jackets or already had them on. Seems a little strange that only two bodies were found, the cook and the 3rd Asst Engineer. The 3rd Asst may have been on watch and grabbed a life jacket from the engineroom and was washed out through the hole where the stern used to be. OK so may imagination has gotten the better of me, but something made her sink, so I guess my explaination is as good as anyone elses. The only way anyone i going to really tell what happened it to get a look at the deck and hatches and also the shell plating at the stern.

[Norskellunge]

Wow, that picture of the name on the stern gave me the chills. Amazing find. Thanks for sharing the update.

[guest 5]

Duluth News and Tribune ran a story today confirming the wreck is indeed that of the Henry B. Smith.
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/ ... id/271340/

[Nate]

Its too early to tell for sure, but it appears from the few pictures we have seen so far that the Smith is in far better condition than the Fitzgerald which sits in about the same amount of water. If the Smith is in one piece she will be the most original and intact turn of the century freighter, to date found. Hopefully an ROV team will explore the stern section to determine the extend of the damage back aft.

[Ron]

My thought about the two bodies found is that since they were in the aft end, the boiler explosion could have opened the hull enough for them to be thrown out. Possibly their location at the time of the explosion was a factor. It may have been a spot where there was less metal around them. The men in the forward end would all have been under cover, meaning inside the cabins and hull. They would have quicker to seek shelter since they coulkd have seen what they were facing.
Ron

[Jared]

Until we see a sidescan or a good ROV video of the wreck, it's going to be difficult to determine.

[Chief]

If she broke like the Bradley and the Titanic the where she broke but the keel didn't then it is possible depending on where the break is some may have spilled out. In my opinion and not having seen the video of the aft end it is logical to me that the cause of the sinking could have been a boiler explosion. If you look at the video the EOT is in the full ahead position which would indicate to me that Capt Owen was pushing her and they may have had the relief valves turned down tight or the tied down to get more power to combat the gale. A boiler explosion would defiantly have her headed for the bottom depending on the damage. Seems strange that the only two bodies found were from the aft end. The break depending on where it is could have been caused when she hit bottom. As I said getting a good look at the aft end will tell alot.

[dwr]

I am wondering how did the cargo spill out and yet the ship land upright. For example in the sinking of the Algoport we saw that the stern of the ship (the most buoyant part) sank last. I can understand that any cargo would fall out while the ship was in such a position. If the two pieces of the ship sank in a vertical position how would they both end up upright on the bottom?

[Jared]

The Carruthers left Detour after refueling and tried to make a run to Collingwood. Supposedly rockets were sighted north of Kincardine. Wreckage washed ashore near Southampton and Kincardine. She lies somewhere over there. She must have failed to make it into Georgian bay.

[Neil W]

Upon reading up on the James Carruthers, she made a port turn for a straight course towards Georgian Bay. There were flares spotted north of Goderich. Her wreckage washed up on the shores just north of Goderich, near Kincardine. I guess that could mean a potential drifting situation.

[Denny]

In some ways the story is almost the same as the Fitzgerald in relation to the deep depth and the fact that all hands were lost. It is also ironic that both the Smith and Fitzgerald went down in a storm in Lake Superior, all hands were lost and lie in deep depth.

[Jared]

She sits upright on the bottom. Even her flying bridge is intact. There is damage to the stern. Wexford lies upright. I would imagine the Hydrus and Leafield upright also.

[Chief]

Denny-In answer to the last part of your question, I believe that there are quit a few ships that are still missing. Probably the reason is that no one ever bothered to look for them. One of the more interesting sinkings is of the two French Mine Sweepers that disappeared in Lake Superior in 1919. Quite a few people speculate that they ran across Superior Shoal and had their bottoms torn out. Makes sense in that one was following the other and it appears that what happened to one happened to the other. The Henry B. Smith was of interest because of the strange way she disappeared.

[Nate]

This is an incredible find, definitely one of the more notable shipwrecks found on Lake Superior to date, the tragic end of James Owen adds to the story. Is the Smith on her side or upright, if she is upright I believe she is the only ore freighter found to date from that storm sitting upright, which would make her an incredible dive (if she didn't sit at a deep depth).

[Jared]

Leafield, Hydrus, and James Carruthers. I have been looking for the Hydrus for over 3 years now and the only thing I can say is that I know where she's NOT at. The Plymouth was found buried in the sands near deaths door. Lightship 82 was raised a year later and scrapped.