Recording Submerged Remains of the Doomed Joseph S. Fay

Date: June 14, 2007
Entry by: Heather Hohman, Summer Fellowship Student, Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary

Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary maritime archaeologist, Wayne Lusardi, and his team of divers recorded portions of the remains of the Joseph S. Fay, a wooden freighter used in the Great Lakes Iron ore trade.

On October 19, 1905, Lake Huron was pounded by fierce storms and twenty-seven wooden ships meet their demise, with the loss of fifty lives. The wooden hulled steamer Joseph S. Fay was Southbound with the schooner barge D. P. Rhodes in tow. The storm caused the Rhodes to break free, dragging a portion of the Fay's stern. As the ship began to sink, the Captain of the Fay turned toward shore, catching her bow on a sandbar, swinging her around, and finally ripping off the forward cabin. The Captain and ten crewmen were carried to shore safely within the cabin, however the First Mate was not so fortunate, his body was found on the beach about a mile to the north almost two months later.

Today, a large section of the Fay's hull structure is located on the beach just northwest of the 40-Mile Point lighthouse. The remaining portion of the wreck is submerged in 15 feet of water 300 yards offshore.

On Monday, students working with the PAST foundation recorded the portion of the exposed 150 feet of wooden hull and metal spikes remaining on the beach. They worked in groups to sketch, measure, and record. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the students observed as the maritime archaeologists prepared to do the same on the submerged portions on the Fay. The students were fascinated with the process of preparing to dive and offered to help the divers carry equipment to the beach and took pictures of the divers gearing up and briefing before their dive.

Listening to the divers discuss their dive agenda encouraged the students to continue recording the terrestrial portion of the Fay.¬Ý With a new found understanding and appreciation of archaeological mapping, the students finished recording the entire remains of the hull on the beach.

In the submerged portion, Lusardi and his team measure and drew the rudder, stern post, and remaining frames of the Fay during the rest of the week. The information from the measurements was used to create a site plan that the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary will use for future research and study. The archaeological information will also be used for further interpretation at the Forty-Mile Point Lighthouse.