Official Press Release of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

December 9, 2011

Empire, MI - Please join Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on Saturday, December 17 at 1:00 p.m. for a shipwreck program presented by diver/historian Ross Richardson. Discover the legends and history of Sleeping Bear Point and learn about the shipwrecks that lie under her waters.  This program will last approximately 1 to 1.5 hours.  Meet in the Visitor Center Auditorium in Empire.

Ross Richardson Measures Shipwreck

The shipwrecks of the Manitou Passage have attracted underwater explorers for decades.  Today, the underwater photography of these explorers allows landsmen to visit the shipwrecks from the comfort of a warm, dry chair.  JoinParkRangers as diver/historian Ross Richardson helps us explore some of the shipwrecks of Sleeping Bear Point and unravel some of the mysteries they hold.  He has spent the last decade searching for, and documenting, shipwrecks off the coast of west Michigan.  Richardsonis credited with discovering the location of the legendary steamer Westmoreland, which sank south of Sleeping Bear Point in 1854.

Offshore of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore lies the Manitou Passage.  Although this 36-mile long waterway offers some protection from the open waters ofLake Michigan, even the waters of the passage can be treacherous.  Many ships seeking shelter sank in this passage, hitting shoals and sandbars and running aground before being destroyed by the waves ofLake Michigan.  There are 16 known shipwrecks in the passage and around the Manitou Islands, but there may be as many as 45 wrecks still undiscovered on the bottom.  Many wrecks are well-preserved and offer clues on how they surrendered to the strength of the big lake in the days before advanced navigation when ships relied on basic tools like a compass, clock, and chart.  Please join us for this glimpse into the pre-railroad era when shipping on the Great Lakes provided the means for westward expansion to the upperMidwest.  There is still much to discover!

Contact:  Lisa Griebel, 231-326-5134, ext. 301, lisa_griebel@nps.gov

For more information, please call the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore at 231-326-5134 or visit their website at www.nps.gov/slbe.  Also, check out their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/sbdnl.

www.nps.gov/slbe/

About the National Park Service:  More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 396 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities.  Learn more at www.nps.gov.

Tags: great lakes shipwreck, national park press release, ross richardson, shipwreck, shipwreck presentation, shipwreck program, sleeping bear dunes press release, sleeping bear dunes shipwreck

This entry was posted on Monday, December 12th, 2011 at 12:04 pm and is filed under Events, Great Lakes, Leelanau, National Park Press Release, Shipwrecks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.