.jpg) SSSamuel Mather (far right) at dock | |
| History | |
|---|---|
.svg) United States | |
| Name | Samuel Mather |
| Namesake | Samuel Mather |
| Owner | Pickands, Mather Company |
| Port of registry |  Cleveland, Ohio |
| Builder | Quayle's, Thomas Sons |
| Completed | 1887 |
| Fate | Sank inWhitefish Bay 21 November 1891 after colliding with theBrazil |
| Notes | Official No. 116142 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Bulk freighter |
| Tonnage | 1576.23Gross Register Tonnage 1286.72Net Register Tonnage |
| Length | 246 ft (75 m) |
| Beam | 40 ft (12 m) |
| Depth | 19.3 ft (5.9 m) |
| Propulsion | Steam,propeller |
| Notes | Sank with no loss of life |
TheSSSamuel Mather was the first of seven U.S. merchant ships to bear that name. The woodenMather sank in 1891 after she was rammed by the steelfreighterBrazil in heavyfog inWhitefish Bay 8miles (13 km) fromPoint Iroquois, ending theMather's 4-year career. Her intact wreck is a rare of example of wooden freighters that plied theGreat Lakes and she is a popularscuba diving site. Although there was no loss of life when theMather sank, her wreck claimed the lives of three scuba divers more than 100 years after she sank.Artifacts from her wreck were illegally removed in the 1980s by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society. The artifacts are now the property of the State of Michigan and are on display as a loan to theGreat Lakes Shipwreck Museum. The wreck of theMather is protected as part of an underwater museum in theWhitefish Point Underwater Preserve.
Shipwreck historian Frederick Stonehouse wrote, "TheMather is a rare example of a type offreighter that has long since disappeared from the Great Lakes."[1] The 246feet (75 m)steamer was constructed with wood and had twoboilers and twomasts.[2]
TheMather had a series of mishaps and changes in ownerships after she was launched in Cleveland on 7 April 1887 for her first owners, R. John W. Moore, et al. On 20 October 1887 when she was bound fromSandusky, Ohio toDuluth, Minnesota, the tugMystic towed her toSault Ste. Marie, Michigan with disabled machinery. On 9 May 1888, she was sold toSamuel Mather, et al. ofCleveland, Ohio. On 11 August 1888, she was damaged in a heavygale nearDetour, Michigan and later repaired in Cleveland. On 13 April 1889, she was sold to James Pickard, et al. of Interlake Transportation Company. In June 1889, she towed theSenator and theWinana. On 30 September 1890, she was libeled for sinking the steamerOhio.[3] TheMather was a coal-carrying steamer but she "perished with an abnormal cargo of wheat".[4]
On 22 November 1891 at 2:00 am, the woodenMather was downbound fromDuluth, Minnesota forBuffalo, New York with a load of 58,000 bushels of wheat when she was rammed on thestarboard side near theaft hatch by the steel package freighterBrazil in a thick, heavy fog in Whitefish Bay 8 miles (13 km) north of Point Iroquois.[1][2][5] The collision made an 11-foot (3.4 m) hole on her starboard side. There was no loss of life from the crew of twenty.[2] During the 25 minutes that it took her to sink, her crew were able to pull away with herlife boats but they lost all of their personal possessions. The crew was picked up by theBrazil and were later transferred to the steamerParks Foster for transport to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. TheBrazil proceeded to Duluth with her load of coal and was found to have 3 frames and a stringer broken from the collision. TheMather was valued at $50,000 and with her wheat cargo, the total loss was estimated in excess of $226,000.[4][5]
TheMather's wreck was discovered in May 1978 by Bob Smith of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and has been extensively filmed by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS).[1] Shipwreck historian Janice Gerred reported that the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society took theMather's artifacts for preservation to display in theGreat Lakes Shipwreck Museum.[2] However, Michigan’s Antiquities Act of 1980 prohibited the removal of artifacts from shipwrecks on the Great Lakes bottomlands. TheMichigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment 1992 raid on the GLSHS offices and Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum included seizure of artifacts that were illegally removed from theSamuel Mather in the 1980s.[6] Artifacts from theMather's wreck are on display in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum as a loan from the State of Michigan by a 1993 settlement agreement with the GLSHS following the DNR raid on the museum in 1992.[6] TheSamuel Mather's wreck in now protected by the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve as part of an underwater museum.
Stonehouse wrote that wreck of " theMather is one of the best known examples a wooden freighter still available for examination."[1] TheMather is a popular wreck site forscuba diving as she sits upright with an intact deck and mostly intact stern superstructure. Overall, she is in very good condition, likely because she sank slowly enough for pressures to equalize. The wreck of the Mather lies at46°34.308′N084°42.325′W / 46.571800°N 84.705417°W /46.571800; -84.705417. Her mast can be reached at 75 feet, her deck at 155 feet, and the bottom at 180 feet.[7] Although theMather is not the deepest dive in the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve, she claimed the life of three scuba divers, one in 1998 and one in 1999,[8] and the third in 2012.[9] Great Lakes diver Harrington cautions that "divers must be certain of their abilities and equipment" when diving the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve.[7]
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