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On August 15th or 16th, 1908, the passenger steamer Leelanau that serviced North & South Lake Leelanau exploded. It merited a brief article in the New York Times that you can see right here (also see this account from the Aug 17 Eaton Free Press with a different take). You can click the pic for a larger view and read the transcription via GenDisasters below:

AUGUST 17, 1908 - Mrs. Isabel La Bonte (New York City) of this city was killed and a score of passengers were injured to-day by the explosion of the boiler of the passenger steamer Leelanau, bound from Leland to Fouch, on Carp Lake, in the Northern Michigan resort district. Among the passengers were a number of visitors from other States, but the list of casualties contains only the names of Michigan people.

The little steamer was plowing down the narrow lake with a steam pressure of eighty pounds, trying to make up the time that had been lost on the earlier stages of the trip. As she was passing Bingh (Bingham) the engineer discovered a loose bolt in the engine, and shut off the steam to remedy the defect.

It was while he was working at the loose bolt that the explosion occurred, tearing off the top of the engine and demolishing the pilot house and the forward upper works of the steamer, but leaving Engineer Edward Hardy unscathed by the havoc that swept before him.

John Hartung, who was at the wheel, was probably fatally injured. Many were thrown into the water and clung to wreckage until rescued by farmers living along the shore, although some were able to swim to shore.

via lpwines.com...

The Grand Traverse Insider reports that the Leelanau Peninsula Wine, Food and Music Festival in Suttons Bay begins at 1 PM this Saturday (July 21) and runs until 7 PM. The entrance fee is $15 per person, which includes a complimentary wine glass and two tasting tickets; additional tasting tickets will be available for $2 each. This year's entertainment showcases the blues duo, Hipps n Ricco. A nice play area is available on the beach for children to enjoy while parents take turns at the festival.

17 Leelanau wineries will be on hand: Bel Lago Vineyard and Winery, Black Star Farms, Blustone Vineyards, Brengman Brothers at Crain Hill, Chateau de Leelanau, Chateau Fontaine, Ciccone Vineyard, Forty-Five North Vineyard and Winery, French Valley Vineyard, Good Harbor Vineyards, Good Neighbor Organic Vineyard, L. Mawby Winery, Leelanau Cellars, Shady Lane Cellars, Silver Leaf Vineyard, Verterra Winery and Willow Vineyard.

They add that the Inland Seas Education Association’s Classic Boat Show returns as part of their ISEA Summer Festival on Saturday as well:

The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. behind the ISEA building, in conjunction with the Leelanau Peninsula Wine, Food and Music Festival, also in Suttons Bay at the Marina Park.

“We’re pleased to bring the Classic Boat Show back to Suttons Bay,” said ISEA Executive Director Tom Kelly. “This event will bring together a diverse group of sailboats, motorboats, canoes, kayaks, rowboats and prams, and will give the public a chance to meet the owners and see the boats up close.”

...The family-friendly event is free and includes sailing trips aboard the Friendship Sloop Liberty, harbor tours aboard the classic M/Y Liberty, dockside tours aboard the schooner Inland Seas, wooden canoe and pram building demonstrations, an all-day Nautical Flea Market, and a raffle featuring a 16-foot Abenaki canoe.

Raffle tickets are $10 each, and the drawing will take place at 5 p.m. on July 21. For more information, call the ISEA at 231-271-3077.

Read on for more!

"I like to take trips like this, to get out of the rut of ordinary life and test myself. I don't have a lot of kayaking experience, but I like getting out and seeing how far I can go."
~Steve Snyder

Hello boys and girls, today we have the story of The Very Lucky Kayaker.

Once upon a time there was a man named Steve Snyder, who paddled from Glen Haven nine miles to South Manitou Island in a brand new kayak to camp. He ran into trouble two miles into his return trip when the spray skirt came off. With no wetsuit and taking on water, he was, as Jim Stamm pointed out when he emailed it over, incredibly lucky to survive.

He was lifted off the island by a Coast Guard Helicopter, hopefully wiser. mLive closes their article:

Michigan paddlers are fortunate. There are two excellent multiday sea kayaking symposiums every year. A symposium is slated May 25-28 in Muskegon County by the West Michigan Coastal Kayakers Association. See wmcka.org for details. The other is the Great Lakes Sea Kayaking Symposium, July 18-22, in Grand Marais. See downwindsports.com/glsks for more details.

If you are new to kayaking, consider attending. You won’t be sorry — and it could save your life.

We'll close ours by sharing the words of northern Michigan's own Song of the Lakes:

These are not lakes, these are the world's eighth seas, and her bottoms are littered with the wreckage of over 8,000 ships.

Try not to join them, OK? Don't treat Lake Michigan like a lake, she's a whole lot bigger than almost any lake in the world and demands your respect.

Photo credit: Winter Swirls on Sleeping Bear Point by Mark Lindsay

The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore invites you to join them at the Visitor Center Auditorium in Empire this Saturday, December 17 at 1 PM for a shipwreck program presented by diver/historian Ross Richardson.

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. Ross Richardson has spent the last decade searching for and documenting shipwrecks off the coast of west Michigan. He is 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 of Lake 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 of Lake 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.

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!

Details surrounding the history, legend and exciting 2010 discovery of one of the Great Lakes’ most sought-after shipwrecks will be disclosed during the Empire Area Heritage Group’s Dec. 2, free public program at the Empire Township Hall TONIGHT at 7 PM. Ross Richardson, a Lake Ann diver and a 10-year former board member of the Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates, will share his extensive research on and incredible discovery of the Westmoreland. The 160-ft. passenger steamer sank more than 150 years ago in the icy waters off what is known now as the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

The ship, with 34 passengers and crew, was rumored to have been carrying whiskey and gold coins when she went down in December, 1854 – a tale that launched over a dozen expeditions in the ensuing years to find her and her treasures. Only 17 people were saved during the tragic event. Richardson solved the mystery of the ship’s whereabouts using history books, old newspapers and what he calls “a little bit of hard work.” He found the wreck in July, 2010 – sitting upright, bow and arches intact – in an uncharted hole. Read more about it and see photos in this Leelanau.com article on the Westmoreland's discovery!

For more information about Friday’s program, email empiremuseum@centurytel.net

All November on Absolute Michigan we are featuring shipwrecks.  Leelanau is not without its own shipwrecks stories, and the tale of the wreck of the Rising Sun is one of these (be sure to click the pic for a larger view too!). Pyramid Point - Shipwrecks of the Manitou Passage from Life Along the Manitou Passage probably tells it best:

The remains of a shipwreck can be seen if you stand on top of Pyramid Point with the sun at your back. In the water below lies what is left of the iron boiler of the steamship RISING SUN.

The date was October 29, 1917. Coming south through the Manitou Passage, the steamship RISING SUN was going south for the winter carrying farmers and their harvest from Summer Island. She strayed off course in high winds and snow and went aground at night on the Pyramid Point shoal. Passengers and crew struggled ashore through the frigid surf and sought help from farmers living in nearby Port Oneida. The Sleeping Bear Point Coast was alerted and arrived by surf boat the next morning to find only an elderly man still on board. He slept through the ship's grounding!

An interesting side note is that the Rising Sun was owned by the House of David, a religious organization based in Benton Harbor that is a fascinating story as well! You can also check out the location of the Rising Sun and other Leelanau shipwrecks on this diving map of Leelanau.

The photo comes from the excellent online photo collection of the Traverse Area Historical Society. It was taken on October 29, 1917 by Carrie (Labare) Craker. (From the left) Martha (Popa) Craker is shown holding her daughter Julia Craker, W. A. Craker and Clifford Craker. The remainder are unidentified.

via Absolute Michigan...

Great Lakes Week takes place October 11-14, 2011 and celebrates one of the world's true natural wonders, the five interconnected Great Lakes. Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior provide jobs, recreation and drinking water to more than 30 million people in the Great Lakes basin. Great Lakes Week is a new partnership to improve the places around the basin where people live, work, learn and play. This week's activities, meetings and conferences bring representatives of the U.S. and Canadian governments together with a broad coalition of public and private groups to highlight efforts to implement solutions for the lakes' most pressing problems. The event is headquartered in a single city for the first time ever and that city is Detroit.

Detroit Public Television (DPTV), in partnership with the International Joint Commission, the Great Lakes Commission, U.S. EPA, and Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, will be providing unprecedented access to the largest gathering of scientists, political voices, educators, environmentalists, and interested groups ever assembled to discuss the status and the future of the Great Lakes. Coverage starts today at noon at greatlakesnow.org!

Today's coverage kicks off at noon with an overview of Great Lakes Week, highlights of yesterday's Great Lakes Commission Meeting. Also on tap is the International Joint Commission of US and Canadian government agencies, a report on U.S. and Canadian efforts to restore the chemical, physical and biological diversity of the Great Lakes Basin, updates on critical issues from algae to aquatic invasive species and the Great Lakes Town Hall featuring top officials from both the U.S. and Canada answering on-site and virtual audience questions (Twitter hastag #AskGLW). Much more to follow tomorrow and Friday - check the schedule of events out for an idea.

photo credit: KAScott_20110930_3651fhenacb by Ken Scott/a>

Last Thursday the Inland Seas Education Association, a non-profit organization based in Suttons Bay that is dedicated to science education on the Great Lakes, welcomed its 90,000th student aboard the 77' schooner Inland Seas. The 90,000th student was from St. Francis Assisi in Ann Arbor. Executive Director and Captain Tom Kelly, said:

"This is a really exciting day for Inland Seas and the students of St. Francis. We had a great sailing day on Suttons Bay with our young scientists. After 23 years it is good to see that our mission of Great Lakes education continues to be relevant and vital to the entire Great Lakes region."

For further information about their shipboard and shore-side education programs that are designed to inspire young people's interest in science and to provide for the long-term stewardship of the Great Lakes, contact ISEA at (231) 271-3077.

The Leelanau Historical Museum, Leland Chamber of Commerce, and Old Art Building hold their annual celebration of Leland's history next Saturday (Sep 17). Via the Leland Michigan website:

The annual Leland Heritage Celebration takes place September 17. This annual event is free and open to the public. Highlights include the Leelanau Historical Museum's "Wooden Boats on the Wall", Van's Garage antique car show, and the Fishtown Preservation Society offering music and festivities in Fishtown.

There will also be an exhibit titled "Windows on Leelanau; Past, Present, and Future" will be the featured for the Leelanau Community Cultural Center at the Old Art Building. Exhibit hours are 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday and 12 to 4 pm on Sunday. The exhibit will feature original works of art using the window as a view on Leelanau. Artists will use the window as a metaphor beyond its mere architectural aspect. This will be a fun and creative exhibit by Leelanau artists.

The Leland Township Library gets into the act as well with their annual Fall Used Book Sale on the lawn at the Library. They will be featuring a display of the books of Leelanau County authors and books about Leelanau County. Library Director Sylvia Merz says, "We are always amazed at the number of authors who either currently or once upon a time called Leelanau County home. We’ve pulled as many volumes as we have and they will be featured on Saturday for visitors to browse and check out as they enjoy the events!"

Also check out the Leland Heritage Celebration photo gallery for photos from past celebrations.

The third annual Michigan Schooner Festival sets sail September 9-11, 2011 on West Bay in Traverse City at Open Space Park and Clinch Park Marina. The festival will feature eight tall ships including the Appledore V, Madeline, Welcome, Manitou, Pier Wisconsin's S/V Denis Sullivan and Leelanau's own schooner Inland Seas aka the Great Lakes Schoolship.

It kicks off Friday night (September 9) with the Grand Parade of Sail as the eight vessels sail down West Grand Traverse Bay together and dock at Clinch Marina. Other weekend highlights include ship tours, wine & beer tastings, food, entertainment, the Ring of Steel pirate reenactment troupe, artist vendors, kids games, and ticketed sailings aboard the schooners.

Read more from the Grand Traverse Insider and check out some footage from last year in the video below!

Photo credit: The Welcome by ETCphoto