Why Do Ships Wreck?

A century ago, sailors on Great Lakes schooners faced constant danger from shipboard fires, poor visibility, sudden storms, and collisions. Fire terrified even seasoned sailors, and though ships had long burned at sea, it remained deadly even after steel hulls and steam engines appeared; cargo such as flour or coal dust could also ignite explosively, and fires were hard to extinguish despite the surrounding water. Without modern radios or satellites, vessels relied on lighthouses to guide them through fog and snow and to help keep them from running aground. On the Great Lakes, storms could develop quickly with little warning, while temperature changes brought thick fog or freezing conditions that hindered navigation, and strong winds raised waves that battered ships in open water or drove them ashore. Heavy traffic on the lakes in the late 1800s also made collisions common, especially at night or in bad weather, and inattentive captains or failures to follow navigational rules sometimes caused minor damage and sometimes sank one or both vessels.

Sevastopol, Wisconsin · United States