Tales From the Depths: Great Lakes Shipwrecks

Most people are unable to comprehend the enormous magnitude of the Great Lakes, thinking of them as "just lakes." That they are not. They are more appropriately thought of as "inland seas." Collectively, they cover an area of approximately 800 miles from east to west and 500 miles north to south; they contain 21% of the world's surface fresh water. Storms on the Great Lakes are every bit as powerful as storms on the world's oceans. Storms with winds up to 60 miles per hour and waves up to 20 feet in height are not uncommon. Unlike on the oceans, however, mariners on the Great Lakes have little room in which to maneuver, and shipwrecks have been a common occurrence. Most people also have no idea of the frequency of shipwrecks on the Great Lakes, estimating them at 100 - 500 over the years rather than the actual number of 6000+ with the loss of 30,000+ lives. This book puts those numbers into perspective and provides an up-close and in-depth account of eleven of those wrecks.