Historians found a vessel that sank in 1881, in the United States. Researchers Brendon Baillod and Bob Jaeck have been searching for the boat for about two years, and now researchers have finally identified the location of the historic shipwreck.
The two maritime experts located the boat intact at more than 90 meters depth. “It really is like a ship in a bottle. It’s a time capsule,” Baillod told The New York Times.
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The vessel has always been a major object of study by researchers who found detailed records about its travels and the fateful day it sank in Lake Michigan.
(Tamara Thomsen/Zach Whitrock/State Historical Society of Wisconsin)
Almost 20 years of research
With a long search, the interest in the vessel is long-standing for Brendon Baillod. In recent decades, he has collected data about the vessel, keeping information about the crew, insurance company, photos, newspaper reports and a description of the day of the sinking.
Afterwards, the researcher decided to study the maritime routes in the lake region and customs documents. So, they built a 3D map of the location and went on expeditions to find the lost boat. For them, Trinidad was a great candidate for discovery.
On July 15, they spotted the wreckage with the help of scanning sonar. The ship was practically in the location indicated by the captain on the day of the sinking.
(Tamara Thomsen/State Historical Society of Wisconsin)
The boat Trinidad
Built in 1867, the schooner Trinidad was used primarily as a cargo boat to transport grain between North American states.
According to historians, this model of vessel was built exclusively to take grain from the country's midwest to the east coast. In this case, the Trinidad was built for trade with Milwaukee and Chicago.
At 140 feet, the boat was considered one of the best of the time, according to The New York Times. However, Baillod says the boat's insurance records show it was not up to date with maintenance, which would be a major safety issue because of the constant leaks. “Most of her period schooners lasted two to three times as long as she did,” he said.
Thus, on May 11, 1881, the vessel developed another leak that could not be controlled and the crew decided to abandon the ship.
For Baillod, the next step is to register the wreckage so that they can publicize its location and make the data available to the population.
