In the meantime, the duo plans to continue their hunt for the gold bullion. [4] They entered Lake St. Clair on 12 August, the feast day of Saint Clare of Assisi, and named the lake after her. [notes 1], Before 1673, the most common vessel on the lakes was the canoe. Great Lakes Exploration Group is not connected to this story or Kevin Dykstra and Frederick Monroe. With incredible strength, unfailing protective instincts, and a zero-tolerance policy against evil, it is the superhero of mythological creatures. "They're looking for something else, they find an old ship and they've heard of the Griffin, so they pronounce it the Griffin," Baillod said. Darkness like a cloud is ready to envelop you. 5 Michigan Locations Associated with Creepy Urban Legends "When we had it looked at, they [the archaeologists] could tell that the nail was very old," Dykstra said. [4] Some charged fur traders, and even Jesuits with her destruction. The entire 29-member crew went down with it in what has become the greatest Great Lakes Shipping Tragedy of all time. 'But we can systematically search the bottom using non-intrusive techniques and remote sensing devices for conclusive diagnostic evidence. Libert became instantly fascinated by the Griffon mystery as a 14-year-old student in Dayton, Ohio, where he first heard from a teacher about the missing ship with its figurehead of a griffon, a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle. "I didn't go down there with the expectation of seeing a shipwreck I can tell you that," Dykstra told Live Science. Ghost Ship of the Great Lakes: With Josh Gates, Joan Forsberg, Brendon Baillod, Greg Busch. 'Father Louis Hennepin said it was lost in a violent storm. the griffon shipwreck facts She was the largest sailing vessel on the Great Lakes up to that time. The two men did not bring up the nail on purpose, and they plan to return it to the state, said Dean Anderson, the state archaeologist for Michigan. Because the wind was strong from the north, they sailed close to the north shore of the lake, putting in for the nights in various bays along the way. The exact size and construction of Le Griffon is not known but many researchers believe she was a 45-ton barque. The horror of Japan's death railway captured by cartoon: Top secret US mission to scatter Pearl Harbour mastermind Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Dozens stuck in car park as staff refuses to open gate for woman, Incredible footage of Ukrainian soldiers fighting Russians in Bakhmut, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!' The ship was a work of art, featuring a majestic griffin (half lion, half eagle) figurehead on its front and an eagle on its stern. However, the ferocity of the gale forced them to retreat windward and lie-to until morning. Le Griffon, 17th-century sailing ship built by Robert de La Salle may have been found in Lake Michigan 335 years after it disappeared. Libert became instantly fascinated by the Griffon mystery as a 14-year-old student in Dayton, Ohio, where he first heard from a teacher about the missing ship with its figurehead of a griffon, a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle. In the Great Lakes region, there may be no older and more intriguing historical mystery than the 1679 disappearance of the Griffon, one of French explorer Robert La Salles ships. Josh Gates tackles an enduring maritime mystery, the first ship to be lost in the Great Lakes, the Griffon. [notes 4][pageneeded] There was some disagreement between La Salle and the ship's pilot, and La Salle and Tonti went ahead on foot to Niagara. Usually depicted as half lion and half eagle, this ancient beast is more than the sum of its parts. "It's a mystery ship that got in our way," Dykstra said, "and now, we're going for the gold.". Those left behind proceeded with needed building projects. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 'It is just a matter of time before we achieve our goal. She has won multiple awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association for her reporting at a weekly newspaper near Seattle. Heres the backstory as Libert tells it: LaSalle built the Griffon as his flagship upriver from Niagara Falls, probably on what is now the Canadian side of the Niagara River. Do not reproduce without permission. That is simply not true.. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. "That was kind of telling to us that the ship probably weathered a storm; otherwise, there would probably be a rudder on it.". French historical documents and shipbuilding techniques, colonial-era maps, contemporary reports, what he says is a bowsprit retrieved from the wreckage, carbon-4 dating and underwater photographs of submerged parts of a vessel. Charlevoix explorer says he's found the 'Holy Grail' of Great Lakes The divers who discovered the wreck believe it to be the Griffin, an exploration ship laden with furs, cannon, muskets and shipyard supplies that went down in a storm in 1679 in Lake Michigan, on . Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Its fate has been a puzzlement for maritime historians for more than three and a half centuries. There the crew ignored a warning from local Native Americans not to sail into the lake from the safe harbor at Washington Island because of high wind danger from a massive storm. Carbon dating of the bowsprit places suggests an age range within a year of the sinking. It dragged anchor and ran aground near Thirty Mile Point on Lake Ontario, where it broke apart. He says that the ship must have been caught in a four-day storm, where the ship part found farther away would have broken off due to a powerful storm. 17th Century Shipwreck of Long-Lost Le Griffon Discovered at - IBT Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Now after more than 40 years of searching, Charlevoix diver Steve Libert says hes 99.99% sure he found the answer, and he tells how in a new book. Inside Prince Harry's finances from when he met Meghan Markle to landing 100M with Netflix and book Spare Royally hard work! Using sonar, two treasure hunters found the remains of a shipwreck in Lake Michigan. The male wirehaired pointer weighs around 50-70 lb, and the females are around 35-50 lb. Its exact size and construction isn't known, but it was armed with seven cannons and at the time was the largest sailing vessel on the Great Lakes. It wanted to sail across Lake Erie, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan through waters only canoes had previously explored. Forsberg said several of the bolts. For Mr Libert, it's the realisation of a childhood dream, sparked by a history teacher who told him about the ship. The ship was righted and brought back to the port in Milwaukee and returned to service. Copyright 2023, Michigan State University. [18] Steve and Kathie Libert have since published a book, Le Griffon and the Huron Islands - 1679: Our Story of Exploration and Discovery (Mission Point Press, 2021). The White Whale for Great Lakes Shipwreck Hunters La Salle never saw Le Griffon again. They made their way around Long Point, Ontario, constantly sounding as they went through the first moonless, fog-laden night to the sound of breaking waves and guided only by La Salle's knowledge of Galine's crude, 10-year-old chart. Griffin Mythology | What is a Griffin? - Video & Lesson Transcript On 6 December, they landed safely on the east bank of the river at about where Lewiston, New York is today. Keen to get away from the neighbours? It was the first big ship to sail the Great Lakes. Marine researcher, shipwreck historian says Manitoulin has solid claim But Dykstra and Monroe said they'll wait until they hear the final word. "Le Griffon" (The Griffin) She says American marine archaeologists concluded that what Libert claims is the bowsprit was beyond a doubt part of a Native American fishing trap. Or the Jesuits had something to do with the disappearance. The bowsprit is seen here sticking out of the bed of Lake Michigan, The Liberts are prevented by the State of Michigan from conducting an in-depth excavation of the wreck site, Mr Libert said: 'It is just a matter of time before we achieve our goal. Wirehaired pointing griffons are famously known as a 'supreme gundog.'. Shipwreck Facts for Kids - Kiddle While diving in Lake Michigan, two men stumbled upon a shipwreck they think is a 1676 French ship named 'Le Griffon,' or The Griffin. "[6] H. W. Beckwith says that in September 1678, La Salle "already had three small vessels on Lake Ontario, which he had made use of in a coasting trade with the Indians. ", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Le_Griffon&oldid=1121719205, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2018, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2020, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from January 2015, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from August 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Disappeared on the return trip of her maiden voyage in 1679, This page was last edited on 13 November 2022, at 19:58. What's Happening in Northern Michigan: Oryana Cooking Class, Le Griffon Laura is the archaeology/history and Life's Little Mysteries editor at Live Science. The Griffin - or Le Griffon - was a sailing ship built on the Niagara River in the 1670s French explorer Robert de La Salle hoped to use it to find the Northwest Passage to China and Japan It. The wind did slightly decrease but they drifted slowly all night, unable to find anchorage or shelter. Read Also:Titanic Artifacts Found, New Discovery Mission "Like Opening a Treasure Box". We have corrected the story and replaced it with video and pictures that belong to FOX 17 News and Kevin Dykstra. University Hospitals receives $10 million donation from Ahuja family to support community health center, reach underserved populations, Rousing The Choir of Man makes it a memorable reopening night at Playhouse Square, RTA receives no workable proposals for new railcars, will start search over, Paddleboards and kayaks suddenly in high demand amid supply chain shortage, Cleveland resident accused of starting fire at REBol during downtown riots May 30. They come in contact with the important newsmakers of the day, from the Supreme Court justices and the governor to members of the Legislature and the people who run the state government departments, to lobbyists and public-interest organizations. also was the first ship to sail the Great Lakes. They moored in quiet water off Squaw Island three miles from Lake Erie waiting for favorable northeast winds. However, 36 years later in 1911, the Rosabelle was found again overturned and floating with no sign of any . Somewhere near present-day Toronto they were frozen in and had to chop their way out of the ice. Shipwrecks - HISTORY by | Jun 6, 2022 | ephesus elementary school principal | kristen modafferi kristin smart | Jun 6, 2022 | ephesus elementary school principal | kristen modafferi kristin smart Their inefficiency at beating to windward made them impractical as sailing vessels, and they were not very safe in open water. We have been on the hunt for over 40 years systematically ferreting out the locations of this widely scattered wreck, he says, referring to his wife, Kathie, and himself. He noted that the wreck is near the western Michigan coast, not near Beaver Island, the area mentioned in La Salle's journal. Possibly a cannon, hopefully with the date stamped on it.'. Decking, permanent masts, and bearing a name are a few of the criteria one might use. Michigan Urban Legends to Tell Around the Campfire While frozen rivers made traveling easy, finding food was not. Using a state of the art two-man submersible, Josh dives in to find a ship so elusive it's known as "The Holy Grail of Shipwrecks." I was mesmerized by what he was saying. La Salle gave instructions for Le Griffon to off-load merchandise for him at Mackinac that would be picked up on the return trip. @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. La Salle was convinced that the pilot and crew treacherously sank her and made off with the goods. According to Mr and Mrs Libert, The Griffin is a good match for wreckage found in 2018 near Poverty Island, Lake Michigan. The Griffin (Le Griffon) was a sailing ship built byRen-Robert Cavelier in 1679 that mysteriously disappeared during its maiden voyage on the Great Lakes. They were driven northwesterly until the evening of 27 August when under a light southerly breeze they finally rounded Bois Blanc Island and anchored in the calm waters of the natural harbor at East Moran Bay off the settlement of Mission St. Ignace, where there was a settlement of Hurons, Ottawas, and a few Frenchmen. On 23 June 2014, Steve Libert told the Associated Press he believed he found Le Griffon in Lake Michigan after extensive searching, in a debris field near where a wood slab was found the previous year. 175 Year Old Great Lakes Atlas Schooner Located in Lake Ontario, Early 1800s Dagger-board Schooner Three Brothers Discovered in Lake Ontario, 1926 Steamship Nisbet Grammer Discovered in Lake Ontario, 158 year old Canadian Schooner Royal Albert Discovered in Lake Ontario, Mid-Nineteenth Century Canadian Schooner Ocean Wave Discovered by Shipwreck Explorers, Major Shipwreck Discovery in Lake Michigan. In the Great Lakes region, there may be no older and more intriguing historical mystery than the 1679 disappearance of the Griffon, one of French explorer Robert La Salle's ships. the griffon shipwreck facts Their mission was to begin selecting a site for the construction of Le Griffon and to erect necessary structures for shelter, storage, and defense. This was a "great bark" (Hennepin's words) of about 20 tons burden[8] although Tonti's journal says this was a 40-ton vessel. Long a subject of local lore and backed up with some convincing historical archival work and artifacts, including 16th century coins and several bodies, the Mississagi Straits wreck, which local Native oral tradition had named "the whiteman's ship," remains a strong candidate. There's no way," Henriksen said. The ship was constructed and launched on Cayuga Creek on the Niagara River as a seven-cannon, 45-ton barque. Maritime historians best guess, she says, is that it sank between Beaver Island and the southern coast of the Upper Peninsula, possibly within sight of shore between what are now Manistique and Naubinway. He also teaches public affairs reporting, international journalism, feature writing and media law and serves as director of the schools Capital News Service. They may be deliberate or accidental. Biden Student Loan Forgiveness Plan To Be Weighed By US Supreme Court, San Antonio Couple Allegedly Trained Their Dogs To Be Aggressive Before Air Force Veteran Gets Mauled to Death, Hungary Says Sweden Is Spreading Fake News Concerning Budapest Will Not Help Its NATO Bid, Vanderpump Rules' Tom Sandoval-Ariana Madix Split: Raquel Leviss Admits Doing 1 Thing Amid Affair Rumors. But other experts aren't convinced that the wreck is the Griffin. "There was no rudder on the boat," Dykstra said. Certainly not not without a lot more information but these are very compelling. "They lost the ship from sight," Baillod said, "and that's the last anybody has ever seen the Griffin.". Griffon (1679) - WI Shipwrecks Shipwreck explorers Jim Kennard, Roger Pawlowski and A group of maritime history enthusiasts have the announced the discovery of the schooners Peshtigo and St. Andrews, lost in 1878 in northern Lake Michigan. While there La Salle selected a site for building Le Griffon. Griffin (ship) - Wikipedia On 27 December 2014, two divers, Kevin Dykstra and Frederick Monroe, announced the discovery of a wreck that they believe is Le Griffon, based on the bowstem, which to some resembles an ornamental griffin. It vanished while loaded with furs and other trade goods gathered in Lake Michigan after the captain ordered it return towards Niagara. "If you take the picture of the carving of the griffon and overlay it on what these gentleman have, it's very compelling," Porter said.