Ghost ships on Lake Michigan

Ally · 10-21-2007, 05:58 AM

Quote:

Maritime vernacular includes 'ghost ship'

Many terms in maritime vernacular represent the mysteries of the great waterways. When a sailboat is "ghosting," for example, it's making headway across the water while there's no apparent wind.

And a "ghost ship," by basic definition, is a vessel that sinks until it's completely underwater -- or a vessel that disappears without a trace.

Allan LeClair, founder of Chicago's Heritage Boat Club, defines a ghost ship as a vessel that is trapped within a time frame and occasionally reappears in order to re-establish its own legend. Such ships, he says, are ones that somewhere in maritime history have sunk or have failed to arrive at their scheduled port.

Also known as "phantom ships," these vessels may be sighted on the waters by excursioners or crew on a tangible vessel. These mysterious ships may be seen clearly -- even the vessel's name on the side -- and may disappear back into the fog, not to reappear for years.

http://www.daily-journal.com/archive....php?id=406009

MgicTwnger · 10-21-2007, 12:35 PM

The Ghost Ships Festival is a popular event held in Milwaukee each winter:

" Ghost Ships Festival is a conference devoted to Great Lakes Scuba Diving and Maritime History. Exhibits, workshops, and presentations cover just about every aspect of maritime history and Great Lakes scuba diving. You can listen to and interact with leading dive industry professionals, extreme explorers, maritime historians, and Great Lakes authors! Try your luck at the Ghost Ships raffle. Last year we gave away over $8,000 in raffle prizes!

The Ghost Ships Festival is hosted by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Research Foundation (GLSRF) . We are a Wisconsin non profit (501 (C)(3)) corporation organized for the purpose of furthering public awareness of our Great Lakes marine heritage through education and research, and promoting conservation, study and responsible enjoyment of historic Great Lakes shipwrecks by divers and non divers alike."

For more info:
http://www.ghost-ships.org/ghostships/default.asp