The Legend of the Black Knight Part II

"In reality, treasure hunters have probably made more money by enticing investors than by finding treasure." George F. Bass, The Ethics of Shipwreck Archaeology. The Ecstasy of Gold The following blog post will continue this past year's focus on more pseudoarchaeological claims. This post is a sequel to the Legend of the Black Knight Part …

A Close Encounter with the Cotopaxi

" When the fate of a ship is established or even assumed, the mystery ceases." Charles Berlitz, The Bermuda Triangle. The Genesis of Fake News To continue the trend of tackling more pseudoarchaeological subjects, this blog post is going to be taking a critical look at one of the most hallowed and longstanding of pseudoarchaeological …

Lightship Milwaukee: The Final Chapter

An Unexpected Journey The search for the final resting place of the former Lightship Milwaukee LV-95 (WAL-519) was an unexpected one and has been detailed extensively on this blog. I was unsatisfied with the answer that sources gave: "donated, disposition unknown." I admit my bias, I was hoping in earnest that the ship would still …

Requiem for the William H. Donner

The Last Sail of the William H. Donner On 17 December 2020, the 106-year-old Great Lakes freighter William H. Donner departed its homeport of Marinette, Wisconsin for the first time in 21 years. During its 28 years in Marinette and Menominee, the vessel had become a fixture on the Menominee River. The William H. Donner …

Museum Ships: The President

"OK, it's just a giant jigsaw puzzle now." Jeremy Patterson, Decatur Herald & Review 13 April 2009 The President of the Mississippi In a way, the story of the SS President related in the following blog post is a sequel to the fourth vessel in the Museum Ships Series, the SS Admiral. Though chronologically speaking, …