Rick Lagina and the team set out on a highly anticipated dive operation to find evidence of a shipwreck, in this clip from Season 9, "The Hedden Truth."Tuesd. By some accounts the ship was discovered by Union forces and sunk near Poverty Island, while others say it was dashed upon the rocks while attempting to make a misguided night run, and yet another version says they were attacked by French pirates. Summer Island in Lake Michigan, but never reached its destination. If you need a hand, let me know. Scientists stunned at 'perfect' Ice Age discovery: 'Could have died Mary Rose breakthrough: Ship was 'six minutes from being saved', Archaeology: Shipwreck so well preserved you could walk down steps, 'Ship swallower' off British coast has claimed '50,000 lives', Bermuda Triangle bombshell as probe uncovered 80-year-old shipwreck. Feltner believes that the legend of the treasure is a good story, but holds no truth: Records of shipwrecks on the great lakes in the year 1863 are extremely good. The content is about the subject and little else. The Our World Underwater Award 2017 I have no problem that you are using the underwater shots, but I would like a photo/video by Richard T. Bennett tag. The plausibletheory is that during the Civil War, a shipment of gold from NapoleonBonapartewas being transported thru the great lakes down the Mississippi to fund the Confederate army. Many theories and speculations arose and while the date is often wrong (some sources state that the event . Its like being the first man to climb a mountain. Mr and Mrs Libert claim The Griffin matches wreckage found in 2018 near Poverty Island in Lake Michigan. We're just hoping and praying, if we could find one of those in the sand somewhere, that would prove everything," she said. Dear Richard, Ive also have read, years ago, in newspapers about the five sunken treasure chests linked together in bottom of Lake Michigan. A fourth-order Fresnel lens was used in the lantern room to produce a flashing red light at a focal plane of seventy-eight feet above the lake. I would love to be there when this particular treasure is found and recovered. Often, we likely went over the same spot or at least part of the same spot. What say you, Mate. The wreck believed to be the Griffin was found near Poverty Island on Lake Michigan. In 1929, a ship passing nearby allegedly snagged something deep down in the water, which when dredged up proved to be the legendary string of chests. Marty Lagina and Matty Blake return to the eerie waters surrounding Poverty Island in Lake Michigan to search for a lost Civil War treasure worth an estimated $400-million. An estimated 500 to 1,000 vessels fell victim to its whims, mostly in the 18th and 19th Centuries. Although a lighthouse was eventually built on Poverty Island and put into operation in 1885, for a long time ships were forced to travel during the days and brave treacherous rocks and shoals. According to Richard Bennett, a young boy named Karly Jesson, whose father was the local lighthouse keeper, was said to have watched the salvage operation for three consecutive summers: One day, he was sitting on the rocks watching this operation, and there was a lot of rejoicing, revelryobviously a real congratulatory party that was going on, on the ship.. There is a reason why this book is accruate if not so well definded. I remember when we were working on raising the Alvin Clark from Green Bay Wisc.someone took our buoy off. But alas, lifes priorities and age dissolves their dream. Again, no Griffin. A 2272-ton cargo ship that wrecked off Namibia's . I really hope you find them. OFF POVERTY ISLAND, Mich. Ever since the Griffin, a 40-foot-long ship built by the French explorer Ren-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, in his quest to find the mouth of the Mississippi . Poverty Island is a small island in the U.S. state of Michigan. Mr Libert explained the discovery had been long in the making, sparked by a history teacher when he was still at school. He has identified a debris scatter in 40-60 feet of water, adjacent to the shore of Poverty Island, which includes planks, a cable, barrels, and several areas of magnetic declination. "I've supported the historical part of it," including the accumulation and study of an entire wall of books about French exploration of North America, 17th-century shipbuilding techniques, and just about everything ever written from 1769 on about the Griffon. It's a win-win. The original story from the 1980s tells of a bartender from Washington Island that dove many times also looking for the five chests. But off Poverty Island, a dot of land in northern Lake Michigan near Escanaba, French-Canadian brigands attacked the treasure ship and sank it, the legend says. 1,517 people lost their lives. The heartless tides of Lake Michigan had once again reclaimed the Poverty Island treasure. As he walked the room, he said, 'Who knows? All Rights Reserved. The action steadily rises, but Bodeen . Also available on YouTube with Dennis Farina. DON'T MISS:Mountain range disappeared into Yellowstone supervolcano magma chamber[INSIGHT]Scientists stunned at 'perfect' Ice Age discovery: 'Could have died[REVEALED]Mary Rose breakthrough: Ship was 'six minutes from being saved'[QUOTES]. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. . Sanilac Shores also is the resting spot for the wreck of the Sport, a 57-foot steel-hulled tugboat that sank in a gale in December 1920. They allegedly reached out to none other than the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte III to request funds. He had dreams of becoming a basketball star on the very street he just visited. The area is very treacherous. There have been numerous quote-unquote discoveries of the Griffon that were neverproven," Adkins said. There are many new facts that appear to support the legend. There are several theories of where the chests came from, one of them being, Jesse Strang the King of Beaver Island and the leader of a Mormoncolony on Beaver Island with the gold was collected from his followers. The big questions is has anyone else found it and recovered it and kept there mouth shut. More Controversy on the Roswell Affair: An Alien Accident? Case File: Poverty Island Treasure Suddenly, a storm descended on them, almost as if to deny them the treasure. In the early 1920s,a freighter ran aground on Poverty Island. It looked like a ship sitting upright on the lake bottom. Thanks for the offer, however I have never taken any money for our search for the Poverty Island Treasure search and after 50 years of being involved I dont think its in the future. In 1883, a retaining wall was built around . At the couples condo, they showed the Free Press their underwater metal detectors, a wall of research books, and a sculpture of a Griffon the French coat of arms symbol for which the ill-fated ship was named as they made plans for Steve to dive again this summer. Thats the legend. Is the treasure of Poverty Island real, or is it just myth and legend? Richard, are you still looking for the treasure? 15 metres (49 ft 3 in) deep, but has been ruled out as the Plymouth and is most likely the Erastus Corning. The Light was permanently deactivated and abandoned in 1995 and the old discarded lantern room laying on the ground was retrieved and used to restore the Sand Point Lighthouse ( you can see my post HERE). However, there were those that didnt believe it, and got off their behinds and proved it was curved. In Gytheio, you can find 'Dimitrios', a 67-meter-long ship, sunk and rusty, quite near the shore, easy to explore up close and swim nearby. As long as I have those things working for me, Ill probably continue to do it.. That s interesting. Description: Poverty Island is an island in Lake Michigan between St. Martin Island and Summer Island just south of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. However, Richard believes that there would be no record because the treasure was brought during a clandestine operation. From then on, Steve's obsession grew. Until that day, Lake Michigan will keep its grip on the five wooden treasure chests hidden far beneath its surface. Le Griffon and the Huron Islands 1679: Our Story of Exploration and Discovery was written by Mr and Mrs Libert and published by Mission Point Press in 2021. (1,509 ft 2 in) off Poverty Island, Michigan on 21 April 1984. Be very careful of rock ledges and shoals on the south and east entrance of Jackson Harbor; stay between the red and green markers. I wish you good luck in your endeavor. I grew up two blocks away from you, I think I may have been your paperboy in the late sixties. Ferries to Zakynthos run 7 times per day between 5:30am and 10:30pm and cost . Its deep. Steve and Kathie Libert, a husband and wife team, determined that a wreck found in 2018 near the Poverty Island in Lake Michigan, was likely that of the mysterious Griffin. Thanks for the good wishes. Unless it can be shown that someone built a ship on the Upper Great Lakes before 1790 that includes all these characteristics-then this wreck is La Salle's "Griffon." This year, the Discovery Channel aired an episode of their series, 'Expedition Unknown,' filmed in part at the Mississagi site of the wreck off Manitoulin Island. if you think about it gold and silver were not illegal in the 1860's so why throw them overboard ? A few years later, Karl Jesson, the son of the Poverty Island lighthouse keeper, reported watching a salvage crew that seemed to make an exciting discovery in Lake Michigan just before their ship was sunk by a storm. La Salle named the shipLe Griffon, after the mythical creature whose body of a lion has the head and wings of an eagle. Their hope is to prove that this is the ship that went missing for 343 years. The team makes an astonishing discovery in the investigation of not just one but two shipwrecks. with Mr Bennett. I have read the above comments and hope to provide you a feature movie someday. Archaeology: Discovery of 'grand old' Pearl Harbour ship, Archaeologists stunned at shipwreck 'frozen in time', Nostradamus makes chilling 2022 'prediction' for EU collapse, Mountain range disappeared into Yellowstone supervolcano magma chamber. Contact Bill Laitner: blaitner@freepress.com, Diving couple say they've found Great Lakes' oldest shipwreck, but doubters abound. There were considerable changes to the story line for the sake of TV time constraints. Fee will invest in luck. ON LAKE MICHIGAN NEAR POVERTY ISLAND, Mich. - In a remote part of northern Lake Michigan, divers have started looking at an underwater pit, hoping to find the resting place of the Griffin, a . Bennett has devised an ingenious underwater sled to comb the murky . in shallow water near Poverty Island and Summer Island. What about that guy from escanba, that looked for it, and then retired in Florida. Unfortunately for the crew, the anchor chain snapped to send it all tumbling back down into the murk, after which it evaded being found again. Charlevoix diver Steve Libert says he's 99.99% sure he has found the wreckage of a French ship that sank in 1679 in Lake Michigan. It is near tiny Poverty Island in northwestern Lake Michigan and about 50 feet below the water's surface. The story says several chests of gold, worth an approximate $400 million, were brought overland through Canada and loaded onto a schooner on Lake Michigan. Did they, the people from "Unsolved Mysteries," believe it to be true? The ship was assessed . As the book states, "In 1678, La Salle led the first party of Europeans to Niagara Falls"; and that Hennepin "was the first to publicize the grandeur of the falls in his 1679 manuscript, 'A New Discovery of a Vast Country in America.' The story was convincing enough that several treasure hunters had tried and failed to find the reputed five or more chests of gold supposedly located somewhere on the islands coastline. Most of what you may read in the near future about this subject will be gleamed from a new book that has just been printed. The legend of Poverty Island gold had long been told among those who followed maritime stories and enjoyedtales about lost treasure. Pounded to pieces, the ship eventually sank. Theyve vowed to take nothing atthe dive site that is, nothing butunderwater photos and video. It is available here. People are fascinated by shipwrecks and the Great Lakes," Stozicki said. If 85 th st went though, we wouldnt t have had a back yard. Similarly, in 2014, treasure hunters Kevin Dykstra and Frederick J. Monroe claimed the discovery of the wreck near Frankfort, Michigan. In order to aid his driven search, he has enlisted the best equipment he can get his hands on, including a fiberglass homemade mini-sub to comb the gloomy depths at the bottom. It was late August in 1994 when the crew of "Unsolved Mysteries" arrived, and the county was ready for them. Today, Richard Bennett feels confident that he will succeed where others have failed. Date: 1863 First, the mystery, which centers on Poverty Island, a speck of rocky land off the eastern coast of Wisconsin in the constantly frigid waters of Lake Michigan. This might seem like wishful thinking until you realize that in that era France coveted the steady cotton crop they received from the South, something it was thought would be disrupted with a Union victory. It is near tiny Poverty Island in northwestern Lake Michigan and about 50 feet below the water's surface. Spending years building long running, fast boats he could outrun the storm in, once getting to the island from Traverse City area. Since its disappearance, it has been widely considered the Holy Grail for Great Lakes shipwreck hunters. It may be difficult to identify the wreckage with 100% certainty, but park service officials said the Savannah is a top contender among Fire Island's known shipwrecks. Tantalizing stories like these have stoked the imagination of treasure hunters from all over the world, and one of the most well-known of these is a man named Richard Bennett. Decades after the 1933 shipwreck and Behrens's death in 1959, Steven Libert, president of Fairport, learned of the legend of the lost gold. www.boxingaddictions.net > Blog > Uncategorized > poverty island shipwreck. In most versions of the tale, the chests, usually said to be five of them, were chained together, making it likely that if one is to find one, they will find all of them. Now that he believes he has found the clue to the location of the fabled Poverty Island treasure - five chests of French gold reputedly lost when pirates sank the vessel carrying the cargo in the 1860s - Libert finds himself in court attempting to prove he is the rightful owner of another shipwreck he says holds the key to the treasure's . While this sounds like just an old sailor's legend, there are some historical accounts that somewhat give the story credence. "They weren't locked down. 2023 Copyright. Part II If there' s treasure keeping cool among the rocks, boulders, and shipwrecks that litter the underwater mud around Poverty Island, it has led a charmed or perhaps cursedlife. "Adventures on Forty-one Islands: Island No. The only way to really find this treasure is to have human beings on the sled visually looking at the bottom. Poverty Island. "Especially going back that far, it's really hard to prove things. We had dived the Clark a hundred time and still lost it for a while. Some is better than none, and you sleep well at night. Cleanup the TREASURE Hunter's House in The Forest. It's the oldest mystery on the Great Lakes: Whatever happened to the Griffon? Around 300 passengers responded by climbing on to the deck, with large waves washing some out to sea. In 1863 she grounded on Middle Island, near Thunder Bay, MI and was declared a total loss, but later recovered. The beleaguered South, strapped for capital, put out a desperate call for relief to France. Local talent was used as the story was played out. On November 2, 1933, Behrens filed a "Record of Casualties to Vessel." Rum Runner, You are correct about many people looking for the Treasure of Poverty Island. Various seasons available now on Hulu. Le Griffon. Over the decades, others have ventured into the waters and searched for the sunken treasure. [1] The island is within Delta County in Lake Michigan and is home to the Poverty Island Light Station, an abandoned lighthouse which is in disrepair. But, that reasoning is far beyond this writting. The wreck was found near Poverty Island on Lake . Mr Libert will continue to search the bed of Lake Michigan using non-intrusive techniques, with the ultimate aim of finding a cannon with the date stamped on it. If they survive 100 years, they probably have an 80, 85% chance of being true. 2020 MYSTERIES & HISTORIES. ", [ Want more news like this? Now imagine a few boxes 2X2X3 feet or there about in 60 to 80 feet of water in a square mile area. I think it was cases of rifles, now they would be contraband. "I'm an independent historian, and I thought our patrons would be interested," said Stozicki, who is president of the Rochester-Avon Historical Society.