Identification & Site Information

• Name: Bon Voyage

• Type: Wooden Propeller Vessel

• Date Built: 1891

• Builder: Rogers & Brittain

• Location of Build: Saugatuck, Michigan

• Dimensions:

• Length: 153 feet (46.6 m)

• Beam: 30 feet (9.1 m)

• Depth: 17 feet (5.2 m)

• Tonnage:

• Gross: 500 tons

• Net: 361 tons

• Final Location: Near the south entrance to the Portage Ship Canal, Lake Superior

• Date of Wreck: May 10, 1901

Vessel Type Description

The Bon Voyage was a wooden propeller-driven vessel designed for passenger and freight transport. Its robust construction and relatively large capacity reflected the demands of 19th-century commerce and travel on the Great Lakes.

History

The Bon Voyage was launched in 1891 by the Rogers & Brittain shipyard in Saugatuck, Michigan. Over the next decade, it became a familiar sight on the Great Lakes, operated by Singer’s White Line Transit Co. of Duluth. Its role involved carrying passengers and general freight, crucial for regional transportation at the time.

On May 10, 1901, the vessel’s service ended in tragedy. While traveling near the south entrance to the Portage Ship Canal on Lake Superior, a fire broke out around the smokestack. The flames spread rapidly, consuming the wooden structure of the vessel. Despite the crew’s efforts to beach the vessel and evacuate passengers, five lives were lost, including four members of the Altman family. The remaining passengers and crew managed to escape.

An inquiry attributed the disaster to negligence on the part of the vessel’s owners. Investigators highlighted inadequate safety equipment and poor crew training as significant contributing factors to the loss.

Final Disposition

The Bon Voyage was beached on a bar approximately 1,000 feet from shore, where it burned to a Total Loss. During the summer following the disaster, the vessel’s machinery and engine were stolen, though the perpetrators were eventually caught and prosecuted.

The wreckage was subsequently raised, and much of the vessel’s machinery, including the engine, was recovered. The engine found a second life powering another vessel, the Belle P. Cross.

Current Condition & Accessibility

The Bon Voyage no longer exists as an intact wreck, having been raised and salvaged. Any remaining artifacts or remnants near the original wreck site may be buried or inaccessible.

Resources & Links

• Garon

• Great Lakes Ships

• Big Think

• Bowling Green State University’s Great Lakes Vessels Database

• David Swayze Shipwreck File

• Maritime History of the Great Lakes

Suggested Keywords

Bon Voyage, wooden propeller vessel, Saugatuck Michigan, Lake Superior, Portage Ship Canal, 1901 fire, maritime disaster, Great Lakes shipping history, Singer’s White Line Transit Co., Belle P. Cross.