Shipwreck Report: Schooner Wave (1833–1844)

Identification & Site Information

• Vessel Name: Wave
• Other Names: None
• Official Number: None (Pre-dates official U.S. vessel registration)
• Vessel Type: Two-masted wooden Schooner
• Built: 1833, by Samuel Southerland, Swan Creek, Michigan
• Home Port: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Owner: Likely involved in lumber transport along the Great Lakes
• Master at Time of Loss: Captain Nichols
• Specifications  Length: 54 feet (16.5 metres) Beam: 18 feet (5.5 metres) Depth: 6 feet (1.8 metres)
• Tonnage: 44 tons

Operational History

The Wave was a small two-masted Schooner built in 1833 for cargo transport on the Great Lakes. She was likely used for:

• Lumber transport, hauling timber from Michigan forests to markets in Illinois and Wisconsin.
• General trade, moving grain, goods, and supplies between small lakefront towns and larger cities like Chicago, Milwaukee, and Detroit.
• Passenger transport, as schooners in this era often carried small groups of settlers, traders, or fur company employees.

Regular Trade Routes

Operated between Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois ports. She as heading to Grand River (near present-day Grand Haven, Michigan) with lumber at the time of her loss.

Final Voyage and Loss

• Date of Loss: March 17, 1844
• Location: 10 miles SSW of the mouth of the Kalamazoo River (modern-day Saugatuck, Michigan), Lake Michigan
• Cause: Driven ashore by a storm
• Cargo at Loss: “Light” (possibly carrying a small lumber load)
• Loss of Life: 5 confirmed, but some reports claim up to 13 fatalities

Incident Details

The Wave was bound for Grand River with a cargo of lumber when she was caught in a powerful gale. The storm drove her ashore, where she broke apart and was declared a Total Loss. Some sources suggest that as many as 13 crew and passengers perished, though the best reports list 5 fatalities. The famous Schooner Fur Trader later salvaged equipment from the wreck and transported it to Chicago. Just two weeks prior, the Wave had run aground near Racine, Wisconsin, but was successfully refloated—only to be lost on this subsequent voyage.

Legacy and Significance

An Early Great Lakes Trading Vessel  Built in 1833, the Wave was part of the earliest generation of commercial schooners to operate on the Great Lakes. Her loss demonstrates the risks faced by these early traders, who navigated poorly mapped waters with little protection from storms.

One of the Earliest Recorded Shipwrecks Near Saugatuck The Wave’s wreck is one of the oldest known losses along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan.  The Kalamazoo River area (near modern-day Saugatuck) became a notorious shipwreck zone, with dozens of vessels lost there in later decades.

Connection to the Fur Trade The Schooner Fur Trader, which salvaged parts of the Wave, was itself a well-known vessel in early Great Lakes commerce. This event highlights the resourcefulness of early mariners, who frequently recovered valuable ship fittings and cargo from wrecks.

Wreck Site and Potential Remains

• Location: Near Saugatuck, Michigan, approximately 10 miles SSW of the Kalamazoo River mouth.
• Current Condition:  The Wave was a wooden Schooner, meaning most of her structure has likely disintegrated over time. Some ballast stones, fastenings, or scattered remains could still exist on the lakebed near the shoreline.
• Potential for Discovery: No documented dives or recoveries have been reported.
• Shoreline erosion or shifting sandbars may have covered or exposed parts of the wreck over time.

Further Research and Resources

• Michigan Shipwreck Research Association  https://www.michiganshipwrecks.org Focuses on shipwreck documentation and research in Lake Michigan.
• Maritime History of the Great Lakes http://www.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca Contains records on early schooners, trade routes, and shipwrecks.
• Great Lakes Shipwreck Preservation Society Works to document and preserve historical shipwreck sites.
• Michigan Maritime Museum (South Haven, MI) https://www.michiganmaritimemuseum.org Has exhibits on early Great Lakes schooners and shipwrecks.

Conclusion

The Wave (1833–1844) was a small but important Schooner in the early Great Lakes lumber and trade economy. She was lost in a March 1844 storm off modern-day Saugatuck, Michigan, with five to thirteen casualties. While her wreck has never been formally discovered, her loss remains one of the earliest recorded maritime disasters in Lake Michigan history.