The Canadian steamer NORMAN sank on May 30, 1895, after colliding with the steamer JACK on Lake Huron, about seven miles off Middle Island, in a dense fog. The NORMAN was a steel propeller owned by Capt. George P. McKay of Cleveland, measuring 30,304 tons gross and built in Cleveland in 1890. It was valued at $200,000 and insured for about $175,000.
During the collision, the NORMAN was struck full amidships by the JACK and sank within two minutes. Three crew members drowned in the accident, and their names were Mrs. Reynolds, the wife of the steward from Bay City, Nels Gerstene, the watchman, and Toney, a deck-hand who had shipped at Ashtabula.
The JACK, which was involved in the collision, was a new vessel and the same one that had damaged the locks of the Welland Canal three weeks before the incident. The JACK was carrying a cargo of lumber, which kept it afloat after the collision.
The NORMAN was reported to have sunk in about 300 feet of water, while the JACK, though damaged, remained afloat. The wreck of the NORMAN was later located with a diving-bell operation in August 1896, and an expedition was planned in 1897 to recover the wreck using a diving box.
The NORMAN was one of several vessels lost during the 1895 navigation season, and it was listed among the total losses, along with other vessels that had been lost beyond recovery in accidents during that year. The wreck was located near Middle Island and Presque Isle in Lake Huron, an area known for several marine disasters and wrecks caused by collisions.
