Legacy Notes & Full Historical Record

This section preserves the original unedited Shotline content for this wreck so that no historical detail is lost as we transition to the new logbook format.

Wooden Schooner – Lake Michigan (south of Manistique, Michigan)

Shotline Diving Wreck Profile

• Vessel Name: R. Kanters (built as City of Woodstock, Official No. 125223) (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files)
• Type at Loss: Two‑masted wooden schooner, single deck, 112–113 ft long × 25–26 ft beam × ~8 ft depth; 165 GRT / 156 NRT (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files)
• Built: 1873 by Larson & Christianson, Manitowoc, Wisconsin (Michigan Shipwrecks)
• Final Route: Bound from Buffalo (or Holland/Grand Haven regional trade) when lost near Manistique, Michigan
• Date of Loss: 7 September 1903 during a gale (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files, Wikipedia)
• Location: Stranded approximately 7 miles south of Manistique on Lake Michigan’s rocky shore (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files)
• Cargo: Not documented (was likely in ballast or light, as no cargo listed) (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files, Michigan Shipwrecks)
• Casualties: None reported; crew walked to Manistique for assistance (Michigan Shipwrecks)

Vessel Type Description

R. Kanters was a standard wooden two‑masted schooner, originally named City of Woodstock, serving Great Lakes coastal trade. At ~112 ft length and two sails, she carried various bulk cargoes and had a well‑balanced hull for mixed lake conditions (Michigan Shipwrecks, Great Lakes Shipwreck Files).

Description of Incident

During a gale on 7 September 1903, R. Kanters was blown ashore south of Manistique. Being aged and exposed on a rocky bottom, she was stranded and abandoned in situ, stripping occurring as the vessel degraded over days. No salvage effort was made; she broke up naturally on site. (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files)

History & Operational Chronology

• Built in 1873 at Manitowoc, Wisconsin as City of Woodstock, later renamed R. Kanters in 1882 after Captain Van Ry’s silent partner Rokus Kanters of Holland, MI (Michigan Shipwrecks).
• Operated out of Holland and Grand Haven, hauling grain and general cargo across the Great Lakes.
• In 1896, struck rocks off Gravel Island (near Door Peninsula, WI), was declared a total loss, yet later refloated, refurbished, and returned to service by Capt. Blake (Michigan Shipwrecks).
• In 1901, Capt. Blake and a crew member sailed her over 500 miles under poor weather after a crew strike—evidence of the vessel’s durability and high‑risk trade operations (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files).
• Final loss occurred 7 September 1903, near Manistique, Michigan, as noted above.

Final Disposition

R. Kanters was abandoned after storm‑driven stranding. Given exposure to wave action, she broke up on the rocks, with hull and structure fragmenting over subsequent days. No formal salvage or registry recovery was undertaken.

Located By & Survey Status

• In April 2020, a section of the wreck (including keelson, deadwood, bolt remnants) re‑emerged from shifting sands near Manistique, positively identified as R. Kanters via matching size, location, and local historical records (Michigan Shipwrecks, Facebook, WZZM 13 News).
• Measurements suggest the stern deadwood remains, allowing approximate reconstruction of original length (~112 ft) and rudder height (~9 ft) (Michigan Shipwrecks).
• No formal archaeological site plan published yet; the wreck site is covered or exposed intermittently based on lake level and sand movement.

Notices to Mariners & Advisories

• None noted. No historical Notices to Mariners or hazard advisories are recorded for R. Kanters. The site is relatively remote and was not formally marked.

Research Gaps & Recommendations

• Crew list, master’s name (likely Capt. Peter Blake), and detailed incident reports (newspapers at Manistique, Holland) could yield more information.
• Cargo manifests, registry filings, insurance records from late 1903 may clarify whether she carried freight or was in ballast.
• Archival coverage maps or side‑scan data confirming wreck’s orientation and remaining sections would aid dive documentation.

Resources & References

• Great Lakes Shipwreck Files – WordPress “K‑Section”, entry for R. Kanters: comprehensive registry data, loss details, incident chronology, and master/owner listed ― Capt. Peter Blake, Tremaine & Weeks, Detroit ― built/manitowoc origin, structural specs, cargo note, loss detail near Manistique (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files).
• Michigan Shipwreck Research Association (MSRA) page: identification of re‑exposed wreck section, linking physical remains to the historic R. Kanters loss record; detailed hull fragment observations, rudder/deadwood dimensions, correlation to newspaper accounts and vessel profile (Michigan Shipwrecks).
• Smithsonian / MLive article summarizing discovery and identification of the wreck in 2020, reaffirming loss location and date; contextualized in broader Great Lakes wreck rediscovery trends (Smithsonian Magazine).

Keywords & Glossary

Great Lakes schooner, City of Woodstock, storm wrecking, Manistique strand, wooden hull, tremaine & weeks, Peter Blake, abandoned wreck, MSRA discovery, 1903 gale loss.

Summary

Built in 1873, the R. Kanters was a well‑traveled wooden schooner operating across Lake Michigan. After decades in trade and surviving past incidents (notably 1896 grounding), she succumbed to a storm‑driven stranding on 7 September 1903, approximately seven miles south of Manistique, Michigan. The crew survived with no casualties, and the vessel was left to break apart. A re‑emergence of structural remains in 2020 confirmed the wreck’s identity via historical records and MSRA documentation. The R. Kanters serves as a representative example of aging schooners that met their end along the treacherous northern Lake Michigan shoreline.

r-kanters-us-125223-city-of-woodstock 1903-09-07 12:42:00