GRAND MARAIS Mich. – One of Lake Superior’s oldest shipwrecks, the the square-mast Nucleus, which sank in an 1869 storm, has been discovered 600 feet deep off Vermilion Point on the Upper Peninsula. This is 90 miles west of Sault Ste. Marie.  A team from the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society found the wreckage two years ago but only recently identified it positively. The Nucleus, a 144-foot vessel, was carrying ore from Minnesota’s Iron Range. The crew made it to life boats as the ship took on water and stank. A passing ship failed to spot the lifeboat, although a second ship did. No lives were lost.

Nucleus. This drawings is from an earlier encounter in which the ship rammed and sank a side-wheeler in Lake Huron. Images: Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society

Eerie anchor. Photos from 600 feet were taken by a remotely operated vehicle.