Contact Bill Laitner: blaitner@freepress.com, Diving couple say they've found Great Lakes' oldest shipwreck, but doubters abound. Like all adventures in treasure hunting there is a lack of funding. . In most versions of the tale, the chests, usually said to be five of them, were chained together, making it likely that if one is to find one, they will find all of them. Today, Richard Bennett feels confident that he will succeed where others have failed. Poverty Island Treasure - Unsolved Mysteries Poverty Island is a small island in the U.S. state of Michigan. Asked about the couple's claims, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources was quick to dismiss them. According to the legend, the French emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte III, secretly dispatched a shipment of gold across the Atlantic to Canada. Steve and Kathie Libert, a husband and wife team, determined that a wreck found in 2018 near the Poverty Island in Lake Michigan, was likely that of the mysterious Griffin. Richard T. Bennett, Master Scuba Diver Trainer presents the legendary story The Sunken Treasure of Poverty Island, a treasure that has haunted diving treasure hunters since the first documented report in 1904. Feltner believes that the legend of the treasure is a good story, but holds no truth: Records of shipwrecks on the great lakes in the year 1863 are extremely good. Carbon dating of the bowsprit estimated an age range within a year of The Griffins sinking in 1679. Theyve vowed to take nothing atthe dive site that is, nothing butunderwater photos and video. and the expenses needed for this type of endeavor.l would welcome a discussion. Luck is as important as working capital. He mentioned this ship. 'The Poverty Island Treasure Brief' can be found at. Download our app for the latest ]. However, Richard believes that there would be no record because the treasure was brought during a clandestine operation. Aerial shots were taken by helicopter and the acting took place on Cana Island. Poverty Island: Tips and Information - trek.zone Poverty Island - Wikipedia Spending years building long running, fast boats he could outrun the storm in, once getting to the island from Traverse City area. How To Visit Shipwreck Beach (Navagio) In Zakynthos, Greece But how could $400 million in gold end up on the bottom of Lake Michigan? It is near tiny Poverty Island in northwestern Lake Michigan and about 50 feet below the water's surface. The Liberts arewell-known in northern Michigan for their decades-long campaign to find the Griffon, but this week's talk is Steve's first appearance in metro Detroit. Now imagine a few boxes 2X2X3 feet or there about in 60 to 80 feet of water in a square mile area. Even with modern search equipment it took wreck hunters many years to find the Captain Lawrence and she was a schooner length ship. The island is within Delta County in Lake Michigan and is home to the Poverty Island Light Station, an abandoned lighthouse which is in disrepair. The Griffin, Mr Libert believes, was caught in a four-day storm. Poverty Island Treasure | TreasureNet The Original Treasure Hunting READ MORE:Nostradamus makes chilling 2022 'prediction' for EU collapse. As he walked the room, he said, 'Who knows? Author By Posted on June 8, 2022 Categories elle lively mcbroom age 2021 how to check engine hours on suzuki outboard. Now, the program was on its way toDoor County. In order to aid his driven search, he has enlisted the best equipment he can get his hands on, including a fiberglass homemade mini-sub to comb the gloomy depths at the bottom. Maybe because of Povertys inherit dangerous location this may not be for you. Treasure Hunter Probes Murky Depths Of Lake Michigan With PM-Lost Years later, he was shipwrecked off the coast of Texas and killed in 1687 by mutinous soldiers, according to historians cited by the Liberts. In the storm, the salvage boat was lost. Le Griffon was the first full-sized European style sailing ship on the upper Great Lakes that was built and commanded by the French explorer Ren-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle in 1679. VIRTUAL MUSEUM Shipwrecks: A Deep Look Lost & Found Unsolved Mysteries Artifact Collection. According to the legend, Napoleon Bonaparte was desperate to assist the South during the Civil War. Any story that survives 100 years has to have some validity to it. It's the oldest mystery on the Great Lakes: Whatever happened to the Griffon? Thegroup's search team has discoveredseveral shipwrecks, including that of the 172-foot schooner-barge Atlanta, found just last yearand deemed "still beautiful after 130 years on the bottom of Lake Superior" by society Executive Director Bruce Lynn. It was explained that by using local talent, production costs could be lowered and the community had a part in the project. In 1929, a group of sailors were said to have snagged the five chests with their anchor. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Even better than the equipment is luck Mel Fisher had this and it made him very successful where others failed. The cargo of furs, with an estimated value of 640,000 in todays money, likely sank with her. Im a commercial fishermen and own many boats that could be very useful in the search. Ive always wanted to pull my sidescan around there a bit as it has phenomenal definition. Behrens and his crew of four escaped and took refuge on Poverty Island. Archaeologists have discovered a new communal grave tied to an infamous and bloody 1629 mutiny of Murder Island. 15 metres (49 ft 3 in) deep, but has been ruled out as the Plymouth and is most likely the Erastus Corning. At the Rochester Hills Public Library, which also serves the neighboring city of Rochester and Oakland Township, Community Relations Manager Tiffany Stozicki said she hoped that Steve Libert's talkwill pique interest not only in shipwrecksbut in the broader subjectsof what this region was like, and who lived here, a century and a half before Michigan became a state. The ship's name is sometimes converted to an English spelling "The Griffin" but in French, it's Le Griffon. FOR MORE DOOR COUNTY NEWS: Check out our homepage. The best part are the flow charts, five pages with arrows pointing to what may have happened next. We're just hoping and praying, if we could find one of those in the sand somewhere, that would prove everything," she said. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Many theories and speculations arose and while the date is often wrong (some sources state that the event . Nevertheless, Bennett is quite confident that he is very close to the treasure. Le Griffon: The Great Lakes' greatest mystery - Detroit Free Press www.boxingaddictions.net > Blog > Uncategorized > poverty island shipwreck. The Liberts' book, Le Griffon and the Huron Islands - 1679: Our Story of Exploration and Discovery, is . Fact; The chests were not hooked by the salvage crew that were searching in the 1930's no matter what you may have seen on NBC's Unsolved Mystries. Underwater Archaeologists May Have Discovered the Oldest Shipwreck in . imagine a case of whitworth rifles, ahhhh. If you need a hand, let me know. Location: near Poverty Island, . In the end, America learned about the legend of Poverty Island, yet nothing except the excitement of celebrity really changed. The treasure plummeted back to its watery grave. Whether the Liberts found the Griffonor merely stumbled on the watery wreckage of some unidentified old ship, their book and the saga of their search open a door to the fascinating earliest days of European exploration inthe Great Lakes, before the founding of Detroit in 1701. sure some funds would help with equipment. Where would we be if we didnt challenge the legends and the unknown? Only time will tell. As long as I have those things working for me, Ill probably continue to do it. . A coast guard boat carrying bodies arrives in port after the shipwreck. The area is very treacherous. However I believe it to be factual regardless of what the naysayers say. Be very careful of rock ledges and shoals on the south and east entrance of Jackson Harbor; stay between the red and green markers. Better to make it known and use the courts to reap a reward. Case File: Poverty Island Treasure What say you, Mate. Very interesting story. Dreamers are also doers, thats also how inventions are born. Poverty Island is a small island in the U.S. state of Michigan. The wreck believed to be the Griffin was found near Poverty Island on Lake Michigan. Summer Island in Lake Michigan, but never reached its destination. Salvager Fights State of Michigan Subscribe Today! An estimated 500 to 1,000 vessels fell victim to its whims, mostly in the 18th and 19th Centuries. But some believed that, while traveling inland to Chicago, the ship was attacked and sank. Dimitrios Shipwreck, Mani peninsula, Peloponnese. History: Richard Bennett, a professional diver and . Subscribe for new episodes announcements, latest news, featured cases, and more! In the 1930s, there was also the story of a Karl Jesson, who was the son of the Poverty Island lighthouse keeper. Thisship was the first decked vessel to sail the upper Great Lakes of a scale and design in keeping with 17th Century shipbuilding.". The ship disappeared with all six crew members and its cargo of furs on its return trip of her maiden voyage that same year. Nevertheless, Bennett is quite confident that he is very close to the treasure. The location and reason of her sinking has remained a mystery ever since.[5]. It sank in the North Atlantic Ocean during its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City on April 14th, 1912. The advantage today is the sophisticated equipment available for such endeavors its available however not inexpensive. "I've been interested in this ship since I was 14," he said in an interview in Charlevoix last week. Today, Richard Bennett feels confident that he will succeed where others have failed. . This is where different versions of the story begin to branch off from the main narrative. Weve not been able to find any evidence that any of these vessels that were recorded to have been lost were sunk in the vicinity of Poverty Island or that they were French vessels, as the legend would have it to be.. The best part- The Great Lakes have provided transportation for Michigan's inhabitants for hundreds of years. OFF POVERTY ISLAND, Mich. Ever since the Griffin, a 40-foot-long ship built by the French explorer Ren-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, in his quest to find the mouth of the Mississippi . Upcoming Beyond Oak Island and The Curse of Oak Island episodes This video by Steve and Kathie Libert is from the location where they found the wreckage from the Le Griffon. Over the decades, others have ventured into the waters and searched for the sunken treasure. Will Richard Bennett ever find the Poverty Island treasure? This Drone Footage Of Michigan's Poverty Island Is Fascinating Shipwreck discovery may lead to Great Lakes treasure - USA TODAY In 1883, a retaining wall was built around . poverty island shipwreck. Richard Bennett. so i thak people shood stop triying and this is my apinyin, i dont beleve this trezer reley egzists and i havint senn iny thing to shaing my mind. It is believed to be the location of a treasure of five chests filled with gold bullion and coins worth today around $400 million. Now they're retired in Charlevoix, a four-hour boat ride from the dive site that they hope will someday disprove thenaysayers. Soshe joined his quest,although she is unable to dive with him because she has had a perforated eardrum since childhood. When a Union ship began attacking, the captain had the crew throw the treasure chests overboard in the waters off poverty island, so the gold could not be . Bennett has devised an ingenious underwater sled to comb the murky . RELATED: Traveling Back: Witnesses watch bridge lift car, police search for driver, RELATED: Traveling Back: WWI vets honored fellow doughboys to the last man. The U.S. Lighthouse Board commissioned a Lighthouse to be built on Poverty island in 1874 using the same design as the Lighthouse on Sturgeon Point near Harrisville on Lake Huron, ( you can read my post HERE) The Light was automated in 1958 and by 1965 the Lantern room at the top of the tower and the lens had been removed and replaced with an exposed electric light. It is only a speck of rocky land just east of Wisconsin, surrounded by the chilly waters of Lake Michigan. It is available here. He recalled: I was emotionally drained of all my energy, and was in a complete state of relief and exhaustion, but I could still yell out the words We found it! once I broke the surface.. Without dreams life would be pretty boring. Discovery of the Shipwreck. The content is about the subject and little else. Loaded with furs in what's now Wisconsin, the Griffon was said to have sunksomewherein northern Lake Michigan in 1679. All Rights Reserved. La Salle and Father Louis Hennepin set out on the Le Griffon's maiden voyage on August 7, 1679 with a crew of 32, sailing across Lake Erie, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan through uncharted waters that only canoes had previously explored. I believe it is true. But, while delivering a valuable cargo of furs, it vanished amid rumours that she had been cursed by a prophet from the indigenous Iroquois tribe. "I've supported the historical part of it," including the accumulation and study of an entire wall of books about French exploration of North America, 17th-century shipbuilding techniques, and just about everything ever written from 1769 on about the Griffon. La Salle never found out what happened to his ship. 2020 MYSTERIES & HISTORIES. Often, we likely went over the same spot or at least part of the same spot. If they survive 100 years, they probably have an 80, 85% chance of being true.. In the early 1920s,a freighter ran aground on Poverty Island. Most of what you may read in the near future about this subject will be gleamed from a new book that has just been printed. A underwater tow sled is far more efficient. The ship lays upside down in 80 feet of water and rises 25 feet from the bottom. Eduard Bohlen, Namibia. The Old abandoned Lighthouse, thats on my Bucket List of places to photograph, looks over the waters where treasure chests full of gold were tossed overboard into Lake Michigan. However, historian Chuck Feltner disagrees. On November 21, 1996, a search team from the private research firm Intersal, Inc., operating under a permit from the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources found a cluster of cannon and anchors on the seabed near historic Beaufort Inlet. No new facts were discovered during filming,nor was any gold. People are dumb. The Owen's sinking took the akes freighter that sank near Outer Island in the Apostle Islands, Lake Superior, in the Mataafa Storm on 28 November 1905. He met Kathie in high schoolwhen he returned on crutches after a football injury and teachers asked her to carry his books. Shipwrecks is a short novel translated from the Japanese by Mark Ealey. Some is better than none, and you sleep well at night. Fairport International Exploration, Inc. v. Shipwrecked - Casetext True or not, the legend lives on for those who believe it and are brave enough to attempt the search in the cold and often stormy weather. The Griffin is then said to have become a ghost ship, with the crew apparently heard chanting as she sails among the clouds on moonlit evenings. Some, maybe more than some, might admit they didnt believe it. History: Richard Bennett, a professional diver and author of 'The Poverty Island Sunken Treasure Brief', has spent over forty-five years and $100,000 of his own money searching for a Civil War treasure in Lake Michigan.