he Great Lakes are full of wonders. Some, we discover every day as we set out on the water and embrace their magic. Others are more of a surprise.

Things that have been hidden for years and years find light as the water tosses the sand, ebbing and flowing from high and low tides.

In recent events, shipwrecks considered lost have been pulled to the surface to be discovered, allowing us to complete stories long gone. This is due to the intense changes in water levels that the Great Lakes have recently experienced. When the levels are low and then rapidly rise, it causes things lower in the lakes to rise up and appear right before our very eyes. These can be little fascinations, or they can be as big as nearly 200-year-old shipwrecks.

Rising Wreckages

Big things were happening in April, 2020, both worldwide and in the Great Lakes. The Michigan Shipwreck Research Association (MSRA) discovered a 20th-century schooner which they realized was the R. Kanters, which was named after the part-owner Rokus Kanters, near Manistique, Mich., on April 20, 2020.

Along with that wreck, they also found a second one near Ludington just four days later. That one has yet to be identified, but theories suggest it could be from the mid-19th-century. Of course, it may be some time before we are able to complete that ship’s story, as both of the ships sunk back down almost as soon as they were uncovered, and are now waiting patiently in the preserving, icy fresh water of the lakes in nearly pristine condition.

Telling Tides

So why were we suddenly able to catch sight of these rare wrecks? As stated before, the dynamic water levels are to thank for such discoveries. Keith Kompolowics, chief of watershed hydrology for the Detroit district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, told The Washington Post in 2019, “We’re seeing some of the highest water levels in recorded history on the Great Lakes, and that is the result of very wet weather.” According to The Post, the Great Lakes will likely continue to see such extreme highs and lows in water levels for the foreseeable future.

Rendering The R. Kanters

Thanks to a discovery made by a lucky, anonymous beachcomber, the MSRA was not only able to identify what looked to be the skeletal leftovers of a shipwreck, but they were then able to complete an unfinished story.

The MSRA scoured through old photographs, newspapers, and other historic records to hone in on what the beachcomber could have found, and they reached a conclusion. The remains were from none other than the 112-foot-long, double-mast schooner that sank on September 7, 1903, during a storm just south of Manistique.

It was positively massive before its unfortunate demise. On top of its length, its beam stretched 25.6 feet, and it had a depth of 8.4 feet. With a size like that, it is no surprise the R. Kanters was a workhorse on the Great Lakes for nearly three decades.

A Piece Of The Past

For eight years, the R. Kanters hauled various cargoes through the upper Great Lakes but often found itself carrying grains. Things were going smoothly, but the ownership abruptly changed in 1881 after the City of Woodstock, which the R. Kanters answered to, was taken over by Federal Marshals. The Kanters was sold to Thor Solverson, and Solverson listed the schooner for sale that winter.

Captain Bastian Van Ry, with the help of Rokus Kanters who was a marine contractor and former mayor of Holland, Mich., purchased the newly named R. Kanters for $6,400 in April 1882. For being two-thirds of the owner, Rokus Kanters tended to be a silent party, investing here and there in different ventures for the schooner.

Captain Van Ry headed the ship for three years before selling his part as captain to Peter Blake, who then took over as a runner of the ship. He didn’t remain captain for long, however. A foggy expedition landed the R. Kanters on the rocks between Graven Island and Pilot Island, close to Lake Michigan. Captain Blake concluded the boat was beyond repair, and salvaged what he could from it.

In spite of the damage, the sturdy R. Kanters remained afloat on its own, and, after some consideration, was deemed worthy of setting sail across the Great Lakes once again. Though the bottom was severely wounded, the schooner was repaired in 1899 and found itself carrying and delivering coal.

The nail in the coffin for the stubborn R. Kanters was a storm that hit on September 7, 1903. The vessel ended up just south of Manistique. The five crewmates managed to escape with their lives, but that area of the beach was and tends to still be a desolate area, and they likely had to walk a long way back to civilization. The R. Kanters was abandoned and eventually forgotten about until a storm like the one that ended its journey unearthed it nearly 117 years later.

Leveling With Lessons Learned

Recently, while the rapid increases and decreases in water levels around the Great Lakes could be seen as an inconvenience, stories such as the R. Kanters would not have been brought to light without it. These wrecks allow us to learn about the rich history of the Great Lakes. While the remnants of the R. Kanters and the ship that was found four days later have sunk back into the depths, it means we can rest assured there is much more to explore and many more stories to uncover.