Searching for the Griffon, the Great Lakes own Jewel July 24, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : WreckDiving , trackbackI found an interesting story in petoskeynews.com regarding the search for a wreck called the Griffon, which sank in the Great Lakes. The Griffon was the first European vessel to sail the upper Great Lakes - and the first of many shipwrecks. The ship was sailed by the legendary French explorer, Rene-Robert Cavalier, Sieur de La Salle, and was intended to carry furs to support La Salle’s expedition to find the mouth of the Mississippi. From the article;
During its return maiden voyage, Sept. 18, 1679, the Griffon sailed out from the present day Washington Harbor on Washington Island, in northern Lake Michigan, and it was never seen again. Historians have pondered the whereabouts of the missing ship for centuries.
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Why is there so much money available to explore the planet Mars, but we can’t fine the money and interest in our Canadian and U.S. governments to search for a historic ship that was the first to sail the Great Lakes in 1679? Money wasted on Mars exploration does not seem to generate much interest for the general public. Yet finding the Griffon would be like finding the Holy Grail of all the ships that have been lost and never found in the Great Lakes. We have the equipment and technology to start a search. We only need the desire and interest to find LaSalle’s Griffon a reality!