Lake Erie shipwreck spotted off Kingsville, Ont., uncovered by strong winds

   KINGSVILLE, ON  – Strong winds that prompted an Environment Canada alert this week have laid bare Lake Erie shoreline not often seen. But they also — briefly — uncovered a rarely-seen shipwreck.
   Matt Vermette is the owner of The Dive Shop in Kingsville, Ont., and was out for a walk Wednesday night when he spotted something from a far.
   “It was just really cool. I saw some birds sitting on a structure. I thought, oh, maybe it’s an old dock or something, right. And as I got closer, I said, ‘no, that’s, that’s definitely a shipwreck.’”
   It was about 150 metres out from shore, and about 22 metres long, Vermette estimated, also noting it’s a schooner because of the distinct “skeleton” of the wreck.
   Even though he scuba dives often, it was a wreck he’d never seen, and there are many on Lake Erie. Vermette estimated at least a couple hundred, though there are maybe 20 or 30 that are commonly known.
   It’s not clear which vessel the wreck could be. Historians Vermette spoke with think it could be one of two possible wrecks: The Demming, or the Overton, both wrecks documented in local newspapers from the time and both dating back to before 1900.
   Robert Lynch, a local historian, says the wreck has been exposed before.
   “This end of (Lake Erie), Pigeon Bay it’s called, is fairly shallow but it does generate very high waves … If you happen to be passing over top of a reef when your boat is riding down into the hollow of a wave, you can hit bottom.
   “It can create havoc for ships. So more shipwrecks are in this portion of the lake than the rest of the lake.”
   Vermette posted photos and video to Facebook, where he says people are equally excited and eager for more information about the wreck.
   Kingsville resident Jennifer Wright says she went out looking for the wreck on Thursday afternoon after seeing pictures of it posted on social media.  “I guess a whole bunch of us are out trying to find it … I don’t see it,” Wright said with a laugh. “The water has come in and covered it back up.
   “He was in the right place at the right time. Lucky guy, I guess.”
   Vermette agreed. By Thursday morning, the water had come back in and the structure was long underwater.
   The wreck is one you’re not likely to see if you were out diving in the area, according to Vermette. Because of the amount of mud, visibility is very limited.
   “You’ll see it right before you hit it. But to be able to walk around it and get those videos and to take the pictures I did, you wouldn’t get those pictures underwater,” he said.
   “Even if it was clear, it wouldn’t be the same.”
[CBC]

Ontario Venture coming in 2026 for McKeil Marine

   Canada’s McKeil Marine will debut another new self-unloader, Ontario Venture, on the Great Lakes in 2026. The vessel was built as a tanker in 2004 as Patrona and sailed later as Maersk Nordenham and Patrona l.

   Watch a video at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIY7dXXqzZw

Homemade Houseboat Hits Hardship;
Captain Calls it Quits In Michigan’s Thumb

DETROIT, MI – The Neverlanding has landed.
   A Canadian man’s nearly 70-foot homemade houseboat, dubbed Neverlanding, a wooden-framed modular building on a platform of barrels with a singular, 85-horsepower engine, captivated gawkers on the St. Clair River and southern Lake Huron late last month and developed a fan following on social media. A Facebook fan page called Neverlanding – The Houseboat of Dreams has nearly 14,000 followers.
   But all great adventures must come to an end, especially when they involve homemade houseboats on barrels, the Great Lakes and the onset of wintry weather.
   Huron County Sheriff Kelly Hanson said the Neverlanding made it to Port Austin early Tuesday morning, Dec. 2. “We had been monitoring him since we heard he left Port Sanilac northbound,” Hanson said.
   “We took note that the boat was there” at Bird Creek Beach in Port Austin’s harbor, “and he was trying to make it ashore. He did get it into shallow enough water there to accomplish that.”
   A volunteer crew attempts to bring to land the Neverlanding, a homemade Canadian houseboat, at Bird Creek Beach in Port Austin’s harbor on Dec. 2, 2025.
   The sheriff then spoke with the Neverlanding’s builder, owner and captain, Steven Mylrea of Harrow, Ontario, Canada, “to see what his intentions were going to be.”
  The sheriff said he even offered to have the department’s air boats break nearshore lake ice to get the houseboat afloat again on Lake Huron. Mylrea, however, “indicated he was pretty exhausted, and was second-guessing what he was trying to attempt.”
   “I had a conversation with him,” Hanson said. “I questioned his judgment. (But) the fellow was a friendly individual.”
   Mylrea told the sheriff he was trying to travel up Lake Huron, through the Straits of Mackinac and then down Lake Michigan “trying to get to Chicago by Christmas.”
   And from there? Hanson said a Coast Guard report based on its contact with Mylrea indicated he intended to navigate the Neverlanding “through the American river system, through the country and eventually make it back to the Atlantic.”
   Hanson said Mylrea was starting to have misgivings about how the changed weather conditions were affecting his boat and his travel, such as ice building up on the craft and concerns that the lumber may not hold up in extreme cold.
   The sheriff noted that wave conditions can intensify quickly at this time of year, and that as Mylrea traveled farther north on Lake Huron, he may have encountered many iced-up ports with nowhere nearby to stop in case he felt he needed to.
   “I think he made a good decision” to end the adventure, Hanson said. “In my opinion, that boat is not something to be considered seaworthy for some of the conditions Lake Huron can pose.”
   U.S. Coast Guard officials earlier told the Free Press the boat was registered by Canadian authorities and met all required specifications for operation.
   A local contractor volunteered to help Mylrea pull the Neverlanding onto shore − a task that was proving difficult and taking much of the day on Tuesday.
   Hanson said he doesn’t imagine the houseboat will be trailered up and driven to Canada or somewhere else. “The boat’s too big; I couldn’t see it being hauled by anything. It will be on that beach until spring comes. I’m sure it’s going to be an attraction for people for a little while.”
   More: High winds causing water to ‘vanish’ from western Lake Erie
   Fans of the Neverlanding on Facebook weighed in on at least this chapter of the adventure’s closing.
   “Damn! I was hoping he would make the trip all the way to Florida. Better to be safe than sorry,” posted Bridget Ford.
   Added Steven Pietrangelo, with a winking emoji: “No big deal…just a bigger destination when the weather breaks….Thailand.”

Great Lakes Iron Ore Trade Down in November

   CLEVELAND – Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes decreased 19.1 percent from 2024 to 3.4 million tons in November. Shipments were below the month’s 5-year average by 20.3 percent.
   Year-to-date, the iron ore trade stands at 39.2 million tons, a decrease of 13.2 percent compared to the same point in 2024.
   Through November, iron ore loadings are 8.1 percent below their 5-year average.
   Since 1880, Lake Carriers’ has represented the U.S.-flag Great Lakes fleet, which today can move more than 90 million tons of cargos annually that are the foundation of American industry, infrastructure, and power: iron ore, stone, coal, cement, and other dry bulk materials such as grain, salt, and sand.  More information is available at www.lcaships.com.

[Charts are posted in gallery below]

Seaway Traffic Results (as of November 30, 2025)

[See Chart in gallery below]

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