Terrible Foundering of the Searchlight
By James Donahue
My hometown of Harbor Beach, Michigan, knew its share of shipwrecks off its Lake Huron coast but none were as personal as the foundering of the fishing tug Searchlight which disappeared in view of the local lifesaving crew just outside the port city’s breakwater on April 23, 1907. All six members of the crew went down with their boat during a violent northwester just before dark.
Lost in that terrible event were Captain Walter Brown, Mate Harry Brown, fireman Merton Perkins and deckhand John Lester, all from Harbor Beach; Engineer Edward Coveau of Bay City and deckhand Angus Murray of Detroit.
The Browns, longtime and experienced fishermen, had just purchased the Searchlight from the Bay City owners. They took the vessel out for what is believed to have been its first job that fateful spring day. They were accompanied by a sailing vessel, operated by Albert Brown and James Lester to fishing grounds located about 12 miles off the coast. Their job that day was to retrieve a trove of fish nets that had been left in place for weeks due to severe storms that prevented their recovery.
The day began with fair weather so the Brown’s went out with both vessels and spent the day bringing in their nets. Late in the afternoon when the weather threatened, Albert Brown announced he was setting sail for port. Before he left the Searchlight, however, the decision was made to switch deckhands. Lester traded place with James Conner, who was working on the tug. They said he was more experienced with sailing vessels and would be needed in bringing the sailboat into port. It was a fateful decision for both men.
Walter Brown said he wanted to stay out a little longer in an attempt to finish retrieving the nets.
By 7 p.m. there was a full gale sweeping the area and the Searchlight was still out. Local lifesavers had their binoculars trained on the tug as it steamed against the storm in an effort to make the safety of the breakwall. Then, just as the sun was setting and moments before it was too dark to see anything, the lifesavers said the tug disappeared from view. There was no emergency light. It just disappeared.
The lifesavers with the help of a big government tug spent all that night and following days searching for any sign of the lost Searchlight to no avail. They eventually began turning up fish boxes, a life jacket, fuel cans and other debris about five miles south of where the tug was last seen. The life raft went down with the tug which indicated the speed at which the vessel foundered. The crew never had a chance to launch their raft or light a flair.
It was theorized that the vessel was struck broadside by a massive wave while trying to reach the harbor entrance and it turned turtle (upside down) without warning.
It was reported that a body and more debris from the Searchlight washed ashore during the Great Storm of 1913 that hit the area six years later.
Lester left a wife and six little children. Harvey Brown left a wife and two children. Fireman Perkins was engaged to be married.
The Searchlight was built by G. Miskin of Saginaw in 1899. It was a wooden propeller-driven steam tug measuring 40 feet in length.
By James Donahue
My hometown of Harbor Beach, Michigan, knew its share of shipwrecks off its Lake Huron coast but none were as personal as the foundering of the fishing tug Searchlight which disappeared in view of the local lifesaving crew just outside the port city’s breakwater on April 23, 1907. All six members of the crew went down with their boat during a violent northwester just before dark.
Lost in that terrible event were Captain Walter Brown, Mate Harry Brown, fireman Merton Perkins and deckhand John Lester, all from Harbor Beach; Engineer Edward Coveau of Bay City and deckhand Angus Murray of Detroit.
The Browns, longtime and experienced fishermen, had just purchased the Searchlight from the Bay City owners. They took the vessel out for what is believed to have been its first job that fateful spring day. They were accompanied by a sailing vessel, operated by Albert Brown and James Lester to fishing grounds located about 12 miles off the coast. Their job that day was to retrieve a trove of fish nets that had been left in place for weeks due to severe storms that prevented their recovery.
The day began with fair weather so the Brown’s went out with both vessels and spent the day bringing in their nets. Late in the afternoon when the weather threatened, Albert Brown announced he was setting sail for port. Before he left the Searchlight, however, the decision was made to switch deckhands. Lester traded place with James Conner, who was working on the tug. They said he was more experienced with sailing vessels and would be needed in bringing the sailboat into port. It was a fateful decision for both men.
Walter Brown said he wanted to stay out a little longer in an attempt to finish retrieving the nets.
By 7 p.m. there was a full gale sweeping the area and the Searchlight was still out. Local lifesavers had their binoculars trained on the tug as it steamed against the storm in an effort to make the safety of the breakwall. Then, just as the sun was setting and moments before it was too dark to see anything, the lifesavers said the tug disappeared from view. There was no emergency light. It just disappeared.
The lifesavers with the help of a big government tug spent all that night and following days searching for any sign of the lost Searchlight to no avail. They eventually began turning up fish boxes, a life jacket, fuel cans and other debris about five miles south of where the tug was last seen. The life raft went down with the tug which indicated the speed at which the vessel foundered. The crew never had a chance to launch their raft or light a flair.
It was theorized that the vessel was struck broadside by a massive wave while trying to reach the harbor entrance and it turned turtle (upside down) without warning.
It was reported that a body and more debris from the Searchlight washed ashore during the Great Storm of 1913 that hit the area six years later.
Lester left a wife and six little children. Harvey Brown left a wife and two children. Fireman Perkins was engaged to be married.
The Searchlight was built by G. Miskin of Saginaw in 1899. It was a wooden propeller-driven steam tug measuring 40 feet in length.