It just sparked my interest and I started researching more and more. LANSING Historical mysteries may take decades, even centuries, to solve if ever. Barge 129 was found in Lake Superior, 35 miles off Vermilion Point in 650 feet of water. If it exists in the physical world, we think it will be there in deep water, she says. The ancient origins of the legendary griffin | Ancient Origins Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, Griffon, oldest Great Lakes shipwreck, under Lake Michigan somewhere The fate of the Le Griffon offers many intriguing mysteries to those interested in shipwrecks, most notably the fact that the ship's discovery has not been confirmed. Steve Libert, from the Great Lakes Exploration Group, said he is 99.9% certain . Several historical and genealogical references show Griffin making such journeys in 1633 and 1634. But the explorer ran out of money, so he disembarked with the other expedition leaders, leaving the ship and its crew to pay off his debts with furs. 17th Century Shipwreck of Long-Lost Le Griffon Discovered at - IBT Talia Lakritz. 'Holy grail' shipwreck haunted by crew is found 350 years after being They were concerned for their safety in as much that they tried to burn the ship during construction. the griffon shipwreck facts Western Dental Careers September 20, 2021 | 0 September 20, 2021 | 0 The loss of the Griffon is one of the great mysteries of the Great Lakes. Welcome to the Coronation! Libert may be a secret agent by day-- he works as a senior defense analyst for the U.S. Navy -- but by night he's a passionate hunter for the old and precious. Lawrence. ", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Le_Griffon&oldid=1121719205, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2018, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2020, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from January 2015, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from August 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Disappeared on the return trip of her maiden voyage in 1679, This page was last edited on 13 November 2022, at 19:58. [notes 4][pageneeded] There was some disagreement between La Salle and the ship's pilot, and La Salle and Tonti went ahead on foot to Niagara. Baillod said he is "99 percent sure" that the wreck is not that of the Griffon. Griffin was the name of a 17th-century ship known to have sailed between England and English settlements along Massachusetts Bay in British America. Usually depicted as half lion and half eagle, this ancient beast is more than the sum of its parts. While they recognize that conclusive evidence has not been found, the evidence that has been found there fits with what is known of the history of that time and they postulate that if Le Griffon is found elsewhere, that would deepen the mystery of the find by Cullis.[22]. I was mesmerized by what he was saying. About 30 adventurers have claimed to have found the Griffin, usually by happenstance, Baillod said. We hear from the Association of Counties, state court administrator and the president, from Gratiot County, of the Michigan Judges Association. 'Many believed the Jesuits were responsible for the ship's disappearance. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). [1], French explorer Ren Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, sought a Northwest Passage to China and Japan to extend France's trade. When the wind suddenly veered to the southeast they changed course to avoid Presque Isle. The divers said they found Le Griffon in 2011, but are just announcing the discovery because they were consulting experts to confirm it. 4 Famous Shipwrecks Still Waiting to be Discovered - HISTORY Some say that this vessel was named the Frontenac, while others say the other vessel used on La Salle's expedition was Frontenac. 'What I suspected was a ship was confirmed by me during a dive in September 2018. Eric Freedman is professor of journalism and former associate dean of International Studies and Programs. A bowsprit is the spar that extends forward from the bow. 'It is just a matter of time before we achieve our goal. Maritime historians best guess, she says, is that it sank between Beaver Island and the southern coast of the Upper Peninsula, possibly within sight of shore between what are now Manistique and Naubinway. Thedetails of their findwere recorded in a 2021 book that chronicled their finding of the mysterious wreck. By Jack Timothy Harrison. That is simply not true.. Kids Encyclopedia Facts. And, as the curse foretold, La Salle was later murdered during a 1687 expedition by a member of his party. the griffon shipwreck facts the griffon shipwreck facts. On 23 June 2014, Steve Libert told the Associated Press he believed he found Le Griffon in Lake Michigan after extensive searching, in a debris field near where a wood slab was found the previous year. [citation needed], On 18 November 1678, after just over a month of preparations at Fort Frontenac, La Salle dispatched Captain La Motte and Father Louis Hennepin together with 15 men and supplies in a vessel of 10 tons. Griffin | Facts, Pictures & Characteristics | Mythical Creatures NY 10036. "We like to turn the sonar on and just go to places that we haven't been before, and just try and see what we can find down there," Dykstra said. Ever since I was a junior high schooler in Dayton, Ohio, Ive been interested in this ship, Libert said. La Salle oversaw the laying of Le Griffon's keel and drove her first bolt. Green and Ken Vrana, the principal of Maritime Heritage Consulting, advocate an independent assessment by professionals. Charlevoix diver claims to find 'holy grail' of Great Lakes shipwrecks THE WRECK OF THE GRIFFON by Cris Kohl and Joan Forsberg, published and distributed by Seawolf Communications Inc. 224 pages. They arrived late on 5 December, but the weather was rough and they did not want to run the surf and outflow of the river at night, so they stayed a few miles off shore. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). According to legend, natives even cursed the ship. Thought the bowsprit discovered about 3.8 miles and the remains of the wreck make the Indian attack not possible, or even a mutinous uprising. La Salle never saw Le Griffon again. Most often described as a 45-ton barque, Le Griffon is considered the first full-sized sailing ship to ply the upper Great Lakes. During his 20-year newspaper career, he covered public affairs, environmental issues and legal affairs for newspapers in New York and Michigan, winning a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of a legislative corruption scandal. Widely considered the Holy Grail of undiscovered Great Lakes shipwrecks, the Griffon carried no treasure, nor anything. Possibly a cannon, hopefully with the date stamped on it.'. Le Griffon, the long lost ship of explorers found at bottom of Lake Le Griffon (French pronunciation:[l if], The Griffin) was a sailing vessel built by Ren-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle in 1679. "It's very difficult to access a wreck based on photo and film footage," Anderson said. 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But Libert says, Many people believe I continue to cry wolf and contact the press every time we find a wreck claiming them to be the Griffon. also was the first ship to sail the Great Lakes. Enter the text you see in the image below. Bateaux were also common. Le Griffon, 17th-century sailing ship built by Robert de La Salle may have been found in Lake Michigan 335 years after it disappeared. Every one of these shipwreck hunters finds a bone pile and claims its the Griffon.. (Image credit: Father Louis Hennepin Public Domain ). The wind did slightly decrease but they drifted slowly all night, unable to find anchorage or shelter. More than 5,000 ship wrecks are scattered throughout the Great Lakes, and Porter said the Le Griffon is the most precious one. [1][4], The site La Salle had selected for building Le Griffon has conclusively been identified as at or near the mouth of Cayuga Creek, at Cayuga Island. Other experts insist Liberts absolutely wrong. In Photos: Arctic Shipwreck Solves 170-Year-Old Mystery, 'Runaway' black hole the size of 20 million suns found speeding through space with a trail of newborn stars behind it, 'Unreal' auroras cover Earth in stunning photo taken by NASA astronaut. 175 Year Old Great Lakes Atlas Schooner Located in Lake Ontario, Early 1800s Dagger-board Schooner Three Brothers Discovered in Lake Ontario, 1926 Steamship Nisbet Grammer Discovered in Lake Ontario, 158 year old Canadian Schooner Royal Albert Discovered in Lake Ontario, Mid-Nineteenth Century Canadian Schooner Ocean Wave Discovered by Shipwreck Explorers, Major Shipwreck Discovery in Lake Michigan. No villain can mess with the griffin! Below Niagara Falls: first ships on Lake Ontario. A teacher from Ottawa named Roy Fleming, in the 1930s through the 1950s, expanded the investigation of this wreck that he firmly believed was the Griffon. Libert said the book reveals the location of the Huron Islands where Robert La Salles ship, Le Griffon, met her fate. [10] The vessel carried anchors, chain, guns, cordage, and cable for Le Griffon, as well as supplies and provisions for the anticipated journey. French explorer Ren-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle built the Griffin in 1679, but it was lost in Lake Michiganthe same year. 'If any of the latter was true the ship would rest in deeper water instead of shallow waters.'. But the ship vanished while delivering a valuable cargo of furs, amid rumours that she had been cursed by a prophet from the Iroquois tribe. La Salle was convinced that the pilot and crew treacherously sank her and made off with the goods. Carbon dating of the bowsprit places suggests an age range within a year of the sinking. It would be awesome if true, she says, a story shed love the museum to be able to tell visitors, with the aura of amateur treasure-hunting and Indiana Jones. Lake Michigan shipwreck may be 335-year-old Le Griffon, researcher Its fate has been a puzzlement for maritime historians for more than three and a half centuries. 5 Michigan Locations Associated with Creepy Urban Legends The Griffin - or Le Griffon - was a sailing ship built on the Niagara River in the 1670s French explorer Robert de La Salle hoped to use it to find the Northwest Passage to China and Japan It. Discovery of French ship Le Griffon in Great Lakes prompts Michigan Van Heest responds, Most people that are not dreamers say that for it to still exist, it must be in deep water not affected by ice and storms.. Ships of the 1715 fleet - TreasureNet The Original Treasure The Griffin, or gryphon, is a mythological creature with the body, hind legs, and tail of a lion and the wings, front talons, and head of an eagle. "[5] He also says that at Fort Frontenac in 1676, La Salle "laid the keels of the vessels which he depended on to frighten the English. He and his wife set out their case for having discovered the ship in a new book, Le Griffon and the Huron Islands 1679: Our Story of Exploration and Discovery. Acknowledging that French archeologists side with Libert, she asks what they know about Native American fishing practices. myth bird lion hippogriff griffin, also spelled griffon or gryphon, composite mythological creature with a lion's body (winged or wingless) and a bird's head, usually that of an eagle. Copyright 2023 HNGN. It would no longer exist. That evidence? According to Father Louis Hennepin, one of them was caught in a violent storm and never survived, notedthe Daily Mail. The first full-size cargo ship to sail the inner Great Lakes, Le Griffon was built by explorer Robert de La Salle in 1679. [1][4], La Salle found some of the 15 men he sent ahead from Fort Frontenac to trade with the Illinois but they had listened to La Salle's enemies who said he would never reach the Straits of Mackinac. The 1633 journey left at Downs, England and landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts on September 3. . More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23, Le Griffon and the Huron Islands 1649: Our Story of Exploration and Discovery. [21], There has yet to be any consensus regarding the location of the shipwreck of Le Griffon. They were trying to chart a path from Great Lakes in North America to China and Japan if a route is there. Their inefficiency at beating to windward made them impractical as sailing vessels, and they were not very safe in open water.