Rouse
Simmons
(The Christmas Tree Ship)
The loss
of the Rouse Simmons, better known as "The Christmas Tree Ship," is
one of the most enduring tales in lake Michigan maritime history. Every year,
just before Thanksgiving, Schuenemann's 127-foot schooner, officially christened
the Rouse Simmons, would make its way down the length of Lake Michigan, its hold
and deck brimming with fresh-cut Michigan trees to be sold in Chicago.
On
November 22, 1912, while caught in a fierce winter storm on the lake, glazed
with ice and battered by the sea, the Rouse Simmons sank in 180 feet of water
not far off the coast of Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Seventeen men lost their lives
in the lake's icy waters. Through the use of rare paintings, photographs, and
illustrations, Southport Video takes you back in time to that fateful voyage.
You will
hear the story of Captain Herman Schuenemann and his brave attempts to weather a
storm that battered his ship and left it encrusted with ice. You will also visit
the schooner's final resting place, where stunning underwater footage shows her
as she is today, her load of trees still virtually intact in her hold.
Time:
35 Minutes
Leverbaar
€ 24.95