The wreckage of a rare boat - one of the last of its kind to be located - has been identified at the bottom of Lake Superior in Michigan.
Researchers with the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society discovered the 292-foot vessel 35 miles off Vermilion Point and confirmed it is Barge 129, one of only 44 whalebacks ever made,. A distinctive vessel that plied the Great Lakes in the late 19th century, the whaleback had an unusual design of curved sides and pointed bows said to look like the snout of a pig.
Barge 129 sank when it encountered a strong storm while in tow of another boat on October 13, 1902. The towline snapped, causing a collision between the two vessels. Crewmembers evacuated safely to the other boat, but Barge 129 descended to depths of over 650 feet, where it has remained for 120 years.
"Once we were able to get the ROV down on it, when we got up near the bow, there was no question. That bow was unmistakable. We knew what we had, and that was really exciting," Lynn said. "We were the first human eyes to see it in over 120 years." Watching the footage captured by the underwater ROV, viewers can hear Lynn and Darryl Ertel, the society's director of marine operations, as they explore different parts of the unusual ship with the drone. Lynn describes the towlines that were still strung through the bow, revealing more clues as to what was happening minutes before Barge 129 sank.
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