The social media giant, Facebook has been abuzz with the latest shipwreck find from the Great Storm of 1913 aka “The White Hurricane” on Nov, 7-10, 1913. The 1913 storm was catastrophic, having destroyed 12 ships, stranded another 19 and resulted in the loss of 255 lives.
According to a recent Facebook post by Brendon Baillod, David Trotter of Undersea Research Associates revealed yesterday (23 August 2025) and confirmed that the James Carruthers has been found in U.S. waters of Lake Huron, near Michigan’s Thumb region. The vessel is said to be resting upside down on the lake floor.
On the afternoon of November 9, during the peak of the 1913 powerful storm, multiple witnesses reported hearing steamer whistles and seeing distress rockets far out from Inverhuron. These signals were later believed to have come from the James Carruthers, as some debris and several crew members were discovered nearby. After the powerful storm subsided late on November 10, large amounts of debris from multiple vessels began washing up along the shores of Lake Huron. Initially, signs of the James Carruthers were limited, but soon significant wreckage from what was then Canada’s newest and largest freighter started appearing, mainly near Kincardine and Point Clark. A wide debris field was discovered offshore between Kincardine and Goderich—almost 70 miles (110 km) south of the freighter’s expected route. Several crew members’ bodies also washed ashore, most notably around Point Clark. Captain Wright was recognized by his distinctive red mustache. Many of the recovered bodies were wearing life jackets and heavy clothing, suggesting they had time to brace for the sinking.
The exact cause of the sinking, along with why the newly built freighter was so far from her intended route to Georgian Bay, has remained a mystery. It’s possible that a wave tipped the Carruthers too far over and it capsized. A major factor in many ships capsizing could have been their light cargo loads—such as grain or coal—which made them less stable, especially when they were caught in the troughs between large waves.
The James Carruthers wreck was first discovered on May 26, 2025, (how did we know? we didn’t) lying upside down in 190 feet (57.9 meters) of water on the U.S. side of Lake Huron. No co-ordinates have been made public.
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