One Step Closer

Brimming with myths and legends, the Great Lakes hold many secrets, lost treasures and sunken vessels. Pieces of history have descended to the bottom throughout the ages, lost to time and aching to be found. One of the oldest known sailing ships to have gone missing in the Great Lakes is the Griffin.

The boat disappeared over 300 years ago and has since become something like the Holy Grail of lost shipwrecks in the area. Built by French explorer Rene-Robert Sieur de La Salle, the ship vanished in September 1679 on its way to Niagara from Green Bay, Wis.

There are a slew of theories as to what happened to this ship: it hit an unexpectedly violent storm, the crew mutinied and destroyed the ship, or some third party captured the crew and burned the vessel to the ground… All these inconclusive suppositions serve to further intrigue the curious mind.

Needless to say, the Griffin has captured quite a lot of attention from explorers over the years, but it has yet to be found. However, one particular explorer seems to have gotten closer than anyone else, having found a piece of the puzzle back in 2013.

Drawn To The Legend

Steve Libert has been fascinated by the legend of the Griffin since grade school. One of his history teachers inspired him and ever since then, he’s been passionate about finding the lost ship. His wife Kathie Libert recalls how he’s always been drawn to the myth, even when she first met him.

“I met him in high school and through college he studied on the Great Lakes,” shared Kathie. “He just loves the Lakes and the legends have always enticed him.”

Steve would lead expeditions to find the Griffin whenever he could while working his job at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in the Washington, D.C. area. Now for the last three years he’s been able to search for the wreck full-time during the summer months.

Finding The Bowsprit

Back in 2013, Steve and his team made a groundbreaking discovery—they found and were able to recover what they believe to be the Griffin’s bowsprit.

“It was probably the first live media shipwreck hunting before all these other ones came out,” emphasized Kathie. “It was pretty awesome and very exciting.”

A team from the French Ministry of Culture was able to come for another expedition in 2013 and they confirmed that Steve’s discover was indeed the bowsprit. Despite this momentous find, the expedition still did not go as planned because of some faulty technology.

“The equipment was basically telling us that there was a ship attached to the bowsprit when there wasn’t,” explained Kathie, “but we know the rest of it’s in the area, and that’s what Steve’s working on now. Hopefully this year or next year—hopefully soon—they’ll be able to find the whole ship and get it positively identified.”

The bowsprit they recovered has a letter “D” on it which was quite standard on ships built back then. Kathie described how builders would have marked the beams or wood timbers and one of the markings was the letter “D.” There was another area on the bowsprit that Kathie thought looked like a wing pattern.

Since that fortuitous day in 2013, Steve hasn’t stopped searching for the rest of wreck, and he feels that he’s getting closer and closer with every expedition.

The Search Continues

When Steve goes out on expeditions to find the lost Griffin, he usually has a team of around 10 people with him, and he likes to stay out as long as weather permits during his three-month window in the summer.

He and his crew have been methodically searching Lake Michigan for the lost vessel, diving down to the depths. Even though they have a good idea of where the rest of the ship should be, it’s still a very large search area.

“It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack no matter what you do,” described Kathie. “When you know where the general area is, you keep whittling it down. Every year you have to whittle it down more. That’s what they’re doing right now.”

One Step Closer

Although searching for the Griffin can be discouraging at times, Steve never loses hope. He truly enjoys being out there on the Lakes exploring with his crew. Kathie has gone out with him before on expeditions and she can attest that it’s a remarkable experience, filled with beauty and suspense at discovering the lost ship.

“It’s exciting to be out there with them,” confirmed Kathie. “The lakes are so beautiful. If you love the lakes, you’re going to love being out there. The water is clear in a lot of areas, and when the sun shines, you just feel amazing.”

For Steve, recovering the Griffin’s bowsprit was just the beginning. Having had a taste, he won’t stop until he finds the rest of the legendary shipwreck. And it seems like he’s getting extremely close.

For More Information

Great Lakes Exploration Group

wwwgreatlakesexploration.org