The approximate 6,000 ships that have succumbed to raging storms attest to the power of the Great Lakes. As I traveled, writing and compiling information for my three-volume travel series that explores Michigan's coasts, I heard or read the tales left behind by those ill-fated ships. They add a somber, but compelling backdrop to Michigan’s waterways.

The Andaste disappeared beneath the roiled waters of Lake Michigan on September 9, 1929. Twenty-five men went to their deaths with her. The Andaste was not the most elegant ship to sail the lakes. She was a semi-whaleback, slope-sided, 266-foot-long steamship built in 1892 with a cargo capacity of 3,000 tons. She was made for function, not beauty.

The Andaste was captained by Albert L. Anderson of Sturgeon Bay, and on the day of her demise, she was docked in Ferrysburg taking on a load of gravel. She cast off and passed the Grand Haven piers at 9:03 a.m. headed for Chicago, where she was scheduled to arrive the next morning. Her voyage was routine; it was a trip she had made four times a week for years.

Photo Wikimedia Commons, in the public domain

By 10:00 a.m., winds kicked up and quickly morphed into a full-blown gale. The Andaste did not arrive the next morning as scheduled, but her tardiness was not given much thought, since the old ship had been late before. By Wednesday, a full day late, simple delay no longer explained her tardiness. By Thursday, it was assumed the Andaste was lost. She had no radio. There was no way to determine what had happened until the ship’s debris told the story.

The Andaste left Grand Haven at 9:30pm on 9/9/1929, loaded with stone destined for Chicago, but never reached the city. Photo The Holland Sentinel

Wreckage drifted ashore at beaches from Grand Haven to Holland. At Castle Park, just south of Holland, the first body was recovered. Mr. H. H. Stibbs was scanning the water in front of his cottage and saw flotsam. His son, J. H. Stibbs, a competitive swimmer, swam out to recover what he could. He returned, towing a life ring with a dead sailor. 

Other bodies washed ashore at Jenison Park in Grand Haven. Of the initial 14 victims to float to shore, 11 were wearing life jackets. Continued search efforts during the next two weeks recovered the remaining bodies, as well as considerable debris: cabin doors, several hatch covers, and part of a stairway. Much of the wreckage was tangled in fishing nets. The youngest victim was 14-year-old Earl Zietlow, a sailor on his first and last voyage.

The best evidence suggests the Andaste went down 25 or 30 miles out on the lake. A cottage owner, between Grand Haven and Holland, testified at an inquest that he was awakened by a violent storm at 1:00 a.m. the night the Andaste went missing. Looking out his window, he saw the lights of a ship not too far from shore, and the lights remained visible until about 4:00 a.m. And then, nothing.

Florence McDonald poses on September 19 with a portion of the Andaste’s pilot house that washed ashore near Holland. The alarm switch she is touching was in the on-position, indicating the ship had been blowing a distress signal. Photo courtesy Valerie Van Heest, via WZZM-TV, Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, Michigan

More resources:
http://www.michiganshipwrecks.org/shipwrecks-2/shipwreck-categories/shipwrecks-lost/andaste
https://www.hollandsentinel.com/story/news/2010/05/11/search-for-ship-andaste-that/45264306007/

Click through to read excerpts from Royce's three books exploring Michigan's coasts:

Julie Albrecht Royce, the Michigan Editor for Wandering Educators recently published a three-book travel series exploring Michigan’s coastlines. Nearly two decades ago, she published two traditional travel books, but found they were quickly outdated. This most recent project focuses on providing travelers with interesting background for the places they plan to visit. Royce has published two novels: Ardent Spirit, historical fiction inspired by the true story of Odawa-French Fur Trader, Magdelaine La Framboise, and PILZ, a legal thriller which drew on her experiences as a First Assistant Attorney General for the State of Michigan. She has written magazine and newspaper articles, and had several short stories included in anthologies. All books available on Amazon.

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