‘Cursed’ ship that went missing with 14 people on board finally discovered 115 years later

A cursed ship which set sail with 14 souls on board over a century ago and went missing has just been discovered.

On 1 May, 1909 the Adella Shores set sail from the area around Whitefish Point in the Great Lakes and was ravaged by a fierce gale on Lake Superior.

She'd already sunk twice by this point and both times had been brought back up and returned to service.

Laden down with a cargo of salt, it was following another boat that was carving a path through ice for it.

However, high winds struck the vessels and the Adella Shores fell two miles behind the boat in front until it could no longer be seen.

Nobody ever saw the ship sailing again after that as it went down into the water with all 14 people on board sinking with it.

Over a century after it sunk the vessel was discovered again. (The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society)

It was assumed that the boat must have struck a chunk of ice and gone under quickly, but many years later in 2021, it was found by The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society.

They'd used sonic technology to scan the waters for the ship, which was found around 40 miles northwest of Whitefish Point.

The society has only just announced their findings to make sure they could carry out the proper research and be sure of what they'd found.

Considering it sunk for a third and final time with everyone on board, it's believed that the ship fell victim to a terrible 'curse' that finally claimed the Adella Shores as its own.

If the vessel was indeed cursed, then it's all because the ship wasn't properly christened with a bottle of alcohol - which is usually considered a sign of bad luck for a ship.

The Adella Shores sunk three times in 15 years. (The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society)

The ship, which sunk in 1909, had been built in 1894 for the Shores Lumber Company, who named the vessel after the owner's daughter Adella.

According to CBS, her sister Bessie christened the ship with a bottle of water because the family had strict rules about alcohol.

Indeed, christening a ship before it launches has for a long time been a proud and occasionally cruel maritime tradition.

'Holy liquid' was poured over the boats of ancient civilisations, while the Vikings decided instead to sacrifice their slaves to their gods instead.

Once they converted to Christianity, they swapped from killing people to killing goats.

Wine was a popular way of christening a ship, though it wasn't until the 18th century that the practice of smashing champagne on the boat started to be used.

Failure to christen a ship is seen as unlucky, and the most infamous shipwreck of all time, the Titanic, not being christened has only heightened this superstition.

Topics: US News, History, Weird

Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

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