Summary
By September 1968, Jim Sawtelle had spent about three years trying to salvage the Milwaukee Belle, which the Beaver Beacon places off Iron Ore Bay at the southern tip of Beaver Island. The account says wind and sea stranded and destroyed his tug, another boat, and two sets of pontoons; a final pontoon set made from railroad tank cars also went onto the beach two days after being towed to the site. The Milwaukee Belle remained in its wreck.
Evidence and limits
The source reports repeated salvage attempts, not the vessel’s sinking as a separate event. “Off Iron Ore Bay” is retained rather than converted into a wreck point inside the bay. The source does not provide the wreck’s exact position, casualty date, vessel registry, the names of the lost workboats, or proof that the wreck’s remains were later removed.
Open questions
- When and how did the Milwaukee Belle sink, and what are its registry details?
- Where exactly is the wreck relative to Iron Ore Bay?
- What were the names and fates of Sawtelle’s tug, boat, and pontoon equipment?
- Did any later salvage succeed?
See also
- Milwaukee Belle
- Iron Ore Bay
- Jim Sawtelle (Great Lakes shipwreck salvager, 1967–1968)
- Jewell Gillespie (1968 Milwaukee Belle salvage)
Sources
- Beaver Beacon, September 1968, “Shipwreck Salvage.”Reports that Jim Sawtelle had spent three years trying to salvage the Milwaukee Belle, described as sunk off Iron Ore Bay. It says his tug, another boat, two sets of pontoons, and a later railroad-tank-car pontoon set were successively lost or stranded, while the wreck remained in place; it does not identify the boats or give a casualty date or coordinates.