‘Christmas Tree Ship’ makes stop to return recovered anchor

Matt Jaworowski
·2 min read

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The “Christmas Tree Ship” has taken a quick detour on its way to Chicago to return an item that was accidentally salvaged during a previous operation.

The U.S. Coast Guard says the Cutter Mackinaw stopped near Racine, Wisconsin, on Wednesday to return the anchor to the Kate Kelly.

WATCH: Cutter Mackinaw returns a recovered anchor

“The Mackinaw and crew paused to return an anchor that had been recovered unintentionally when performing ‘Aids to Navigation Operations’ and pay respects for those who lost their lives on that day in 1895 aboard this anchor’s vessel,” the Facebook post read.

  • Several crew members use a crane to lower an anchor into the water while the rest of the crew huddle on the deck.
    The crew aboard the USCG Cutter Mackinaw return the anchor to the Kate Kelly at the bottom of Lake Michigan. (Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard)
  • A long stretch of a wooden hull sits at the bottom of Lake Michigan.
    A large section of the outer hull of the Kate Kelly on the floor of Lake Michigan. (Courtesy Wisconsin Historical Society)
  • Growth overtakes a rope that hangs off the edge of a portion of the Kate Kelly at the bottom of Lake Michigan.
    A close-up photo shows what remains of a rope hanging off of the Kate Kelly. (Courtesy Wisconsin Historical Society)
  • A large chain is looped around an old beam at the bottom of Lake Michigan.
    Part of the chain that once held the Kate Kelly’s anchor still holds onto a beam of the ship. (Courtesy Wisconsin Historical Society)

The anchor belonged to the Kate Kelly, a two-mast schooner that was built in 1867 in New York. The transport vessel spent nearly 30 years on the Great Lakes, delivering everything from grain and coal to iron ore.

According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, the Kate Kelly left Alpena with a load of hemlock railroad ties bound for Chicago. After a stop in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, the ship was caught in a nasty storm and capsized off of the shore of Racine.

Investigators don’t know exactly what caused the ship to sink, but the Kate Kelly suffered heavy damage. The cabin, yawl boat and anchor were all torn away from the ship. All six people aboard the Kate Kelly were lost.

It won’t be the Mackinaw’s only stop to pay homage to lost sailors. The Mackinaw will also perform a wreath laying for the crew of the Rouse Simmons, one of the original “Christmas Tree Ships” that used to bring trees from northern Michigan to Chicago. The Mackinaw is scheduled to arrive in Chicago on Friday.

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