Glenlyon – Freighter 1893-1924 (SHIPWRECK)

The Glenlyon stranded on Nov. 1, 1924 on the shoal now named for it, off the tip of Menagerie Island, Isle Royale, while trying to seek shelter in Siskiwit Bay from a major storm.  The Glenlyon was down bound from Ft. William with a load of wheat.  It had been a particularly stormy October and the Glenlyon was forced to wait out a storm at anchor behind the Welcome Islands.  On Friday afternoon October 31, Captain Taylor decided the gale had subsided enough to resume his trip.  Not long after he departed the wind shifted and picked up again from the southwest with winds up to 60 miles per hour.  Captain Taylor headed his ship down the south shore of Isle Royale to the shelter of Siskiwit Bay, which was a common place for ships to seek shelter in storms.  At 1:00 AM Saturday morning the Glenlyon ran hard aground on a shoal off the tip of Menagerie Island.

The distress call was keyed out on the ships wireless and the other ships of the fleet Glensannox and Glenlinnie raced to the scene and maintained the vigil in the lee of Isle Royale until morning light.  Soon after the grounding the captain ordered the pumps shut down to hold the ship firmly on the shoal.  By late Saturday morning the Glenlinnie was able to pull along side of the Glenlyon and transfer the crew to the Glensannox.  By midnight the Coast Guard Cutter Cook arrived from Sault Ste. Marie after having been delayed by mechanical difficulties and terrible sea conditions.

The salvage companies only managed to lighter 75,000 bushels of wheat between storms in the following weeks in hopes of re-floating the Glenlyon, but the condition of the ship continued to deteriorate.  Eventually it was beyond repair and the project was abandoned by the salvage companies.  It remained on the shoal through the winter, but by April of 1925 had broken in two and slipped beneath the surface.  Its wreckage is now scattered along both sides of the reef–the stern wreckage on the outside and the bow wreckage on the inside of what is now called Glenlyon shoal.

Wreck

The remains of the Glenlyon may be found off the south side of Isle Royale near Menagerie Island in Siskiwit Bay. This area is often exposed to heavy weather but can be a great alternate focus of diving activity when the north side is taking a beating. A 328-foot steel bulk freighter, the Glenlyon was built in 1893 and sank in 1924. Although broken up and distributed over a large area now called Glenlyon Shoals, it makes a fascinating dive site. For some reason, the massive triple-expansion engine has assumed a position on the bottom allowing for particularly dramatic viewing. If you have ever seen the movie Alien, you may be reminded as we always are of the scene where the film’s main characters visit the engine room of an ancient spaceship wreck.

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Wreck Diving Information

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