Did you know that another Wisconsin shipwreck was recently nominated to the National Register of Historic Places? The lumber schooner BOAZ after being nominated to the State Register in June of this year, was officially recognized on the National Register this week! BOAZ is the 85th shipwreck in Wisconsin waters listed to the National Register of Historic Places and Wisconsin leads the nation in the number of shipwrecks listed! The wreck of the BOAZ is located in North Bay on the northeast Lake Michigan side of the Door County Peninsula. Being sunk in only 6 feet of water, the schooner BOAZ is another shipwreck that is easily accessible by canoers, kayakers, and snorkelers and is part of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’s Lake Michigan State Water Trail.

BOAZ was a wooden three-masted schooner built in 1869 at the shipyard of Stoakes and Locklin in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. BOAZ is unique in that over its career it was rebuilt as a double centerboard schooner. Built for speed, these vessels are a rare type of schooner that only existed for a short period of time on the Great Lakes. The additional double centerboard would allow sailing ships like BOAZ to sail closer to the wind and therefore, carry cargo to market faster, although the addition of a second centerboard would take up more space in the cargo hold, the fast sailing would allow for additional voyages that would make up for the loss of cargo carrying capacity. Double centerboard schooners are the focus of current research being undertaken by the Maritime Archaeology Program and six other double centerboard schooners have been identified as wrecked in Wisconsin waters.

On November 7, 1900, BOAZ was sailing from Pierport to Racine with a cargo of lumber when it was caught in a gale and began leaking. The crew had trouble pumping out the ship and steered the BOAZ to North Bay for refuge and had struck the point while attempting to enter North Bay and the BOAZ sank to its deck. Fearing that the BOAZ would capsize, the crew spent the night huddled inside of the ships yawl (lifeboat) and in the morning rowed to the steam barge TWO MYRTLES also sheltering in the harbor for assistance. The crew of the BOAZ was given clothes, breakfast, and the TWO MYRTLES towed the BOAZ into North Bay onto the beach where it eventually sunk. Its cargo of lumber was salvaged and the wreck of the BOAZ was abandoned.

Learn more about Wisconsin Shipwrecks: BOAZ - https://wihist.org/45vT9TP

Learn more about Wisconsin DNR: Wisconsin Lake Michigan State Water Trail: https://wihist.org/3v4QPl5

📸: Footage of the Schooner BOAZ, Wisconsin Historical Society Maritime Archaeology Program