Maritime Time: The Tragedy of The Coral in 1887

In 1887, a tragic accident occurred in Little Traverse Bay following a terrible storm.

The Coral was a pleasure yacht and her crew were the pride of Petoskey.

“And then she really earned the city's favor when she won a surprise race against a sleek, fast Chicago sailboat,” said Renee Tanner of the cemetery. “And I think the newspaper said the boys were too big for their dresses because they were so proud.”

Tanner researched “The Coral” and the story of the people who died and survived a storm on May 22, 1887.

On this sunny Sunday, ten people from Petoskey were out, including LW Cole, 38, and his son Fred, 23. LW owned one of the city's first drugstores. Fred owned The Coral with his girlfriend Dana Stark.

There was not even a hint of a storm that morning. But at 11 a.m. a storm suddenly came from the west and turned the boat on its side.

The 10-man crew climbed into a small dinghy that was towed behind the yacht. This caused the dinghy to sink almost to the waterline. Eventually it too was flooded by the storm.

LW Cole attempted to swim to shore but was found adrift in the water near a nearby tannery. His son Fred attempted to swim after his father but then turned around and clung to the submerged dinghy. But he too was overwhelmed by the lake.

Leon Wilson and his father, Andris Wilson, rushed into the storm to rescue five survivors. In total, five men died that day. Some are buried in the picturesque Greenwood Cemetery overlooking the bay in Petoskey, others were lost in the lake.

Later that evening, the Coral was towed ashore by a tugboat and eventually sailed on.

That's it for this week on the maritime theme. You can visit the Cole family gravesite at Greenwood Cemetery, as well as the gravesites of others who died on this day in 1887.

Listen to our full conversation with Renee Tanner.