Golspie
The Golspie was a wooden steamer approximately 200 feet in length, owned by the MacKay Company based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
Details
Boat Type: Coastal Steamer
Date of Service Start: 1882
Date of Service End: December 4, 1906
Shipwrecked: Yes
Notes
A clipping from the Sault Star (Sault Sainte Marie, MI), 31 Jan 1907. See the source for the original. Golspie Captain Held Responsible The inquest into the Golspie wreck was finished last night at the town hall when the coroner’s jury returned a verdict holding Captain Boult, responsible for the death of Sydney Neil, who died as a result of his hands and feet being frozen, all four members having to be amputated. Dr. McCaig coroner, presided. The evidence showed that the captain had sent the men away from the scene of the wreck giving them instructions to go to Michipicoten Mission, some 10 miles away. When they returned having lost their way, he declined to allow them to enter. The shack which had been erected, and in which the other 18 survivors of the crew were housed. Crown Attorney McFadden will forward the evidence to the government. The jury recommended the establishment for more lighthouses with fog horns on Lake Superior.
Sources and Further Learning
On December 20, 1906, five of the GOLSPIE sailors arrived by tug in Sault Ste. Marie and underwent amputations for severely frost-bitten limbs. One of the men lost both his hands and his feet. One poor soul succumbed to the ordeal after he contracted pneumonia.
Sources and Further Learning
The ship's registry was closed with the Canadian Federal Government on December 27, 1906
Sources and Further Learning
Shipwreck Information
On December 4, 1906, the Golspie was on a charter for package and passage freight, carrying oats and barley. It ran aground broadside on a rocky shoreline near Old Woman Bay in Brulé Bay, close to Michipicoten Island during a blizzard-strength gale with heavy seas. The vessel remained hard aground and broke up against the rocks, with the hull completely shattered by December 7, resulting in a total loss.