The Unholy Apostles: Shipwreck Tales of the Apostle Islands

by James M. Keller

"The 'Unholy' Apostles" deals with a decidedly grim subject in Lake Superior lore - the shipwreck. The setting is the beautiful Chequamegon Bay area on the south shore. The time frame runs roughly from 1870 to 1930. Within this sixty year period Apostle Island waters witnessed many a troubled vessel, and produced a plethora of interesting tales. Shipwrecks have long fascinated mankind. After all, what's more dramatic than a vessel being lost at sea? Shipwreck tales seem to spark the imagination, or perhaps they massage the morbid side of human curiosity. Man's seemingly timeless struggle with the sea has long been considered high adventure. Battling the elements - whether it be storm-swelled seas, raging fire, or thick fog - is often brought to its most basic form aboard a sink or swim, survive or die. Sometimes man is he conquers his unexpected adversary or is at least granted reprieve. The following tales concern those times when he wasn't. The Apostle Islands area was a major center for commerce. For decades ships plied these the long forgotten sidewheelers, the graceful schooners, the powerful little tugs, the wooden bulk freighters, and eventually the bigger steel steamers. The volume of vessel traffic operating in the area during its heyday was immense. And, like other maritime regions, these waters witnessed their fair share of accidents. The "dead" ships that sit scattered about the Apostle Island area are part of the legacy of that great shipping period...

Genres: History

160 pages, Paperback

First published June 18, 2014

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy this genre of books. I liked that he provides maps of the locales and even provides information on the wrecks that can be visited either by shore, snorkel or scuba.
My only criticism is that in some cases I know there is more published information, which was not included in these shipwreck stories .

Overall a great read and I look forward to other books by this author!

[Geve_ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slim local interest book about Lake Superior shipwrecks. Most of the stories were 1-2 pages and very brief summaries of the events. There were some interesting facts and some pics of certain ships, but this felt more like a compilation of pamphlets. It wasn't bad, just not a ton of info. I imagine this book having a place at a family cabin on the Lake.

[Camille · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book of stories about the various shipwrecks around the Apostle Islands, between 1870 and 1930. Intriguing local history for those interested in maritime history. I reviewed it on my blog: https://wineandhistory.wordpress.com/...

[Chris Munz-Pritchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just really enjoyed the first 2 sections of the book. The story of the Sevona and storm of 1905 will haunt me.

[Nicole M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good!

I recently went up to Madeline Island and bought three books related to the general Lake Superior area in one way or another. The first one I read was marginal. The second one I read was quite bad. After two strikes, I began, with trepidation, the Unholy Apostles: Shipwreck Tales of the Apostle Islands, which I bought at the Bayfield Maritime Museum ... and it was quite good!

With numerous clippings and quotations from ye olde newspapers and crew member accounts, the author gives relatively short chapters, each covering a notable shipwreck from the heyday of the shipping era on Lake Superior (Part 1 being pre-1900 wrecks and Part 2 being post 1900 wrecks - but don't expect the Edmund Fitzgerald story as it isn't in here). Each chapter begins with the vessel's specs, which can be (let's face it) quite boring for the layperson (I was reading aloud to a friend for whom English is a second language and I broke up into laughter while reading out the long litany of maritime jargon, and said, "This must be the most boring thing for you." He said, "Actually I don't understand anything you said"). Still, Keller manages to make the actual accounts of the ships interesting. The loss of life is appalling, but there are also accounts of lives saved! Especially compelling is the story of the SEVONA, and be sure to read the account of the R.G. STEWART all the way to the end!

One drawback of the book is that, like many books that are published independently, the actual printing is not sharp, and photos lack proper contrast to see well, as if they were copies of a copy (they may have been, who knows). Also, while the book is edited well without any considerable typos, I really think using a few commas could help readability for some sentences -- enough so for me to notice (maybe the comma key was broken the day they typed it).

Overall, GOOD!

Spoiler: The ship sinks.

My two cents: Christening a ship as "Coffinberry" was just asking for trouble, come on.