Le Griffon
 Woodcut of Le Griffon
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| History | |
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| Name: | Le Griffon |
| Builder: | French explorer La Salle |
| Launched: | 1679 |
| Fate: | Disappeared on the return trip of her maiden voyage in 1679 |
| Notes: | First full sized sailing ship on the upper Great Lakes |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Barque |
| Tons burthen: | 45 tons |
| Length: | 30 to 40 feet (9 to 12 m) |
| Beam: | 10-to-15-foot (3 to 5 m) |
| Sail plan: | Single mast with several square sails |
| Armament: | 7 cannon |
Le Griffon (French pronunciation: [lə ɡʁifɔ̃], The Griffin) was a 17th-century barque built by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle in his quest to find the Northwest Passage to China and Japan.
Le Griffon was constructed and launched at or near Cayuga Creek on the Niagara River as a seven-cannon, 45-ton barque. La Salle and Father Louis Hennepin set out on Le Griffon' maiden voyage on August 7, 1679 with a crew of 32, sailing across Lake Erie, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan through uncharted waters that only canoes had previously explored. The ship landed at a location on an island in Lake Michigan where the local tribes had gathered with animal pelts to trade with the French. La Salle disembarked and on September 18 sent the ship back toward Niagara. On its return trip from the island said to be located in the mouth of the body of water which is now known as Green Bay (Lake Michigan), it vanished with all six crew members and its load of furs.
In late December 2014, treasure hunting divers Kevin Dykstra and Frederick Monroe alerted media outlets that they found indisputable proof of Le Griffon's location. They happened upon the wreckage while searching the floor of Lake Michigan for Confederate gold. Evidently, they spotted the wreck in 2011, but waited until 2014 to reveal the discovery of what some call the "holy grail" of Great Lakes shipwrecks while they consulted experts. There are "no cables, no cabin, and no smokestacks," no mechanical devices of any kind, and a carving on the front of the ship strongly resembles 17th-century French carvings of griffins, Dykstra says. On January 2, 2015, Frederick Monroe told an interviewer for public radio that he believed Le Griffon was built in Canada, below Niagara Falls, and brought to the upper Great Lakes. He went on to say that the wreck is "the one that got in the way." Their claim was quickly debunked when Michigan authorities dove down on June 9, 2015 after receiving the coordinates to verify its authenticity. Michigan state maritime archaeologist Wayne R. Lusardi presented evidence that the wreck was, in fact, a tugboat due to its 90-foot (27 m) length and presence of a steam boiler.
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Wikipedia