Late in the Summer of 2011 some friends and I took a ferry out to Michigan's South Manitou Island for a camping trip. During one of our hikes, we passed the El Morazan shipwreck that had been intentionally beached by Francisco Morazan during a flash storm on Lake Michigan in 1960. Initially, the photographer in me died a little bit when my group elected to hike on wards before I was able to capture this beast. The hike was during our final day on the island, we were to return back to the mainland the next morning. As luck would have it, Lake Michigan whipped up one of its flash storms the following September morning. Radio reports came into the island of ten plus foot waves at the shore, the ferry could not leave port. We, and about 50 others were stranded for another day. Ironically, 17 miles away, there was not a cloud in the sky and the water surrounding the island was practically glass. I elected to take a nap late in the day, and woke up about an hour before sunset with the sudden notion to capture El Morazan correctly. The site was over 3 miles away, it was going to be a close call, but I threw everything in my pack and took off, arriving just in time to capture this photo as the sun faded to red and inched towards the western horizon. I returned to our campsite in darkness, I distinctly remember a bat swooping in front of my face because it was hunting the bugs that were attracted to the light on my head lamp. The walk back, littered with stars and moonlight and wildlife was one of the most gratifying moments that I can recall. If only for a moment, I had encountered the shores of my discontent, and by fate was able to return and conquer them.

 

Author

Nicolas Boileau

Tags

Francisco Morazan, Michigan, Shipwreck, South Manitou Island

Albums

• Great Lakes
• Prints Available