Ss Michelle =link= -

The SS Michelle haunts us not because of what she did, but because of what she represents: a loose end. In the modern age of GPS and satellite imaging, we like to think the ocean has no secrets left. But a 250-foot steel ship once vanished without a trace, and a generation later, a man swore he saw her sail out of the mist.

The design of the Michelle influenced a generation of blue-water sailors. Her canoe stern and heavy displacement proved that a boat did not need to be fast to be safe; it needed to be sea-kindly. She rolled with the punches of the Roaring Forties, providing a stable platform for a man living in isolation for months on end. ss michelle

— James A., Maritime History Editor

I don't have the answer. But next time you look out at a grey, choppy sea, remember: the ocean gives up its dead reluctantly. And sometimes, it gives up its ships one piece at a time. The SS Michelle haunts us not because of