The Continental Shipwreck

The wreck of the steam-powered bulk freighter Continental is located about a mile north
of the Rawley Point Lighthouse. After 22 years of service on the Great Lakes, the
Continental met its unfortunate end in a blinding snowstorm in December 1904. While
steaming south past Twin Rivers Point (now Rawley Point) in route to Manitowoc for the
winter, the captain became disoriented and mistakenly steered the ship towards shore.
Without cargo, the vessel rode high in the water and approached the shore at high
speed, eventually hitting a sandbar and sliding far onto it.

Fortunately, all 20 crew members safely made it to shore with the assistance of local
fishermen. Despite efforts from tugboats, the Continental was too heavily grounded to
be pulled free. Over the winter, the immense power of expanding and shifting ice
destroyed the vessel.

Today, the Continental sits in15 feet of water, with the cylinder heads of its compound
steam engine occasionally breaking the surface during periods of low water. Most of its
hull structure remains, and sections of the wreckage are sometimes uncovered by
shifting sand.