Nearshore

Deliberate sinking on Lake Ontario nets conviction

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By Eric Freedman

A Rochester, N.Y., man who deliberately abandoned and sunk his 25-foot Bayliner in Lake Ontario must pay $15,442 restitution to cover the cost of unnecessary search-and-rescue operations. Vyacheslav Migitskiy admitted lying to federal investigators about his ownership of the boat, according to court documents. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Migitskiy “intentionally sunk the vessel without reporting his actions” on Aug. 25, 2022. The next day, civilians spotted the partially submerged boat, triggering an immediate search-and-rescue operation by the Coast Guard, New York State Police and other agencies.

Pieces of wreckage of the Mojave are visible on the bottom of Lake Michigan near Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Image: Wisconsin Historical Society
Echo

Ship doomed on Lake Michigan now moored on National Register of Historic Places

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By Eric Freedman

A Detroit-built sailing ship that sank in Lake Michigan during an 1864 storm has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. The three-masted Mojave, only 1 year old at the time, went down in heavy weather while northbound on the route from Chicago to Buffalo with a load of grain. A newspaper reported at the time: “The master of the bark Monarch reported seeing the Mojave drop into the troughs of the heavy seas that were running at the time, become swamped and disappear.”

The doomed ship was never seen again. At least five crew members died, including 30-year-old Capt. Darius Nelson Malott, and “their remains were not recovered,” according to the Wisconsin Historical Society. The inscription on Malott’s memorial marker in Lakeview Cemetery in Leamington, Ontario, reads, “Lost with the Barque Mojave on Lake Michigan.”

In 2016, shipwreck hunter Steve Radovan discovered the well-preserved Mojave 12½ miles northeast of the Sheboygan, Wisconsin, Breakwater Lighthouse.

Echo

Environmental journalism danger commentary

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Reporting on environmental problems and controversies remains a perilous endeavor, as demonstrated by a series of incidents around the globe.

Journalists are physically assaulted, jailed, interrogated by police, kidnapped, fired, sued for libel, harassed and even murdered for seeking to expose environmental crimes

Art

Great Lakes authors bare their motives

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Books usually speak to readers through words and, sometimes, illustrations.

But we can learn what motivated their authors by speaking directly to them, as Great Lakes Echo correspondents did in interviews this year about new books about environmental issues in the region.

Water

Water consumption drops in Great Lake cities, study finds

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Residents of major Great Lakes cities, including Lansing, are using less water, a trend that has economic, societal and environmental implications, a new study found.

And the relationship between per capita water use and socioeconomic factors such as income and race may prove significant as policymakers address inequities in the distribution and affordability of water

Recreation

Thumb counties hit by high colorectal cancer rates

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Residents of three agricultural counties in the Thumb have a disproportionately high rate of colorectal cancer, including a higher death rate from the disease, according to a new study.

Colorectal cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer death in the United States.

Transportation

Charter boat captain faces prison for unlicensed vessel

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A charter captain faces prison and a fine when he is sentenced early next year for violating a Coast Guard order to stop commercial operation of his unlicensed boat on Lake St. Clair.

Benajmin Jones, 39, of Detroit pleaded guilty to a felony charge of deliberately violating a July 2021 Coast Guard order with his 39-foot Sea Ray, PWR TOWER, federal prosecutors said.