Shipwreck: Ship called Trinidad found in Lake Michigan

Historians have discovered a long lost shipwreck from the late 1800s in Lake Michigan, US.

The ship, called Trinidad, set off for its final journey in 1881, when it ran into trouble and started to fill with water but luckily the crew and captain managed to escape.

However the remains of the ship itself have proved tough to find.

Shipwreck hunters Brendon Baillod and Bob Jaeck found the wreck in July after searching for the past two years using a side-scanning sonar device.

Trinidad ship in 1973

The Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS) announced the discovery and said it was a "significant shipwreck".

The Trinidad was a schooner, which is a sailing ship with two or more masts and was built in 1867 in New York, US.

It was built especially for the Great Lakes grain trade to travel between the cities of Milwaukee, Chicago, Buffalo and Oswego in the north of the USA. It also transported coal or iron.

The owners of the ship didn't look after it well, so on 11 May 1881 during it's final trip the vessel started to fill up with water.

This wasn't unusual so they continued on until according to WHS it "suddenly and violently lurched and began to sink".

Trinidad's shipwreck wheel

The captain and crew managed to escape, but the only loss of life on board was the ship's mascot a large newfoundland dog was who was asleep when the ship began to sink.

Shipwreck hunters Brendon Baillod and Bob Jaeck used a low-frequency fish finder sonar below the surface to help create a 3D map of the bottom of the lake.

The wreck was in good condition and the team found crew possessions, dishes, anchors and other artefacts on board.

Baillod, speaking to Green Bay Press Gazette said: "It's a very significant find. It's not a famous ship, but there are very few ships like it in Wisconsin waters. …

"It's like a time capsule."