The loss of the Rouse Simmons, better known as "The Christmas Tree Ship," is one of the most enduring tales in lake Michigan maritime history. Every year, just before Thanksgiving, Schuenemann's 127-foot schooner, officially christened the Rouse Simmons, would make its way down the length of Lake Michigan, its hold and deck brimming with fresh-cut Michigan trees to be sold in Chicago.

On November 22, 1912, while caught in a fierce winter storm on the lake, glazed with ice and battered by the sea, the Rouse Simmons sank in 180 feet of water not far off the coast of Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Seventeen men lost their lives in the lake's icy waters. Through the use of rare paintings, photographs, and illustrations, Southport Video takes you back in time to that fateful voyage.

You will hear the story of Captain Herman Schuenemann and his brave attempts to weather a storm that battered his ship and left it encrusted with ice. You will also visit the schooner's final resting place, where stunning underwater footage shows her as she is today, her load of trees still virtually intact in her hold.