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Post by yachtsmanwilly on May 12, 2013 6:59:35 GMT -5
Today in Great Lakes History - May 12
The CABOT (Hull#649) was launched May 12, 1965, at Lauzon, Quebec by Davie Shipbuilding Ltd., for Gulf Ports Steamship Co. Ltd. (Clarke Steamship Co. Ltd., mgr.). In 1983, the CABOT's stern was attached to the bow section of the NORTHERN VENTURE to create the CANADIAN EXPLORER.
The THOMAS WALTERS, American Shipbuilding, Lorain (Hull#390) entered service on May 12, 1911, with coal from Sandusky, Ohio to Duluth, Minnesota. Renamed b.) FRANK R. DENTON in 1952, she was scrapped at Ashtabula, Ohio in 1984.
The carferry GRAND HAVEN was sold to the West India Fruit & Steamship Co., Norfolk, Virginia on May 12, 1946, and was brought down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, Louisiana for reconditioning before reaching Port Everglades and the Port of Palm Beach, Florida.
On 12 May 1875, the scow-schooner SEA BIRD of Chicago was driven onto the beach a half-mile south of the harbor at Holland, Michigan by a Northeaster. After the storm, she was high and dry on the beach.
The wooden J.S. SEAVERNS stranded near Michipicoten Island on Lake Superior on 12 May 1884. She had been carrying passengers from Chicago to Port Arthur. She was pulled free by a tug, but then sank. She was formerly a steam barge, being built on the bottom of the side-wheel tug JOHN P. WARD in Saugatuck, Michigan in 1880. The WARD dated back to 1857, had burned in 1865, was then rebuilt as a schooner, and in 1880, was finally rebuilt as the SEAVERNS.
1975 – The tug TARA HILL was damaged by a fire set by vandals at New Orleans. This vessel had operated on the Great Lakes as NORTHERN, CHARLES R. RANDLE SR., HELEN HINDMAN, SUSAN HINDMAN and HERBERT A. Lloyds notes “continued existence in doubt” in 1997, but the hull was likely dismantled much earlier.
1978 – PHOTINIA ran aground off Milwaukee in rough seas and the crew was rescued. The ship was refloated but declared a total loss. It was towed to various Lake Michigan ports in the next two years and was eventually dismantled at Kewaunee, Wis., in 1981.
The last entry here about the PHOTINIA has a story... My dad was in charge of the breaking operation there when Selvick Towing got the call to make for Traverse City where he met his demise. Just an FYI...
Port Reports - May 12
Milwaukee Wis. - Chris Gaziano Algosteel arrived during the early morning and was outbound for the lake by mid-morning after unloading salt. The Calumet was inbound during the morning with salt, and departed late in the afternoon, heading south for Chicago.
Alpena, Mich. - Ben & Chanda McClain On Friday, the Manitowoc was at Lafarge unloading coal. Sam Laud arrived in the Thunder Bay River Saturday morning to unload coal for the Decorative Panels International Plant. By 2 p.m. the unload was finished, and the Laud backed out into the bay.
Marblehead, Ohio - Jim Spencer Manistee loaded overnight Friday at the Lafarge stone dock and sailed, reportedly for Fairport Harbor. She was replaced at the Marblehead dock by the tug Dorothy Ann and barge Pathfinder, which continued to load Saturday night.
Lorain, Ohio – Phil Leon Dorothy Ann Pathfinder came into Lorain about 12:30 Saturday morning. They departed about 7 hours later.
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Post by yachtsmanwilly on May 13, 2013 6:05:18 GMT -5
Detroit bridge closes on Herbert C. Jackson
5/13 - Detroit, Mich. - The Herbert C. Jackson suffered minor damage Sunday morning when the Jefferson Avenue Bridge closed while the ship was approaching it. It appeared that the east span of the draw was lowered and the Jackson struck it a low speed causing a 1-inch by 6-inch puncture in the hull above the waterline on the starboard bow.
The Jackson was inbound with taconite for Severstal Steel about 2 a.m. when the incident happened. The Jackson was assisted back out of the Rouge River and docked at DMT on the Detroit River to wait for the span to be lifted.
By early afternoon the west side of the draw was fully opened and crews were working on the heavily damaged eastern span. Officials report this is the first accident in the bridge's 91-year history.
Late Sunday the eastern span was partially opened but the river was reported to remain closed.
Today in Great Lakes History - May 13
The tanker GEMINI (Hull#746) was launched at Orange, Texas by Levingston Ship Building Co. in 1978, for Cleveland Tankers Inc., a subsidiary of Ashland Oil. Renamed b.) ALGOSAR in 2005.
The tanker JUPITER made her maiden voyage May 13, 1976 from Smith's Bluff, Texas loaded with lube oil bound for Marcus Hooks, Penn. She was destroyed after exploding in the Saginaw River on September 16, 1990.
On May 13, 1913, Pittsburgh Steamship's THOMAS F. COLE collided with the barge IRON CITY on Lake St. Clair. The barge was cut in two.
Delivered May 13, 1943, the Str. THOMAS WILSON departed under the command of Captain Henry Borgen on her maiden voyage from Lorain, Ohio, bound for Duluth, Minnesota, to load iron ore.
The green-hulled schooner EMMA C. HUTCHINSON was launched at 4 p.m. on 13 May 1873, at the E. Fitzgerald yard in Port Huron. She was the largest vessel built at that yard up to that time. She was named for the wife of Mr. J. T. Hutchinson of Cleveland. Her dimensions were 195foot keel, 215 feet overall, 35 foot beam, 14 foot depth, 736 tons. She cost $55,000. Frank Leighton was her builder and Matthew Finn the master fitter. She was outfitted by Swan's Sons of Cleveland. Her painting was done by Ross & Doty of Port Huron.
On 13 May 1874, the Port Huron Times reported that someone had stolen the schooner ANNIE FAUGHT and that John Hoskins, the owner, was offering a reward for her recovery.
May 13, 1898 - The steamer JOHN ERICSSON, having in tow the barge ALEXANDER HOLLEY, bound down with ore, went aground while making the turn at the dark hole in little Mud Lake. She is on a sand bottom. Tugs and lighters have gone to release her. When the steamer grounded the barge ran into her, damaging the latter's bow and causing a large hole above the water line on the starboard side of the ERICSSON. Both were repaired temporarily.
On 13 May 1871, NORTHERNER (wooden barge, 220 foot, 1,391 gross tons) was launched by Capt. Wescott at Marine City, Michigan. Her master builder was John J. Hill. She was towed to Detroit to be fitted out and there was talk of eventually converting her to a passenger steamer. She remained a barge until 1880, when she was converted to a propeller freighter in Detroit. She lasted until 1892, when she burned at L'anse, Mich.
1914 – The package freight carrier CITY OF OTTAWA was upbound in the Cornwall Canal when it sheered over and struck the downbound S.N. PARENT on the port side at #2 hatch. The former was part of Canada Steamship Lines but was best known as the INDIA of the Anchor Line.
1915 – VALCARTIER and A.W. OSBORNE collided in Lake Huron above Corsica Shoal.
1933 – CALGARIAN, en route from Toronto to Montreal with automobiles and general cargo, stranded at Salmon Point in Lake Ontario, and was refloated two days later. 1943 – The caustic soda tanker DOLOMITE 4 was in and out of the Great Lakes via the New York State Barge Canal system. The vessel was torpedoed and sunk by U-176 off the north coast of Cuba on the date in 1943 as b) NICKELINER. Data from: Skip Gillham, Jody Aho, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Father Dowling Collection, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series, the Detroit Free Press and the Duluth Evening Herald.
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Post by yachtsmanwilly on May 14, 2013 5:23:54 GMT -5
Detroit bridge operator was drunk during freighter crash 5/14 - Detroit, Mich. – Police have determined that the operator of the drawbridge that crashed down onto a 670-foot long ore carrier early Sunday morning was drunk at the time of the incident. No one was injured in the incident, which occurred about 2:15 a.m. when the Jefferson Avenue Bridge crashed down onto the Herbert C. Jackson, which was headed to unload 23,000 tons of ore pellets at the Rouge Plant. The ship received moderate damage while the bridge over the Rouge River received substantial damages. "She was tested at the scene and it was determined she was intoxicated and over the legal limit to operate a motor vehicle," said Lt. Justin Westmiller of the Detroit Station of the U.S. Coast Guard. "The navigation team of the vessel were also tested but there was nothing to substantiate that the ship or the crew had anything to do with the incident." Westmiller said he didn't know what the blood alcohol content (BAC) of the operator was, but in Michigan the legal limit for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol is .08. According to Westmiller, the vessel was repaired and has resumed its journey. The incident caused major damage to the bridge, a heavily used motor vehicle crossing over Rouge River Avenue that connects Detroit and River Rouge. With the span closed, motorists have to use Fort Street as Wayne County officials work to repair the damage. "This is a real rarity," Westmiller said. "In my 17 years in the Coast Guard, this is a new one. It could have been a lot worse. Wayne County spokeswoman Cindy Dingell agreed: "In 91 years, nothing like this has happened. We've not seen anything like this before." According to Dingell, the bridge will remain open to marine traffic but be closed indefinitely to vehicle and foot traffic until the extent of the damages to the bridge can be determined. The Detroit News USCG Cutter Neah Bay hauled out at Great Lakes Shipyard 5/14 - Cleveland, Ohio – Great Lakes Shipyard has hauled out the United States Coast Guard Cutter Neah Bay (WTGB-105) using its 770-ton capacity Travelift. The repair contract, awarded to the shipyard in early March, includes routine drydocking and underwater hull maintenance such as inspection and testing of propulsion systems, overhaul of sea valves and shaft seal assemblies, and other various cleaning, inspections, and repairs. This is the first of the USCG’s nine 140-foot Bay Class ice-breaking tugs to be drydocked using Great Lakes Shipyard’s new Marine Travelift. The Travelift is the largest on the Great Lakes in the United States and Canada, second largest in the Western Hemisphere, and third largest in the world. It was specifically designed and sized for Great Lakes Shipyard to accommodate the Bay Class Coast Guard Cutters and other vessels. Work on the Neah Bay is to be completed by late June. Shipwreck Showcase June 13 in Munising 5/14 - Dennis Hale will tell his story of his survival of the Daniel J. Morrell shipwreck. "Whispers of the North," a Gordon Lightfoot tribute band, will perform Gordon Lightfoot’s music and Carl Behrend will perform his shipwreck songs June 13 in Munising. The show will to start at 6 p.m. with the doors opening at 5 p.m. for viewing of raffle items and silent auction items. A model of the Fitz will be the Grand Prize of the raffle drawing. Today in Great Lakes History - May 14 On 14 May 1881, CITY OF ROME (wooden propeller freighter, 268 foot, 1,908 gross tons) was launched by Thomas Quayle & Sons in Cleveland, Ohio. She was the largest vessel on the Lakes when she was launched. She lasted until 1914, when she burned near Ripley, New York on Lake Erie. On May 14, 1959, the SHENANGO II and the HERBERT C. JACKSON both entered service. While the vessels have been fleet mates since 1967, the SHENANGO II was built by the Shenango Furnace Company. She operates today as the c.) HON. JAMES L. OBERSTAR, renamed last spring. On May 14, 1943, the THOMAS WILSON entered service as the first of the sixteen vessels in the "Maritime" class. The HOCHELAGA's self-unloading boom was installed on the RICHARD REISS, which had lost her boom April 13, 1994, when it collapsed at Fairport, Ohio. The REISS’ replacement boom was installed on May 14, 1994 by Port Weller Drydocks Ltd. BLACK HAWK (wooden schooner, 98 foot, 178 gross tons) was launched in East Saginaw, Michigan on 14 May 1861. Thomas A. Estes was her builder. She was active until abandoned in the Kinnickinnic River at Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1908. On 13 October 1913, she was filled with flammable material and burned off Milwaukee as a public spectacle for the Perry Centennial Celebration. On May 14, 1905, the new Anchor Line passenger steamer JUNIATA made her maiden voyage from the yards of the American Shipbuilding Company in Cleveland, Ohio to Detroit, Michigan. Sailing under the command of Capt. Edward J. Martin she left Cleveland at 7:05 in the morning and arrived at Detroit shortly before 4. On board, in addition to several officials of the line was her designer, Frank E. Kirby. Detroiters were treated to the sight of seeing both the JUNIATA and TIONESTA together for the first time as TIONESTA was loading for Duluth, Minnesota when the JUNIATA arrived from Cleveland and tied up alongside her older sister. The JUNIATA later departed for Chicago where her furnishings were installed. On 14 May 1861, COMET (wooden side-wheeler, 174 foot. 337 gross tons, built in 1848, at Portsmouth, Ontario) collided with the 2-mast wooden schooner EXCHANGE, ten miles off Nine-Mile Point on Lake Ontario. Then an explosion rocked the COMET and she was destroyed by fire 2 or 3 lives were lost, but the survivors reached Simcoe Island in a lifeboat. Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., May 14, 1900. - The tug W.A. ROOTH of the Great Lakes Towing company fleet was caught between the barge JOHN A. ROEBLING and the steamer HENRY C. FRICK in the American canal last night and sunk. The crew escaped without injury. The tug was towing the barge ROEBLING out of the canal and in some manner got between the ROEBLING and the big steamer FRICK. Her sides were crushed in and she went down immediately in twenty feet of water. 1917 – SAXONA and PENTECOST MITCHELL collided head-on in the St. Marys River near Detour and both ships sank with their bows locked together. The former was refloated and repaired as LAKETON while the latter was also salvaged and remained in the U.S. Steel fleet. 1921 – The barge MIZTEC broke loose of the steamer ZILLAH in a storm and sank with all hands in Lake Superior northeast of Vermilion Point. 1952 – The JAMES NORRIS began her sailing career, loading a cargo of grain at Fort William. 1991 – The Yugoslavian bulk carrier MALINSKA ran aground off Main Duck Island, Lake Ontario, while outbound from the Great Lakes with a cargo of steel coils. It was lightered and released. The ship had been a Seaway trader since 1987 and now sails in the Algoma fleet as c) ALGOMA DISCOVERY. Renovated Dossin Great Lakes Museum to reopen Saturday 5/14 - Detroit, Mich. – After a five-month remodeling project, the Dossin Great Lakes Museum will reopen Saturday with new exhibits and interactive features that pay homage to Detroit and the waterways that helped it become one of the most important cities in America. The 16,000-square-foot museum has been revamped and updated with technology, including further restoration of the Gothic men’s lounge of the overnight ship, SS City of Detroit III. The face-lift includes new exhibit halls and a detailed touch screen in the Detroit River-facing pilot house of the SS William Clay Ford. The Detroit River-cam has also been updated to give viewers better, high-definition imagery. The $2-million renovation is part of the Detroit Historical Society’s five-year, $20-million push to revamp its two museums — the Detroit Historical Museum reopened in November 2012 after a six-month closure and $12-million remodel; the Dossin Museum has been closed since December. “Anybody who’s been here before is going to walk in and go ‘wow,’ because it was pretty long in the tooth and it was getting pretty dusty. The interpretation was not good, and they’re going to walk in and see a real museum,” said Joel Stone, senior curator of the Detroit Historical Society. The museum, which opened in 1960, starts and ends with actual pieces of historic vessels. The SS City of Detroit III clubroom, removed from the 1912 ship, is filled with oak-carved ornate fixtures and a stained-glass window depicting explorer Rene-Robert Cavelier de LaSalle. The lighting is low, and the descriptive panels tell the tale of cruising Detroit’s waterways. The pilot house, built in the 1950s, is replete with all the instrumentation of the period and overlooks the Detroit River. A new touch screen allows visitors to learn more about instrumentation and the effort needed to move the big ship through area waterways. Between these two vessels are several new and remodeled exhibits celebrating everything from Detroit’s days as a fur-trapping capital to the rise of cruise vessels to places like Boblo Island and the growth of the speedboat, a favorite of the Dossin family for which the museum is named. The main exhibit is called “Built by the River,” a permanent display of the city’s intricate, if sometimes dramatic, relationship with the Detroit River. Sections describe the importance of the river to military operations in the 1700s and 1800s, how it served as passage on the Underground Railroad, the later use of the river as the city capitalized during the Industrial Revolution and, finally, how the river became a main source of recreation for generations of metro Detroiters. In one section, visitors can listen to the distress calls of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, whose 12,000-pound bow anchor sits outside the museum. The storied ship sank during storms on Lake Superior in 1975, killing 29. The anchor was recovered by divers in 1992. “This is a great place with a great history,” said Detroit Historical Museum Executive Director Bob Bury about Detroit. “The more you give the community a sense of place and an appreciation for where they are and where they live, the better it is.” Walter, Roy and Russell Dossin, the three brothers who seeded the museum, were boating enthusiasts who owned a Pepsi bottling distribution company in Michigan. The brothers were avid hydroplane boaters, and one of their boats built in 1950, the Miss Pepsi, has long been on display. The remodeling effort improved the viewing area and added several panels that tell the story of the Dossins and the growth of speed-boating. A new exhibition hall pays homage to the Gold Cup and speedboats inside the museum. The museum has closed in the past for repairs and installations, including brief periods in 1984 and 2007, but Bury said this is the first serious overhaul the museum has had in its lifetime. After taking bids from several exhibit designers and contractors, Bury said, the work was done locally by a handful of metro Detroit companies. The reopening of the museum comes as other projects have revived Detroit’s large island park. The Belle Isle Aquarium recently reopened, and the roof is being replaced on the park’s horse stables. The Chevrolet Belle Isle Grand Prix will be held at the end of the month, and the Orion Music + More Festival will take over the park in early June. Bury said he hopes the newly remodeled museum will draw more people to the island known as the jewel of Detroit. “They’re going to have a new appreciation for all that Detroit is and how important its location really is. We’re hoping that with the renovation, we’re really going to be the jewel on a jewel,” said Bury. Video of the new exhibits Detroit Free Press Lakes cruise ship now calls Marquette home 5/14 - Marquette, Mich. – The Isle Royal Queen III, the cruise ship running summer trips from Marquette's Lower Harbor, will now call the city home. This spring, in preparation for the cruise season ahead, the boat's port of call was changed to Marquette. "We didn't want to ask Marquette and her visitors to patronize our business without us showing, if you will, our commitment to Marquette," said Molly Carmody, the owner and manager of Marquette Harbor Cruises. "So we changed our port of call to reflect where we hope to do business for a long time." Carmody started operating the 81-foot cruise ship last year, overseeing daily cruises to Partridge Island and back. A narrated journey leads passengers past Picnic Rocks, the Upper Harbor ore dock and breakwater, Presque Isle, Black Rocks and Middle Island Point. The cruise then circles Partridge Island before making a return trip along the Marquette shoreline. "Last year went very well. We really felt embraced by the community," Carmody said. "The townspeople were so awesome and some of them cruised two or three times." This year, the process has been refined. 2013 cruises are set to begin May 24, with a single daily trip to Partridge Island. In June the boat will begin 90-minute evening cruises to Black Rocks and back. Wine and beer - some local - will be served on the boat this year, as well. The Isle Royal Queen III is known regionally. It was originally named the Isle Royale Queen II and was used during the 1970s and 1980s to shuttle people, backpacks and canoes between Copper Harbor and Isle Royale. Carmody, who brought the ship to the Lower Harbor last year, hopes to continue building the boat's legacy. "We felt very endorsed by the community, which is why we wanted to show the town our commitment for doing business here," she said. "We want to call our boat's home Marquette." A full summer cruise schedule, in addition to rates, can be found online at www.marquetteharborcruises.com. Tickets can also be purchased online, as well as at the MHC office in the Lower Harbor. The Mining Journal
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Post by yachtsmanwilly on May 15, 2013 5:35:41 GMT -5
Today in Great Lakes History - May 15
On 15 May 1901, the GILCHRIST (Hull #603) (steel propeller freighter, 356 foot. 3,871 gross tons) was launched at the West Bay City Ship Building Co. in West Bay City, Michigan, for the Gilchrist Transportation Company of Cleveland, Ohio. She lasted until 1943, when she was sunk in a collision on Lake Superior.
On May 15, 1997, the "This Day in History" feature started on this web site.
The PHILIP R. CLARKE, first of the AAA class of vessel, began her maiden voyage from Lorain, Ohio, on this date in 1952.
After extensive renovation at Fraser Shipyard, the IRVIN L. CLYMER departed Superior, Wisconsin on May 15, 1981, and went to Duluth, Minnesota, to load 11,154 tons of taconite ore for Lorain, Ohio.
On May 15, 1971, the STONEFAX was sold and was scrapped at Santander, Spain.
On 15 May 1854, GARDEN CITY (wooden passenger/package side-wheeler, 218 foot, 657 tons, built in 1853, at Buffalo, New York) was sailing from Chicago to the Soo in a storm when she went on Martin Reef, west of Detour, Michigan, and was wrecked. Her passengers were picked up by the steamer QUEEN CITY.
May 15, 1992 -- The BADGER was rededicated and began a new career as a non-railroad carferry.
At 3:30 a.m., 15 May 1874, the tug TAWAS came along side of the schooner ZACH CHANDLER several miles off shore from Sand Beach, Michigan on Lake Huron. The boiler of the TAWAS exploded and she sank. Capt. Robinson, 2nd Engineer Dyson, Firemen Thomas Conners and James McIntyre, and Lookout Dennis Burrow were all on the tug and died in the explosion. The blast tore the CHANDLER's sails and rigging, and caused the death of one of her officers when he was struck on the head by a flying piece of debris. The CHANDLER drifted away in the heavy seas, but returned to pick up five survivors from the water. The TAWAS was built at Vicksburg, Michigan by Myron Williams in 1864. Her dimensions were 95-foot x 18-foot, 6-inches x 8-foot, 6-inches. She carried the two old engines from the tug BLISH, which when new were 11-1/2 inches x 20 inches, but having been bored out several times, were 15 inches x 20 inches at the time of the explosion. Her boiler was built by Mr. Turnbull of Corunna, Ontario.
1907 – SAXON ran aground near Caribou Island, Lake Superior, and dumped about 1,000 tons of ore overboard before being released. The ship went to the Atlantic in 1918 and was scrapped at Copenhagen, Denmark, as c) ANNE JENSEN in 1927.
1923 – PERE MARQUETTE 4 and PERE MARQUETTE 17 collided in fog off Milwaukee and the former sustained severe damage above the waterline and was laid up.
1929 – RALPH BUDD stranded at Saltese Point, near Eagle Harbor, MI and was abandoned to the underwriters. The grain-laden vessel was released by Reid and sold to Canadian interests. It was scrapped at Hamilton as b) L.A. McCORQUODALE of the Upper Lakes Shipping fleet in 1966.
1963 – LOBIVIA, WESTMOUNT and ROGERS CITY were in a three-way collision in the St. Clair River at Port Huron but there was only minor damage.
1967 – GOLDEN HIND was loaded with grain when it stranded off Cassidy Point, Lake Erie, and was holed in the forward compartment.
1968 – The stern cabins of HOMER D. WILLIAMS were damaged from a collision with WHEAT KING in the St. Marys River and this ship was repaired at Lorain. The latter vessel received bow damage that was repaired at Port Weller.
1972 – The Dutch freighter COLYTTO first came through the Seaway in 1963 and made 8 trips to the end of 1966. It was swept ashore by a typhoon near the mouth of the Limpopo River off the coast of Mozambique as b) CAPE NERITA on this date in 1972. All on board were rescued but the ship was abandoned on the beach as it was not feasible to dig the ship out by a canal. The nearest road was 25 miles away so the hull was not scrapped either.
1999 – The former sandsucker NIAGARA II was scuttled as an attraction to divers off Tobermory, ON.
Divers discover 1876 schooner wreck
5/15 - Port Huron, Mich. – Paul Schmitt, Dave Losiniski and Drew Losinksi are filling in Lake Huron’s blanks. The Lakeport men look for shipwrecks and they’re going public with one of their latest discoveries.
The Charles H. Walker, a 136-foot, two-masted schooner, lies in about 35 feet of water about four miles east of Lakeport State Park. The men, said Schmitt, found the vessel in August 2010.
His meticulous research revealed the ship sank in rough seas on Sept. 26, 1876 the year of the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia and about three months after the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana.
The Charles H. Walker was carrying a load of iron ore from L’Anse in the Upper Peninsula to the smelters of Pennsylvania, according to a story in the Port Huron Times.
“It’s still heaped on the cargo deck,” Schmitt said.
The crew members safely evacuated the ship. Its location was marked by its masts sticking above the surface, so in August 1877, a wrecking tug was reported to have salvaged some of its fittings and cargo.
A retired dean of instruction at St. Clair County Community College, Schmitt said he and Losinski have been looking for shipwrecks for about 20 years and have found several, including the Eliza H. Strong, which was built in 1874 in Marine City. They pulled Losinksi’s son, Drew, into their obsession.
They’ve used soundings and a magnetometer towed behind a boat to look for masses in the lake worth diving on. As the water clarity has increased over the years because of the invasive zebra and quagga mussels they’ve taken to the air in a helicopter.
Losiniski actually trained to fly a helicopter and received his license to look for shipwrecks. He now flies helicopters professionally for the Oakland County Sheriff Department.
Schmitt said the searchers were using a helicopter in 2008 to look for the Charles H. Walker, which they knew from his research was somewhere at the bottom of southern Lake Huron near Lakeport.
“We saw a number of targets probably 25 to 30 dark spots,” he said.
In 2009 and 2010, the team dived on the dark spots, finding in some cases, timber, weed beds and boulders.
“In this particular case, it was a shipwreck,” Schmitt said.
Losinski said part of the allure of his hobby is finding “something nobody knows anything about and putting the pieces of the puzzle back together.”
“We both love diving,” Losinski said, “and my son is into it very big also.Schmitt said his purpose in publicizing the wreck is so other people can dive on it. At 36 feet, and in clear water, it’s within the limits of sport diving.
One of the biggest surviving parts of the ship is a windlass used by the crew to lift heavy objects such as anchors and cargo.
“There isn’t too much to loot,” Schmitt said. “The windlass is nice, but it’s wood.
“There is an antiquities law,” he said. “Even if you’re not in a (underwater) preserve, it limits what you can salvage and under what circumstances.”
He said he and the Losinskis have known for years the Charles H. Walker was somewhere out there under the waves of Lake Huron. It was gratifying, he said, to not only find it, but to dive on a ship that once was part of the bustling Great Lakes trade.
“We’ve been looking all these years and we found the darn thing,” he said.
Port Huron Times Herald
St. Lawrence River water levels rise dramatically
5/15 - C - The St. Lawrence River is known for having its ups and downs involving water levels - just ask riverfront resident Dalton Foster, who says he hasn't seen the water on the St. Lawrence at Wilson Hill this high in some time.
"Many people's docks are under water," said Foster, Wilson Hill Association president.
The current situation is a far cry from the near historic low water levels that have been plaguing the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario.
A strong southwest wind is being blamed for significantly raising water levels on the St. Lawrence River between two and three feet over the weekend, creating shoreline erosion problems and making some docks unreachable.
The International River Board of Control says the phenomena is caused by water being blown from Lake Ontario back into the St. Lawrence.
"The lake on the opposite side is decreased, but the level right at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River is increased and that increases the whole water level down the entire river," said John Kangas of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The high water conditions along the St. Lawrence started on Friday and progressively got worse over the weekend.
"We're getting a lot of erosion down there right now," said Richard Guimond, who is concerned about the water levels.
The high water levels also forced seaway ships to temporarily reduce their speeds in the area between Eisenhower and Iroquois locks until further notice.
The International Joint Commission tries to strike an appropriate balance in water levels by adjusting the amount of water released through the Moses-Saunders Hydroelectric Dam.
Officials say once the winds die down, it will take a day or two for water levels on the St. Lawrence to once again begin to drop.
WWNY TV 7
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Post by yachtsmanwilly on May 16, 2013 6:34:00 GMT -5
I hope it doesnt cut in to the charcoal briquette budget! Just sayin'... ws
U.S. Senate passes bill that could help pay for Great Lakes dredging projects
5/16 - Washington, D.C. – A sweeping water resources development bill passed by the U.S. Senate on Thursday could increase dredging in Great Lakes harbors and channels, though it could take some time to see the exact effects.
The legislation includes a provision that would require $1 billion in proceeds from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund be spent in the next fiscal year, and the minimum funding level increase by at least $100 million in the years after that.
The provision could help address a backlog of about $200 million in dredging projects spread across 60 federally-maintained harbors and channels in the Great Lakes, almost half of which are in Michigan.
The bill, which now goes to the House for consideration, also includes a provision that requires at least 20% of any additional funding above last years levels go to Great Lakes projects.
An earlier version of the legislation would have required that all the proceeds from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund be spent annually, but congressional appropriators and the White House balked at the suggestion that special rules would be needed to reduce funding for harbor dredging and other projects.
Both of Michigan’s senators voted in favor of the legislation, which passed on an 83-14 vote. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan, had been battling to free up more of the money from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for projects, especially at a time of record low lake levels.
Great Lakes harbors and channels are in great need of dredging, Levin said in a floor statement. A backlog of dredging projects forces vessels to carry less than their capacity, threatens to close harbors and increases the risk of vessel groundings. These funds need to be used for harbor maintenance instead of for other purposes.
Dredging funding had been cut back in recent years even as the trust fund ran at a surplus. It is funded by taxes paid on the value of cargo imported into the U.S.
Detroit Free Press
St. Lawrence River board will lower gates at Iroquois Dam to reduce water level
5/16 - Massena, N.Y. - In response to an order by the International St. Lawrence River Board of Control, the gates at the Iroquois Dam near Waddington will be lowered on Wednesday due to increased water levels on Lake St. Lawrence.
The order to lower the gates was issued Tuesday to the New York Power Authority and Ontario Power Generation, which jointly operate the Robert Moses-Robert H. Saunders Power Dam.
Iroquois Dam is upstream of the power dam and regulates the outflow from Lake Ontario and the water level of Lake St. Lawrence. The gates of the Iroquois Dam are being lowered to help prevent Lake St. Lawrence, the section of the river between Waddington and Massena, from rising too high.
The lowered gates at the Iroquois Dam will require recreational boats to use Iroquois Lock to pass through the dam. The gates will remain in place until further notice, the announcement from NYPA said.
North Country Now
Cuyahoga River closes for bridge construction
5/16 - Cleveland, Ohio - With the finish now in sight, crews building the first new Inner Belt Bridge are preparing for one of the biggest challenges yet -- placing steel girders over water.
The Cuyahoga River is scheduled to close to boat traffic Wednesday and at least two more times in the coming weeks as workers link piers on either side of the river, below the Tremont bluffs.
The two massive piers are among 14 that will bear the Interstate 90 bridge over the river valley. The $293 million project is scheduled for completion on Oct. 28, nearly three years after crews began moving earth, pouring concrete and erecting steel.
The new bridge will carry I-90 traffic for three years. Meanwhile, the old, corroding bridge will be demolished and a second bridge will be built in its place, at an estimated cost of $330 million.
The second bridge is scheduled to open in late 2016 and will carry traffic headed east. The first bridge will convert to its designed use for westbound cars.
About 80 percent of the first bridge is built. All the concrete piers are poured. Crews have linked most of the piers with steel girders, which will bear the concrete decks that will be poured on top.
The job of erecting the steel girders -- each weighing as much as three cement trucks -- is easier to do on land than it is over water.
Bridge contractor Walsh Construction, of Chicago, oversees the work. Crews will use two barges on the river for the job, said Amanda Lee, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Transportation.
One will carry steel pieces. The other will hold a 20-story crane weighing 275 tons. The giant hoist will work with cranes on land to lift and link the steel pieces.
The river is about 200 feet wide at the work site. The span between the piers is 380 feet, a bit longer than a football field.
The key is to break the work down to "manageable steps," said Tom Flask, spokesman for the bridge-building team. "The experience gained on the earlier parts of the bridge has contributed to planning the best way to accomplish this difficult segment of our work."
The Inner Belt Bridge project is "not too extreme in terms of the over-water span length and height," Arthur Huckelbridge, a civil engineering professor at Case Western Reserve University, said in an email. "So, aside from employing the barge-mounted crane, I suspect that the erection of this span is not radically different from the previously constructed spans."
It's not just an engineering challenge. Orchestrating river traffic is daunting too.
ODOT and the bridge team are coordinating with a dozen entities, including the U.S. Coast Guard, the Lake Carriers Association and ArcelorMittal, the East Side steelworks that receives ore by water.
The river will close for 48 hours starting Wednesday. At least two more outages will occur in the next few weeks.
For those who'd like to watch, the best view will be from the Abbey Avenue sidewalk in Tremont, just west of the Inner Belt Bridge. There is no public access to work sites on either side of the river, ODOT said.
The Plain Dealer
Today in Great Lakes History - May 16
On 16 May 1894, the SHENANDOAH (wooden propeller freighter, 308 foot, 2,251 gross tons) was launched by J. Davidson (Hull #60) in West Bay City, Michigan. She lasted until 1924, when she was abandoned.
The CANADIAN PROSPECTOR passed upbound in the Welland Canal May 16, 1979, with Labrador ore bound for Ashtabula, Ohio. This was her first trip after being reconstructed.
W. R. WOODFORD (Hull#626) was launched May 16, 1908, at West Bay City, Michigan by West Bay City Ship Building Co. for W. A. & M.A. Hawgood. Renamed b.) N.F. LEOPOLD 1911, and c.) E. J. BLOCK in 1943. She was scrapped at Port Colborne, Ontario, arriving in 1998.
IRVIN L. CLYMER departed Superior, Wisconsin, on May 15, 1981, and went to Duluth, Minnesota, to load 11,154 tons of taconite ore for Lorain. On May 16, 1981, having departed Duluth in 35 mph winds and 10-foot seas, the CLYMER began taking on water in her ballast tanks. She returned to Duluth, and was quickly repaired.
On May 16, 1972, in dense fog, the ROBERT HOBSON struck the Peerless Cement dock at Port Huron, Michigan when her bow was caught by the strong current at the mouth of the St. Clair River. Damage to the hull was estimated at to $100,000.
In 1985, the steamer PONTIAC was towed down the Welland Canal by the Mc Keil tugs GLENEVIS, ARGUE MARTIN and STORMONT bound for Quebec City. She would later be scrapped in Spain.
The tug B. W. ALDRICH burned at Ludington, Michigan, on 16 May 1874. The damage was estimated at $5,000 and she was rebuilt.
May 16, 1997 - The BADGER's planned first voyage of 1997 was delayed for one day because of a faulty boiler tube.
E. W. OGLEBAY (steel propeller bulk freighter, 375 foot. 3,666 gross tons) was launched at F. W. Wheeler's yard (Hull #114) at West Bay City, Michigan, on 16 May 1896. She lasted until she stranded on Shot Point, 10 miles east of Marquette, Michigan, on Lake Superior, during a heavy northeast gale and blizzard, on December 8, 1927. Shortly afterwards the hull was gutted by fire and declared a constructive total loss. The hull was removed, partially scrapped, and used as dock at Drummond Island, Michigan.
1905 – The second THOMAS W. PALMER, a composite bulk carrier, collided with HARVARD of the Pittsburgh Steamship Company off Stannard Rock, Lake Superior in dense fog and was nearly cut in two. The crew was able to walk to safety aboard HARVARD before their ship sank.
1919 – D.R. HANNA sank in Lake Huron 6 miles off Thunder Bay Light after a collision with the QUINCY A. SHAW. All hands were saved but the sinking of the grain laden 552-foot freighter was the largest insurance loss on the lakes to that time. The hull has been located upside down in 90 feet of water.
1941 – The Norwegian freighter REINUNGA began Great Lakes visits in 1926 and was forced to spend the winter of 1932-1933 at Dain City along the Welland Canal. The vessel, which dated from 1902, was bombed and sunk by German aircraft as d) KYTHERA at Suda Bay, Crete, on this date in 1941.
1962 – ARGENTEUIL, a former Canadian Coast Guard buoy tender, was rebuilt as a coastal freighter in 1961. It sank in the St. Lawrence near Lauzon, QC, with the loss of 3 lives on this date in 1962.
1975 – MANCHESTER RAPIDO provided a container shuttle service in the Seaway beginning in 1971, went aground off Pasajes, Spain, on March 15, 1975, and then sank. The hull was refloated May 16, 1975, for repairs and a return to service.
1987 – MARIA ANNA SCHULTE first came inland in 1958. It ran aground as e) LUCKY VIRGIN off San Andras Island, Colombia, while en route from Colon, Panama, to Aruba in 1974 and had to be abandoned as a total loss.
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Post by yachtsmanwilly on May 17, 2013 6:29:22 GMT -5
Today in Great Lakes History - May 17
On 17 May 1887, the WILLIAM RUDOLPH (wooden propeller "rabbit,” 145 foot, 267 gross tons. built in 1880, at Mount Clemens, Michigan) was raised from Lake St. Clair. She sank in the fall of 1886. She was towed to the Wolverine Drydock in Port Huron, Michigan where she was repaired. She lasted until 1913, when she was beached as shore protection near Racine, Wisconsin.
ALTON C. DUSTIN (Hull#708) was launched May 17, 1913, at Lorain, Ohio by the American Ship Building Co. for Cleveland Steamship Co. (John Mitchell, mgr.) Renamed b.) J.A. CAMPBELL in 1915 and c.) BUCKEYE MONITOR in 1965. Sank on December 16, 1973, in position 43.3N x 30.15W, in Atlantic Ocean, while in tandem tow with ROBERT S. MCNAMARA and German tug SEETRANS I, bound for scrapping at Santander, Spain.
NORTHCLIFFE HALL collided with the Cuban salty CARLOS MANUEL DE CESPEDES in the St. Lawrence River above the Eisenhower Lock on May 17, 1980. Built in 1952, by Canadian Vickers as a,) FRANKCLIFFE HALL (Hull#255), renamed b.) NORTHCLIFFE HALL in 1959, and c.) ROLAND DESGAGNES in 1976, she sank after running aground on May 26, 1982, near Pointe aux Pic, Quebec.
E.G. GRACE arrived at Ramey's Bend May 17, 1984, in tow of the tugs GLENEVIS and GLENSIDE for scrapping.
On May 17, 1941, The Ludington Daily News reported that the former carferry PERE MARQUETTE 17, which had been purchased by the State of Michigan for use at the Straits of Mackinac, was to be renamed b.) CITY OF PETOSKEY. She was scrapped at Ashtabula, Ohio in 1961.
The schooner ST. ANDREWS was launched at A. Muir's shipyard on the Black River in Port Huron, Michigan on 17 May 1875. This was a rebuild job, but Mr. Muir stated that it was the most complete rebuild he ever undertook since there was only a portion of the keel and bottom left from the old hull. Her new dimensions were 135 foot keel x 30 feet x 14 feet, 425 tons (an increase of 102 tons).
At about 9 a.m., 17 May 1885, the tug E.T. CARRINGTON (wooden side-wheel tug, 76 foot, 57 gross tons, built in 1876, at Bangor, Michigan) was towing a raft of logs from L'Anse to Baraga, Michigan, when she caught fire and burned to the water's edge. The crew was rescued by the steam yacht EVA WADSWORTH. The CARRINGTON was later rebuilt and lasted until 1907.
1916 – ROCK FERRY, a wooden steamer, ran aground due to fog off Main Duck Island, Lake Ontario but was salvaged and repaired.
1924 – ORINOCO sank about 6 miles off Agawa Bay, Lake Superior, while upbound with coal. The wooden steamer had sought shelter behind Michipicoten Island while towing the barge CHIEFTAIN, but then tried to return to Whitefish Bay. ORINOCO began to leak under the stress and was lost.
1957 – The composite hulled steamer YANKCANUCK ran aground in mud at Whitby but was released in what proved to be her final season. She was laid up at Sault Ste. Marie at 1014 hours on June 27.
1969 – The tug COLINETTE sank in Toronto Bay after the hull was punctured while docking the freighter ATLANTIC HOPE at Pier 35. All on board were saved and the vessel was raised and repaired. It apparently survives as a private yacht named NOMADA.
Great Lakes ore trade down 9 percent in April
5/17 - Cleveland, Ohio – Cleveland shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes totaled 5.6 million tons in April, a decrease of 9 percent compared to a year ago. However, loadings were 11 percent ahead of the month’s 5-year average.
Shipments from U.S. ports totaled 4.9 million tons, a decrease of 9.5 percent compared to a year ago. The April total included 257,000 tons shipped to Quebec City for loading into oceangoing vessels and delivery overseas.
Shipments from Canadian ports totaled 700,000 tons. The decrease from a year ago 36,000 tons is the equivalent of approximately 1.3 cargos in a Seaway-sized laker. Year-to-date, the Lakes ore trade stands at 10.8 million tons, a decrease of 10 percent compared to a year ago. Loadings are, however, up more than 13 percent compared to the 5-year average for the January-April timeframe.
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Post by ppat324 on May 18, 2013 8:03:26 GMT -5
On 18 May 1872, the 3-mast wooden schooner MARQUETTE was holed in northern Lake Huron by a floating log. The crew manned the hand-operated bilge pumps but could not keep up with the incoming water. The steamer ANNIE YOUNG took the MARQUETTE in tow even though she was sinking and headed for Cheboygan, Michigan. During the tow, the schooner stopped sinking and arrived in port no lower in the water than she had been earlier. An investigation revealed that a large fish got caught in the hole and plugged it.
The WILLIAM C. ATWATER departed Sandusky, Ohio May 18, 1925, on her maiden voyage loaded with coal bound for Duluth, Minnesota. She was the first freighter on the Great Lakes equipped with a gyro compass. She was renamed b.) E. J. KULAS in 1936, c.) BEN MOREELL in 1953, d.) THOMAS E MILLSOP in 1955, e.) E. J. NEWBERRY in 1976, and f.) CEDARGLEN in 1982. She was scrapped at Port Maitland, Ontario in 1994.
Bethlehem Steel's steamer JOHNSTOWN cleared Erie May 18, 1985, for Quebec City under tow bound for Spain for scrapping. This vessel was the first post-war built U.S. laker to be scrapped.
On May 18, 1903, the MAUNALOA hit and sank the 69-foot wooden tug EDWARD GILLEN at Superior, Wisconsin.
May 18, 1992 -- The BADGER made her maiden voyage for the newly formed Lake Michigan Carferry Service.
On 18 May 1853, CITIZEN (wooden schooner, 54 tons, built in 1847, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin) was driven aground 6 miles north of Chicago. The U. S. Navy steamer MICHIGAN tried in vain to pull her off, breaking a 14" hawser in the process. She was reportedly the first vessel built at Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
On 18 May 1882, AMERICAN EAGLE (wooden propeller, passenger packet & tug, 105 foot, 161 gross tons, built in 1880, at Sandusky, Ohio) was racing off Kelley's Island on Lake Erie when her boiler exploded. Six lives were lost. She was later raised and repaired and lasted until 1908.
18 May 1894: A big storm swept the Lakes on 18 May 1894. The next day, the Port Huron Times gave the following account of the shipwrecks in that storm: "The big storm on Lake Michigan has cost the lives of many men. Only 2 men were saved from the schooner M J CUMMINGS, 6 lost. The C C BARNES is ashore at Milwaukee but the crew was saved. The schooner MYRTLE was wrecked just outside the government pier within a half mile of Michigan Blvd. in Chicago with 6 lost. The schooner LINCOLN DALL went to pieces at Glencoe, 8 miles north of Chicago. She was 196 tons. The schooner JACK THOMPSON, 199 tons, wrecked off 25th Street. The schooner EVENING STAR, 203 tons, wrecked off 27th Street but her crew was saved. The schooner MERCURY of Grand Haven, 278 tons, wrecked off 27th Street and her crew rescued. The schooner J LOOMIS McLAREN, 272 tons, wrecked off 27th Street. The schooner RAINBOW of Milwaukee, 243 tons, wrecked off 100th Street; the crew was rescued. The schooner C J MIXER, 279 tons, wrecked off 100th Street; crew rescued. The schooner WM SHUPE waterlogged and ashore at Lexington, Michigan on Lake Huron. Four were drowned in an attempted rescue. The scow ST CATHARINES is ashore at Rock Falls near Sand Beach. The crew reached shore safely but the boat will fare badly."
1919 – CITY OF MEAFORD, a wooden-hulled passenger freighter was destroyed by fire at the dock in Collingwood.
1922 – GLENFINNAN, downbound with grain, and MIDLAND KING collided in fog southeast of Passage Isle, Lake Superior, and both masters received two-month suspensions.
1928 – The whaleback steamer JOHN ERICSSON was heavily damaged in a collision with the A.F. HARVEY of the Pittsburgh SS Co. in fog on Lake Huron. The latter was lost as b) CEDARVILLE in another collision on May 7, 1965.
1971 – TRANSPACIFIC was entering the harbor at the island of St. Pierre in the Gulf of St. Lawrence to get technical help for a malfunctioning radar when the ship stranded on the rocks. The West German freighter, a regular Seaway trader since 1959, was abandoned. The hull has gradually broken apart by the elements over the years.
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Post by yachtsmanwilly on May 19, 2013 6:30:33 GMT -5
Today in Great Lakes History - May 19
On 19 May 1894, LORETTA (wooden propeller freighter, 140 foot, 395 gross tons, built in 1892, at Sebewaing, Michigan as a schooner) was driven ashore near the mouth of the Au Sable River at Oscoda, Michigan in a terrible gale. She was heavily damaged but the crew was rescued. She was salvaged and put back in service but only lasted for two more years when she burned.
SIR THOMAS SHAUGHNESSY (Hull#164) was launched May 19, 1906 at Wyandotte, Michigan by Detroit Ship Building Co. for the National Steamship Co. She was scrapped at Castellon, Spain in 1969.
On May 19, 1973, the whaleback tanker METEOR was moved from the Pipeline Tankers dock to a permanent berth on Barkers Island at Superior, Wisconsin to serve as a museum ship.
B.F. JONES and EDWARD S. KENDRICK, towed by the Polish tug KORAL, arrived for scrapping at Castellon, Spain, near Barcelona on the Mediterranean Sea, on May 19, 1973, a trip of over 4,000 miles. The LAKE WINNIPEG in tow of the tug IRVING CEDAR arrived in Portugal on May 19, 1985. She was the largest Canadian laker and the first Seaway-sized ship, as of that date, to be scrapped.
On 19 May 1835, PARROTT (wooden 2-mast schooner, 43 foot, 20 tons, built in 1834, at Ashtabula, Ohio) sailed for Detroit, Michigan carrying iron, glass, whiskey, and hogs on deck. She never made it. The following day, west of Ashtabula, many of the hogs swam ashore and later a lot of gear from the boat drifted to the beach. No storm was mentioned and all six onboard lost their lives. She had been enrolled to a new owner the day before she set sail.
On 19 May 1876, the Port Huron Times reported that Capt. Alexander McDougall, formerly master of the steamer JAPAN, had built a large steam fish boat named SASKIWIT at Buffalo during the winter and was then sailing from there to Marquette, Michigan.
Why low Lake Ontario levels mean high St. Lawrence levels
5/19 - It’s been reported for months - years even - that the Great Lakes, from Superior to Ontario, are at historically low water levels. So it was surprising to get the news last week that regulators are lowering the gates at the Iroquois Dam near Ogdensburg because the St. Lawrence River is too high. It's quite a puzzle.
Last weekend, shoreline homeowners and boaters between Ogdensburg and Massena were alarmed to look out the window and watch the St. Lawrence rise.
Dalton Foster is president of the Wilson Hill Association and an expert on water levels in this part of the St. Lawrence. He said the shore was "eroding away. A lot of people had their boats damaged. Docks were under water."
Here's why this happened: Regulators are trying to do something about those low water levels on Lake Ontario. So they're letting less water through the hydropower dam near Massena. In other words, they're trying to hold back water and store it on Lake Ontario.
The problem was, says Foster, west and southwest winds whipped up at the same time, basically pushing water across Lake Ontario and into the St. Lawrence.
That pushes more water down the river, Foster says, and because regulators were still letting less water go through the dam in Massena, the river had nowhere to go but up; hence the flooding.
So Wednesday, regulators decided to try something else. They lowered the gates of the Iroquois Dam, a much smaller structure upriver from the big Massena power dam.
John Kangas, U.S secretary of the International St. Lawrence River Board of Control, says the gates of the Iroquois Dam are normally raised and kept above the water level, "to allow recreational boats to go back and forth."
How does this work? Picture a bunch of garage doors above the river. Wednesday, Kangas ordered those garage doors to be dipped down into the water. And that restricts the water flow and lowers the river several inches.
"This doesn't hold back the water. The same amount of water is going through the river. What it does is just change the river profile a little bit."
The Wilson Hill Association's Dalton Foster says lowering the gates at Iroquois Dam has helped lower the River's level…a little. "Yesterday it was down, but now it's coming back up again, because the wind has shifted again."
So we have two takeaways. Regulator John Kangas fears more dry weather this summer, so he's trying to store two inches of extra water on Lake Ontario to release this fall, to help with drinking water intakes and boating.
"Fall tends to be a kind of critical time. St. Lawrence is falling. Lake Ontario is falling. Ottawa River is normally falling. There might be a need to put a little bit more water down the St. Lawrence River to help out the downstream with their intakes and navigation."
The second takeaway, says Dalton Foster, is that one man-made change to this vast natural system has many consequences. "It will have many effects and it will have different effects all the way down the river."
That means if you live along the river from Ogdensburg to Massena, look out for your docks and boats.
North Country Public Radio
Kathryn Spirit continues to deteriorate at Beauharnois
5/19 - Beauharnois, QC - The former St. Lawrence Seaway/Great Lakes cargo carrier Kathryn Spirit is in increasingly deteriorating condition, according to Canadian Minister of Parliament Anne Minh-Thu Quach, who visited the vessel at its location in Lake St. Louis at Beauharnois last Thursday.
The ship last sailed January 10, 2010 and was owned at that time by Hamilton, Ont.,-based McKeil Marine. She was built at Goteborg, Sweden, in 1967, carried the name Holmsund for 30 years, then sailed as Menominee. After layup at Sorel-Tracy, the vessel was towed to Beauharnois to be scrapped in August 2011, but those plans evidently fell through.
The MP's guide was Joel Baillargeon of CAI Logistic, based in Moncton and charge of the ship on behalf of the unnamed Mexican company that now owns it. Its role is to return the boat to state standards so that can leave Canadian waters safely.
"Sure it smelled damp, an abandoned boat ... There is furniture in there yet, there are broken windows, vermin, dead cats," he told the legislator.
On boarding the freighter for the first time, Baillargeon found 500 tons of water in the engine room. The person who took care of the boat had not previously closed valves before leaving for the last time, so that water seeped, and froze in winter, breaking pipes.
"That's what tipped the boat and it did touch the bottom, she said. The water has been pumped out and there was no oil spill.
"If there had been a leak, it would have been seen that the water around was black around the boat," Mr. Baillargeon explained.
The problem at the moment is to get rid of more water. The boat floats, but is too low in the water. Divers need to inspect the hull. This inspection is essential for a report to be submitted to Transport Canada.
Meanwhile, Kathryn Spirit suffers from night raiders. "People go, loot the metal to resell later, said Ms. Quach. "There is stainless steel which is no longer there, the wheel of the boat is totally gone."
Ms. Quach said she hopes that the Mexican company will not be discouraged and permanently abandon the expensive vessel.
Le Journal de Montreal, Rene Beauchamp
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Post by yachtsmanwilly on May 20, 2013 5:38:49 GMT -5
Today in Great Lakes History - May 20
On 20 May 1872, the iron-clad passenger/package freight steamer MERCHANT struck a rock and sank at the mouth of the Detroit River. No one was injured. The wrecking tugs MAGNET and HERCULES took off the cargo of railroad iron and general merchandise, then attached two pontoons, but the vessel would not budge. On 26 May, the steamers MACKINAW and SWEEPSTAKES joined the scene and d two more pontoons. With all the steam pumps working, the MERCHANT still would not budge. Two days later, two more pontoons were added and the MERCHANT finally floated free and was towed to Detroit for repairs. She had two holes in her hull, one of which was a gash 23 feet long.
On May 20, 1909, while lying at the Lackawanna Coal Dock at Buffalo, New York, the LeGRAND S. DEGRAFF was struck by the SONORA, which caused $4,000 in damage to the DEGRAFF. Later renamed b.) GEORGE G. CRAWFORD in 1911. She was scrapped at Duluth, Minnesota in 1976.
The STANDARD PORTLAND CEMENT sank on Lake Huron two miles above Port Huron, Michigan in a collision with the steamer AUGUST ZIESING on May 20, 1960, with no loss of life.
On May 20, 1967, during docking maneuvers in the Trenton Channel of the Detroit River, the W.W. HOLLOWAY's KaMeWa propeller shaft sheared off and the propeller reportedly sank to the bottom.
The RENOWN (Hull#396) was launched May 20, 1912, at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co. for the Standard Oil Co. Renamed b.) BEAUMONT PARKS in 1930 and c.) MERCURY in 1957.
WILLIAM A. McGONAGLE (Hull#154) was launched May 20, 1916, at Ecorse, Michigan by Great Lakes Engineering Works for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. Renamed b.) HENRY STEINBRENNER in 1986.
On 20 May 1862, BAY CITY (wooden propeller tug, 199 foot, 480 tons, built in 1852, at Trenton, Michigan) sprang a leak in a storm and sank near Port Burwell, Ontario. She then washed in to shallow water. Her crew was rescued by the tug WINSLOW. Her engine and boiler were removed in June and July of that year.
On 20 May 1875, the passenger package freight vessel GLADYS was launched at D. Lestor's yard in Marine City, Michigan for the Toledo & Saginaw Transportation Company. Her dimensions were 135 feet overall x 26 feet x 10 feet. She had twelve staterooms and along with ample cargo space. The pilot house was forward, 8 feet square and 11 feet high. The engines, from the old ESTABROOK and, previous to that, from DAN RHODES, were two high-pressure double engines acting on one shaft with an 8 foot propeller. She also had a pony engine to feed water to the boilers and wash the decks. She was sold Canadian in 1877, and renamed NORTHERN BELLE and lasted until November 1898, when she burned on Georgian Bay.
1923 – The steel bulk carrier EDWARD U. DEMMER sank in the deep waters of Lake Huron after a collision with the SATURN at 0740 hours, in heavy fog, while about 40 miles southeast of Thunder Bay Island. All on board were saved.
1924 – STATE OF OHIO, an iron sidewheel passenger steamer, burned at Cleveland on this date in 1924. It was rebuilt as a barge but stranded on the main breakwall at Lorain on December 17, 1929, and became a total loss.
1928 – The CLEARWATER stranded near Trinity Bay, in the St. Lawrence while inbound with a cargo of pulpwood and was blown on the beach. The brand-new vessel was abandoned to the insurers but the hull was salvaged in July, repaired and returned to service later in the year as TRENORA. It last sailed as KEYSHEY in 1963.
1942 – TORONDOC of the Paterson fleet went south for the bauxite trade during World War Two. German broadcasts reported that it was torpedoed and sunk by U-69 on this date. All of the 23-member crew were lost when the ship went down in the vicinity of the French island of Martinique.
1945 – The CALGARY had operated on the Great Lakes from 1912 to 1916 but left for the sea and was converted to a tanker in 1921. The ship was renamed b) BACOI and served on coastal runs for Standard Oil and even returned to the Great Lakes in 1938. It suffered an explosion and fire while in the Cape Cod Canal on this date in 1945 and had to be beached. It was scrapped at Jersey City in 1948.
1946 – The Georgian Bay area passenger ship MANITOULIN stranded at Clapperton Island but was released the next day by the tug NORTHERN.
1960 – The STANDARD PORTLAND CEMENT settled on the bottom of Lake Huron, with her decks above water, after a collision in fog with the upbound AUGUST ZIESING. The former was refloated, sold to Redwood Enterprises and came into Canadian service as ELMDALE. The latter resumed trading for U.S. Steel after bow repairs.
1960 – PAUL H. TOWNSEND was hit from behind by the British freighter TYNEMOUTH on foggy Lake Huron while trying to avoid the wrecked STANDARD PORTLAND CEMENT and the anchored AUGUST ZIESING. The PAUL H. TOWNSEND had stern plates damaged while the salty sustained bow damage. TYNEMOUTH had become a regular Seaway trader in 1959 and made 18 trips inland through 1967. It ran aground off Fuga Island, the Philippines as b) EASTERN RIVER on April 24, 1971, and became a total loss.
1981 – The West German freighter VIRGILIA made 30 trips to the Great Lakes between 1959 and 1967. It was renamed b) MARIA in 1974 and suffered an engineroom fire in the Red Sea and had to be abandoned while enroute from Mersin, Turkey, to Bombay, India, on this date in 1981. The hull was towed to shallow water and beached about 5 miles south of Suez. It was later sold, via auction, and apparently scrapped as c) FARIDA II at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, in 1989
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Post by yachtsmanwilly on May 21, 2013 5:42:40 GMT -5
Today in Great Lakes History - May 21
On 21 May 1883, SAILOR BOY (2-mast wooden scow-schooner, 75 foot, 76 net tons, built in 1866, at Algonac, Michigan) was carrying wood from Pierport, Michigan to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She anchored outside Milwaukee harbor waiting for a gale to abate but she broke her anchor chains and was driven aground. Her crew of three made it to shore on a line with help from bystanders on the beach.
The AMERICAN REPUBLIC's maiden voyage was on May 21, 1981, from Sturgeon Bay light to Escanaba, Michigan, to load ore pellets for Cleveland, Ohio.
Interlake Steamship Co.'s HENRY G. DALTON's maiden voyage was on May 21, 1916. She was scrapped at Vado, Italy, in 1973.
UNITED STATES GYPSUM in tow of the German tug FAIRPLAY X was lost in heavy weather on May 21, 1973, near Sydney, Nova Scotia.
The G.A. TOMLINSON, a.) D.O. MILLS, stranded near Buffalo, New York, on Lake Erie on May 21, 1974, suffering an estimated $150,000 in damage.
The 143-foot wooden brig JOSEPH was launched at Bay City, Michigan, on by Alexander Tromley & Company. She was built by the owner.
On 21 May 1864, the NILE (wooden passenger/package freight vessel, 190 foot, 650 tons, built in 1852, at Ohio City, Ohio) was sitting at her dock in Detroit, Michigan, with passengers, household goods, and horses and wagons aboard when her boiler exploded, destroying the ship and killing eight of the crew. Large pieces of her boiler flew as far as 300 feet while other pieces damaged houses across the Detroit River in Windsor, Ontario. A large timber was thrown through the brick wall of a nearby shoe store, striking the cobbler in the back of the head and killing him. At least 13 other crew members and passengers were injured. The wreck was moved to the foot of Clark Street in Detroit in July 1864, where it remained until it was finally dynamited in August 1882.
May 21, 1923 - The ANN ARBOR NO 4 was refloated after sinking at Frankfort, Michigan, the previous February.
After spending three weeks in quarantine at Buffalo, New York, because of the discovery of smallpox on board, the steamer JOHN OADES has been released and has started on her way to Duluth.
1919 FERDINAND SCHLESSINGER, enroute from Erie, Pa., to Port Arthur, Ont., with 3,514 tons of coal, began leaking in a storm and sank 15 miles off Passage Island, Lake Superior. The crew was picked up by the ASSINIBOIA
1932 The C.P.R. passenger ship MANITOBA goes aground in Georgian Bay off Cape Croker in heavy fog and has to be lightered before being released the next day.
1942 TROISDOC is the latest member of the Paterson fleet to be a victim of enemy action in World War Two. It was torpedoed by U-558 about 40 miles west of Jamaica and the crew escaped in the lifeboats. The vessel was enroute from Mobile, AL to Georgetown, British Guiana, with 55,700 bags of cement, vegetables, 1600 cases of beer and cigarettes.
1963 The Taiwanese freighter VAN YUNG had visited the Great Lakes in 1960 and 1961. It was laid up at Keelung, Taiwan, on this day due to fire damage and was sold for scrap in October 1963.
1965 Leaks developed in the boiler room of the Norwegian freighter LIONNE and the ship, enroute from Caen, France, to Montreal, sank in the Atlantic. Two members of the crew were lost. The vessel had made 5 trips through the Seaway from 1961 to 1963.
1973 The retired American Steamship Company self-unloader UNITED STATES GYPSUM, under tow for scrapping at Vado, Italy, broke loose in the Atlantic off Sydney, NS and sank.
1979 The second PRINS WILLEM V, a Dutch freighter of 1956 vintage, was damaged extensively by a fire amidships while idle at Port Elizabeth, South Africa as f) ARAXOS. It has been for sale and was scrapped at Durban, South Africa, in 1981.
2007 A fire broke out in the engineroom of the Canadian owned salty UMIAVUT while enroute from Kolundborg, Denmark, to La Corogne, Spain, with 8600 tons of flour. The ship was towed into Brest, France, and repaired. It visited the Great Lakes as b) LINDENGRACHT in 2000 and was back as c) UMIAVUT in 2011.
U.S.-Flag lakers float down 11.4 percent in April
5/21 - Cleveland, Ohio – U.S.-flag Great Lakes freighters carried 7.3 million tons of dry-bulk cargo in April, a decrease of 11.4 percent compared to 2013. The April float was also down from the month’s 5-year average, but much less so - 5 percent.
U.S.-flag lakers moved 4.1 million tons of iron ore in April, 73.1 percent of the Lakes ore trade that month. The 4.1 millions represent a decrease of 9.9 percent compared to a year ago, but an increase of 5.8 percent compared to the months 5-year average.
Coal shipments in U.S. hulls totaled 1.5 million tons, 68.3 percent of all the coal moving on the Lakes in April. The fleets April coal total was also a virtual repeat of a year ago.
The 1.4 million tons of limestone that U.S.-flag lakers hauled in April represent 74.4 percent of the trade that month. However, U.S.-flag stone cargos fell more than 28 percent when compared to a year ago.
Through April, the U.S.-flag float stands at 12.5 million tons, a decrease of 14.6 percent compared to a year ago. The largest decrease has come in iron ore; shipments are off by 1.1 million tons or 11.4 percent. However, compared to the 5-year average for the January-April timeframe, U.S.-flag cargos are down by just 2.2 percent, and iron ore is up by 8.7 percent.
Lake Carriers' Association
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