Today in Great Lakes History

[yachtsmanwilly]

Today in Great Lakes History - June 26

On this day in 1942, the LEON FRASER, Captain Neil Rolfson, completed her maiden voyage and delivered a record cargo of 16,414 tons of ore to Conneaut. The downbound trip only required 67.5 hours and broke the record of 15,218 tons set by the Canadian freighter LEMOYNE 15 days earlier. The FRASER was shortened and converted to a bulk cement carrier in 1991, and sails today as the b.) ALPENA.

On this day in 1969, the new Poe Lock was dedicated and opened to traffic. The first boat to transit the new lock was the PHILIP R. CLARKE. Captain Thomas Small, a 95-year old retired Pittsburgh captain, was at the wheel of the CLARKE. Thomas Small was also at the wheel of the COLGATE HOYT the first boat to transit the original Poe Lock on August 4, 1896.

On 26 June 1890, the SKATER (wooden propeller excursion steamer, 85 foot, 65 gross tons, built in 1890, at Detroit, Michigan) burned to the water’s edge about 20 miles north of Manistee, Michigan. The crew did not even have time to save their clothes, but they all escaped unharmed. The SKATER had just been fitted out for the season and had started her summer route on Traverse Bay. She was rebuilt in Cleveland and lasted until 1942, when she was abandoned at Michigan City, Indiana.

On 26 June 1895, the GEORGE FARWELL (wooden propeller steam barge, 182 foot, 977 gross tons) was launched by Alexander Anderson at Marine City, Michigan. After leaving the ways, she looked like she would capsize, but she righted herself. About 500 people watched the launch. She was taken to the Atlantic Coast in 1900. She only lasted until 1906, when she stranded on Cape Henry, Virginia and was a total loss.

On 26 June 1867, WATERS W. BRAMAN (wooden propeller tug, 89 tons, built in 1858, at Boston, Massachusetts, for the U.S.Q.M.C. and named RESCUE) was near Pelee Island in Lake Erie when fire started in her coal bunker and quickly spread. Her crew abandoned her in the yawl and were later picked up by the propeller TRADER. She had been sold by the Quartermaster Corps just the previous year and she had come to the Lakes from the East Coast just five weeks before this accident.

On 26 June 1900, Boynton & Thompson purchased the wreck of the NELLIE TORRENT (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 141 foot, 303 gross tons, built in 1881, at Wyandotte, Michigan) to raise her. She had been destroyed by fire at Lime Island near Detour, Michigan, on 22 June 1899.

On 26 June 1882, The Port Huron Times reported that the ARAXES (wooden propeller, 182 foot, 569 gross tons, built in 1856, at Buffalo, New York) sank in the Straits of Mackinac. She was raised on 6 July 1882, and repaired. She was built in 1856, and lasted until the summer of 1894, when she sank 4 miles off Bay City in Saginaw.

1916: The first STORMOUNT, a steel canaller, was wrecked on Gull Ledge, near Marie Joseph, N.S.

1937: Passengers from the SOUTH AMERICAN, stranded on a shoal, were removed with the aid of ALGOMAH II.

1993: The Norwegian tanker BOW ROGN first came through the Seaway in 1970. It was back as b) JO ROGN in 1981 and was leaking sulphuric acid into the pump room on this date as c) BETULA after discharging at Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico. The vessel was towed offshore but later driven aground on a sandy beach north of the port on June 28-29, and then blown over on its side during the passing of Hurricane Calvin on July 7, 1993.

2000: EMIL REITH first came through the Seaway in 1970. It was attacked by Tamil Tiger rebels as h) MERCS UHANA off northern Sri Lanka while carrying foodstuffs from Colombo to Tricomalee. The ship caught fire and five lives were lost. The ship sank the next day about 48 miles off Point Pedro.




Algorail aground in Saginaw River

6/25 - Saginaw River - 4 p.m. update - A tugboat is retrieving a nearby barge to help free a lake freighter that has been stuck on the Saginaw River in downtown Bay City since 5:30 a.m. this morning.

Greg Busch, owner and captain of Carrollton Township-based Busch Marine Inc., said the barge will serve as a platform to unload some the salt being carried by the freighter.

The 650-foot Algorail hit the river bottom in the shipping channel between Bay City's Liberty and Veterans bridges. At 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Busch was at the barge, docked in Carrollton, which was being cleared off to go. He said St. Catharines, Ontario-based Algoma Central Corp., which owns the Algorail, requested the barge.

“They’ll off-load some of their salt onto my barge using their conveyer and that should get the ship high enough in the water that he should be able to get upriver on his own then," Busch said. The barge containing the additional cargo will have to go with it, he said.

Busch said it isn't the first time a boat has hit bottom in Bay City. “This has, historically, always been a problem,” he said. “In 20 years, I’ve probably pulled off five or six ships that have gotten stuck right in this same spot.”

Busch said that section of the river is supposed to be 22-feet-deep, but spots around the stuck ship are only 19-feet-deep.

An official at Sargent Docks & Terminal Inc. on Tuesday morning said the freighter — a medium-sized Great Lakes self-unloading bulk carrier — was on its way to Sargent's dock in Zilwaukee. Sargent also has docks in Essexville, Carrollton and Saginaw.

The Algorail has a capacity of 23,750 tons.

Busch speculates the freighter got stuck because it was overloaded and there is a shallow spot there. The shallow spot, he said, may be caused by a pipe, about 32-inches in diameter and containing fiber-optic cable, which sits in a trench on the bottom of the river. That information could not be confirmed immediately with any government agency or officials from Algoma Central. Jim Pound, vice president of operations for Algoma Central, on Tuesday morning said the company was investigating why the ship got stuck.

Original Report:

Algorail was inbound the Saginaw River Tuesday morning when the vessel grounded about 5:30 a.m. She came to a stop between the Liberty and Veterans Bridge in Bay City on the eastern side of the river at Wenonah Park.

The Saginaw based tug Gregory Busch arrived on scene about 10:15 a.m. to help pull the Algorail free.

The cause of the grounding is unknown and damage is unlikely as the river bottom is clay in the area. The Algorail is loaded with salt for Zilwaukee.




Algorail refloated after Saginaw River grounding

6/26 - The tug Gregory J. Busch returned to the Algorail about 6:15 p.m. Tuesday with a barge to off load part of the grounded vessel’s cargo. At 8 p.m. the Algorail was underway after unloading an unknown amount of her salt cargo onto the barge. She arrived in Zilwaukee about 10 p.m. and began unloading.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Today in Great Lakes History - June 27

On 27 June 1892, in rain and fog, the FRED A. MORSE (wooden schooner, 182 foot, 592 gross tons, built in 1871, at Vermilion, Ohio) was being towed downbound by the HORACE A. TUTTLE (wooden propeller freighter, 250 foot, 1,585 gross tons, built in 1887, at Cleveland, Ohio) about 12 miles southeast of Thunder Bay on Lake Huron, both carrying loads of iron ore. At the same time, JOHN C. PRINGLE (wooden propeller freighter, 173 foot, 474 gross tons, built in 1880, at Detroit, Michigan) was sailing upbound in that vicinity with a load of coal and Italian marble with the schooners HARRISON, SWEETHEART and SUNSHINE in tow. At 1:30 a.m., the PRINGLE collided with the schooner MORSE, which sank in less than 15 minutes. The crew made it to the TUTTLE in the lifeboat, although one woman was badly injured. The PRINGLE's bow was stove in, her deck planks forward were split and spread, her bulwarks torn away, and her anchors and foremast were lost. She cast off her tow and made for Alpena, Michigan, where she arrived later in the day.

At 4:04 p.m. on 27 June 1890, the Beatty Line's MONARCH (wooden propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 240 foot, 2,017 tons) was launched at Sarnia, Ontario. The launching was watched by numerous people on the decks of various steamers and on both sides of the St. Clair River. The MONARCH was built of white oak and braced with iron. She had 62 staterooms

Package freighter CHIMO (Hull#662) was launched in 1967, at Lauzon, Quebec by Davie Shipbuilding Ltd., for Canada Steamship Lines Ltd. In 1983, CHIMO's stern was attached to the bow and cargo section of the HILDA MARJANNE to create the CANADIAN RANGER.

WILLIAM EDENBORN (Hull#40) (steel propeller freighter, 478 foot, 5,085 gross tons) was launched at West Bay City, Michigan by West Bay City Ship Building Co. for the American Steamship Co., Duluth (A. B. Wolvin, mgr.) on 27 June 1900.

PRETORIA (3-mast schooner-barge, 338 foot, 2,790 gross tons) was launched at J. Davidson's yard (Hull #94) in West Bay City, Michigan on 27 June 1900. Mr. Davidson built her for his own fleet. She was one of the largest wooden vessels ever built and lasted until September 1905, when she sank in Lake Superior.

1916 JAMES J. HILL collided with the wooden steamer PANTHER in fog off Parisienne Island, Lake Superior and held its position so all of the crew could come safely aboard before their ship sank.

1952 WOODFORD, enroute from Quebec City to Europe, received major damage in a collision off Ile Verte, near the mouth of the Saguenay River, with the pulpwood laden canaller JOHN A. FRANCE. The former, a British freighter, was holed and leaking and the crew was taken off to the BIRCHTON. The damaged WOODFORD was towed back to Quebec City and almost sand at the dock but was kept afloat and repaired. It was a Seaway visitor in 1960 and was scrapped at Shanghai, China, in 1978 as d) WOOSUNG.

1954 WILCOX, a former minesweeper that was rebuilt for passenger and freight service down the St. Lawrence from Montreal, was blown ashore at Potato Bay, Anticosti Island, and was a total loss. The remains of the hull are still there.

1982 CLIO, a West German freighter, made 12 trips to the Great Lakes from 1959 to 1965. It arrived at Callao, Colombia, with engine damage as e) SUNLIGHT on this date in 1982 and was abandoned as a total loss. An apparent effort to repair the engine was not completed and the ship was eventually scrapped.




Steel production rises by 17,000 tons in Great Lakes states

6/27 - Raw steel production in the country's Great Lakes region was about 682,000 tons in the week ending June 22, according to an American Iron and Steel Institute estimate.

Production rose by 17,000 tons from the week prior, an increase of about 2.5 percent. Most of the raw steel production in the Great Lakes region takes place in Indiana and the Chicago area.

Production in the Southern District was estimated at 651,000 tons last week, down from 653,000 tons a week earlier.

Total domestic raw steel production last week was 1.88 million tons, up from 1.87 million tons the week prior.

U.S. steel mills had a capacity utilization rate of 78.5 percent last week, which is up slightly from 78.1 percent a week earlier. The capacity utilization rate had been 74.8 percent at the same time last year.

So far this year, domestic steel producers have had a capacity utilization rate of 76.8 percent, which is down 2 percentage points from the same period in 2012.

Domestic mills have produced an estimated 46 tons of steel this year, down 6.2 percent from the same period last year. The mills had made about 49 million tons of steel by June 22 in 2012.

Through the end of April, U.S. mills had shipped 31.5 million net tons of steel, a 6.3 percent decrease from the same period in 2012. Increases in shipments of cold rolled sheet and hot dipped galvanized sheets and strip contributed to a 0.7 percent overall increase in the amount of steel shipped in April, the most recent month for which data was available.

NW Times

[yachtsmanwilly]

Today in Great Lakes History - June 28

On this day in 1955, the 456 foot WYCHEM 105, a.) SAMUEL F. B. MORSE, was loaded with sand at the B&O docks in Lorain and towed to Rocky River, Ohio where she was sunk as a temporary breakwall. She was later raised and taken to Bay Ship Building Co, and became a barge for the Roen Steamship Co. fleet. In the early 1970s, most of the hull was scrapped, except for two sections of the bottom, which were used for scows around Sturgeon Bay until the 1980s.

On this day in 1957, the JOSEPH S. YOUNG departed Manitowoc, Wisconsin on her maiden voyage. She traveled in ballast to Port Inland, Michigan to load a cargo of stone. The YOUNG was the a.) ARCHERS HOPE, A T2-SE-A1 tanker, converted to Great Lakes service at Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock, Baltimore, Maryland. Renamed c.) H. LEE WHITE in 1969, and d.) SHARON in 1974. Scrapped at Brownsville, Texas in 1986.

On June 28, 1938, at 8:50 a.m., the WILLIAM A. IRVIN departed Duluth with her first cargo of iron ore for Lorain, Ohio. 48 years later, in 1986, almost to the minute, the WILLIAM A. IRVIN opened as a museum to the public.

The ATLANTIC SUPERIOR arrived at the Algoma Steel Plant, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario on her maiden voyage in 1982, with a load of taconite but before she was unloaded christening ceremonies were conducted there.

The SAM LAUD ran aground June 28, 1975, on a shoal south of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, with a cargo of coal from Chicago, Illinois for Green Bay, Wisconsin. Six-thousand tons of coal were off-loaded the next day into the NICOLET, a.) WILLIAM G. MATHER, before she could proceed to Green Bay along with the NICOLET to discharge cargoes. SAM LAUD entered the dry dock at Sturgeon Bay on July 3rd for repairs. She had suffered extensive bottom damage with leakage into seven double bottom tanks and the forepeak. She returned to service on August 21, 1975.

On 28 June 1893, JAMES AMADEUS (wooden propeller tug, 65 foot, 44 gross tons, built in 1872, at Cleveland, Ohio) sprang a leak and foundered near Cleveland, Ohio. Her crew abandoned her just before she went down.

On 28 June 1909, TEMPEST (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 138 foot, 370 gross tons, built in 1876, at Grand Haven, Michigan) burned to a total loss while unloading coal at the Galnais Dock at Perry Sound, Ontario. She was consumed very quickly and six of her crew were killed.

1923 The PHILETUS SAWYER sinks in the Detroit River off Windmill Point after a collision with the HARRY R. JONES.

1960 DIVINA sustained heavy damage to the portside after striking a pier of the Prescott-Ogdensburg Bridge along the St. Lawrence. The Norwegian freighter had been a Great Lakes visitor since 1952 and was scrapped as d) PETROL 20 at Eleusis, Greece, in July 1984.

1970 CASTOR, enroute from Japan to Chicago with automobiles and steel products, sinks in the Pacific after a collision with the ORIENTAL HERO two days out of Yokohama. All 38 on board are saved. The ship dated from 1960 and first came through the Seaway in 1966.

1979 STAR GERANTA, a Seaway visitor in 1966 and a return caller as d) REGAL SWORD in 1977, sinks in the Atlantic off Cape Cod, MA after a collision in fog with the EXXON CHESTER.

1987 The small tanker NADY was built at Rochester, NY as the army tanker Y-86 in 1944 and returned to the Great Lakes as b) NADY in 1953 and again in 1955. It was abandoned, in leaking condition as d) ELENI S. while inbound 12 miles off the Lagos, Nigeria, breakwall. Water is entering the engineroom and the ship settles in shallow water. (One source suggest this may have occurred 2 days earlier) 2005 CSL NIAGARA loses power and goes aground in the American Narrows of the St. Lawrence while upbound with a cargo of coke. The ship is holed in the forepeak but soon released and repaired.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Great Lakes water levels continue upward trend

6/29 - The water level of all five Great Lakes (and Lake St. Clair) are now higher than one year ago. The level of Lake Michigan/Huron gained another inch in the past week. The level is up 4¡å in the last month and it¡¯s now one inch above the level of one year ago. The lake is now 13¡å above the record lowest June level of 1964. It¡¯s still 18¡å below the 100-year average.

Lake Superior has had the 2nd biggest spring water level rise in recorded (back to 1918) history. It¡¯s also up 4¡å in the last month (each inch is 552 billion gallons!) and is now six inches below the long-term average. It¡¯s now 18¡å above the lowest June recorded level (in 1926) and 18¡å below the highest recorded June level (in 1986). Lake Erie is up 6¡å in the last month, 3¡å inches higher than at this time last year and just 3¡å below the average June level. Lake Ontario has gained a whopping 10¡± of water in the last month. Ontario is 11¡å higher than one year ago and 5¡å above the century average.

Wood 8 TV



S. Manitou lighthouse restoration under way

6/29 - Leelanau County, Mich. ¨C Some of South Manitou Island's historic buildings are getting a makeover as volunteers and descendants of the island's former lighthouse keepers gather to restore and preserve them.

Nestled about 90 minutes off of the Northern Michigan coastline near Leland, South Manitou Island is part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and features several historic landmarks as well as ample hiking and camping opportunities.

A few of the island's structures will undergo an extensive restoration at the hands of several volunteers some of whom can trace their ancestry back to the lightkeepers who lived there.

On Wednesday, project coordinator Gwen Glatz, who lives in the Muskegon-area, and a staggered crew of roughly 25 volunteers from across the state began descending upon the island to work on restoring one of the buildings in the lighthouse complex, repainting the island's one-room schoolhouse and potentially working on the visitor's center if time permits. The effort will continue through July 15. The building the group will focus most of their efforts on was built in 1874 and went into operation in 1875, Glatz said. Natural wear and tear and weather damage has taken a toll on the building, she said.

"It sticks out on a point and gets more weather than most of the island, so it's starting to fall apart," she said.

Nine descendants of the island's four former lighthouse keepers are scheduled to volunteer and help with the restoration work, and will be joined by two other descendants who are set to visit the island on July 10.

The descendants, who trace their family heritage back to lighthouse keepers Aaron Sheridan, James Burdick and Ron Rosie, plan to visit the island and talk about their island connections.

The grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the lighthouse keepers who served from the 1870s to the 1940s are coming from Saugatuck, Holland, Lansing, Douglas and other locations throughout Michigan. One descendant is coming from Oregon.

They will have informational brochures on their respective lighthouse ties for those interested in learning more about the island's history, Glatz said.

Glatz said the effort volunteers put into keeping the island and its buildings in pristine condition is an ongoing process. From mowing the island's lawns to cleaning out historic homes, volunteers put in substantial work alongside National Park Service rangers each year to maintain the historical integrity of South Manitou Island, she said.

"There's nothing the volunteers wouldn't do," Glatz said."It's a donation we make to preserve the history."

Grand Rapids Press





Today in Great Lakes History - June 29

On this day in 1946, the tug DALHOUSIE ROVER, Captain J. R. Mac Lean, capsized in the Welland Canal. There were no survivors among the crew of six.

On 29 June 1910, ALABAMA (steel propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 272 foot, 2,626 gross tons, built in 1909, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin) made her first trip in regular service for the Goodrich Line from Chicago to Grand Haven and Muskegon. She ran opposite the VIRGINIA. Cut down to a barge in 1961, she was scrapped in La Salle, Ontario, in 2006.

On 29 June 1902, GEORGE DUNBAR (wooden propeller freighter, 134 foot, 238 gross tons, built in 1867, at Allegan, Michigan) was loaded with coal when she was damaged by a sudden squall on Lake Erie near Kelley¡¯s Island and sank. Seven of the crew elected to stay aboard while the skipper, his wife and daughter made for shore in the lifeboat. Those three were saved but the seven perished on a makeshift raft.

The CHARLES M. SCHWAB (Hull#496) was launched in 1923, at Cleveland, Ohio, by the American Ship Building Co., for the Interlake Steamship Co. Lengthened with a new mid-body and repowered with the stern section of the tanker GULFPORT in 1961. Sold Canadian in 1975, renamed b.) PIERSON DAUGHTERS and c.) BEECHGLEN in 1982. Scrapped at Port Maitland, Ontario, in 1995.

On June 29, 1962, the HAMILTONIAN began her maiden voyage for Eastern Lake Carriers (Papachristidis Co. Ltd.). Renamed b.) PETITE HERMINE in 1967. Purchased by Upper Lakes Shipping in 1972, renamed c.) CANADIAN HUNTER. Scrapped at Alang, India in 1996.

The JOSEPH L. BLOCK was christened on June 29, 1976, for Inland Steel Co.

The Canadian schooner DUNSTOWN arrived at Malden, Ontario, on 29 June 1875, to be put in place as a lightship. Her sides were painted in large white letters: BAR POINT LIGHTSHIP.

On 29 June 1864, ALVIN CLARK (2-mast wooden schooner, 113 foot, 220 tons, built in 1846, at Truago (Trenton), Michigan) foundered in a terrific squall off Chambers Island on Green Bay. Two of the crew were rescued by the brig DEWITT, but three lost their lives. In 1969, a schooner identified as the CLARK was raised at great expense and put on display for some time at Marinette, Wisconsin, then at Menominee, Michigan. The hull gradually deteriorated and was dismantled in May 1994.

1934: The retired wooden schooner LYMAN M. DAVIS was torched as a spectacle off the Sunnyside Amusement Park at Toronto and it burned to the waterline.

1962: The Swedish freighter AMACITA was beached in sinking condition after hitting a shoal in the St. Lawrence near Brockville. It was refloated and towed to Kingston for hull and rudder repairs. The 10,137 gross tons vessel also visited the Seaway as b) HERVANG in 1965 and arrived at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, as f) MALDIVE PIONEER on January 5, 1984, for scrapping.

1966: Two Canada Steamship Lines ships, LEMOYNE and MARTIAN, were in a collision while passing at Welland and the former struck the Main Street Bridge during rush hour. The ships only received minor damage, but land and Welland Canal traffic were held up.

1994: The tug A.F. FIFIELD was built at Port Dalhousie by Port Weller Dry Docks in 1955 and sank in the Gulf of St. Lawrence as c) J. MANIC while towing a barge from Sept Iles to Port Cartier. All on board were rescued.




Port Reports - June 29

St. Marys River / Soo Locks
Visitors at Engineers Day at the Soo Locks, despite having to dodge occasional raindrops, enjoyed plenty of vessel traffic. Downbounders included Lee A. Tregurtha (delayed at the locks by early morning fog), John D. Leitch, American Spirit and Radcliffe R. Latimer. Upbound traffic included the Hon. James L. Oberstar, Herbert C. Jackson, Edwin H. Gott, Alpena, Algoma Navigator and American Century. Tugs were underway in Soo Harbor in the evening as a prelude to Saturday¡¯s Great Tugboat Race, and the BoatNerd cruise on the LeVoyageur included an opportunity to view the progress being made on scrapping the Algonorth at the Purvis dock above the locks. So far about half the aft superstructure and stack have been removed. A small bit of the previously scrapped E.M. Ford, including the historic engine, remains. The Purvis tug Reliance was on the company¡¯s drydock.

Sandusky and Marblehead, Ohio - Jim Spencer
The Kaye E. Barker loaded Friday at the NS coal dock and sailed a few hours later for Detroit. She had arrived shortly after daybreak following the Thursday departure of the Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin, which sailed for Hamilton. At Marblehead, the Cuyahoga loaded for Windsor. The freighter is due to arrive at the Sandusky coal dock Saturday following CSL Assiniboine, which is scheduled for an early arrival, said an NS spokesman.

Buffalo, N.Y. - Brian W.
The American Mariner arrived inbound for General Mills around 9:30 p.m.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Today in Great Lakes History - June 30

On this day in 1962, the CLIFFS VICTORY passed down through the Welland Canal to become the first boat in the Cleveland Cliffs Fleet to enter Lake Ontario in 20 years.

The CSL ASSINIBOINE was rechristened at Port Weller Drydocks Ltd., on June 30, 2005. She was the a.) LOUIS R. DESMARAIS and the fourth CSL vessel to receive a forebody replacement.

On 30 June 1917, while being towed out of the Milwaukee River by the tugs WELCOME and KNIGHT TEMPLAR, the Goodrich Lines’ CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS (steel propeller whaleback passenger steamer, 362 foot, 1,511 gross tons, built in 1893, at West Superior, Wisconsin), with 413 passengers onboard, was caught by the current and swung close to shore. The overhang of her snout-bow sheered off two legs of the water tower of the Yahr-Lang Drug Company and the tower fell onto the vessel, destroying the pilothouse and forward decks. The water from the tower rushed down the length of the upper decks. 16 were killed and over 20 were seriously injured. The surviving passengers were taken to Chicago by train. The vessel was repaired and put back into service the following year.

On 30 June 1900, MARIAN TELLER (wooden propeller tug, 52 foot, 33 gross tons, built in 1879, at West Bay City, Michigan) was towing the barge CANTON on Lake St. Clair. The TELLER sprang a leak about one mile from the Lake St. Clair Lightship. The rising water put out her fires. In the scramble to escape, the yawl was swamped and three lives were lost. Only Captain Cornwall and his son were saved when the passing steamer NORWALK picked them up.

1889 WILLIAM ARMSTRONG, a wooden rail car ferry, sinks in the St. Lawrence off Morristown after being swamped. One life is lost but the ship is refloated and repaired. It was renamed MONS MEG in 1910 and served as a drill barge but was abandoned due to its age and condition in 1938.

1940 The Imperial Oil tanker ACADIALITE cuts too close to shore and strands off Cape Hurd of the Bruce Peninsula. The ship received about $100,000 in damage and is repaired at Collingwood. It later sails as IMPERIAL CORNWALL and GOLDEN SABLE before being scrapped at Louiseville, QC about 1980.

1959 TAXIARHIS, a Lebanese flag visitor to the Great Lakes and the West German freighter CARL JULIUS are in a collision 6 miles west of the Eisenhower Lock. The former is most seriously damaged and goes aground with a V shaped dent in the port bow but both were repaired. The former arrived at Piraeus, Greece, for scrapping as d) TONY C. on March 29, 1972, while CARL JULIUS was scrapped as d) MACHIAVELLI at Savona, Italy in 1982.

1962 The GUIDO DONEGANI gets stuck in the St. Lawrence below the Iroquois Lock due to engine trouble. Part of the cargo of corn is lightered to P.S. BARGE NO. 1 and the Italian freighter is refloated on July 1. It is also a Seaway trader as b) PUNTA MESCA beginning in 1970 and as c) COCLERDUE in 1979. This ship arrived at Savona, Italy, for scrapping on June 1, 1981.

1974 KIMIKAWA MARU began Great Lakes trading in 1962 and the Japanese freighter made a single visit each year through 1965. It went aground as b) WELFARE NO. 2 off Navlakhi, India, on this date. The ship later broke in two and sank in shallow water as a total loss.

1980 VILLE DE MONTREAL was engaged in pre-Seaway service to the Great Lakes. It was sailing as c) CHERRY MAJU, enroute from Bahrain to Colombo, Sri Lanka, when it developed a list and drifted aground off Karwar, India. The ship became partly submerged and was abandoned as a total loss.






Seaway residents concerned about proposed silos

6/30 - A scenic strip of the St. Lawrence Seaway could soon be home to four giant silos. A private company wants to build a grain terminal near Morrisburg to feed the growing demand for corn and soy. The plans are to build the silos along the Seaway on Lakeshore Drive, between Morrisburg and Iroquois. But residents worry the proposal will destroy the historic riverfront.

The grain bins at the Port of Prescott, about 25 minutes down the road, each hold 5,000 tons of grain, with trucks going in and out nonstop. The ones proposed for the Iroquois site would each hold 20,000 tons.

“This is not the place,” says Marianne Coligan, who lives across the road from the proposed grain terminal. She worries about the noise, the pollution and the possibility of an explosion like the one in northwest Indiana on Monday that killed an employee.

"Once again we are being infiltrated by something that is entirely misplaced in this area,” says Coligan. A salt pad currently sits near the site of the proposed terminal.

Coligan and other residents in South Dundas are fighting the private company that plans to build two and possibly four 20,000-ton silos that will store corn, soybean and wheat. Five to eight thousand truckloads each year will carry the grain in and out for loading onto ships and for distribution to the marketplace.

“They're talking about a 24 hour operation,” says Iroquois resident Gerben Schaillee, “year round and the truck traffic would be immense.”

"We're talking about the ruination of a provincial waterfront trail,” says Iroquois resident Chris Roundtree, “and increased hazard and noise to the townships of Morrisburg and Iroquois.”

The mayor for the area is a grain farmer and supports the plan. "It meets the zoning requirements, says Steven Byvelds. “It has the potential to bring something new to South Dundas in the way of new business.”

But it's all about interpretation. The residents argue the zoning does not allow for giant silos. The municipality does not have a full-time planner so it hired a private consultant to interpret its bylaws. That interpretation determined that a silo could be considered a warehouse for storing commodities such as corn, and a warehouse is allowed on the property, currently zoned light industrial.

The owner of the property says the proposed terminal is good news for farmers in Eastern Ontario.

“There’s a benefit for the farming community which is by far the largest portion of the township,” says Tom Kaneb. “It’s an added marketplace for their produce.”

Residents are pushing for a special council meeting to present their concerns.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Today in Great Lakes History - July 1

July 1, 1991 - The automobile/passenger ferry DALDEAN celebrated its 40th year in operation between Sombra, Ontario and Marine City, Michigan. She was built by Erieau Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, Erieau, Ontario, for Bluewater Ferry Ltd. Service started between the two communities on July 1, 1951.

On this day in 1943, the nine loading docks on Lake Superior loaded a combined 567,000 tons of iron ore into the holds of waiting freighters.

At 16:00 hours on July 1, 2005, an explosion hit the Cargill elevator in Toledo, Ohio, which collapsed on one of the silos and fire was found in five of the silos.

On July 1, 1940, the HARRY COULBY became the first Great Lakes vessel to load in excess of 16,000 tons of iron ore when it loaded 16,067 tons of iron ore in Ashland, Wisconsin. Renamed b.) KINSMAN ENTERPRISE in 1989, she was scrapped at Port Colborne, Ontario in 2002.

On 1 July 1927, ROBERT C. WENTE (wooden, propeller, bulk freighter, 141 foot, 336 gross tons, built in 1888, at Gibraltar, Michigan) burned to a total loss in the St. Clair River. In 1911, she sank in Lake Michigan, but was raised and refurbished.

July, 1983 - The C&O sold its remaining 3 car ferries to Glen Bowden and George Towns. They begin operating cross-lake service between Ludington and Kewaunee under the name Michigan-Wisconsin Transportation Co. (MWT)

On 1 July 1852, CASPIAN (wooden side-wheeler, 252 foot, 921 tons, built in 1851, at Newport, Michigan) foundered a short distance off Cleveland's piers. Some of her gear and structural material were salvaged in the Spring of 1853, and the wreck was then flattened with dynamite.

July 1, 1900, the new wooden steam barge ALFRED MITCHELL started her maiden voyage from St. Clair, Michigan for Cleveland, Ohio, to load coal. She was owned by Langell & Sons.

On 1 July 1869, the wooden schooner GARROWEN was carrying coal from Cleveland to Toronto when she sprang a leak and sank in 60 feet of water about 10 miles from shore off Geneva, Ohio. The crew escaped in the yawl. She was only 19 years old and some of the crew claimed that she was scuttled as an insurance scam. However, a number of divers visited the wreck on the bottom of the Lake at the time and that claim was refuted.

On 1 July 1875, the iron carferry HURON (238 foot, 1052 gross tons, built at Point Edward, Ontario, with iron plates prefabricated in Scotland) made her trial voyage between Fort Gratiot, Michigan, and Point Edward, Ontario, across the St. Clair River. This vessel served the Grand Trunk Railway and ran between Windsor and Detroit for over a century.

In 1876, a 25-square-mile ice field was still floating at the head of Lake Superior in northwest Wisconsin.

1918: The wooden steam barge CREAM CITY stranded on Wheeler Reef in upper Lake Huron due to fog while towing the barge GRACE HOLLAND. All were rescued but the ship was abandoned. The hull caught fire and was destroyed in 1925.

1939: ALGOSOO (i) arrived at Collingwood for hull repairs after hitting bottom, in fog, near Cape Smith, Georgian Bay.

1964: WHITEFISH BAY went aground off in the St. Lawrence off Whisky Island while bound for Montreal with a cargo of grain. Six tugs pulled the ship free on July 3.

1975: VALETTA first came to the Great Lakes in 1962 and returned as c) ORIENT EXPORTER in 1966 and d) IONIC in 1972. The leaking ship was beached at Cheddar, Saudi Arabia, with hull cracks. It slipped off the reef July 11, 1975, and sank.

1972: H.M.C.S. COBOURG was built at Midland as a World War Two corvette and rebuilt as a merchant ship about 1947. It caught fire and burned as d) PUERTO DEL SOL at New Orleans while undergoing repairs and the upper works were gutted. The ship was sold for scrapping at Brownsville, TX, later in the year.

1980: The Swedish-flag freighter MALTESHOLM first came through the Seaway in 1963. It began leaking in the engine room as c) LITO on this date while bound from Kalamata, Greece, to Vietnam with bagged flour. It was abandoned by the crew and then sank in the eastern Mediterranean. The ship had been sold to Taiwan ship breakers and was likely bound for Kaohsiung after unloading in the Far East.



U.S. Coast Guard 9th District command changes

7/1 - The US Coast Guard has completed a change-of-command ceremony for its 9th District, which spans the five Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and parts of the surrounding states, and at the same time held a retirement ceremony for its departing commander.

Vice Adm. Robert Parker, Coast Guard Atlantic Area commander, presided over the ceremony to transfer command of the 9th District from Rear Adm. Michael Parks to Rear Adm. Fred Midgette.

Parks assumed command of the 9th District in April 2010. Following the change-of-command ceremony, Parks will retire after 35 years of Coast Guard service and plans to travel for the summer and spend time with his family.

Midgette reports to the 9th District from his position as the military advisor to the secretary of homeland security. He’s returning to Cleveland, having previously served as 9th District chief of staff, or second in command of district operations, from May 2010 to May 2011.

Headquartered in Cleveland, 9th District units are responsible for all Coast Guard operations throughout the five Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and parts of the surrounding states including 6,700 miles of shoreline and 1,500 miles of shared international border with Canada. The 6,000 active-duty, Reserve, civilian and Auxiliary men and women deliver multi-mission services in search and rescue, maritime safety and security, environmental protection, maritime law enforcement, aids to navigation, and icebreaking.

USCG




Maiden voyage begins for Baie Comeau, the latest Trillium Class self unloader

7/1 - CSL's fourth and final Trillium Class self-unloading vessel, Baie Comeau, has set sail on her maiden voyage. On June 30 the vessel departed the Chengxi Shipyard in Jiangyin, China. She is expected to take approximately 50-60 days to complete her voyage.

The Baie Comeau was preceded by the Whitefish Bay and Thunder Bay, both departing in May on their maiden voyages, and also by the award-winning Trillium Class self-unloader Baie St. Paul in 2012.

The Baie Comeau, as with her sisterships, is fitted with additional supports for her journey across the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans. After arriving in Montreal, the additional supports will be removed and within 7-10 days afterward she will begin Great Lakes service. Baie Comeau is also carrying ballast stone that will be discharged in Windsor, Ontario before the ship begins to see Great Lakes service.

With the Baie Comeau's departure from China, this completes the Trillium Class self-unloading additions to the CSL fleet. However, construction continues in China for two new Trillium Class straight deck bulk carriers, which are expected to join the new self-unloading vessels already built in China, sometime during the 2014 shipping season

Denny Dushane

[yachtsmanwilly]

Corps’ tug Hammond Bay sinks in St. Marys River

7/2 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – The U.S. Coast Guard responded Monday morning to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tug that sank in the upper St. Marys River in Michigan. As yet there has been no announcement as to why the tug Hammond Bay went down.

The Coast Guard said that at 3:30 a.m. a search-and-rescue controller in Sault Ste. Marie was contacted by the crew of the tug Billmaier, reporting that they were towing three barges and the tug Hammond Bay when the crew lost sight of the Hammond Bay.

After securing the barges, the crew of the Billmaier attempted to locate the lost tug, but found only an oil sheen and a life ring. Upon closer inspection, the Billmaier crew found the sunken tug in the middle of the St. Marys River under 27 feet of water. There was no one aboard the tug Hammond Bay at the time it became lost.

The Coast Guard responded to the incident with a boatcrew and pollution responder aboard a 25-foot Response Boat-Small, from Coast Guard Station Sault Ste. Marie, and an aircrew aboard an MH-65C Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City, Mich., which is conducting aerial assessments.

The Coast Guard has established a 500-foot safety zone around the sunken tug, and all boating traffic is being directed to stay clear of this area, which is also marked by a bouy. The Army Corps reports that the Hammond Bay has 200 gallons of diesel fuel and 15 gallons of oil aboard.

The Coast Guard is working with the Army Corps and other partners to minimize any environmental damage and impact to waterways that the sunken tug may present. They are also working on a way to remove the tug.

Herm Klein and Matt Miner





Great Lakes Towing, Shipyard mark 115th anniversary with two new tugs

7/2 - Cleveland, Ohio - The Great Lakes Towing Company and Great Lakes Shipyard will celebrate their 115th anniversary with the delivery of two new 4,640HP FIFI 1 ASD tugs. Designed by Jensen Maritime Consultant, Inc., Seattle, Washington, the tugs Aura and Atlas are built to the highest standards of the American Bureau of Shipping, the U.S. vessel classification society. The tugs were launched using the shipyard’s 770-ton Travelift. Atlas is currently headed out the Seaway on its delivery trip.

Founded by John D. Rockefeller on July 7, 1899, the company’s founding shareholders were the major industrialists at the turn of the century.

Great Lakes Shipyard is a full-service state-of-the-art shipyard specializing in every kind of marine construction, fabrications, conversions, refits, and repairs for all types of commercial and government vessels, tugs, supply boats, ferries, barges, truckable barges, excursion vessels, dinner boats, research vessels, and large yachts, as well as both on-site and off-site topside work of every kind.

To learn more, visit www.thegreatlakesgroup.com.




Engine trouble sidelines Beaver Island ferry

7/2 - Beaver Island, Mich. – Officials with the Beaver Island Boat Company and the Beaver Island Transportation Authority say the broken-down engine that has left the island’s main ferry, the Emerald Isle, out of service has been removed from the vessel and shipped to the mainland for repairs.

Authority transportation director Barb Schwartzfisher said late last week crews removed the faulty engine from the island’s main cargo, passenger and vehicle ferry and shipped it via barge and semi to Michigan Cat in Kalkaska where it will be repaired. Schwartzfisher did not have a timetable for when the Emerald Isle might be back in service. However, she noted that once the engine is repaired, it will have to be shipped back to the island, re-installed, tested and inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard before the Emerald Isle can return to service.

In the meantime, she said, the island will continue to be served by its much older, secondary ferry, the Beaver Islander. The 51-year-old Beaver Islander typically only operates on the busiest summer days to augment the Beaver Island Boat Company schedule, however it has been serving as the island’s main ferry since one of the Emerald Isle’s two engines failed shortly after departing from Beaver Island on Tuesday, June 25.

Until the Emerald Isle is fixed the Beaver Island Boat Company has modified its schedule and made arrangements with a local barge operator to help meet some of the Islands transportation needs as the Beaver Islander is a smaller vessel and cannot carry as many or as large of vehicles as the Emerald Isle can. On some days the revised schedules have called for nearly round-the-clock ferry operations, with the trips departing from the island at 11:20 p.m. and from Charlevoix at 2:30 a.m.

See the Beaver Island Boat Company’s website for updated schedules at www.bibco.com. The modified schedule is currently available through July 9.

In a recent press release, boat company officials asked that passengers, especially with vehicle reservations, take note of the Beaver Islander’s vehicle restrictions. The main height of the vessel’s cargo area is 6 feet 4 inches.

BIBCO is asking that passengers try to avoid traveling with car top carriers and other items on top of vehicles. Also, if you have a vehicle above 6-foot-4-inches in height, please try to bring a smaller vehicle if you are able to do so, as it will be difficult for them to guarantee passage of vehicles taller than 6-foot-4-inches. Trailers will be taken on a case-by-case basis and may need to be unloaded as water levels make it very difficult to load and unload trailers.

Company officials noted that some vehicles will be sent to and from the island on the barge, but noted that the travel time of the barge is approximately four hours and it cannot take passengers.

Petoskey News



Video confirms identity of 100-year-old shipwreck in Lake Superior

7/2 - Duluth, Minn. – Video taken more than 500 feet down in Lake Superior has confirmed that a shipwreck is the long-lost freighter Henry B. Smith.

Shipwreck hunters located the wreck May 24 about 30 miles north of Marquette, Mich. They had little doubt then that they had found the Smith, which vanished in a storm with all hands in 1913, but the group wasnt able to get video showing the ships name until a return trip to the site last week, the Duluth News Tribune reported Monday.

“We were blessed with gorgeous weather, while out on the water last Sunday and Monday,” said Jerry Eliason, of Cloquet. “And the camera despite getting caught on the wreck for a half-hour it captured video of lettering spelling out Henry B. Smith on the ship’s stern.”

The 525-foot Henry B. Smith sank in the massive Great Lakes Storm of November 1913, after it and its crew of 25 ventured out from Marquette during a lull. The storm kicked up again and the freighter sank, leaving scattered wreckage and just two bodies along the shores of Lake Superior.

In addition to footage of the ships name the group also caught a glimpse of the name on the Smith’s bow the return trip revealed more details of how the ship came to rest on the lake bottom.

“It’s like a V,” Eliason said. “It’s broken in the middle, with the largely intact bow and stern sections rising up from the lake bed amid a spilled cargo of iron ore.”

Getting the video was challenging because of a still-standing mast and guide wires on the bow, which snagged the camera for a while last week before the group was able to work it free. The group will continue to review the video, and send it to other shipwreck experts, to see what more they can learn about the Henry B. Smith and how it sank.

Eliason said he and fellow explorer Ken Merryman, of Minneapolis, have been invited to give a presentation about the wreck at the 26th annual Gales of November conference in Duluth. The event, a fundraiser for the Lake Superior Marine Museum Association, is scheduled for Nov. 1-2.



Traffic delayed at Soo due to search operations

7-1 - Soo - At about 3:55 a.m. Monday, Soo Traffic asked the downbound James R. Barker to cut back speed due to the sinking of a tug near Gros Cap. The tug D L Billmaier was shortening her tow of three barges and the tug Hammond Bay near Gros Cap when the small unmanned tug broke loose, it wasn't noticed until the Billmaier reached Whisky Bay anchorage. After securing the barges, the Billmaier’s crew attempted to locate the lost tug. They reported finding an oil sheen and a life ring from the lost tug, which led them to believe that the tug had sunk.

The upper river was closed between Light 26 and Gros Cap at about 5 a.m. to all vessels, including small craft, as search operations were being conducted. The river was partially reopened in that area to one-way traffic around 9:30 a.m., with the Barker allowed to proceed downbound and John D. Leitch allowed to proceed up.

The Billmaier crew found the sunken tug south of Buoy 35 in 27 feet of water. Later that morning the channel around the wreck was opened to two way traffic, vessels are asked to stay to the east and check down.

The tugs Billmaier and Hammond Bay are owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Coast Guard has established a safety zone around the sunken tug. The Army Corps reports that the Hammond Bay has 200 gallons of diesel fuel and 15 gallons of oil aboard. The Coast Guard is working with the Army Corps to minimize any environmental damage and impact to waterways. They are also working on a way to remove the tug.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Tall ships command the Great Lakes en route to battle re-enactment

7/3 - Historical re-enactments of famous battles delight history buffs and teach lessons of our past. Woolen-britches-wearing enthusiasts fill fields with their close attention to detail.

There's one place where it's almost impossible to re-enact a battle — on the high seas, or, for our purposes, the Great Lakes.

It's going to happen, though, for the War of 1812's momentous, nation-defining Battle of Lake Erie. On Labor Day (Sept. 2), at Put-in-Bay, Ohio, re-enactors will simulate the 1813 naval battle in which Oliver Hazard Perry and 557 sailors from the still-very-young United States of America defeated a fleet of the world's greatest naval power, Great Britain, in those same waters.

“We have never done this before,” says Burt Rogers, executive director of Tall Ships America, a nonprofit group dedicated to preserving “tall ships” and teaching sail training. The organization is producing the Battle of Lake Erie Bicentennial.

“We're blessed that there are some fine historians in our membership, particularly Capt. Walter Rybka and Capt. Wesley Heerssen of the Brig Niagara in Erie, Pa.. Their mastery of the history of the battle and the period is fundamental to the mission of the ship. They've designed the choreography of the battle.”

The naval theater is the culmination of this summer's Tall Ships Challenge that began June 14 and runs through Sept. 9, in which a fleet of ships race across five lakes, making appearance at U.S. and Canadian ports along the way.

The ships involved in the festivities come from all over North America, like the Pride of Baltimore II, based in Chesapeake Bay, and the Lynx, which sails out of Newport Beach, Calif.

Most have professional crews, supported by student trainees learning seamanship.

Capt. David Leanza, caught on the phone dockside in Detroit, will be bringing his ship, Appledore IV, to most of the ports in the Great Lakes Tall Ships Challenge.

“It's a traditionally rigged schooner,” says Leanza, “The way the sails and rigging are set up, it sails similar to the work boats of the 1800s. It's not a replica of any specific ship, like the Niagara is, but is traditional in the design. We'll be doing day-trips in Cleveland, Chicago, Bay City and Green Bay. While others will have visitors aboard in port, we'll be going out all day: two-hour trips three-hour trips, sunset excursions.”

The festival fits in perfectly with the ship's mission.

“We do sail-training education and Great Lakes Ecology education,” Leanza says.

One ship, the Sorlandet, is coming from Norway. Built in 1927, it's billed as the oldest still-operating, full-rigged ship in the world, and is run by an international crew of sailing students.

Great Lakes ports participating in the Tall Ships Festival include Cleveland (July 3-7), Duluth, Minn. (July 25-28), and Chicago (Aug. 7-11), with the final events in Erie (Sept. 5-8). Each location will have its own events, including tours, concerts, parades and family activities.

“The ships arrive for the most part on the Third of July,” says Ed Thomas, spokesman for this week's Port of Cleveland 2013 Tall Ships Festival.

“The first thing is the ‘Parade of Sail,' which is where the ships all line up on the lake, and sail past the city waterfront, which takes a couple hours,” he says. “Local sailing clubs participate as kind of guide boats; there's a Coast Guard boat, a fireboat with water cannons. It's free to the public to watch from shore.”

Then, the ships will be in port from July 4 through 7, at the The Port of Cleveland just north of FirstEnergy Stadium/Home of the Cleveland Browns.

“They may be boarded — the public can walk through the ships and talk to the crews,” Thomas says. “There will be an entertainment stage with music, storytellers, a guy doing short lectures about the War of 1812 and the battle in 1813. A number of ships are doing what we call Sail-Aways. The public can buy a ticket (90 minutes; $55 per person) and go on the ship in the lake and get a feel for what it's about.”

In Bay City, Mich., the July 12-14 Tall Ships visit will coincide with the Maritime Music Festival, featuring bands from all over the world playing songs of the sea.

Although the War of 1812 gets overshadowed by the Revolutionary War, the Battle of Lake Erie was still a pretty big deal. Capt. Walter Rybka has a few theories about what would have happened if it had been lost.

“The Battle of Lake Erie was a victory for the U.S.,” says Rybka of the Erie-based Brig Niagara. “If it hadn't been fought, or had been lost, and the British were still sitting in (occupying) Detroit, I think they would have been in a powerful position to argue for redrawing the border, which could have run along the Michigan/Indiana line. We had lost Detroit and couldn't get it back until the Battle of Lake Erie had been fought.”

Of course, the Canadians and British see things a little differently from Americans. Though they lost the battle, the Canadians tend to assume that they won the War of 1812. Americans, at best, consider it a draw.

“That's a good conclusion from the U.S. standpoint,” says Rybka. “Our war was with Great Britain over trade, seaman's rights. It was basically fought to mutual exhaustion, and things mostly returned to the pre-war status quo. We stood up to the world's most powerful navy.

“In Canada, it's a win. We came over their border several times. It's a uniting element — the country came together to defend itself. In England, the general view is, ‘What war?' It's a nickel-and-dime sideshow to the Napoleonic wars.”

The Sept. 2 battle re-enactment will be difficult to observe from land, but some visitors will be able to watch from several large spectator vessels.

The 1813 battle was three hours long and extremely deadly.

“I've laid out the movements of the battle from first-person accounts,” Rybka says. “They're fairly standard maneuvers — just a couple of 90-degree right turns, and then coming parallel again. We'll try to make some noise and smoke to give people an idea of the battle. A fireworks barge will be there to make a lot of noise and smoke in the center of the area, to represent the greater volume of fire these ships were capable of in their real configurations.”

The Brig Niagara carries four replica cannons, not the 20 that its namesake carried in 1812-13.

The battle was joined when the American flagship, the Lawrence, sailed ahead to meet the British fleet, and absorbed the full brunt of their attack. While firing back furiously, the Lawrence was virtually shot to pieces, with 70 percent casualties.

“The commander (of the Niagara) didn't bring the Niagara up to share that load,” Rybka says. “Some say it was because the wind didn't allow that. I think he had a choice.

“After the breeze allowed ships to start maneuvering, Perry had himself rowed over to the Niagara, and sailed into the British line, hitting them after they were already damaged.”

Curiously, Perry was forced to defy the very motto that is forever associated with him.

“His motto is ‘Don't give up the ship,' but he had to give up the ship to win the battle,” Rybka says. “The real motto is ‘Don't give up.' ”

TribLive




Today in Great Lakes History - July 3

On this day in 1943, the J. H. HILLMAN JR (Hull#524), the 14th of 16 Maritime-class ships being built for Great Lakes Service, was launched at the Great Lakes Engineering yard at Ashtabula, Ohio. After having the stern of the CANADIAN EXPLORER, ex CABOT of 1965, attached, her forward section still exists today as the ALGOMA TRANSFER.

The JOHN B. AIRD was christened June 3, 1983, at Thunder Bay, Ontario for Algoma Central Marine, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

U.S. Steel's ROGER BLOUGH was moved out of the dry dock at Lorain, Ohio, on June 3, 1972.

In 1954, CLIFFS VICTORY successfully completed her sea trials.

FRANK ARMSTRONG departed light from Ashtabula, Ohio, on her maiden voyage in command of Captain H. Chesley Inches June 3, 1943, bound for Superior, Wisconsin, to load iron ore.

PATERSON (i) entered service on June 3, 1954, with 440,000 bushels of wheat from Port Arthur, Ontario. She was scrapped at Thunder Bay, Ontario, in 1985.

On 3 July 1872, the wooden steam barge MARY MILLS was launched at P. Lester's yard at Marysville, Michigan.

On 3 July 1872, GRACE DORMER (wooden propeller passenger & package freight ferry, 71 foot, 66 gross tons, built in 1868, at Buffalo, New York) had just finished loading a cargo of fish at St. James, Beaver Island, when she caught fire and burned. One life was lost. The vessel was rebuilt and lasted until she burned at the bone-yard at Grand Island, New York in 1925.

1964: The A. & J. FAITH, idle at Cleveland and under arrest, was struck by the MIKAGESAN MARU when the latter was caught by a wind gust. The former sustained $5,000 in damage. This ship was sold and renamed c) SANTA SOFIA at Cleveland in August 1964. It arrived for scrapping at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, as d) COSMOS MARINER in August 1970. The latter, a Japanese freighter that made 6 trips to the Great Lakes from 1962 to 1966, was scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, as b) UNION SINGAPORE in 1979.



Buoy marks resting place of sunken tug Hammond Bay

7/3 - The USCG Buckthorn came out Tuesday morning and placed a lighted buoy to mark the sunken tug Hammond Bay. The Corps survey boat Bufe was also out Tuesday surveying the site. The Coast Guard said traffic is continuing on the river, which runs along Sault Ste. Marie about 290 miles northwest of Detroit, except for the safety zone around the sunken tug.

Matt Miner

[yachtsmanwilly]

Today in Great Lakes History - July 4

July 4, 1996 - The veteran Buffalo fireboat EDWARD M. COTTER, built in 1900, was designated a National Historic Landmark by the U. S. National Parks Service.

The WILLIS B. BOYER museum ship was opened to the public at Toledo, Ohio in 1987. She was built by Great Lakes Engineering Works (Hull#82) in 1912 as a.) COL. JAMES M. SCHOONMAKER. Renamed b.) WILLIS B. BOYER in 1969 and COL. JAMES M. SCHOONMAKER in 2011.

In 1976, the SAM LAUD grounded entering Buffalo, New York. She was dry docked at Lorain, Ohio, for repairs to bottom plates of No. 1, 2 and 3 port and starboard tanks. Also on this day in 1976, the H. LEE WHITE struck the Algoma Steel plant dock at the Canadian Soo resulting in damage to her stern amounting to $108,000 at the repair yard of Sturgeon Bay.

The JOSEPH S. YOUNG, a.) ARCHERS HOPE of 1945, was commissioned July 4, 1957. She was the first of seven T-2 tanker conversions for Great Lakes service. The YOUNG was renamed c.) H. LEE WHITE in 1969 and d.) SHARON in 1974. She was scrapped at Brownsville, Texas in 1986.

On July 4, 1953, the JOHN G. MUNSON set a Great Lakes record for limestone by loading 21,011 tons of limestone at Calcite, Michigan. This record for limestone stood until being broken by the Canada Steamship Lines self-unloader MANITOULIN late in the 1966 season.

July 4, 1952 - The PERE MARQUETTE 18 of 1911, was laid up due to railroad strike. She was never to operate again and was scrapped at Hamilton, Ontario, in 1957.

The wooden propeller freighter MAINE, owned by Northern Transportation Co., had sailed from Chicago and was on Lake Ontario on 4 July 1871, when Fireman Orsebius Kelley stoked the fire at 8 p.m. and went to the porter's room to get a lamp. When he returned, the boiler exploded with such force that Kelley was mortally wounded. The blast also killed Engineer M. H. Downer, deckhand Joshua Kelley (the fireman's brother), Halbert Butterfield (a 13 year old passenger) and his mother. The MAINE still floated after the blast. She was repaired and put back in service. Including this boiler explosion, she had four major mishaps in her career. She sank in 1872, burned in 1898, and finally burned again in 1911.

On 4 July 1900, during her maiden voyage from St. Clair, Michigan, to Cleveland, Ohio, the wooden steam barge ALFRED MITCHELL ran aground at Bar Point Light. It was claimed that the steering gear broke which rendered the boat unmanageable. Later that same day the MITCHELL was released by the wrecker SAGINAW.

About 9 p.m. on 4 July 1874, the steam barge W H BARNUM, with the schooner THOMAS W FERRY in tow, collided with the bark S V R WATSON near Point Pelee on Lake Erie. The WATSON sank in 28 feet of water. She was raised about two weeks later by the Coast Wrecking Company.

July 4, 1958 - The keel for the second of two new bulk freighters for Interlake Steamship Co. was laid at Great Lakes Engineering Works shipyard at River Rouge, Michigan on Wednesday morning June 25. Assigned Hull 302, the ship will be 689 feet long, 75 feet beam and 37-1/2 feet molded depth with a designed maximum cargo capacity of about 24,000 tons. H. C. Downer & Associates of Cleveland did the design work. The ship will be powered by a 6,000 shp steam turbine main engine with coal-fired boilers. Hull 302 was eventually named HERBERT C. JACKSON. Interlake's other new ship, the 710-ft. flagship JOHN SHERWIN (Hull#192) at Toledo, Ohio, joined the Great Lakes bulk cargo fleet in May of that year.

1959: The tug GRAND BANK, pushing a barge, sank in Lock 4 of the Welland Canal and the captain was lost. The vessel, built at New Orleans in 1940 as SST-123, was salvaged and, as of 1997, was operating out of Delta, BC.

1973: The Liberian flag bulk carrier FLORENCE, built as a T-2 tanker and converted in 1962, visited the Great Lakes in June 1973. The ship was outbound when it collided, in fog, with the tanker ST. SPYRIDON, inbound from Venezuela with 32,500 tons of Bunker C oil, off Les Escoumins, QC. Both ships were damaged. All on board were rescued and the two vessels were ultimately repaired. FLORENCE was scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in 1977 and ST. SPYRIDON at Vigo, Spain, as f) GLOBE MARITIMA in 1982.



Marquette lighthouse restoration pending

7/4 - Marquette, Mich. – For more than 100 years, the Marquette Harbor Lighthouse has been a beacon of hope for sailors on stormy Lake Superior. But years of harsh winters have caused the facility to fall into disrepair. A new campaign is seeking to restore the structure to its original glory.

The Paint the Lighthouse Red Campaign began more than a year ago when the Marquette Maritime Museum received a grant from Save America's Treasures. The SAT grant contributes matching funds up to $180,000 for money raised by the museum. The museum has raised $20,000 so far. Restoration on the structure, as well as raising the money, must be completed by May 2014.

"We have a list of projects we want to accomplish," said Carrie Fries, director of the museum.

Top priorities include a new roof, brickwork to ensure the structure is stable and painting the lighthouse.

Ken Czapski, of Sanders & Czapski Associates, PLLC in Marquette, will be the predominant restoration architect. Czapski has made a name for himself in lighthouse restoration and in previous years has worked on the DeTour Reef Lighthouse and the Whitefish Point Light Station, among others.

The lighthouse was first erected in 1866 and is one of the oldest buildings in Marquette. More than 10,000 people visit the building each year.

"I think it's critical for it to survive," Fries said. "That lighthouse is a symbol of our community and we want to make sure it's something that is up to par to represent our city for years to come."

The Mining Journal



Laker Phoenix Star being scrapped at Toledo shipyard

7/4 - Toledo, Ohio The mythical phoenix rose from the ashes of its own destruction. The Canadian lake freighter Phoenix Star will not.

Instead, the freighter’s 45-year career will end under a scrapper’s torch in a dry dock on the Maumee River. Workers at Toledo’s Ironhead shipyard have begun dismantling the 730-foot grain ship and expect to finish the project within 90 days, said Tony LaMantia, president of Ironhead Marine, which operates the shipyard.

The freighter was apparently the victim of an economic perfect storm, according to news reports, an inability to compete with newer, cheaper tug-barge combinations, a series of owners with financial troubles and the ship’s own condition.

Additionally, said LaMantia, the shipyard needs the dry dock which Phoenix Star occupies for its other work – inspection and repair of operating lake ships.

Phoenix Star has, since the end of the 2012 season, occupied the larger of Ironhead’s two dry docks, its wheelhouse looming over the shipyards main gate on Front Street. Freighter-watchers have witnessed and posted photos of the ship’s equipment being removed and holes cut in its sides.

“Basically the vessel has reached the end of its service life,” LaMantia said. Refurbishing the hull or converting the ship to a self-unloading freighter of the type that took over the Great Lakes trade in the last half of the 20th century, is not feasible, he added.

Launched in 1968 in Collingwood, Ontario, on Lake Huron’s Georgian Bay, once a major shipbuilding center on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes, the freighter sailed for decades as the Algocen, a grain carrier for Algoma Central Railway’s Marine Division.

According to www.boatnerd.com, Algocen set a number of records for grain cargoes, but also hauled other materials such as iron ore and stone.

LaMantia was reluctant to talk about the string of financial difficulties that resulted in the freighter being stranded in his dry dock, but shipwatchers online tell this story:

Algocen’s four big diesel engines powered it up and down the lakes system until 2005, when it was sold to an outfit called Recycling Technologies Inc. and traded its Canadian Maple Leaf for a Panamanian flag before being used as a storage barge in New Jersey.

Following that, it was bought by a group of investors in St. Catharines, Ontario, operating as Vanguard Shipping (Great Lakes) Ltd., renamed the J.W. Shelley and sailed back into the Great Lakes under its own power, ¬something the shipwatchers at boatnerd.com say rarely happens.

But financial troubles resulted in a court-ordered sale of Vanguard’s assets to a subsidiary of a company called T.F. Warren Group — identified on its website as specializing in “Engineering, Fabrication, Erection, Repair, Maintenance, Coating and Linings to the Tank and Terminal industry.” Calls placed to the listed phone number of the company’s president, Terry Warren, in Brantford, Ontario, were not returned.

The relatively low cost and freedom from environmental regulations in some nations has resulted in many a lake boat being beached and scrapped far from home.

More than a few lakers have been towed across the ocean to places like Alang, India, where miles of beaches are lined with the hulks of dead ships being cut to pieces by men with improvised cutting torches and little to no safety equipment — but considering themselves lucky to have the job. Aliaga, Turkey, is also the last port of call for tired and broken ships making their appointment with the torch.

Only recently has a combination of outcry about environmental impacts and relatively lower costs meant that some lakers meet their end in the Great Lakes. The freighter Maumee waits her turn at Port Colborne, Ontario, on the Welland Canal, and the tanker Imperial Sarnia is about half demolished. Recently, the venerable Canadian laker James Norris was scrapped at Port Colborne.

Other old lakers have seen their sterns and engines cut away, their hulls converted into barges, LaMantia said.

Meanwhile, newer freighters entering Great Lakes service, such as those recently built by Algoma and Canada Steamship Lines on the Canadian side, are built in Chinese shipyards and sailed across the ocean to the Lakes.

Great Lakes shipyards on either side of the border, LaMantia said, “can’t compete with those prices.”

Don Lee – Toledo Free Press



Corps pulls sunken tug Hammond Bay from St. Marys River

7/4 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District successfully salvaged a USACE tug that sank in the federal channel in the St. Marys River near Lake Superior Monday morning.

USACE sent three vessels from the Soo Area Office, in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., to recover the tug Hammond Bay Wednesday morning. The crane barge Harvey, with assistance from the derrick barge Nicolet and derrick barge H. J. Schwartz, lifted the vessel out of the channel at 2:50 p.m. Wednesday. The tug was raised to the surface using divers to rig the vessel, and then it was pumped out to refloat. The tug was taken to the Soo Area Office, where arrangements will be made assess the vessel and refurbish where possible.

During initial inspections of the vessel the crew noticed it looked structurally sound with all windows intact and no visible leaks. “It looks the same as it would if it were sitting at a dock,” said a crew member, when the vessel was initially found underwater.

The cause of the incident, with no reported injuries, will be under investigation by a team of subject matter experts being pulled together as soon as the vessel is secured.

At approximately 3:30 a.m. Monday, the USACE tug D.J. Billmaier was underway from the USACE Duluth Area Office to the Soo Area Office towing three barges and the unmanned tug Hammond Bay. While preparing to lock through the Soo Locks, the crew of the Billmaier lost sight of the Hammond Bay. After securing its barges, the Billmaier crew attempted to locate the lost tug.

They conducted an initial search during the night to see if the tug was afloat and were unsuccessful. The St. Marys River was closed to commercial vessel traffic until the tug Hammond Bay was found. Once the sunken vessel was found Monday morning (at 37 feet deep, 425 feet into the 2,000 foot wide channel) the U.S. Coast Guard established a safety zone around the work area, marked the area, and then allowed one way traffic through the channel.

The tug Hammond Bay is used to ferry the USACE crew between the shore and other USACE vessels.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

[yachtsmanwilly]

Condo developer would like to see Captain John’s slip moorings

7/6 - Toronto, Ont. – Toronto developer Sam Crignano promised buyers of his upscale Residences of Pier 27 condo development some of the best waterfront views in Toronto. He just never thought they would include the rusting Captain John’s Restaurant.

For months now, Crignano has been offering to do whatever it takes, including financial assistance, to get the waterfront relic — a former tourist attraction and seafood restaurant — towed out of sight, as he had expected it would be years ago.

“I keep asking the question: ‘How long? How long?’ Something has to give before the end of this year. That thing is just ugly,” say Crignano, president of Cityzen developments.

Since water was turned off and the restaurant shut down by city health officials a year ago, the ship, the Jadran, has remained firmly anchored at the foot of Yonge St. while waterfront officials decline to take the critical next step: seeking an order under federal maritime law to assume control of the ship.

In the meantime, its owner, “Captain” John Letnik, has been trying to find buyers for what has become a massive metal albatross: a 50,000-square-foot, 55-year-old engineless ship that could cost the city $250,000 to have towed away and cut up.

Two buyers have expressed interest. One hoped to turn it into a tourist attraction in Cuba, another a casino and restaurant in Hamilton. Meanwhile, the ship is sinking in debt. Letnik owes close to $1 million in back taxes, utilities and rent on the waterfront slip. He also has an outstanding mortgage of more than $200,000.

“I’m still living on the ship. I sleep about 50 per cent of the time on a mattress on the floor,” says Letnik, 74, who also owns a lowrise apartment building in Scarborough.

He stripped the ship of most of its contents last July when the city, Waterfront Toronto and the Toronto Port Authority moved in tandem to shut the business down and ordered the gangplank and all signage removed.

A year later, the aged walkway and faded menu board remain as the adjacent condos loom large and construction crews continue their work rejuvenating the Queens Quay area at Yonge St.

Crignano has warned Waterfront Toronto officials that time is running out. Owners of the Pier 27 condos, ranging from more than $500,000 to $3 million, are slated to start moving in late this year. Come fall, the parking lot where the gangplank now sits is supposed to be turned into a public promenade 45 metres wide.

It will run north-south, from Queens Quay and connect to a promenade that will run east along the harbour wall, in front of the four condo buildings. It is supposed to be a new public gathering place for nautical activities, such as the recent visit of the tall ships, and a key part of Waterfront Toronto’s efforts to bring life to prime lakefront land that has been dominated by parking lots for decades.

“I’ve been applying as much pressure as I possibly can to get that thing out of there. I’ve even offered to contribute financially,” says Crignano. “One plan is to try to move it somewhere else in the harbour and try to make something of it.”

Nothing would delight Letnik more. The biggest obstacle to any sale, he maintains, is the fact the Port Authority isn’t willing to grant a new owner a long-term lease on any waterfront slip, which makes it too risky to take on a ship needing millions in restoration.

“We would certainly be willing to entertain any offers, but we’ve had nothing so far,” says Pamela McDonald, director of communications for the Toronto Port Authority. “We did have some preliminary interest, but there have been no serious written offers.”

Civic officials are quietly coming to terms with the fact they will likely have to forgive the outstanding taxes and rents owed by Letnik, says one person close to the situation. But the ship is now more liability than asset, given that it’s mired in the muck of Lake Ontario and there is a risk it could break up during towing.

There is also the issue of the $200,000 mortgage, and Letnik’s determination to get some kind of payback for a ship he says cost him $3 million back in the 1970s to tow from his homeland, the former Yugoslavia, and convert to what was, at the time, a pioneering fine-dining restaurant in a somewhat remote part of the city.

“That’s my life sitting there, and they destroyed it by shutting me down,” says Letnik. “People don’t realize how much tourism I brought to Toronto with Captain John’s. “I’m going to stay there as long as I can, whatever it takes.”

And he may well be able to do just that.

Civic officials admit they have tried to be respectful rather than tough, given Letnik’s long history in the city, even if the waterfront is undergoing a remarkably quick renaissance all around him.

Plus they face a bigger problem. As long as Letnik is owner, no one else can approve a sale of the ship, even if a willing buyer is found. It could take months to seize control in federal court under maritime law.

“There’s no interest in going to court,” says McDonald. “We remain hopeful that a buyer will be found.”

Toronto Star




Today in Great Lakes History - July 6

CACOUNA's bow was damaged in a collision with the Greek tanker CAPTAIN JOHN on the fog-shrouded St. Lawrence River July 6, 1971. The CACOUNA of 1964, was repaired by replacing her bow with that of her near sistership the SILLERY, which was being scrapped. Later renamed b.) LORNA P and c.) JENNIFER, she foundered 20 miles Northeast of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on December 1, 1974.

Canada Steamship Lines’ ASHCROFT was used to haul ore, grain and coal only on the upper Great Lakes until July 6, 1932, when she was able to enter Lake Ontario through the newly expanded Welland Canal. On that trip ASHCROFT, loaded with grain from Fort William for Kingston, Ontario, was the largest vessel to traverse the canal to date.

The keel was laid for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.'s, GOVERNOR MILLER (Hull #810) in 1937, at Lorain, Ohio, by American Ship Building Company.

COLUMBIA STAR set a record for the Head-Of-The-Lakes coal trade. The vessel loaded 70,903 net tons of low-sulfur coal at Superior Midwest Energy Terminal in Superior, Wisconsin, on July 6, 1997. She was renamed b.) AMERICAN CENTURY in 2006.

On 6 July 1836, YOUNG LION (2-mast, wooden schooner, 73 foot, 83 tons, built in 1830, at Buffalo, New York) was carrying railroad iron and lumber. About 12 miles from Erie, Pennsylvania, in rough weather, her seams opened and she quickly sank with just her topmasts left above the water. 3 died, but 5 managed to clamber up the masts and hold on until the schooner NEW YORK rescued them.

On 6 July 1871, CASTALIA (2-mast wooden schooner, 119 foot, 242 gross tons, built in 1847, as a brig at Sandusky, Ohio) was on her way to pick up lumber at the camp at Bying Inlet, Georgian Bay, when she came too close to Cove Island Reef and stranded in 3 feet of water. Although not badly damaged, she was about a mile from deep water. Tugs could not get to her and she was sailing light, so there was no cargo to lighten. She was stripped and abandoned. She finally broke up in a storm on 12 July 1871.

On 6 July 1871, the Detroit newspapers (Detroit Free Press and Detroit Daily Post) both published articles stating that there were rumors on the docks regarding the tug TAWAS having her boiler explode on Saginaw Bay. The rumors originated with sailors from Port Huron and proved to be unfounded. However, in a sense this rumor turned into a prediction since TAWAS did blow her boiler about three years later (14 May 1874) on Lake Huron off Rock Falls, Michigan. At that time 6 crewmembers perished.

1893: ROSEDALE, upbound and light, ran aground off Knife River, Lake Superior, in dense fog and was almost on dry land. The vessel was released July 10 and went to Superior for repairs. It combined Great Lakes and ocean service until sunk in the Bristol Channel, via collision, on April 8, 1919.

1941: RAPIDS PRINCE, enroute from Prescott to Montreal, went aground in an awkward position in the Lachine Rapids and was stuck for 2 months. The 218 passengers were removed in motorboats.

1965: LAKE TRAVERSE, built at Duluth in 1918, sank off Tortuga Island, in the Caribbean after hull plates were sprung.




Tall ships sail into Cleveland on waves of War of 1812 history

7/5 - Cleveland, Ohio – A dozen tall ships will sail into Cleveland this week, riding the waves of history and binding the past to the present in wood, wind and war.

They'll be here from Wednesday through Sunday, long enough to provide a glimpse of the type of ships that once helped defend this nation during the War of 1812. Later this summer, they'll sail to western Lake Erie and re-enact just what it took to win the Battle of Lake Erie, 200 years ago.

The Tall Ships Festival at the Port of Cleveland, just north of FirstEnergy Stadium, is presented by the Rotary Club of Cleveland, and is the first gathering of these replicas of maritime history to visit here since 2010.

An estimated 100,000 people are expected to attend the festival, which offers ship tours, daily "sail-away" cruises on some vessels, dockside exhibits, a Maritime Market Place, food and beverage tents, and family entertainment.

Among the visiting ships is the Norwegian Sorlandet, the oldest (1927) full-rigged tall ship in the world which offers high school and college students the opportunity to attend classes while sailing to ports around the world.

The Unicorn, built from German U-boat scrap metal, is the only all-female crewed tall ship, and Liana's Ransom features a colorful crew of costumed, cutlass-swinging pirates.

Visitors will gain "an appreciation for the history of it all -- the ships, the lifestyle, and the importance of Cleveland in the industrial Midwest because of the lake," said Edward Thomas, festival spokesman.

Part of that history involves the bicentennial commemoration of the War of 1812 when sailing ships played a pivotal role on the ocean and Great Lakes.

As the war started, America's navy had only 17 ships to face the British. The American fleet was derided in English newspapers as a "handful of fir-built frigates under a bit of striped bunting, manned by bastards and outlaws."

To augment its forces, America issued letters of "marque and reprisal," authorizing private ship owners to capture English merchant ships. Soon, British warships had to be diverted from blockading America to protect shipping convoys.

Two of the visiting tall ships -- the schooners Lynx and Pride of Baltimore II -- are modeled after these armed privateers.

"Privateering is the reason this country has a national anthem," said Jan Miles, one of two captains of the Pride of Baltimore II.

He explained that during the war, England attacked Baltimore in 1814 to destroy shipyards where privateers known as "Baltimore clippers" were being built. That attack included the bombardment of Fort McHenry, where Francis Scott Key was inspired to write "The Star-Spangled Banner."

The Lynx is designed and named after one of the sleek Baltimore clippers, and its crew wears period uniforms and operates the ship in keeping with 19th-century maritime traditions.

Jeffrey Woods, executive director of the Lynx Educational Foundation, said the ship is a floating, living history museum, serving as a "remembrance of this forgotten war, and a reminder of where our freedoms came from."

He's looking forward to participating with 14 other tall ships in the Sept. 2 re-enactment of the Battle of Lake Erie near Put-in-Bay. The battle will replicate Oliver Hazard Perry's victory over the British in 1813.

Eric Johnson, of Avon Lake, a War of 1812 historian who will be speaking at the Tall Ships Festival, said the Great Lakes were strategically important at that time because most people and supplies were moved by water due to lack of roads in America's western frontier.

"Whoever won the battle [of Lake Erie] controlled the northwest," Johnson said.

Woods said in prior re-enactments the Lynx has shown the public that a naval battle of that era didn't necessarily have two ships slugging it out with point-blank broadsides. "The whole idea was to incapacitate and capture a vessel" with shots that took out the rudder or bow sails, he noted.

Miles, of the Pride of Baltimore II, also said the Lake Erie re-enactment will differ from the standard privateer's attack on merchant vessels, which involved more of the threat of firepower than its actual use.

"Privateers were civilians. Their goal was to get as rich as possible [by selling the captured ship's cargo]," he said. "They were not interested in dying in the process."

But the Lake Erie re-enactment should provide a "significant exercise" in cannon discipline as they fire black-powder blanks, Miles said. "The loading and reloading, the noise and smoke, should all be very reminiscent of what happened back in the day."

In addition to educating the public about the War of 1812, the Tall Ships Festival may prompt some discussion regarding the absence of a ship that had been expected for the event. The HMS Bounty, which visited here in 2003 and 2010, was sunk by Hurricane Sandy off the coast of North Carolina last October.

Then and now, "they that go down to the sea in ships" sometimes don't come back.

Even when tall ships are equipped with modern marine technology, extreme weather can be a formidable foe, said Woods, whose ship, the Lynx, rode out the hurricane from shelter on New York's Hudson River.

"You have to be watching the weather constantly, especially on the Great Lakes," he added. "All those lakes can be rougher than rough."

But both he and Miles, of the Pride of Baltimore II, cite the decision by the Bounty's captain to leave port to escape the hurricane at sea as a significant factor in the ship's demise. (The captain was reported missing in the sinking and was never found.)

"That tragedy was totally unrepresentative of the entire activity of traditional sailing," Miles said.

Beyond the historical significance that the tall ships represent, there's also the sheer novelty and visual beauty of these vessels that appeals to visitors.

"The public is absolutely fascinated with the life of a crew on board today," Miles said. "The key theme we've heard is that notion of -- What is it like to get away from land and society, and sail over the horizon?"

To Woods, one glimpse of a tall ship like the Lynx, slicing through the waves, is enough to make your imagination soar.

"You take a look at her from a distance, with her raked masts and all her canvas flying, it's just beautiful," he said. "These ships are meant to sail."

Cleveland.com




Port Reports - July 6

Green Bay, Wis. - Wendell Wilke
With the Lower Lakes fleet making the scene Friday, Calumet was outbound shortly before noon. Then, around 2 p.m., the tug Defiance and barge Ashtabula arrived with coal for C. Reiss. This was the first time the unit was in Green Bay. Making the Fox River down to the turning basin just above the Main Street Bridge, they swung around and were assisted down river to the Reiss dock.

Milwaukee, Wis. - Chris Gaziano
The Alpena and the Federal Weser both arrived during the early morning hours Friday to unload. The Federal Weser departed for Burns Harbor in the late afternoon and the Alpena finished up and was heading out for the lake by early evening.

Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey
American Integrity called on the Consumers Energy dock in Essexville early Friday morning. She finished unloading her cargo of coal and was back outbound for the lake early in the afternoon. The tug Krista S. was busy running mud barges back and forth between the dredge site in the Downtown Bay City area and the confined disposal facility near Cheboyganing Creek.

Marblehead, Ohio - Jim Spencer
Tug Dorothy Ann and barge Pathfinder loaded Friday at the Lafarge Marblehead stone dock.

Buffalo, N.Y. - Brian W.
The tug-barge combination Sea Eagle II - St. Mary's Cement II were eastbound on Friday afternoon on Lake Erie with an AIS destination of Buffalo. English River was towed in by the Washington at 1:30 p.m. Friday afternoon and will be departing Lafarge in the late morning Saturday.

Port Colborne, Ont. - J. J. Van Volkenburg
Algoma's Algosteel has stopped at Wharf 12 (the old stone dock for repairs). A crewmember said they will be there a few days or so.