Today in Great Lakes History

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A new Coast Guard Ship will be stationed at Kingston

9/16 - Kingston, Ont. – According to local news reports Kingston will be the new base for the mid-shore patrol vessel, CCGS Corporal Teather C.V. The vessel will deal with national security, potential threats and endorce federal laws in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence Seaway. The 42-metre-long and seven-metre-wide vessel will be temporarily berthed at the LaSalle Causeway until a permanent dock can be designed and built. It is hoped that a berth can be arranged in the Confederation Basin, in downtown Kingston.

The ship is capable of speeds up to 25 knots and can be away from its base for up to two weeks. There will be nine Coast Guard crew and three police officers aboard.

The ship is named after RCMP Corporal Robert Gordon Teahter. He was an RCMP diver and received his Cross of Valour for using his diving skills to rescue two fishermen from the overturned hull of their vessel, in 1981. He passed away in 2004.



Steam whistles sing of Great Lakes shipping history

9/16 - St. Clair, Mich. – When “Whistles on the Water” hits downtown St. Clair Saturday, Sept. 28, the ear-piercing, body-thundering salutes of steam whistles from a bygone era of Great Lakes shipping will be the main sound heard by visitors.

But behind the unique blast of each whistle lies a story that evokes a vanished time.

“The showpiece whistle at this year’s event is the whistle from the Straits of Mackinac ferry known as Chief Wawatam,” said Dave Michelson, a resident of New Baltimore whose knowledge of the history of shipping on the lakes is encyclopedic. “Chief Wawatam is a famous ice-breaking railroad and car ferry that traveled year-round between Mackinaw City and St. Ignace. It was built in 1911 in Toledo.”

The ship was nearly 340 feet long and 62 feet wide.

“Its design is what makes the ferry revolutionary,” said Michelson. “Prior to Chief Wawatam, ice breakers split ice with their bows. With this ferry, the principle of riding on top of the ice came to be. It remains the principle of ice-breaking today. The Straits were a forbidding place to operate in winter. The ice was so hard on the early wooden vessels that they lasted only a few years.”

Toledo Shipping won the contract for the unusual design of the ferry, which featured a propeller under the bow of the ship that sucked water from beneath the ice.” The design used gravity to smash the ice.

“As the bow rode on top of the ice, it broke it up,” said Michelson.

The ship attracted international attention. “Representatives of Russia, Finland and Sweden came over to observe the new technology,” said Michelson, who will blow more than three dozen historical whistles at the event, which runs 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the St. Clair boardwalk, and tell stories about their origins. “The whistle is among the largest we’ll have at Whistle on the Water – a very deep sounding whistle.

“You feel the whistles as much as you hear them,” said Michelson. “The human ear can pick up low frequencies better than high frequencies. If you had a dense fog out on the lake, the only way you’d know a ship was out there was by the sound it made.”

With their human cargo, passenger ships tended to have the largest whistles of any lake vessels.

The Hamonic was one of the best-loved passenger ships in the Great Lakes, built by the Northern Navigation Company in Collingwood, Ontario, in 1908 to run back and forth from Sarnia to what is now Thunder Bay on Lake Superior. Known for its graceful lines, the ship ran when the Soo Locks were ice-free, roughly between April and mid-October.

The ship was often referred to by its hull number at the shipyard – “Ship 22,” said Michelson.

On July 17, 1945, the Hamonic was docked at the wharf at Point Edward, across the St. Clair River from Port Huron, where the casino now stands.

“A fire inside the freight shed spread to the ship,” said Michelson. “Through the skill of the captain and crew, they managed to get the ship away from the shed and out into the river. The fact that it was daylight and the passengers were not sleeping helped save all the passengers except one. The captain drove the bow of the Hamonic into the shoreline south of the wharf, occupied by a coal yard, a frequent stop for steamships that operated on coal. The crane operator used his clamshell claw to lift the passengers to safety.

“The whistle from the Hamonic will be the largest we will have at the event,” said Michelson. “It’s made not of brass or bronze like most of the steam whistles, but steel. Cast into the bottom of the whistle is the number 22. It was created uniquely for Ship 22. It’s about seven feet tall and emits a very, very deep sound.”

The Voice News




Today in Great Lakes History - September 16

On September 16, 1893, HATTIE EARL (wooden schooner, 96 foot, 101 gross tons, built in 1869, at South Haven, Michigan) was driven ashore just outside the harbor of Michigan City, Indiana, and was pounded to pieces by the waves. No lives were lost.

At about 8:30 a.m. Sunday, September 16, 1990, the inbound motor ship BUFFALO passed close by while the tanker JUPITER was unloading unleaded gasoline at the Total Petroleum dock in the Saginaw River near Bay City, Michigan. As the BUFFALO passed the dock's aft pilings broke off and the fuel lines parted which caused a spark and ignited the spilled fuel. At the time 22,000 barrels of a total of 54,000 barrels were still aboard. Flames catapulted over 100 feet high filling the air with smoke that could be seen for 50 miles. The fire was still burning the next morning when a six man crew from Williams, Boots & Coots Firefighters and Hazard Control Specialists of Port Neches, Texas, arrived to fight the fire. By Monday afternoon they extinguished the fire only to have it re-ignite that night resulting in multiple explosions. Not until Tuesday morning on the 18th was the fire finally subdued with the assistance of the U.S. Coast Guard's BRAMBLE and BRISTOL BAY. The tanker, which was valued at $9 million, was declared a total constructive loss, though the engine room was relatively untouched. Unfortunately the fire claimed the life of one crew member, who drowned attempting to swim ashore. As a result the Coast Guard closed the river to all navigation. On October 19th the river was opened to navigation after the Gaelic tugs SUSAN HOEY and CAROLYN HOEY towed the JUPITER up river to the Hirschfield & Sons Dock at Bay City (formerly the Defoe Shipyard) where a crane was erected for dismantling the burned out hulk. Her engines were removed and shipped to New Bedford, Massachusetts, for future use. The river opening allowed American Steamship's BUFFALO to depart the Lafarge dock where she had been trapped since the explosion. JUPITER's dismantling was completed over the winter of 1990-91. Subsequent investigation by the NTSB, U.S. Coast Guard and the findings of a federal judge all exonerated the master and BUFFALO in the tragedy.

Parrish & Heimbecker Ltd. purchased all nine of the Soo River's fleet on September 16, 1982, for a reported C$2.5 million and all nine returned to service, although only four were running at the end of the season.

The NORISLE went into service September 16, 1946, as the first Canadian passenger ship commissioned since the NORONIC in 1913.

On September 16, 1952, the CASON J. CALLAWAY departed River Rouge, Michigan, for Duluth, Minnesota, on its maiden voyage for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.

On September 16, 1895, ARCTIC (2 mast wooden schooner, 113 foot, 85 gross tons, built in 1853, at Ashtabula, Ohio) was rammed and sunk by the steamer CLYDE in broad daylight and calm weather. ARCTIC was almost cut in half by the blow. The skipper of CLYDE was censured for the wreck and for his callous treatment of the schooner's crew afterwards. Luckily no lives were lost.

On September 16,1877, the 46 foot tug RED RIBBON, owned by W. H. Morris of Port Huron, Michigan, burned about 2 miles below St. Clair, Michigan. Capt. Morris ran the tug ashore and hurried to St. Clair to get assistance, but officials there refused to allow the steam fire engine to go outside the city. The tug was a total loss and was only insured for $1,000, half her value. She had just started in service in May of 1877, and was named for the reform movement that was in full swing at the time of her launch.

On September 16, 1900, LULU BEATRICE (2-mast wooden schooner, 72 foot, 48 gross tons, built in 1896, at Port Burwell, Ontario) was carrying coal on Lake Erie when she was wrecked on the shore near the harbor entrance at Port Burwell in a storm. One life was lost, the captain's wife.

1892 The wooden propeller VIENNA sank in foggy Whitefish Bay after beiing hit broadside by the wooden steamer NIPIGON. The latter survived and later worked for Canada Steamship Lines as b) MAPLEGRANGE and c) MAPLEHILL (i) but was laid up at Kingston in 1925 and scuttled in Lake Ontario in 1927.

1901 HUDSON was last seen dead in the water with a heavy list. The steeel package freighter had cleared Duluth the previous day with wheat and flax for Buffalo but ran into a furious storm and sank in Lake Superior off Eagle Harbor Light with the loss of 24-25 lives.

1906 CHARLES B. PACKARD hit the wreck of the schooner ARMENIA off Midddle Ground, Lake Erie and sank in 45 minutes. All on board were rescued and the hull was later dynamited as a hazard to navigation.

1937-- The large wooden tug G.R. GRAY (ii) of the Lake Superior Paper Co., got caught in a storm off Coppermine Point, Lake Superior, working with GARGANTUA on a log raft and fell into the trough. The stack was toppled but the vessel managed to reach Batchawana and was laid up. The hull was towed to Sault Ste. Marie in 1938 and eventually stripped out. The remains were taken to Thessalon in 1947 and remained there until it caught fire and burned in 1959.

1975 BJORSUND, a Norwegian tanker, visited the Seaway in 1966. The 22--year old vessel began leaking as b) AMERFIN enroute from Mexico to Panama and sank in the Pacific while under tow off Costa Rica.

1990 JUPITER was unloading at Bay City when the wake of a passing shipp separated the hose connection spreading gasoline on deck. An explosion and fire resulted. One sailor was lost as the ship burned for days and subsequently sank.

2005 Fire broke out aboard the tug JAMES A. HANNAH above Lock 2 of the Welland Canal while downbound with the barge 5101 loaded with asphalt, diesel and heavy oil. City of St. Catharines fire fighters help extinguish the blaze.


Obituary: Capt. William G. Barnhardt

9/15 - Port Huron, Mich. – William G. “Bill” Barnhardt, 72, of Kimball Township, died Friday, September 13, at home, unexpectedly.

A licensed marine surveyor and ship captain, he was a co-founder of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadets Corp, FC Sherman Division, and was instrumental in bringing the SCS Grayfox, the largest Sea Cadet training vessel in the U.S., to Port Huron.

For many years, Bill spent countless hours aboard the Grayfox helping young men and women learn about life aboard a naval vessel. He was a founding member of Holy Redeemer Lutheran Church and served the church in many different capacities. He was a member of the International Shipmasters Association, Navy League of the United States and the Port Huron Power Squadron, enjoyed fishing up north at his cabin, and served on the Kimball Township Fire Board for 25 years.

Visitation will be 7-9 p.m. Monday and 2-4 and 6-9 p.m. Tuesday in Pollock-Randall Funeral Home. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday, September 18, in Holy Redeemer Lutheran Church, 4475 West Water, Port Huron. The Reverend Andrew Schroeder will officiate.

Memorials may be made to Holy Redeemer Lutheran Church or the FC Sherman Division of the Sea Cadets.

See more at this link

[yachtsmanwilly]

Climate a primary factor on lake levels

9/17 - Milwaukee, Wis. – Placing water retention structures in the St. Clair River may not be enough to counteract the effects of a warming climate and raise Lakes Huron and Michigan to their normal levels, experts said Monday.

As water surface temperatures and evaporation rates continue to rise, low water is likely to be a long-term problem despite significant improvement this year following heavy snows in winter and a rainy spring, according to testimony during the annual meeting of the Great Lakes Commission.

“Water levels go up and down,” said Scudder Mackey, coastal management chief with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. “It’s a natural process, something that we have to learn to live with.”

Levels have been mostly below normal on all five Great Lakes since the late 1990s, but the drop-off has been most severe on Huron and Michigan, which scientists consider one lake because they are connected.

Huron-Michigan has jumped 20 inches since January, exceeding its usual seasonal rise, said Keith Kompoltowicz, a meteorologist with the Detroit office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Still, it remains 17 inches below its long-term average. Lake Superior is also slightly below its long-term average, while Lakes Erie and Ontario have exceeded theirs.

Groups representing shoreline interests in Lake Huron, particularly in sprawling Georgian Bay, say climate isn’t the only reason water there is extraordinarily low. They blame dredging, gravel mining and other activities that eroded the floor of the St. Clair River on Huron’s southern end, accelerating the flow toward Lake Erie.

Studies have shown those actions caused Huron and Michigan to fall 10 to 16 inches. Some groups put the loss at 20 inches.

In April, the International Joint Commission – which advises the U.S. and Canada about the Great Lakes and other shared waters – recommended a study of installing structures resembling underwater speed bumps in the St. Clair that could raise Huron and Michigan by 5 to 10 inches. Neither federal government has acted on the proposal.

A panel discussion before the Great Lakes commission, which represents states and Canadian provinces in the region, revealed skepticism about the idea.

“Lows on Lakes Michigan and Huron may remain if we have increased evaporation and less precipitation, even if we put in compensating structures,” said Mackey, who participated in the International Joint Commission study.

It could take up to 25 years to plan, design and build the structures and another decade for them to boost levels as much as hoped, said Deborah Lee, regional business director for the Army corps. In the meantime, they could rise or fall on their own.

“We can’t predict what the effects of climate will be with the accuracy to make these kinds of decisions,” Lee said.

Roger Gauthier, chairman of a group called Restore Our Water International, which favors regulating the lake levels, said structures could be installed much faster than Lee predicted. Once in, they could boost Huron-Michigan 60 percent within three years, he said.

“We need to ... be able to act in a time frame that treats this like a crisis,” he said.

Trying to regulate Huron-Michigan would require a difficult balancing act among competing interests, said Daniel Injerd of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Gauthier countered that all would benefit from more stable and reliable levels.

AP’




Today in Great Lakes History - September 17

On September 17, 1898, KEEPSAKE (2-mast wooden schooner, 183 foot, 286 gross tons, built in 1867, at Newport [Marine City], Michigan) was carrying coal from Ashtabula when she was struck by a terrible storm on Lake Erie. Her rudder was damaged, a sail torn away and her bulwarks were smashed. The CITY OF ERIE saw her distress signals at 3:30 a.m. and came to help. With the CITY OF ERIE's searchlight shining on the doomed schooner, a huge wave swept over the vessel taking away everything on deck and snapping both masts. The crew, some only half dressed, all managed to get into the lifeboat. They rowed to the CITY OF ERIE and were all rescued. Three days later, the other lifeboat and some wreckage from the KEEPSAKE were found near Ashtabula by some fishermen.

GRIFFON (Hull#18) was launched September 17, 1955, at St. Catharines, Ontario by Port Weller Drydocks Ltd. for Beaconsfield Steamship Ltd., Montreal, Quebec. Renamed b.) FRANQUELIN in 1967, c.) EVA DESGAGNES in 1987. Sold foreign in 1989, renamed d.) TELCHAC, scrapped at Tuxpan, Mexico, in 1992.

On September 17, 1985, PATERSON suffered a crankcase explosion as she was bound for Quebec City from Montreal. She was repaired and cleared on September 21. Renamed b.) PINEGLEN in 2002.

On September 17, 1830, WILLIAM PEACOCK (wood side wheel steamer, 102 foot, 120 tons, built in 1829, at Barcelona, New York) suffered the first major boiler explosion on Lake Erie while she was docked in Buffalo, New York. 15 - 30 lives were lost. She was rebuilt two years later and eventually foundered in a storm in 1835, near Ripley, Ohio.

On September 17, 1875, the barge HARMONY was wrecked in a gale at Chicago, Illinois, by colliding with the north pier, which was under water. This was the same place where the schooner ONONGA was wrecked a week earlier and HARMONY came in contact with that sunken schooner. No lives were lost.

On September 17, 1900, a storm carried away the cabin and masts of the wrecked wooden 4-mast bulk freight barge FONTANA. The 231-foot vessel had been wrecked and sunk in a collision at the mouth of the St. Clair River in the St. Clair Flats on August 3,1900. She had settled in the mud and gradually shifted her position. She eventually broke in two. After unsuccessful salvage attempts, the wreck was dynamited.

Tragedy struck in 1949, when the Canada Steamship Lines cruise ship NORONIC burned at Pier 9 in Toronto, Ontario. By morning the ship was gutted, 104 passengers were known to be dead and 14 were missing. Because of land reclamation and the changing face of the harbor, the actual site of Noronic's berth is now in the lobby of the Harbour Castle Westin hotel.

1909: The towline connecting the ALEXANDER HOLLEY and SIR WILLIAM FAIRBAIRN broke in a Lake Superior storm and the former, a whaleback barge, almost stranded on Sawtooth Shoal. The anchors caught in time and it took 5 hours to rescue the crew.

1980: HERMION began Great Lakes trading shortly after entering service in 1960. The vessel stranded as d) AEOLIAN WIND, about a half mile from Nakhodka, USSR, during a voyage from North Vietnam to Cuba. The ship was refloated on October 8, 1980, and scrapped in 1981 at Nakhodka.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Report says Lake Erie ports boost economic activity

9/18 - A recently-completed study undertaken by a regional planning agency has shown that two Lake Erie ports are generating at least $100-million annually in economic activity. The report, financed by the Erie County (OH) Regional Planning Commission, concentrated the period from August, 2012 to September 2013.

Planning Commission Director Steven Poggiali said the report also revealed that activity at the ports of Sandusky and Huron helped the county recover the 2,900 jobs lost during the current recession and added 1,700 new jobs. The recovery outstripped both the national and Ohio recovery rate, he added.

According to the new report, Huron harbor handled in-bound cargoes worth $12-million during the period studied, primarily in iron ore, limestone and grain. The harbor has since seen a sharp reduction in iron ore deliveries and grain shipping has evaporated.

The Sandusky harbor - one of the more active coal shipping ports on Lake Erie - shipped cargoes valued at more than $50-million, the study found. The bulk of the coal shipped from the NorfolkSouthern coal dock is bound for Canadian ports, officials have long held.



Great Lakes levels bounce back after record lows

9/18 - Harrison Township, Mich. – Eight months ago, prospects for this year’s boating season on the Great Lakes were dim.

In January, lakes Michigan and Huron hit their lowest-ever recorded levels for the month. Years of drought-like conditions coupled with back-to-back winter/spring seasons producing little precipitation prompted harbor masters and marina owners to worry about boats running aground in shallow waters and the maritime economy taking another hit.

The crisis atmosphere helped trigger a $21 million emergency dredging program for 58 harbors in the state. At the time, Jack Witt, owner of Pentwater’s Snug Harbor, was worried about what lay ahead.

“Everybody is just praying that Lake Michigan will not go down any farther,” he said in February.

Somewhere along the way, however, Mother Nature decided to pitch in. Harbors and marinas around the state enjoyed a better than expected seasonal rise in the lakes during spring and early summer that cleared the way for better boating conditions and averted the crisis some expected.

For Brian Kelley, manager at Sundog Marina in Harrison Township, the boost has been a pleasant surprise.

“This season, everyone seems to be having a good time,” he said. “It’s not gloom and doom. We have a boat sales department here, and our numbers are better than they were last year.”

In Pentwater, a west Michigan harbor town south of Ludington, improved lake levels led to a gradual improvement in business as the summer progressed.

“Our water levels came back to a point that was just a little below where they were in 2012,” Witt said. “As a result of the weather, we were off on our transient dockage (docking fees for visiting boats) this July compared to the end of last year. But we had such a strong August, we’re finishing with more sales year-to-date than we had for the entire year last year.”

The boost comes courtesy of the rain and snowfall that accumulated in the first months of 2013.

“We’ve seen a much greater seasonal rise than we did a year ago,” said Keith Kompoltowicz, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ chief of watershed hydrology. “We had more snow build up throughout the Great Lakes Basin, particularly in the northern region. And then we had an unbelievably wet spring.”

Lake Superior typically experiences a seasonal rise of a foot, but this year the number was closer to 20 inches. Likewise, lakes Michigan and Huron normally have an 11-inch increase, but the wet weather drove that figure to about 20 inches.

While lakes St. Clair and Erie last year experienced almost no seasonal rise at all, both this year had an increase of almost 2 feet.

Kelley said boaters have noticed. “Nobody is talking about hitting bottom (of the lake) any more,” he said.

As welcome as the heightened seasonal increase in water levels has been, it still does not leave the Great Lakes in particularly good shape compared with historical data. Each of the lakes remains well below its long-term average.

Kompoltowicz said it would take six months of above-average wet weather to get the lakes back to their normal levels.

The shipping industry in particular would like to see higher lake levels to accommodate its business.

In the late 1990s, when lake levels were riding high, the larger coal transports hauled an average of 71,000 tons of cargo per trip. As of last month, those same ships were carrying roughly 64,000 tons of coal or almost 10 percent less.

“This is not a case of ‘Happy Days Are Here Again’ by any means,” said Glen Nekvasil, vice president of the Lake Carriers Association. “That’s why we need the dredging.”

Early in 2013, Michigan embarked on an emergency dredging program allocating funding for 58 projects across the state. The bulk of those sites were the state’s 44 harbors of refuge — a string of ports spaced 30 miles apart that act as a maritime safety net.

Twelve of the 58 projects have been completed, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. Physical dredging work is under way at six sites, and permit approval has been granted for 30 more.

State officials set up and expedited the permitting process to help communities get a jumpstart on the work, and the process has gone at about the pace they expected, they said. But a handful of harbors have yet to submit their paperwork.

“We want to keep this moving as fast as we can,” said Paul Petersen, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ waterways grant program manager. “We think the bulk will be done by the end of 2013, but, realistically, some work will could continue through the spring of next year.”

Nicki Polan, executive director of the Michigan Boating Industries Association, said her constituents have been pleased with the pace of the state’s emergency dredging program.

“We’ve been very happy to see the program come together the way it has,” she said. “We’ve really heard very little in the way of negative reactions to this point.”

The Detroit News



Welcome’s re-berth still in air

9/18 - Traverse City, Mich. – Pardon the pun, but a rotting Bicentennial wooden replica of a 1770s sailing vessel hasn’t worn out its welcome in Grand Traverse Bay.

The Welcome, sunken in a watery grave, would be a welcome dive attraction in West Bay, local divers and underwater preserve enthusiasts say.

“One of the reasons we were formed in 2007 was to bring intentional sinkings to the bay,” said Alisa Kroupa, president of the Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve.

Doug Bell, owner of Scuba North, Traverse City’s only dive shop, said he “wholeheartedly” supports the sinking of the Welcome somewhere on the bottom of West Bay. The vessel probably would have to lie at rest on its side because it does not have a flat bottom hull, he said.

“Ideally, it would be nice if it was accessible from shore for all levels of divers,” he said.

Intentional ship sinkings in Lake Michigan have done “nothing but benefit” areas that have created dive attractions, Bell said.

Kroupa said no location has been discussed yet. Under state guidelines, the Welcome cannot be scuttled in fish spawning grounds or areas where it would become a navigation hazard. The top of the vessel also has to be at least 45 feet below water surface. Because of its mast, the sloop would have to be sunk at 90 feet if it could sit upright on the bottom, she said.

She believes it would be best to sink the Welcome on its side at least 58 feet deep, which would allow most divers certified to swim to 70-foot depths in open water to visit the boat. Only divers with advance certification are certified to go down 90 feet.

The Maritime Heritage Alliance, a Traverse City boat preservation group, decided weeks ago to seek a state permit to sink the Welcome. The request won’t be filed with the Department of Natural Resources until later this year. MHA board members said they don’t expect a decision until early 2014.

The Welcome, a replica of a 1774 fur-trading era sloop, was constructed for display during the mid-1970s in the Mackinac Straits area as part of the nation’s 1976 Bicentennial celebration. The MHA became the Welcome’s custodian in 1992 and its owners in 2006.

The Mackinac Island Commission has said that it doesn’t want the boat back, but it apparently hasn’t closed the hatch on that possibility.

“Currently, we’ve not offered to take it back, but we’re discussing it internally as an option,” Steven Brisson, deputy director of Mackinac State Historic Parks marketing and programs, said this week.

One option might be to take her back for dry dock display.

“We don’t have a plan for it, but some staff here feel it would be nice to find options other than sinking,” he said. “The Welcome was a popular display while being constructed.”

Mike Will, director of the Discovery Center – Great Lakes across the parking lot from the MHA buildings, said the Welcome’s fate has been an emotional topic this summer for historic boat preservationists. Initially, he hoped the Welcome could become a M-22 roadside icon for the Discovery Center. He now supports sinking the vessel because of the prohibitive cost of removing it from the water, repairing and putting a roof over it.

“Shipwrecks are a great resource,” he said. “Boats reach an end of life and die, too. It’s better and more fitting to sink her than to take her to the landfill. That way we can preserve some of her history here.”

Traverse City Record-Eagle



Today in Great Lakes History - September 18

On September 18, 1855, SEBASTOPOL (wooden side-wheel steamer, 230 foot, 863 tons, built in 1855, at Cleveland, Ohio) was sailing on Lake Michigan in a gale. Her cargo included copper, tin, lead and iron ingots, safes and general merchandise. Her skipper misread the shore lights while she was coming in to Milwaukee and she stranded 500 feet from shore, broadside to the storm waves which pounded her to pieces. Most of the crew and 60 passengers were saved with the help of small boats from shore, but about 6 lives were lost. This was the vessel's first year of operation. Her paddlewheels were 50 feet in diameter.

On September 18,1679, GRIFFON, the first sailing ship on the upper Lakes, left Green Bay with a cargo of furs. She left the explorer Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, behind. GRIFFON never reached her planned destination.

E J BLOCK, a.) W. R. WOODFORD of 1908, returned to service on September 18, 1946, as the first large bulk freighter powered by a diesel-electric power plant and one of the first equipped with commercial radar on the Great Lakes. She lasted until scrapped at Ramey's Bend in 1988.

On September 18, 1959, the HENRY FORD II ran aground in the St. Marys River and damaged 18 bottom plates.

LAKE WINNIPEG was the first vessel to enter the Nipigon Transport fleet. She loaded her first cargo of 22,584 gross tons of iron ore clearing Sept Isles, Quebec, on September 18, 1962, bound for Cleveland, Ohio.

The Pere Marquette carferry CITY OF MIDLAND 41 (Hull#311) was launched on September 18, 1940, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin. She was built by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Corporation at a cost of $2 million. She was named after Midland, Michigan, for one of the Pere Marquette Railway's biggest customers, Dow Chemical Co. She was christened by Miss Helen Dow, daughter of Willard H. Dow, president of Dow Chemical Co. Converted to a barge in 1998, renamed PERE MARQUETTE 41.

On September 18, 1871, E. B. ALLEN (wooden schooner, 111 foot, 275 tons, built in 1864, at Ogdensburg, New York) was carrying grain when she collided with the bark NEWSBOY and sank off Thunder Bay Island in Lake Huron.

On September 18, 1900, the large steamer CAPTAIN THOMAS WILSON was taken from her launch site on the Black River in Port Huron out to the St. Clair River. The tug HAYNES was at the bow and the tug BOYNTON at the stern. It took an hour and a half to maneuver through the various bridges. Newspapers estimated that a couple thousand persons watched the event. Once the WILSON made it to the St. Clair River, she was towed to Jenks Shipbuilding Company where she was completed and received her machinery.

1909: LACKAWANNA lost steering and sank in the St. Clair River with a hole in the starboard bow after a collision with the wooden schooner CHIEFTAIN off Point Edward.

1918: BUFFALO, formerly the Great Lakes package freighter a) TADOUSAC, b) DORIC, was torpedoed by U-117 and sunk off Godfrey Light and Trevose Head, Cornwall, UK

1942: ASHBAY traded on the Great Lakes for Bay Line Navigation from 1923 until 1935 when it was sold for Brazilian coastal service. The ship was sunk by gunfire from U-516 on this date at the mouth of the Marowyne River, Brazil, as c) ANTONICO and 16 lives were lost.

1942: NORFOLK, enroute from Surinam to Trinidad, was hit, without warning, by two torpedoes from U-175, on the starboard side near the British Guiana Venezuela border. The Canada Steamship Lines ship went down in minutes. Six lives were lost was well as the cargo of 3055 tons of bauxite destined for Alcoa.

1958: ASHTABULA sank in Ashtabula harbor after a collision with the inbound BEN MOREELL. All on board were rescued but there were later two casualties when the captain committed suicide and an insurance inspector fell to his death while on board.

1970: HIGHLINER was heavily damaged amidships as d) PETROS in a fire at Tyne, UK. The vessel was not repaired and, after being laid up at Cardiff, was towed to Newport, Monmouthshire, for scrapping on June 12, 1972.

1978: The British freighter DUNDEE was a pre-Seaway trader into the Great Lakes and returned through the new waterway on 14 occasions from 1959 to 1962. It foundered in the Mediterranean as g) VLYHO near Falconera Island after an enginer oom explosion caused leaks in the hull. The vessel was enroute from Chalkis, Greece, to Tunis, Tunisia, at the time.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Former rail ferry Viking under conversion

9/19 - Menominee, Mich. – The carferry Viking is now under conversion to a flat deck barge. She was built in 1925 at Manitowoc, Wis., as the Ann Arbor No. 7 and was renamed Viking in 1964 when she was rebuilt and converted diesel.

The current owners tried many different business ventures over the last 10 years to keep the Viking running but each was met with its own challenges.

The SS Badger wanted to purchase the Viking to run it as a car ferry but, unfortunately, due to regulations, that did not pan out either. She is not being scrapped but converted to a flat deck barge.




Today in Great Lakes History - September 19

At Rush Street in Chicago, Illinois, a hand-operated ferry carried pedestrians across the Chicago River. The ferry operator would pull on a rope, hand over hand, to move the ferry across the river. At a signal from schooners, the rope was dropped and the schooner would sail over it. On 19 September 1856, the rope was dropped but the impatient passengers picked it up to move the ferry themselves. The incoming schooner snagged the rope and the ferry was spun around and capsized. 15 people were drowned.

When Cleveland Tankers’ new SATURN entered service and made her first trip to Toledo, Ohio, on September 19, 1974, she became the first of three tankers built for the fleet's modernization program. EDGAR B. SPEER departed the shipyard on her maiden voyage for U.S. Steel on September 19, 1980, bound for Two Harbors, Minnesota, where she loaded her first cargo of taconite pellets.

The twin-screw rail car ferry GRAND HAVEN of 1903, was laid up in the spring of 1965, at the old Pennsylvania Dock at Cleveland, Ohio and later at dockage on the Old River Bed where she sank on September 19, 1969.

September 19, 1997 - officials at Lake Michigan Carferry, Inc. announced that the CITY OF MIDLAND 41 would be converted to a barge.

On 19 September 1893, SAMUEL BOLTON (wooden schooner-barge, 150 foot, 330 gross tons, built in 1867, at Bangor, Michigan as a schooner) was loaded with lumber and being towed in fog in Lake Huron. She got lost from the tow and drifted ashore near Richmond, Michigan where she broke in two and was then torn apart by waves. She was owned by Brazil Hoose of Detroit.

On Saturday, 19 September 1891, at 11 a.m., the whaleback steamer CHARLES W. WETMORE left Philadelphia, Pennsylvania loaded with the materials to build a nail mill, iron smelter and shipyard for the new city of Everett, Washington. Her skipper was Captain Joseph B. Hastings and she had a crew of 22.

On 19 September 1900, the Great Lakes schooner S.L. WATSON foundered off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. She had been sent to the Atlantic the previous autumn by her owner, J. C. Gilchrist of Cleveland.

[Avenger]

Sept 19, 2013 6:28:22 GMT -5 yachtsmanwilly said:

At Rush Street in Chicago, Illinois, a hand-operated ferry carried pedestrians across the Chicago River. The ferry operator would pull on a rope, hand over hand, to move the ferry across the river. At a signal from schooners, the rope was dropped and the schooner would sail over it. On 19 September 1856, the rope was dropped but the impatient passengers picked it up to move the ferry themselves. The incoming schooner snagged the rope and the ferry was spun around and capsized. 15 people were drowned.

It's good to see that stupidity has remained constant. I thought it was increasing.

Of course, today there'd be a big investigation and an agency with inspectors would be created to assure dumb-@$$ safety on ferries.

[skycheney]

Sept 19, 2013 7:23:21 GMT -5 Avenger said:

Sept 19, 2013 6:28:22 GMT -5 yachtsmanwilly said:

At Rush Street in Chicago, Illinois, a hand-operated ferry carried pedestrians across the Chicago River. The ferry operator would pull on a rope, hand over hand, to move the ferry across the river. At a signal from schooners, the rope was dropped and the schooner would sail over it. On 19 September 1856, the rope was dropped but the impatient passengers picked it up to move the ferry themselves. The incoming schooner snagged the rope and the ferry was spun around and capsized. 15 people were drowned.

It's good to see that stupidity has remained constant. I thought it was increasing.

Of course, today there'd be a big investigation and an agency with inspectors would be created to assure dumb-@$$ safety on ferries.

Yeah, kinda like the ship that was in Chicago and there was a big party on it. When another ship came by, all of the passengers went to the one side to see it and it capsized. This was in the 1920's, I think. Bill may know what ship I'm talking about. Hundreds drowned.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Yeah, that was the EASTLAND around July 24th 1915... just a few years after the TITANIC disaster. There was like 1800 people on board going to Michigan City for a Western Electric picnic, and a passing ship on the river caused the top deck crowd to rush the passing side and the boat capsized. 900 plus souls trapped below. Story goes she was light on ballast. She was cut down and refitted into the USCG ESCANABA.
Somewhere in the rescue crew pics is my dads dad. As a 20 year old iron worker, he was one of the few nearby that knew how to use an acetylene torch. ws

[yachtsmanwilly]

S.S. Badger stalled by boiler tube problem

9/20 - Ludington, Mich. – The crew of the carferry SS Badger is evaluating when it will be able to sail again after it canceled Wednesday’s sailing due to a malfunction with a boiler tube that has been difficult for the company to find and repair.

Lake Michigan Carferry, the company that owns the Badger, said Thursday that it continues to use all of its resources to resolve the problem and return the Badger to service at the earliest possible time.

"We have experienced a malfunction with the boiler tubes that has been difficult to find and repair. We continue to use all of our resources to resolve the problem and return the Badger to service at the earliest possible time,” a spokesman said.

"This is the first time this season that we have not sailed due to mechanical issues', the spokesman noted.

Ludington Daily News



Despite wet summer, Lake Superior level still 10 inches below normal

9/20 - Ironwood, Mich. – After significant increases in the water level of Lake Superior over the past few months, the lake level held relatively steady in August and remains lower than long-term averages.

According to Kevin Crupi, of the National Weather Service office in Marquette, the Lake Superior level stood at 601.86 feet above sea level on Aug. 1 and ended the month slightly higher at 601.94 feet.

August 2013 water levels on Lake Superior were about three to four inches higher than in August of 2012, but still about 10 inches below long-tern norms.

“Greater evaporation associated with higher water temperatures nearly balanced incoming run-off from the land drainage basins,” Crupi explained.

The average water level in July was 601.6 feet.

Ample rainfall this spring and summer has returned the lake to more typical levels after several years of drought.

Crupi, citing data provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said the long-term Lake Superior average for August is 602.13 feet, but in August of 2007 the lake had dropped all the way to 600.43 feet.

The highest August average on record was 603.22 feet in 1952.

While Ironwood has received more than twice as much precipitation this year compared to 2012, other communities surrounding the lake, like Duluth, have experienced dry summers.

The Climate Prediction Center forecasts above normal temperatures for the Upper Peninsula from October through the end of the year, along with above normal precipitation.

The Daily Globe



Wreck of Canadian schooner Ocean Wave discovered on Lake Ontario

9/20 - Toledo, Ohio – The National Museum of the Great Lakes, owned and operated by the Great Lakes Historical Society announced Thursday that their collaborative association with shipwreck explorers Jim Kennard, Roger Pawloski and Roland Stevens has produced another important shipwreck discovery on Lake Ontario, the Canadian schooner Ocean Wave.

“The National Museum of the Great Lakes provides funding for Kennard and his colleagues that has resulted in some of the most significant shipwreck discoveries in the past several years,” said Christopher Gillcrist, Executive Director of the National Museum. “The collaborative approach of our not-for profit organization underwriting a volunteer search team’s out of pocket expenses is a model for this type of work everywhere.”

In early November 1890, the Ocean Wave, heavily laden with a cargo of hemlock lumber and lath, was bound for Oswego from Trenton, Ontario. When the schooner was within 15 miles of its destination, it encountered a sudden and violent squall from the south. The winds at Oswego were recorded as high as 34 mph, however in the middle of the lake they could have been over 45 mph. The waves created by these high winds may have exceeded 12 feet in height. The following day there were several reports from ships coming into port that they had passed what appeared to be the schooner Ocean Wave bottom up and floating in the lake. A section of the stern with lath was seen floating northward. A tugboat was sent out from Oswego to rescue any survivors and possibly retrieve the sinking ship. The schooner was observed to be on its port side with just a portion of the starboard rail above the water and her spars floating nearby. The stern had been washed away and only a small portion of the lumber cargo remained in the hold. The yawl was still attached to the schooner but there were no survivors. The squall must have come very fast and hit hard, not giving the crew any time to reach the yawl and possible safety. Because the Ocean Wave was so badly broken up and the cargo of lumber nearly gone it was not worth towing back to Oswego.

After the squall the winds subsided for the next week and the Ocean Wave continued to float around Lake Ontario at the mercy of the wind and lake currents becoming a hazard to other ships. Ten days later, some of the debris from the schooner reached Mexico Bay at the eastern end of Lake Ontario. However, the Ocean Wave was not with these pieces of flotsam, the ship had finally sunk along the way.

The wife of the late Captain Brokenshire said that there were five persons on the Ocean Wave – her husband Capt. Brokenshire and William Martin of Port Hope; Mr. Smith of Port Hope; Mr. Joseph Wells of Belleville, and an unknown man. Captain Brokenshire left 11 children. Three of whom were still at home the oldest being 12 and the youngest six years old.

The shattered remains of a sunken wreck were initially located in 2012 using a high resolution Deepvison side-scan sonar system during a search for shipwrecks in Lake Ontario. This summer, the team returned to the wreck site three times, deploying a VideoRay remote operated vehicle (ROV) to obtain video recordings and sonar measurements of the shipwreck in an effort to identify the sunken ship.

The wreck was that of the remains of an old schooner. The deck, much of the stern and the cabin are missing. The masts are gone except for a small stub about 3 or 4 feet of the foremast. Both sides of the ship have fallen away and lay next to the hull. Except for the area around the bow, most of the schooner lies flat as a pancake on the bottom. The anchors that would have hung on the bow rail and the windless used to hoist them are also gone. The scene of the wreck site is most characteristic of a ship that capsized with its parts and pieces torn or fallen away while upside down during a violent storm. Sonar measurements were made by both the ROV and the side-scan sonar.

The survey of historic shipwrecks in Lake Ontario was funded by a grant from The National Museum of the Great Lakes/Great Lakes Historical Society of Vermillion, Ohio.




Today in Great Lakes History - September 20

John Jonathon Boland was born on 20 September 1875, in New York. Along with Adam E. Cornelius, he formed the partnership of Boland and Cornelius in 1903, and was one of the founders of the American Steamship Company in 1907. He died in 1956.

On September 20, 1986, vandals started a $5,000 fire aboard the laid up NIPIGON BAY at Kingston, Ontario, where she had been since April 1984.

GEORGE A. STINSON's self-unloading boom was replaced on September 20, 1983. The boom had collapsed onto her deck due to a mechanical failure on the night of April 19, 1983, at Detroit, Michigan. No injuries were reported. She continued hauling cargoes without a boom until replacement could be fabricated. She was renamed b.) AMERICAN SPIRIT in 2004.

On September 20, 1980, EDGAR B. SPEER entered service for the U.S. Steel Fleet.

CHARLES E. WILSON sailed light on her maiden voyage from Sturgeon Bay September 20, 1973, bound for Escanaba, Michigan, to load ore. She was renamed b.) JOHN J. BOLAND in 2000.

CHARLES M. WHITE was christened at Baltimore, Maryland, on September 20, 1951.

On 20 September 1873, W. L. PECK (2 mast wooden schooner-barge, 154 foot, 361 gross tons) was launched at Carrollton, Michigan.

On 20 September 1856, COLONEL CAMP (3-mast wooden bark, 137 foot, 350 tons, built in 1854, at Three Mile Bay, New York) was carrying wheat to Oswego, New York, when she collided with the wooden steamer PLYMOUTH and sank in just a few minutes. No lives were lost.

1970: MARATHA ENDEAVOUR, enroute from Chicago to Rotterdam, broke down in the Atlantic and sent out a distress call. The ship was taking water but survived. The 520-foot long vessel had been a Seaway trader since 1965 and returned as b) OLYMPIAN in 1971. The ship arrived at Huangpu, China, for scrapping as c) HIMALAYA on January 9, 1985.

1980: The Canadian coastal freighter EDGAR JOURDAIN was built at Collingwood in 1956 as MONTCLAIR. The ship had been a pre-Seaway trader to the lakes and returned as b) PIERRE RADISSON in 1965, c) GEORGE CROSBIE in 1972 and d) EDGAR JOURDAIN beginning in 1979. It was wrecked at Foxe Basin, off Hall Beach in the Canadian Arctic, after going aground. The ship was abandoned, with the anchors down, but disappeared overnight on December 15, 1982, while locked in shifting pack ice. It is believed that the vessel was carried into deeper water and, at last report, no trace had ever been found.

1982: BEAVERFIR served Canadian Pacific Steamships as a Seaway trader beginning in 1961. The ship stranded off Barra de Santiago, El Salvador, as d) ANDEN in a storm on this date in 1982 after dragging anchor. Sixteen sailors from the 26-member crew perished.

2011: MINER, a) MAPLECLIFFE HALL, b) LEMOYNE (ii), c) CANADIAN MINER broke loose of the tug HELLAS and drifted aground off Scaterie Island, Nova Scotia, while under tow for scrapping at Aliaga, Turkey. The ship was a total loss and, in 2013, was still waiting to be dismantled and removed.

[ppat324]

On 21 September 1892, the whaleback steamer JAMES B. COLGATE (steel propeller whaleback freighter, 308 foot, 1,713 gross tons) was launched by the American Steel Barge Co. (Hull #121) at W. Superior, Wisconsin. She only lasted until 1916, when she foundered in the "Black Friday Storm" on Lake Erie with the loss of 26 lives.

ALGOWAY left Collingwood on her maiden voyage in 1972, and loaded salt for Michipicoten, Ontario, on Lake Superior.

On 21 September 1844, JOHN JACOB ASTOR (wooden brig, 78 foot, 112 tons, Built in 1835, at Pointe aux Pins, Ontario but precut at Lorain, Ohio) was carrying furs and trade goods when she struck a reef and foundered near Copper Harbor, Michigan. She was owned by Astor’s American Fur Company. She was reportedly by the first commercial vessel on Lake Superior.

On 21 September 1855, ASIA (2-mast wooden schooner, 108 foot, 204 tons, built in 1848, at Black River, Ohio) was carrying corn from Chicago for Buffalo when she collided with the propeller FOREST CITY off the mouth of Grand Traverse Bay. ASIA went down in deep water in about 10 minutes, but her crew just had enough time to escape in her boat. The schooner HAMLET picked them up.

1907: The passenger ship PICTON, a) CORSICAN caught fire and burned at the dock in Toronto. The hull was later converted to a barge and was, in time, apparently abandoned near the Picton Pumping Station.

1907: ALEX NIMICK, a wooden bulk freighter, went aground near west of Vermilion Point, Lake Superior, and broke up as a total loss. The vessel was enroute from Buffalo to Duluth with a cargo of coal and six lives were lost

1921: The 3-masted schooner OLIVER MOWAT sinks in Lake Ontario between the Main Duck and False Duck Islands after a collision with KEYWEST on a clear night. Three lives were lost while another 2 sailors were rescued from the coal-laden schooner.

1924: The whaleback self-unloader CLIFTON, the former SAMUEL MATHER, foundered in Lake Huron off Thunder Bay while carrying a cargo of stone from Sturgeon Bay to Detroit. All 25 on board were lost.

1946: A second typhoon caught the former Hall vessel LUCIUS W. ROBINSON as b) HAI LIN while anchored in the harbor at Saipan, Philippines, on a voyage to China.

1969: AFRICAN GLADE, a Seaway caller in 1963, lost power in the Caribbean as c) TRANSOCEAN PEACE and was towed into Port au Spain, Trinidad. The repaired ship departed for Durban, South Africa, in April 1970 only to suffer more boiler problems enroute. The vessel was sold for scrapping at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, later in the year.

1977: HELEN EVANS suffered steering problems and went aground on Whaleback Shoal while upbound with iron ore in the St. Lawrence. There was minor damage and the vessel was released September 23.

1982: CALGADOC left the Great Lakes in 1975 and saw service in the south as b) EL SALINERO. The ship sank on this date in 1982 on the Pacific off the coast of Mexico.

1985: ELTON HOYT 2ND struck the 95th Street Bridge at Chicago and headed to Sturgeon Bay for repairs.

1988: The small tug MARY KAY sank in a Lake Ontario storm enroute from Rochester to Oswego. The former b) CAPT. G.H. SWIFT had recently been refitted and went down after a huge wave broke over the stern. It had seen only brief service on Lake Ontario after arriving from the Atlantic in 1987.

1993: The tug DUKE LUEDTKE sank in Lake Erie about 12 miles north of Avon Point when the ship began taking water faster than the pumps could keep up. One coastguardsman was lost checking on the source of the leak when the vessel rolled over and sank.

[yachtsmanwilly]

[font color="e6198a"]Proposed oil shipping terminal on Lake Superior put on hold

9/23 - Superior, Wis. – A proposed oil-shipping terminal on Lake Superior has been put on hold.

Wisconsin Public Radio reports it means oil tankers won't be sailing from western Lake Superior to the East Coast for now.

The terminal would have shipped crude from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota. Superior Calumet Refinery manager Kollin Schade says the size and cost of an oil terminal means his company needs a refinery on the east coast as a partner. He says nobody has stepped forward with a long-term commitment to make it feasible.

Duluth Port Director Adolph Ojard says he's not surprised. He says he doesn't know if it makes economic sense to move crude oil on the Great Lakes. He says it's more efficient to move it by rail and pipeline.

Associated Press




Today in Great Lakes History - September 23

September 23, 1922, the 306-foot NEPTUNE loaded the first Head-of-the-Lakes cargo of pig iron at Zenith Furnace, Duluth, Minnesota. The 5,000 tons of malleable pig iron was delivered to Buffalo, New York.

September 23, 1975, HERBERT C. JACKSON lost power while upbound on Lake Superior. She was towed back to the Soo by the USS straight decker D.G. KERR.

September 23, 1952, the steamer CHARLES L. HUTCHINSON became the first boat christened at Cleveland since the early years of World War II. The 644-foot HUTCHINSON, Captain T. A. Johnson, was the new flagship of the Pioneer fleet and one of 35 boats in the three fleets operated by Hutchinson & Co. Renamed b.) ERNEST R. BREECH in 1962, c.) KINSMAN INDEPENDENT in 1988. Sold Canadian in 2005, and renamed d.) VOYAGEUR INDEPENDENT. She sails today as the motorship e.) OJIBWAY.

On 23 September 1910, the BETHLEHEM (steel propeller package freighter, 290 foot, 2,633 gross tons, built in 1888, at Cleveland, Ohio) was carrying general merchandise when she went ashore in a gale on the SW side of S. Manitou Island in Lake Michigan. Lifesavers and the crew unloaded her over several days. Although battered by several storms while ashore, she was eventually pulled free and repaired. She lasted until 1925, when she was scrapped.

The scow WAUBONSIE was launched at the Curtis yard in Fort Gratiot, Michigan on 23 September 1873. 1935: HURRY-ON was a Great Lakes visitor in 1934 when it loaded bagged flour at Port Colborne. The ship was lost off Port Hood Island, near Judique, NS, after developing leaks and a list. The lifeboat swamped twice and five were lost.

1961: CRYSTAL JEWEL, inbound for London in thick fog, was in a collision with the B.P. Tanker BRITISH AVIATOR. The captain was seriously injured and his daughter was killed. The vessel first visited the Great Lakes in 1960 and was enroute from Duluth to London with a cargo of grain at the time of the accident. The vessel grounded and, after being released, was taken to Rotterdam where the entire mid-ship superstructure was replaced. The ship made many more trips through the Seaway and returned as b) MELTEMI in 1970. It was scrapped at Busan, South Korea, after arriving as d) TETA on July 17, 1979.

1980: FERNLEAF first visited the Seaway in 1965 and returned as b) AALSUM in 1974. The ship was detained at Basrah, Iraq, in 1981 as c) INICIATIVA on this date in 1980 and declared a total loss in December 1981. It was salvaged in 1993 and renamed d) DOLPHIN V but perhaps only for a trip to the shipbreakers. The vessel arrived at Gadani Beach December 27, 2003, and dismantling began at once.

2000: Vandals attacked the museum ship NORGOMA at Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., breaking windows, light fixtures and setting off fire extinguishers, leaving an estimated $15,000 in damage.



Carferry Badger resumes daily sailings

9/22 - Ludington, Mich. - – Cool and gusty northwest winds blew over northern Lake Michigan beneath a partly cloudy sky as the SS Badger steamed out of Ludington Saturday morning. It marked a resumption of the daily schedule to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, which had been cancelled late Wednesday, when boiler tube problems were found.

The engine-room crew worked nearly round the clock and deep into the night Friday to assure resumption of the schedule. The season continues through Oct. 13.

Jim Spencer and Erik Jonasson


On September 22, 1958, the EDMUND FITZGERALD entered service, departing River Rouge, Michigan for Silver Bay, Minnesota on its first trip. The FITZGERALD's first load was 20,038 tons of taconite pellets for Toledo. The vessel would, in later years, set several iron ore records during the period from 1965 through 1969.

While in ballast, the ROGER M. KYES struck bottom in Buffalo Harbor September 22, 1976, sustaining holes in two double bottom tanks and damage to three others, whereupon she proceeded to Chicago for dry docking on September 27, 1976, for survey and repairs. Renamed b.) ADAM E. CORNELIUS in 1989.

While being towed from Duluth, Minnesota by the Canadian tug TUSKER on September 22, 1980, the D. G. KERR rammed into the breakwater at Duluth causing $200,000 in damages to the breakwater. The tow apparently failed to make the turning buoy leaving Duluth Harbor.

On September 22, 1911 the HENRY PHIPPS collided with and sank her Steel Trust fleet mate, the steamer JOLIET of 1890, which was at anchor on the fog-shrouded St. Clair River near Sarnia, Ontario. The JOLIET sank without loss of crew and was declared a total loss. The PHIPPS then continued her downbound journey and collided with the Wyandotte Chemical steamer ALPENA, of 1909, but incurred only minor damage.

The T.W. ROBINSON and US.265808 (former BENSON FORD) departed Quebec City in tow of the Polish tug JANTAR bound for Recife where they arrived on September 22, 1987. Scrapping began the next month in October.

MATHILDA DESGAGNES was freed from polar ice in the Arctic on September 22, 1988, by the West German Icebreaker Research Vessel POLARSTERN.

September 22, 1913 - The ANN ARBOR No. 5 struck bottom in the Sturgeon Bay Canal and damaged her rudder and steering gear. After undergoing repairs at Milwaukee, she was back in service the following October.

On 22 September 1887, ADA E. ALLEN (wooden propeller steam barge, 90 foot, 170 gross tons, built in 1872, at Walpole Island, Ontario.) caught fire while moored at Amherstburg, Ontario. She was cut loose and set adrift to prevent the fire from spreading ashore. She drifted to Bois Blanc (Bob-Lo) Island and burned to a total loss.

On 22 September 1882, Mr. H. N. Jex accepted the contract to recover the engine and boiler from the MAYFLOWER, which sank in the Detroit River in 1864. He was to be paid $600 upon delivery of the machinery at Windsor, Ontario. He succeeded in raising the engine on 12 October and the boiler shortly thereafter.

1917: The wooden steamer WILLIAM P. REND, a) GEORGE G. HADLEY, foundered off Alpena while carrying livestock. All 9 crewmembers were rescued.

1951: The Liberty ship THUNDERBIRD visited the Seaway in 1959. Earlier, on this date in 1951, the ship received major bow damage from a head-on collision with the Chinese freighter UNION BUILDER (built in 1945 at Brunswick, GA as a) COASTAL RANGER) at the entrance to Colombo, Ceylon. THUNDERBIRD was also a Great Lakes trader as d) NEW KAILING in 1964 and scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in 1967.

1979: OCEANIC KLIF first visited the Seaway in 1971. The ship stranded near Las Palmas, Canary Islands, while on a voyage from Kamsar, Guinea, West Africa, to Port Alfred, QC with calcinated bauxite and was abandoned by the crew.


Heres an updated and rarely published picture of the COSTA CONCORDI after righting this week. WOWEE!!! ws

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