Today in Great Lakes History

[yachtsmanwilly]

Updates - August 21

New Video on our YouTube Channel A new video, “Cruise On the RMS Segwun,” has been uploaded.
We hope to have a new News Gallery up tomorrow, please continue to send in your pictures.





Lookback #277 – First B.F. Jones a total loss after collision on August 21, 1955

8/21 - The first B.F. Jones was up bound and light when it was in a collision above Lime Island in the St. Mary's River. The accident of Aug. 21, 1955, also included the Cason J. Callaway.

The 49-year-old B.F. Jones, part of the Wilson Transit Co. fleet, was not worth repairing. The ship was sold to Fraser-Nelson in 1955 and taken to Superior, Wis., where most of the hull was scrapped. A section of the bottom was saved and converted to a shipyard lighter named SSC-1. The pilothouse and after cabins were salvaged for installation on the Sparkman D. Foster. The hatches, hatch lifter and funnel were removed and placed aboard the Lyman C. Smith.

B.F. Jones was built at Ecorse, Mich., in 1906 and was mainly used in the ore trade by the Interstate Steamship Co. The 552-foot-long vessel was a good carrier and moved to Jones & Laughlin steel in 1949 and to Wilson in 1952.

Cason J. Callaway is still sailing 59 years after the collision. It was only three years old at the time of the accident. The ship was lengthened in 1974 and rebuilt as a self-unloader in 1981-1982. Cason J. Callaway remains active as part of the Great Lakes Fleet Inc.

Skip Gillham





Today in Great Lakes History - August 21

August 21, 1996 - The former U. S. Army Corps of Engineers tug MARQUETTE was downbound past Detroit on her delivery trip to her new owners, based in Key West, Florida. Renamed MONA LARUE in 1997, she is no longer in documentation.

At 7:10 p.m. on August 21, 1901, the whaleback steamer ALEXANDER McDOUGALL (steel propeller modified whaleback freighter, 413 foot, 3,686 gross tons, built in 1898, at W. Superior, Wisconsin) ran into and cut in two the tug GEORGE STAUBER (wooden propeller tug, 55 foot, 43 gross tons, built in 1883, at Buffalo, New York) in the rapids at the mouth of the St. Clair River. The STAUBER sank immediately in about 60 feet of water. No lives were lost. The steam barge IDA assisted in retrieving people in the water. The McDOUGALL did not stop.

BUFFALO's sea trials were conducted from August 21 through August 24, 1978.

GEORGE A. STINSON was christened at Detroit, Michigan on August 21, 1978.

CEDARGLEN, a.) WILLIAM C. ATWATER arrived under tow at Port Maitland, Ontario, on August 21, 1994, where she was scrapped.

THE HARVESTER cleared Lorain, Ohio, August 21, 1911, on her maiden voyage loaded with coal for Duluth, Minnesota.

IMPERIAL QUEBEC (Hull#161) was launched August 21, 1957, at Collingwood, Ontario by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. for Imperial Oil Ltd.

Cleveland Tankers VENUS was sold to Acme Metals Inc. and was towed to Ashtabula, Ohio on August 21, 1975, where she was broken up in 1976.

On August 21, 1971, CHARLES DICK severed two underwater cables in the Maumee River, cutting off power to east Toledo and the Cherry Street Bridge. Massive traffic jams developed on Toledo's streets.

The graceful schooner HUNTER SAVIDGE was launched on August 21, 1879, by the Grand Haven Ship Building Company.

On August 21, 1856, CHARTER (wooden, propeller vessel, 132 foot, 197 tons, built in 1849, at Huron, Ohio as a sidewheeler), was bound from Cleveland for Buffalo with flour, oats and rye. She swamped and sank in a storm 6 miles above Fairport, Ohio. By the end of August, she had been damaged beyond repair but her machinery was recovered as she lay in relatively shallow water.

On August 21, 1861, BANSHEE (wooden propeller freighter, 119 foot, 166 tons, built in 1852, at Portsmouth, Ontario, named HERO in 1860-61) was carrying wheat, flour and butter to Montreal when her engine failed (broken shaft) and she was helpless in a storm on Lake Ontario. She foundered near Timber Island on Lake Ontario. One passenger died, but the crew of 10 made it to Timber Island. She was owned by Howard & Rowe of Quebec.

1954 - The British freighter PERTH, enroute from Toronto to St. John's, N.F., with general cargo, was damaged in a collision with an unidentified vessel off the south coast of Newfoundland. The pre-Seaway trader to the Great Lakes had been built as LOCHEE in 1937 and had also made a total of 3 inland voyages in 1959 and 1960.

1955 - A collision between the CASON J. CALLAWAY and the B.F. JONES occurred above Lime Island in the St. Marys River. The latter, upbound and light, was declared a total loss and taken to Superior. Part of the bottom of the hull was saved for use as the shipyard lighter SCC 1, the cabins were transplanted to the SPARKMAN D. FOSTER and the hatches, hatch lifter and funnel become part of the LYMAN C. SMITH. The three-year-old CASON J. CALLAWAY was repaired, outlasts all of the other ships and remains in service under the same name.

1973 - The first KINSMAN INDEPENDENT lost steering in the Neebish Rock Cut and went aground with heavy bottom damage. After being refloated, the ship was laid up at Lorain and, in 1974, sold to Marine Salvage for scrap. She arrived at Santander, Spain, for dismantling under tow of the Polish tug JANTAR, and in tandem with the JAMES DAVIDSON, on July 21, 1974.


Great Lakes Shipyard awarded drydocking contract

8/21 - Cleveland, Ohio – Great Lakes Shipyard has been awarded a contract for the United States Environmental Protection Agency's R/V Lake Explorer II.

The research vessel was hauled out using the 770-ton capacity Marine Travelift at Great Lakes Shipyard. The repair contract, that started Aug. 14, includes drydocking, routine repairs and maintenance, upgrades, and design, fabrication and installation of a new bulbous bow.

The 90-foot research vessel has been stationed in its homeport of Duluth, Minnesota, since 2009 and is the newest addition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's fleet on the Great Lakes.

The Lake Explorer II is used for Great Lakes research, and specializes in developing a comprehensive environmental assessment of coastal conditions. This research is conducted using technologies for sampling aquatic life, water quality and sediments, including environmental sensing systems.

For more information, visit www.greatlakesshipyard.com





Seaway Notice # 15 – Hands-free mooring commissioning at Lower Beauharnois Lock

8/21 - The installation and commissioning of the hands-free mooring equipment is currently underway at the lower Beauharnois Lock. Vessels will be advised on the use of the HFM units, Vessel Self Spotting and their final mooring position during the initial communication, once the vessel is at the inbound limit of approach (L/A 2 upbound and L/A 1 downbound). Masters/pilots are asked to follow the instructions of lock personnel.

St. Lawrence Seaway





Port Reports - August 21

Stoneport, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Joseph H. Thompson loaded on Tuesday and was expected to depart around 6:30 p.m. There was nothing scheduled for Wednesday. Four vessels are scheduled for Thursday with the Manistee and the John G. Munson due in the early morning. The Pathfinder is expected in the late afternoon and the Philip R. Clarke is due in the late evening. Algoway is due on Friday in the mid-afternoon. Manitowoc is due on Saturday in the late afternoon.

Buffalo, N.Y. – Brian W
Rebecca Lynn departed with her barge around 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Toronto, Ont. – Jens Juhl
Wednesday morning the Toronto Island Ferry Sam McBride conducted emergency response exercises with units from Metro Marine Police and the R.C.M.P marine unit. The Federal court-ordered removal of Captain John's waterfront restaurant by this Friday is not going to happen. According to an article in the National Post, entrepreneur James Sbrolla failed to make the August 7 deadline of the $30,500 final payment. Apparently numerous "unforeseen issues" have tossed a wrench into the deal. The one big item of contention is a large electrical transformer. Is it included in the sale or does it have to be removed? It is probably the vessel's isolation transformer and as such it should stay on the ship, as it will be required to hook up the shore power in a new location. Electrical utility companies will not hardwire a ship of this size in to the local power grid.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Today in Great Lakes History - August 22

On August 22, 1898, the schooner FANNY CAMPBELL (wooden schooner, 404 tons, built in 1868, at St. Catherines, Ontario) ran ashore near Johnston's Harbor in Georgian Bay. She was sailing light on her way for a load of cordwood.

The ALGOPORT left Collingwood, Ontario, August 22, 1979, on her maiden voyage for Calcite, Michigan, to load limestone bound for Spragge, Ontario.

R. L. IRELAND (Hull #62) was launched August 22, 1903, at Chicago, Illinois, by Chicago Ship Building Co. for the Gilchrist Transportation Co. Renamed b.) SIRIUS in 1913, and c.) ONTADOC in 1926.

The ENDERS M VOORHEES was towed out of Duluth, Minnesota, on August 22, 1987, by the tugs AVENGER IV and CHIPPEWA, and was the first of the 'Supers' towed off the Lakes for scrap.

ROGER M. KYES sailed on her maiden voyage on August 22,1973, from Toledo, Ohio, to load iron ore at Escanaba, Michigan. She was built under Title XI of the Merchant Marine Act of 1970. This program allowed U.S. shipping companies to construct new vessels or to modernize their existing fleet by government guaranteed financing and tax deferred benefits. The KYES was the second of 10 ships launched for American Steamship but the first to enter service under this arrangement. The total cost of the ten ships was more than $250 million. Renamed b.) ADAM E. CORNELIUS in 1989.

On August 22, 1863, WILLIAM S. BULL (wooden propeller steam tug, 16 tons, built in 1861, at Buffalo, New York) waterlogged and went down in a storm 40 miles east of Erie, Pennsylvania. She was in company of the tug G. W. GARDNER and the canal boat M. E. PAINE, who saved her crew.

On August 22, 1876, the Canadian schooner LAUREL sank off Big Sandy Creek on Lake Ontario. The crew made it to shore in the yawl. The LAUREL was bound from Kingston, Ontario, to Charlotte, New York, with iron ore.

On August 22, 1900, SPECULAR (wooden propeller freighter, 264 foot, 1,742 gross tons, built in 1882, at Cleveland, Ohio) was carrying iron ore when she was a "hit & run" victim by the steamer DENVER at 2 a.m. and sank in six minutes in the Pelee Passage on Lake Erie. Fifteen of her crew abandoned in her yawl and were saved. The remaining five scrambled up into the rigging and clung there until they were rescued four hours later by the steamer MARITANA and brought to Detroit. Salvagers worked on the wreck continuously until they gave up on September 28. Wreck lies 3.16 miles SE from Pelee Passage light. She was owned by Republic Iron Co. of Cleveland.

1890: The wooden barge TASMANIA, upbound with coal under tow of the steamer CALEDONIA, sank in the Lake George Channel of the St. Marys River after a collision with the J.H. WADE. TASMANIA was later refloated and repaired only to be lost in Lake Erie on October 18, 1905.

1909: NORMAN B. REAM and SENATOR collided in the St. Marys River above Pipe Island and the latter sank with her masts above water. She was later salvaged but was lost in Lake Michigan, off Kenosha, after a collision with the MARQUETTE on October 31, 1929.

1917: The wooden steamer JOHN S. THOM, enroute to Erie with coal, went aground on a shoal 22 miles west of Charlotte, NY. The vessel was later refloated and taken to Ogdensburg, NY for repairs.

1940: The second THOROLD, sent overseas to assist in the war effort, was attacked and sunk by three German aircraft as she was carrying coal from Cardiff to London. There were 9 lives lost while another 3 crew members were injured. The vessel was under attack for 3 hours before it went down and became the third Canadian merchant ship lost in this, the early stages, of the war.



Union contributes funds to feed hungry Phoenix Sun sailors in Sorel

8/22 - Montreal, Q.C. – Seafarers' International Union of Canada (S.I.U), representing the majority of unlicensed sailors working aboard vessels across Canada, has announced that it has donated funds to the crew via the SIU/ITF Inspector to aid the 12 Turkish sailors aboard the Panamanian-flagged vessel, the Phoenix Sun.

Phoenix Sun – a saltwater vessel that briefly operated in the Seaway grain trade recently for the T.F. Warren Group – has been docked in Sorel, Que., for the last two years. It has become such an eyesore for residents that they recently signed a petition for its removal.

The Turkish crew was flown in to Sorel to help restore the vessel to sailing condition so that its owners could remove it. Since arriving in Sorel, the sailors have been left without wages. To worsen matters, they are now without food.

ITF Inspector Vince Giannopoulos and Transport Canada are currently working to ensure that these sailors are paid their wages and that they are given flights home as soon as possible.

"I have had the honor to meet these men on a few occasions now, and I commend them for their perseverance during this challenging time," said Vince Giannopoulos, ITF Inspector.

In the meantime, the S.I.U. of Canada has donated money for food via the ITF/SIU Inspector so that these men can eat.

"Our brother sailors from Turkey came onboard this flag-of-convenience vessel to work and earn a living. To be left without food is barbaric and beyond comprehension," said James Given, President, S.I.U. of Canada.

Seafarers' International Union of Canada, Michel St.-Denis





Port Reports - August 22

Stoneport, Mich. – Denny Dushane
John G. Munson loaded on Thursday and was expected to depart around 11 p.m. Two other vessels were also expected to arrive on Thursday, with the Pathfinder in the early evening followed later by the Philip R. Clarke. Algoway is due to arrive in the early evening on Friday. Rounding out the schedule are two vessels due for Saturday, with the Manitowoc arriving late afternoon followed by the Cason J. Callaway in the early evening.

Lorain, Ohio
Algosoo passed the Charles Berry Bridge at 5:20 p.m. Thursday, headed for the Jonick Dock.

Buffalo, N.Y. – Brian W.
Herbert C. Jackson should be in port on the morning of the 24th for the ADM Standard Elevator.





World-class wooden boats in Toledo Aug. 23-24

8/22 - Toledo, Ohio – The Toledo Antique and Classic Boat Show in Toledo this weekend features not only the USS Niagara, but some of the most significant recreational boats on the Great Lakes.

"Our museum is not big enough to display recreational boats on a permanent basis, so the boat show is our way to teach this history," said Christopher Gillcrist, Executive Director of the National Museum of the Great Lakes where the boat show takes place.

One of the boats, Simba a 43-foot-long 1958 Sparkman & Stephens yawl is owned by Bob and Jane Cairl of Toledo. Simba has raced the Bermuda race six times, raced in the Mediterranean, has sailed in South America. It has won numerous awards including best sailboat at the prestigious Newport Wood Boat Show.

Another boat, Wetpet, a 43-foot long, 1967 Chris-Craft Constellation, is owned by Bob and Ann Guldemond of Algonac Mich. She is docked in Algonac and is regularly used on the Great Lakes including lake St. Clair. Wetpet has won numerous awards and has been a part of the Toledo boat show since its inception.

Lenore, a 26-foot-long 1931 Dart Runabout will also make an appearance at the show. This boat is representative of many Darts that were built in Toledo in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Due to their distinctive styling and high-powered motors, they were a favorite of the pleasure boaters as well as the run runners of the era. This boat has never been fully restored but has been maintained in a functional preserved state. It is powered by its original 779 cubic inch 200 horsepower six-cylinder Sterling Petrel.

The Toledo Antique and Classic Boat Show is sponsored by Ramsey Brothers Restoration and the National Museum of the Great Lakes. Admission to the show is $5 per person and $15 per person for admission to the show, the museum, the museum ship and a deck tour of the USS Niagara.

Members of the museum are admitted free of charge.

National Museum of the Great Lakes





BoatNerd Welland Gathering Sept. 12-14

8/22 - The annual Welland Canal BoatNerd Gathering is scheduled for Sept. 12-14. Once again, Boatnerds will gather at the Welland Canal for socializing, sharing pictures, slides and videos, plus watching the passing traffic.

Friday and Saturday evenings the group will gather at the Canadian Corps building in Thorold to share pictures, slides and videos. There is no admission charge. There will also be a few vendor tables available.

Details on the Gatherings page.





Lookback #278 – Norman B. Ream in a collision with Senator on August 22, 1909

8/22 - For many years, the large iron ore carrier Norman B. Ream was an integral part of the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. The 601-foot-long vessel was built at Chicago and launched on Aug. 18, 1906. Just over three years later, on Aug. 22, 1909, it collided with the Senator above Pipe Island in the St. Marys River. The latter sank with its masts above water.

Both ships were repaired and the Norman B. Ream worked as a “Tinstacker” until tying up at Duluth on Nov. 9, 1960. When it left there in 1965, it was part of the Kinsman Marine Transit Co. and sailing as Kinsman Enterprise. It served the new owner well and lasted until tying up at Toledo at the end of the 1978 season.

But this was not the end. The ship was sold to the Port Huron Seaway Terminal Co. and arrived at Port Huron, under tow of the tug Malcolm, on Aug. 24, 1979, just past her 70th birthday.

Unofficially known as Hull No. 1, the ship was used to store sugar beet pellets, sunflower seeds and corn gluten. It served there for 10 years before being sold, via Marine Salvage, to shipbreakers in Turkey. The tug Malcolm took the vessel away from Port Huron in August 1989. It headed down the Welland Canal on Aug. 28, 1989, between the tugs Salvage Monarch and Elmore M. Misner and left Sorel Sept. 6, 1989, behind the Polish tug Jantar.

The destination was Aliaga, Turkey, and the old laker arrived safely on Oct. 9, 1989, and was broken up by Ege Celik Endustrisi T.A.S.

Senator, the other combatant of 105 years ago today, was also refloated but had a much shorter life. It sank, via collision with the Marquette, off Port Washington, Wis., on Oct. 31, 1929.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Port Reports - August 25

Alpena, Mich. – Ben & Chanda McClain
There has been some vessel activity in the area the past two weeks. On Aug. 15 the tug Undaunted and barge PM 41 tied up at Lafarge and unloaded some type of cargo onto the dock. Manitowoc brought a load of coal to Lafarge on Aug. 18. The cement carriers have been coming in to load throughout the week. Buffalo arrived in port on Sunday morning, the 24th. It tied up in the river at the DPI Plant and unloaded coal. By 1 p.m., Buffalo had finished unloading and backed out of the river.

Lorain, Ohio – Phil Leon
Algorail left the Jonick dock and heading out, clearing the harbor and outer light at 5:37 p.m. Saturday.

Oswego N.Y. – Ned Goebricher
On Sunday, the tug Salvor and barge Lambert Spirit unloaded aluminum bars.





Boat’s 90th birthday bash a chance to reunite friends and family on Lime Island

8/25 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – It’s pretty unusual for a boat to have a 90th birthday party, but then the Gerald D. Neville is a pretty unusual boat.

The party – hosted by Dennis Dougherty and his wife Mary Ann of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan – was held dockside at Lime Island on August 1, and was attended by around 30 people, including representatives of all three major eras of the boat’s history. There was even a birthday cake.

A homemade banner on the boat displayed the two other names the vessel has had over the years – Tobermory II and Champion.

“As the 90th year of the ship approached, I thought it would be nice to get the people together, especially, the senior generation, who have had a connection with the ship's history, explained Dougherty. “Lime Island seemed like the place where most had a direct or indirect connection.”

Besides Dougherty and his family (the current era), the guest list included Audrey (Chown) LeLievre and her brother John (Jack) Chown, who grew up on Lime Island as the daughter and son of island settlers William and Margaret (McLeod) Chown in the 1920s. Also on board were descendants of 1930s Champion skipper Ed Putzke (his granddaughters Barb Scholz and Doris Keating and her 10-year-old grandson, David) and several members of the Osmar family, who visited the area in summers gone by.

Finally, Fred Miller, great-great grandson of Commodore Frederick William Wakefield, the Ohio industrialist who had the boat built in 1924, was present, completing the link back to the vessel’s original owner.

“I never thought I’d see the boat. I’ve only seen photos,” Miller said, as he stood on the dock with Dougherty and recalled the vessel’s early history.

Wakefield spent his summers in Tobermory, Ontario, said Miller, and lived during the year in a lakefront mansion at Vermilion, Ohio, which until recently was the home of the Great Lakes Historical Society.

Knowing that the two worst enemies of a boat were fire and rot, Miller said his great-great grandfather – an accomplished yachtsman and founder of the Wakefield Electric Company – set out to construct a vessel that would withstand both.

On May 21, 1924, the 50 by 13-foot-long, galvanized steel yacht Tobermory II was launched at Erie, Pennsylvania, by a boatbuilder named Ed Crossley. That summer, the vessel sailed Lake Huron and Georgian Bay with Wakefield at the helm and his family on board.

In September 1924, Wakefield steered his yacht south to Florida, where it was based for the next decade. In June 1935, after Wakefield’s death and as the country was reeling from the effects of the Great Depression, the Tobermory II – with Wakefield’s son George at the helm – returned to the Great Lakes and to its Vermilion, Ohio, home port.

In 1935, the Wakefield’s yacht was sold to the Pittsburgh Coal Co, which operated a vessel refueling dock at Lime Island, Michigan. Renamed Champion, it served as a tug and ferry among the river islands of Lake Huron, including Lime Island, first with Ed Putzke and later with Jerry Neville, a seasoned pilot and survivor of the 1939 Badger State shipwreck, at the helm. It was the island residents’ only link to the mainland.

In 1952 Neville invited his four-year-old grandson Denny Dougherty to ride with him on the three-mile-run from Raber, Michigan, to Lime Island. Dougherty would play an important part in the vessel’s future in the years to come.

In September 1953, the Champion was sold to Soo Locks-area contractor Herb Peterman. In the late 1950s, the vessel was abandoned on Peterman’s property, on the mainland side of the St. Marys River just west of what is now Sault Ste. Marie’s Harvey Marina. Forgotten, she lay on her side, half submerged and rusting away, until 1978.

“Over the years, it sank and slid into the drop off in about six or seven feet of water,” Dougherty said. “I saw it there, and I though it could be saved.”

Dougherty, who had returned to Sault Ste. Marie after a stint in the U.S. Army and was teaching school, bought the Champion on July 24, 1978 from Terry Haviland and Steve Hillman for $800. They bought it from Peterman for $1,500 a few years earlier. He also bought the property and an old shack that was on the site.

“When I inspected the partially submerged hull with my scuba gear inside and out I was amazed – all the ribs and majority of the galvanized lower plated hull were in good shape,” said Dougherty. “Two decades of ice action created pinholes near the water line – those plates were replaced. The iron window frames were rusting and the effect looked worse than it was – it kinda gave it that shipwreck look.”

Dougherty refloated the boat, and spent the next three years hoisting it onto the riverbank, replating the hull with ¼-inch steel and otherwise refurbishing the vessel. The old diesel was removed and the engine from the fish tug W.R. Busch was installed. While he was working on the boat, Dougherty also took and passed the U.S. Coast Guard exam to pilot a vessel of the Champion’s size, married Mary Ann and built a home on the property.

The vessel was rechristened Gerald D. Neville on Aug. 15, 1981, in honor of the grandfather who had given young Dougherty a ride so many years earlier. Sadly, Jerry Neville passed two years before the rechristening. At first, Dougherty recalled, his “Gramps” thought his grandson was crazy for taking on the project, but soon came around to the idea.

“He never did see it go back in the water, but he knew I was saving it,” he said.

Dougherty ran shipwreck diving and island cruise charters for about 12 years with the Neville before he decided to focus on using it as his family camping boat among the islands and bays of the St. Marys River and Whitefish Bay. More sturdy than stylish, painted a workmanlike black and white to define it’s no-nonsense lines, the Neville still holds its own next to the fancy new yachts near which she often moors.

In September 1983, Commodore Wakefield’s son George paid a visit to the vessel his dad had built. “He took the helm and steered her. He’s the one at 18 years old who had to bring it up from Florida when his dad died. He’s the only one who could run the engine,” Dougherty recalled.

In June 2014, the Neville – now boasting a fourth diesel – was hoisted ashore for inspection. Only minor hull work was required, a testament to Dougherty’s work 30 years earlier and the achievements of the original builders nearly a century ago.

And what does Dougherty have planned for his boat’s centennial celebration 10 years hence? He has at least one idea. “Maybe, we can do a ride through the locks to celebrate,” he said.

Soo Evening News





Lookback #281 – Black Bay struck by the ore carrier Epic at Sept-Iles on August 25, 1965

8/25 - The Canada Steamship Lines bulk carrier Black Bay was T-boned by the Liberian freighter Epic soon after loading iron ore at Sept-Iles, Que., for Ashtabula, Ohio, on Aug. 25, 1965. The big saltwater vessel hit the laker on the port side, ripped up the rail, dented the hull and damaged the 4th hatch 49-years ago today.

Black Bay was able to continue its trip and, after unloading, headed to Port Arthur for repairs.

The ship was Hull 172 from the Collingwood shipyard and it entered service in April 1963. Black Bay set early cargo records for carrying iron ore and and for oats.

A later grounding in the Brockville Narrows on April 5, 1988, and another in the St. Mary's River on Aug. 11, 1989, also required repairs. This work took place at Thunder Bay, ON for the former accident and at Superior, WI for the latter.

Following a sale to Upper Lakes Shipping in 1994, the vessel was renamed Canadian Voyager but did not re-enter service as such until Sept. 1995. It continued in ULS service until tying up at Montreal on Dec. 23, 2001.

Following a sale to shipbreakers in Turkey, Canadian Voyager left Montreal under tow on Aug. 15, 2002, and arrived at Aliaga on Sept. 18. It was beached two days later, exactly 40-years to the day the ship had been launched at Collingwood.

Epic was a bulk carrier that was 744 feet long by 100 feet, 11 inches wide. This ship was built at Kobe, Japan, in 1958 and scrapped at Busan, South Korea, beginning on May 2, 1979.

Skip Gillham





Today in Great Lakes History - August 25

On 25 August 1892, H. D. COFFINBERRY (wooden propeller freighter, 191 foot, 649 gross tons, built in 1874, at East Saginaw, Michigan) was carrying iron ore from Escanaba to Ashtabula in a fierce NW gale when she grounded on the rocks near Port Hope on Lake Huron. The crew was rescued by the San Beach Lifesaving crew and the tug ANAPING. The COFFINBERRY was released five days later and put back in service.

On Aug. 25, 1923, the Duluth, Missabe & Northern Ore Dock in Duluth loaded 208,212 tons of ore into 23 ships.

On August 25, 1984, ROGER M. KYES grounded off Mc Louth Steel and ended crosswise in the Detroit River's Trenton Channel. It required lightering into the RICHARD REISS a.) ADIRONDACK and the assistance of nine tugs to refloat her. Renamed b.) ADAM E. CORNELIUS in 1989.

GEORGE M. STEINBRENNER, a.) ARTHUR H. HAWGOOD arrived at Port Colborne, Ontario on August 25, 1978, in tow of the tug WILFRED M. COHEN for scrapping.

On 25 August 1919, CABOTIA (formerly HIAWATHA, wooden propeller freighter, 235 foot, 1,299 gross tons, built 1880, at Gibraltar, Michigan) went ashore on Main Duck Island in Lake Ontario and split her hull, becoming a constructive loss.

August 25, 1981 - The first of the famous "Love Boat" cruises was made. The BADGER carried 520 passengers, the largest number of passengers for a carferry up to that time. It was sponsored by the Ludington Area Ambassadors.

On 25 August 1873, JOURNEYMAN (wooden schooner, 129 foot, 235 gross tons, built in 1873, at Wenona, Michigan) was put in service. Her first cargo was 225,770 feet of lumber. She was built for Whitehead & Webster of Bay City and lasted until 1896.

1917: The wooden tow barge MAGNETIC, downbound and under tow of the steamer EDWARD N. BREITUNG, broke loose when the steering failed and eventually foundered in Lake Erie. The captain and crew of 7 were rescued.

1965: BLACK BAY was T-boned on the port side by the Liberian freighter EPIC while leaving Sept Iles with ore for Ashtabula. The hull of the C.S.L. bulk carrier was dented, the rail was ripped and there was damage to the 4th hatch. The ship was repaired at Port Arthur.

1974: STEELTON collideed with Bridge 12 of the Welland Canal at Port Robinson, knocking the structure into the water. The accident tied up all navigation through the Welland Canal and the bridge was never replaced. The ship was repaired at Port Colborne and returned to service.

1977: IRISH ALDER, a Great Lakes caller with 4 trips in 1966, was gutted by a fire as c) ATTICAN UNITY while enroute from Antwerp, Belgium, to Durban, South Africa. The ship was beached at Flushing Roads and taken over by the Dutch government. The hull was later refloated, sold to West German shipbreakers and arrived at Bremen on March 22, 1978, for dismantling.

1984: The French freighter MONT LOUIS first came to the Great Lakes in 1975. It sank on this day in 1984 following a collision with the OLAU BRITTANIA while enroute from Le Havre to Riga, Latvia. The hull broke in two due to bad weather on September 11 and it was finally raised and taken to Zeebrugge in sections in September 1985 and broken up.

1985: MELA ran aground in the St. Lawrence about 40 miles east of Quebec City after losing power. Two tugs refloated the ship and it received temporary repairs at Thunder Bay. The vessel first came inland as a) PAMELA in 1976, returned as b) MELA in 1983, c) LA FRENAIS in 1990, d) PRAXITELIS in 1995 and e) AXION in 1999. The ship was beached for scrapping at Chittagong, Bangladesh, on March 15, 2006.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Today in Great Lakes History - August 26

In 1791, John Fitch was granted a United States patent for the steamboat.

On August 26,1872, wooden propeller steamer LAKE BREEZE of 1868, was steaming from Saginaw to Mackinaw City with freight and about 40 passengers when fire broke out in the kitchen while off Au Sable, Michigan. Captain M. S. Lathrop ordered the engines shut down and the steam pumps activated. The crew battled the blaze with fire hoses and put the flames out. When the LAKE BREEZE pulled into Mackinaw City that night, the partially burned vessel was still smoking.

The EDGAR B. SPEER's sea trials were successfully completed on August 26, 1980.

The BEECHGLEN was towed out of Owen Sound by the McKeil tug KAY COLE on August 26, 1994, in route to Port Maitland, Ontario, for scrapping.

The HENRY C. FRICK (Hull#615) was launched August 26, 1905, at West Bay City, Michigan, by West Bay City Ship Building Co., for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. Renamed b.) MICHIPICOTEN in 1964, she foundered off Anticosti Island on November 17, 1972, while being towed overseas for scrapping.

EMORY L. FORD entered service on August 26, 1916, to load iron ore at Marquette, Michigan. Renamed b.) RAYMOND H. REISS in 1965. She was scrapped at Ramey's Bend in 1980.

The GLENEAGLES (Hull#14) was launched August 26, 1925, at Midland, Ontario, by Midland Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. for the Great Lakes Transportation Co. Ltd. (James Playfair, mgr.). Converted to a self-unloader in 1963. Renamed b.) SILVERDALE in 1978. She was scrapped at Windsor, Ontario, in 1984.

The CHIEF WAWATAM (Hull#119) was launched on August 26, 1911, at Toledo, Ohio, by Toledo Ship Building Co. for the Mackinaw Transportation Co. She was built with three large propellers, two in the stern for propulsion and one in the bow for icebreaking. She was sold to Purvis Marine Ltd., of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, in 1988, and cut down to a barge.

The Port Weller Drydocks Ltd., built, passenger-cargo ship FEDERAL PALM (Hull#29) was christened August 26, 1961, for the West Indies Shipping Corp., Ltd. She was built on the Great Lakes, but never served their ports. Renamed b.) CENPAC ROUNDER in 1975, she was scrapped in 1979.

On August 26, 1934, while on a Sunday sightseeing cruise, MIDLAND CITY of 1871, a.) MAUD 153.2 foot, 521 gross tons, damaged her bottom on a shoal near Present Island in Georgian Bay. She settled with her stern under water and her bow high in the air.

On 26 August 1875, COMET (propeller passenger/package freight, 181 foot, 744 tons, built in 1857, at Cleveland, Ohio) was carrying ore and pig iron in Lake Superior on a foggy night. While trying to pass the Beatty Line steamer MANITOBA, 7 miles SE of Whitefish Point, signals were misunderstood and COMET veered into the path of MANITOBA. COMET was rammed amidships and sank in ten minutes. 11 of the 21 aboard lost their lives. This wasn't the first such accident for COMET. In October 1869, she suffered a similar mishap with the propeller HUNTER and that time both vessels sank.

The schooner MATTHEW McNAIR was launched at the Lee & Lamoree shipyard in Oswego, New York, on August 26,1857. Her dimensions were 103 foot keel, 24 foot 6 inch beam and 9 foot 6 inch depth.

1911 CITY OF GENOA, downbound in the St. Clair River with 125,000 bushels of corn, collided with the W.H. GILBERT and sank 100 yards offshore. The crew was rescued and the hull salvaged by Reid on September 20, 1911, but was irreparable and a total loss.

1955 JOHANNA, a West German freighter, went aground at Point Iroquois and received damage to bottom plates. The tugs SALVAGE PRINCE, RIVAL, CAPT. M.B. DONNELLY and lighter COBOURG helped release the vessel on September 3 and it went to Kingston for repairs. JOHANNA was later a Seaway trader and made 18 inland voyages from 1959 to 1965.

1978 The second AVONDALE was damaged by an arson fire in the pilothouse while laid up along the Welland Canal below Lock 8.

1979 QUEBECOIS went aground on a mud bank near the entrance to Lake St. Clair after an electronic malfunction but was released in 9 hours.

1988 A challenging fire in the bowthruster tunnel aboard ALGOMARINE at Port Weller Dry Docks in St. Catharines sent two firemen to hospital. Some plates were buckled. The ship was being converted to a self-unloader at the time.

Lookback #282 – Avondale set on fire by vandals near Port Colborne on Aug. 26, 1978

8/26 - Vandals climbed aboard the idle freighter Avondale by night as the ship lay berthed along the channel of the old Welland Canal south of Port Colborne 36 years ago today. They set fire to the pilothouse of the old self-unloader and, due to the remote location of the ship, the forward cabins were gutted before help could arrive.

The vessel was towed to Ramey's Bend later in the year and then resold to Spanish shipbreakers. The tugs G.W. Rogers and Cathy McAllister towed Avondale down the Welland Canal on June 22-23, 1979, and the Polish tug Jantar took it across the Atlantic, in tandem with Ferndale, departing Quebec City on July 6. They arrived at Castellon, Spain, on
August 3, 1979, for scrapping.

Avondale had previously sailed in the American Steamship Co. fleet. It was built at St. Clair, Mich., and launched as the first Adam E. Cornelius on May 2, 1908. It was rebuilt as a self-unloader in 1942 and became the first Detroit Edison in 1948, the second George F. Rand in 1954 and the second Avondale when sold to Leadale Shipping, one of the Reoch fleets, in 1962.

Avondale had been retired and laid up along the old canal bank since Nov. 30, 1975. It was still there when vandals struck on August 26, 1978.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Today in Great Lakes History - August 27

The new Poe Lock at the Soo was first flooded on 27 August 1968.

On August 27, 1886, The Detroit Evening News reported that a fireman on the tug J. H. HACKLEY of 1874, was sent to watch for a leak in the boiler, which was being filled with cold water at a dock in Chicago. He fell asleep and the boiler overflowed, very nearly sinking the vessel before another tug could pump her dry.

AGAWA CANYON (Hull#195) was launched in 1971, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. for Algoma Central Railway Ltd.

C.C.G.S. SAMUEL RISLEY arrived at Toronto, Ontario, on August 27, 1985, on her way to Thunder Bay, Ontario, where she replaced the retired C.C.G.C. ALEXANDER HENRY.

JOHN O. McKELLAR (Hull#12) was launched August 27, 1952, at St. Catharines, Ontario, by Port Weller Drydocks Ltd. for the Colonial Steamship Co. Ltd. (Scott Misener, mgr.), Port Colborne, Ontario. Renamed b.) ELMGLEN in 1984.

The WILLIAM CLAY FORD, then renamed b.) US266029, departed her lay-up berth at the Rouge slip on August 20, 1986, in tow of Gaelic tugs and was taken to Detroit Marine Terminals on the Rouge River, where her pilothouse was removed to be displayed at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Detroit's Belle Isle. The hull was moved to Nicholson's River Rouge dock on August 27.

WILLIAM B. DICKSON (Hull#75) was launched August 27, 1910, at Ecorse, Michigan, by Great Lakes Engineering Works for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co., Cleveland, Ohio. Renamed b.) MERLE M. McCURDY in 1969, she was scrapped at Port Colborne, Ontario, in 1989.

The U.S. Coast Guard buoy tender MESQUITE (WAGL-305) was commissioned on August 27, 1943, and served on the Pacific Ocean in the 7th Fleet in 1944 and 1945.

On August 27, 1940, the WILLIAM A. IRVIN set the Great Lakes record for the fastest unloading of an iron ore cargo using shore side equipment. The IRVIN unloaded 13,856 gross tons of iron ore in 2 hours, 55 minutes (including the time to arrive and depart the dock) in Conneaut, Ohio. This record still stands, and consequently the IRVIN is one of the few Great Lakes vessels to be retired while still holding a Great Lakes cargo record.

On August 27, 1929, the MYRON C. TAYLOR entered service.

On August 27, 1924, CITY QUEEN (wooden propeller steam tug, 71 foot, 69 gross tons, built in 1900, at Midland, Ontario) burned to a total loss 14 miles east of the Manitou Dock in Georgian Bay.

The keel for the tug CRUSADER was laid on August 27, 1873, at the Leighton & Dunford yard in Port Huron, Michigan. The tug's dimensions were 100 foot keel, 132 foot overall, and 23 foot beam. She was built for George E. Brockway.

1909: PRESCOTT, a wooden sidewheel passenger ship used on the Toronto to Montreal run, was destroyed by a fire at Montreal. It burned to the waterline and sank at Victoria Pier.

1940: BOLIVAR, built at Wyandotte as LAKE FACKLER, had returned to the Great Lakes in 1933. The ship foundered in the Bay of Bengal again known as d) BOLIVAR.

1952: Ten tons of sugar aboard the CITY OF KINGSTON burned in a one-hour fire at Montreal.

1965: The Swedish freighter EVA JEANETTE ran up over the stern of the tug VEGCO in Lock 4 of the Welland Canal, sinking the latter vessel. There were no injuries and the tug was salvaged. EVA JEANETTE arrived at Chittagong, Bangladesh, for scrapping as d) SKOPELOS STAR on January 21, 1984. The tug later sailed as d) NORWICH and became e) SEAGULL in 1998.

2008: GERTJE, a Seaway trader in 1991, sent out a distress call as h) LADY F. with water entering the holds. A tug arrived and removed the six crew members. The vessel was towed into Bougas, Bulgaria, the next day. The ship was repaired and became i) SAMER F. in 2010.


Port Reports - August 27

Toledo, Ohio – Jim Hoffman
There is no activity going on around the American Fortitude, which is expected to be towed out for scrap some time soon. All of her lines are still out, anchors are down and there is no towing stripe painted at the base of the bow. Also there is no shoreside equipment around her. Adam E. Cornelius, expected to sail in September, still has work crews doing steel work on the hull and miscellaneous repairs. Walter J. McCarthy Jr. is in for repair work and is tied up at CSX # 2 Dock. The saltwater vessel Fritz is still under arrest at the Midwest Terminals Overseas Dock. It is unknown when she will be able to sail again. No vessels are in drydock at the shipyard.





Boat show attracts 2,000 plus to Toledo

8/27 - Toledo, Ohio – The National Museum of the Great Lakes grounds buzzed last weekend as more than 2,000 visitors attended the Toledo Antique and Classic Boat Show there Saturday and Sunday.

This was the first time the museum, which opened in late April, has been the venue for the show, now in its eighth year.

Anna Kolin, the museum’s development director, said the Great Lakes Historical Society, which owns the museum, has been involved in past shows, and she had high hopes the museum would become its permanent home.

“People I’ve talked to said this is as good as the East Coast shows. It’s the perfect location,” she said of the East Toledo Marina District site.

The museum was open along with the Col. James M. Schoonmaker, the 103-year-old ore carrier on permanent display, and the U.S. Brig Niagara, the reconstructed relief flagship of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, which was visiting from its Erie, Pa., home port.

The museum held the show with Ramsey Brothers Restorations, a Toledo firm that restores classic and antique boats.

Chris Ramsey, who is involved with the company along with his two brothers and father, said 105 boat owners brought vessels in, by land or water, for display.

National Museum of the Great Lakes





Lookback #283 – A fire in cargo of sugar occurred aboard City of Kingston on Aug. 27, 1952

8/27 - For parts of four decades, the City of Kingston sailed as one of the five “City Class” package freight carriers in the Canada Steamship Lines fleet. The vessel had been built at the Davie shipyard, Lauzon, Quebec, and it entered service in April 1926.

The ship was 250 feet long and operated through the Third Welland and old Pre-Seaway canals connecting the Great Lakes to Montreal and other St. Lawrence destinations. It was the first caller at the new freight dock at Homer along the Fourth Welland Canal when it arrived to load Niagara grown fruit on Oct. 25, 1932.

It was 62-years ago today that a fire broke out in the cargo hold of City of Kingston while moored at Montreal. An estimated ten tons of sugar was consumed in a blaze that lasted about an hour. The ship was not seriously damaged and was soon back to work.

City of Kingston had a pair of groundings in the St. Lawrence with one off Gooseneck Shoal in Nov. 1952 and the other near Iroquois on June 17, 1953.

The ship was laid up at its namesake port of Kingston in 1958, moved to the area west of the Kingston grain elevator in November 1959, and returned to Lauzon, where it was built in 1961. The final trip was under tow and the vessel was broken up for scrap not far from where it had been built 35-years earlier.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Is it me or do these guys have really bad luck?? Theres a pic link imbedded in the text


Tug Bonnie G. Selvick capsizes on Calumet River

8/28 - Chicago - The Coast Guard is responding to the capsizing of a tug on the Calumet River near the 106th St. Bridge in Chicago in which two crew members were able to escape and swim to shore.

Shortly after 7 p.m., two crew members on board the 57-foot tug, Bonnie G. Selvick, attempted to turn the vessel around while transiting south on the Calumet River. During the process, the vessel rolled over, began taking on water and sank within minutes. The two crew members escaped and swam to shore.

One of the crew member contacted watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan with a marine band radio on channel 16. Watchstanders directed the launch of a crew on board 25-foot response boat from Coast Guard Station Calumet Harbor.

Personnel from Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Chicago are determining if there is any pollution in the water from the vessel, and beginning an investigation into the cause of the incident.

Initial reports indicate that the vessel is not blocking other vessel traffic on the river. The Coast Guard will determine if a safety zone is needed around the vessel until a salvage crew arrives Thursday.






Port Reports - August 28

Toronto, Ont. – Jens Juhl
The Jadran (Captain John's Restaurant) is tentatively scheduled to be moved to another, more remote, spot in the harbor this Friday. The new owner plans to remove all valuable nautical artifacts and then scrap the vessel. Toronto Brigantine has dibs on the salvageable teakwood. One of the first items to come off the ship were the life boat oars. Checking on the internet, there appears to be quite a brisk trade in "antique life boat oars.” At Redpath, a Seawaymax bulker was in the final stage of discharging sugar out holds five and six on Wednesday.

Seaway
BBC Austria has been anchored off Carlton Island since approximately 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. This is a common location to stop during bad weather and to wait out Seaway issues.





Lookback #284 – Richelieu arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, on Aug. 28, 2013

It was a year ago today that the Canada Steamship Lines bulk carrier Richelieu arrived off Aliaga, Turkey, and went to anchor. The ship had sailed from Canada under her own power for the 18-day journey to the scrapyard. The vessel was beached on Sept. 1, 2013, and scrapping was soon underway.

For most of its life, Richelieu had been a deep-sea bulk carrier. It was launched at Hoboken, Belgium, on Oct. 20, 1980, and joined Belcan N.V., part of Federal Commerce & Navigation of Montreal as Federal Ottawa in December.

Beginning in 1981, the 730 foot long by 76 foot, 3 inch wide Federal Ottawa was a regular caller through the Seaway and around the Great Lakes. Steel and grain were the main cargoes but it also took the first tunnel cars for the English Channel tunnel, in December 1990.

In 1995, this ship was sold to Lake Erie Inc. and registered in the Marshall Islands at Lake Erie. It was chartered back to Fednav and made a total of 40 trips into the Great Lakes on their account despite missing inland trading in 2006 and 2007.

It was sold to Canada Steamship Lines late in 2008 but remained on Fednav charter to the end of the year. CSL renamed it Richelieu in 2009 and the ship was painted in company colors in 2010. It operated on their account to the end of the 2012 season before tying up at Montreal. The ship remained there until departing for the scrapyard on Aug. 10, 2013.

Skip Gillham





Today in Great Lakes History - August 28

On this day in 1939, the RICHARD J. REISS collided with the YOSEMITE on the St. Clair River. There were no casualties but damage to the Reiss amounted to $26,593.80 and damage to the YOSEMITE amounted to $23,443.09. The REISS was built in 1901, as the a.) GEORGE W. PEAVEY. Renamed b.) RICHARD J. REISS in 1917, c.) SUPERIOR in 1943. She was scrapped at Hamilton, Ontario, in 1947. The YOSEMITE carried her name throughout her career, built in 1901, and scrapped at Buffalo, New York, in 1954.

Capt. Frank R. West took his 8-year-old son Robert and the boy's friend, 8-year-old Edward Erickson aboard the new schooner LOUIS MEEKER as guests on a trip carrying 27,000 bushels of oats from Chicago to Buffalo. There was hardly any wind and it took them four days to creep north as far as Pentwater, Michigan. On August 28, 1872, Captain West saw a storm coming and he had the sails taken in as a precaution. The winds came so suddenly and they hit the vessel so hard that the schooner was knocked over on her beam ends. Little Robert West, his dad and three sailors were lost when the vessel sank 15 minutes later near Big Sable Point. Peter Danielson dove and tried to cut away the lifeboat as the schooner was sinking and he almost drowned in that unsuccessful attempt. The mizzen gaff broke free and seven sailors plus little Edward Erickson clung to it until they were picked up by the schooner WILLIAM O. BROWN six hours later.

Mr. Edwin H. Gott, 78, of Pittsburgh, died on August 28, 1986. The namesake of the 1,000 footer, he retired as Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Steel in 1973.

On August 28, 1962, the EDWARD L. RYERSON set a Great Lakes cargo record for iron ore. The RYERSON loaded 25,018 gross tons of iron ore in Superior, Wisconsin, breaking by 14 tons the record held by the Canadian bulk freighter RED WING that was set in the 1961 season. The RYERSON held this record well into 1965.

The PERE MARQUETTE 22 was repowered with two 2,850 ihp four cylinder Skinner Uniflow steeple compound steam engines, 19 1/2", 43" dia. X 26" stroke, built in 1953, by the Skinner Engine Co., Erie, Pennsylvania, and four coal-fired Foster-Wheeler water tube boilers with a total heating surface of 25,032 sq. ft. built in 1953. The repowering work was completed on August 28, 1954. Her 1954, tonnage was 3551 gross tons, 1925 net tons, 2450 deadweight tons. A new starboard tail shaft was installed at this time. Her service speed increased to 18 knots (20.7 mph).

The JOHN ANDERSON, a.) LUZON of 1902, was outbound through the Duluth Ship Canal on August 28, 1928, when the vessel struck the north pier suffering $18,000 in damage. Renamed c.) G. G. POST in 1935. The POST was scrapped at Istanbul, Turkey, in 1972.

Gulf Oil Corp., tanker REGENT entered service on August 28, 1934. She was built for low clearances on the New York State Barge Canal and was equipped with five cargo tanks and one dry cargo hold.

The WILLIAM A. REISS, a.) JOHN A. TOPPING, was laid up for the last time on August 28, 1981, at Toledo, Ohio, and remained idle there until July 15, 1994, when she was towed to be scrapped.

On August 28, 1870, CHASKA (wooden scow-schooner, 72 foot, 50 tons, built in 1869, at Duluth, Minnesota originally as a scow-brig) was wrecked in a northwesterly storm near Duluth. Reportedly she's the first vessel built at Duluth.

On August 28, 1763, BEAVER, an armed wooden British sloop built the previous year, was carrying provisions to Detroit to relieve the fort there which was under siege by the Indians led by Pontiac, however the vessel foundered in a storm at Cat Fish Creek, 14 miles from the site of Buffalo. 185 barrels of her cargo were salvaged and went on to Detroit on the schooner GLADWIN.

2002: FRASER, the former SELKIRK SETTLER, went aground in fog at Duluth-Superior and was released without damage with the aid of four tugs. The ship now sails as SPRUCEGLEN of Canada Steamship Lines.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Two Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers reach North Pole

8/29 - Twenty years after Canadian icebreakers first reached the North Pole, two Canadian Coast Guard ships have recreated the feat.

The CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent and the CCGS Terry Fox arrived at the North Pole at 7:26 p.m. Wednesday night.

When a fog lifted, the ships were surrounded by blue sky and second year ice, a senior officer on board the St-Laurent said in an email to the CBC.

"A visit from Santa preceded a hockey game and an ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ in support of ALS."

The ships will spend another nine days in the work area, then head back to Kugluktuk, Nunavut, for a crew change September 18.

The coast guard vessels left earlier this month to gather scientific data in support of Canada's territorial claim on the Arctic sea floor, including the area under and beyond the North Pole.

The six-week journey will take them to the eastern side of the Lomonosov Ridge, a long undersea feature that runs from near Ellesmere Island in Nunavut northward over the pole.

The move comes seven years after a Russian submarine planted a Russian flag on the seabed beneath the pole.

During his annual northern tour earlier this month, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Canada cannot be complacent in the face of growing Russian aggression.

CBC News





Port Reports - August 29

Toronto, Ont. – Jens Juhl
The bulker Wigeon completed discharging and departed from Redpath early Thursday morning. The restaurant ship Jadran will remain in its present mooring for another week or more. The Federal Court ordered the sale of the vessel and the now must review and OK all the terms and conditions of the sale. The luxury charter yacht Majestic (ex Secret) is alongside at historic Pier 4. The 200-foot Feadship was built in the Netherlands by Royal Van Lent and Zonen back in 2007. The unique feature of this yacht is the "Zero Speed" stabilizing system that steadies the vessel while on the hook in a windy anchorage. The Majestic is manned by a crew of 17 and is available for a weekly hire rate starting at US $455,000.

Seaway
According to radio traffic, the BBC Austria was boarded by the US Coast Guard Wednesday night. They asked all crew members except those who met them on boarding to be assembled on the bridge. They also asked if any of the crew had cold or flu like symptoms.





Lookback #285 – Charles A. Eddy caught fire in Lake Huron on Aug. 29, 1906

8/29 - The Detroit Drydock Co. built the Charles A. Eddy at Wyandotte, MI and this wooden bulk freighter was completed in 1889. The 295 foot, 10 inch long steamer was too large for the Welland Canal of that era and spent its entire career operating on the upper four Great Lakes.

Charles A. Eddy was part of the Eddy-Shaw fleet until it caught fire 108 years ago today. The ship was down bound on Lake Huron with a cargo of iron ore consigned to Cleveland when the blaze broke out. The crew took to the life boats and were picked up by the steamer City of Mackinac.

Their departure might have been a bit premature as a salvage crew boarded the ship and took it to Port Huron arriving there under the ship's own power.

The Charles A. Eddy was cut down about 1918 for service as a drydock at Sturgeon Bay but, being constructed of wood, it did not have a long life in this capacity and was eventually scrapped.

Skip Gillham





Today in Great Lakes History - August 29

August 29, 1996 - The NICOLET, which had been sold for scrap, left Toledo under tow of the McKeil tug OTIS WACK, arriving in Port Maitland, Ontario during the early hours of the 30th. Last operated in 1990, the NICOLET was built in 1905 by Great Lakes Engineering Work at Ecorse, Michigan as the a.) WILLIAM G. MATHER (25), b) J. H. SHEADLE (55), c) H. L. GOBEILLE. The vessel spent the first 60 years of her life in service for the Cleveland-Cliffs Steamship Company. After 1965, her ownership was transferred to the Gartland Steamship Company and eventually American Steamship Company.

On this day in 1974, unsuccessful negotiations on a major shipbuilding contract resulting in Litton Industries terminating operations at its Erie yard. The Litton yard had built the first 1,000-foot boat on the lakes, the STEWART J. CORT, and the 1,000-foot tug-barge PRESQUE ISLE.

It is not often that a schooner tows a tug, but on 29 August 1882, the tug J. A. CRAWFORD was towing the big schooner JAMES COUCH to Chicago when the wind picked up and the schooner passed the tug. Captain Gorman of the CRAWFORD cut the engine and allowed the COUCH to tow him until they got close to the harbor. Then the schooner shortened sail and the tug finished the job of towing her into port.

On August 29, 1942, the A. H. FERBERT entered service for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.

On her maiden voyage August 29, 1979, the INDIANA HARBOR sailed for Two Harbors, Minnesota to load iron ore pellets for Indiana Harbor, Indiana. In August 1982, INDIANA HARBOR became the first U.S. flag laker to receive satellite communication.

On August 29, 1972 the lightship HURON was placed in an earth embankment at Port Huron's Pine Grove Park along the St. Clair River and was opened to visitors on July 13, 1974.

Canada Steamship Lines' ATLANTIC SUPERIOR returned from Europe on August 29, 1985, with a cargo of gypsum for Picton, Ontario.

On 29 August 1871, GEORGE M. ABEL (2-mast wooden schooner) broke up on a reef near Port Burwell, Ontario.

On 29 August 1858, CANADA (3-mast wooden bark, 199 foot, 758 tons) was carrying a half-million board feet of lumber to Chicago in bad weather when she settled just north of downtown Chicago. The next day during a salvage attempt, she blew southward, struck a bar off the old waterworks, broke her back, then broke up. She had been built in Canada in 1846, as a sidewheeler and was seized by the U.S. in 1849, and rebuilt as a bark in 1852.

August 29, 1998 - The BADGER was designated a spur route on the Lake Michigan Circle Tour.

1906: The wooden bulk carrier CHARLES A. EDDY caught fire in Lake Huron enroute to Cleveland with iron ore. The ship later arrived at Port Huron, under her own power, with a salvage crew.

1967: LINDE, a Norwegian flag freighter, first entered the Seaway in 1965. Two years later, on this date, it sank the ARISTOS in dense fog in the English Channel 17 miles off Beachy Head. All on board were rescued. LINDE later stranded as d) ZEPHYR outside of Dunkirk, France, on January 13, 1981, after anchoring due to bad weather. The hull was broken up for scrap where she lay.

1984: A fire in the cargo hold of NANTICOKE broke out while the ship was unloading in Quebec City and damaged the self-unloading belts and electronic components.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Port Reports - September 1

Marquette, Mich. – Rod Burdick
Hon. James L. Oberstar loaded ore Sunday evening at the LS&I Upper Harbor dock. Oberstar has had very few Marquette loads so far this season.

Oswego, N.Y. – Ned Goebricher
Sunday the tug Margot and barge transited the New York State Barge Canal for Lake Ontario.





Lake Michigan ferry fight rages in Washington

9/1 - Washington, D.C. – On one side is the S.S. Badger, the only coal-fired steamship left in North America and a multi-million-dollar linchpin for the economy of the historic lakeshore town of Manitowoc. On the other is the $18 million high-tech, high-speed Lake Express ferry, based in Milwaukee.

Both traverse Lake Michigan daily during the summer sailing season, carrying passengers and cars between Wisconsin and Michigan. Both have spent an inordinate amount of time and money in the nation's capital trying to sink each other.

The battle has involved an alphabet soup of federal agencies from the EPA to the DOT, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle -- and the lake -- and a federal lobbying tab nearing $1 million. So far.

On its face, the struggle is simply good old-fashioned, free-market competition, but it is also a fierce clash between urban and small-town interests and environmental conservation and historic preservation. And it provides a revealing look at how business is done on behalf of competing interests in the nation's capital.

The Badger has been docking in Manitowoc for more than 60 years, and it contributes as much as $14 million annually to the region's economy. Its sentimental value is even greater, some say.

Manitowoc Mayor Justin Nickels recently hailed it as "a beautiful boat that honors our city every day with her graceful presence and multitude of wonderful visitors." Historians in town recall making the lake crossing as children, and they say a group of local residents still turns out to greet passengers when the Badger chugs into port.

"There's about two or three, four guys that go down there during the summer months and they'll just sit there, wait for the car ferry to come in, and they'll shake hands as the passengers come out," said Phil Groll of the local historical society.

But the ship has been discharging tons of ash into the lake each day -- the remnants of burning coal to power its steam engines -- and the Environmental Protection Agency determined in 2008 that it had to stop. The company that runs the Badger, Lake Michigan Carferry, was given until the end of 2012 to comply. Company officials said at the time that the Badger would be forced out of business if it had to stop dumping ash.

Competing Milwaukee ferry Lake Express then hired a Washington lobbying firm Broydrick & Associates and has so far paid it a half million dollars to lobby against the Badger.

When the steamship applied for a $14 million federal transportation grant to convert its coal-fired engines to diesel fuel in 2010, Lake Express opposed the application, saying the money would provide the Badger with a "huge advantage in a market like this," and would represent "an egregious overreach by the federal government." Broydrick lobbied against the grant, according to disclosure reports, and the Department of Transportation ultimately declined to award the funding.

The next year, the coal-fired ferry was nominated for status as a national landmark and Badger officials appealed to theNational Park Service for the designation saying it would play a "critical role" in its survival as an "invaluable" asset in negotiations with the EPA. Lake Express lobbyist Bill Broydrick opposed that, too, saying it would amount to nothing more than "special treatment for a polluter," according to an Associated Press report. The park service tabled the measure.

Lawmakers supporting the Badger and representing its lakeshore port cities -- including Republican Reps. Tom Petri of Wisconsin and Bill Huizenga of Michigan -- then tried to protect it by sponsoring a legislative amendment that would allow the Badger to continue sailing despite the EPA mandate. Lake Express's Broydrick reported lobbying against the effort, and it also failed.

As the deadline approached in December 2012, the Badger applied for an extension and ultimately reached an agreement with the EPA that allowed it to keep sailing. At least untilthe start of next year's sailing season, when it faces another deadline to stop dumping coal ash.

For their part, the operators of the Lake Express say they just want a level playing field. If the Badger is allowed to run as is, it has lower overhead costs, which means the steamship can charge less for passage than Lake Express.

"Why are we involved in this? Because . . . when these guys avoid a year's worth of compliance, it's worth somewhere between something like $400,000 and several million dollars' worth of costs," Lake Express marketing director Aaron Schultz said. Ferry

The Lake Express charges $163 round-trip per passenger, while the Badger charges $130. The ferries ply parallel routes across the lake, the Badger between Manitowoc and Ludington, Mich., and the Express between Milwaukee and Muskegon, Mich. The steamship takes four hours to cover about 60 miles, while the diesel-powered Express makes its 80-mile crossing in 2½ hours.

When it comes to the Express lobbying effort, some could also argue that turnabout is fair play. Both sides have given generously to federal lawmakers who champion their cause. And the Badger vehemently fought the launching of Lake Express a decade ago and paid its own Washington lobbyist $120,000 to try and block federal assistance to build the ferry.

Lubar & Co., the Milwaukee investment group that owns Lake Express, applied to the U.S. Marine Administration for $14 million in loan guarantees to help it build the boat. But Robert Manglitz, the president of Badger operator Lake Michigan Carferry, said there was only room for one ferry on the lake and federal assistance would provide an unfair market advantage to Lake Express. In the end, however, the Badger's lobbying effort failed, and Lake Express secured the guarantees and built its ferry, launching in June 2004.

At the time, Manglitz decried it as a "pork barrel" carve-out. "We got a lesson in politics," he said. "He who has the gold, rules."

Both companies appeared to compete cordially for the next few years. That is, until the Badger cut prices and engaged in what its own officials called a "ferry fare war" in the summer of 2009.

"We take passengers from them and they take passengers from us," Manglitz later told the Ludington Daily News. "There is a finite number of passengers out there."

Shortly after the fare war began, Lake Express hired its lobbyist, Broydrick, and the battle was on.

The latest salvo came last month from U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, a Milwaukee Democrat who fired off a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder in July asking him to crack down on the Badger for an alleged violation of its agreement with the EPA. She asserts the ferry didn't reduce the amount of coal it burned in 2013.

Moore's office didn't announce her effort. Rather, the letter was distributed to media by Lake Express lobbyist Broydrick.

The Justice Department has not responded to the letter and did not comment for this report. The EPA declined to weigh in on the potential violation, saying decisions about Lake Michigan Carferry's compliance have yet to be made.

Lawmakers Petri and Huizenga are frustrated by the efforts to push for a crackdown on the Badger.

"It's my understanding that the Badger is already reducing discharge of coal ash and is on track to stop all discharge," Petri said. "It should be allowed to continue operating without political interference."

Huizenga agrees.

"I find it stunning that some elected officials are making false claims against the Badger and attempting to use the federal government to eliminate jobs in communities they do not represent," he said.

The Badger's spokeswoman, Terri Brown, maintains that the steamship is on track to stop dumping coal ash into the lake by the deadline. She says the company plans to install a system that will allow the steamship to keep the ash on board and dispose of it in port, rather than in the lake, although she's not sure exactly what that system will look like.

In the meantime, the company has been hoping the Badger would win status as a national landmark. It has been nominated a second time, but it appears that effort has been scuttled, too, for now.

Broydrick said that he recently received word that Interior Secretary Sally Jewell won't grant the designation until the ship stops dumping coal ash.

Schultz, the marketing director for Lake Express, calls the ferry showdown "a spaghetti ball of outside influence," but he says the Badger remains an "anachronism."

"They've had a good run, and I think they've gotten a little spoiled in thinking they should be able to run as is forever," he said. "You find any other business that runs at 1950s standards and gets rewarded for it? I'd be shocked if there's even a one out there."

Gannett Washington Bureau





Lookback #288 – Benmaple sunk in collision with French liner Lafayette on Sept. 1, 1936

The steamer Benmaple combined Great Lakes and Atlantic Ocean service. The ship was built at Ecorse, Mich., and completed as International in 1914. It initially served the Atlantic Coast Steamship Co. and often carried pulpwood down the lakes.

It was sold to French interests and went overseas for service as S.N.A. No. 1 for coastal service out of the port of Rouen. In this capacity, coal was believed to be it most popular cargo.

Following the end of hostilities, the ship returned to the Great Lakes after a sale to the Port Colborne and St. Lawrence Navigation Co. It was registered in Toronto as Benmaple on Oct. 6, 1922. Now, the ship was used to carry grain from Port Colborne to storage elevators along the St. Lawrence on behalf of Maple Leaf Mills. It was also a frequent caller to Toronto to load at Toronto Elevators and, when available, the ship returned to the Great Lakes with freight.

On Sept. 1, 1936, 78 years ago today, Benmaple collided in fog on the St. Lawrence with the French ocean liner Lafayette, near Father Point, while on a voyage to Halifax and Sydney, Nova Scotia. On board Benmaple, one sailor was crushed in his bunk and killed while three others were injured. The accident occurred at about 0400 hours and the ship sank in deep water as a total loss.

Lafayette, inbound for Quebec City at the time of the collision, was required to pay 75 percent of the damages. It did not last much longer. Lafayette caught fire while on a dry dock at Le Have, France, on May 4, 1938. This vessel was broken up for scrap at Rotterdam, Holland, shortly afterwards.

Skip Gillham





Today in Great Lakes History - September 1

September 1, 1880, the Cleveland Vessel Owners Association, later Lake Carriers’ Association, was created, with Alva Bradley as its first president.

September 1, 1892, the upbound WESTERN RESERVE, flagship of the Kinsman fleet, sank approximately 60 miles above Whitefish Point. There were 31 casualties among the crew and passengers. The lone survivor was Wheelsman Harry W. Stewart.

On 01 September 1891, EDWARD H. JENKS (wooden propeller freighter, 119 foot over all, 180 gross tons, built in 1882, at Port Dover, Ontario as the passenger/package freight steamer E.M. FOSTER) was carrying limestone up the Detroit River during a foggy night when she collided with GEORGE W. MORLEY (wooden propeller freighter, 193 foot, 1,045 gross tons, built in 1888, at W. Bay City, Michigan) in a misunderstanding of passing signals. Three were killed in the collision and the JENKS quickly sank at Ballard's Reef on the Detroit River. Her cargo kept her in place until she was recovered the following month and rebuilt.

Tragedy struck four days after the launch of the AGAWA CANYON, September 1, 1970, when the ship was rocked by an engine room explosion, killing one of the crew and injuring seven more. The AGAWA CANYON entered service in November, 1970, equipped with four 10 cylinder, two stroke cycle, single acting opposed piston diesel engines, built in 1970, by Fairbanks, Morse (Canada), Kingston, Ontario. Total bhp 6,680. Rated service speed: 12 knots (13.8 mph).

The TEMPLE BAR (Hull#101G) was launched September 1, 1970, at Govan, Scotland by the Govan Division of Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Ltd. for Lambert Bros. (Shipping) Ltd., London, England. Renamed b.) LAKE NIPIGON in 1977, c.) LAKETON in 1984, d.) LAKE NIPIGON in 1986, and e.) ALGONORTH in 1987.

Upon her arrival at Quebec City on September 1, 1962, the LAKE WINNIPEG was the first vessel of the Nipigon Transport Ltd. (Carryore Ltd., mgr.) fleet.

The self-unloader B.H. TAYLOR (Hull#787) was launched September 1, 1923, at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co., the third self-unloader built for the Bradley Transportation Co., Rogers City, Michigan. Renamed b.) ROGERS CITY in 1957. Scrapped at Recife, Brazil in 1988.

From September 1, 1947, to September 15, 1959, the U.S.C.G.C. MESQUITE was stationed at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

On 1 September 1854, ABIAH (2-mast wooden schooner or brig, 134 foot, 353 tons, built in 1848, at Irving, New York) was sailing light from Chicago, Illinois, to Oconto, Wisconsin, when she capsized and sank in a squall about 10 miles off Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The schooner L. LUDDINGTON rescued her crew and 2 passengers.

The 135-foot wooden schooner JOSEPH E. SPARROW was launched at Bangor, Michigan, on 1 September 1873.

On 1 September 1900, the Canadian steamer ADVANCE (wooden propeller package freighter, 168 foot, 1,178 gross tons, built in 1884, at St. Catharines, Ontario) was placed in service. In August 1899, when she was named SIR S. L. TILLEY, she had caught fire off shore, about 7 miles from Fairport, Ohio, and was destroyed. However, the hull was later recovered and used as the basis of the steamer ADVANCE. She lasted in this role until 1903, when she burned again.

September 1, 1919 - A switchman was killed in the yard at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, while the ANN ARBOR No. 6 was being loaded. This caused a delay of four hours in her sailing time.

September 1, 1931 - W. L. Mercereau retired as superintendent of steamships, a position he had held since 1899.

1916 DRONNING MAUD, a Norwegian freighter visited the Great Lakes on charter to Keystone Transports beginning in 1909. It hit a mine in the North Sea on this date and sank off the east coast of England, between Southwall and Lowestoft.

1929 EDWARD BUCKLEY caught fire and was destroyed in the North Channel of Georgian Bay. The blaze broke out aft while enroute to Little Current to load pulpwood. The hull burned to the waterline and sank near Narrow Island Lighthouse. Local fishermen rescued the crew.

1936 The Canadian canaller BENMAPLE of the Port Colborne & St. Lawrence Navigation Company, sank in the St. Lawrence at about 0400 hours, near Father Point, after being hit in fog by the inbound liner LAFAYETTE. A wheelsman was killed but all others on board were rescued.

1983 INDIANA HARBOR sets a record loading 67,896 tons of iron ore at Escanaba.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Port Reports - September 2

Northport, Mich. – Chris Holton
The tug Erika Kobasic with two barges in tow with Moran Iron works structures onboard were waiting out weather in Northport Bay off the Municipal Harbor on Monday. They are downbound for Pigeon Lake.





Ukranian crew ordered to not exit vessel in Toledo

9/2 - Toledo, Ohio – If you look north down the Maumee River toward the bay beyond, you may notice something unusual – a large vessel just sitting on one side of the river. It’s been there for nearly a month and shows no signs of going anywhere anytime soon.

“It has a Ukrainian crew, the registration is Liberian,” said Toledo Mayor D. Michael Collins, “and my understanding is there’s a huge amount of money owed.”

Documents say the U.S. Marshal’s Service is holding the vessel Fritz pending payment of about $900,000 in fees.

Complicating matters, it’s not clear if the crew has been paid in a timely fashion. If not, that could increase the chances of a desertion — leaving no one to move the ship even if the fees are paid.

“The federal government is over there, monitoring the ship,” Collins said, “to make sure…none of the crew leaves the ship, and all of a sudden, disappears.” The U.S. Coast Guard has ordered the German owners to make sure no one deserts, but federal authorities are on the scene making sure none of the crew members leave the ship.

The crew, which may include Romanians as well, may also no longer be covered by a maritime union agreement. It’s not known how many supplies the crew has on board, or what will be done if those supplies run low.

The Fritz was apparently supposed to offload steel coils weeks ago, and then depart. But that hasn’t happened, so now, after more than three weeks in the Maumee River, the ship, and its crew, continue to sit and wait to learn their fate.

Fox 8 Cleveland





Marine New reports saltwater vessel scrappings

9/2 - Marine News, the monthly journal of the World Ship Society, reports the following ships with Great Lakes connections going for scrap in the September 2014 issue.

The Chinese freighter An Ze Jiang was built at Guangzhou, China, in 1987 and came through the Seaway later that year. The vessel was sold to Chinese shipbreakers and arrived at Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China, on May 5, 2014, for scrapping by Zhoushan Changhong International.

CSL Shannon was owned by CSL Europe, part of Canada Steamship Lines of Montreal. The vessel had been built at Ulstenvik, Norway, in 1986 and came through the Seaway that year as a) Trones. It was sold and renamed b) CSL Shannon in 2011 but the small self-unloader spent most of its time operating around Europe and did not visit the Great Lakes. The ship was sold for scrap in 2014 and arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, on May 8 to be broken up by Leyal Gemi Sokum Ltd.

Danny Rose was a Seaway traveler as a) Lijnbaansgracht first coming inland in 1999. The Dutch flag ship had been built at Shimizu, Japan, in 1987. It was carrying general cargo, including a deck load of fermenting tanks, when it came to the Great Lakes for Port Stanley and then Duluth. It returned for another visit in 2001. The vessel was sailing as c) Danny Rose when it was sold to shipbreakers in India and it arrived at Alang on July 27, 2014, for dismantling by JRD Industries with work beginning July 31, 2014.

Golam-E-Mostafa visited the Great Lakes in 1986 as the Cuban freighter Bahia de Cardenas. The vessel had just been completed in Japan, when it came inland. Following a sale to Bangladesh shipbreakers, the vessel arrived at Chittagong as e) Golam-E-Mostafa on May 1, 2014, and was broken up beginning on June 24.

The tanker Jens Jacobsen had come to the Great Lakes in 1986 as a) Shoun Olympia. It was sold to Indian shipbreakers as g) Jens Jacobsen in 2014 and arrived at Alang on May 18. Work on scrapping the hull got underway on May 30 with the work being done by Rajendra Shipbreakers Pvt. Ltd.

The Liberian freighter Kate first came to the Great Lakes in 1986 as a) Trudy and returned as b) Pan Voyager, while registered in South Korea in 1998. The ship was registered in Liberia as c) Kate in 2011 and carried this name to the scrapyard. It arrived at Chittagong, Bangladesh, on April 29, 2014, and was broken up beginning on May 19.

While the bulk carrier Sifnos Mare carried a total of four names, only the final one did not make it to the Great Lakes. This ship was built at Sasebo, Japan, in 1985 and came through the Seaway that year as a) Fiona Mary on a long-term charter to Fednav. It was renamed b) Federal Aalesund in 1993, and delivered a cargo of bauxite from Australia through the Seaway to Thorold on its first trip inland on Sept. 1. The ship was a regular caller around the Great Lakes and returned frequently after becoming c) Spar Jade in 1997. It made in the range of 30 trips through the Seaway as such with its last call during November 2010 with a voyage to Duluth.

The ship was then sold in 2011 and renamed d) Sifnos Mare. The vessel arrived at Alang, India, for dismantling on May 28, 2014. Lakes related:

The tug Ocean Wrestler was briefly owned by McKeil Marine and it came through the Seaway in 1999. It had been purchased, along with a pair of barges, in 1998, but the barges were resold to Caribbean interests while on the delivery voyage to Eastern Canada. Originally, the Belgian built fire-fighting tug was known as a) Wrestler, last operated as f) Kunduz. The 42-year-old vessel arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, on May 20, 2014, for dismantling by Ege Celik Gemi Sokum AS.

Compiled by Barry Andersen, Rene Beauchamp and Skip Gillham Lookback #289 – Chicago Tribune aground in Georgian Bay on Sept. 2, 1975 Many will remember the unique profile of the second Chicago Tribune. The ship was built at Hull, England, and completed in March 1930 as Thorold. It crossed the Atlantic in June with a load of china clay and joined the Ontario Transportation and Pulp Co.

The vessel had a significant trunk deck as it was primarily designed to transport newsprint. During 1931, its first full season on the lakes, the Thorold made 23 trips between its namesake community and Chicago. During the year the ship carried 68,562 tons of newsprint.

Corporate reorganization in 1933 resulted in the ship moving under the banner of the Quebec & Ontario Transportation Co. and a change in name. From here until going for scrap in 1988, the ship was known as Chicago Tribune.

The 258 foot, 6 inch long vessel was repowered with Fairbanks Morse diesel engines in 1958 and lengthened to 319 feet overall in 1962. As cargo demands changed, the trunk deck was lowered by 30 inches in 1973-1974 to permit easier loading of grain as the height of the deck could interfere with the loading spouts.

Chicago Tribune ran aground in Georgian Bay 39 years ago today while headed from Thunder Bay to Collingwood with a cargo of grain. The ship was lightered of about 30,000 bushels by the Charles W. Johnson and released three days later with the aid of the tug Rod McLean. The accident of Sept. 2, 1975, resulted in a trip to Port Weller Dry Docks for repairs.

Chicago Tribune joined the Desgagnes fleet in 1984. It operated for two years and made one final trip in 1986, Thunder Bay to Toronto, before tying up for good. The last load was a storage cargo of soybeans and that came aboard from trucks at Toronto in October 1987.

Following a sale to International Marine Salvage, the 58-year-old freighter was towed to Port Colborne on Dec. 14, 1988, and broken up for scrap in the outer harbor during 1989.

Skip Gillham





Today in Great Lakes History - September 2

September 3, 1919, the WILLIAM A. McGONAGLE loaded a record 15,160 tons of soft coal at Toledo, Ohio for delivery to Gary, Indiana. The record lasted less than 24 hours as the D. G. KERR, Captain Harry Harbottle, loaded 15,532 tons of coal at the same Toledo dock for delivery to Gary.

September 3, 1942, the 250-foot STEEL VENDOR, Captain G. L. Kane, sank at 3:45 a.m. on Lake Superior with a cargo of 3,000 tons of iron ore. The lone casualty was Oiler John N. Sicken. Twenty-two survivors were rescued by the CHARLES M. SCHWAB, Captain Alfred Drouillard, and 2 survivors were rescued by the WILLIAM G. CLYDE, Captain David M. LeRoy. Other boats standing by were the B. F. AFFLECK, ELBERT H. GARY, JOLIET, and EUGENE P. THOMAS.

September 3, 1957, the HARRIS N. SNYDER of the Boland & Cornelius fleet, Captain Elmer Murray and Chief Engineer Frank Mc Cabe, rescued 2 from the waters of Lake Michigan. Not only did the crew rescue Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Colby, but the crew used the unloading boom to recover their sailboat and place it on the deck of the SNYDER. The entire maneuver only required 55 minutes.

On September 3, 1899, the Great Lakes Towing Company's RED CLOUD (wooden propeller tug, 62 foot, 40 gross tons, built in 1883, at Buffalo, New York) was sailing on Lake Erie for Lorain, Ohio, when a storm forced her to head for port at Cedar Point, Ohio. However she was thrown on a reef and broke in two - a total loss. The crew made it to Sandusky, Ohio.

On September 3, the BELLE RIVER (now WALTER J. McCARTHY, JR.) set a then Great Lakes record for coal when it loaded 62,802 tons of coal at Superior Midwest Energy Terminal on its maiden voyage. This record has since been surpassed many times.

At Lorain, Ohio keel-laying ceremonies for the 437-foot bow section of the ROGER BLOUGH (Hull#900) took place on September 3, 1968, and was float-launched December 21, 1968, less ballast tanks because the existing dry dock wasn't wide enough to accommodate her 105-foot width.

SOODOC (Hull#210) of 1976, on her maiden voyage from Collingwood, Ontario, loaded salt at Goderich, Ontario, on September 3, 1976. Renamed b.) AMELIA DESGAGNES in 1990.

U.S. Steel's SEWELL AVERY was laid up for the last time September 3, 1981, at Superior, Wisconsin. She was towed to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, in 1987, where the superstructure was removed and the hull was sunk for use as a dock.

THOMAS W. LAMONT was laid up for the last time at Duluth’s Hallett dock #6A on September 3, 1981. She was scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey, in 1987.

H. H. PORTER sailed on her maiden voyage for the Brier Hill Steamship Co. (Pickands Mather, mgr.) on September 3, 1920, light from Lorain, Ohio, to load iron ore at Two Harbors, Minnesota. Renamed b.) WALTER E. WATSON in 1957 and c.) NATIONAL TRADER in 1973. She was scrapped at Thunder Bay, Ontario, in 1978.

On September 3, 1985, PHILIP R. CLARKE plowed into the Drawbridge Cove Marina in Lorain's Black River, damaging 5-10 small craft and sinking one at the steel dock. CLARKE managed to stop before hitting the Route 6 drawbridge.

On September 3,1887, BULGARIA (wooden propeller, 280 foot, 1,888 gross tons) was launched at West Bay City, Michigan, by J. Davidson, as their hull number 16.

September 3, 1910 - The MARQUETTE & BESSEMER NO 2 (Hull#450) was launched in Cleveland, Ohio by the American Ship Building Co. for the Marquette & Bessemer Dock & Navigation Co. She was the replacement for MARQUETTE & BESSEMER NO 2 of 1905, (Hull#428), which foundered on Lake Erie, December 7, 1909.

On September 3, 1869, the 167-foot wooden propeller BOSCOBEL burned about two miles below St. Clair, Michigan. Three lives were lost. The ship was only about two years old and was in service of the New York Central Railroad, though owned by the Peshtigo Lumbering Co. of Chicago. The burned hulk was raised in 1876 and rebuilt as a schooner-barge at Algonac, Michigan. She lasted until 1909, when she sank on Lake Huron.

1905: The GEORGE STEPHENSON was blown aground at Pointe Aux Pins, Lake Superior and struck by her consort barge JOHN A. ROEBLING. Both were released and returned to service.

1942: DONALD STEWART, a canal trader for Canada Steamship Lines, was torpedoed by U-517 and sunk while in a convoy on the Gulf of St. Lawrence while carrying barrels of aviation fuel and bulk cement for the air base at Goose Bay, Labrador. Three members of the engine room crew were lost.

1944: LIVINGSTON, a former Great Lakes canal ship, was torpedoed and sunk by U-541 in the Atlantic about 80 miles east of Cape Breton Island. Fourteen lives were lost but another 14 were spared and rescued.

1965: The tanker EASTERN SHELL sank the small wooden goelette MONT BLANC in a collision blamed on fog about 20 miles from Trois Rivieres. All crewmembers of the pulpwood carrier were rescued.

1970: KENNETH made a single trip to the Great Lakes in 1959. It caught fire in the engine room on this date off the coast of Israel while enroute from Alexandria, Egypt, to Tripoli, Libya, as h) CHRISTINA MARIA. The ship was abandoned by the crew, towed into Haifa, Israel, September 6 and sold to Israeli shipbreakers later in the year.

1998: ORKANGER, a chemical tanker that first came through the Seaway in 1977, began leaking while inbound at Rio Grande, Brazil, as e) BAHAMAS with 12,000 tons of sulphuric acid and sank in the harbor. The hull was eventually refloated but never repaired although it had subsequent renames and was reported as broken up in 2003 as h) ORIENT FLOWER.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Lakeshore area could have national marine sanctuary

9/3 - Manitowoc, Wis. – The area’s lakeshore could be home to Wisconsin's largest museum. The proposed underwater museum — a 875-square-mile area of Lake Michigan from Two Rivers to Port Washington — would be home to more than 33 known exhibits and many more to be discovered. These underwater exhibits are shipwrecks, which once ruled the surface.

The proposed marine sanctuary would be part of the current 13 preserves and would be one of only two in the Great Lakes, established by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.

"We are so fortunate in the Great Lakes to have incredible level of protection with our shipwrecks," said Ellen Brody, NOAA spokeswoman.

The lakeshore communities are among the first in a new selection process for marine sanctuary status. The process is by self-nomination and nominees submit why their community would be ideal for preservation. At this time, no communities have submitted nominations, Brody said, but she anticipates many will be sent in the fall.

Manitowoc County officials believe if the nomination is accepted, the sanctuary will generate tourism and educational benefits to the area.

"If successful, this will lead to increased research on these wrecks, as well as creating tourism and educational opportunities for sport divers, students and the general public," said Jason Ring, president of the Manitowoc Area Visitor & Convention Bureau..

Brody said there's a set criteria for the nomination process communities must meet before being considered for a sanctuary designation. Criteria includes having national, natural resource and cultural significance as well as having important economic uses.

"A marine sanctuary in Manitowoc would allow our citizens and visitors to experience the power and beauty of Lake Michigan and protect its rich maritime history through research, education and resource protection while enhancing our pride in Manitowoc's maritime heritage," said Mayor Justin Nickels.

After that, other criteria include education and research opportunities, facing potential threats, existing management and regulations that could help conservation efforts and community-based support, according to NOAA's website.

After nominees submit, some are selected and inventoried for further perusal. In the past, the process took years but Brody said self-nomination may speed up the task because of limited opposition.

"This detailed application should be submitted by early autumn, however, it will require months of review in Washington before a decision is made on the status of this application," Ring said.

The self-nomination process ensures communities are welcome to the idea of a federally regulated preserve, which has received nearly unanimous favor among officials and residents in the lakeshore communities.

"The communities are contributing content, the state of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Historical Society and (Wisconsin) DNR are contributing content because the shipwrecks are state owned and state managed," Brody said.

The lakeshore sanctuary wasn't the location analyzed by the Wisconsin Historical Society. Death's Door in Door County has many of the same cultural resources, but Brody said the society deemed the lakeshore area more of a priority.

"I'm thrilled that this is fostering a collaborative effort between all these cities and all these organizations," said Rolf Johnson, CEO of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum. "Even if the sanctuary should not happen, it's going to lead to a really great alliance between these port cities."

Much like the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary (the lone Great Lakes sanctuary) in Alpena, Mich., created in 2000, the proposed marine sanctuary would be based on cultural resources —not solely natural resources such as reefs or flora and fauna — which are shipwrecks. The other cultural-resource based preserve is the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary in North Carolina, which protects the wreck of the USS Monitor, an ironclad ship from the Civil War.

Green Bay Press Gazette


You know you gonna gimme 50 grands...


Id like to see some shithead wear it as bling with a chain around his neck at the bottom of the lake...



Large propeller stolen from Owen Sound Marine & Rail Museum

9/3 - Owen Sound, Ont. – City police say a “priceless” brass propeller has been stolen from the Owen Sound Marine & Rail Museum.

The historic artifact, which is about one-metre in diameter and weighs about 240 to 300 pounds, went missing sometime between Aug. 27-30, police said in a news release.

“Scrape marks on the pavement suggest the propeller was dragged towards the roadway,” Owen Sound Police Service acting Sgt. Bill Ringel said in the release.

The propeller had been on display next to the north outer wall of the museum, which is in the city-owned former Canadian National train station near the west wall of the Owen Sound Harbour.

The propeller is stamped with the name William Kennedy & Sons.

“The historic value of the propeller is priceless, however the scrap value for the propeller is estimated between $1,000 and $1,500,” Ringel said.

Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call Owen Sound police at 519-376-1234 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

Owen Sound Sun Times




Port Reports - September 3

St. Marys River
A slow day Thursday saw the Herbert C. Jackson, Whitefish Bay and American Integrity upbound and the Paul R. Tregurtha and Great Lakes Trader downbound. The tug Evans McKeil and her barge, Huron Spirit departed Essar with a load of steel coils for Detroit in the early evening. The saltie Torrent left the export dock upbound to anchor and await orders, also in the early evening.

Alpena, Mich. – Ben & Chanda McClain
There was some vessel activity in port over the weekend. Calumet brought a load of coal to Lafarge on Saturday night. The tug Samuel de Champlain and barge Innovation loaded cement at Lafarge late Sunday night. On Monday the Alpena was in port followed by and the tug G.L Ostrander with barge Integrity. Cuyahoga arrived at the Alpena Oil Dock around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The lines were secured and unloading of road salt began. Cuyahoga finished before 7 p.m. and backed out of the river.

Grand Haven, Mich. – Dick Fox
The tug Petite Forte and barge St. Marys Cement made a rare visit to the St. Marys Cement Terminal in Ferrysburg late Tuesday afternoon. It was still unloading at 7:30 p.m.

Buffalo, N.Y. – Brian W.
The tug Washington towed the English River up to Lafarge around 5 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.



Today in Great Lakes History - September 3

September 3, 1919, the WILLIAM A. McGONAGLE loaded a record 15,160 tons of soft coal at Toledo, Ohio for delivery to Gary, Indiana. The record lasted less than 24 hours as the D. G. KERR, Captain Harry Harbottle, loaded 15,532 tons of coal at the same Toledo dock for delivery to Gary.

September 3, 1942, the 250-foot STEEL VENDOR, Captain G. L. Kane, sank at 3:45 a.m. on Lake Superior with a cargo of 3,000 tons of iron ore. The lone casualty was Oiler John N. Sicken. Twenty-two survivors were rescued by the CHARLES M. SCHWAB, Captain Alfred Drouillard, and 2 survivors were rescued by the WILLIAM G. CLYDE, Captain David M. LeRoy. Other boats standing by were the B. F. AFFLECK, ELBERT H. GARY, JOLIET, and EUGENE P. THOMAS.

September 3, 1957, the HARRIS N. SNYDER of the Boland & Cornelius fleet, Captain Elmer Murray and Chief Engineer Frank Mc Cabe, rescued 2 from the waters of Lake Michigan. Not only did the crew rescue Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Colby, but the crew used the unloading boom to recover their sailboat and place it on the deck of the SNYDER. The entire maneuver only required 55 minutes.

On September 3, 1899, the Great Lakes Towing Company's RED CLOUD (wooden propeller tug, 62 foot, 40 gross tons, built in 1883, at Buffalo, New York) was sailing on Lake Erie for Lorain, Ohio, when a storm forced her to head for port at Cedar Point, Ohio. However she was thrown on a reef and broke in two - a total loss. The crew made it to Sandusky, Ohio.

On September 3, the BELLE RIVER (now WALTER J. McCARTHY, JR.) set a then Great Lakes record for coal when it loaded 62,802 tons of coal at Superior Midwest Energy Terminal on its maiden voyage. This record has since been surpassed many times.

At Lorain, Ohio keel-laying ceremonies for the 437-foot bow section of the ROGER BLOUGH (Hull#900) took place on September 3, 1968, and was float-launched December 21, 1968, less ballast tanks because the existing dry dock wasn't wide enough to accommodate her 105-foot width.

SOODOC (Hull#210) of 1976, on her maiden voyage from Collingwood, Ontario, loaded salt at Goderich, Ontario, on September 3, 1976. Renamed b.) AMELIA DESGAGNES in 1990.

U.S. Steel's SEWELL AVERY was laid up for the last time September 3, 1981, at Superior, Wisconsin. She was towed to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, in 1987, where the superstructure was removed and the hull was sunk for use as a dock.

THOMAS W. LAMONT was laid up for the last time at Duluth’s Hallett dock #6A on September 3, 1981. She was scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey, in 1987.

H. H. PORTER sailed on her maiden voyage for the Brier Hill Steamship Co. (Pickands Mather, mgr.) on September 3, 1920, light from Lorain, Ohio, to load iron ore at Two Harbors, Minnesota. Renamed b.) WALTER E. WATSON in 1957 and c.) NATIONAL TRADER in 1973. She was scrapped at Thunder Bay, Ontario, in 1978.

On September 3, 1985, PHILIP R. CLARKE plowed into the Drawbridge Cove Marina in Lorain's Black River, damaging 5-10 small craft and sinking one at the steel dock. CLARKE managed to stop before hitting the Route 6 drawbridge.

On September 3,1887, BULGARIA (wooden propeller, 280 foot, 1,888 gross tons) was launched at West Bay City, Michigan, by J. Davidson, as their hull number 16.

September 3, 1910 - The MARQUETTE & BESSEMER NO 2 (Hull#450) was launched in Cleveland, Ohio by the American Ship Building Co. for the Marquette & Bessemer Dock & Navigation Co. She was the replacement for MARQUETTE & BESSEMER NO 2 of 1905, (Hull#428), which foundered on Lake Erie, December 7, 1909.

On September 3, 1869, the 167-foot wooden propeller BOSCOBEL burned about two miles below St. Clair, Michigan. Three lives were lost. The ship was only about two years old and was in service of the New York Central Railroad, though owned by the Peshtigo Lumbering Co. of Chicago. The burned hulk was raised in 1876 and rebuilt as a schooner-barge at Algonac, Michigan. She lasted until 1909, when she sank on Lake Huron.

1905: The GEORGE STEPHENSON was blown aground at Pointe Aux Pins, Lake Superior and struck by her consort barge JOHN A. ROEBLING. Both were released and returned to service.

1942: DONALD STEWART, a canal trader for Canada Steamship Lines, was torpedoed by U-517 and sunk while in a convoy on the Gulf of St. Lawrence while carrying barrels of aviation fuel and bulk cement for the air base at Goose Bay, Labrador. Three members of the engine room crew were lost.

1944: LIVINGSTON, a former Great Lakes canal ship, was torpedoed and sunk by U-541 in the Atlantic about 80 miles east of Cape Breton Island. Fourteen lives were lost but another 14 were spared and rescued.

1965: The tanker EASTERN SHELL sank the small wooden goelette MONT BLANC in a collision blamed on fog about 20 miles from Trois Rivieres. All crewmembers of the pulpwood carrier were rescued.

1970: KENNETH made a single trip to the Great Lakes in 1959. It caught fire in the engine room on this date off the coast of Israel while enroute from Alexandria, Egypt, to Tripoli, Libya, as h) CHRISTINA MARIA. The ship was abandoned by the crew, towed into Haifa, Israel, September 6 and sold to Israeli shipbreakers later in the year.

1998: ORKANGER, a chemical tanker that first came through the Seaway in 1977, began leaking while inbound at Rio Grande, Brazil, as e) BAHAMAS with 12,000 tons of sulphuric acid and sank in the harbor. The hull was eventually refloated but never repaired although it had subsequent renames and was reported as broken up in 2003 as h) ORIENT FLOWER.


Lookback #290 – Donald Stewart torpedoed and sunk on Sept. 3, 1942

9/3 - World War Two was on Canada's doorstep 72 years ago today. The infamous U-517 was prowling the East Coast waters and intercepted convoy LN-7 in the Strait of Belle Isle. A torpedo slammed into the hull of the Donald Stewart, just forward of the engine room, and ignited barrels of gasoline that were being carried on deck.

The vessel was bound for Gander, Newfoundland, and was carrying cement in the hold and drums of fuel on deck. The drums were covered by lumber to support nine large dump trucks and an airport fire engine. In addition to the hole in the hull, barrels of fuel ignited the lumber and the ill-fated freighter sank in seven minutes. Three crew members perished. All were part of the engine room crew.

The loss of the valuable cargo, needed for runway extensions at the Gander airport, delayed the project by six months.

The Donald Stewart was launched at South Bank-on-Tees, England, on April 14, 1923. The ship first worked for the Bruce Trading Co. and then joined the International Waterways Navigation Co. in 1927 before moving to Canada Steamship Lines, due to a litigation judgment, in 1929. The 261-foot-long freighter was designed for the canal trades of that era and operated in and out of the Great Lakes until being needed for wartime service.

The captain of the Donald Stewart had also been the Master of C.S.L.'s Lennox when the latter ship had also been torpedoed and sunk on Feb. 23, 1942. He survived both attacks.