Today in Great Lakes History

[yachtsmanwilly]

Great Lakes water levels may do something only achieved 4 times in last 154 years

10/10 - Grand Rapids, Mich. – This time of year is normally the season when Great Lakes lake levels begin to fall. Typically evaporation is greater than precipitation and runoff from rivers and streams. So there is normally less water going into Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Superior at this time of year. On Lakes Michigan-Huron July is typically the high water month. Lake Superior usually sees peak water level in July or August.

This year is different. Lakes Michigan-Huron, and Lake Superior have continued to rise, even up to now.

Lakes Michigan-Huron have risen 3.1 inches since July. Normally those lakes would have dropped 2.8 inches since July. Lake Superior has risen 1.8 inches, while normally dropping 1.2 inches since July.

When we look at the current rise in levels on Lake Michigan-Huron versus the normal fall, we may have just gained almost six inches. In other words, if all of the rest of fall and winter go exactly normal, Lake Michigan-Huron will start next season's water rise six inches higher than last spring. And that's if everything is normal.

Lake Michigan-Huron is heading toward its peak water level in this month of October. If Lake Michigan-Huron peaks this month, it will be only the fifth time in the last 155 years the high water mark is in this fall month.

Lake Michigan-Huron has never had its high water mark in November. If that happens, we really know we have a bizarre weather pattern.

Over the last seven days, Lake Michigan-Huron has risen 1.3 inches and Lake Superior 1.4 inches. The rise is due to the widespread heavy rain received late last week and this past weekend. Look at the rainfall map. All of the surface of Lake Michigan had over one inch of rain in the past week. Northern Lake Michigan had over three inches of rain on it. That's a quick way to bring water levels higher.

The addition of 1.3 inches of water in Lake Michigan-Huron represents 1.4 trillion gallons of water. The 1.4 inches of new water on Lake Superior equals 770 billion gallons.

With another widespread rain system coming early next week, Michigan's Great Lakes water levels should hold steady, or even rise more.

M Live





Port Reports - October 10

Toledo, Ohio – Jim Hoffman
The saltwater vessel Fritz departed Toledo Thursday after spending several months in Toledo under arrest by the U.S. Marshals Office for non-payment of bills. She is supposed to be bound for Montreal.

Lorain, Ohio – Phil Leon
Joseph H. Thompson came into Lorain about a 6:30 a.m. Thursday and went to Jonick dock #3. She left at 3:10 p.m.





Marine News - October report on demolitions

10/10 - Marine News, the monthly journal of the World Ship Society, reports the following ships with Great Lakes connections going for scrap in the October 2014 issue.

Algoma Transfer, a) J.H. Hillman Jr., b) Crispin Oglebay (ii), c) Hamilton Transfer, d) Canadian Transfer, arrived at Port Colborne under tow from Goderich on May 24, 2014. The ship last sailed in 2011.

Almortada was sold to Turkish shipbreakers and arrived at Aliaga on June 28, 2014. The ship had a less than memorable time on the Great Lakes as a Seaway trader in 1996 and 1997. Built in Porto Alegre, Brazil, as Saronic in 1979, the ship was operating as e) Blue Lagoon when it headed up the Seaway for Detroit in November 7, 1996. It finally arrived there, under tow, on Nov. 11 due to engine failure. An inspection resulted in a citation for violations including oil in bilges, no sewage holding or working refrigeration. The crew staged a strike but the vessel was cleared to sail with a cargo of scrap steel but hit the wall above the Iroquois Lock on Dec. 15, 1996, and was holed in the forepeak. Blue Lagoon returned inland in 1997 but was ordered to anchor at Hamilton when the cargo of steel coils was found to be damaged. A claim for $13 million in damages was filed but the vessel was eventually cleared to proceed. It was operating as f) Almortada when it reached the scrapyard over a decade after its misadventures on the Great Lakes.

Elcastro traded inland during 1981 as b) Breehoek. The ship, which dated from 1972, was known as i) Fadhl Rabi when it was first reported as sold for scrapping at Gadani Beach in June 2013. The ship got a reprieve as j) Elcastro but lasted only until June 4, 2014, when it reached Alang, India. Work on dismantling of the hull got underway on June 22.

Florida II had been a regular Great Lakes visitor under two earlier names. It was built as Bailey at Shimonoseki, Japan, in 1980 and came through the Seaway, under the flag of Panama, the next year. It was sold and renamed b) Elikon in 1989 and was a regular caller around the inland seas registered in Bahamas from 1989 through 2006. These trips were not without incident and included brushing the Nanticoke above Lock 7 on Nov. 23, 1991, and the next day dragging anchor in the Detroit River and bumping the Vandoc (ii) unloading at Windsor. It was delayed as overdraft in Lock 3 on Nov. 3, 1993, due to a faulty ballast tank valve. On another occasion, the ship sustained a gash when it hit the wall at Sault Ste. Marie. Elikon handled a variety of cargoes around the lakes including sugar, wheat, corn, pea beans, flax and steel. It was sold and renamed c) Florida II in 2010 and arrived at Alang, India, for dismantling on June 28, 2014.

Iballa G. was sailing as the Italian tanker a) Pertusola when it came through the Seaway for the first time in 1981. It was sold to Sok Gemi Sokum Ltd. for scrap as c) Iballa G. and arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, on June 18, 2014.

Isa River was built at Shimonoseki, Japan, as Aberdeen in 1982. It came inland through the Seaway in 1984 under the flag of Panama. It was sailing as e) Natris when it was hijacked in Indonesian waters in Nov. 2002 but was subsequently arrested by Malaysian police in the Malacca Strait and resumed regular service. The vessel was sailing as h) Isa River when it reached the scrapyard at Jakarta, Indonesia, for dismantling on May 31, 2014.

Repulse Bay came to the Great Lakes in 1982. It had been built as Alpine Stream in 1977 and was sold several times before becoming e) Repulse Bay again in 2010. The ship was sold to shipbreakers in India and arrived at Alang on May 30, 2014

The saltwater ship San Teodoro had been a Seaway trader as a) Paolo Pittaluga, b) Federal Oslo and c) Yarmouth. It was built at Saiki, Japan, in 1985 and began Seaway trading in 1989. It operated on charter to Fednav from 1991 into 2000 and was a frequent caller around the Great Lakes. This continued after becoming c) Yarmouth in 2000. Another sale brought the final name of d) San Teodoro in 2010 and the ship finished its career away from the Great Lakes. It arrived at Alang, Indian on June 18, 2014, for dismantling.

Lakes-related:
The ocean-going self-unloader CSL Trailblazer served Canada Steamship Lines on saltwater routes as it was too wide for the locks of the Seaway. It spent many years in coastal service on both the Atlantic seaboard and Pacific coast as a) Colon Brown, b) Gold Bond Conveyor, c) Gold Bond Trailblazer and d) CSL Trailblazer. The ship was sold to Chinese shipbreakers and arrived at Xinhui, Guangdong, China, on June 14, 2014.

Scrapping of the tug Thomas de Gauwdief got underway at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, on May 24, 2014. The deep-sea tug dated from 1971 as a) Pauliturm before being renamed in 1985. Its link to Great Lakes shipping was towing the retired lakers Cadillac and Champlain from Quebec City to Aliaga, Turkey, in 1987. The trio departed on Sept. 8 and reached the scrapyard on Oct. 30.

Compiled by Barry Andersen, Rene Beauchamp and Skip Gillham





Storm of 1913 group wins Canadian history award

10/10 - Goderich, Ont. – The Goderich-based Great Lakes Storm of 1913 Remembrance Committee has been acknowledged by the Canada's History Society for its work last year to commemorate the Great Lakes maritime tragedy commonly known as the 'White Hurricane' of 1913. The Committee has been awarded the 2014 Governor General's Award for Community History. This is the third honor bestowed upon the committee. It received a Huron County Heritage Award from the Huron Arts and Heritage Network last April, and, was the recipient of the prestigious Dorothy Duncan Award by the Ontario Historical society in June of 2014. The Governor General's award will be presented in Ottawa at Rideau Hall in November.





Lookback #327 – Willowglen ran aground off Ogden Island on Oct. 10, 1987

The bulk carrier Willowglen, part of the P. & H. Shipping fleet, went aground in the St. Lawrence on the north side of Ogden Island 27 years ago today. The wheat-laden freighter was stuck for three days and had to be lightered before being released on Oct. 13.

Willowglen was sent to Port Weller Dry Docks for repairs. The ship later resumed service and operated until tying up at Owen Sound on Dec. 21, 1992. It arrived at Goderich, under tow, on Aug. 18, 1994, and served as a grain storage barge there until 2005.

This was one of the 16 Maritime-class freighters built for Great Lakes service during World War Two. It was constructed as Mesabi but was renamed Lehigh when it joined the Bethlehem Transportation Co. in 1943. It remained in their service until being sold to the Soo River Co. in 1981.

Renamed c) Joseph X. Robert, the ship came into Canadian service for Robert Pierson's fleet, and then joined P. & H. Shipping as d) Willowglen when Soo River ceased operations.

As Lehigh, this vessel took the first load of ore pellets to Burns Harbor when that port began receiving such shipments in September 1968. Then, as Willowglen, the vessel opened the Welland Canal navigation season on March 26, 1991.

Following a sale to shipbreakers in India, Willowglen set out from Hamilton on Sept. 8, 2005. It was joined on the east coast by the saltwater ship Santa Emma, which had gone aground on April 28, 2005, and was a total loss. The latter broke loose at sea and sank. Willowglen was resold while in transit and purchased by shipbreakers in Turkey. The ship arrived at Aliaga on Oct. 28, 2005, and broken up in the weeks ahead.

Skip Gillham





Today in Great Lakes History - October 10

On this day in 1891, the SUSAN E. PECK collided with the schooner GEORGE W. ADAMS above the Soo Locks. The PECK, loaded with wheat for Buffalo, sank in a matter of minutes and completely blocked the navigation channel. General Orlando M. Poe, in charge of the Soo Locks, estimated that 275 boats lost an estimated 825 days and 5 hours waiting for the wreck to be cleared.

On this day in 1956, two F-86 Saber Jets collided over Lake Michigan. The ERNEST T. WEIR, Captain Ray R. Redecker, rescued one of the pilots (Lt. Kenneth R. Hughes) after he spent three hours in the water. ARTHUR M. ANDERSON, WILLIAM A. IRVIN and GEORGE W. PERKINS participated in an unsuccessful attempt to locate the second pilot.

On October 10, 1902, GARDEN CITY (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 133 foot, 352 gross tons, built in 1873, at Ogdensburg, New York) caught fire on the Saginaw River between Bay City and Saginaw while sailing up the river for winter lay-up. She sank four miles above Bay City near the old interurban railroad bridge.

While downbound with coal in the St. Lawrence River on October 10, 1981, the JEAN PARISIEN suffered considerable bottom damage when she ran aground near Comfort Island about a mile west of Alexandria Bay, New York. She was rebuilt with a new forebody at Port Weller Drydocks and renamed b.) CSL ASSINIBOINE in 2005.

BROOKDALE of 1909 was towed out of Toronto on October 10, 1980, by the tug GLENADA, assisted by the tug TERRY S. She was one her way to the cutters’ torch at Port Maitland, Ontario.

CHAMPLAIN with her former fleet mate CADILLAC was towed past Gibraltar October 10, 1987, heading for Aliaga, Turkey, for dismantling by Cukurova Celik Endustrisi A.S.

SAVIC b.) CLIFFS VICTORY cleared New York on October 10, 1986.

HULL NO 1, b.) KINSMAN ENTERPRISE, being towed by the Polish tug JANTAR arrived in Aliaga, Turkey, on October 10, 1989, to be scrapped there.

October 10, 1906 - The PERE MARQUETTE 5 was sold to The Barry Transportation Co. for $75,000. The PERE MARQUETTE 5 was the last of the "break-bulk" boats operated by the Pere Marquette Railway Co.

On October 10, 1905, CHARLES H. BURTON (3 mast wooden schooner, 158 foot, 514 gross tons, built in 1873, at Bangor, Michigan) was carrying coal in a storm in Lake Erie when she was driven ashore 4 1/2 miles east of Barcelona, New York and broke up. No lives were lost. She had been built on the hull of the bark GLENBULAH that had burned in the Chicago fire of 1871.

On 10 October 1877, ELIZA R. TURNER (wooden schooner, 156 foot, 409 gross tons, built in 1867, at Trenton, Michigan) was carrying wheat from Detroit to Buffalo when a storm drove her aground nine miles west of Long Point on Lake Erie where she was wrecked. The skipper and cook drowned, but the remaining 8 were saved.

The tug CRUSADER of Oswego burned and sank in the middle of the Straits of Mackinac about 9 p.m. on 10 October 1878.

On 10 October 1877, ABEONA (wooden scow-schooner, 100 tons, built in 1863, at Lambert, Ontario) was carrying lumber and shingles down bound on Lake Huron when she stranded during a storm one mile west of Port Austin where she reportedly later broke up.

In 1877, PORTLAND (2-mast wooden schooner, 118 foot, 250 tons, built in 1847, at Pillar Point, New York) stranded and went to pieces north of False Presque Isle on Lake Huron. Salvage attempts only retrieved her anchor and chain.

1923: HURONTON, a Canadian freighter, sank in Lake Superior off Caribou Island following a collision on the foggy lake with the CETUS. The vessel went down in 800 feet of water in 18 minutes but all on board were rescued.

1927: MICHIPICOTEN, of the Owen Sound Transportation Co., was destroyed by a fire at Gore Bay, on Manitoulin Island.

1963: The wooden freighter VAUQUELIN caught fire and sank in the St. Lawrence northeast of Quebec City off Cap Saumon. The vessel had previously sailed as a) LA RIVIERE MALBAIE.

1969: The T-2 tanker CARIBBEAN SKY visited the Seaway for 3 trips in 1960-1961 before being converted to a bulk carrier. The engine exploded and disintegrated during dock trials after repairs at Antwerp, Belgium, as f) LAKE PLACID, with the loss of one life. The hull settled but was pumped out and declared a CTL. It was towed to Rotterdam in 1971, repaired and returned to service as g) GARANDA. The after end again proved to be troublesome and was cut off and scrapped. The bow was joined to after end of the Panamanian tanker AKRON and the ship returned to service under this name. It was finally dismantled in Pakistan during 1981.

1987: The wheat-laden WILLOWGLEN went aground on the north side of Ogden Island in the St. Lawrence. The ship was released on October 13 and later went to Port Weller Dry Docks for repairs.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Today in Great Lakes History - October 13

On this day in 1893, Chief Engineer J. H. Hogan left the DEAN RICHMOND in Toledo to take care of some family business. One day later, the DEAN RICHMOND burned off Dunkirk, New York, with a loss of 17 lives including the replacement Chief Engineer.

On October 13, 1909, GEORGE STONE (wooden propeller freighter, 270 foot, 1,841 gross tons, built in 1893, at W. Bay City, Michigan) was sailing from Ashtabula, Ohio for Racine, Wisconsin, with cargo of coal when she stranded on Grubb Reef in the Pelee Passage on Lake Erie. She then caught fire and was destroyed. Five of the 18 crewmen were lost.

The SASKATCHEWAN PIONEER made her first trip out of Thunder Bay, Ontario with grain on October 13, 1983. Renamed b.) LADY HAMILTON in 1995, sold to Voyageur Maritime in 2006, and now sailing as c.) KAMINISTIQUA for Lower Lakes Towing.

The tug GLENADA towed the BROOKDALE from Port Colborne to Newman's scrap yard at Port Maitland, Ontario the week of October 13, 1980.

On October 13, 1902, the MAUNALOA collided with her whaleback consort barge 129 on Lake Superior and sank it 30 miles northwest of Vermilion Point, which is between Upper Michigan's Crisp and Whitefish Points. MAUNALOA had been towing the 129, both vessels loaded with iron ore, when the towline parted in heavy seas. While trying to regain control of the barge, they came together and the steamer's port anchor raked the side of the barge, which started taking on water. The crew was taken off the barge before it sank.

On 13 October 1875, off Alpena, Michigan, the tug E. H. MILLER had her boiler explode while racing with the tug CITY OF ALPENA - both in quest of a tow. The ALPENA, who was ahead of the MILLER when she blew up, immediately turned around to pick up survivors. The ALPENA sunk in minutes. The engineer, fireman and a boy were rescued, but the captain and cook were lost. The fireman was in such poor shape that it was thought that he would not live.

On 13 October 1877, The Port Huron Times reported that the tug PRINDIVILLE and the 2-masted schooner PORTLAND had both gone ashore at the Straits of Mackinac and been pounded to pieces.

On 13 October 1886, SELAH CHAMBERLAIN (wooden propeller steam barge, 212 foot, 1,207 gross tons, built in 1873, at Cleveland, Ohio) collided with the 222-foot wooden lumber hooker JOHN PRIDGEON, JR. in heavy fog off Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The CHAMBERLAIN had been towing the schooner FAYETTE BROWN. The CHAMBERLAIN sank quickly. Five of the crew went down with the vessel when the lifeboat davits became fouled and they were unable to launch the lifeboat. The rest of the crew made it to shore in the other lifeboat after a 3-hour pull through the fog.

1902: The wooden steamer C. B. LOCKWOOD was swamped in a storm and sank on Lake Erie with the loss of 10 lives.

1927: The ONTARIO, once the largest carferry on the Detroit River, was later reduced to a barge and it foundered on Lake Superior, near Outer Island, while carrying 1100 tons of pulpwood. It had been under tow of the tug BUTTERFIELD and all on board were saved.

1973: SCOTT MISENER damaged 60 bottom plates when it hit bottom near Whaleback Shoal in the St. Lawrence.

1976: The former T2 tanker and now bulk carrier SYLVIA L. OSSA, remembered on the Great Lakes as the MARATHONIAN that was in a head-on collision with ROLWI in Lake Michigan, disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle with the loss of all 37 members of the crew.

1990: ERNA WITT first visited the Great Lakes in 1958 and returned through the Seaway in 1962. The vessel sank off Port Sudan as k) SHIBA after a collision with the ALTAAWIN ALARABI while inbound from Aqaba, Jordan. Three members of the crew were lost.


Port Reports - October 13

Port Inland, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Joseph L. Block was expected to arrive at Port Inland on Sunday in the early evening. There are no vessels scheduled for arrivals on Monday. Wilfred Sykes is due to arrive on Tuesday during the late afternoon to load.

Cedarville, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Joseph L. Block was in port on Sunday. Also at Cedarville on Sunday was the Mississagi anchored and waiting for the Block's departure before taking the dock to load next. Due on Monday in a rare visit will be the Frontenac, in the morning. There are no vessels scheduled to load on Tuesday.

Sturgeon Bay, Wis. – Jim Stiefvater and Daniel Lindner
American Integrity docked at Bay Shipbuilding Saturday evening for unspecified repairs. USCG Mackinaw, which has been drydocked for most of the past summer, departed Sturgeon Bay last week, along with the James L. Kuber and her tug, Victory, which had been in port receiving repairs to its rudders.

Calcite, Mich. – Denny Dushane
American Mariner arrived on Saturday to load and was expected to depart around 2 a.m. on Sunday. Also due to arrive on Sunday was the Lakes Contender / Ken Boothe Sr. in the early afternoon for the North Dock. There are no vessels scheduled to load on Monday.

Stoneport, Mich. – Denny Dushane
John G. Munson loaded at Stoneport on Sunday and was expected to depart around 5 in the afternoon. Also expected to arrive on Sunday during the early afternoon was the Arthur M. Anderson. The Great Lakes Trader is due on Monday with no time listed.

Toledo, Ohio – Denny Dushane
The updated schedule for Toledo lists the James L. Kuber arriving on Tuesday in the early evening to unload an iron ore cargo at the Torco Dock. Also due at the Torco Dock is the H. Lee White, which is due on Wednesday in the early evening. The Baie Comeau is expected to arrive at the Torco Dock on Thursday in the morning hours to unload an iron ore cargo. Due at the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock is the Algomarine on Tuesday, October 21st in the early morning hours. Vessels due to load coal at the CSX Coal Dock include the John J. Boland on Wednesday during the early morning. Also due at the CSX Coal Dock on Wednesday is the Catherine Desgagnes in the early morning. She will pump water for about six hours before loading. The H. Lee White is due at the CSX Coal Dock on Thursday in the early morning. Due at the CSX Coal Dock on Saturday, October 18th are the Ashtabula / Definace in the morning. Algoma Olympic is also due on Saturday, October 18th at the CSX Coal Dock in the early afternoon. Both the American Fortitude along with the American Valor remain in long-term lay-up at Toledo near the Lakefront Docks. Several other vessels were in port at the time of this report. Among them were the tug Huron Service with a barge. Adam E. Cornelius was at the Midwest Terminal Dock unloading a limestone cargo. Cedarglen was at one of the grain elevators upriver. Tecumseh departed Toledo after it had been at one of the grain elevators. Just outside and off of Toledo was the tug Paul L. Luedtke. The saltwater vessel Puffin, registered in Jamaica, was making its way into Toledo.

Toronto, Ont.
The passenger liner Hamburg (formerly Columbus) sailed in the Eastern Gap Saturday afternoon, turned and then docked at the former Rochester ferry slip.





Lookback #330 – Scott Misener damaged near Whaleback Shoal on Oct. 13, 1973

10/13 - Four ships have sailed the Great Lakes named Scott Misener but it is the third ship of this name that carried it the longest and is likely best remembered.

The 684 foot, 6 inch long bulk carrier was Hull 14 from the Port Weller Dry Docks shipyard in St. Catharines and it set sail July 8, 1954, to load grain at the Canadian Lakehead.

The Scott Misener was the first laker with a 10,000 horsepower engine and the first to load over 800,000 bushels of grain. The engine had been salvaged from the American tanker Markay that had caught fire and burned at Wilmington, California, on June 22, 1947.

Scott Misener began service for the Colonial Steamship Co. When the Misener fleet was reorganized as Scott Misener Steamships in 1959, it remained in their operation and this continued after the company became Misener Transportation in 1978.

It was on Oct. 13, 1973, 41 years ago today, that the vessel received damage to 60 bottom plates near Whaleback Shoal in the St. Lawrence. Once refloated, the Scott Misener went to Thunder Bay for repairs.

Size and fuel consumption made this ship less economical in the early 1980s and the vessel was idle at Hamilton from late 1983 until November 1986 when it was reactivated. There was some thought of repowering the steamer but this never happened.

Scott Misener passed down the Welland Canal, under her own power, on May 6, 1990. After unloading grain at Sorel, the vessel remained idle until June 7 when the Russian tug Leopard set out for the scrapping beach at Alang, India. The last voyage, via the Panama Canal, ended when the ship was beached on Oct. 31, 1990.

A retired chief engineer remembers the Scott Misener as “a very dependable ship, stable in a storm and excellent in ice often clearing the path for others.” It was broken up by the Rajesh Iron & Metal Co.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Today in Great Lakes History - October 14

On this day in 1953, Boston Metals Company of Baltimore, Maryland, submitted a successful bid of $118,111 for six retired lakers to be scrapped by the U.S. Maritime Commission. The six boats were the CHACORNAC, COLONEL, MUNISING, NEGAUNEE, YOSEMITE and AMAZON.

On 14 October 1871, the LEVANT (2-mast wooden schooner, 91 foot, 115 tons, built in 1854, at Chicago, Illinois) was loaded with lumber when she was overtaken by a severe gale and went over on her beam ends off Sheboygan, Wisconsin, on Lake Michigan. The 6-man crew lashed themselves to the vessel so as not to be washed away by the waves. Throughout the night the men died one by one. At daylight, the schooner D P DOBBINS found the wreck with floating bodies tied to it and three still alive (two of them were barely alive). One died during the rescue attempt and another died within minutes of being rescued. Only Peter J. Thornum survived.

DEAN RICHMOND (wooden propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 238 foot, 1,432 gross tons, built in 1864, at Cleveland, Ohio) sailed from Toledo, Ohio, on Friday the 13th of October 1893, with a load of bagged meal, flour, zinc and copper ingots. She encountered hurricane force winds of over 60 mph and battled the storm throughout the night. She was seen on 14 October 1893, off Erie, Pennsylvania, missing her stacks and battling the wind and waves. The following day, wreckage and bodies were washing ashore near Dunkirk, New York. Among the dead were the captain, his wife and three children. A few crewmembers managed to make it to shore however all but one died of exposure. The only survivor was found on the beach near Van Buren Point two days later. During the search for bodies, three volunteers lost their lives. The wreck was found in 1984.

The keel to the JAMES R. BARKER was laid on October 14, 1974. She was to become Interlake's first 1000 footer and the flagship of the fleet for Moore McCormack Leasing, Inc. (Interlake Steamship Co., Cleveland, Ohio, mgr.).

On October 14, 1983, the CHI-CHEEMAUN encountered 48-knot winds after departing Tobermory with 113 passengers bound for South Baymouth. Due to high wind and waves the captain decided to find shelter rather than to continue on or return to port. The ferry made her way around the Bruce Peninsula southeast to Dyer Bay where she dropped anchor for the night, however she had no overnight accommodations. Complimentary meals were served and activities were organized by the crew. The anchor was lifted the next morning and the ferry returned to Tobermory.

The GEORGE A. STINSON departed Detroit on her maiden voyage October 14, 1978, light for Superior, Wisconsin, to load iron ore pellets for delivery to the Great Lakes Steel Division of the National Steel Corp. at Zug Island in River Rouge, Michigan. Renamed b.) AMERICAN SPIRIT in 2004.

On 14 October 1875, it was discovered that thieves had completely stripped the canvass and rigging from the schooner FORWARDER owned by Little & Brown. The schooner was lying about three miles below Port Huron.

On 14 October 1822, APPELONA (wooden schooner, 45 foot, 37 tons, built in 1814, at Henderson, New York) was bound from Oswego for Genesee, New York, when she was struck by lightning in Lake Ontario and sank about 15 minutes. All hands were injured but abandoned her for shore and all survived.

The tug NELSON burned at Chicago on Saturday, 14 October 1876. She was one of the smaller class of tugs and the damage was so great that she was not considered to be worth repairing.

October 14, 1911 - The ANN ARBOR NO 4 ran aground while enroute to Manistique, Michigan, at full speed, damaging several plates. The ANN ARBOR NO 3 pulled her off.

On 14 October 1876, NEW YORK (wooden propeller freighter, 183 foot, 704 tons, built in 1856, at Buffalo, New York) was carrying lumber and towing the schooner BUTCHER BOY and barges NELLIE MC GILVERAY and A. J. CORREY from Cove Island in Georgian Bay to Buffalo when they encountered a severe storm near Pointe aux Barques. The towline parted and the NEW YORK could not regain it in the heavy seas. She then sprang a leak and the water rose rapidly enough to put out her fires. The crew (15 men and one woman) abandoned in the yawl as NEW YORK was overwhelmed and sank. The open boat was adrift for five hours when the 74-foot schooner NEMESIS came upon it. NEMESIS tried twelve times to approach the yawl in the rough seas, losing a portion of her deck load of tanbark each time that she came about, but at last she got alongside the yawl. The NEW YORK's crew managed to get aboard the NEMESIS except for Fireman William Sparks, who fell between the yawl and the schooner and was lost. The other vessels in the tow all made it to Port Huron safely.

On 14 October 1883, NELLIE GARDNER (wooden schooner-barge, 178 foot, 567 gross tons, built in 1873, at Marine City, Michigan) was loaded with 39,000 bushels of corn while being towed by the steamer JOHN PRIDGEON JR in a storm on Lake Huron. The GARDNER released herself from the tow in the heavy weather to run for the shelter of Thunder Bay under sail. However, she was unable to make it, and turned back for Tawas, Michigan, but struck a reef, broke in two and was wrecked 1 mile SE of Scarecrow Island. Her crew made it to shore in her yawl.

1895: The wooden steamer AFRICA struck a reef near Cove Island enroute to Georgian Bay, broke up and sank with the loss of all 13 crew.

1922: ARROW, a steel sidewheeler, partially burned at the dock in Put-in-Bay.

1954: The Dutch freighter PRINS WILLEM V. sank off Milwaukee after a collision with the barge SINCLAIR XII pushed by the SINCLAIR CHICAGO. All 30 sailors on board were rescued but the overseas vessel was never salvaged. It was replaced in 1956 by another PRINS WILLEM V.

1966: The STONEFAX and ARTHUR STOVE collided in the Welland Canal between Allanburg and Port Robinson. The former, a member of the Halco fleet, sank with its cargo of potash and remained on the bottom until November 25. The latter subsequently visited the Seaway as b) TIARET and was scrapped at Nantong, China, as c) CLARET in 1984-1985.

1983: The British freighter HOUSTON CITY visited the Great Lakes in 1966. It ran aground at Mayotte Island, part of the Comoros, while enroute from the Far East to South Africa as c) ALPAC AFRICA. The ship was stuck until October 22 and scrapped at Shanghai, China, in 1984.

1985: FURIA was trapped in Lock 7 when a section of the lock wall collapsed. The Welland Canal was closed until November 7. The vessel arrived at Shanghai, China, for scrapping as b) YRIA on November 1, 2001, after it made a final trip inland as such in 2000.

1987: GEORGE A. SLOAN sustained major bottom damage going aground in the Amherstburg Channel and was repaired at Toledo. The ship is still sailing as c) MISSISSAGI.






Power companies low on coal supply for winter, blame rail delays

10/14 - Another major industry in Minnesota is feeling the effects of backlogged railroads due to a surge in traffic on Minnesota’s rails since North Dakota oil trains were added to the mix.

Companies say they’re unhappy with rail service because the supply of trains is no longer able to keep up with the demand for shipping.

The most recent industry to take the hit is the state’s power companies, which could mean higher prices for consumers. Coal generates nearly half of Minnesota’s electricity, and Xcel Energy officials say their coal inventory is about 57 percent of their target inventory for the weeks leading up to winter, MPR News reports.

Tom Imbler, Xcel Energy’s vice president for commercial operations, told MPR News that the company isn’t satisfied with the service, putting most of the blame on BNSF Railway, which delivers coal from the western U.S. to Xcel Energy’s central Minnesota plant.

Imbler told the station that although the inventory is lower than desired it’s not critical at this point, noting consumers will have the electricity they need this winter.

Xcel Energy isn’t the only utility company that’s feeling the effects of rail delays. Minnesota Power announced in September it’s shutting down four generators for three months in to preserve the limited supply of coal on hand as winter approaches.

Otter Tail power’s Big Stone power plant is about 20 percent below normal and the plant manager told MPR News that if coal supplies are too low this winter, companies will have to pay more to buy electricity on the open market, which will likely result in higher prices for consumers.

Some industries have criticized BNSF Railway for giving preference to oil trains, but officials said last month that even oil companies are experiencing a backlog in service, blaming delays on winter weather and increased traffic. Railroad officials say they’re aware of the problem and are spending millions to build more tracks, which is expected to speed up rail service.

Other industries are affected.

For months, Minnesota grain farmers have been critical of the backlogged trains. Famers have started harvesting one of the biggest harvests the state has ever seen, but much of it is likely headed for storage bins because there aren’t trains available to haul it to market. Any corn or soybeans loaded onto trains will cost farmers far more than they used to.

WCCO says numbers provided by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture showed the cost of shipping grain by rail is about five times more than it was a few years ago – rising from an average of $750 per rail car to nearly $6,000. It’s estimated that rail shipping has already cost farmers $100 million.

Minnesota’s construction industry has also expressed concern about the state’s railways, saying the demand for concrete is growing due to a building boom and the new Minnesota Vikings stadium. Some companies have had to switch suppliers to get fly ash – a byproduct of coal that’s used in making cement, an ingredient in concrete, to fill the demand, FOX 9 reported.

Taconite plants in northeastern Minnesota have been unable to ship what they’ve mined. Earlier this month, Cliff Natural Resources said rail delays have forced the company to ship iron ore pellets on trucks.

For the next two months, the company will load about 100 trucks every day to send the pellets from Hibbing Taconite to the Duluth-Superior harbor, where they’ll be loaded onto ships and sent to steel customers in states along the Great Lakes, the Star Tribune reported. Taconite producers are hoping to get this done before winter comes and shuts down lake shipping, which typically happens in mid-January, the newspaper said.

Last month, 40 legislators from five committees listened to hours of testimony about the money railroad delays are costing the state’s businesses. The hearing didn’t lead to any immediate action, but lawmakers are considering what steps they may take when the Legislative session begins in January.

More than 40 legislators from five committees heard four hours of testimony about the money and headaches railroad delays are costing farmers, mines, power plants and passengers.

BringMeTheNews.com





Harbors, freighters benefit from high water levels

10/14 - Leland, Mich. – Water levels in the Great Lakes are higher than they've been in more than a decade and those levels are having an impact on those who work and live on the water.

The higher levels make it easier for boats to get in and out of harbors and allow freighters to carry larger loads.

“It's an asset for the harbor, the loss of beach is not so good,” said Leland Harbor Master Russell Dzuba.

Water levels in the Leland Harbor are up about two feet from last year meaning bigger boats can get in and out much easier.

“That means more traffic, more people coming to the village for all the merchants, not just a store here but the restaurants and all the business owners,” said Leland Mercantile Co. Manager, Dale Schaub.

On a larger scale-this is also having a major effect on the great lakes shipping industry.

“Because the water level has come up significantly here are ships are caring more cargo,” said Vice President for the Lake Carriers’ Association, Glen Nekvasil. “The biggest ships in the fleet have actually come close to 70 tons in a single trip this year and that is quite an improvement.”

That’s about 10,000 tons more per shipment, which is more than a 3 percent increase over the long-term average for September.

Higher water could help save money for towns on the shore. “It's entirely possible that we may go one year without being dredged,” said Dzuba.

Dredging costs about $200,000, but if the water levels remain, it won't be necessary.

“The negative in the Leland is our beaches we lost,” said Dzuba. “Our beach is just gone. Our water level goes right up to the dune grass now.”

But he said overall it will help the community. “High water is better than low water,” said Dzuba. “We’ll take it any day.”

UpNorthLive





Bowmanville plant looks into mining below Lake Ontario

10/14 - Clarington, Ont. – It’s still in the works but St. Marys Cement Inc. has plans to head below Bowmanville’s stretch of Lake Ontario to meet some of its mining needs.

The company has started meeting with the public on its plans to build a mine under Lake Ontario, a mine they believe could operate for up to 100 years.

St. Marys is seeking the limestone aggregate beneath the lake floor and the proposed mine would go approximately 170 metres deep and cover an area of 49 sq, km. According to Wilson Little, a consultant with St. Marys, mining operations would only take up a fraction of that area though and present “absolute minimal impacts” to the lake and surrounding area, with few safety issues.

“Our existing quarry is beside and below the lake level and we have had very little water come through the rock,” he said. “Because of its proximity to the proposed mine, we are confident we won’t have any problems.”

Chris Darling, a representative of the Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority, which has responsibility for the nearby wetlands, attended the company’s public meeting on Sept. 17. He said his group is seeking more information on the project and is looking to an environmental impact study done by the company.

“It’s too early to identify what the environmental concerns are,” said Mr. Darling of the project. “We have no idea the extent of the blasting or the impacts it could have.

“We are waiting for more information to determine what our concerns are.”

The mining project is being driven by how increasingly expensive mining operations are becoming in the Greater Toronto Area and the high costs of transporting material from more distant mines, said Mr. Little.

“It’s very difficult to get licensed to extract for new operations in the GTA,” said Mr. Little, who added St. Marys has had difficulties in the past. “We want to be close to the GTA so we’re going under the lake.”

According to information provided by the company, over the next 25 years Ontario will require four billion tonnes of aggregate. Mr. Little estimated, St. Marys could extract upwards of four million tonnes a year from the lake mine if it goes into operation.

The project is still a long way off, with the company just starting to hold public meetings on the subject. It still needs to go through some approvals by the municipality and licensing from the province.

DurhamReigion.com





Port Reports - October 14

Houghton/Hancock, Mich.
Algowood brought in a load of road salt on Sunday.

Port Inland, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Cuyahoga is expected to arrive on Tuesday during the early morning. Due on Tuesday in the early evening is the Wilfred Sykes. There are no vessels scheduled on Wednesday. Three vessels are expected to arrive on Thursday, with the Buffalo due first in the early morning, followed by the Joseph L. Block. Manitowoc is due Thursday in the early evening.

Cedarville, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Frontenac, making a rare visit, loaded on Monday. There are no vessels scheduled until Thursday, when three are expected to arrive. Due in first will be the Joseph L. Block, followed by the Great Republic, both in the early evening. Rounding out the schedule will be the Lewis J. Kuber, due in the late evening on Thursday.

Sturgeon Bay, Wis. – Daniel Lindner
ASC's 1,000-foot American Integrity arrived Sturgeon Bay over the weekend for unknown reasons. As of Sunday night, she was docked in port. Also, the USCG Mackinaw, which has been drydocked for most of the past summer, departed Sturgeon Bay last week, along with the James L. Kuber and her tug, Victory, which had been in port receiving repairs to its rudders.

Stoneport, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Great Lakes Trader was expected to arrive on Monday in the early evening to load. Also due in the late evening was the Pathfinder. Lewis J. Kuber was expected to arrive at midnight on Monday to load. For Tuesday, due in the early morning is the Manistee. Two vessels round out the schedule for Wednesday with the Arthur M. Anderson due in first during the early afternoon followed by the Algorail in the early evening.

Calcite, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Due on Tuesday at noon is the Philip R. Clarke arriving for the South Dock. There are no vessels scheduled on Wednesday. Due in Thursday in the early evening is the James L. Kuber for the South Dock. Two vessels are due on Friday, with the Lakes Contender arriving first in the early morning for the South Dock. Adam E. Cornelius is due in the late evening for the South Dock. There are no vessels scheduled to load Saturday and Sunday. Rounding out the schedule on Monday, October 20th in the early afternoon is the Lakes Contender for the North Dock.

Toledo, Ohio – Denny Dushane
James L. Kuber is expected to arrive at the Torco Dock in the early morning on Wednesday to unload iron ore pellets. Also expected to arrive Wednesday in the early evening will be H. Lee White for the Torco Dock. Baie Comeau is due to arrive at Torco during the morning Thursday. Due at the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock will be Algomarine on Tuesday, October 21 in the early morning. Due to load coal at the CSX dock will be the John J. Boland on Wednesday in the morning. Catherine Desgagnes is also due on Wednesday just before midnight. Due on Thursday at CSX is the H. Lee White in the early morning. Rounding out the schedule are three vessels on Saturday at CSX, with Algoma Olympic arriving first in the morning followed by the Ashtabula / Defiance. Algoma Enterprise is also due on Saturday in the early evening. Vessels in port at the time of this report included Manitowoc at the Midwest Terminal Dock, Cedarglen and the saltwater vessel Puffin of Jamaica loading grain cargoes upriver at the elevators. Tug Huron Service and a barge remain in port. The tug Petite Forte with its barge the St. Marys Cement were also making their way into port to unload at the St. Marys Cement dock along the Maumee River.





Lakes Superior, Michigan 6 degrees colder than last year; How will that affect our winter?

10/14 - Grand Rapids, Mich. – Lakes Superior and Lake Michigan are currently six degrees colder than last year. If the water continues to remain colder than normal, it could have an impact on Michigan's winter in several ways.

Currently Lake Superior has an average surface water temperature of 47.6 degrees. Last year on this date Lake Superior was at 53.7 degrees. The long-term average water temperature on Lake Superior for October 11 is 51.1 degrees.

So Lake Superior is 6.1 degrees colder than this time last year, and 3.5 degrees colder than normal.

Lake Michigan has an average surface water temperature of 56.0 degrees, while last year at this time it was 62.1 degrees. The long-term average water temperature on Lake Michigan for October 11 is 58.4 degrees.

Lake Michigan is also 6.1 degrees colder than this time last year, and 2.4 degrees colder than average. Lake Huron is 5 degrees colder than last year, and only 1.5 degrees colder than normal.

The Great Lakes surrounding Michigan, especially Lake Superior and Lake Michigan, influence our winter temperatures and snowfall.

A warmer Lake Superior and Lake Michigan can really have a modifying effect on bitter cold temperatures. For example, in an early season cold outbreak, Green Bay, WI may have a temperature of 20 degrees. Traverse City, on our side of Lake Michigan, may hold in the mid 30s for temperatures. There is a 10 to 20 degree warming effect from Lake Michigan, and also Lake Superior.

But if the lake temperatures continue at this colder pace, cold air will have an easier time moving into Michigan. So the first impact of cold water could be earlier cold temperatures in November and December. If the lakes continue through winter colder than normal, freezing over of the lakes would happen earlier.

As for snow, part of Michigan's snow is obviously lake effect snow. Lake effect snow is heaviest when the lake waters are warm, and the air above is very cold. The bigger the difference in lake to air temperature, the more intense the snow can fall. Colder lake waters would mean lake effect snow could be not as intense. That is not to say we won't still have what some would call heavy snow. It means the 24 to 36 inch lake effect snows in one to two days would be harder to achieve.

The colder water, as mentioned above, could freeze earlier. This would end the lake effect snow season earlier.

So, to summarize, if the lakes stay colder than normal, our air could get colder earlier in winter, but lake effect may not be as heavy. But November is important.

If we went into an extended stretch of warmer than normal temperatures for the rest of October and November, the lakes wouldn't cool as fast as normal. So this whole situation above could actually be reversed by the time we get to December 1. There currently is some indication that the next two to three weeks will average slightly warmer than normal.

M Live

[yachtsmanwilly]

Sure, there were pirates in the Caribbean, but the Great Lakes had them too

10/15 - Michigan Radio's M I Curious project is a news experiment where the station investigates questions submitted by the public about our state and its people. As part of the project, Shelly Scott asked Michigan Radio this question: Have there ever been pirates on the Great Lakes?

Scott is an engineer at Ford and she’s also a leader of her daughter’s Girl Scout troop. These 5th grade girls had some questions about freshwater pirates too:

“What do pirate ships look like? Was there any pirate treasure in the Great Lakes? How did they get away with stealing other people’s treasure?” asked Maria Kokko, Lilli Semel and Shannon Scott.

I took all of the Girl Scouts’ questions with me to Toledo to talk with Chris Gillcrist. He’s the executive director of the new National Museum of the Great Lakes.

“Although the pirates of the Great Lakes generally didn’t have parrots on their shoulder, and rarely walked with a piece of wood for their leg, there were pirates on the Great Lakes,” he says.

The most famous Great Lakes pirate operated around the turn of the 20th century. Gillcrist says Dan Seavey is the only man known to be formally charged with piracy on the Great Lakes.

“His most famous race is when he steals the Nellie Johnson, a little schooner, and is chased across Lake Michigan by the U.S. Revenue Cutter Services, and is eventually caught, put in irons — that’s something that’s very pirate-y — and brought to justice,” Gillcrist says.

Gillcrist says Seavey was known for putting up fake port lights so that ships coming in would crash on the rocks. Then, his people would board the ship and steal its cargo. Up until the mid-1800s, there was a Wild West mentality on the Great Lakes. Pirates stole beaver pelts, timber and sometimes entire ships.

He says pirate ships looked like every other boat sailing on the lakes: a schooner or a sloop. Back then, boats moved faster than the written word, so it was easy to get away with piracy.

“There’s no phone; there's no telegraph until the 1860s, 1870s and in that void, it was easy to steal a cargo and take it 20 miles down the road and sell it before word could get out,” says Gillcrist.

Should we break out our treasure maps? “Yes, there were boats that sank with gold on it,” says Gillcrist. Banks on the East Coast shipped gold to banks in Chicago and Detroit and other cities around the Great Lakes. But he says the people who insured that gold went to any length to get it back.

“The odds are all of that was recovered and there’s no need to run down and take a scuba lesson to go think you’re going to go make a lot of money finding gold on Great Lakes shipwrecks,” he says.

We had one more question from the Girl Scout troop: Carolyn Cheyne asked, “I was wondering why pirates talk like they do like in movies… like why do they say 'arrrgh' so much?”

Chris Gillcrist says Great Lakes pirates sounded just like everyone around them.

“You’re going to find pirates with a Scandanavian accent up in the Wisconsin area," he says. "You're going to have more of a German-Irish dialect down in Ohio.”

Gillcrist says pirates in our region were tough. But they were practical too. They wore knitted wool caps and mittens and sweaters. “It wasn’t usually a cardigan, it would’ve been a pullover, perhaps a turtleneck because it was cold in October-November,” he says.

And they were more domestic than you might’ve guessed. When the lakes iced over, the sweater-wearing pirates would head home until May.

Michigan Radio





Port Reports - October 15

Buffalo, N.Y. – Brian W
The Ken Boothe Sr. and barge Lakes Contender was expected in port late Tuesday.





Lookback #332 – Singapore Trader grounded among the Thousand Islands on Oct. 15, 1971

10/15 - The aging Singapore Trader did not get far on its initial voyage into the Great Lakes in October 1971. It was carrying general cargo from Japan to Detroit when it stranded off Blanket Island in the Thousand Islands region of the St. Lawrence on Oct. 15, 1971.

The accident of 43 years ago today led to the eventual scrapping of the ship. It remained securely on the bottom for 44 days before being released. Instead of continuing its voyage inland, the vessel was unceremoniously towed to Montreal arriving on Dec. 16. The ship was arrested in an effort to recoup costs and offered for sale in May 1972 by a court order.

Singapore Trader was purchased by Spanish shipbreakers and the vessel arrived at Santander, under tow, on June 22, 1972, for dismantling.

I suspect that those who broke up the hull had no idea of the ship's historic past. The vessel had been built at Wilmington, North Carolina, and completed on Nov. 18, 1944, as the Torrance.

The 459 foot 11 inch long vessel was rebuilt as an “attack cargo ship” at Hoboken, NJ, and headed for duty in the Pacific. There it carried military cargo and landing craft as American Forces gradually recaptured the islands leading to the approach to Japan. The Torrance shot down two enemy aircraft and received one battle star for its work.

Skip Gillham





Today in Great Lakes History - October 15

On this day in 1893, according to reports in Buffalo newspapers, First Mate Ben Lewis was washed off the decks of the JAY GOULD during a storm. A succeeding wave picked him up and dropped him back on the deck of the GOULD.

On October 15, 1871, LA PETITE (wooden schooner, 94 foot, 122 gross tons, built in 1866, at Huron, Ohio) was carrying lumber from Alpena, Michigan, to Huron, Ohio, when she was caught in a terrific gale on Lake Huron. The heavy seas carried away the lumber strapped on deck. Then the vessel sprang a leak and turned on her beam ends. Capt. O. B. Smith, his wife, and four other sailors rode out the storm on the wreck until found by the tug BROCKWAY. The schooner was towed to Port Huron and repaired.

On her maiden voyage, Branch Lines new tanker LEON SIMARD was spotted traveling eastward on the St. Lawrence River on October 15, 1974. Renamed b.) L'ORME NO 1 in 1982. Sold off the lakes, renamed c.) TRADEWIND OCEAN in 1997 and d.) AMARA in 2001.

The self-unloader WOLVERINE departed the American Ship Building Co., October 15, 1974, on her maiden voyage from Lorain, Ohio, light to load stone at Stoneport, Michigan, for delivery to Huron, Ohio.

HERBERT C. JACKSON cleared Fraser Shipyard on October 15, 1988, after having the 1000 h.p. bowthruster motor installed from the JOHN SHERWIN. The motor from the JACKSON was later repaired and placed in the SHERWIN's cargo hold for future use.

The PAUL H. CARNAHAN came out on her maiden voyage October 15, 1961.

On October 15, 1984, JOHN O. McKELLAR of 1952, was sold to P.& H. Shipping of Parrish & Heimbecker Ltd., Mississauga, Ont., and renamed b.) ELMGLEN.

Scrapping began on October 15, 1988, of JOHN T. HUTCHINSON at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, by Li Chong Steel & Iron Works Co. Ltd.

C. H. McCULLOUGH JR was laid up on October 15, 1969, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

COVERDALE (Hull#34) was launched at Midland, Ontario, on October 15, 1949, for Canada Steamship Lines, Montreal, Quebec. Renamed b.) GEORGE HINDMAN in 1973 and c.) MELDRUM BAY in 1979. Scrapped at Lisbon, Portugal in 1985.

SCOTT MISENER of 1954 struck bottom on October 15, 1973, near Whaleback Shoal on the St. Lawrence River reportedly damaging 60 of her bottom plates. She proceeded to the Port Arthur shipyard for drydocking and repairs from October 20th through the 28th.

On October 15, 1980, the NIPIGON BAY, loaded with ore for Hamilton, Ontario, grounded at the "crossover" near Brockville, Ontario, on the St. Lawrence River and sustained a 100-foot rip in her bottom plates. She proceeded to Thunder Bay arriving there on October 24th where repairs were made at an estimated cost of $500,000.

R. P. MASON (3 mast wooden schooner, 115 foot, 155 gross tons, built in 1867, at Grand Haven, Michigan) was bound from Chicago for Detroit when she struck a rocky reef near Waugoshance Point in the Straits of Mackinac on October 8. 1871. Water gushed in an 8-foot hole. However, she was temporarily patched and her cargo of grain, flour and meat was taken off over the next few days. The tug LEVIATHAN took her in tow, going to Little Traverse Bay when, on October 15, they encountered a gale near Cross Village, Michigan. The MASON broke free and capsized. 5 died and 4 were rescued. The MASON drifted ashore upside down. She was eventually salvaged and sailed for another 46 years. She ended her days when she burned in Lake Michigan in 1917.

The tug DOUGLAS caught fire near Wyandotte while going down the Detroit River and sank. The crew all jumped overboard and was saved by the steam yacht JOSEPHINE, except for John Cassidy, one of the firemen, who drowned. A few days later, plans were made to raise and rebuild the DOUGLAS.

On October 15,1871, R. G. COBURN (wooden propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 193 foot, 867 tons, built in 1870, at Marine City, Michigan) was carrying 15,000 bushels of wheat, 3,500 barrels of flour and 30 barrels of silver ore from Lake Superior to Detroit. As she came down Lake Huron, she encountered a terrific gale that had driven most vessels to seek shelter. The COBURN fought the wind at Saginaw Bay throughout the night until she lost her rudder and turned broadside to the waves. Her large stack fell and smashed the cabin area and then the cargo came loose and started smashing holes in the bulwarks. About 70 passengers were aboard and almost all were terribly seasick. As the ship began her final plunge beneath the waves, only a few lifeboats were getting ready to be launched and those were floated right from the deck as the ship sank. 32 people perished, including Capt. Gilbert Demont. No women or children were saved.

On October 15, 1900, the wooden 186-foot freighter F. E. SPINNER was sunk in a collision with the steamer H. D. COFFINBERRY in the St. Marys River. She was raised from 125 feet of water, one of the deepest successful salvage operations to that time. She was later renamed HELEN C and lasted until 1922.

October 15, 1910 - After the sinking of the PERE MARQUETTE 18 of 1902, built at Cleveland, Ohio, the previous September, a new PERE MARQUETTE 18 of 1911, was ordered by the Pere Marquette Railway from the Chicago Ship Building Co.

On 15 October 1871, the EXCELSIOR (3-mast wooden schooner, 156 foot, 374 gross tons, built in 1865, at Buffalo, New York) was struck by a gale near Thunder Bay on Lake Huron. She sailed through the early morning hours only to sink about 4:30 a.m. Only Charles Lostrom survived. He was on the cabin roof, which blew off when the vessel went down. Mr. Lostrom remained on the floating roof-raft for two days and two nights until he was rescued by fishermen near South Hampton light on the Canadian side of Lake Huron.

1916: The wooden bulk freighter L. EDWARD HINES was sold to Nicaraguan owners and left the Great Lakes in 1916. The ship had loaded coal in New Orleans for Venezuela for its maiden voyage on this date in 1916 but got caught in a hurricane and sank with the loss of 17 lives while 45 miles east of Belize, British Honduras.

1971: SINGAPORE TRADER was upbound with general cargo from Japan to Detroit, on its first trip to the Great Lakes, when it ran aground in the Thousand Islands. The vessel was released on November 29 and towed back to Montreal on December 16. The ship was arrested there and offered for sale, by court order. The successful bidder for the 27-year-old vessel was a shipbreaker at Santander, Spain, and the ship arrived there for dismantling on June 22, 1972.

1977: The three-year old Panamanian bulk carrier GOLDEN STAR damaged its rudder when it struck the opposite bank while backing from the dock at Huron, Ohio. The vessel, bound for the United Kingdom, needed four tugs when it was towed out of the Seaway for repairs at Sorel, QC. The vessel was last noted as c) FUN JIN under the flag of Panama in 1993.

1978: The West German freighter FRANCISCA SARTORI made 21 trips through the Seaway from 1959 through 1967. It was lying at Piraeus, Greece, as f) GIOTA S. when the engine room flooded on this date in 1978. The ship departed for Chalkis on October 24, 1979, but further leaks developed and the vessel had to be beached at Laurium, Greece.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Port Reports - October 16

Port Inland, Mich.
Wilfred Sykes was loading Wednesday in the morning.

Sturgeon Bay, Wis. - Daniel Lindner
The American Integrity departed Sturgeon Bay at 2 p.m. Wednesday after receiving some type of repairs. At 9 p.m. she was eastbound off Port Inland, MI, heading for the Straits of Mackinac with no destination posted.

Burns Harbor, Ind.
The 1,000-footer Burns Harbor was unloading in its namesake port on Wednesday.

Buffalo, NY – Brian W.
Ken Boothe Sr. and barge Lakes Contender were unloading stone at the Gateway Metroport Terminal on the North East end of the Lackawanna Canal Wednesday.





Overloaded rails stymie pellet, coal businesses in Minnesota

10/16 - Duluth, Minn. – The titans of industry converged on the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Kirby Ballroom in the name of railway safety Tuesday. But all anyone wanted to talk about were the hardships brought to bear by Minnesota rail lines clogged with oil being transported from North Dakota’s Bakken oil field.

U.S. Steel said one of its Iron Range operations went 20 days between trains and that it is storing 250,000 tons of pellets it’s unable to transport by rail to the Duluth-Superior harbor.

Cliffs Natural Resources reported it was stockpiling 140,000 tons of taconite pellets in Hibbing, where “we’re not designed to have large quantities of stockpile,” said Terry Fedor, the company’s executive vice president of United States iron ore.

Minnesota Power said it would need 1.2 trains per day through the season to restock coal at its northern Minnesota power plants, but that its rail service is “on again, off again,” said Al Rudek, the utility’s vice president of strategy and planning.

At times, the heavyweights of coal, taconite and power didn’t sound titanic at all. They were frustrated, but appreciative for the opportunity to gather around Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton.

“When a governor and a U.S. senator are paying attention, that’s very helpful,” said Christopher Masciantonia, U.S. Steel’s general manager-state government affairs, who was in from U.S. Steel headquarters in Pittsburgh.

Masciantonia was referring to a letter penned by Dayton and U.S. Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar on Monday to the federal Surface Transportation Board. In the letter, the state contingent of politicians addressed service problems and called on railroad companies like BNSF to provide things like “coal service recovery plans.”

“It feels like they’re running from one problem to the next,” said Rudek, who said Minnesota Power was caught up on coal last January only to fall so far behind it would now need nine full trains per week to catch up.

Fedor said Cliffs’ iron ore mining operations are being treated like “second-class” compared to the oil that’s coming out of the Bakken oil fields; 70 percent of that oil is crossing Minnesota by rail, the industry leaders were told. Figures used at the meeting said oil transportation on the rails has doubled since a year ago and figures to double again over the next nine years.

Larry Sutherland, U.S. Steel’s general manager for Minnesota ore operations, said his company’s operations produce 27 million tons of steel products annually — from sheet steel used in the automotive industry to tin cans used in food processing — and that its Minntac mine in Virginia is the largest taconite producer in the country. Almost a year ago, Sutherland said, U.S. Steel’s Keetac mine in Keewatin began to experience “a real decline in service performance to move our products out of that facility.”

To a person, the business leaders said the service deterioration began about a year ago. They mentioned BNSF repeatedly. They said they also have experienced difficulty with Canadian National Railway. Progress has been made through face-to-face meetings, but it’s been tough to keep rail leaders’ attention at times, they said.

Mary Tourville is a manager at the NewPage paper mill in Duluth. She said her company has experienced delays moving paper that are double and triple the normal delivery times. Costs for trucking its product have increased for NewPage by $250,000 per month, Tourville said, to make up for the delays in rail shipments.

“We’re a small peg, but we do matter,” she said. “There are a lot of paper suppliers in the state of Minnesota.”

With the Bakken oil boom threatening to shut out the rest of industry, Rudek called for solutions ranging from the creation of railway competition — he said there are only four transporters now compared to previous eras with up to 26 train transport companies — to installing pipelines along the same corridors already established by the utility’s power lines and their right of ways.

The governor convened the series of six statewide meetings originally to discuss railway safety, in particular legislative initiatives now in place to provide disaster response and preventative safety.

“The oil coming through our communities from North Dakota and Alberta (Canada) is particularly problematic if there is a fire or explosion,” said state Rep. Frank Hornstein, D-Minneapolis.

The meeting drew fire chiefs and other first responders from throughout the Northland. To hear the corporations talk, it was as if the emergency had already begun.

“I’ll keep redirecting their attention,” Dayton said of the rail industry. “I’m very willing to do that.”

There was no rail representation at the round table.

Duluth News Tribune





Oilsands supertanker Genmar Daphne in St. Lawrence awaits new fire pump

10/16 - Les Escoumins, Que. – A supertanker on its way to collect oilsands bitumen from a port in the St. Lawrence River is being held by Transport Canada because of a problem with the emergency fire equipment on board.

The Genmar Daphne — a 240-metre-long vessel — was on its way to a port at Sorel-Tracy, Que., before it was anchored at Les Escoumins by Transport Canada.

The government agency identified a problem with the emergency fire pump on the ship.

"The vessel will be authorized to resume its route only when the repairs have been carried out to the satisfaction of Transport Canada," reads a news release issued by the Transport Ministry.

The Genmar Daphne is one of 20 to 30 supertankers expected to travel the St. Lawrence River to pick up oilsands bitumen transported to the area by train.

Sorel-Tracy's mayor, Serge Péloquin, says it's a good sign that Transport Canada is reacting to the technical problems on the Genmar Daphne, But he says more needs to be done to make sure these ships are safe.

"It's good news that this was caught," said Péloquin. "But will Transport Canada catch all of these issues? I hope so, but I doubt it."

He says Transport Canada's vigilance is a good first step to establishing confidence in the system.

Since July, Suncor has been transporting diluted bitumen from Alberta by train to a storage facility in Sorel-Tracy owned by Kildair Services.

A year ago, ships wider than 32 metres weren’t allowed in that part of the St. Lawrence River, but the federal government increased the allowable size in December 2013.

The oil tanker flies the flag of the Marshall Islands, a North Pacific nation. It arrived in Les Escoumins — across the St. Lawrence from Rimouski — on Oct. 12.

In a statement, Suncor says the ships are subject to inspections by both Transport Canada and Suncor. It says Suncor found the problem during an internal investigation, and signalled the issue to Transport Canada as part of the requirements of travelling in Canadian waters.

The vessel has ordered new fire pump equipment which will be fitted and tested before receiving permission to enter the Sorel-Tracy port.

CBC





Cleveland Metroparks will revive water-taxi service

10/16 - Cleveland, Ohio – Cleveland Metroparks commissioners have approved purchase of a 26-foot boat that will become a water taxi on the Cuyahoga River next year.

The purchase would mark the return of a service that was popular in the 1980s and '90s, when the restaurants and bars in the Flats were at the zenith of their popularity.

According to the park board agenda, the vessel should go into service by Memorial Day 2015, ferrying people between the east and west banks of the river, with additional stops added "as opportunities develop."

The idea was a joint proposal advanced earlier this year by Metroparks CEO Brian Zimmerman; Kate Brown, Metrohealth Systems' vice president of foundation and system philanthropy; and other members of Leadership Cleveland.

He said a pontoon design was considered but the so-called yacht was preferred because of greater stability and maneuverability.

Zimmerman said "yacht" is a misnomer because "it really looks more like a modified tugboat." It will have bow thruster that will aid in traversing the river, in going up and down stream and in docking. It will also have a bike rack, he said.

Cleveland.com





Park Service considers fee to visit ice caves

10/16 - Duluth, Minn. – Tens of thousands of people parked their vehicles and walked out to the breathtaking ice caves along Apostle Islands National Lakeshore last winter — so many that it stressed the budget of the National Park Service property.

On Wednesday, Park Service officials announced a proposal to charge a $5 fee for visitors age 12 and older who walk out to the caves during the occasional winters that offer enough ice to make the trip.

During the unusually cold winter of early 2014, some 138,000 people visited the caves through the park’s Meyers Beach area.

“This unprecedented visitation received national and even international attention and was driven largely by the widespread use of social media to spread news of the ice cave phenomenon,’’ Apostle Islands officials noted in a news release Wednesday.

“We believe the Ice Caves Special Event has now entered the national and international consciousness in such a way that visitation of this magnitude will now be the norm, rather than the exception. The Ice Caves Event in 2014 brought in nearly 10 million dollars in revenue to the local communities.”

The $5 charge would help the small park recover some of the cost of directing traffic, policing the ice, providing portable toilets and cleaning up the debris left behind by the crowds.

Currently the park charges a parking fee at Meyers Beach of $3 per car. During the Ice Cave event the majority of cars parked on Highway 13 and in temporary lots, and thus paid nothing. As a result the park collected only $47,000, a fraction of what it actually cost to manage this event. The Friends of Apostle Islands contributed $16,000 to assure that toilets were brought in and kept pumped, the National Park Service Midwest Region contributed funding, and many local partners and agencies contributed in-kind services and staff.

“We are committed to keeping the park affordable but we also want to provide visitors with the best possible experience while not over burdening our partners,’’ said Chris Smith, acting superintendent.

Public open houses have been set for Oct. 22 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center in Ashland and Oct. 23 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Headquarters, 415 Washington Ave. in Bayfield.

Duluth News Tribune





Lookback #333 – Rio Orinoco went aground off Anticosti Island on Oct. 16, 1990

10/16 - The tanker Rio Orinoco first came to the Great Lakes heading up bound on July 5, 1984. The 431-foot-long vessel was registered in the Cayman Islands and was operating under her third name at the time.

The ship was been built at Fredrikstad, Norway, in 1976 and first sailed as Joasla. It moved from Norwegian to Swedish registry when it became Orinoco in 1979 and then became Rio Orinoco in 1982.

It was 24-years ago today, Oct. 16, 1990, that the asphalt-laden tanker stranded off Anticosti Island, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The crew of 25 was airlifted to safety by helicopter but the ship was securely on the bottom.

Attempts to release the ship failed and some cargo escaped but this did not become the ecological disaster that some had feared. The asphalt solidified in the cargo hold but it was not until Aug. 9, 1991, that the ship was refloated.

The salvors, Desgagnes Transports, were awarded the ship as payment for their efforts. After being refurbished at Lauzon, Quebec, the vessel resumed trading as Thalassa Desgagnes in 1993. It was initially on saltwater routes but began Great Lakes trading in 1996. It has been a frequent caller to inland ports since that time.

Skip Gillham





Today in Great Lakes History - October 16

On this day in 1950, the JOHN M. McKERCHEY of the Kelley's Island Lime and Transport Company sank at 2:30 a.m. while returning from the pumping grounds with a load of sand. Captain Horace S. Johnson went down with the boat, but the remaining 19 crewmembers were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard.

On October 16,1855, SENECA (wooden propeller tug, 92 foot, 73 tons, built in 1847, at Buffalo, New York) was towing the brig LANSING past the foot of Randolph Street at Chicago, Illinois, when her boiler exploded. Her skipper and engineer were killed instantly and several others were injured. The vessel was later recovered.

On October 16, 1990, the JOHN B. AIRD's loop belt caught fire while loading mill scale at Inland Steel Mill, East Chicago, Illinois. Fueled by coal dust left over after unloading coal at the mill, 1,400 feet of the rubber conveyor belt burned causing nearly $500,000 in damages.

ALGOWEST set a cargo record carrying 27,517 tons of grain down the Seaway October 16, 1982, to Port Cartier, Quebec. She was converted to a self-unloader in 1998, and renamed b.) PETER R. CRESSWELL in 2001.

The Cayman Islands-registered tanker RIO ORINOCO grounded off Anticosti Island, Quebec on October 16, 1990, and was abandoned. Later she was salvaged by Le Groupe Desgagnes (1981) Inc., refloated, repaired and renamed d.) THALASSA DESGAGNES.

Sea trials of MERTON E. FARR were successfully completed October 16, 1920.

On October 16, 1954, the SCOTT MISENER of 1954 became the first laker to load a record 800,000 bushels of grain on the Great Lakes when she was loaded with barley at Fort William, Ontario, for delivery to Port Colborne.

WILLIAM G. MATHER of 1925 was towed from her Cuyahoga River berth on October 16, 1990, by the Great Lakes Towing tugs IDAHO and DELAWARE. She was placed next to the 9th Street Pier of Cleveland's North Coast Harbor and now serves as a marine museum.

On October 16, 1912, JAMES BUCKLEY (2 mast wood schooner-barge, 161 foot, 442 gross tons, built in 1884, at Quebec City) was carrying coal and being towed by the tug WILLIAM PROCTOR in consort with the barges H B and MENOMINEE in Lake Ontario. The BUCKLEY separated from this group in a storm and was driven into the shallows off the coast of Jefferson County, New York. The tug PROCTOR delivered MENOMINEE to Cape Vincent, then returned in time to take BUCKLEY’s crew out of the rigging - hand over hand on a heaving line - before BUCKLEY finally sank.

On October 16, 1855, the brig TUSCARORA was carrying coal from Buffalo to Chicago. She anchored off Chicago's Harrison Street, but a storm dragged her in. Volunteers from shore were unable to get to the stricken vessel. A group of 9 ship captains and 4 seamen then organized a rescue party and took two new "Francis" metal lifeboats out and rescued the entire crew of eleven. By 21 October, TUSCARORA was pounded to pieces.

On October 16, 1853, PHILO SCOVILLE (2-mast wooden brig built in 1853, at Sheboygan, Wisconsin) was carrying flour, wheat, pigs and barreled fish when she encountered a gale in the eastern Straits of Mackinac. She was dismasted and drifted ashore where she was pounded to pieces. Her crew was saved by floating ashore while clinging to the floating main mast.

1880: ALPENA, a wooden sidewheel passenger steamer, was lost in Lake Michigan in a violent storm. All 67 on board perished.

1928: PARKS FOSTER ran aground, due to fog, in Lake Huron near Alpena. The ship was lightered, pumped out and refloated. While declared a total loss, the vessel was rebuilt as b) SUPERIOR and eventually dismantled at Port Weller in 1961.

1940: TREVISA was torpedoed and sunk by U-124 while 600 miles off the coast of Ireland. The ship had become a straggler from convoy SC-7 that had been attacked over a period of 3 nights. Seven lives were lost when TREVISA was hit in the engineroom by a single torpedo.

1968: The NORMAN P. CLEMENT was at Collingwood for examination of the grounding damage of earlier in the month when an onboard explosion on this date injured 11. The hull was contaminated with chemicals and declared a total loss.

1969: FREDEN V. came to the Great Lakes in 1958 and returned through the Seaway in 1959. The small tanker was heavily damaged as c) YARIMCA in an engine room fire at Sinop, Turkey, but that was repaired in 1972 and the ship survived until scrapping at Aliaga, Turkey, as f) ORTAC in 2004.

1971: The Cypriot freighter UNION came through the Seaway in 1971 after prior visits as c) MICA beginning in 1965. Fire broke out in the engine room and the ship was abandoned 130 miles off Freetown, Sierra Leone, on October 10, 1971. The vessel sank on October 16 and had been enroute from Gdynia, Poland, to Chittagong, Bangladesh.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Superior author chronicles Mataafa tragedy

10/17 - Superior, Wis. - Bob Abrahamson drew on traditional research for his new book, "Luck of the Draw – The Mataafa Story." The Superior man also left the libraries and archives to walk along the beaches and canals where ship crews fought to survive during the storm of Nov. 27-29, 1905.

He mentally sat himself down in the room where survivors gathered and spent hours gazing out over the waters near Canal Park where the Mataafa tragedy unfolded. The resulting book is a nonfiction story gently interwoven with Abrahamson’s imagination.

"It is hard to find an author that can be understood and appreciated by all who pick it up and he has captured the sights, sounds and emotion of the Twin Ports and what it was like to be a crew member on the Great Lakes," said Tony Tracy, executive director of the Douglas County Historical Society. "You can almost feel the icy spray on your face and the desperation in their hearts."

The storm was the worst ever recorded on Lake Superior at that time.

"The decisions that were made that day would pit the vessel captain’s instincts against gadgets and weather maps," Abrahamson wrote in his preface. "As a result, men would die, ships would sink and there would be hell to pay."

Abrahamson focuses on the Mataafa, a steamship that made it past the Apostle Islands, then sought to return to the Duluth harbor. A huge wave lifted the vessel up as it was about to enter the canal. The Mataafa struck the north pier, caving in the bow. The current caught the ship, pinning her to the north pier then pushing her back out. Waves brought her to rest parallel to the shoreline only 230 yards from land. There, waves would split her in two, coat the decks with ice and dictate who would live and who would die. The resulting drama played out in front of more than 10,000 Duluth residents who gathered on the shore.

"There were no heroes, just 24 men fighting to survive," wrote Abrahamson.

A passion for maritime history runs in the family. Abrahamson’s great-uncle William Scott wrote a 40-page book on "The Wreck of the Lafayette," which foundered north of Two Harbors in the same storm. Abrahamson himself wrote the 100-word story on the Mataafa that adorns a plaque in Duluth’s Canal Park. A retired nurse, Abrahamson has a knack for creative writing. He’s written numerous poems, including two on the Edmund Fitzgerald, that were sparked by emotion.

Writing a book, however, was a very different experience. Abrahamson spent four years digging into the story of the Mataafa and the 1905 storm. In some sections, the sailors tell their own story through interviews. Newspaper articles and other material provided additional information for the book.

"In four years, I learned a few things," Abrahamson said, and debunked a number of myths surrounding the wreck. "I had to tell the truth."

Not content to wait for a publishing house to snap the book up, Abrahamson chose to self-publish. On Sept. 29, the first copies arrived. "It felt so good to have it in my hands after so long," he said.

The book is available at Globe News in Superior, 1430 Tower Ave., and the Bookstore at Fitger’s, located at 600 E. Superior St., Duluth.

Duluth News Tribune





Port Reports - October 17

Marquette, Mich. – Rod Burdick
The Upper Harbor hopper received two coal cargoes on Thursday. Lee A. Tregurtha unloaded in the morning and fleetmate James R. Barker took Tregurtha's spot in the afternoon.

Lorain, Ohio – Phil Leon
Joseph H. Thompson entered the Lorain harbor at 8:20 p.m. Thursday.





Watching ships pass on the Welland Canal

10/17 - St. Catharines, Ont. – These are the places where you can see ships that pass in the night – and day – too.

Visitors to the Welland Canals Centre at Lock 3 in St. Catharines and Lock 7 in Thorold can view this historic example of engineering – Canada’s version of the Panama Canal.

This is the fourth route of the Welland Canal that first opened in 1829 between Port Weller and Port Colborne. It allows vessels to avoid both Niagara Falls and the mountainous escarpment so they can pass safely between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.

The centre has an elevated observation platform that lets visitors see ships from around the world squeeze themselves into the lock on their way through the St. Lawrence Seaway.

The season’s still in full swing as ships transit the canal 24 hours a day from April through December until the big freeze-up from January to March when it is drained and closed for maintenance.

Visitors can “witness ships travelling through the marvel of the man-made Welland Canal,” Mayor Brian McMullan said, as they gather on the platform as ships approach and enter the lock.

The afternoon of our visit, the bulk carrier Federal Mackinac was passing through en route to the upper Great Lakes. The ship, registered in Majuro in the Marshall Islands between Hawaii and Australia, was so large it barely settled into the lock with little space to spare.

Once the gates were closed and water was allowed in to raise the ship to the level of the canal ahead, it continued on its way.

It’s easy to know what’s coming and going as ship movements with expected times of arrival are detailed inside the museum and available online including Facebook.

The Lockview Lounge on the second floor of the centre provides a panoramic view of Lock 3 with comfortable seating and is especially popular in inclement weather. A special exhibit, The War of 1812, is now on display in this space, while the centre also has Merritt’s Mercantile, the museum’s gift shop, and Great Lakes Jake’s Snack Bar.

Outside is Discovery Park with a picnic area and playground filled with interesting artifacts and information about the canal.

The museum and centre can also be a starting and stopping place for walking, biking and rollerblading on the Greater Niagara Circle Route and paved multi-use trail.

Just down the road is the Lock 7 Viewing Complex in Thorold to continue watching the ships climb the mountain over the Twin Flight locks and into the highest and last lift up the canal.

There’s also an outdoor viewing platform and bleachers for a front-row view while inside is the history of the canal, gift shop souvenirs and tasty treats.

It’s also the spot for events including the Mountain Top Ceremony on the canal’s opening day in late March and the Best Decorated Ship contest during the Christmas season.

St. Catharines Standard





Lookback #334 – Sand Merchant rolled over and sank on Oct. 17, 1936

10/17 - After only nine years of service, the Sand Merchant plunged to the bottom on Lake Erie 78 years ago today. This Lake Erie-based sand carrier had taken on a full cargo and was bound for Cleveland when it began taking water faster than it could be pumped out.

The vessel had earlier been delayed by a steering gear problem and got caught in wilder weather than had been anticipated. The crew sought to abandon ship about 13.5 miles off Cleveland. That was just before the unstable freighter rolled over and sank at about 2200 hours on Oct. 17, 1936.

The lifeboats had overturned in the stormy seas and the survivors had been able to hang on until dawn when they were spotted and rescued. Two nearby vessels, the Thunder Bay Quarries and Marquette and Bessemer No. 1, picked up 7 survivors but a total of 19 sailors, 18 men and 1 woman, were lost.

Sand Merchant had been Hull 79 from the Collingwood shipyard. The 259 foot, 9 inch long steamer was originally a crane-equipped sandsucker but was converted to a self-unloading sandsucker back at Collingwood in 1930.

The vessel was idle at Port Dalhousie in 1933 but saw brief service in 1934 before resuming full operation. It spent some time on the East Coast earlier in 1936 before being lost.

Skip Gillham





Today in Great Lakes History - October 17

On this day in 1889, the whaleback 103 completed her maiden trip by delivering 86,000 bushels of Duluth wheat to Buffalo.

On this day in 1936, the 252-foot sand sucker SAND MERCHANT rolled over and sank when a 50 mph gale swept across Lake Erie. The steamer THUNDER BAY QUARRIES, Captain James Healey, rescued three survivors and the steamer MARQUETTE & BESSEMER NO 1, Captain George Wilson, rescued four additional survivors. Eighteen crewmembers and one female passenger drowned in the accident.

On October 17, 1887, Henry McMorran and D. N. Runnels bought the engine and boiler of the tug GEORGE HAND at the U.S. Marshall's sale in Port Huron, Michigan, for $500.

The CARLTON (Hull#542) was launched October 17, 1963, at Sunderland, England, by Short Brothers, Ltd., for Chapman & Willan, Ltd. Renamed b.) FEDERAL WEAR in 1975. Purchased by Upper Lakes Shipping Ltd. in 1975, renamed c.) ST LAWRENCE PROSPECTOR in 1975. Lengthened to Seaway size and renamed d.) CANADIAN PROSPECTOR in 1979. Scrapped in 2009 at Aliaga, Turkey.

The EMS ORE was launched October 17, 1959, for Transatlantic Bulk Carriers, Monrovia, Liberia. Purchased by Hall Corp. of Canada in 1976, reconstructed for lake service and renamed b.) MONTCLIFFE HALL in 1977. Renamed c.) CARTIERDOC in 1988, she sails today as d.) CEDARGLEN.

With an inexperienced Taiwanese crew, boiler problems and the collapse of Lock 7's west wall in the Welland Canal on October 17th, SAVIC's (CLIFFS VICTORY) departure was delayed until December 17, 1985, when she departed Chicago under her own power.

The carferry PERE MARQUETTE 19 was launched October 17, 1903.

In 1893, the FLINT & PERE MARQUETTE NO 1 was damaged by fire while in Ludington.

In 1988, the Society for the Preservation of the S.S. City of Milwaukee purchased CITY OF MILWAUKEE from the City of Frankfort for $2.

On October 17,1871, CASCADEN (2 mast wood schooner, 138 tons, built in 1866, at Saugeen, Ontario) was carrying much needed supplies for the Cove Island Lighthouse keeper and his family who were in desperate straits. But she went ashore 3 miles below Cape Hurd near Tobermory, Ontario, in a storm and was wrecked.

On October 17, 1843, the wooden schooner ALABAMA collided with a pier during a storm at the mouth of the Grand River at Fairport, Ohio, and was a total loss.

On October 17, 1871, the 42-ton wooden schooner SEA HORSE stranded on Fitzwilliam Island at the mouth of Georgian Bay in a storm. She was a total loss.

1923: The bulk carrier LUZON went aground in Lake Superior, northeast of Passage Island, due to poor visibility from the dense smoke of local forest fires. The vessel sustained serious bow damage but, fortunately, the bulkhead held. It was enroute from Fort William to Buffalo with grain at the time. The ship returned to service as b) JOHN ANDERSON in 1924 and was last known as G.G. POST.

1936: SAND MERCHANT sank in Lake Erie about 13.5 miles off Cleveland with the loss of 19 lives. The ship began taking on water faster than it could be pumped out and only 7 sailors survived.

1951: GEORGE F. RAND and HARVEY H. BROWN collided just below the Huron Cut at Port Huron and the former was beached with a starboard list. After being refloated, this vessel unloaded its cargo of silica sand at Port Huron and then went to Toledo for repairs. The latter later sailed as PARKER EVANS and MARLHILL.

1980: The Canadian tanker GULF CANADA and MEGALOHARI II collided at Montreal with minor damage. The former had been built at Collingwood as a) B.A. PEERLESS in 1952 and was scrapped at Alang, India, as d) COASTAL I in 1990. The latter had begun Seaway trading in 1965 and was scrapped at Alang as b) AGIOS CONSTANTINOS in 1985.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Lakes connection to West Coast drama

10/20 - There is a Great Lakes connection to the drama of a drifting cargo ship wallowing in four-foot swells off the West Coast of Canada. The Russian freighter Simushir broke down Oct. 16 while on a voyage from Everett, Washington, to China with a cargo of mining minerals.

The vessel was also carrying about 400 tons of Bunker C. fuel and 50 gallons of diesel oil. These caused considerable anxiety among officials and the local populace as the ship drifted towards the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Columbia.

The powerless vessel had been a Seaway trader as Munteborg. It was built in 1998 at Lemmer, Netherlands, and joined Wagenborg Shipping. Munteborg came inland in November 1998 with steel for Cleveland and then loaded what was reported as 17,857,260 pounds of beet pulp pellets at Duluth for Ireland.

An article at the time noted that the ship was designed to carry containers general cargo, timber, newsprint or bulk commodities. There were two cargo holds, with moveable bulkheads, and the ship could operate with only a crew of from 8-11 sailors.

The 441-foot, 5-inch-long Munteborg was back inland for two trips in 1999. It was renamed MSC Baltic in 2000 before resuming work as Munteborg again in 2004. The vessel made another trip through the Seaway in 2008 with stops at Valleyfield, Cleveland and Duluth. It was sold to Russian interests in 2012, renamed Simushir and has not been back to the Great Lakes.

The Canadian Coast Guard ship Gordon Reid managed to get a towline attached to the vessel on Oct. 17 and was able to pull the ship away from the coast and farther out to sea helping alleviate the fear that the ship would go ashore and dump its Bunker C. fuel into the sea. Unfortunately, the line parted on three occasions and, while the situation improved, it was not the solution.

The U.S. Coast Guard ship Spar and the Canadian Coast Guard vessel Sir Wilfrid Laurier arrived to stand by until the powerful deep sea tug Barbara Foss reached the scene late on Saturday Oct. 18. The latter was expected to be able to connect a line and tow the powerless freighter to safety and enable it to get the needed repairs to resume its journey.

Spar and Sir Wilfrid Laurier were both built on the Great Lakes. The former was constructed by the Marinette Marine Corp. and passed down the Welland Canal on its delivery trip to Kodiak, Alaska, on April 6, 2001. Sir Wilfrid Laurier proved to be the last vessel built at Collingwood before that very productive shipyard closed. It was Hull 230 from that facility and it was completed for Canadian Government service passing down bound in the Welland Canal on Nov. 27, 1986. The ship initially was based in Quebec City but was transferred to the West Coast in 1996 and is based in Victoria, BC for patrols to the Western Arctic.

The 11-member crew of the Simushir were not considered in any danger although the captain had to be airlifted to hospital after suffering a possible heart attack.

Skip Gillham





G-tugs shuffled at Duluth

10/20 - On Friday, Great Lakes Towing made some adjustments to the Duluth harbor tugs. The four tugs based in Duluth until Saturday were the North Dakota, Minnesota, Kentucky, and North Carolina.

About noon on Friday, the tug Missouri arrived Duluth with fleetmates Indiana and Arkansas in tow. The three new tugs docked at Great Lakes Towing's slip in Duluth. Then on Saturday, the Missouri departed Duluth, taking with her the North Dakota and Kentucky, and a lot of history of breaking ice and assisting salties in the Duluth harbor. The tow was just off the Apostle Islands on Saturday night with no destination posted.

Daniel Lindner





Port Reports - October 20

Marquette, Mich. – Rod Burdick
Sunday morning at LS&I, fleet mates Hon. James L. Oberstar and Kaye E. Barker loaded ore.

Port Inland, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Wilfred Sykes was at anchor outside of Port Inland Saturday, and arrived there to load in the late evening. Two vessels are due in on Monday, with the Calumet arriving first in the early morning followed by the Great Republic in the mid-afternoon.

Manitowoc, Wis.
Saturday, the Badger did not sail due to gales on the lake. The new Burger-built research vessel Articus was standing by for weather on her delivery trip to Cheboygan, Mich. Also waiting for weather was Prentiss Brown and barge St. Marys Conquest.

Stoneport, Mich. – Denny Dushane
Cason J. Callaway loaded at Stoneport on Sunday and was expected to depart around 2 in the afternoon. There are two vessels scheduled in on Monday, with the Manitowoc due in first, followed by the Lewis J. Kuber.

Calcite, Mich. – Denny Dushane
John J. Boland loaded at Calcite on Sunday and was expected to depart around 7:30 in the morning. There are no vessels scheduled in for Monday. Due on Tuesday is the Hon. James L. Oberstar in the late afternoon for the South Dock. No vessels are scheduled for Wednesday. Due in on Thursday is the John G. Munson at noon for the South Dock. Rounding out the schedule is the Lewis J. Kuber due on Friday in the late morning for the South Dock.

Toledo, Ohio – Denny Dushane
Algoma Olympic arrived at the CSX Coal Dock on Sunday in the morning to load coal. Due next at the CSX will be the John J. Boland on Monday in the morning. Algomarine is due at the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock on Thursday, Oct. 23 in the late evening hours. Due at the Torco Dock is the James L. Kuber on Tuesday, Oct. 21 during the early afternoon. Several other vessels were in port at the time of this report. Among them were the tug Paul L. Luedtke off Toledo, and the tugs Huron Service and a barge, plus the Barbara Andrie and a barge were still in port. The saltwater vessel Fraserborg of the Netherlands remained tied-up at the Midwest Terminal Overseas Dock. Upriver at the Lafarge Cement Dock was the tug Samuel de Champlain and barge Innovation unloading cement, while further upriver at the grain elevators were the Baie Comeau along with the Saginaw

Lorain, Ohio – Phil Leon
Defiance entered Lorain headed to #3 dock, at 1:15 p.m. Sunday.





Lookback #337 – The whaleback steamer James B. Colgate sank in Lake Erie on Oct. 20, 1916

The James B. Colgate was one of the victims of the storm that became known as Black Friday on Lake Erie. This was one of four ships lost in the wild fall weather of 98 years ago today.

The bulk carrier was one of the whaleback-designed steamers built in the late 1800s and it was launched at West Superior, Wis., on Sept. 21, 1892. It initially sailed for the American Steel Barge Co. but joined the Bessemer Steamship Co. in 1900 and the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. of United States Steel on its formation in 1901. It sailed on their behalf until becoming part of the Standard Transit Co. in 1915 and retained the same name for the various owners.

The 320-foot-long James B. Colgate took on a cargo of coal at Buffalo on Oct. 20, 1916, and steamed away for Fort William (now part of Thunder Bay) at the western end of Lake Superior. Sadly, it did not get far. The vessel took on water while crossing Lake Erie and sank around 10 p.m. west of Long Point. The ship went down with the loss of 26 lives. The only survivor was found in a lifeboat two days later.

The hull of the James B. Colgate was rediscovered in 1991. It rests upside down in about 78 feet of water some 12 miles southeast of Erieau, Ont.

Skip Gillham





Updates - October 20

Saltie Gallery updated with pictures of the Andean, Fairchem Yuka, Floragracht, Harbour Feature, Harbour Fountain, Ida, Lady Doris, and Puffin.






Today in Great Lakes History - October 20

On this day in 1916, the whaleback JAMES B. COLGATE sank off Long Point in Lake Erie with a loss of 26. The lone survivor was Captain Walter J. Grashaw who was picked up two days after the sinking. Captain Grashaw had sailed as First Mate on the COLGATE for ten years and was conducting his first trip as Captain. The "Black Friday" storm also claimed the MERIDA, D.L. FLYER, and M.F. BUTTERS.

On 20 October 1875, the wooden schooner F.C. LEIGHTON was loaded with ore when she struck a rock in the St. Marys River and sank a few miles from Detour, Michigan. A tug was sent right away to raise her.

On 20 October 1916, MERIDA (steel propeller bulk freighter, 360 foot, 3,261 gross tons, built in 1893, at W. Bay City, Michigan) was heavily loaded with iron ore when she encountered the "Black Friday" Storm on Lake Erie. She sank about 24 miles east of Erieau, Ontario. All 24 onboard were lost. A few days later the wheelhouse was found floating 15 miles south of Port Stanley. 21 bodies were eventually found, but not the bodies of Capt. Harry L. Jones or crewman Wilfred Austin. The wreck was found in 1975 by Larry Jackson, a commercial fisherman.

The SCOTT MISENER of 1954 proceeded to the Port Arthur shipyard for dry docking and repairs on October 20th, after striking bottom October 15, 1973, near Whaleback Shoal on the St. Lawrence River.

The JAMES S. DUNHAM was launched October 20, 1906, for the Chicago Navigation Co. (D. Sullivan & Co., mgr.) Duluth, Minnesota. Renamed b.) LYNFORD E. GEER in 1926, and c.) OTTO M. REISS in 1934. Scrapped at Castellon, Spain in 1973.

PETER A.B. WIDENER was launched October 20, 1906, for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. (later the U.S. Steel Corp. in 1952), Cleveland, Ohio.

The tug RESCUE was sent from Port Huron to Tawas, Michigan to release the 246-foot barge OCEAN that was grounded. After pulling the barge free, Capt. Fitch of RESCUE began towing her down Lake Huron, but the storm got so bad that he was about to turn back and run for Tawas. However, the captain of OCEAN yelled that they were all right and to go ahead down the lake. Soon the seas got the better of the barge. The tug kept with her until she was about to sink. Then the line was cut, the tug turned about, ran under her lee, and rescued her crew of 9 from the lifeboat. The barge sank. On the way down Lake Huron, opposite Port Sanilac, the RESCUE picked up 6 men and 1 woman from the wrecked barge JOHN F. RUST. In this one trip, the RESCUE earned her name by rescuing 16 persons!

October 20, 1898 - The SHENANGO NO 2 (later PERE MARQUETTE 16) was arriving Milwaukee when her steering gear failed, causing her to crash into a grain elevator that was under construction.

October 20, 1926 - The keel was laid for the twin screw lake passenger and railcar ferry WABASH (Hull#177) of the Toledo Shipbuilding Co.

On 20 October 1863, E. S. ADAMS (3 mast wooden bark, 135 foot, 341 gross tons, built in 1857, at Port Robinson, Ontario) was carrying 18,500 bushels of wheat on a clear night when she collided with the American bark CONSTITUTION resulting in the loss of the ADAMS. One life was lost. Neither vessel was blamed for the accident.

On 20 October 1854, JOHN J. AUDUBON (wooden brig, 370 tons, built in 1854, at Black River, Ohio) was carrying railroad iron from Buffalo to Chicago when she was struck amidships by the schooner DEFIANCE on a dark night, halfway between Thunder Bay and Presque Isle, Michigan. AUDUBON was cut almost in half. Both vessels sank quickly. No lives were lost.

On 20 October 1844, DAYTON (2-mast wooden schooner, 69 foot, 85 tons, built in 1835, at Grand Island, New York) capsized and sank in Lake Erie off Dunkirk, New York in a terrific gale. All onboard were lost.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Max Hanley, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series






Busy Great Lakes ports thrum to a manufacturing comeback

10/19 - Cleveland, Ohio – In a sign of the growing strength of the Midwest economy, ports up and down the Great Lakes are experiencing a robust shipping season and many are hustling to keep up with cargo volumes that have returned to pre-recession levels.

Not since 2006 has there been so much action on the docks, according to numbers compiled by the American Great Lakes Ports Association.

The Port of Cleveland, the first major American port on the Saint Lawrence Seaway, illustrates the renewed activity. The volume of international freight coming through the port is up nearly 20 percent over last year.

Seaway tonnage, or cargo moving via the Seaway, is seen as a key indicator of economic activity as it tends to be products built or grown in the Midwest or needed in the Midwest to build more products.

"People are buying and selling and there's product that's needed and wanted -- and it's being shipped," said Laura Blades, a spokeswoman for the ports association.

"Even ports like Oswego (NY) and Erie (PA) are up," she said. "It's kind of the race to make up for the bad weather at the start of the season and the final push to get the shipping done before winter."

David Gutheil, the vice president of maritime and logistics at the Port of Cleveland, said rising steel imports are a sign of increased manufacturing. So are the mighty lakers, which have been arriving more frequently this season.

Shipments of bulk cargo are 13 percent ahead of last year's volumes due to strong demand for iron ore at the huge ArcelorMittal steel complex in the Flats, he said.

Meanwhile, the port has seen an unusually large volume of project cargo, like heavy machinery, vehicles and manufactured goods. The imports and exports have included crane parts destined for a rail yard in western Ohio, transformers for Illinois and heavy machinery going to Europe, Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Gutheil said the port is on pace to reach its highest Seaway tonnage levels since the shipping season of 2006.

Boosting international trade is the Cleveland-Europe Express, the only regularly scheduled container shipping between the Great Lakes and Europe. While the fledgling liner service has lost millions, port officials think it could turn a profit next year, when the Spliethoff Group of Amsterdam adds a second ship to create bi-weekly sails.

"Right now, we're working to build momentum for the spring, when we go to two vessels," Gutheil said.

Meanwhile, most Great Lakes ports are busy keeping up with today.

Seaway traffic is up 5 percent overall, compared to last season. In some categories, like grain, shipments are up by 15 percent.

Betty Sutton, the administrator of the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corp., said the Seaway and the ports deserve some credit for the region's economic comeback.

"September marks the beginning of what is traditionally the busiest time of the shipping season, and the cargo moving through the U.S. ports serves as a positive indicator that the regional economy is healthy due in part to the maritime industry," she said in a written statement. "The numbers speak for themselves - increases in tonnage were reported by all our ports and they expect that trend to continue through December."

Cleveland.com





USS Detroit christened in Wisconsin shipyard

10/19 - Marinette, Wis. – The future USS Detroit was christened and launched Saturday.

The boat, built by Lockheed Martin, is the country's seventh Littoral Combat Ship, also called an LCS. It was launched into the Menominee River at the Marinette Marine Corporation shipyard in Wisconsin.

Barbara Levin, wife of U.S. Senator Carl Levin was the ships sponsor. She was on hand to christen the ship by smashing a champagne bottle across it's bow before the launch.

Now, Detroit will continue to undergo outfitting and testing. It's scheduled to be delivered to the U.S. navy in 2015. In 2011, the Navy awarded the contract to build Detroit. It's one of the five LCS' being build at the Marinette Marine.

WXYZ

[yachtsmanwilly]

Autumn anomaly: Deepest Great Lakes' levels rising

10/21 - Detroit, Mich. – As leaves are falling, the deepest of the Great Lakes' water levels are rising. And that almost never happens.

The Midwest's brutal winter of 2012-13 is still impacting the Great Lakes — two seasons later. And it's contributing to water levels rising in the fall on Lake Superior and connected Lakes Michigan and Huron, something they've only done a handful of times in a century and a half or more.

"It is extremely rare for it to happen," said Drew Gronewold, hydrologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor.

The shallower Great Lakes, Erie and Ontario, as well as Lake St. Clair, are doing their more typical slow decline in lake levels as autumn takes hold. But Lake Superior's depths rose almost a half-inch from Aug. 1 to Oct. 1; Lakes Michigan and Huron rose almost 2 full inches. Averages calculated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers going back to 1918 show Superior's levels typically drop more than an inch from August to October; Michigan-Huron usually drops almost 5 inches.

Those measurements may not seem like much. But keep in mind how vast the lakes are. Lake Superior alone has 3 quadrillion gallons of water — that's 3 million billion gallons. Three with 15 zeroes behind it. Spread out, Superior would cover North and South America in a foot of water. Its surface area is the size of Maine. Lakes Michigan and Huron hold about 2 quadrillion gallons.

All Great Lakes are above their long-term average depths for the first time since the 1990s. It's a remarkable turnaround from record-low water levels on Lakes Michigan and Huron as recently as January 2013.

"The rate of water level rise over the past two years on the Great Lakes is one of the most rapid rises we have ever seen — which is pretty amazing, because we have records going back to the mid-1800s," Gronewold said.

The water's not just unusually deeper; it's colder as well. Last winter was the snowiest — and one of the coldest — ever around the Great Lakes. It led to some of the widest-spread, longest-lasting Great Lakes ice cover ever — Lake Superior wasn't ice-free until June. And that had ongoing effects throughout the summer and into fall.

Lakes Superior and Michigan are about 6 degrees colder this fall than they were last year. Lake Superior on Wednesday had surface temperatures of 46.6 degrees, down nearly 3 degrees from its long-term average. Lake Michigan was down a degree from its long-term average, at 56.8 degrees; Lake Huron is down almost 1.5 degrees from its average temperature of nearly 55 degrees for mid-October.

But the cooler surface water temperatures are just one factor in this fall's rising lake levels, Gronewold said. It involves a complex set of contributing factors that includes a rainy spring; heavy snow-pack and high water content in the snow; ground saturation, and less lake evaporation and more rain over the past several months.

Colder water temperatures could affect weather going forward, said Michael Notaro, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin's Center for Climatic Research.

It's "likely the cold waters will lead to earlier ice development," he said. "Cool waters are not favorable for lake-effect snow, especially once extensive ice forms. The cool waters might also reduce evaporation, keeping water levels higher."

Is the corner turned on low Great Lakes water levels? Stay tuned.

Detroit Free Press





Port Reports - October 21

Houghton-Hancock, Mich. - Tyler Rappi
The two Great Lakes Towing tugs that switched out in Duluth were in the Portage Canal and docked west of the lift bridge on Monday. They were with the G-tug Missouri.

Oswego, N.Y. – Ned Goebricher
On Monday the McKeil barge Lambert Spirit unloaded aluminum bars. The tug Benjamin Elliot and her dump scow transited Lake Ontario for the N.Y.S. Barge Canal.

Massena, N.Y.
The New York Power Authority is removing docks and buoys along the St. Lawrence River for the winter. The authority, which runs a massive hydro-dam on the river at Massena, says the removals began Monday. It is expected to take two weeks, depending on the weather. The authority removes its docks and buoys each fall before it gets icy in northern New York.





NTSB report blames bridge operator for Herbert C. Jackson accident

10/21 - The NTSB has released its report on the bridge accident involving Detroit’s Jefferson Avenue Bridge and the Herbert C. Jackson in May 2013. Click here to read the report





Drifting vessel towed to port

10/21 - The Russian freighter Simushir, formerly the Seaway trader Munteborg, which had been adrift on the Pacific off the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, was towed into Prince Rupert, B.C., on Monday morning. The American tug Barbara Foss succeeded in getting a line aboard the ship. The vessel broke down, due to engine failure, on October 17. Repairs are expected to take two days.

Skip Gillham





Lookback #338 – Former Athina Zafirakis sank in the Mediterranean on Oct. 21, 1991

The Greek-flag bulk carrier Athina Zafirakis was built at Hakodate, Japan, in 1968 and completed in July for the Southeast Mediterranean Shipping Co. The 593-foot, 2- inch long vessel operated on deep-sea routes before coming to the Great Lakes for the first time in 1977.

The vessel had four more names before it was lost on the Mediterranean, in severe weather, 23 years ago today. It had been sold becoming the Italian flag Rhode Island in 1985, Theonik of Cyprus in 1987, Gateshead of Malta in 1989 and finally Erato, also Malta, in 1990.

Erato had loaded a cargo of 25,894 tons of phosphate at Ashdod, Israel, and was bound for Rouen, France, when it got into trouble. Overwhelmed by Gale Force 8 winds and mounting seas, the ship went down southwest of the island of Sardinia on Oct. 21, 1991.

Despite the conditions, crewmembers were able to take to the lifeboats and only five sailors were lost. This is a busy shipping area, and nine were picked up by the Greek flag ore/bulk oil carrier Byzantion. Seven more were taken aboard an unidentified Polish vessel and three more by a Greek-flag freighter.

About 500 tons of bunker fuel leaked into the sea and the battered vessel rests on the bottom in extremely deep water.

Skip Gillham





Today in Great Lakes History - October 21

On this day in 1980, the converted ELTON HOYT 2ND loaded her first cargo of 1,000 tons of pellets at Taconite Harbor. After field-testing her new self-unloading gear, she loaded 21,000 tons of pellets for delivery to Chicago.

The Anchor Line's CONEMAUGH (wooden propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 251 foot, 1,609 gross tons, built in 1880, at West Bay City, Michigan), and the Union Line's NEW YORK (wooden propeller package freighter, 269 foot, 1,922 gross tons, built in 1879, at Buffalo, New York) collided on the Detroit River at 7:30 p.m. The CONEMAUGH sank close to the Canadian shore. She was carrying flour and other package freight from Chicago to Buffalo. She was later raised and repaired, and lasted until 1906, when she was lost in a storm on Lake Erie.

The JOHN B. AIRD arrived at Sarnia, Ontario, on October 21, 1990, for repairs after suffering a conveyor belt fire a week earlier.

The JAMES A. FARRELL and fleet mate RICHARD TRIMBLE were the first vessels to lock down bound in the newly-opened Davis Lock at the Soo on October 21, 1914.

On October 21, 1954, the GEORGE M. HUMPHREY set a record when she took aboard 22,605 gross tons of iron ore at Superior, Wisconsin. The record stood until 1960.

The crew on the SAMUEL MATHER was safely removed from the badly exposed steamer on October 21, 1923, by the Eagle Harbor life saving crew. She had run aground on the 19th. Renamed b.) PATHFINDER in 1925, sold Canadian in 1968, renamed c.) GODERICH. Renamed d.) SOO RIVER TRADER in 1980, e.) PINEGLEN 1982. Scrapped at Port Maitland in 1984.

It was announced on October 21, 1986, that Canada Steamship Lines and Upper Lakes Group would merge CSL's Collingwood shipyard and ULS' Port Weller shipyard and create Canadian Shipbuilding & Engineering (1986) Ltd.

On October 21, 1941, AMERICA (steel tug, 80 foot, 123 gross tons, built in 1897, at Buffalo, New York) was on a cable along with the tug OREGON off Belle Isle in the Detroit River trying to pull the steel bulk freighter B. F. JONES off a bar. The cable tightened, pulling AMERICA out of the water and spinning her upside down. Six of the crew of 13 lost their lives. AMERICA was later recovered. AMERICA was renamed b.) MIDWAY in 1982 and c.) WISCONSIN in 1983.

October 21, 1954 - Capt. Allen K. Hoxie, skipper of the MILWAUKEE CLIPPER, retired.

On October 21, 1886, W. L. BROWN (wooden propeller freighter, 140 foot, 336 gross tons, built in 1872, at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, as NEPTUNE) was carrying iron ore from Escanaba for DePere, Wisconsin. A storm struck while she was on Green Bay. She sprang a leak one mile from Peshtigo Reef and went down in 76 feet of water. No lives were lost. All of her outfit and machinery were removed the following summer. This vessel's first enrollment was issued at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on 22 April 1873, as NEPTUNE, but this enrollment was surrendered at Milwaukee on 30 September 1880, endorsed "broken up." However she was re-enrolled as a new vessel at Milwaukee on 15 June 1880, having been rebuilt by A. L. Johnson at Green Bay, Wisconsin, as the W. L. BROWN.

1912: Two were lost when the wooden steamer PINE LAKE sank in the Detroit River near Belle Isle following a collision with FLEETWOOD (i). The hull was later dynamited as a hazard to navigation.

1913: C.W. ELPHICKE began leaking in a storm on Lake Erie and was beached near the Long Point lighthouse. The downbound, grain-laden wooden freighter was a total loss but the crew was saved.

1969: JOHN PURVES was towing Derrick Scow 43 bound for Rogers City when the latter was lost.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Port Reports - October 22

Marquette, Mich. – Rod Burdick
A busy Tuesday at the harbors in Marquette found Herbert C. Jackson loading ore in the morning at the Upper Harbor and in the afternoon, Michipicoten arrived to load ore and H. Lee White arrived with coal for Shiras at the Lower Harbor but anchored due to winds.

Lorain, Ohio – Phil Leon
Algoway was at dock 3 and left the Lorain harbor at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. Rebecca Lynn - A-397 should be arriving for Tonawanda around 8 p.m.

Buffalo, N.Y. – Brian W
Capt. Henry Jackman was backing into the Gateway Metroport in Lackawanna at 10:44 a.m. Tuesday.

Hamilton, Ont. – Andre Blanchard
It appears that Hamilton is busy with activity. Monday night the tanker Sarah Desgagnes arrived and anchored in harbor waiting for a spot to dock. At the time of this report, the following ships were in port: Sarah Desgagnes, Resko, Federal Elbe, Shoveler, HHL Congo, Algowood, Algoma Olympic, Kurt Paul, Heloise, Emilie, Hamilton Energy, and Sterling Energy.

Oshawa, Ont. – Andre Blanchard
Cuyahoga made a very brief stop in Oshawa early Tuesday morning and is now enroute to Soo.

Quebec City, QC – Andre Blanchard
Vessels in Quebec City port that will proceed to the Great Lakes Federal St. Laurent arrived Monday and was scheduled to depart for Toronto Tuesday. Birchglen arrived Tuesday morning and is to be heading to Hamilton next.

Vessels expected in Quebec City: High Nefeli is due to arrive on Friday and then proceed to Montreal. Cinnamon is due to arrive on Saturday for Toronto. Capt. Henry Jackman is due to arrive on Oct. 28, and then proceed to Chicago. Energy Patriot is due to arrive on Oct. 28 and then proceed to Montreal.

Montreal, QC – Andre Blanchard
Transhawk is expected to arrive on Thursday and then proceed to Hamilton.





Lookback #339 – N.J. Nessen stranded off Leamington, Ontario, on Oct. 22, 1929

The wooden steamer N.J. Nessen was built at Lorain, Ohio, in 1881. It was completed as H. Luella Worthington and capable of carrying 500,000 board feet of lumber.

The 156-foot, 9-inch long vessel was sold to the J.O. Nessen Lumber Co. in 1904 and renamed N.J. Nessen. Ice punctured the hull in Lake Charlevoix in April 1907 and the vessel sank.

Refloated, it was repaired and widened from 29 feet to 36 feet, 6 inches increasing capacity. It continued in the lumber trade but also handled other bulk cargoes from time to time.

The N.J. Nessen was sold to A.F. Morley in 1929 but did not last the year. It had a cargo of scrap steel on board and was bound for Cleveland when the vessel anchored in Pigeon Bay, near Leamington, Ont, due to threatening weather and offshore winds. These winds switched to the south and reached gale force leaving the ship exposed and in danger 85 years ago today.

Realizing the situation, the anchors were released and the ship drifted toward shore stranding within 500 feet. Rescuers made two trips to the stricken steamer and rowed out for the 13 sailors. All were saved with the captain the last to leave the ship.

The hull of the N.J. Nessen cracked ahead of the engine room and then broke up due to the pounding of the relentless seas.

Skip Gillham





Today in Great Lakes History - October 22

On October 22,1903, while being towed by the GETTYSBURG in the harbor at Grand Marais, Michigan, in a severe storm, the SAVELAND (wooden schooner, 194 foot, 689 gross tons, built in 1873, at Milwaukee, Wisconsin) was torn away and thrown against some pilings which punctured her hull. She sank to her main deck and was pounded to pieces by the storm waves. No lives were lost.

The tug PRESQUE ISLE completed her sea trials on October 22, 1973, in New Orleans.

On October 22, 1986, ALGOCEN spilled about four barrels of diesel fuel while refueling at the Esso Dock at Sarnia.

TOM M. GIRDLER departed South Chicago light on her maiden voyage, October 22, 1951, bound for Escanaba, Michigan, where she loaded 13,900 tons of ore for delivery to Cleveland, Ohio.

THORNHILL of 1906 grounded on October 22, 1973, just above the Sugar Island ferry crossing in the St. Marys River.

On October 22, 1887, C.O.D. (wooden schooner-barge, 140 foot, 289 gross tons, built in 1873, at Grand Haven, Michigan) was carrying wheat in Lake Erie in a northwest gale. She was beached three miles east of Port Burwell, Ontario, and soon broke up. Most of the crew swam to shore, but the woman who was the cook was lashed to the rigging and she perished.

On October 22, 1929, the steamer MILWAUKEE (formerly MANISTIQUE MARQUETTE AND NORTHERN 1) sank in a gale with a loss of all 52 hands. 21 bodies were recovered. Captain Robert Mc Kay was in command.

On October 27, 1929, a Coast Guard patrolman near South Haven, Michigan, picked up a ship's message case, containing the following handwritten note: "S.S. MILWAUKEE, OCTOBER 22/29 8:30 p.m. The ship is taking water fast. We have turned around and headed for Milwaukee. Pumps are working but sea gate is bent in and can't keep the water out. Flicker is flooded. Seas are tremendous. Things look bad. Crew roll is about the same as on last payday. (signed) A.R. Sadon, Purser."

On October 22, 1870, JENNIE BRISCOE (wooden schooner, 85 foot, 82 tons, built in 1870, at Detroit, Michigan) was raised from where she sank off Grosse Ile, Michigan, a couple of months earlier. She was in her first season of service when she collided with the propeller FREE STATE and sank there. Her raised wreck was sold Canadian in 1871, and she was rebuilt as the propeller scow HERALD.

In a severe gale on 22 October 1873, the three barges DAVID MORRIS, GLOBE, and SAGINAW from Bay City grounded and sank off Point Pelee on Lake Erie.

On October 22, 1887, DOLPHIN (wooden schooner-barge, 107 foot, 147 tons, built in 1855, at Milan, Ohio) and G. D. NORRIS (2-mast wooden schooner, 128 foot, 262 gross tons, built in 1856, at Cleveland, Ohio) were both carrying lumber and were in tow of the steamer OSWEGATCHIE in a storm on Lake Huron. The towline broke when the vessels were off Harbor Beach, Michigan. The DOLPHIN capsized and foundered. All 6 or 7 onboard perished. The NORRIS sank to her decks and her crew was rescued by the passing steamer BRECK. The NORRIS drifted ashore near Goderich, Ontario.

1929: N.J. NESSEN, a wooden bulk freighter, stranded in Lake Erie off Leamington, ON. The ship had been anchored for weather but the wind switched to the south, leaving it exposed. The hull broke up, but all on board were saved.

1929: YANTIC, a former wooden naval reserve training ship tied up at Detroit for use as a heating plant, sank at the dock. All 3 on board got off safely.

1979: J.N. McWATTERS struck the lighthouse at the main entrance to Cleveland with heavy damage to the structure.

[yachtsmanwilly]

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down from the big lake they call Gitchhgumi...



Tug John Marshall making stop in Sturgeon Bay

10/23 - Sturgeon Bay, Wis. – A new tugboat bearing a familiar namesake will make a stop in Sturgeon Bay this week on its way to Chicago to join the Calumet River Fleeting Inc.

The company, founded by John Selvick, now owned by Kim Selvick of Brussels and Chicago, said the new tug is named the John Marshall after her late husband, John. John Selvick became known as the "Legend" on the show, "Great Lake Warriors" on the History Channel. One of the oldest working tugboats on the Great Lakes, built in 1898, is named after him.

Kim Selvick said the John M. Selvick tug will eventually need to be retired and the new tug arriving in Sturgeon Bay Tuesday will likely be renamed the John Marshall Selvick in its place. It will be docked near Roen Salvage for about one week.

The tug, purchased in New York, was painted blue and white on the way to Sturgeon Bay. It will join the other nine in moving barges the company has in its Chicago fleet.

Calumet River Fleeting is a separate entity from Selvick Marine Towing in Sturgeon Bay.

Green Bay Press Gazette





New era of marine shipping discussed

10/23 - Goderich, Ont. – The future, present and past of marine shipping was discussed at length at luncheon held in Goderich last week.

The Huron County Chamber of Commerce hosted “Making Waves: The Marine Connection from Goderich to Global Markets” on Thurs., Oct. 16 at East Street Station.

The speakers were Stephen Brooks, president of the Chamber of Marine Commerce (CMC) and Rowland Howe, president of the Goderich Port Management Corporation (GPMC). Brooks said the chamber is made up of politicians from both Canada and the U.S. and members of the marine industry. Formed in 1959, it represents 150 companies from 10 provinces and 16 states.

The main focus of the GMC is on the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway. Brooks said the CMC serves as an advocate on behalf of the marine industry. The CMC also researches issues such as the economic impact of marine shipping, its environmental impact and the safety of the industry.

Brooks said that according to CMC studies, shipping on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway is responsible for approximately 227,000 jobs, including 1,770 in the Port of Goderich.

He also claimed shipping creates $35 billion in business revenue and is much more efficient in moving cargo than rail or trucks. He said one ship could potentially carry as much as 301 rail cars or 964 trucks.

Brooks said the picture wasn’t so bright for the industry about five years ago during the global recession. He said shipments were down and mounting environmental issues and regulations were affecting the industry. Also, aging infrastructure was taking its toll.

Brooks said in 2008-09, the average age of a Canadian fleet was 35 years old and no new ships had been built in Canada since 1985. He attributed this to a 1970s law that put a 25 per cent duty on foreign-built ships, which he said meant if a company bought four ships, they were essentially paying for five.

In 2010, the Conservative government did away with the 25 per cent duty and Brooks said in turn the industry responded with $2 billion in investments into new vessels.

Brooks said these new vessels are “greener, safer and more efficient.”

He also noted that since 2009, there has been a large amount of infrastructure modernization and improvements within the industry. He said without these investments, the industry might have not been able to recover.

The marine industry is in a “new era”, Brooks said, which is important not only for Huron County and the Port of Goderich, but “local businesses and the consumers who benefit from all the cargo that is transported” as well.

Howe spoke about the history of the Goderich port.

He said in the late ‘90s when the federal government was looking to download assets, the port was in bad shape. With the upcoming wharf expansion, Howe said he believes the port has recovered significantly under the ownership of the town.

He said being the only deep shore water port on the east side of Lake Huron makes Goderich very attractive to companies that are looking to move cargo over long distances.

Speaking on the wharf expansion, Howe said they are expecting to hear back from the Ministry of the Environment on an environmental assessment study in about a month. He said the next steps for the project are estimating the final costs and getting all the zone amendments and permits finalized.

He said construction may start in the spring, depending on the type of winter we experience, and they are hoping to have it finalized by 2017.

Goderich Signal Star





Port Reports - October 23

Hancock, Mich.
Mississagi was unloading salt on Wednesday.

St. Marys River
Upbound traffic Wednesday included James R. Barker, Kaye E. Barker, the saltie Ida and Edwin H. Gott. Joseph L. Block, Orla and Whitefish Bay were downbound. As evening fell, Gadwall, Thunder Bay and Algoma Montrealais were approaching DeTour upbound. The latter is headed to Duluth with cement.

Buffalo, N.Y. – Brian W
Rebecca Lynn - A-397 was still at the Noco Pier in Tonawanda Wednesday morning. Capt. Henry Jackman departed with salt Wednesday afternoon.





Lookback #340 – Grey Beaver aground on Stoney Crest Island Shoal on Oct. 23, 1956

10/23 - The canal-sized bulk carrier Grey Beaver spent most of its years in the fleet of the Upper Lakes & St. Lawrence Transportation Co. It had been built at South Bank on Tees, England, and completed in May 1929 as Southton for the Mathews Steamship Co.

The 259-foot-long freighter crossed the Atlantic to join in the canal trades between Lake Erie and Montreal. It could carry in the range of 3,000 tons of cargo or about 94,000 bushels of grain. The Mathews fleet went bankrupt in the Depression and Southton was repossessed by the builders.

It was sold to Beaver Industries Ltd. in 1931 and operated by the Hall Corporation in 1932 as Grey Beaver before being resold to Upper Lakes later that year.

Grey Beaver received major damage when it stranded on a reef about 2 miles east of Manitou Light, Lake Superior on April 21, 1941. The hull was not refloated until April 30 and proceeded to Port Arthur for repairs.

It was 58 years ago today that Grey Beaver stranded again. This time it struck Stoney Crest Island Shoal in the St. Lawrence near Alexandria Bay, NY. The steamship was carrying grain from Toronto to Trois Rivieres when it landed on the bottom. The shoal was scheduled to be removed for the development of the Seaway but the rocks were still there on Oct. 23, 1956.

Grey Beaver was released and headed to Port Weller Dry Docks. On November 1, 1956, the ship encountered fog in the western end of Lake Ontario and collided with fleet mate James B. Eads. This added bow damage to the bottom damage that required repairs.

Grey Beaver operated through the 1959 season but only saw brief service in 1960 in the pulpwood trade to Thorold. The ship was tied up at Toronto on July 7, 1960, and never sailed again. It was used as a grain storage hull until being sold for scrap in the summer of 1965.

The final trip, under tow, took Grey Beaver to the Turning Basin in Toronto and the ship was broken up for scrap at that location, along with long time running mate Brown Beaver, during the fall of 1965.

Skip Gillham





Today in Great Lakes History - October 23

On this day in 1949, the new Canada Steamship Line steamer HOCHELAGA successfully completed her sea trials in Georgian Bay. She departed Collingwood the next day to load her first cargo of grain at Port Arthur.

On October 23,1887, the small wooden scow-schooner LADY ELGIN was driven ashore about one mile north of Goderich, Ontario, in a severe storm that claimed numerous other vessels. By October 26, she was broken up by the waves.

The CARL GORTHON, was launched October 23, 1970, for Rederi A/B Gylfe, Hsingborg, Sweden. Sold Canadian in 1980, renamed b.) FEDERAL PIONEER and c.) CECILIA DESGAGNES in 1985. In 2000, she was used as a movie set, unofficially renamed LADY PANAMA.

The rail car ferry GRAND RAPIDS was launched October 23, 1926, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, for the Grand Trunk-Milwaukee Car Ferry Co., Muskegon, Michigan. She entered service in December of 1926.

WILLIAM B. SCHILLER (Hull#372) was launched October 23, 1909, at Lorain, Ohio, for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co., Cleveland, Ohio.

October 23, 1953 - The steamer SPARTAN arrived Ludington on her maiden voyage. Captain Harold A. Altschwager was in command.

On October 23, 1868, F. T. BARNEY (wooden schooner, 255 tons, built in 1856, at Vermilion, Ohio) collided with the schooner TRACY J BRONSON and sank below Nine Mile Point, Northwest of Rogers City in Lake Michigan. The wreck was found in 1987, and sits in deep water, upright in almost perfect condition.

On October 23, 1873, the wooden steam barge GENEVA was loaded with wheat and towing the barge GENOA in a violent storm on Lake Superior. She bent her propeller shaft and the flailing blades cut a large hole in her stern. The water rushed in and she went down quickly 15 miles off Caribou Island. No lives were lost. This was her first season of service. She was one of the first bulk freighters with the classic Great Lakes fore and aft deckhouses.

On October 23, 1883, JULIA (2-mast wooden schooner, 89 foot, 115 gross tons, built in 1875, at Smith's Falls, Ontario) was coming into Oswego harbor with a load of barley when she struck a pier in the dark and sank. No lives were lost.

1906: The wooden steamer SHENANDOAH backed into a wharf at South Chicago and then went full ahead into the opposite wharf. The captain was found to be drunk and his certificate was suspended.

1917: KATAHDIN was built at West Bay City in 1895 but was sold off-lakes in 1899. The ship was damaged as b) EXPORT in a collision on this date with the Japanese freighter TOKAYAMA MARU in the Delaware River. As a result of the accident, the ship was scrapped in 1918.

1956: GREY BEAVER ran aground on Stoney Crest Island, near Alexandria Bay, NY while downbound with wheat from Toronto to Trois Rivieres, QC. The vessel was released with bottom damage and required a trip to Port Weller Dry Docks for repairs.

1968: NORMAN P. CLEMENT, damaged by a grounding and then an on board explosion, was scuttled in the deep water of Georgian Bay near Christian Island.

1987: CANADIAN ENTERPRISE stranded in the Amherstburg Channel. The ship was lightered of 1,840 tons of coal and then pulled free by 4 tugs before going to Thunder Bay for repairs.