Today in Great Lakes History

[yachtsmanwilly]

Anderson clears Straits, heads for Sturgeon Bay

3/4 - The Arthur M. Anderson and Mobile Bay were able to make it out of the Straits of Mackinac ice on Tuesday. By Tuesday night, the steamer was about 30 miles west of Beaver Island, and also 30 miles northeast of Washington Island. At 9 p.m., the ship was traveling at 10.9 knots. As long as she doesn't encounter any more problems, the ship should arrive in Sturgeon Bay for winter layup on Wednesday. The Anderson's AIS destination was listed as "Potholes on Highway H20," and the Mobile Bay's read "Into the Blender."





Great Lakes ice cover over 88 percent

3/4 - How rough a winter has it been on the Great Lakes? Ask the crew of the freighter Arthur M. Anderson — whenever they make it back to port.

The 767-foot bulk carrier, due in port a week ago, was only just west of St. Ignace in northern Lake Michigan as of Monday afternoon, making its way to its winter layover port in Sturgeon Bay, Wis. The Anderson — famously the last ship to receive communication from the freighter Edmund Fitzgerald before it sank during an intense storm on Lake Superior in November 1975, killing all 29 crew members — was stuck in ice west of the Mackinac Bridge all day Sunday. A U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker had to free it, the boatnerd.com web site reported.

That's after the Anderson spent more than two weeks battling through ice in southern Lake Erie, for a trip from Conneaut, Ohio, to Gary, Ind., that typically takes two days. The freighter became frozen in place off Conneaut on Feb. 19, in deep, pressure-ridged lake ice stacked upon itself by winds. A U.S. Coast Guard cutter escorting the ship couldn't break it out, and two additional cutters from the Canadian Coast Guard were sent to assist. The Anderson sat locked in ice for two days before being freed.

It's the second straight tough winter for Great Lakes shipping, and the lakes altogether were 88.3% ice-covered as of Sunday — more than the 86% ice cover on the lakes on March 1, 2014, amid a winter with record snowfall and near-record frigid temperatures.

"Last winter, we had a little bit of a warm-up near the end of February, before we got another cold blast. This winter, we've had consistently cold temperatures," said George Leshkevich, a physical scientist with the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor.

Last winter's Great Lakes ice cover peaked at 92.5% on March 6 — the second-most since 1979. A flirtation with the documented record of 94.7% in 1979 may not happen this year, Leshkevich said.

"We're close to the time when we could expect the ice to start deteriorating," he said. "But if we keep getting cold temperatures, that could change. I hate to make forecasts like that, because you can be so wrong."

The overall ice-cover number is being held down by about 25% open water in Lake Ontario, and Lake Michigan, which is only 71.2% covered by ice. But Lake Superior was at 94.1% ice cover as of Sunday, with Huron and Erie at about 96%.

There's only a moment for Great Lakes haulers to catch their breath before a new shipping season begins next week, when the first cement boat gets underway March 12, said Glen Nekvasil, vice president of the Lake Carriers Association, a shipping trade group.

"I think they will need some ice-breaking assistance," he said. "It's always easier to keep going in ice than it is to get started. The traffic in the shipping lanes helps keep them from freezing. But now that the ships are in port, when we get going again, it will be tougher to get going."

After a second straight difficult winter for freight haulers, the Lake Carriers Association is appealing to the U.S. and Canadian governments to put more ice-breaking boats on the Great Lakes in the winter.

"We need adequate ice-breaking resources here on the Great Lakes," he said. "The economy doesn't know the weather; it still needs the products."

USA Today


Lake Superior levels down a bit in February

3/4 - Duluth, Minn. – A winter-long dry spell continues to bring down water levels on the upper Great Lakes, although they remain well above long-term averages. The International Lake Superior Board of Control on Monday reported that Lake Superior dropped 3 inches in February, a month the big lake usually declines by 2 inches.

Despite that higher than usual drop, caused by a dearth of snow and unusually low temperatures that kept rivers locked in ice, Lake Superior remains 7 inches above its long-term average for March 1 and is 7 inches above the March 1 average of 2014. Lake Superior had its highest February average water level since 1997.

Lakes Michigan and Huron also experienced dry conditions, dropping an inch in February when they usually stay about the same level. The lakes are now 9 inches above their long-term average for March 1 and 21 inches above their level at this time last year. Lakes Huron and Michigan had their highest average February water level since 1998.

Duluth News Tribune


Icebreaking set to begin at Duluth March 4

3/4 - U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Alder will commence spring ice breaking operations in the Duluth/Superior area on March 4. These operations will continue periodically over the next two weeks throughout the greater Duluth/Superior area. Initial ice breaking operations will be conducted inside the Duluth/Superior Harbor, then expanding to offshore the Duluth/Superior area. Eventually ice breaking operations will include Two Harbors, Taconite Harbor, Silver Bay and Thunder Bay, Ont.

USCG


Wisconsin site in Lake Michigan may become National Marine Sanctuary

3/4 - Milwaukee, Wis. – An 875-square-mile area of Lake Michigan off the Wisconsin coast could become the Great Lakes' second National Marine Sanctuary.

The proposal under consideration by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would affect an area that includes dozens of sunken ships and is near Port Washington, Sheboygan, Manitowoc and Two Rivers, the Journal Sentinel reports.

"We hope that they're going to pick us. We're the only one submitted from Wisconsin," said Sheboygan Mayor Mike Vandersteen. "It's a tourism draw, it's putting you on the map."

Officials hope gaining the designation would also put a spotlight on the area's transportation history in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Among the sunken ships is the Rouse Simmons, which sank in 1912 while carrying Christmas trees from Michigan to Chicago. There's also Wisconsin's oldest known shipwreck, the Gallinipper, which went under in 1851.

Records say there are 137 ships that were lost in the area, and 34 vessels have been found underwater. Vandersteen said protected status would likely lead to more shipwreck discoveries.

There are 14 protected underwater areas in the National Marine Sanctuary System, according to the NOAA website. That includes Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary on Lake Huron in Michigan.

The sanctuary process for the Wisconsin site could take 1 ½ to 2 years. An environmental impact study is the next step.

Associated Press



Today in Great Lakes History - March 4

In 1944, the U.S.C.G.C. MACKINAW (WAGB-83) was launched by the Toledo Ship Building Company (Hull #188) at Toledo, Ohio. Her name was originally planned to be MANITOWOC. MACKINAW was retired in 2006.

CECILIA DESGAGNES, a.) CARL GORTHON, departed Sorel, Quebec, on March 4, 1985, bound for Baie Comeau, Quebec, on her first trip in Desgagnes colors.

March 4, 1904 - William H. Le Fleur of the Pere Marquette car ferries was promoted to captain at the age of 34. He was the youngest carferry captain on the Great Lakes.

In 1858, TRENTON (wooden propeller, 134 foot, 240 gross tons, built in 1854, at Montreal, Quebec) burned to a total loss while tied to the mill wharf at Picton, Ontario, in Lake Ontario. The fire was probably caused by carpenters that were renovating her.

On 4 March 1889, TRANSIT (wooden 10-car propeller carferry, 168 foot, 1,058 gross tons, built in 1872, at Walkerville, Ontario) burned at the Grand Trunk Railroad dock at Windsor, Ontario on the Detroit River. She had been laid up since 1884, and the Grand Trunk Railroad had been trying to sell her for some time.

In 1871, FLORENCE (iron steamer, 42.5 foot, built in 1869, at Baltimore, Maryland) burned while docked at Amherstburg, Ontario at about 12:00 p.m. The fire was hot enough to destroy all the cabins and melt the surrounding ice in the Detroit River, but the vessel remained afloat and her engines were intact. She was rebuilt and remained in service until 1922 when she was scrapped.

1976 - The former British freighter GRETAFIELD of 1952, a Great Lakes visitor for the first time in 1962, hit the breakwall entering Cape Town, South Africa, as c) SIROCCO I and received extensive bow damage. It was sold to Taiwanese shipbreakers and departed May 15,1976, arriving at Kaohsiung July 5 for dismantling.

1983 - The former Danish freighter MARIE SKOU of 1962, inland for the first time in 1966, caught fire in the engine room and was abandoned by the crew south of Sicily as b) CLEO C. The vessel was towed to Malta on March 9 and scrapped there beginning in April.

1986 - The onetime Greek freighter YEMELOS, built in 1962 as MIGOLINA and renamed in 1972, first came inland in 1973. It was abandoned as e) TANFORY off Trincomolee, Sri Lanka, en route from Kandla, India, to Chittagong, Bangladesh, with salt and bentonite. The ship was presumed to have sunk.

1995 - The tug ERIE NO. 1, a) DUNKIRK, b) PEGGY M., c) RENE PURVIS sank at the dock in Toronto. It was raised by a crane June 18, 1995, but the cable snapped, dropping the hull on the dock breaking the tug’s back. The vessel was broken up at that location in late 1995.

2011 - LOUIS JOLLIET caught fire at Montreal during winter work. The ex-St. Lawrence ferry was being used as an excursion vesse

[yachtsmanwilly]

Anderson finally arrives at Sturgeon Bay for winter lay-up

3/5 - After almost a month of battling Great Lakes ice, the Arthur M. Anderson entered the Sturgeon Bay ship canal on Wednesday morning and docked at Bay Shipbuilding for a very short winter layup. The 62-year-old steamer became the final ship to lay up in Sturgeon Bay for the winter.

A trip that began from South Chicago, Ill., on Feb. 5 took the Anderson and her crew through ice-choked Lake Michigan and the St. Clair and the Detroit rivers into Lake Erie. However, since Lake Erie was nearly frozen over, the Anderson could not reach its destination of Conneaut, Ohio, where it was supposed to have loaded a cargo for Gary, Ind., and the U.S. Steel facility. The Anderson fought for five days before it was decided to forgo the trip and head for lay-up.

Of note is that the Anderson, with its March 23, 2014 fit-out date, sailed almost 19 days short of a full year. With the Anderson's arrival, this brings a total of 15 lake ships that will spend the winter in Sturgeon Bay. The list includes Algolake, American Century, Buffalo, Walter J. McCarthy Jr., CSL Assiniboine, CSL Laurentien, Joseph L. Block, Wilfred Sykes, Cason J. Callaway, Edgar B. Speer, Hon. James L. Oberstar, James R. Barker, Paul R. Tregurtha and the tug Invincible.


Mackinaw wrapping up scheduled repairs; will sail March 9

3/5 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw is currently wrapping up its fourth week of a scheduled maintenance and repair (aka Charlie) period and will sail Monday, March 9 to commence the spring break out.

Each of the USCG cutters are scheduled for maintenance during the Closed Navigation Season (15 Jan-10 Mar),” said Mark S. Gill, Director, VTS St. Marys River on Wednesday.

“As you can imagine, the physical impact of ice breaking on these platforms is tremendous. Each cutter by class (WTGB, WLB, WLBB) is allotted 3-5 weeks of maintenance during the nine-week lock closure period to reset machinery, conduct training, and correct discrepancies.”

Questions about the Mackinaw’s status had risen recently as the big cutter remained moored while other, smaller, ice breakers were working to move the steamer Arthur M. Anderson through heavy Straits of Mackinac ice near the Mackinaw’s home port, Cheboygan, Mich.

Along with the other U.S. and Canadian ice breakers, CGC Mackinaw will sail Monday March 9 to commence the spring break out, Gill said.


Help wanted: Algoma Central Corp.

Algoma Central Corp. is seeking to fill permanent full-time 2nd Engineer positions in the dry bulk & tanker fleet. Immediate positions are available.

In order to be considered, candidates must possess a minimum of a 2nd Class Engineer, Motor Certificate; Specialized Oil Tanker Training Certificate (for tanker); and Ship Personnel with Designated Security Duties Certificate (for tanker & SOLAS class vessels).

If you are interested in a position as 2nd Engineer with Algoma and meet the profile described within, please submit your resume in confidence to Human Resources at [e-mail] or by fax to 905-687-7841.

Algoma Central Corporation encourages applications from designated group members identified under the Federal Employment Equity Act. We wish to thank all applicants in advance, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Algoma Central Corp.


On 05 March 1997, the Canadian Coast Guard cutter GRIFFON pulled the smashed remains of a 1996 Ford Bronco from the icy depths of the Straits of Mackinac. The vehicle flipped off the Mackinac Bridge on 02 March 1997, and the driver was killed. The U.S. Coast Guard cutter BISCAYNE BAY served as a platform for the M-Rover submersible craft used to locate the Bronco in 190 feet of water.

HARRY L. ALLEN was launched March 5, 1910, as a.) JOHN B. COWLE (Hull#379) at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co. She was declared a constructive total loss after a fire on January 21, 1978. The vessel was in winter lay-up at the Capitol elevator in Duluth when part of the elevator complex burned. Debris from the elevator fell on the boat, badly damaging it. The owners decided to scrap it rather than repair it. The ALLEN was scrapped at Duluth in 1978.

LEADALE was launched March 5, 1910, as a.) HARRY YATES (Hull#77) at St. Clair, Michigan, by Great Lakes Engineering Works. Scrapped at Cartagena, Columbia in 1979.

March 5, 1932 - In distress with a broken steering gear off the Ludington harbor, S.S. VIRGINIA entered port under her own power.

On 05 March 1898, the WILLIAM R. LINN (Hull#32) (steel propeller freighter, 400 foot, 4,328 gross tons) was launched at the Chicago Ship Building Company in South Chicago, Illinois. In 1940, she was sold, renamed b.) L.S. WESCOAT and converted to a tanker. She was scrapped in Germany in 1965.

1997 - The former Greek bulk carrier ANTONIS P. LEMOS had been built at Osaka, Japan, in 1976, and visited the Great Lakes that year. As c) ALBION TWO, the ship departed Gdynia, Poland, for Kingston, Jamaica, with a cargo of steel products and was reported as missing on March 5. Wreckage was later found off the coast of France and identified as from the missing vessel. All 25 crewmembers were lost. The ship had also been through the Seaway as b) MACFRIENDSHIP in November 1993 with a cargo of steel for Hamilton.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Seaway pushes opening date to April 2

3/6 - The opening date for the St. Lawrence Seaway 2015 navigation season has been delayed and is now scheduled to take place at 8 a.m. April 2 for both the Montreal/Lake Ontario sections and the Welland Canal. Vessel transits will be subject to weather and ice conditions. The waterway had originally been scheduled to open on March 27.

St. Lawrence Seaway





Ice to slow start of Seaway shipping

3/6 - A bitterly cold winter of 2015 will almost surely cause a slow start to the St. Lawrence Seaway shipping season similar to 2014.

St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation communications officer Andrew Bogora said icy conditions in the Great Lakes are expected to reduce the level of shipping after the season officially starts March 27 (Editor’s note: The date has now been changed to April 2).

He said the opening date is based on historical weather patterns and general thickness of the ice at the time, but this year is another anomaly. “We do believe we’ll have a fair amount of ice when we open. That does provide a bit of a challenge,” said Bogora.

Ice coverage on the Great Lakes stood at more than 85 per cent Monday and is expected to peak in early March. Ice coverage in 2014 reached 92.6 per cent on March 6, the second highest level on record.

But a more persistent cold in 2015 has some scientists suggesting the all-time record of almost 95 per cent ice coverage set in 1979 could be challenged this year.

Lake freighters that traditionally transport goods on the interior Great Lakes have been encountering serious ice difficulties this year. Coast Guard vessels from both the U.S. and Canada – including the Prescott-based Griffon – have been pressed into action to free stranded ships and provide escorts for others.

“If the weather continues to be cold, it is fair to say the amount of activity could be affected for the first or second week of the season,” said Bogora.

On the brighter side, a slow start in 2014 did not stop the Seaway from posting its busiest season since 2009 with more than 40 million tonnes of cargo transported including more than 12 million tonnes of grain.

“There was a very sharp rebound in traffic and we are hopeful for a similar turnaround in 2015,” said Bogora.

Brockville Recorder





Man walked miles, slept in lighthouse before Coast Guard rescue

3/6 - Algonac, Mich. – A 25-year-old man told authorities he walked for more than a day across frozen Lake St. Clair and slept in a lighthouse Wednesday night before U.S. Coast Guard crews rescued him Thursday morning.

Lt. Joshua Zike, commanding officer for the U.S. Coast Guard ship Neah Bay, said crewmembers aboard the 140-foot icebreaking tug spotted the man shortly after 9:30 a.m. when they were entering Lake St. Clair from the St. Clair River.

Zike said the man was about a mile and a half off Seaway Island in northern Lake St. Clair. The ship approached to within about 100 yards of the man and deployed two members of its ice rescue team — petty officers Ethan Fryar and Scott Sjostrom — to make contact with him.

Fryar and Sjostrom determined the man was hypothermic and brought him back to the ship, where they placed him in a hypothermia bag.

"He was in the beginning stages of hypothermia," Zike said. "It took him a long time to formulate his thoughts."

He said the man told crewmembers he was attempting to travel from Detroit to Toronto over Lake St. Clair. The man said he departed Detroit about two nights before and had spent Wednesday night in the Crib Lighthouse on Lake St. Clair.

Zike said the man had a backpack with food and clothes in it, and a sleeping bag and tarp.

The man was about 16 miles from the mouth of the Detroit River, Zike said, and about eight and a half miles from the nearest point of land westward when Coast Guard crews made contact with him. Zike said the man did not say why he wanted to go to Toronto, or why he chose the route that he did. The man is an American citizen.

The Neah Bay brought the man to shore in Algonac shortly before 12:30 p.m., where he was transferred to paramedics for medical treatment.

"It was extremely rewarding to be able to put into practice what we trained for and then, ultimately, at the end of the day, to save someone's life," Zike said.

According to a statement from the U.S. Coast Guard 9th District, the rescue was the first conducted by an ice rescue team deployed from a Great Lakes cutter in more than four years.

Port Huron Times Herald


Today in Great Lakes History - March 6

EUGENE J. BUFFINGTON (Hull#366) was launched March 6, 1909, at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co., for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. She lasted until 1980, when she was towed to San Esteban de Pravia, Spain, for scrapping.

At noon on 6 March 1873, the steam railroad carferry SAGINAW was launched at the Port Huron Dry Dock Co. She did not get off the ways at first and had to be hauled off by the tug KATE MOFFAT. She was built for use between Port Huron and Sarnia.

On 6 March 1892, SAGINAW (wooden 4-car propeller carferry, 142 foot, 365 tons, built in 1873, at Port Huron, Michigan) burned at the dock in Windsor, Ontario where she had been laid up since 1884. The hull was later recovered and converted to an odd-looking tug, a well-known wrecker in the Detroit River area until broken up about 1940.

1982 INDIANA was chartered to Swedish interests when it made four trips to the Great Lakes in 1962. It was sailing as d) ZOE II, under Liberian registry, when it was abandoned in the Adriatic Sea, south of Pula, Yugoslavia, (now Croatia) after a severe list had developed while on a voyage from Koper, Yugoslavia, (now Slovenia) to Ancona, Italy, on March 6, 1982. No further trace of the ship was ever found.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Workers ready Soo Locks for upcoming opener

3/9 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – Great Lakes ships aren't moving right now, thanks to ice. But Soo Locks maintenance crews are scurrying — often in the face of bitter cold — to get the channels between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes in tip-top shape for a March 25 reopening.

"We're forced to do heavy maintenance at probably the worst time of the year," said Jim Peach, assistant area engineer for the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie. "We always manage to get it done."

Of course whether ships will be there on the first day is anybody's guess. Last year the locks re-opened on March 25 and then waited, waited and waited some more thanks to last year's bitter cold.

"We had a heavy ice pack, so even when the locks opened there were no ships because they couldn't get here," Peach said.

The locks are on the St. Mary's Canal, which connects Lake Superior and Lake Huron and gently lowers ships 21 feet through the course of the canal.

The Soo Locks Visitors Center opens for the season on May 10; people can get up close and personal with the locks during Soo Locks Engineer's Day on June 26.

Detroit Free Press



Today in Great Lakes History - March 9

In 1905, the JAMES C. WALLACE (Hull#334) of the Acme Steamship Co., (A.B. Wolvin, mgr.), was launched at Lorain, Ohio, by American Ship Building Co. Purchased by the Interlake Steamship Co. in 1913, she was scrapped at Genoa, Italy in 1963.

On 09 March 1933, all nine steamers of the Goodrich Transit Company were seized by federal marshals under a bankruptcy petition. These steamers were CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, CAROLINA, ALABAMA, ILLINOIS, CITY OF BENTON HARBOR, CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS, CITY OF ST. JOSEPH, CITY OF HOLLAND, and the CITY OF SAUGATUCK.

AMOCO ILLINOIS was launched March 9, 1918, as a) WILLIAM P. COWAN (Hull#724) at Lorain, Ohio, by American Ship Building Co.

NOTRE DAME VICTORY (Hull#1229), was launched on March 9, 1945, at Portland, Oregon, by Oregon Shipbuilding Co., just 42 days after her keel was laid. She became the b.) CLIFFS VICTORY and sailed on the Great Lakes from 1951 until 1985.

WIARTON was launched March 9, 1907, as a) THOMAS LYNCH (Hull#73) at Chicago, Illinois, by Chicago Ship Building Co., for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. She was used as part of a breakwall at the Steel Co. of Canada Dock in Hamilton. The GROVEDALE of 1905, and HENRY R. PLATT JR of 1909, were also used.

March 9, 1920 - The PERE MARQUETTE 3 sank off Ludington after being crushed by ice.

On 9 March 1858, the propeller ferry GLOBE was being loaded with cattle at the Third Street dock at Detroit, Michigan. In the rush to get aboard, the cattle caused the vessel to capsize. All of the cattle swam ashore, although some swam across the river to the Canadian side.

1985: The Norwegian freighter TRONSTAD first came to the Great Lakes as a pre-Seaway visitor in 1957. It returned on another 12 occasions after the new waterway opened in 1959. The vessel was sailing a d) CRUZ DEL SUR when it was confiscated by U.S. authorities for drug smuggling and brought to Miami on this date in 1985. The 30-year old ship was towed out into the Atlantic and scuttled off Miami on December 19, 1986.

2007: The Greek freighter WISMAR was built in 1979 and came through the Seaway in 1980. It lost power below Lock 2 of the Welland Canal while upbound on August 30, 1980, and had to drop anchor. It was sailing as h) GRACIA from Thailand to Dakar, Senegal, with a cargo of rice, when the engine failed in heavy weather in the Indian Ocean on February 27, 2007. The crew took to the lifeboats and was rescued. The former Great Lakes visitor was last seen on March 7, adrift, with a 20-degree list to port, and likely soon sank.


Lookback #476 – First Prins Frederik Hendrik torpedoed, sunk March 8, 1941

The first Prins Frederik Hendrik lasted only five years but it spent considerable time visiting the Great Lakes during its short career.

The vessel was built at Fredriksstad, Norway, as Taborfjell and completed on August 1, 1936. It came to the Great Lakes, under Norwegian registry, the first year and the 250 foot, 4 inch long by 42 foot, 2 inch wide freighter was an ideal size for the old St. Lawrence Canals.

Taborjell returned inland in 1937 but was sold before the year was out. It joined the Oranje Line as this Dutch flag company was just beginning Great Lakes service. This was one of their first two purchases.

Renamed Prins Frederik Hendrik, it came back to the Great Lakes in 1938, 1939 and 1940 but not without some problems. The vessel went aground in an early morning fog off Wolfe Island in the eastern end of Lake Ontario on May 23, 1939. The tug Salvage Prince pulled the Dutch freighter free the next day.

Then, on August 2, 1939, the ship hit the east wall leaving the Welland Canal at Port Colborne and this required drydocking for bow repairs.

On March 8, 1941, the ship was attacked by German Air Force planes in the St. George's Channel off the coast of the United Kingdom. The vessel was on a voyage from Cardiff, Wales, to Bathurst, New Brunswick but went down 74-years ago today with the loss of eight lives.

[yachtsmanwilly]

3/10 - Marquette, Mich. - With spring icebreaking efforts set to begin Monday in western Lake Superior, U.S. Coast Guard officials said ice conditions this year are much improved from last year when ice remained in Marquette into the first week in June.

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Alder was set to start breaking ice in the Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin, area today, with the operations expected to continue there over several days.

The Coast Guard provides icebreaking assistance in U.S. waters where commercial icebreaking resources are either unavailable or incapable of handling the difficult ice conditions. Under an international agreement, the Coast Guard may also provide icebreaking efforts in Canadian waters.

Coast Guard officials said initial operations would be conducted inside the Duluth/Superior Harbor, then be expanded offshore. Eventually, icebreakers will head north to Two Harbors, Taconite Harbor and Silver Bay in Minnesota and Thunder Bay in Ontario.

Mark Gill, director of Vessel Traffic Service at the St. Marys River in Sault Ste. Marie, said the Minnesota-Wisconsin western Lake Superior operation was set to begin March 4, but was postponed as air temperatures dropped below predictions.

"Although this year's ice coverage is similar to that experienced last year, the thickness of the ice is down roughly 35 percent," Gill said. "Working in our favor this year, the forecasted temperatures are far better this spring than last. Although it is colder than normal, our temperatures will slowly rise as we progress through March."

Gill said over the past week, increased sunlight reduced Great Lakes ice cover by 11 percent.

"This was not the case last year as we built ice into the middle of March and didn't begin to see signs of deterioration until mid-April," Gill said. "This year the (Soo) Lock opening, traffic hinderance and ice deterioration will be closer to normal. Yes, there will be delays as we have a little more ice than normal, but nothing close to that experienced last year."

Last year, Coast Guard cutters battled ice more than 6 feet thick in some places. The ice on Lake Superior was at its thickest in two decades. The Great Lakes overall were almost completely locked in ice for the first time since 1979.

The local shipping season was delayed as freighters were unable to reach Marquette's Upper Harbor. Cutters were leading ships in convoys across Lake Superior. McCarty's Cove in Marquette remained locked in ice as late as Memorial Day weekend.

In January, icebreakers were assigned to the lakes and some efforts have been under way to assist Great Lakes vessels since. This month, the Soo Locks are scheduled to re-open March 25.

"In the next couple of weeks, icebreakers will begin regional waterway breakouts in advance of the lock opening," Gill said.

This week, in addition to icebreaking in western Lake Superior, the Coast Guard will also be breaking ice in Green Bay. Next week, cutters are scheduled to be working in the Straits of Mackinac and on the St. Marys River.

Gill said the Coast Guard had no current plans of icebreaking in Marquette, but he expected that to change as the commercial shipping industry announces plans to reach the Upper Harbor ore dock.

Mining Journal



3/10 - The Great Lakes ice cover is going down now, and on some lakes it's disappearing rapidly. With a week of above-freezing temperatures coming, the Great Lakes have likely reached peak ice.

The entire Great Lakes system has seen ice cover decrease in the last eight days from peak ice at 88.8 percent to currently 78.5 percent. Since the peak has probably been reached, Great Lakes ice fell short of last year's peak ice cover of 92 percent.

The high-resolution satellite pictures taken over the last few days really show nicely the open water developing on the Great Lakes, and the shifting ice shields.

Lake Superior was 95.6 percent covered with ice just eight days ago, and yesterday was ranked at 90 percent ice-covered. Lake Michigan has seen the ice cover plunge in the last eight days, going from 72.9 percent to now 49 percent. Lake Huron, while still mostly covered in ice, shows a dramatic eastward drift in the ice shield covering it. Lake Huron has only lost 4 percent ice in the last week, but look at the open water developing on the west side of the lake.

Lake Erie is still almost 93 percent covered in ice, but open water is developing on the west end. Lake Ontario ice has plunged from 62 percent six days ago to 48 percent now.

How does this compare to last year?

Last year on March 8 there was still 90.8 percent ice cover on the entire Great Lakes system. All of the Great Lakes except Lake Ontario still had over 90 percent ice cover at this point last year. Lake Ontario was 55 percent ice covered this time last year, which is still higher than currently.

With milder air moving in for at least the next five days, there will be even more melting this week.

If you want to see the ice caves, or look at the ice, you will need to do it this week. Be extremely careful and do not go out onto the ice. It will be getting weaker and shifting around. Also be very careful ice fishing. Open water on Lake Huron makes it easier for ice to shift on Saginaw Bay, and leave you in a very dangerous situation.

By MLive Chief Meteorologist Mark Torregrossa


Rev. Al calls for a March march. Don't worry, he's still in Madison...

Police called to end passenger protest on Strait of Belle Isle ferry

3/10 - Frustration with the ferry service between Newfoundland and Labrador bubbled over on Sunday, with about 20 passengers staging a peaceful sit-in aboard the motor vessel Apollo, which is docked at St. Barbe on the Northern Peninsula.

They were demanding the coast guard supply a larger, more powerful icebreaker to deal with the jammed-up Strait of Belle Isle, and hoping to draw attention to what they believe is a substandard service.

"We're tired of having this service denied to us," Blanc Sablon resident Vincent Wellman told CBC News Monday morning.

According to the coast guard's acting superintendent of ice operations, the light icebreaker Anne Harvey is still standing by to assist the MV Apollo in St. Barbe. Rebecca Acton-Bond said a larger vessel may not be able to make the crossing either.

"When there's that much [ice] pressure, the track closes in so quickly behind them that they're not able to move the Apollo through the track," Acton-Bond said.

There hasn’t been any crossings since March 5, when the Apollo struggled for 18 hours to travel the 28 kilometres from Blanc Sablon to St. Barbe.

Many travellers — commercial and private — have been stranded for up to seven days on both sides of the Strait of Belle Isle, leading to a growing sense of irritation among those impacted.

People have been venting their anger on social media at the service provider — Woodward Group of Companies — and the coast guard. When Sunday's attempted crossing failed, some passengers refused to leave the galley for about two hours.

Wellman described the conditions faced by some travellers as "inhumane," with people sleeping in their vehicles in the dead of winter, or absorbing the costs of paying for accommodations.

He said it's inexcusable that this "essential service" is so routinely disrupted by ice conditions. "They should have something that can cross in these conditions," said Wellman.

Two women trying to get to Labrador to see their dying father are among those waiting for a crossing.

Leona Buckle says she and her sister have been waiting four days for the ferry to leave St. Barbe. They also tried to get seats on a flight, then tried to book a charter, and even asked the mail plane to take them.

Dave Leyden, operations manager with the Woodward Group of Companies, said he understands that the service interruptions are frustrating for travellers and having a financial impact on many people. But he said it's beyond the company's control.

He described ice conditions as "terrible," with wind conditions funneling ice into the Strait and making it all but impossible to navigate.

Leyden said the crew had no choice but to call the RCMP Sunday because the passengers refusing to leave were blocking those who wanted to disembark. He also said safety rules prevent the company from allowing passengers to stay on board the vessel during such circumstances.

The coast guard has been providing icebreaker assistance, but even this hasn't been enough, said Leyden. According to the coast guard, all icebreakers on the east coast are currently in service. The coast guard is sending the heavy icebreaker Terry Fox to St. Barbe later in the week. It's expected to arrive in time for Wednesday morning's crossing.

"Certainly there is heavy ice in the Strait of Belle Isle but that's not where the heaviest ice is … ice in the Cabot Strait is significantly heavier than ice in Strait of Bell Isle right now," said Acton-Bond.

An attempted crossing on Sunday afternoon was quickly aborted after the Apollo and the Ann Harvey became ensnared in the ice.

"The frustration of passengers is understandable but we are doing all we can to try to get crossings in with the assistance of coast guard," Leyden explained.

Leyden said another attempted crossing will be made Monday morning.

CBC News


CHARLES E. WILSON (Hull#710) was launched March 10, 1973, at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin by Bay Shipbuilding Corp., for American Steamship Co. Renamed b.) JOHN J. BOLAND in 2000.

The ADAM E. CORNELIUS, built by the Great Lakes Engineering Works (Hull#53) in 1908, was renamed b.) DETROIT EDISON on March 10, 1948. In 1954, she was renamed c.) GEORGE F. RAND and in 1962, the RAND was sold to Canadian registry and renamed d.) AVONDALE. She was scrapped at Castellon, Spain in 1979.

FORT HENRY (Hull#150) was launched March 10, 1955, at Collingwood, Ontario by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., for Canada Steamship Lines Ltd.

KINSMAN VENTURE was launched March 10, 1906, as a.) JOHN SHERWIN (Hull#617) at West Bay City, Michigan by West Bay City Ship Building Co.

On 10 March 1881, the propellers MORLEY and A. L. HOPKINS were purchased by the Wabash Railroad Company from the Morley Brothers of Marine City, Michigan.

The N. K. FAIRBANK (wooden freighter, 205 foot, 980 gross tons, built in 1874, at Marine City, Michigan) was sold by Morley & Morse to Captain H. Hastings on 10 March 1884.

The tug RIVER QUEEN sank at her dock in Port Huron, Michigan during the night of 10 March 1885. She was raised the following day and one of her seacocks was discovered to have been open that caused her to fill with water.

CADILLAC (steel ferry, 161 foot, 636 gross tons) was launched on 10 March 1928, by the Great Lakes Engineering Works in River Rouge, Michigan (Hull #260) for the Detroit & Windsor Ferry Company. The ferry company claimed that she was the largest and most powerful ferry in North American waters. When she was launched, the Ambassador Bridge and the tunnel, which connects Detroit and Windsor, were being constructed. She was placed in service on 25 April 1928, and had a varied history. From 1940 to 1942, she ran as a Bob-lo steamer. In 1942, she was sold to the U. S. Coast Guard and renamed b.) ARROWWOOD (WAGL 176) and used as an icebreaker. She was rebuilt in 1946, renamed c.) CADILLAC, and served as a passenger vessel on Lake Erie. At the end of the 1947 season, she was tied up to the dock for use as a restaurant. She went through a couple of owners until she finally arrived at the scrappers' dock in Hamilton, Ontario on May 26, 1962 for breaking up.

In 2000, the HARMONIOUS, a Panamanian freighter dating from 1977, visited the Great Lakes in 1978 and returned on several occasions through 1986. It was lost on the Arabian Sea as c) KASTOR TOO while traveling from Aqaba, Jordan, to Visakhapatnam, India, with a cargo of phosphate on March 10, 2000. The crew of 18 were rescued by the nearby container ship MILDBURG.

[yachtsmanwilly]

The keel was laid March 11, 1976, for the 660-foot-long forward section of the BELLE RIVER (Hull#716) at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin by Bay Shipbuilding Corp. Renamed b.) WALTER J. McCARTHY JR in 1990.

L'AIGLE was launched March 11, 1982, as a.) ERRIA PILOT (Hull#308) at Imabari, Japan by Asakawa Zosen Co. Renamed b.) KOYAMA 3 in 1983, c.) IONIAN EAGLE in 1989. Purchased by Soconav in 1991, renamed d.) LÕAIGLE. Sold, renamed e.) ALAM KERISI in 1996, f.) SALDA in 1999, and sails today as the tanker g.) ARAL.

Sea trials were conducted on March 11, 1956, on Paterson's new canaller LACHINEDOC.

The tug RIVER QUEEN was sold to Ed Recor of St. Clair, Michigan on 11 March 1886.

1904: The wooden-hull Lake Erie car ferry SHENANGO NO. 1 caught fire and burned following an engine room explosion on March 11, 1904. The vessel had been frozen in the ice off Conneaut since January 1 and one member of the crew perished in the blaze.

1912: FLORA M. HILL sank in Lake Michigan en route to Chicago after being caught in an ice floe that crushed the iron hull. The vessel had been built as at Philadelphia in 1874 as the lighthouse tender DAHLIA and rebuilt and renamed at Milwaukee in 1910 for Lake Michigan service.



Former Seaway trader Melina broke in two and sank March 11, 1975

The bulk carrier Melina was ten years old when it began Great Lakes trading in 1971. The ship had been built as the Norwegian flag freighter Mogen at Deptford, England, and completed in July 1961. The 566 foot, 2 inch long vessel was had three cargo holds and 5 hatches.

Mogen was sold and re-registered in Greece as Melina in 1969. It came through the Seaway in 1971 but was sold again the next year and renamed Oinoussian Scientist. It passed into another Greek flag enterprise as Freights Queen in 1974 before being lost early the next year.

The ship had loaded iron ore at Rio de Janiero, Brazil, and was on a voyage to Emden, West Germany, when it broke in two on March 11, 1975. The accident of 40 years ago today led to the sinking of the ship and 25 of the 32 sailors on board were lost. It went down in the approximate position of 36.00 N / 14.00 W which would be in the Atlantic off the west coast of North Africa. Only seven members of the crew survived.

Coast Guard urges caution on Great Lakes amid warmer weather

3/11 - Detroit, Mich. – The U.S. Coast Guard is urging people to use caution on Great Lakes waterways due to warmer temperatures and unstable ice. The warning specifically mentions Lake Superior and the northern parts of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

People are at risk of falling through the ice during above freezing-temperatures. The Coast Guard also notes that ice-breaking in harbors, ports and waterways also is increasing throughout the Great Lakes in preparation for the March 25 opening of the Soo Locks.

The Coast Guard says people should stay away from cracks, seams, pressure ridges, slushy areas and darker areas of ice since these could be hazards.

Meanwhile, The Muskegon Chronicle reports utility Consumers Energy is warning outdoor enthusiasts about thin ice and open water surrounding its generating and hydroelectric plants in Michigan.

Associated Press


Future still uncertain for American Fortitude

3/11 - Oswego, N.Y. - American Fortitude, a 690-foot vessel docked at the Port of Oswego Authority, is wintering well. The future of the ship, though, once one of the largest and fastest on the Great Lakes and more than two football fields in length, remains uncertain.

"There's no problems," said Zelko Kirincich, executive director of the Oswego Port Authority. "It's all iced in, but that should change soon. There's not a drop of water inside and we check the lines every day and they're in great shape."

The boat's time on the Great Lakes is quickly coming to a close. A Texas holding company owns it but is still up in the air about whether to scrap it or sell it for use overseas. The contract for docking it at Oswego expires April 15, Zelko said, and arrangements are starting to be made to move it from Oswego.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast guard and local emergency management officials are working with Zelko to set up emergency boarding exercises during the next few weeks.

"It's a perfect ship for it. We're just trying to coordinate things and set a date," he said. "It's a wonderful ship," Zelko said of American Fortitude. "The new ones should be as well-maintained."

Syracuse.com

[skycheney]

The frost is so deep in Bay City that the slab in front of the shop where my boat is has raised 5". They can't get the travelift in so I guess my boat is stuck there until July when it thaws out.

[yachtsmanwilly]

One word comes to mind: DYNAMITE... Take a charge up there and show them how its done in the pit! ws

St. Marys River icebreaking operations set to start

3/12 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – On Friday, the United States Coast Guard will begin icebreaking operations in the St. Marys River in preparation for the 2015 shipping season. These operations will begin in the lower river near Detour, and extend north to the Locks in Sault Ste. Marie. Conducting the ice breaking work will be U.S. Coast Guard Cutters Mackinaw (Cheboygan, Mich.), Biscayne Bay (St. Ignace, Mich.), Mobile Bay (Sturgeon Bay, Wis.) and Katmai Bay (Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.).

Icebreaking operations will involve work in the upbound channel, also known as the Middle Neebish Channel, from the Detour to the Sault Locks, the lower portion of the West Neebish Channel from Mud Lake Junction Light up to the ice edge near West Neebish LT 29. The upper portion of the West Neebish Channel above light 45 will also be broken out. The ice bridge above the ferry landing to Neebish Island will not be impacted by this work. The West Neebish Channel in its entirety will be opened just prior to the March 25 opening of the Soo Locks. U.S. Coast Guard personnel will work with EUPTA officials to ensure the impact to ferries are kept to a minimum throughout the break out process.

All-terrain vehicle operators, snowmobilers and other recreational users of the ice should avoid any proximity to the shipping channels, plan their activity carefully, and use caution near the ice. Additionally, all ice fishermen should remove their ice shacks from areas close to the shipping channels.

USCG



Today in Great Lakes History - March 12

The b.) RUTH HINDMAN was launched March 12, 1910, as a.) NORWAY (Hull#115) at Toledo, Ohio by Toledo Shipbuilding Co., for the United States Transportation Co. She was scrapped at Thunder Bay, Ontario, in 1978.

G.A. TOMLINSON was launched March 12, 1907, as a) D.O. MILLS (Hull#29) at Ecorse, Michigan, by Great Lakes Engineering Works for the Mesaba Steamship Co.

March 12, 1941 - The ferry CITY OF MIDLAND 41 arrived in Ludington, Michigan, on her maiden voyage. She loaded cars of paper at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and then picked up some cars of canned milk at Kewaunee, with Captain Charles Robertson in command.

On 12 March 1883, the steam barge R. MC DONALD was renamed IDA M. TORRENT.

1917: ALGONQUIN was built at Glasgow, Scotland, in 1888 and saw service for several companies on the Great Lakes. The ship was torpedoed by U-62 when it was 65 miles off Cornwall, England, while west of Bishop's Rock and en route from New York to London with general cargo. It was the first American merchant ship lost due to enemy action in World War One.

1942: ¬CRAIGROWNIE was a World War One Laker and had been launched at Ashtabula on April 12, 1919. It was sailing as d) OLGA when torpedoed by U-126, 20 miles off Nuevital Light, Cuba, while en route from Port Everglades, FL, to Beracoa, Cuba. One crewmember was lost but 32 were rescued and taken to Cuba.

1947: EXANTHIA struck a mine in the Mediterranean while 12 miles from the island of Elba while traveling from Istanbul to New York. The ship was flooded and abandoned but reboarded and eventually towed to New York for repairs. The ship sailed for the American Export Lines and came to the Great Lakes on nine occasions from 1959-1961. After a few years in the James River Reserve Fleet, the vessel was taken to Brownsville, Texas, in 1975 and broken up.

1971: SUNCLIPPER, a Seaway trader in 1966, was built in 1953 as BOW BRASIL. It ran aground at Haifa Bay as f) CLIPPER when the anchors dragged in a storm. The ship was refloated April 10, and taken to Perama, Greece. It was sold “as lies” to Turkish ship breakers, and arrived at Istanbul, Turkey, for scrapping on August 29, 1972.

1985: LETITIA was the 96th and final addition to the British flag Donaldson Line. It made four trips through the Seaway in 1966 and three more in 1967. It was sailing as d) TEPORA when it caught fire in the Gulf of Mexico en route to Veracruz, Mexico, on March 12, 1985. The Honduran-flagged freighter was abandoned by the crew. The fire was apparently extinguished and the vessel reboarded. It was taken in tow but the blaze broke out again and the ship sank on March 14.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Shipwreck explorers solve 75-year-old mystery surrounding William B. Davock

3/13 - A group of West Michigan-based shipwreck explorers have solved a mystery that has puzzled historians for more than 75 years.

It was during the Armistice Day storm of 1940 when the freighter, the William B. Davock, disappeared beneath the waves of Lake Michigan after being caught in 80-mile per hour winds and 30-foot waves.

Thirty-two years later, the 420-foot Davock was discovered in 200 feet of water just off the coast of Pentwater, but how it met its final demise could not be determined.

"Visibility in those days was pretty bad," said Valerie van Heest, a maritime historian and director of Michigan Shipwreck Research Association (MSRA), a nonprofit underwater archaeological organization. "All the divers could see and report was that the wreck in one piece and was upside down."

Recently, members of MSRA have revealed what they believe caused the vessel to sink after observing the wreck on a crystal-clear day in the fall of 2014. MSRA diver Jeff Vos, of Holland, was the man who captured the only known footage of the wreck.

His findings revealed the cause of the wreck occurred at the stern where the vessel's rudder is seen broken and one of the four blades of the propeller is snapped.

"The waves were so strong, they must have snapped the rudder's connection, at which point it swung so far over that it struck the propeller," Vos, who is also an engineer and avid boater said in a news release. "With no power or steering, the Davock would have been at the mercy of the storm."

Craig Rich, MSRA board member, further explained what caused the ship's demise.

"It would have sent the ship into what we call a shivering mode," he said. "Without the rudder, it wouldn't have been able to steer and without the propeller working properly you can't drive it forward. The ship would have gone into the trough of the wave sideways which would have swamped the ship."

Rich was not part of the dive team that discovered the cause of the ship's sinking but was present the day it happened.

But why hasn't it been until now that the wreck has been further examined?

The answer to that is two-fold. According to van Heest, the fact that the wreck is so deep and upside down has detered divers from even trying. In the past, those that have even tried have encountered such bad visibility they could barely even find the wreck, much less film it. At the time of the MSRA crew's discovery, that wasn't the case.

Rich said Lake Michigan has become increasingly clear in recent years thanks in part to the presence of zebra mussels that, while invasive, have helped clean up some of the murk of the water. At times, there is visibility in water 80 to 100 feet deep, Hill said.

"We decided to give it a shot," Rich added. "The divers didn't even use a light for the discovery. It's not as warm as it is in the Caribbean, but it's certainly starting to rival it in clarity. It was a warm, sunny day. The ambient light was amazing."

MSRA plans to present the entire story of the Davock, as well as those of the several other ships lost during the Armistice Day storm, at its annual show. The event, titled "Mysteries and Histories beneath the Inland Seas" is scheduled to take place at the Knickerbocker Theater in Holland at 7 p.m. on March 21.

For the members of MSRA, the thrill of discovering and solving mysteries surrounding sunken vessels on the Great Lakes is what continues to motivate them. And for the families of the men and women lost at sea, the significance of those revelations cannot be understated.

Arnold Johnson is the son of one of the crewmen aboard the Davock. His father's body was never recovered. Johnson was waiting for the divers at the dock in Pentwater following their discovery, according to Rich. He was the first person to see video of the wreck that took his father's life.

"My dad is still down there," Johnson reacted, according to a news release. "This shipwreck is his grave."

At least now, the cause of his passing is no longer a mystery.

M Live


100 years later, renewed interest in worst disaster on the Great Lakes

3/13 - Chicago, Ill. – Standing on a chair, the little girl looks up at the photographer and clutches a small cross hanging around her neck.

It's impossible to know what she's thinking at the moment the shutter clicked, but the toddler in a striped dress, black leggings and tiny black shoes has just survived the worst maritime disaster on the Great Lakes, a capsizing that instantly turned her into an orphan.

It was supposed to be a fun outing for Western Electric Co. employees and their families, a trip from Chicago across Lake Michigan for a picnic on a summer day. Among the Eastland passengers on the morning of July 24, 1915, was 2-year-old Eleanor Freilich, her father, John, who earned $23 a week for the electric company, her Polish-born mother, Hattie, and her mother's 17-year-old sister, Josepha Zimma.

Loaded down with more than 2,000 passengers, the top-heavy Eastland began listing back and forth for about 40 minutes as more passengers boarded before it rolled over while still at the dock. Hundreds of people were trapped inside the ship, crushed to death or drowned. Within minutes 844 people were dead, among them Freilich's family.

A presentation by the Eastland Disaster Historical Society is scheduled Friday at 7 p.m. at the Ghost Ships Festival in Milwaukee.

Eleanor was raised by her grandparents in Chicago and became a nun in School Sisters of St. Francis, serving as a music teacher and working in the finance department before dying at the age of 90 in 2002. She served for decades in southeastern Wisconsin and is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Milwaukee.

Just how the little girl survived the Eastland disaster while her parents and aunt were killed is not known, said Ted Wachholz, executive director and chief historian for the Eastland Disaster Historical Society. His wife and sister-in-law are granddaughters of an Eastland survivor and will give the lecture and PowerPoint presentation Friday in Milwaukee.

"Eleanor's story for me was always interesting, going from holding the gold cross necklace in the photo at the tragedy to becoming a lifelong nun," Wachholz said in a phone interview.

Freilich celebrated her second birthday less than a week before the tragedy. At the age of 20 she became a novice and then a nun a few years later, changing her name to Sister Virgil Froelich.

She played the piano and organ. According to her obituary in the School Sisters of St. Francis newsletter, music was a strength and comfort throughout her life. She taught music at a number of schools in southeastern Wisconsin including St. Kilian School in Hartford in the 1940s and St. Lawrence School and Our Lady of Sorrows in Milwaukee in the 1960s, '70s and '80s. A School Sisters of St. Francis nun remembered Sister Virgil this week as a pleasant, outgoing person who conducted parish choirs and taught music.

One Eastland victim is buried in Stevens Point: Paul Karner, 23, was working as a stock keeper for Western Salt Co. in Chicago when he boarded the Eastland. Perhaps he was friends with a Western Electric employee or had gotten a ticket to the picnic from his sister, a phone operator. His employer paid to return Karner's body to his hometown for burial.

With renewed interest in the disaster because of the 100th anniversary, researchers have made startling discoveries of video footage of recovery efforts that no one knew were in film archives. Last month the first film clip was discovered by a graduate student and a 60-second video of the recovery of a girl's body was found a few weeks later by another student.

Though no one was held criminally liable for the disaster, a lawsuit two decades later faulted the chief engineer, who was dead by then, for improperly managing the ship's ballast. But the ballast isn't what caused the Eastland to roll over.

"It's one of those things that definitely no one expected. Hitting an iceberg on the open seas, being torpedoed, a collision with another ship, those were all the risks with maritime travel. But a ship still tied to the wharf in the middle of Chicago in summer? That shouldn't happen," said Wachholz.

Three weeks before the tragedy, three additional lifeboats and six more life rafts were added to the top deck and rotting wood on that deck was shored up with concrete, adding more than 60 tons of weight. The largest number of people the Eastland had carried before that day was around 1,100.

The Eastland capsized because it was top heavy.

Tickets for the Eastland Disaster presentation are $25 at the door of the Ghost Ships Festival at the Crowne Plaza Milwaukee Airport Hotel, 6401 S. 13th St. For more information: www.ghostships.org

Journal Sentinel

[yachtsmanwilly]

Current, ice cause trouble for Sarah Spencer

3/16 - Toledo, Ohio – The out-of-commission tug Jane Ann IV and barge Sarah Spencer broke away from their moorings at the ADM Elevator Sunday afternoon when strong current propelled large ice flows down the Maumee River.

The barge and tug were moored separately. The barge broke free, slide along the wall collecting her tug and pulling everything down to the northeast end of the Cargill elevators where it appeared the tug grounded.

The tugs Mississippi and Nebraska went to the aid

of the vessels and they were returned to the dock by mid-evening. The Maumee River’s fracturing, shifting ice cover attracted throngs of sightseers along its shores over the weekend, while continuing to feed an ice jam that flooded Side Cut Metropark between Maumee and Waterville. From the Roche de Bout area of Farnsworth Metropark in Waterville, spectators watched as giant slabs of ice crept down the Maumee River.

Chunks as big as two football fields wide and three or four football fields long coasted steadily, some carrying large flocks of birds, before smashing into Waterville’s landmark abandoned railroad viaduct spanning the river.

“It was pretty awesome,” said Mike Kirby, who took several pictures and cell-phone videos of the massive chunks of ice.

Toledo Blade, Jim Hoffman





Icebreaking activities could cause ferry delays at Soo

3/16 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – Sugar Island residents should prepare for ferry delays beginning Monday, according to U.S. Coast Guard Captain Steve Teschendorf, Commander of Sector Sault Ste. Marie.

“They should prepare for a week’s worth of minor ferry delays,” warned Teschendorf, expressing some optimism that will be a worst-case scenario.

The Coast Guard has already been breaking ice in the DeTour Passage, taking advantage of the prevailing northwest winds and open waters on Lake Huron to clear a portion of the lower St. Marys River. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw and another 140-foot vessel were scheduled to work their way up the river over the weekend, with the Mackinaw taking the lead into the Sault Harbor. The Mackinaw was breaking ice below Mission Point Sunday afternoon.

“Monday afternoon,” said Teschendorf. “We’ll bring the Mackinaw up here to help the (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) break out the Locks’ approaches and free their work vessels.”

Ideally, Teschendorf envisions the boats breaking up the ice below the Sugar Island Ferry and leaving the harbor ice intact where it will continue its rapid melting under the warmer March temperatures.

“It’s better if it stays and melts in place,” he observed.

In preparing the public, however, Teschendorf cautioned that the arrival of the Mackinaw could disturb harbor ice and send it downriver potentially bottlenecking it in the narrow channel separating Sugar Island from the mainland.

Looking back on the 2013-14 winter season, Teschendorf said the Coast Guard is well ahead of last year’s pace. The ice, which is already showing signs of retreating, is about half of what was here at this time last year.

“We’ve got 10 more days for Mother Nature to work on the ice in Lake Superior,” he said, scanning satellite images which reveal that much of the lake is either ice free or supporting a relatively thin blanket.

Teschendorf also made it very clear that every effort will be made to ensure emergency services remain available to Sugar Island if ferry service is interrupted. He indicated that the Coast Guard will work with Chippewa County officials and their counterparts in Traverse City to bring in a helicopter, if needed. He estimated a flight from Traverse City to Sugar Island would take approximately one hour.

Soo Evening News

Extensive ice coverage to limit severe weather, pose challenges to shipping industry

3/15 - For the second consecutive winter, ice coverage on the Great Lakes is well above normal, with 73.7 percent of the Great Lakes basin covered in ice as of March 9.

While ice coverage is down overall compared to this time last season, three of the five lakes are still heavily covered, with Lake Erie at 91.3 percent, Lake Huron above 89 percent and Lake Superior 84.9 percent as of March 10, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.

On March 1, total ice coverage was ahead of where it was on March 1, 2014, 88 percent versus 86 percent, but ice coverage continues to drop. Last winter, Great Lakes ice coverage peaked at 92.5 on March 6, 2014, ranking as the second-most ice coverage in recorded history. This year, the highest percentage was 88.7 percent on Feb. 28, according to NOAA Physical Scientist George Leshkevich.

The ice coverage could have an impact on the amount of severe weather this spring around the Great Lakes, according to AccuWeather.com Lead Long-Range Forecaster Paul Pastelok. The cooler waters will recover slowly, and lead to stability in the surrounding area, he added.

"Higher stability limits frequency and intensity of severe weather," Pastelok said.

Last year, it wasn't until June when the Great Lakes were finally free of ice, but Pastelok said he felt the percentages will be down by May and perhaps early June compared to last year.

The difference this year is the potential for milder air to sweep into western areas of the Great Lakes sometime in April, according to Pastelok. Plus, there will be some recovery, unlike last year, for a time in March where temperatures increase and the ice coverage may melt off, especially across the western and southwestern lakes, he said.

"A faster recovery could mean a warmer summer for this region," Pastelok said.

Normally, maximum ice coverage is reached on the lower lakes, such as Lake Erie, between the middle and end of February, while early to mid-March is when maximum coverage occurs on the upper lakes, Leshkevich said.

"Usually at this time we start [to] see a decline in ice cover," he said.

Ice on the lakes can be severely detrimental to the shipping industry and can lead to delays in the spring shipping season. Although the mild conditions this week have helped reduce ice coverage, there is still plenty of time for winter to make its presence felt.

Last winter, the extraordinary amount of ice on the Great Lakes caused shipping to be brought to a "virtual standstill" according to a news release from the Lake Carriers Association (LCA). The LCA reported that the harsh conditions cost the economy more than $700 million and nearly 4,000 jobs.

"The cement trade on the lower Great Lakes often resumes about March 1 and iron ore shipments on Lake Michigan and Lake Erie start back up not long after that," LCA president James H.I. Weakley said in the release. "Demand for U.S.-flag cargos during periods of ice cover can approach 20 million tons."

"Even on the lower lakes it has been a rough winter on shipping," Leshkevich said. "The cold, the ice buildup ... it remains to be seen what happens with the warm temperatures we've been having, if they continue."

This past January, the U.S. Coast Guard in conjunction with the Canadian Coast Guard, initiated Operation Coal Shovel, a seasonal domestic ice-breaking operation to help keep waterways clear.

Accuweather.com


On 16 March 1901, ARGO (steel passenger/package freight propeller, 173 foot, 1,089 gross tons) was launched at the Craig Ship Building Company (Hull #81) at Toledo, Ohio, for the A. Booth Company. She left the Lakes in 1917, and was last recorded in 1938, out of Brest, France.

BUFFALO (Hull#721) was launched March 16, 1978, at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin by Bay Shipbuilding Corp., for the American Steamship Co.

On 16 March 1883, The Port Huron Times announced that the passenger and package freight steamer PICKUP would be built in Marine City, Michigan and would run on the St. Clair River between Port Huron and Algonac. The machinery from the burned steamer CARRIE H. BLOOD was to be installed in her. In fact, her construction was completed that year and she went into service in September 1883. Her dimensions were 80 foot x 19 foot x 7 foot, 137 gross tons, 107 net tons.

The Niagara Harbor & Dock Company, a shipbuilding firm, was incorporated on 16 March 1831, at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.

On 16 March 1886, the tug MOCKING BIRD was sold by Mr. D. N. Runnels to Mr. James Reid of St. Ignace, Michigan. Mr. Runnels received the tug JAMES L. REID as partial payment.

1924: MOHAWK of the Western Transit Co. was known as a fast ship. It was built at Detroit in 1893 and was renamed AMERICA in 1916. It was cut in two to exit the Great Lakes and re-assembled at Montreal for East Coast service. The ship was renamed BERMUDEZ in 1921 and sank in the Erie Basin at Brooklyn on March 16, 1924, with the stern resting on the bottom and the bow afloat. The hull was pumped out but scrapped at New York in January 1925.