Today in Great Lakes History

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KRUSH !!!

Help wanted: Algoma Central Corporation

8/16 - Algoma Central Corporation is hiring full-time permanent and relief Engineering Officers. They are currently searching for qualified 2nd Engineers to join their team. Positions are available on both our dry-bulk and tanker fleets. Algoma offers a competitive wage and compensation package to shipboard employees. In order to be considered for engineer positions, candidates must possess a minimum of a 2nd Class Engineer, Motor Certificate.

If you are interested in a seagoing career 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 application 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.




On August 17, 1987, the CADILLAC was towed by the tugs GLENADA and ELMORE M. MISNER, from Toledo's Frog Pond on the first leg of her journey to be scrapped.

At 4 p.m. on 17 August 1869, the schooner CARLINGFORD was launched at the Fitzgerald and Leighton yard in Port Huron, Michigan with plenty of spectators on hand. Robert Montgomery of Buffalo, the owner, built the vessel for the grain trade. Her capacity was 30,000 bushels of grain. After launching, she still had to have her masts (96 foot, 98 foot and 94 foot) and rigging installed. At the time, she was the largest sailing vessel built in Port Huron. Her dimensions were 155-foot keel, 165-foot overall, 31-foot-6- inch beam and 12-foot 8-inch depth. 50 men worked on her and she cost $35,000.

1905 – The wooden steamer CALEDONIA sank in Lake Superior while towing the barge JOHN M. HUTCHINSON. It was later refloated and returned to service.

1913 – The whaleback steamer ATIKOKAN went ashore in a spectacular grounding at Marine City but was released and returned to service.

1994 – INDIANA HARBOR went to Sturgeon Bay for repairs after going aground at Muskegon, Mich.


8/17 - Thunder Bay, Ont. – Two heritage markers have mysteriously vanished from shipwrecks in Lake Superior, and the vice chair of the Superior chapter of Save Ontario Shipwrecks says disappearances like that sink the group's efforts to promote local dive tourism.

Richard Harvey told CBC the two buoys went missing in separate incidents from the sites of the Puckasaw and the Howard, two sunken vessels popular with divers.

They are among five markers that the group has placed over the past two summers to encourage diving in the region; they help divers locate wrecks and provide a place to moor their boats.

SOS can't be certain that anyone purposely tampered with the buoys, Harvey said. But he noted fishers have previously removed temporary markers that were located near their favorite fishing spots.

"Our suspicion at this point is that it may have been a fisherman, not realizing the significance of what these are and just saying, 'Aw look at this. These guys have gone and put these out where I don't want them to be,' and not realizing that it actually is a federal offense to be tampering with them," Harvey said.

"The reason the fishing's so good is because fish like structure. They like underwater structure. ... The best underwater structure you could have, of course, is a shipwreck," he added.

The goal now, Harvey said, is to educate people about the importance of leaving the markers in place. It's a federal offence to remove a navigation aid, he said; it also violates the provincial Heritage Act. What's more, he added, replacing the markers is costly.

Buying and shipping them costs about $1,500 per buoy, he said. Some of that money comes from donations. Some comes from municipalities, including the City of Thunder Bay.

Volunteers must then invest time to go out on the water to replace them.

Lost buoys also mean lost tourism dollars, Harvey said. Last year, Thunder Bay Tourism estimated the first two markers SOS placed in the lake generated between $20,000 and $30,000 in economic activity for the city, he said.

SOS has replaced both of the missing buoys and recovered one of them. It's also adjusting the rigging to make it harder for people to detach them, Harvey said.

One marker is still missing. Anybody with information about its whereabouts is asked to contact the organization.

CBC


Coast Guard urges safety during un-sanctioned float down event

8/17 - Port Huron, Mich. – The U.S. Coast Guard, Canadian Coast Guard, and multiple state and local agencies are advising the boating public that the St. Clair River will be secured to all motor vessel traffic between 12 p.m. and 8 p.m. Sunday during the un-sanctioned annual marine event known as the Port Huron Float Down.

The U.S. Coast Guard has established a temporary regulation requiring minors under the age of 18 to wear life jackets during the event due to the high number of rafters expected to transit the 7.5 mile course on the St. Clair River between Lighthouse Beach in Port Huron and Chrysler Beach in Marysville.

In 2015, first responders saved nine lives and assisted 285 people. More than 150 people became separated from the group they started floating down the river with, and about 1,850 people had to be assisted back across the border after wind blew them into Canadian waters. Emergency medical services assisted seven people and transported four to the hospital.

All traffic requesting to enter the safety zone must receive approval from the patrol commander, Coast Guard Station Port Huron, via VHF channel 21A.

USCG

USS Detroit delivered to the U.S. Navy by Lockheed Martin

8/17 - Marinette, Wis. – The USS Detroit is another step closer to heading to Detroit.

The warship was delivered to the U.S. Navy on Friday, said officials with Lockheed Martin, builders of the ship. It’s the nation’s seventh Littoral Combat Ship.

“Team Freedom is proud to deliver another capable LCS to the Navy,” Joe North, vice president of Littoral Ships and Systems said in a statement Monday. “Once commissioned, the USS Detroit will represent the interests of the United States where and when needed, with a level of force that will deter and defeat threats.”

The future USS Detroit will officially assume its name when it’s commissioned on Oct. 22 in Detroit. It’s the fourth Freedom-variant LCS Lockheed Martin has delivered to the U.S. Navy. There are six ships under construction at Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Wisconsin, officials said.

“We are proud to deliver another proven warship that allows our Navy to carry out its missions around the world,” Jan Allman, FMM president and CEO said in a statement.

Last month the future USS Detroit completed its acceptance trials. According to the manufacturer, ships in its class cost about $360 million.

The LCS 7 will be the sixth U.S. Navy ship named USS Detroit. Other ships to previously bear the name include two 19th century sloops of war, an Omaha-class light cruiser, a Sacramento-class fast combat support ship and a Montgomery-class cruiser, officials said.

Detroit News


8/17 - Manitowoc, Wis. – Could a marine sanctuary be part of the future of the lakeshore? People at an environmental meeting in Manitowoc are promoting the idea.

The proposed National Marine Sanctuary would include 39 known shipwrecks. It would stretch 875-square miles under Lake Michigan from roughly Port Washington to Two Rivers.

"People know Lake Michigan as a big source of fresh water. It's also a place where there are a lot of shipwrecks," said Rolf Johnson, Wisconsin Maritime Museum CEO.

"The ships are relatively accessible and you don't even have to be a diver. We have these vehicles, remotely operated, with video on them. We can actually send those down and people can look at the shipwrecks without even getting wet," said Johnson.

The proposed marine sanctuary was part of the third annual Lake Michigan Day, at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, in Manitowoc. Last Friday, 95 people from state and federal environmental groups talked about concerns as well. Aquatic invasive species, farm run-off, and manure spreading topped the list.

In the coming months, the proposed marine sanctuary is in the hands of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA scientists will draft an environmental-impact statement, and release it to the public.

"(They will) also create a draft-management plan so the public understands how this might operate. What it will look like if the sanctuary is designated," said Russ Green, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Green says the federal designation will provide another layer of legal protection. Local leaders hope to cash in too.

"It does bring in a lot of tourists. We know people are fascinated with the lake, with the shipwrecks. So a lot of tourism dollars will be flooding into the area as well. We'll probably see a little bit of an uptick in the diving that occurs on the shipwrecks," said Johnson.

The approval process is ongoing. Officials say it could still take a couple of years before The Lake Michigan National Marine Sanctuary becomes a reality.


8/17 - Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. – Tour boats and any ships taller than 12-feet have not been able to pass through the Sault Ste. Marie Canal for past week after a mechanical problem struck a CN rail swing bridge.

CN said the swing bridge that goes over the canal connecting Canada and United States malfunctioned on the morning of Aug. 9, preventing large traffic from passing through the locks.

The error is attributed to a “screw mechanism” that turns the bridge deck. CN said repairs are expected to be completed in another week.

This delay has perhaps most affected the Michigan-based Soo Locks Boat Tours, which is now in its peak season and before the malfunction was sending seven tours through the canal per day.

CN said in the summer months the normal position of the bridge is in the open position. It had been closed to let a train go across. One train a day crosses the bridge in each direction and CN reports that this traffic will be uninterrupted.

CN said the screw mechanism was set for a previously scheduled upgrade in the fall and that this will still happen.

Soo Today


8/17 - Cleveland, Ohio – Great Lakes Shipyard laid keels for the first of 10 Damen Stan Tugs 1907 ICE to be built for The Great Lakes Towing Company on Wednesday, Aug. 10. This milestone marks the beginning of a new construction program to introduce two new harbor tugs per year for the next five years at the shipyard’s facility in Cleveland, Ohio.

Built to ABS Class, GLS Hull Numbers 6501–6510 will be the first tugs built to meet the new USCG Subchapter M Regulations. The ceremony was attended by the United States Coast Guard, American Bureau of Shipping, Damen Shipyards, Fifth Third Bank, Great Lakes Shipyard and The Great Lakes Towing Company.

Joe Starck, president of The Great Lakes Towing Company, said the new tugs will enhance its fleet and help to sustain the quality of its services at the highest level of safety.

“The new tugs will replace existing equipment – as each new tug is introduced into our fleet, two existing tugs will be retired from service. These 10 new tugs will stabilize our operations, and improve our day-to-day business. The tugs, with the modern equipment and automated machinery onboard, will be ideal for the long-term sustainability of our harbor towing activities, and provide our customers with an even greater level of reliability, performance, and safety, across our entire Great Lakes service network.”

Great Lakes Shipyard


8/17 - During a conference call with investors Tuesday, Rand Logistics (the parent company of lake carriers Lower Lakes Towing / Grand River Navigation) indicated that one laid-up laker (not named but most likely the grain carrier Ojibway), will be reintroduced into service in the next 30-45 days. She is currently laid up at Sarnia, Ont.

In addition, and according to a transcript of the call, “our smallest and least efficient Canadian-flagged bulk carrier was unlikely to provide a sufficient return on capital to justify the required annual capital and operational costs necessary to continue to operate it. We have decided to retire this vessel.” While not mentioned by name, this is likely the grain carrier Manitoba, which is currently laid up at Montreal, Que. Due to low scrap prices, the vessel is only expected to fetch $500,000-$750,000.

The call also revealed optimism for the iron ore and grain trades for the remainder of the season.

Meanwhile, according to the industry publication Marine Log, Rand Logistics is currently pursuing waivers and amendments from syndicates led by Bank of America and Guggenheim Corporate Funding after defaulting on two credit agreements.

[yachtsmanwilly]

8/18 - Clayton, N.Y. – A $3.8 billion strategy to double maritime trade on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system over the next 10 years includes a proposal to lengthen the shipping season, a situation Save the River will monitor closely.

The Conference of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers approved its first-ever regional maritime transportation strategy in June, an effort to improve efficiencies in the system, enhance its global competitiveness and create jobs.

Headed by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, the strategy is designed to help increase the system’s commerce, which already contributes more than $30 billion total to the United States and Canadian economies and accounts for more than 220,000 jobs.

Key to the strategy would be construction of a second lock similar to the existing Poe Lock at the Soo Locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., which also includes the 73-year-old MacArthur Lock.

According to the strategy, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has found that an unplanned, extended closure of the Soo Locks would, among other things, cut off most the country’s iron ore supply, devastating the steel industry, as “nearly 100 percent of North America appliances, automobile, construction equipment, farm equipment, mining equipment and railcar production would shut down,” resulting in “crippling” unemployment and economic recession.

The Soo Locks separate Lake Superior and Lake Huron and allow ships access to the lower Great Lakes from Lake Superior. Last summer, MacArthur Lock experienced mechanical problems and was taken out of service for about three weeks, leading to bottlenecks and shipping delays at Poe Lock, which was built in 1968. Michigan legislators have long called for upgrades or replacement of the locks. The conference’s strategy recommends that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers “immediately accelerate” its cost-benefit study on the construction of a second “Poe Class” lock.

The strategy also recommends that the asset renewal program for the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp., which operates Eisenhower and Snell locks at Massena, be “fully funded.”

But the strategy contains a section titled “Season Optimization” which suggests ways the shipping season could be extended, a concern for Save the River, which was formed in Clayton in 1978 in part to oppose winter navigation on the St. Lawrence River. The organization’s executive director, D. Lee Willbanks, along with Joel Brammeier, president and CEO of the Alliance for the Great Lakes, had sent a letter outlining concerns about the strategy in February, when it was still in draft form.

The environmental groups contend that ice-breaking efforts needed to accommodate a longer shipping season would have negative consequences for the waterway’s ecosystem, including sport and commercial fisheries. Shoreline erosion and other damage from ice-breaking “can have significant impacts on ecologically sensitive and economically valuable areas,” the groups wrote.

Also, the group states that many areas in the Great Lakes are facing increased periods of high evaporation during ice-free winter months, a situation that could be exacerbated by intentional ice-breaking. The increased evaporation could contribute to lower water levels on the system, which may prompt the need for cargo reductions. The group also questions the amount of fuel needed to break up ice, noting that it could be incompatible with the conference’s goal of increasing fuel efficiency along the system.

Willbanks said in an email Tuesday that, after the groups submitted their concerns to the conference, they received “verbal assurance” that the focus of the extended season discussion is the inter-lake shipping between the United States and Canada, not on the St. Lawrence River. He said given the economic, environmental and permitting obstacles that the groups know stand in the way of any effort to expand the shipping season on the river, “those assurances ring true.”

“But, and this will always be true, Save the River and the River community have faced this threat in the past,” Willbanks said. “We remain vigilant to any renewed efforts for destructive ice-breaking for winter shipping and we stand ready to block it again,”

The strategy also includes, among other things, proposals for dredging certain channels and harbors to address safety issues and to allow ships to carry heavier cargo loads. It also includes a recommendation to ease the customs clearance process for passengers on cruise ships that visit ports on both sides of the international border, as existing Customs protocols can inconvenience or delay a cruise ship, inhibiting growth in the cruise ship industry.

Watertown Daily Times


8/18 - Albany, N.Y. – The second-oldest confirmed shipwreck in the Great Lakes, an American-built, Canadian-owned sloop that sank in Lake Ontario more than 200 years ago, has been found, a team of underwater explorers said Wednesday.

The three-member western New York-based team said it discovered the shipwreck earlier this summer in deep water off Oswego, in central New York. Images captured by a remotely operated vehicle confirmed it is the Washington, which sank during a storm in 1803, team member Jim Kennard said.

"This one is very special. We don't get too many like this," said Kennard, who along with Roger Pawlowski and Roland "Chip" Stevens has found numerous wrecks in Lake Ontario and other waterways.

The sloop Washington was built on Lake Erie in Pennsylvania in 1798 and was used to transport people and goods between western New York, Pennsylvania and Ontario. It was placed on skids and hauled by oxen teams across the Niagara Isthmus to Lake Ontario in 1802 after being sold to Canadian merchants.

The 53-foot-long ship was carrying at least five people and a cargo of merchandise, including goods from India, when it set sail from Kingston, Ontario, for its homeport of Niagara, Ontario, on Nov. 6, 1803. The vessel was caught in a fierce storm and sank.

At least three crewmembers and two merchants were on the sloop. All aboard died. According to Kennard, contemporary records said portions of the cargo and pieces of the ship were found the following day on shore near Oswego.

The Washington is the oldest commercial sailing vessel found in the Great Lakes and the only sloop known to have sailed on lakes Erie and Ontario, Kennard said. Single-masted sloops were replaced in the early 19th century by two- and three-masted schooners, which were much easier to sail, according to Carrie Sowden, archaeological director at the National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo, Ohio, which sponsors the New York team's explorations.

Since there are no known drawings of the Washington, the sloop's discovery will help maritime historians learn more about the design and construction of that type of sailing vessel used on the Great Lakes between the American Revolution and the War of 1812, she said.

"Every shipwreck offers something different that adds to our knowledge base," Sowden said.

The oldest vessel found in the Great Lakes is HMS Ontario, a British warship that sank in Lake Ontario in 1780. Kennard and another explorer found that wreck in 2008.

Chronicle Herald


8/18 - The layoffs at U.S. Steel's Gary Works on Friday were just part of an ongoing trend that's afflicted the steel industry, which was once Northwest Indiana's largest employer and a ticket to a comfortable middle class life.

Steel jobs nationally have fallen more than 35 percent to 87,000 jobs last year, down from 135,000 jobs in 2000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The United States lost another 4,000 steel industry jobs in 2015, as compared to the previous year.

The U.S. steel industry has been declining since the 1970s, but federal data shows job losses have accelerated rapidly in the 21st century. Health care has since eclipsed the steel mills as the Region's biggest employer.

Since 2000, the U.S. steel industry has weathered two import crises that have resulted in bankruptcies, closed mills and pink slips nationwide. The United States is however now enforcing 161 tariffs against dumped foreign steel, to try to protect the domestic industry.

"At the U.S. Department of Commerce, we are fully committed to enforcing U.S. trade laws and ensuring that our trading partners comply with their obligations under the World Trade Organization and our free trade agreements," U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker wrote in a letter to the Cleveland Plain Dealer after touring an ArcelorMittal mill there. "We are cracking down on companies and countries that don't play by the rules in record numbers."

Many steelworker jobs were lost during the unprecedented consolidation of the industry during the early 2000s, when more than 30 U.S. steelmakers went bankrupt. But the biggest issue facing employment at steel mills is automation, ArcelorMittal noted in its 2015 United States Integrated Report.

Technological improvements have enabled steelmakers to crank out more metal with far fewer workers.

"Steelmaking processes have transformed at a rapid pace, reflecting the industry’s improvement in operating practices and investment in state-of-the-art equipment to increase productivity," the report stated. "In 2015, one employee accounted for approximately 1,000 net tons of raw steel production, an increase of 20 percent."

NWI Times


8/18 - Duluth, Minn. – The Twin Ports will host the Tall Ships Duluth Festival from Thursday through Sunday, and the U.S. Coast Guard has established and will enforce a safety zone around each tall ship participating in the festival while navigating on the Great Lakes.

Due to the limited maneuverability of the tall ships and to ensure safe steerage, all vessels are required to maintain a distance of 300 feet (100 yards) from the ships at all times, including the World's Largest Rubber Duck and towing vessel.

The safety zone is in effect whether vessels are transiting, anchored or moored.

Additionally, from approximately 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, the tall ships will participate in a parade of sail under the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge and into the harbor. The parade route starts approximately one mile from the Duluth entry, and from there they head inbound to moorings at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. The Duluth ship channel and surrounding basin will be closed to all vessels except participating ships during this time.

Entering or crossing the parade route is prohibited. If in doubt, please contact the Coast Guard patrol commander on VHF channel 16. Official vessels assisting with the parade may be seen within the zone and will be identified with signage.

To ensure the safety of all spectators in the Duluth Harbor Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard will establish and enforce a speed restriction of not more than 6 knots or at no wake speed, whichever is less, for all vessels. Vessels proceeding under sail will not be allowed in the area unless also propelled by machinery due to limited maneuvering ability around numerous other spectator craft viewing the tall ships.

Vessels may enter the 300-foot safety zone of moored tall ships only to transit through the Duluth entry or enter the Minnesota Slip at the conclusion of the parade of sail and throughout the weekend. Vessels must proceed at a no wake speed, may not loiter, or at anytime come within 75 feet (25 yards) of the tall ships. Temporary buoys will be in place to mark boundary of 300 foot safety zone from moored tall ships.

The Coast Guard reminds boaters to make proper preparations at all times while on the water, such as filing a float plan, wearing life jackets, and having a marine radio or other means of communication aboard. This is particularly important when operating in or around a large marine event such as the Tall Ships Duluth. Boaters should expect a large number of vessels and take extra precaution when transiting the area around the event. All boaters are reminded of the dangers of boating under the influence and are encouraged to consider alternatives to using alcohol while afloat. More BUI and safe boating information can be found at www.uscgboating.org, including the CG Boating Safety Mobile App.

USCG


8/18 - Grand Haven, Mich. – Captain Harry Sweetman tried twice to thread the needle with his ship, the Ironsides, before fate took over.

The beleaguered captain was trying bring his 218-foot passenger steamer into the safety of the Grand River channel during a Sept. 15, 1873 gale on Lake Michigan, but it was not to be. Instead, about 20 passengers and crew died in the heavy seas after rising water doused the boilers and the Ironsides went under.

Today, the wreck sits in about 120 feet of water roughly four miles west of the Grand Haven Pier, a popular destination for advanced scuba divers who want to visit a piece of Great Lakes maritime history hidden beneath the waves.

This year, (hopefully), the Ironsides will be among the first of more than 180 wrecks in Michigan's 13 underwater preserves to be marked by a mooring buoy — a project several years in the making that organizers hope can finally get underway before the weather on the lakes turns temperamental this fall.

The goal is to help preserve the state's shipwrecks by giving divers another option besides hooking a line directly onto the wreck, as is customary now.

"Putting a mooring buoy on a shipwreck is absolutely, hands-down, the best form of physical protection you can do for a wreck," said Wayne Lusardi, a state maritime archeologist at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Alpena.

8/18 - Sturgeon Bay, Wis. – Sixteen iconic figures in the rich maritime history of the Door Peninsula and three local Coast Guardsmen were honored at the annual Mariner Award Dinner held at the Sturgeon Bay Yacht Club on Monday evening, August 8.

A joint effort by the Door County Maritime Museum and Sturgeon Bay Yacht Club, the Mariner Award is presented annually to recognize individuals who have had significant, positive and lasting impact on the Door County maritime community. One living and at least one deceased recipient are honored each year. The nominees for this year’s Mariner Award were Jeff Weborg, Minnie Hesh Cochems, Ingar Olsen, Steve Brunstrom, Joseph Harris Jr., Clifford B. Hart, Bill Parsons, Dick Purinton, August Rieboldt, William “Curly” Selvick, Leathem “Tim” Stearn, Alanson Sweet, Martha Burris, Dennis Hickey, Ken Schmidtke and Todd Thayse.

Nominees for the Sturgeon Bay area Coast Guard Person of the Year were also honored at the dinner. Sponsored by the City of Sturgeon Bay Coast Guard Committee, Greater Green Bay Council of U.S. Navy League, and Door County Maritime Museum, this award recognizes a local active duty Coast Guardsman who exemplifies the Coast Guard’s core values of Honor, Respect and Devotion to Duty. The nominees for this year’s award were Machinery Technician First Class Nicholas Foster, who is stationed aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Mobile Bay, Seaman Ashley-Starr Clark from Coast Guard Station Sturgeon Bay and Lieutenant Brett Belanger from the Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment (MSD) in Sturgeon Bay.

The 2016 Mariner Award recognizing a living nominee went to Dick Purinton. Purinton has worked more than 40 years with the Washington Island Ferry Line starting as a deckhand, progressing to captain, general manager and eventually company president and owner. Under his leadership, the ferry line has continued to successfully serve as the island’s lifeline to the mainland. Purinton is also an accomplished historian and his skills as a published author ensure that the history of the island is preserved for future generations.

Posthumous honors went to local maritime legends Jeff Weborg, August Rieboldt and Alanson Sweet. Weborg was honored for his efforts to both preserve the commercial fishery so identified with Gills Rock as well as his generosity to the community and his willingness to help those in need, on the water and on land. Sweet was the real driving force in the growth of Baileys Harbor and the county as a whole while Rieboldt is considered one of the founding fathers of Sturgeon Bay’s shipbuilding heritage.

Purinton was presented the Mariner Award trophy, a hand-crafted original work by noted local woodcarver David Frykman. Weborg, Sweet and Rieboldt were added to the impressive Mariner Award plaque that is prominently displayed on the second floor of the Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay.

Seaman Clark, who distinguished herself for her dedicated volunteer work within the community from the time she was first stationed in the county, was this year’s Coast Guard Person of the Year. She received an impressive wooden plaque depicting the Coast Guard Seal. Lt. Belanger was also recognized for stepping up and providing leadership when it was needed at the MSD office.

The Coast Guard Person of the Year and Mariner Award dinner was part of the annual “Sturgeon Bay Maritime Week: A Salute to the United States Coast Guard”. The festival brings together many long-standing annual events along with new and exciting activities to celebrate the area’s rich maritime heritage and to honor local Coast Guard units.

DCMM

[yachtsmanwilly]

8/19 - An Italian crew is in limbo while their cargo ship Ardita is under arrest in the port of Hamilton.

The ship arrived in Hamilton on April 24 according to Larissa Fenn, a spokesperson for the Hamilton Port Authority, and has been detained since, over a legal dispute that does not involve the port authority.

Bruce McKeil, chairman and CEO of McKeil Marine, said his company bought the Ardita but it is now under arrest by federal court order because the sale closing has been impeded by the Italian banks.

McKeil said he purchased the Ardita from the Italian shipping company Setramar, based in Ravenna, Italy but that the banks in that country would not release the ship to him after he paid out some money and for it to sail here.

"We were in the process of buying the ship for our fleet … We put up the capital to get it here with the full expectation of closing the deal here," McKeil said. The ship had to be brought here to be transferred to a Canadian registry, he explained.

Now, McKeil is trying to recoup his losses. There are $2 million in bills owing, mostly to his company, but also to a shipping repair company here.

Meanwhile, he has had to buy another ship for what he intended the Ardita to be used for — shipping cement down the St. Lawrence to a customer on the east coast.

"It put us in a very tough position," he said.

The 14-man crew meanwhile is still getting paid by Setramar — making the situation much easier to bear — according to Rev. Ronda Ploughman with the Hamilton staff of The Mission to Seafarers Southern Ontario. Ploughman said the men are all Italian except for two.

"They are all lovely men," she said, adding the mission's main concern is to provide a way for them to have contact with their families, since it was too expensive for them to communicate from the ship."

When the ship, now anchored in the middle of the Harbour, comes in to shore, the mission takes care of the crew's needs, like seeing a doctor or getting provisions.

Ploughman, who has visited the ship, said the men all sit down together for their meals, adding "they are very family-oriented, and apparently, the food is amazing."

Judith Alltree, the mission's director, said the mission provides whatever services the crew needs.

"Surprisingly, (the mood) is not as bad. They do know there are people advocating for them."

Even McKeil says the situation has nothing to do with the crew — what has happened is not their fault.

Alltree says the crew's circumstances are very unusual because of the time it is taking to get the matter resolved. "Fourteen people are stuck in limbo and all they did was show up for work."

However, the crew has had changeovers — replacements have been flown into Canada when others had their leave, according to Port Authority Harbour Master Vicki Gruber.

The Port Authority's involvement is to ensure the ship is anchored in the proper place and in a safe manner. It also must hear from the ship and arrange a docking area when the Ardita wants to come in to shore. Since June 19 when it was sent out to anchor in the harbour to free up docks for other ships, the Ardita has only come in once, in mid July.

When the ship is docked, the crew is free to come and go, she added. "The vessel is under arrest. Not the crew."

Hamilton Spectator


8/19 - Lorain, Ohio – A vessel sitting on the bottom of Lake Erie is the newest find for a pair of shipwreck hunters who search the waters off Lorain.

The ship, Republic, has not been seen for more than a century, but this summer Avon Lake shipwreck hunters and authors Georgann and Mike Wachter pinpointed the location about 40 feet below the surface of the lake.

“Most people say, OK, it was a 40-year-old boat and it was waterlogged and it sank,” Mike Wachter said. “But there’s so much more to its story.”

Using maritime records, the Wachters have pieced together the history of the Republic, a 130-foot vessel built in 1854 in Clayton, N.Y., on Lake Ontario. The Republic was a 130-foot long vessel that began life as a tall ship plying the waters of the Great Lakes. Its working life ended July 30, 1895, on the bottom of Lake Erie off Lorain. It began life as a barkentine, a type of tall ship plying the waters of the Great Lakes. Later, it was rigged as a schooner, another type of tall ship that took fewer crew members to sail than the barkentine, Georgann Wachter said.

By the time the Republic was 40 years old, its glory days of wind power were over. It still carried masts and rigging for sailing as needed, but it was used as a barge towed behind a powered vessel. On July 30, 1895, the Republic was loaded with coal and being towed by the Swallow heading for the environs of Detroit.

When a storm kicked up off Lorain, the Republic could not handle the rough water. The crew of the Swallow signaled for help and kept pressure on its tow line to delay the sinking of the barge. The tug Cascade motored out from Lorain and rescued the Republic’s eight crew members.

Once the waters calmed, salvage operations began. Shipbuilders would remove rigging, masts or any equipment they could reuse, the Wachters said. A barge carrying a crane scooped out as much coal as it could reach.

Even as the Republic sat on the lake bottom, its masts still were visible above the surface of the water.

In the 1800s, shippers and harbor masters understood that a ship on the bottom of the lake would reduce the available depth for other vessels, especially in shallow areas of Lake Erie, the Wachters said. They needed a way to ensure shipwrecks did not create more hazards for other vessels.

“If you go down in the western or central basin of this lake, you’re still a hazard to navigation,” Michael Wachter said. “If I hit you hard enough to put a hole in the bottom of my boat, I’m going down.”

“So they would dynamite these in shallow water,” Georgann Wachter said. “There are many instances of a vessel coming along and hitting a sunk vessel and sinking themselves. They dynamited the heck out of this one.”

The Republic has its windlass intact. Its rudder is off the stern, and an anchor remains attached, which is surprising because anchors often would be pulled up and reused, Georgann Wachter said.

“The middle section of the ship, you’re going to see her centerboard and a few railing posts,” Michael Wachter said. “But at the bow and stern, there’s a lot of boat left.”

It’s entirely possible other divers have known about the Republic, but never publicly revealed the location for others, the Wachters said.

Using sonar to scan the sea bottom, they found the vessel and dove to it on July 4. When their documentation is complete, they intend to publish the GPS coordinates so other divers can find the wreck. Publicizing the sunken boats helps the dive industry and local economy when people seek them out, the Wachters said.

Incidentally, the tug Cascade, which rescued the crew of the Republic, itself sank in January 1904 in 30 feet of water about 200 feet west of the Lorain Lighthouse breakwall. The crew made it back to shore.

“Each one of them has its own story,” Michael Wachter said. “And what truly fascinates us is not so much the wreck – because after you’ve dove one a couple of times, it’s just a pile of boards on the bottom of the lake, frankly – but the story.”

Lorain Morning Journal


8/19 - Duluth, Minn. – People are coming down in droves to the Tall Ships Duluth festival this weekend. They will celebrate and marvel at the majesty on display, but it's worth remembering a time when the ships fueled more industries than tourism.

Whether packed with Navy sailors or loaded with timber, tall ships once ruled the Great Lakes.

As a kid growing up in Detroit, Pat Labadie, 76, used to sit at his grandfather's knee and get lost in time as the romantic world of Great Lakes tall ships unfolded with one tale after another.

"I was his audience and I grew up not wanting anything more than to learn about that world he described to me," said Labadie, who would go on to become a maritime author, shipwreck diver, historian and museum director, including the first director of what is now Duluth's Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center.

Retired, but still teaching maritime history in Alpena, Mich., Labadie recalled in a telephone interview the heyday of tall ships on the Great Lakes.

His sepia-toned recollections conjured a loud and bustling America, where there were shipbuilders at ports all across the lakes — with heavy concentrations in the more eastern ports such as Cleveland and Buffalo.

Before the completion of the Soo Locks in 1855, tall ships were portaged from the St. Marys River and into Lake Superior using timber rollers and towed by horses. Those vessels were used to carry grain, timber, iron ore and coal from the heartland that was being summoned at breakneck pace to help fuel the fast-developing nation. Everything that was needed to settle a country was moving on water.

By 1871, there were 2,000 sailing craft on the lakes compared to about 400 of the newer steamboats, said Labadie.

Alas, that was the zenith of the tall ships, as the ratio would bend wildly away from them in a move toward the engine-driven freighters that were larger and could carry many times more cargo through a developing system of locks that now number 16 between Lake Superior and the Atlantic Ocean.

Prior to that evolution, tall ships were king. Afterward, their masts were cut down and the ships were towed by tugs as barges that required only paltry manpower compared to what it takes to crew a sailing vessel.

"The wind only works if you have the muscle to adjust the sails to use it," said Walter Rybka, senior captain of the U.S. Brig Niagara, a replica of the battleship that will be in Duluth this week.

During the War of 1812 and subsequent Battle of Lake Erie, the Niagara featured some 150 sailors — its most important cargo.

"They barely did fit," Rybka said, noting the 110-foot deck of the Niagara. "It would have been one stinking sardine can. But you needed to be able to absorb casualties and still be able to work the ship."

Another tall ship in town this weekend, the Pride of Baltimore II, exemplified the superiority of American shipmaking. Having snuck into port Monday night — through the Superior entry and quietly into Loon's Foot Marine, the famed Baltimore clipper-style vessel lived up to its reputation as it worked to evade detection in advance of the weekend's crowds.

With a skilled tactician at the helm, a ship like the Pride could outrun a blockade of enemy naval vessels. Additionally, it could be used as a deft privateer — a government-sanctioned ship used to overtake the commercial ships of the enemy.

"They were extremely fast," said Pride Captain Jordan Smith. "A vessel like this one would be used for anything where speed comes in handy — either chasing things or running away."

It wasn't uncommon for a privateer to carry as many as 100 men. Commercial vessels overtaken by privateers were immediately manned by a prize crew that would sail the captured ship into a friendly port to be sold.

But during most of the 19th century, a Baltimore clipper could have never made it into the Great Lakes from the Pride's current home in Annapolis, Md. Fierce rapids between Quebec and Montreal prevented seafaring ships from entering the Great Lakes.

The ships that did sail the Great Lakes often were poorly maintained, Labadie said, contributing to their eventual decline. Many rest at the bottom of the lakes, and Labadie recalled a harrowing diving expedition on the Lucerne, a tall ship that wrecked during a storm in November 1886 — just 13 years after she was launched.

Loaded with iron ore and bound for Cleveland, the Lucerne went to the bottom of Lake Superior just south of Madeline Island and less than 10 miles offshore from Washburn. The Lucerne was found with three of its men lashed to its rigging and frozen in ice. Labadie dove the Lucerne to spread the ashes of a friend and fellow diver over the wreck.

"It gives me a chill," Labadie said. "I certainly remember it well."

Bimidji Pioneer



On this day in 1865, the PEWABIC, Captain George P. McKay, was down bound on Lake Huron when she was rammed by her sister ship, METEOR. The PEWABIC sank with an estimated loss of 125 lives and a cargo of copper ingots, ore and hides valued at $500,000.

On 19 August 1902, OMAR D. CONGER (wooden propeller ferry, 92 foot, 200 gross tons, built in 1887, at Port Huron, Michigan) burned at Port Huron, Michigan. The entire upper works burned and the lower deck was also badly burned. She had burned on 20 June 1901, and had been rebuilt over the winter. She was again rebuilt and lasted until 1922.

The ROBERT S. PIERSON (i) was sold to P & H. Shipping Ltd. on August 19, 1982, and renamed e) SPRUCEGLEN.

The package freighter ARIZONA was launched on August 19, 1868, at Cleveland, Ohio by Quayle & Martin for E.T. & J.C. Evans of Buffalo, New York.

The CARDINAL, a.) WINDSOLITE, was towed to the Strathearne Terminal in Hamilton, Ontario on August 19, 1974, for scrapping.

On 19 August 1909, CITY OF GREEN BAY (wooden propeller passenger/package freight, 134 foot, 257 gross tons, built in 1880, at Fort Howard, Wisconsin as the sidewheeler M C HAWLEY) caught fire while crossing Saginaw Bay, burned to the waterline and sank. This wasn't her first experience with this type of accident since on 17 November 1887, she had burned to a "total loss" in Lake Michigan.

August 19, 1930 - The ANN ARBOR NO 7 towed the disabled tug FRED C GREILING from Frankfort, Michigan to Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co.

The propeller QUEBEC was launched at the Chisholm & Simpson yard at Chatham, Ontario on 19 August 1874. She was built for the Beatty Line and designed to run between Sarnia and Duluth.

1906 – GOVERNOR SMITH, a wooden package freight carrier, sank in Lake Huron, about 8 miles off Pointe aux Barques, after a collision with the URANUS. All 20 on board were rescued.

1915 – The wooden passenger and freight carrier HENRY PEDWELL burned at Wiarton, ON but was salvaged and rebuilt at Owen Sound in 1916.

1960 – BELLE ISLE II caught fire and sank after a collision with the HOLMSIDE on Lac St. Pierre in the St. Lawrence near Trois Rivieres. The ship had originally been the “Castle Class” corvette H.M.S. WOLVESEY CASTLE and later H.M.C.S. HUNTSVILLE for the Canadian Navy. It was rebuilt for cargo service as c) WELLINGTON KENT in 1947 becoming d) BELLE ISLE II in 1951. The hull was salvaged and towed up the Seaway to Portsmouth, ON on November 2, 1960, and broken up at Whitby, ON during the winter of 1965-1966. HOLMSIDE was later a casualty as b) CABINDA after hitting a jetty while inbound at Casablanca on December 28, 1980, with the loss of 9 lives.

1966 – JOHN E.F. MISENER went aground on Hard Island in the St. Lawrence and had to be lightered before being released on August 21.

1967 – The retired Paterson steamer SASKADOC, which last operated in 1966, was downbound at the Iroquois Lock under tow of GRAEME STEWART and SALVAGE MONARCH enroute to the scrapyard. It arrived at Santander, Spain, on September 24, 1967, along with the AUGUSTUS B. WOLVIN, behind the Polish tug JANTAR.

1988 – The Greek owned, Cypriot flag, freighter BLUESTONE arrived at Halifax to load flour, but the crew reported “hull cracks” and the Coast Guard said repairs must be made. The vessel first visited the Great Lakes as a) ASIA SWALLOW in 1980 and returned as b) BLUESTONE for the first time in 1985. The work was carried out. The ship finally cleared September 13 and operated until arriving at Chittagong, Bangladesh, for scrapping as e) VRITA N. about August 31, 1998.

[yachtsmanwilly]

8/21 - Detroit, Mich. – A narrow street dead-ends at the Detroit River, where a black-and-white boat bobs in the water, emblazoned with a Postal Service eagle. This is the mail boat J.W. Westcott II, the only floating ZIP code in the United States.

The little boat’s ZIP code, 48222, is reserved for mail addressed to the freighters that ply the Great Lakes. It is administered by the J. W. Westcott Company of Detroit, founded in 1874 when its main job was vessel reporting — telling companies, and the families of sailors, where their ships and loved ones were.

Today, its official motto is “mail by the pail.” It chugs out to passing freighters to deliver parcels to the crews, often by hoisting the mail with a rope and bucket. It’s been a registered post office since 1948.

First-class mail volume is down these days, said the owner, Jim Hogan. Most ships have wireless internet — so, like everyone else, sailors use email. “But our packages, express and priority, are up.”

It’s a small business that delivers everyday staples — food for the crew, a pair of pants ordered online, extra toilet paper for the voyage — to the giant vessels that carry the ore, coal, and grain that keep America running.

Forty or 50 years ago, when ships and ports were less mechanized, a boat’s crew had time to shop on land while their vessel was docked. “The modern sailor is a whole different game,” Mr. Hogan said. “Younger guys are used to ordering things online.” Today, “it’s not as important to get the love letter from home as it is to get something that he’s ordered.”


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


8/20 - Due to an issue with her stern bearing, the Hon. James L. Oberstar will be placed in dry dock in Toledo to execute repairs. She is expected be able to resume her sailing schedule within the next two weeks once repairs are complete.

Interlake Steamship Co.


Huronia Museum declines offer to take in the S.S. Keewatin

8/20 - Barrie, Ont. – The Huronia Museum will not accept the S.S. Keewatin into their collection of artifacts. In a statement, museum officials say they reviewed Skyline Investments’ offer to take in the Keewatin, but have decided to decline the donation.

“The Huronia Museum is not able to responsibly accept this donation into its permanent collection with the information that is available on the future conservation and operational needs of this unique artifact,” the statement said.

Officials say they can only accept artifacts into their permanent collection when the longevity of the item is ensured and the museum can properly take care of it.

“The museum is hopeful that a solution can be found to preserve her, her story and her presence in Port McNicoll for future generations of Canadians whether that be found in the process of donation to a museum or by other means.”

In return for the 109-year-old ship, Skyline requested a charitable receipt for $32 million. The ship and its items were appraised at that value. Skyline bought the Keewatin from a Michigan businessman in 2011. She had been open to the public as a museum at Douglas, Mich., since the late 1960s.

The plan was to make it the centerpiece of a billion dollar development in Port McNicoll.

CTV News


Soaring Lake Michigan temps could set record in next two days

8/20 - Lake Michigan's surface water temperatures have warmed immensely in August. The recent hot weather has pushed the lake-wide average surface temperature of Lake Michigan to a level not felt since 2010, and within one-tenth of a degree of record warmth.

The current lake-wide average surface water temperature is 75.8° F. Water temperature data of this caliber started back in 2003. Through the entire 13 years of data, only August 15, 2010 had a higher average water temperature, at 75.9° F.

It was warmer on that one day back in 2010, but only by one-tenth of a degree.

We may reach a record warm temperature in the next two days. If we don't reach that record temperature by Sunday, we have probably felt the water temperature peak in Lake Michigan.

Sunday through Wednesday will bring cooler weather, and lake temperatures will have a hard time rebounding. We would need extreme record-setting warm air temperatures to bring water temperatures up to warmer levels.

M Live


USS Detroit to be commissioned Oct. 22 in namesake city

8/20 - Detroit, Mich. – The next U.S. Navy warship to bear Detroit's name has been assigned a commission date.

Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy, announced in a news release that the USS Detroit's commissioning ceremony will take place Oct. 22 on the Riverwalk outside the Renaissance Center.

Tickets for the commissioning are free to the public, but seating is limited, according to the release.

Ship commissioning marks a vessel's official entrance into active duty.

"She is a fast, agile ship designed for a variety of missions in coastal waters as well as humanitarian relief missions," the release reads. "Capable of open ocean operations, her modular design supports interchangeable mission packages, which will allow the ship to be reconfigured for antisubmarine warfare, mine warfare, or surface warfare missions as-needed."

In the week leading into the commissioning of the sixth ship to bear the city's name, there are several events and tours are scheduled to start Oct. 14.


On 20 August 1881, MICHIGAN (Hull#48), (iron propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 215 foot, 1,183 tons) was launched by the Detroit Dry Dock Company at Wyandotte, Michigan for the Goodrich Transportation Company. She was then taken to Milwaukee for fitting out and completion. She cost $159,212. She was designed by Frank E. Kirby especially for cross-lake winter service.

INDUSTRIAL TRANSPORT arrived at Toronto, Ontario, August 20, 1969, on her maiden voyage, with fuel oil.

R. BRUCE ANGUS in tandem tow with the ULS steamer GORDON C. LEITCH (i) behind the tug IRVING CEDAR arrived at Setœbal, Portugal August 20, 1985, where they were broken up. The a.) IRVING CEDAR is now Purvis Marine's c.) RELIANCE. August 20, 1920 the WILLIS L. KING, upbound light in Whitefish Bay, was in collision with and sank the down bound Steel Trust steamer SUPERIOR CITY. The SUPERIOR CITY was struck nearly amidships and when the cold water reached her engine room, her boilers exploded. She sank immediately with 29 of her 33 crew members aboard.

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

On 20 August 1899, the HUNTER SAVIDGE (2-mast, wooden schooner, 117 foot, 152 gross tons, built in 1879, at Grand Haven, Michigan) capsized in a squall or tornado in Lake Huron. 5 survivors, including Capt. Fred Sharpstein, were rescued from the overturned schooner by the steamer ALEX MC VITTIE. However, 5 lost their lives, including the captain's wife and their son, the ship's owner's wife and daughter, and the Mate. Capt. Sharpstein patrolled the beaches looking for the bodies of his wife and son for months but they were never found. The wreck was found in 1987, near Grindstone City, Michigan.

On 20 August 1852, ATLANTIC (wooden sidewheeler, 267 foot, 1,155 tons, built in 1849, at Detroit, Michigan) was loaded with immigrants when she collided with the propeller freighter OGDENSBURG and quickly sank south of Long Point on Lake Erie at about 2:30 a.m. Of the 600 on board, estimates of death range from 150 to 250. Numerous salvage attempts have been made through the years up through 1989, since there were supposed to be valuables on board when she went down.

1874 – The CITY OF LONDON, built by Louis Shickluna at St. Catharines in 1865, was destroyed by a fire at Collins Inlet. The engine was later removed for installation in the CITY OF OWEN SOUND.

1900 – CAPTAIN THOMAS WILSON was launched at Port Huron for the Wilson Transit Co.

1903 – QUEEN OF THE WEST sank in a Lake Erie storm off Fairport, Ohio but the crew was rescued by the CODORUS. One sailor perished in the transfer between the two ships.

1919 – MOHEGAN was built as a wooden steam barge at Marine City in 1894. It left the lakes for ocean service in 1917. The ship was anchored at Rio de Janiero, Brazil, on this date in 1919 when an explosion and fire destroyed the vessel. All on board survived.

1964 – TEXACO WARRIOR hit bottom and settled in the Welland Canal with a punctured tank at Thorold South near Bridge 10. The ship was refloated and resumed service. It was scrapped at Sorel, QC, in 1978 as LAKE TRANSPORT (i).

1969 – PETER ROBERTSON, sold for scrap and anchored in western Lake Ontario, dragged her anchors in a storm and landed on the beach near Jordan Harbour, Ontario. The vessel was released August 24 and headed down the Seaway August 27 between the tugs SALVAGE MONARCH and HELEN M. McALLISTER on the next leg of the journey to Spain for scrapping.

1972 – VILLE DE QUEBEC was a pre-Seaway trader to the Great Lakes from 1955 to 1958 and returned inland, for three trips, in 1959. The ship sank off the coast of Albania, due to heavy weather, on this date as c) SUZY in 1972. It was enroute from Durres, Albania, to Patras, Greece. Eleven members of the crew were lost while only 7 survived.

1975 – The coastal freighter AIGLE D'OCEAN struck an iceberg off Port Burwell, Labrador, and sank. Only five crew were rescued. The ship had been inland on several occasions.

1977 – CAPO MELE first came through the Seaway as a) PIERRE L.D. in 1959 and again, for 3 trips, in 1960. It was sold and renamed b) CAPO MELE in 1961 and made 22 voyages to the Great Lakes from then through 1967. The ship sustained heavy damage from an engine room fire as e) PAULINA at Banjul, Gambia, and was sold for scrap. The vessel arrived at Santander, Spain, on October 17, 1977, for dismantling.

[yachtsmanwilly]

8/23 - Windsor, Ont. – Many of us walk to the office in a zombie-like state, loaded down with over-the-shoulder bags carrying lunch and other necessities, often with a coffee in the other hand.

For Brett Walker, just getting to work can be a real adventure that demands his full attention and focus. Walker is a Great Lakes boat pilot. Working for Canada’s Great Lakes Pilotage Authority, his job is to navigate foreign vessels safely through the region’s rivers and waterways.

That means starting his work day by climbing a 30-foot rope ladder straight up the side of a moving freighter. The freighters must keep going in order to stay on schedule as they travel a busy water highway.

“It’s a proper rope ladder,” Walker says rather nonchalantly. “There are spreaders to stop it from twisting and wooden steps.”

A tug takes Walker out to meet the ship and pulls to the lee side for added protection from any weather elements, but Walker says “it’s still a little bouncy” on the climb up or down. Once aboard, other challenges can present themselves since each day means he’s working with a new crew, a new ship and different weather.

Every foreign vessel on the lakes must have either a U.S. or Canadian pilot on board. Pilot service has been mandatory and available ever since the St. Lawrence Seaway opened traffic for foreign vessels in 1959.

“We recruit the best people in the country to do this job,” said Robert Lemire, the CEO of the Canadian authority.

About 60 pilots work on the Great Lakes. The work is shared with U.S. pilots through an extremely complicated numbering system. Odd-numbered vessels are handled by Americans and even-numbered vessels go to Canadians.

“It’s insurance against grounding, collision or anything that could cause environmental disaster,” Walker said of the service.

The 57-year-old lives with his family in Beamsville, Ont. Coming straight out of high school, he enrolled in the marine navigation program at Georgian College where part of the curriculum requires a six-month placement at sea. Graduates attain the rank of first mate and then must apply for a license through the Ministry of Transport.

Walker earned the rank of captain at the young age of 26. As a Great Lakes pilot, he’s away from home roughly 40 days a year for a shipping season that generally opens in March and runs through October or November.

He’ll work 12 days straight followed by five off and every other month he spends 10 days doing runs between Windsor and Sarnia. The freighters he guides handle loads of oil, steel, grain or windmill parts.

Other assignments have him direct the 17-hour passage from Port Colborne to Detroit. He gets a nine-hour break during that stretch where he leaves orders on the bridge and is called upon if needed.

Weather, of course, can provide the stiffest tests. “The toughest conditions would be gale force storms in October and November,” he said.

He said both the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Lake Superior can mimic dangerous ocean-like conditions. Still Walker wouldn’t trade the helm for a desk job.

“I love the challenge of it,” he said. “I enjoy meeting people. Every ship is different, every crew is different.”

Windsor Star


8/23 - Portage, Ind. – On Tuesday, Fednav Limited, the largest international bulk shipowner in Canada, will welcome to the Port of Indiana – Burns Harbor the Federal Caribou, one of seven new oceangoing lakers equipped with a ballast water treatment system – a first for the Great Lakes. This vessel protects the lakes by treating its ballast water two times: by conducting an exchange in the North Atlantic, and through filtration and a chlorine disinfection treatment on the ship.

Federal Caribou is part of a series of 16 Handysize vessels, representing an investment by Fednav of more than $400 million and designed specifically for the Great Lakes. The company is the leading international operator in the Great Lakes, has one of the most modern fleets of bulk carriers in the world, the average age being under 10 years. Of particular interest is that the Federal Caribou and its sister-ships have box-shaped holds in order to facilitate the handling of general cargo.

In April 2015, Fednav announced the signing of an agreement with JFE Engineering Corporation for the installation of ballast water treatment systems (BallastAce) on board its new ocean-going lakers. Federal Caribou is one of those ships, and its voyage to Burns Harbor highlights the fact that Fednav is the first shipping company in the Great Lakes to treat ballast water using an onboard system. JFE is now pursuing US Coast Guard certification, with expected approval in 2017.

At the ceremony on board the ship, Paul Pathy, President and Co-CEO of Fednav Limited and Chairman of Federal Marine Terminals said "This vessel confirms that the protection of the Great Lakes is a priority for Fednav and demonstrates the confidence we have in the region’s future. These ships will allow us to offer our customers in Indiana and throughout the region an unparalleled service at a higher standard.”

Fednav



Help Wanted: McKeil Marine Limited

8/23 - McKeil Marine Limited has immediate openings for Chief Engineers and Captains on a permanent and relief basis. We’re are currently searching for qualified engineers and captains to join our team. Positions are available on both our Tugs and Cargo Ships Fleet.

Be a part of a winning and growing organization, joining our crew means receiving a total rewards package that includes company coordinated travels, favourable rotation schedules, company paid training and certificate upgrade bonuses. In order to be considered for engineer positions, candidates must possess a minimum of a 3rd Class Engineer, Motor Certificate. Candidates must possess a minimum of a Master 500 GT for the Captain positions.

If this sounds like an ideal position for you, please email your cover letter and resume to [e-mail]. We thank all applicants but advise that only those selected for an interview will be contacted. McKeil Marine is committed to the principles of Employment Equity.



8/23 - Duluth, Minn. – Guided not just by the hands of operator Tom Crossmon, but also by the past efforts of an extended network of divers and the collective memory of a community, the remotely-operated vehicle descended into the depths of Lake Superior.

Dropping down a sheer rock cliff that plunges into the lake along a remote stretch of the northern Ontario shore, the ROV's camera and lights searched for its quarry: A wreck not seen since it happened 106 years ago. A wreck that claimed three lives. A wreck unlike any other in the Great Lakes.

Within about an hour on July 22, about 235 feet beneath the surface amid a jumble of massive boulders, Crossmon and his companions found what they were looking for. There, visible on a video screen aboard their 24-foot boat, was the wreckage not of some long-lost schooner or ill-fated freighter, but rather a railroad locomotive. Canadian Pacific Railway Locomotive 694, to be exact, which crashed into the lake from the cliffs above in a violent collision of metal and rock before sunrise on the morning of June 10, 1910.

Read more and see a video and photos at this link: www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/4098295-finding-694-106-years-after-tragic-crash-locomotive-located-lake-superior

On this day in 1818, the first steamer above Niagara Falls, the WALK-IN-THE-WATER, Captain Job Fish, departed Buffalo on her maiden voyage. The 29 passengers paid a fare of $24 and arrived at Detroit in 44 hours and 10 minutes.

On August 23, 1955, as part of the year-long centennial celebration of the opening of the Soo Locks in 1855, an open house was held aboard the Pittsburgh steamer JOHN G. MUNSON. A total of 10,563 individuals toured the MUNSON while she was tied up at Detroit.

On 23 August 1887, GESINE (wooden schooner, 99 gross tons, built in 1853, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin) was carrying lumber in a storm on Lake Michigan. She was shoved up against the breakwater at Michigan City, Indiana, and pounded to pieces. The crew and Capt. C. Anderson jumped overboard and clung to the breakwater pilings until rescued.

GEMINI sailed on her maiden voyage August 23, 1978, from the shipyard to load fuel oil at Baytown, Texas, for delivery at Detroit, Michigan. Sold Canadian and renamed b.) ALGOSAR in 2005.

The wooden-hulled steamer AURORA was launched on August 23, 1887, at Cleveland, Ohio, by Murphy & Miller Shipyard for J. J. Corrigan of Cleveland, Ohio.

On August 23, 1979, KINSMAN ENTERPRISE, a.) NORMAN B. REAM was towed out of the Frog Pond in Toledo, Ohio, having escaped the scrapper's torch, and sold to the Port Huron Seaway Terminal to be used as a storage barge.

On 23 August 1887, CLARA (2-mast, wooden scow-schooner) was carrying a load of hardwood lumber bound from Manistee, Michigan for Chicago, Illinois, when she was caught in a storm and capsized. Her hull later washed ashore upside-down near Miller's Station, Indiana.

August 23, 1901 - PERE MARQUETTE 17 arrived Ludington, Michigan, on her maiden voyage with Captain Peter Kilty in command.

On 23 August 1875, PERSIAN (wooden propeller freighter, 1,630 tons, built in 1874, at Cleveland, Ohio) caught fire off Long Point on Lake Erie. The propeller EMPIRE STATE came alongside and tried to put out the fire with streams of water from her hose, but when this failed, she took PERSIAN in tow in an attempt to get her to shore. This too failed when the tow line burned through. PERSIAN burned to the waterline and sank 10 miles from land in about 30 fathoms of water. No lives were lost.

On 23 August 1900, ARGONAUT (wooden propeller freighter, 213 foot, 1,119 gross tons, built in 1873, at Detroit, Michigan) was raised by an expensive salvage operation at the Escanaba ore dock where she had previously sunk. She lasted another six years.

1898: The three-year old I. WATSON STEPHENSON, a wooden lumber hooker, went aground in Sturgeon Bay and was hit by her barge and holed. The vessel was repaired and returned to service. It last operated for the Saginaw Lumber Co. perhaps as late as 1933. The hull was sunk as a breakwall for small craft at Cleveland on July 11, 1935, and burned to the waterline in the spring of 1946.

1963: During a tugboat race in Toronto harbor, the TERRY S. sank after being in a collision with the ARGUE MARTIN. The sunken ship belonged to Waterman's Services and had been used as a pilot boat. The hull was salvaged and returned to service. It joined Nadro Marine in 1989 and saw brief work as a pilot boat at Port Weller harbor in 1992 before being sold and going to Bomanville, ON for harbor service in 1993. ARGUE MARTIN, later part of the McKeil fleet, was broken up at Hamilton in 2003.

1984: ROGER M. KYES went aground in the Trenton Channel of the Detroit River and had to be lightered to the RICHARD REISS before being released and going to Sturgeon Bay for extensive repairs.

[yachtsmanwilly]

At 2:00 a.m. on 24 August 1892, the GEORGE N. BRADY (wooden propeller tug, 102 foot, 165 gross tons, built in 1865, at Detroit or Marine City, Michigan) was engaged in pulling a raft of logs across Lake St. Clair along with the tug SUMNER. Fire was discovered around the BRADY's smokestack and the flames quickly spread. The crew was taken off of the stricken vessel by the SUMNER, and the BRADY was cut free of the raft. The blazing vessel drifted to the American shore where she sank about three miles north of Grosse Pointe, Michigan. No lives were lost.

LEON SIMARD (Hull#413) was launched August 24, 1974, at Sorel, Quebec by Marine Industries Ltd. for Branch Lines Ltd. Renamed b.) L'ORME NO 1 in 1982. Sold off the lakes in 1997, renamed c.) TRADEWIND OCEAN d.) AMARA in 2001 and MENNA in 2008.

On August 24, 1910, the THOMAS F. COLE ran aground on a shoal in the St. Marys River, severely damaging her hull plates.

The WARD AMES (Hull #518) was launched on August 24, 1907, at West Superior, Wisconsin by Superior Ship Building Co. for the Acme Steamship Co. (Augustus B. Wolvin, mgr.). Renamed b.) C.H. McCULLOUGH JR. in 1916. She was scrapped at Thunder Bay, Ontario in 1980.

On August 24, 1985, PAUL H. CARNAHAN arrived for her final lay up at Nicholson's in Ecorse, Michigan. Ironically, only a few hours later, her near sister LEON FALK JR departed the same slip on her final trip bound for Quebec City and overseas scrapping.

The steam barge BURLINGTON of 1857, 137 foot, 276 gross tons ex-package freighter, burned to the water's edge in the Straits of Mackinac on August 24, 1895.

On 24 August 1885, IOSCO (wooden schooner-barge, 124 foot, 230 gross tons, built at Alabaster, Michigan in 1873) was heavily damaged by fire. She was rebuilt as an unrigged barge and lasted until 1912.

On 24 August 1882, The Port Huron Times reported that "the long looked for launch of the Stave Company's new river steamer MARY took place this afternoon between 4 and 5 o'clock and was witnessed by hundreds of spectators. The last support being knocked away, she slid very gracefully as far as the ways reached and then landed anything but gracefully in the mud where she now lies." She remained stuck in the mud until she was pulled free five days later.

1901: The wooden barge H.A. BARR of the Algoma Central Railway was lost in Lake Erie 30 miles from Port Stanley after breaking the towline in a storm. The vessel was enroute from Michipicoten to Buffalo with a cargo of iron ore. All on board were rescued by the towing steamer THEANO.

1979: The retired steamer KINSMAN ENTERPRISE (i), sold for $145,000, arrived at Port Huron from Toledo, under tow of the tug MALCOLM, for use as the storage barge HULL NO. 1.

1998: CANADIAN LEADER went aground near DeTour, Mich., and had to be lightered. The ship was able to proceed to Montreal for unloading her cargo of grain and then arrived at Port Weller Dry Docks August 31 for repairs.

2005: The Dutch salty VLIEBORG lost power and failed to complete a turn departing Duluth, striking the north pier, toppling a light standard and damaging the steel piling. The vessel had begun Seaway service in 2001. In 2012, it was renamed c) ANTARCTIC SEA and placed under Norwegian registry.

[yachtsmanwilly]

8/25 - Raw steel production in the Great Lakes region dropped by 3.55 percent to 651,000 tons last week. Nationally, steel output so far this year continues to trail the anemic 2015 pace by about 632,000 tons, a decline of 1.1 percent, according to the World Steel Association.

Overall U.S. steel output fell by 30,000 tons or 1.78 percent last week, according to an American Iron and Steel Institute estimate. Total U.S. raw steel production last week was about 1.655 million tons, down from 1.685 million tons a week earlier.

Production in the Southern District, which spans mini-mills across the South, dropped to 568,000 tons last week, down from 575,000 tons the previous week.

Year-to-date steel capacity utilization at U.S. mills has been 72.5 percent, as compared to a capacity utilization of 72.3 percent at the same point in 2015.

NW Indiana Times


8/25 - Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor - Officials with the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor welcomed the Federal Caribou, a new generation oceangoing vessel Tuesday that reportedly emits fewer greenhouse gases, uses less fuel and flushes out more invasive fish species than similar ships.

The $25 million, bright red ship is one of seven oceangoing lakers owned by Montreal-based Fednav Limited that is equipped with a new ballast water treatment system.

Fednav President and co-CEO Paul Pathy said the new system treats the ballast water twice for greater protection of the Great Lakes. He said the dual treatment, installed by JFE Engineering Corp., filters out any organisms and provides chlorine disinfection.

While the ship is on its fourth trip, this is its maiden voyage to Indiana, according to Capt. Rajat Roychowdhury.

Pathy said Fednav opted to use the new water ballast system in its seven new vessels before it is required to do so by any country or state and intends to add the system to all its new vessels going forward.

He said each system costs about $500,000. "The key is we took the lead and can show industry and government what is possible," Pathy said. "I believe in the commercial future of the Great Lakes and am interested in their environmental future," he said.

According to port officials, the new vessels have 25 percent fewer greenhouses gas emissions than similar vessels built less than 15 years ago and 15 percent fewer nitrogen oxide emissions.

Carol Comer, with Indiana Department of Environmental Management, said with these new vessels Fednav has shown that a company can be both economically successful and environmentally responsible at the same time.

She said the new ballast system is critical to the Great Lakes, which has endured such invasive species as zebra mussels and lamprey brought in by oceangoing vessels. Comer said if more companies follow Fednav's example, the healthier the Great Lakes will be. But she added this is no quick fix.

"It will take some time to recover from some of the damage that was done," she said.

Rich Cooper, CEO for the Ports of Indiana, said Fednav invested more than $400 million on 16 new vessels designed specifically for the Great Lakes, seven of which have the new ballast water system.

He pointed out that it was a family-owned business in Montreal led by a father and his two sons, not a huge corporation, that is leading the industry with the new environmental improvements.

"They're making sure that shipping on the Great Lakes is a viable option for many years to come," Cooper said.

The ship started its voyage in Germany, where it loaded 11,000 metric tons of fertilizer headed for Quebec. It then loaded 10,000 metric tons of steel in the United Kingdom, headed for Detroit, Milwaukee and Burns Harbor. After unloading the steel, the ship will load 21,250 metric tons of flax/canola in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and bring it to Mexico.

Post Tribune


8/25 - Lansing, Mich. – Three Lake Superior lighthouses, including one in the Upper Peninsula, were recently added to the National Register for Historic Places.

The Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Light was built in 1941 to assist in shipping out iron ore mined in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, according to U.S. Coast Guard historian Daniel Koski-Karell, who applied to get the lighthouses added to the register. Standing in Presque Isle Harbor, the light is still used for this purpose.

The other two additions to the National Register are Minnesota’s Duluth Harbor North Pier Light, constructed in 1910, and South Harbor Breakwater Outer Light, constructed in 1901. Both were built to help ships navigate Duluth’s shipping canal, Koski-Karell said.

Both Duluth Harbor lighthouses had antique beacon lights that were replaced by modern LED lights in 2014. Previously, the Duluth Harbor South Breakwater Outer Light used a Parisian made beacon light from 1877, according to the application.

The Coast Guard still needs the Presque Isle and Duluth Harbor lights operational. Their register listing helps open the door for them to be donated to a nonprofit organization or auctioned to a private owner.

Great Lakes Echo


8/25 - Grand Haven, Mich. – The removal of Grand Haven's iconic Lake Michigan catwalk could begin as soon as Thursday, Aug. 25. Grand Haven City Manager Pat McGinnis said that date is a moving target, so Friday, Aug. 26 and Monday, Aug. 29 are also possible start dates.

The King Company, a Holland-based marine contractor, will be handling the $84,000 project to remove the catwalk in sections. They will then transport it via barge up the Grand River for storage at the Verplank Trucking Co. site in Ferrysburg.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is scheduled to begin a $2.1 million repair project of the pier on which that catwalk sits on Sept. 19 so the historic catwalk, which is badly in need to of repair and restoration, needs to be removed if it is to be saved.


Special event at Gills Rock museum Sept. 4

8/25 - Sturgeon Bay, Wis. – The Door County Maritime Museum will be highlighting some of its new and existing exhibits at its Gills Rock Maritime Museum on Sunday, Sept. 4, from noon until 4 p.m. This special event will feature maritime guests and experts that will help bring the exhibits to life.

The event will be used to help introduce the museum’s newly restored 1917 Kahlenberg engine as well as the refurbished Plum Island Fresnel lens. Trygvie Jensen, author of “Through Waves and Gales Come Fisherman Tales” and “Wooden Boats and Iron Men,” will also be on board the commercial fishing tug Hope answering questions about commercial fishing and its tugs.

Kurt Krueger restored the Kahlenberg and will explain the workings of this remarkable engine. “Hear what it took to restore this workhorse of commercial fishing and the story behind this particular engine,” said Adam Gronke, museum curator. “Every single nut and bolt was taken off, cleaned, repaired and restored to it’s original,” said Gronke.

The engine sat outside for more than 25 years. It is originally off the fishing tug King in Ellison Bay, and had been in storage in Sturgeon Bay following Krueger’s ambitious restoration project. It was moved to Gills Rock on July 13. It is now one of four Kahlenbergs in the Gills Rock Maritime Museum.

Kurt Fosburg is one of the few in the United States who is licensed to remove, clean and repair Fresnel lenses for the United Stated Coast Guard. He removed the Plum Island light as well as the Green Bay entry light that is currently on display at the Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay.

The Plum Island light was constructed in Paris, France, in 1889 and served until 2015 when it was replaced with a LED light. Originally invented by Augustine Fresnel in 1822, the lenses were used extensively along European and North American coasts. They ranged in size from first to sixth order (first being the largest). The Plum Island lens is a fourth order lens, a very common size for the Great Lakes.

A representative of the Friends of Plum and Pilot Islands will also be at the Gills Rock Maritime Museum to discuss and answer questions related to its mission of preserving, restoring and maintaining the lighthouses and other historic structures on Plum and Pilot Island.

This special event is free to all Door County Maritime Museum and Friends of Plum and Pilot Island members. General admission to the event is $6 for adults and $3 for children.

DCMM


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[yachtsmanwilly]

8/26 - Marquette, Mich. – It may be quiet now, but Marquette's Lower Harbor will be the site of plenty activity this weekend, including three unique tall ships.

The Marquette Maritime Museum has arranged for the ships to arrive just in time for Harbor Fest. The first ship, The Pride of Baltimore, arrived Tuesday night. Two more ships, the Spanish El Galeon and General George Patton's personal yacht the When and If will be here by Friday.

Organizers say this is a great chance to see some fantastic ships.

"This is one of those remarkable occasions when folks in the Marquette area will really have an opportunity to come down and enjoy a wonderful festival and these great tall ships that will be in Marquette Harbor," said Fredrick Stonehouse of the Marquette Maritime Museum.

The El Galeon and the Pride of Baltimore will be available for deck tours. The When and If will be taking people for short rides on Lake Superior for a fee. Volunteers are needed to help take tickets at the event.

WLUC



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[yachtsmanwilly]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


8/28 - Port Sanilac, Mich. – Lighthouse lovers – and there are lots of them around here – will want to circle Sept. 10 on the calendar. That's when Jeff and Lindsay Shook, owners of the Port Sanilac Lighthouse, will open the historic building constructed in 1886 for tours.

Shook said he believes the building has only been open once before to the public for tours.

The couple have owned the lighthouse since December 2014 and have been working inside and out to restore and renovate it. "It’s pretty much restoration and planning still," he said. "To this day we’ve stayed there three times only so far because it’s been under construction most of the time.

"It’s getting to the point now where it’s getting livable. We have furniture in there, but we haven’t started hanging pictures yet."

He said the open house, which will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., will be both a celebration of the lighthouse's 130 years as an active aid to navigation on the Great Lakes and the final opportunity to view its 1886 Fresnel lens in its original location.

The U.S. Coast Guard will be removing the lens and replacing it with a modern LED light. The lens will be kept on display at the lighthouse.

Shook said the grounds will be open free of charge to the public. Touring the tower, including a climb up to the lens, costs $5 for people 12 years and older. Children need to be at least 36 inches tall to climb the tower — and tower climbers can't be wearing flip flops.

Shook will give a presentation at 3 p.m. from the front porch of the lighthouse. Volunteers from the Sanilac County Historical Society also will be at the event. Proceeds from the tour will be used for lighthouse maintenance, Shook said.

Lighthouses run in the family. Shook's fifth great-grandfather and grandmother were the first lightkeepers at Pointe Aux Barques lighthouse north along the Lake Huron shore near Port Hope.

Catherine Shook cared for the lighthouse and her eight children after her husband drowned in a shipwreck.

He also is involved with the Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy that owns the Muskegon South Pierhead and South Breakwater Lights and the Alpena Breakwater Lighthouse.

People will be able to view other structures such as the lighthouse outhouse — a two-holer — the well on the property and the oilhouse where the kerosene that lit the beacon was stored.

The light, which was electrified in 1924, remains a marker for mariners and will continue to be so after the lens is replaced.

Shook said the plan is to have the lighthouse open for tours during the summer.

"We’re trying to make arrangements with the Sanilac County Historical Society to try to come up with a game plan starting next year ... to get some of their volunteers to open the light tower up for tours next year," he said, noting that discussions are in the preliminary phase.

The Fenton man said his family – he and his wife have two small children – plan to use the lighthouse as a vacation home.

"We've got quite a few letters and people who have stopped by and thanked us for taking such good care of the lighthouse and putting all the work into it," Shook said.

Port Huron Times Herald


8/27 - Alpena, Mich. – After being on the waters of Lake Huron for the past 60 plus years, the retired DNR Research Vessel Chinook has a new home, resting outside the Besser Museum in Alpena.

After being lifted out of the water for the last time on Monday, the R/V Chinook was trucked through Alpena and to the Besser Museum early Tuesday evening, and was propped up in the parking lot where it will stay temporarily on display.

Built in 1947, R/V Chinook was the oldest research vessel on the Great Lakes, and took its final voyage earlier in the month. Many people from the community were on hand to watch Chinook move to it's new home, including people with close ties to the research vessel.

One former ship captain and first mate used the moment to reflect on the 31 years he worked on R/V Chinook.

"Just being out there and working on the sea, and doing all the research we did. You know from planting lake trout, to brown trout to seeing the recovery of the lake. After being donated to the museum by the DNR, the ship which was used for research for over half a century...will continue to help educate people in northern Michigan about the importance of the Great Lakes,” says Clarence Closs.

The exhibit is not entirely complete, but the Besser Museum has some plans to highlight this fascinating vessel, which is still in great shape.

"We will build a dock around it so the public can get up and access the boat. It will be stocked with all the equipment like if you were going out to the lake to do a day's work, and we will add programs for students and adults; interpretive signage. And DNR will work with us, they have an education department, and will help us with developing a lot of the educational outreach, that we both want to share with the public," said Besser Museum Executive Director Chris Witulski

The process in building the exhibit will take a few years, but for right now it's a great opportunity to check out piece of history as it sits.

WBKB 11


U.S. border agents cross into Canada to rescue residents from Niagara Falls house fire

8/27 - Buffalo, N.Y. – Americans have unexpectedly come ashore in Canada for the second time in less than a week, but they weren’t wayward partiers — they came here to save lives.

It was just after 1 a.m. Thursday when U.S. Border Patrol marine units based in Buffalo, N.Y., noticed a house on fire on the Canadian shoreline near Niagara Falls, Ont. The border agents didn’t spot any firefighters or rescue vehicles, so they manoeuvred their boats close to shore, set off their sirens and shone spotlights to alert the residents.

The agents eventually came ashore and one led a family of four, including two children, out of the burning house to a safe spot across the road.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says a second agent led another family of four to safety from a house adjacent to the blaze while the commander of a second American patrol boat contacted the RCMP to let them know what was going on.

This friendly cross-border invasion follows an incident last Sunday when some 1,500 wayward Americans washed ashore in Sarnia, Ont.

The unexpected visitors were on inflatable rafts and boats — attending the annual Port Huron Float Down — when they drifted off course due to high winds and strong currents.

“The decisive actions made by the agents involved demonstrates their willingness to go above and beyond to ensure the safety of citizens on both sides of the border,” said Matt Harvey, the acting deputy patrol agent at the Buffalo station.

Canadian Press


8/27 - Toronto, Ont. - His Majesty King Harald V of Norway was sitting at the back of his sailboat, munching on a green apple, reflecting upon the day of sailing that had just been. A day that was not “good,” according to the king. It was not good because the king, a sailor since age two, a three-time Olympian and the skipper of the Sira, a classic eight-metre sloop that his father, King Olav V, had built in 1938, thrives on competition.

Even today, the 79-year-old King Harald wants to win. But on a breezy Wednesday afternoon on Lake Ontario the king and his crew of Norwegians, whom he has been racing with since 1987, did not win. They came ninth out of 12 boats. The dismal showing dropped them to second place overall in the race for the Sira Cup – a coveted international prize that the king’s father donated to the international sailing community in 1983 — that concludes here Saturday.

“I’ve raced all my life,” says the king, who last won the cup in 2008. “You can’t stop playing, you know? The first time I was on this boat I was two years old. For me, with sailing, it’s about the competition. The wind — the weather — it doesn’t make any difference who you are, before the wind.”

Norway’s sailor king doesn’t look or act like one might imagine a monarch would. On his green-hulled boat with the wooden deck, with his crew sitting in a nearby boat enjoying a post-race beer at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club on the Toronto Islands, the king cut the figure of a kindly grandfather (he has six grandchildren).


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[yachtsmanwilly]

8/30 - Would a longer shipping season on the St. Lawrence Seaway be a good thing? A report this summer from the Conference of Great Lakes Governors and Premiers suggests a longer season - they call it "season optimization" - and major upgrades to the Seaway could double the amount of cargo traveling across the waterway.

"On the beginning and end of the main shipping season, is there a little bit of extra time we can squeeze out of those sides?" said Mike Piskur, spokesman for the Great Lakes group.

Wade Davis, the executive director of the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority, said a longer shipping season could help. "Anything that helps increase the shipping season is something that's of value to the port, of local business, local farms, and so on and so forth."

Not everyone agrees. Historically, even the suggestion of an extended shipping season raises a red flag among environmentalists. Lee Willbanks, the director of "Save The River," said the recommendations came without enough study of the environmental impact.

"When you're going through the Thousand Islands and past Ogdensburg on to Massena, particularly when you get near the dam, there are some very sensitive areas," Willbanks said.

Fortunately, Willbanks said, the proposed improvements focus on the Great Lakes, not the St. Lawrence, and shipping deep into the winter might not make economic sense. "It may be that the economics of river international shipping will work in our favor," Willbanks said.

The proposed improvements would take 10 years and cost nearly $4 billion - and they'd have to be approved by the U.S. and Canadian governments.

WNYF


8/30 - Traverse City, Mich. – Steve Hutchinson knew he would need to replace a sea wall when he bought a home on Old Mission Peninsula in 2011. But he never imagined that he’d need it so badly. Now, the waves on East Grand Traverse Bay lap against the base of his nearly $75,000 wall, and the bottom two steps leading to the water are submerged.

“I knew we were going to have to do something, but hell, the water was way out there,” he said, pointing to the now-submerged spot where the water line once lingered. “Who would’ve ever guessed it would get this high?”

Water levels in Lakes Michigan and Huron in July were about 10 inches higher than the 95-year average for that month, but they’re still 22 to 24 inches below the record highs from 1986, said Keith Kompoltowicz, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District chief of Watershed Hydrology.

The two lakes are considered one because of their connection at the Straits of Mackinac.

Water levels in the lakes this year have risen to 580.18 feet above the International Great Lakes Datum — a baseline roughly aligned with sea level — according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data. That’s about four inches higher than last year’s peak. Lake levels will match the 30-year-old record in six years if they keep rising at that rate.

Hutchinson said he figures three more of his steps will be underwater if that happens, and while his new seawall will be fine, he wonders about other lakefront homes on Old Mission Peninsula. That includes the house next door, which he also owns. He pointed to the submerged shrubs, downed trees and the small rock wall in front of the house that might need repairs if water levels keep rising.

But what lake levels — and the factors that drive them — are going to do are hard to predict. Andrew Gronewold, a hydrologist with NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, said forecasting lake level changes can be tricky because the factors that drive them are so hard to predict.

“As we’ve seen in the past, there can be dramatic changes in regional air temperatures, such as the Arctic polar vortex formation a few years ago, and dramatic changes in precipitation,” he said.

Those are just two examples of the unpredictable factors that can influence Great Lakes water levels, Gronewold said.

Lake level changes mostly are driven by precipitation, but changes in evaporation are starting to take a bigger role, Gronewold said. Previously, precipitation rates would change while evaporation rates stayed mostly constant. But the high water levels of the 1980s dropped rapidly over several years, and scientists are blaming an increase in water surface temperatures, which cause more evaporation.

Above-average evaporation is blamed for keeping Lakes Michigan and Huron water levels below the long-term average from 1998 to 2013, Gronewold said.

“Then that period very abruptly and dramatically came to an end,” he said, adding that the three-year rise in the lakes is without precedent.

On top of that, there has been a gradual and persistent increase in precipitation over the Great Lakes basin, Gronewold said. That means for a given period, the question is whether there will be more evaporation or more precipitation when compared to averages.

All of this makes lake levels hard to forecast, but GLERL and USACE do collaborate on periodic outlooks that extrapolate lake levels under a number of scenarios, Gronewold said.

The latest looks at how hurricanes have caused the Great Lakes to rise, especially when they tracked over the lakes’ basin in the midst of an already rainy period. It uses those figures to show that the Great Lakes could rise even higher if a hurricane passes through, but likely wouldn’t reach record highs.

The USACE also includes six-month projections in its monthly lake level bulletins.

Abundant rain and snow brought water levels to where they are now, Kompoltowicz said. The big jump from record lows in 2012 and 2013 to today’s above-average highs came after two consecutive years of heavy snowfall and lots of spring rain.

August has been a wet one so far, Kompoltowicz said. Rainfall totals across the basin for Lakes Michigan and Huron have swamped average precipitation totals, amounting to 162 percent of the month’s normal. An exceptionally rainy fall could blunt the typical seasonal decline in lake levels, Kompoltowicz said.

“We have had instances in the past where a very wet September or October will kind of halt that seasonal decline,” he said. “As recently as 2014, we had a very small, nearly nonexistent (decline) because of the wet fall.”

Averages show the lakes typically drop by a foot from July to February. For now, USACE expects a typical seasonal decline this fall and winter, Kompoltowicz said. “But the weather changes all the time,” he said.

Traverse City Record Eagle


8/30 - Sarnia, Ont. – The Canadian Coast Guard spent $21,700 to help pull 1,500 wayward Americans from the Ontario shores of the St. Clair River last weekend. The Yanks were taking part in the Port Huron Float Down - an annual tradition that sees thousands of participants from the Michigan side drift down the river on tubes and other floating things.

A strong wind blew them off course and stranded them on the Canadian side of the river in Sarnia, Ont.

The Coast Guard's estimate includes overtime, fuel and provisions for the Coast Guard Ship Limnos and several fast rescue craft. That's on top of the estimated $8,100 the city of Sarnia spent shuttling the wet Americans back across the border in police-escorted city buses.

Because the annual tradition is unsanctioned and has no sponsors to pick up the tab, the city has already written off the costs.

Joe Wiedenbeck, of nearby Marysville, Mich., launched an online gofundme campaign on Tuesday to help Sarnia cover some of the bill. As of Friday morning it had raised more than $4,700.

The stranded Americans also brought new scrutiny to the annual float. Many of those pulled to shore were drunk, had varying degrees of hypothermia and some even dangerously tried to swim back across, fearing they'd be charged for being in Canada illegally. A four-year-old was among those rescued.

"People need to be aware that while everyone had fun, and I appreciate the boost for tourism, we need to think about public safety, and we need to think about what's going to happen next year," said Sarnia-Lambton MP Marilyn Gladu, urging officials on both sides of the border to get more involved in the planning going forward.

Owen Sound Sun Times


On this day in 1964, the retired Bradley Transportation steamer CALCITE was awarded the National Safety Council Award of Merit. The CALCITE accumulated a total of 1,394,613 man-hours of continuous operation over 17 years without a disabling, lost-time injury. The CALCITE was the first Great Lakes vessel to ever receive this honor.

On 30 August 1893, CENTURION (steel propeller freighter, 350 foot, 3,401 gross tons) was launched by F. W. Wheeler (Hull#100) at W. Bay City, Michigan. The name was a pun to celebrate the ship as Frank Wheeler's 100th hull.

The CHARLES E. WILSON was christened August 30, 1973, at Bay Shipbuilding Co., for the American Steamship Co., and completed her sea trials on September 6th. She was renamed b.) JOHN J. BOLAND in 2000.

On August 30, 1942, the A. H. FERBERT ran aground in the St. Marys River, just a day old. The vessel returned to the builder's yard in River Rouge, Michigan for repairs.

On August 30, 1988, the WILLOWGLEN, a.) MESABI, made its first visit to Duluth-Superior under that name. She loaded grain at Harvest States in Superior, Wisconsin, arriving early in the morning and departing in the early evening the same day. Her last visit to Duluth before this was in 1981 under the name c.) JOSEPH X. ROBERT.

The H G DALTON entered service on August 30, 1903, for Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Transportation Co. Later b.) COURSEULLES in 1916, c.) GLENDOCHART in 1922, d.) CHATSWORTH in 1927, e.) BAYLEAF in 1942 and f.) MANCOX in 1951.

On August 30, 1985, the tug CAPTAIN IOANNIS S departed Quebec City with MENIHEK LAKE and LEON FALK, JR. in tow, bound for Spain to be scrapped.

On 30 August 1873, CAMBRIDGE (3-mast, wooden schooner, 162 foot, 445 tons, built in 1868, at Detroit, Michigan) was bound from Marquette, Michigan for Cleveland, Ohio with a load of iron ore. In rough seas, she was thrown onto the rocky shore near Marquette where she broke up. No lives were lost.

On 30 August 1900, thousands of people gathered at the Jenks Shipbuilding Company near the Grand Trunk Bridge on the Black River in Port Huron, Michigan to watch the launching of the large steel steamer CAPTAIN THOMAS WILSON. Superintendent Andrews gave the word and the blows were struck simultaneously at the bow and stern. Slowly the vessel started quivering slightly from deck to keel and then with a mighty rush, slid sideways into the river. Her stern stuck in the mud. Mrs. Thomas Wilson christened the ship.

1892: The two-year-old steel bulk carrier WESTERN RESERVE foundered about 60 miles above Whitefish Point with the loss of 26 lives. There was only one survivor.

1903: PITTSBURGH burned at the dock in Sandwich, Ontario. The oak-hulled passenger and freight paddle-wheeler had been built in 1871 as MANITOBA. The hull was towed to Port Dalhousie for scrapping later in 1904.

1942: NEEBING (i), a former bulk canaller that dated from 1903, left the lakes for war service about 1915. It survived the initial conflict and continued in saltwater service into the Second World War. The ship was torpedoed and sunk as c) JAN TOMP in the eastern Black Sea enroute from Poti, Georgia, to Novorossiysk, Russia.

1952: The iron-hulled paddle-wheeler HAMILTONIAN burned at Hamilton. The cause was believed to have been a carelessly discarded cigarette butt in the women’s washroom. The remains were scrapped at Hamilton in 1953.

1975: B.A. CANADA came to the Great Lakes beginning in 1966 after early work for British-American tankers between Venezuela and North America. The ship was sold and returned inland under Liberian registry as b) DIMITRIOS D.M. in 1969 and ran aground in the Panama Canal on this date in 1975. The damaged hull was laid up at Jacksonville, FL and arrived at Panama City, FL. for scrapping on March 10, 1976.

2001: MARLY, a Seaway caller in 1981, began flooding in #2 hold as d) BISMIHITA'LA and developed a severe list. The crew abandoned ship and 25 sailors were picked up by the MURIEL YORK. Three were lost when their lifeboat drifted into the propeller. The ship was 500 miles off Capetown, South Africa. It was taken in tow by the tug SUHAILI but the 25-year old freighter had to be scuttled at sea on September 17, 2001.