Today in Great Lakes History

[Avenger]

Uhhh, yeah,... I've got a several of boxes of 15A receptacles, one 240V but only 15A, and several 20A single pole switches. A few 20A 3 ways too. Donations and leftovers from contractors. It's mostly household stuff, not too much industrial.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Thanks for the offer Scrod. I picked up the majority of the stuff today at Retards in 20A and better. Pat blew a gasket when I showed her the ticket LOL... ws

[yachtsmanwilly]

9/22 - St. Clair, Mich. – The annual Whistles on the Water whistle blow will be this Saturday in Palmer Park along the boardwalk in downtown St. Clair, Mich., from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Steam whistles from dozens steamships from a bygone era will be blown on live steam provided by a huge, yet portable, steam boiler. In the course of the day, 400 gallons of fuel oil and 2,000 gallons of water will be spent.

Crowd favorites such as the Bob-Lo excursion steamer Columbia and the Georgian Bay Line's South American, as well as the three Typhon horns from the Charles M. Beeghly, will be on hand. There will be whistles from noted bulk freighters, carferries, tankers, tugboats and some unusual ones from non-lakeboat installations.

Small whistles will be available for visitors to actually blow a steam whistle and have their picture taken – all for free. Admission to the whistle blow is also free of charge. Protective earplugs will be provided for those who wish to watch the activity at close range. There will be narration on the manufacturer and history of each whistle to add to the understanding and enjoyment of the sounds. There is no other event in the world with a greater number of large steamship whistles to be heard.


9/22 - Marquette, Mich. – Three large engines are working their way into Marquette from a barge that brought them from Escanaba, up through the Soo Locks, and then across eastern Lake Superior. The engines were made by Finnish company Wartsila and came across the Atlantic Ocean on a saltwater vessel.

Onlookers across Marquette may have noticed street closures near the Upper Harbor throughout the day Wednesday due to the arrival of the engines. This will be a several day-long-process, leading to the possibility of road closures throughout the weekend.

The engines will be used for the expansion of the generation system by the Board of Power and Light. Each of the engines weighs 300 tons and combined will produce 50 megawatts of power. The engines burn a versatile group of fuels, such as natural gas, fuel oil or liquefied natural gas.

“For our use in Marquette, it will provide a lot of back-up generation,” said Board of Light & Power Board member David Carlson.

These engines are the largest created by Wartsila and are also the largest natural gas burning internal combustion engines in the world. The engines began their journey on the ocean vessel BBC Mont Blanc and worked their way to Escanaba, where they were loaded on the barge pulled by the tug Nickelena. They passed through the locks at Sault Ste. Marie and on to their final stop in Marquette.

Although the barge was expected to dock Wednesday afternoon, the porting location was changed 50 feet north because of difficulties with the prior location.

“This spot had been looked at in the past and it seemed to be the best spot that we had, but just as a precaution they had a final check to see if the lake bed had changed and in fact it has a great deal,” said Carlson.

The new location is now getting wooden beams placed on the shore. Once all equipment is in place, the barge will bring the engines over and they will be rolled off the barge and eventually brought onto trucks to be transferred.

“We’ve not had anything like this in this part of the world that I know of, that you could see an engine of this size, it’s pretty special. Once it gets inside the building, we won’t see much of it again,” said Carlson.

ABC10-UP


9/22 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – The U.S. Coast Guard on Wednesday announced it has ended the active search for three boaters missing since Saturday on Lake Superior offshore from Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

"This is the most difficult decision we have to make during a search effort," Cmdr. Carolyn Moberley, of Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie, said in a news release.

"Coast Guard boat crews, aircraft (and) the cutter Biscayne Bay, as well as Canadian aircraft and numerous state and local resources, have searched nonstop over an extensive portion of Lake Superior for these overdue boaters. Our very deepest condolences go out to the families of these individuals."

When the search was suspended Wednesday afternoon, the Coast Guard reported its crews had searched 14,000 square miles over the course of 151 hours. The search area extended from the Keweenaw Peninsula east to Caribou Island, Ont, and the community of Grand Marais, Mich. Some searching also was done on the west side of the Keweenaw Peninsula.

The group was in a 14-foot recreational boat owned by 61-year-old Keith Karvonen of Atlantic Mine, Mich., one of the three people missing. WLUC-TV in Marquette, Mich., identified the other two individuals as Steven Chartre, 43, of Ishpeming, Mich., and his 9-year-old son Ethan.

Karvonen’s Facebook page lists his occupation as “Merchant Mariner, Great Lakes Fleet.”

The Coast Guard said it was notified Saturday night that the three had not returned from a fishing trip at 5 p.m. Saturday as planned. Their truck and trailer were found at a marina near the eastern entrance to the Keweenaw Waterway, southeast of Houghton.

U.S. Coast Guard crews from as far away as North Carolina and Massachusetts took part in the search, along with Canadian Coast Guard personnel and state agencies.

Duluth News Tribune



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[yachtsmanwilly]

9/23 - Rochester, N.Y. – The Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse went white last week as historical society members attempt to restore it to reflect a significant period in its own history.

The stone octagonal lighthouse, located on Lake Ontario at the mouth of the Genesee River, was built in 1822 and is one of the oldest standing lighthouses in the country. It was “limewashed,” or whitewashed, in the 1800 and decommissioned in 1881, meaning it no longer functioned as a navigational aid. The lantern room was removed soon after, and the mortar between the stones supporting the lighthouse started to break down.

The limewash wore off as ivy took over the tower’s outer shell for years. The tower was refurbished several times and sported its bare sandstone face until recently.

But its new limewash job harkens back to an earlier era in the mid-1800s, said Fred Amato, a Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse Historical Society board member.

The spiral staircase inside was added during that period, as well as a Fresnel lens, a prism-like, high-powered lens that formed light into a beam, he said.

The limewash coating is being completed by contractors and paid for through historical society and grant funding, he said. Workers will eventually put on eight coats with large paintbrushes — it will last for around eight to 12 years.

Some residents seem reluctant to accept the lighthouse’s new look — social media users lamented that they “liked the stone look better” and needed time to let the whitewashed tower “grow on them.”

“We thought, ‘how do we want to preserve this?’ ” said Amato. “Did we have to go back and do the limewash? No, we didn’t have to do it, but the majority of the board thought it was the best option.”

Board members are taking neighbor’s comments into account on the look of the lighthouse, but at this point, it would be impractical to remove the limewash, he said. If they decided to bring back the stone look, the best thing would be to allow the limewash to wear off on its own.

This isn’t the first time the lighthouse got a major makeover.

Edison Technical High School students re-created the lantern room in 1984, and it was affixed to the tower. The lighthouse got another facelift in the 1990s, and was headless once again in 2014, when the lantern room was removed to allow workers to shore up the structure after a report raised concerns about structural hazards. The lantern room was re-affixed after a few weeks.

Those repairs were paid for by Monroe County, which owns the lighthouse property, to the tune of $60,000, said Amato, and an anonymous donor gave $34,000 to buy a replica Fresnel lens, reminiscent of the structure’s original one.

Democrat & Chronicle


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[yachtsmanwilly]

9/26 - Port Clinton, Ohio – Now that the Port Clinton Lighthouse has returned to the shores of Lake Erie, perhaps one of the most visually spectacular elements of the historic structure can again help guide mariners or at least offer a welcoming sight to boaters from afar.

The Port Clinton Lighthouse recently had its reproduction Fresnel lens installed and at 1 p.m. Monday it will be lit during a dedication ceremony. It will also mark the official start to its operation as a “private aid to navigation,” which requires approval and designation by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The lens will project a fixed white light that can be spotted from about four miles out into the lake.

“It is a sanctioned light,” said Rich Norgard, president of Port Clinton Lighthouse Conservancy. “It will appear on charts, Coast Guard charts, but it’s really just for show.”

For decades, the lighthouse was previously home to an original fifth-order Fresnel lens. According to the Port Clinton Lighthouse Conservancy, the original was removed by the U.S. Coast Guard after the lighthouse was taken off the west pier in 1952. Despite efforts from the conservancy to recover it, the original lens could not be found.

The organization then reached out to Dan Spinella, who privately restores and manufactures reproduction Fresnel lenses for historic lighthouses throughout the country. Spinella, an architectural history buff, recalled that in the late 1980s a famous historic lighthouse in St. Augustine, Florida, was damaged by rifle fire from a vandal.

The St. Augustine Lighthouse’s original first-order Fresnel lens was severely damaged, with 19 of its prisms broken by the gunshots. After the vandalism, the Coast Guard considered removing the lens, however, several organizations pushed instead to have the nine-foot tall antique lens restored.

Spinella joined those efforts and helped raise funds for the restoration. Prior to that, Spinella said he wasn’t familiar with Fresnel lenses, but sparked with curiosity, he was allowed to check it out in the lighthouse’s lantern room.

By trade, Spinella works in engineering for Disney. He said his first hands-on experience working with Fresnel lenses was taking dimensions of the damaged original at St. Augustine.

It was believed to be one of the first restoration projects on a Fresnel lens of that size and scale.

During that project, Spinella said he did a lot of research on the topic, reading books written as far back as the 1800s by lighthouse engineers and studying their precise formulas to learn exactly how these lenses worked.

“I was just intrigued by it and I kind of got hooked there,” he said.

In those early years, Spinella initially began making replacement prisms out of acrylic, as well as various parts and pieces, and volunteered to help restore a few other original Fresnel lenses.

About 12 years ago, he began making full-scale reproduction lenses when he realized that historic lighthouses and the organizations maintaining them may be interested if their original had been lost. Spinella said his business, Artworks Florida, has been evolving since then.

Fresnel lenses are named after their inventor, Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788-1827), a French physicist and engineer who not only revolutionized lens technology for lighthouses, but also completely changed the way scientists understood how light travels. Fresnel’s equations about how polarized light behaves are still in use today and are the same formulas he utilized to develop his lenses.

“They were engineering marvels, as far as I’m concerned,” Spinella said. “The fact that these were built 150 years ago just intrigued me.”

He found it amazing how with so many different pieces and formulas, it all fit together so accurately to create these incredibly far-reaching light sources.

“It definitely turned into a passion because of the history, the engineering and the art behind it,” Spinella said. “These lenses are beautiful and they’re functional, engineering-wise.”

Fresnel lenses come in six different sizes, referred to as “orders.” The smaller the order, the larger the lens itself is, and more importantly, the longer the focal length or distance from the source the light can be seen. They can also be either fixed or rotating, both designed so to be spotted from multiple angles.

Though the original Port Clinton lens is lost and exact dimensions for it found have not been found, Spinella, Norgard and the conservancy were able to use old photographs as references to determine the size and type of the Fresnel lens housed in the Port Clinton Lighthouse.

It was a fixed fifth-order 180-degree lens with parabolic spherical metal reflectors at the back, which captures escaping light at the rear and further intensifies the brightness of the lighthouse's lamp.

Every aspect of the design had a practical purpose, but looking at it today, the “engineering marvels” also appear to be gorgeous works of architectural art. “It’s a museum piece,” Norgard said.

Port Clinton’s lens took about three months to complete, but a total of at least 500 manhours with all of the different manufacturing processes combined, Spinella said.

Original Fresnel lenses are the most valuable, which in the U.S. are owned by the Coast Guard, depending on the size. A first-order lens can be worth as much as $2 million and the smaller ones are in the several hundred thousand range.

Spinella’s reproductions also vary in cost by size and style. Port Clinton’s was $35,000, which was funded by an anonymous benefactor, according to the lighthouse conservancy.

Fresnel lenses are a rare sight to see along the shore. Because the degradation suffered by many of the originals, the Coast Guard removed most of them, which are usually stored at museums throughout the country.

News Herald


September 26, 1930, the schooner OUR SON, launched in 1875, sank during a storm on Lake Michigan about 40 miles WSW of Big Sable Point. Seventy-three year old Captain Fred Nelson the crew of OUR SON were rescued by the self-unloader WILLIAM NELSON.

September 26, 1937, the Canadian Seaman's Union signed a tentative wage contract. Sailors would continue a two watch system (working 12 hours every 24 hours) and be paid the following monthly wages: Wheelsmen and Oilers - $72.50, Watchmen and firemen - $67.50, Second Cooks - $52.50, deckhands and coal passers - $50.00, porters - $45.00, Chief Cooks on the Upper Lakes - $115.00, and Chief Cooks on Canal boats $105.00.

September 26, 1957, Taconite Harbor, Minnesota loaded its first cargo of 10,909 tons of taconite pellets into the holds of the Interlake steamer J. A. CAMPBELL.

On 26 September 1892, JOHN BURT (3-mast wooden schooner, 138 foot, 348 gross tons, built in 1871, at Detroit, Michigan) was carrying grain in a strong northwest gale. Her rudder broke and she was blown past the mouth of Oswego harbor and was driven hard aground. Two died when the vessel struck. The U.S. Lifesaving Service rescued the remaining five crewmembers. The vessel quickly broke up in the waves.

CHI-CHEEMAUN cleared the shipyard on September 26, 1974.

H. M. GRIFFITH was christened on September 26, 1973 at Collingwood for Canada Steamship Lines.

C.C.G.S. GRIFFON (Hull#664) was launched September 26, 1969 by Davie Shipbuilding Ltd., Lauzon, Quebec for the Canadian Coast Guard.

ROGER M. KYES returned to service on September 26, 1984; she had grounded off McLouth Steel and ended crosswise in the Detroit River's Trenton Channel a month before. She was renamed b.) ADAM E. CORNELIUS in 1989.

The BELLE RIVER was sideswiped by the Liberian FEDERAL RHINE, of 1977, at Duluth on September 26, 1985. Both vessels received minor damage.

On 26 September 1914, MARY N. BOURKE (wooden schooner-barge, 219 foot, 920 gross tons, built in 1889, at Baraga, Michigan) was docked at Peter's Lumber Dock in St. Mary's Bay, 15 miles north of St. Ignace, Michigan. The crew was awakened at 9:30-10:00 p.m. by smoke coming from her hold and they escaped. The BOURKE burned to the waterline and the fire spread ashore, destroying the dock and a pile of lumber.

At 3 a.m., 26 September 1876, the steam barge LADY FRANKLIN burned while moored near Clark's dock, about three miles from Amherstburg, Ontario in the Detroit River. One life was lost. This vessel had been built in 1861, as a passenger steamer and ran between Cleveland, Ohio and Port Stanley, Ontario. In 1874, she was converted into a lumber freighter, running primarily between Saginaw, Michigan and Cleveland. The burned hull was rebuilt in 1882.

1979: MAHONI, an Indonesian-registered freighter, went aground on the west coast of Taiwan and was abandoned by the crew. The ship was refloated in June 1980 and sold to Taiwanese shipbreakers for scrapping at Kaohsiung. It had been a Seaway saltie as b) CLARI beginning in 1968 and returned as c) ARNIS in 1970.



In tandem tow, MENIHEK LAKE and LEON FALK JR. arrived at Vigo, Spain, on September 25, 1985. The MENIHEK LAKE was scrapped at Vigo, and the FALK was towed to Gijn, Spain, for scrapping.

HENRY C. FRICK departed Bay City on her maiden voyage on September 25, 1905 and rammed and damaged the Michigan Central Railroad Bridge at Bay City.

On 25 September 1869, COMMENCEMENT (2-mast wooden schooner, 75 foot, 73 tons, built in 1853, at Holland, Michigan) was carrying wood in her hold and telegraph poles on deck from Pentwater, Michigan, for Milwaukee when she sprang a leak 20 miles off Little Sable Point on Lake Michigan. The incoming water quickly overtook her pump capacity. As the crew was getting aboard the lifeboat, she turned turtle. The crew clung to the upturned hull for 30 hours until the passing steamer ALLEGHENY finally rescued them. COMMENCEMENT later washed ashore, a total wreck. 1922: AUBE, on her first trip back under this name, went aground off Carleton Island, while carrying 65,000 bushels of grain. Tugs released the stranded vessel the following day.

1978: FRANQUELIN (ii) went aground in the Seaway below Beauharnois. Once refloated, the ship went to Canadian Vickers in Montreal for repairs and was caught there in a labor dispute.

1980: DERWENTFIELD, a British-flag freighter, first came through the Seaway in 1975. The ship grounded on this date as c) CAVO ARTEMIDI off Brazil, while enroute from Vitoria, Brazil, to Rotterdam, Holland, with a cargo of pig iron and broke in two as a total loss.


9/24 - Duluth, Minn. – The first freighter to be repowered in Duluth since at least the 1980s made its way onto Lake Superior on Thursday for the first day of sea trials.

The Herbert C. Jackson, a 57-year-old vessel belonging to the Interlake Steamship Co. out of Ohio, made it out onto the lake to about the equivalent of 27th Avenue East before returning to dock at Fraser Shipyards in Superior.

Fraser converted the old steamship to a diesel propulsion system. The ship will be tested again Friday and if all goes well will be bound in the coming days for Silver Bay, where it will be loaded with iron ore pellets and put back into circulation.

"This was a large project, and Fraser stepped to the plate to do it," said Interlake President Mark Barker. "We got a very good product out of it, and the yard should be proud of what they produced."

Originally scheduled for sea trials in mid-summer, the effort was beset by complications, including a March shutdown of the project by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA has proposed a $1.4 million fine against Fraser, claiming the company over-exposed workers to lead when they were taking out the old steamship engine and its components.

"It's a complicated project and it was the first time we've done a project like this with Fraser," Barker said. "There's a learning curve. Sometimes it takes longer to get it done than expected. We ran into some delays in engineering and other things and part of the project ended up taking longer than expected."

Barker said the OSHA review "probably slowed things down slightly."

In an August news release announcing several violations, OSHA cited an ambitious timetable that contributed to the situation.

"Fraser Shipyards accepted a contract with a very low profit margin and penalties for delayed completion, but could not meet the schedule without endangering its workers," said David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for OSHA, in August. "This employer was unwilling to pay the necessary costs to protect employees from lead exposure."

Fraser officials have denied the claims and asked for a settlement conference to respond to the proposed fine. Rob Karwath, a spokesman for Fraser, said the conference happened several weeks ago and that the company is awaiting a final determination from OSHA.

Additionally, one of the workers on the project, James Holder, a citizen of the state of Virginia, filed a lawsuit against Fraser and Interlake in U.S. District Court in Madison in May, seeking damages in excess of $75,000 for what he claimed was exposure to toxic levels of lead while performing work at Fraser on the Jackson. In the latest development in that lawsuit, Interlake filed a motion in August to dismiss its involvement in the lawsuit.

Documents filed with the court revealed that 20 other workers have sought insurance claims related to injuries from lead exposure while working on the Herbert C. Jackson prior to March 29. Barker declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Fraser is a subsidiary of Capstan Corp., a holding company based in Duluth that also owns Viant Crane and the commercial real estate agency Atwater Group.

The repowering of the Jackson made it the last Interlake steamship to be converted to diesel during a 10-year modernization effort by the company.

"This was our fifth repower and we learned something at every one," Barker said. "Everyone became better for it. You're always going to run into complications or technical issues when you do a project of this size and you learn from it. It makes us all better."

Duluth News Tribune

[yachtsmanwilly]

September 27, 1959: The West Neebish Channel, through which downbound traffic normally passes, was temporarily closed to permit dredging to the maximum Seaway depth of 27 feet. Two-way traffic was instituted in the Middle Neebish Channel until dredging was completed.

On 27 September 1877, the HIPPOGRIFFE (wooden schooner, 295 tons, built in 1864, at Buffalo, New York) had just left Chicago for Buffalo, loaded with oats, on a fine day with clear weather. The crew saw EMMA A. COYNE (wooden schooner, 155 foot, 497 tons, built in 1867, at Detroit, Michigan) approaching from a long way off loaded with lumber. The two vessels' skippers were brothers. The two schooners collided about 20 miles off Kenosha, Wisconsin. The COYNE came along side and picked up the HIPPOGRIFFE's crew a few minutes before that vessel rolled over and dove for the bottom.

The CITY OF GENOA arrived with the first cargo of iron ore for the new factory at Zug Island, reported The Detroit Free Press on September 28, 1903.

The H. M. GRIFFITH experienced a smoky conveyor belt fire at Port Colborne, Ontario on September 27, 1989. Repairs were completed there.

ROGER M. KYES proceeded to Chicago for dry-docking, survey and repairs on September 27, 1976. She struck bottom in Buffalo Harbor September 22, 1976 sustaining holes in two double bottom tanks and damage to three others.

GEORGE M. HUMPHREY under tow, locked through the Panama Canal from September 27, 1986, to the 30th on her way to the cutter’s torch at Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

The tanker IMPERIAL COLLINGWOOD (Hull#137) was launched September 27, 1947, at Collingwood, Ontario by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. for Imperial Oil Ltd., Toronto, Ontario. Renamed b.) SEAWAY TRADER in 1979, sold off the Lakes in 1984, renamed c.) PATRICIA II, d.) BALBOA TRADER in 1992.

September 27, 1909 - The ANN ARBOR NO 4 entered service after being repaired from her capsizing at Manistique, Michigan the previous May.

On 27 September 1884, WALDO A. AVERY (wooden propeller, 204 foot, 1,294 gross tons) was launched at West Bay City, Michigan. Her construction had been subcontracted by F. W. Wheeler & Co. to Thomas F. Murphy.

On 27-29 September 1872, a big storm swept the lower lakes. On Lake Huron, the barges HUNTER and DETROIT were destroyed. The tug SANDUSKY rescued the 21 survivors from them. The schooner CORSAIR foundered off Sturgeon Point on Saginaw Bay at 4 p.m. on Sunday the 29th and only 2 of the crew survived. The barge A. LINCOLN was ashore one mile below Au Sable with no loss of life. The barge TABLE ROCK went ashore off Tawas Point and went to pieces. All but one of her crew was lost. The schooner WHITE SQUALL was sunk ten miles off Fish Point -- only one crewman was saved. The schooner SUMMIT went ashore at Fish Point, 7 miles north of Tawas with two lives lost.

1911: The water-logged wooden steamer THREE BROTHERS was beached off South Manitou Island, Lake Michigan. The cargo of lumber was salvaged but the 23-year-old vessel was left to rot.

1912: The wooden steamer GEORGE T. HOPE, loaded with 2,118 tons of iron ore, foundered in Lake Superior near Grand Island when it began leaking in heavy weather. All on board were saved.

1934: SASKADOC departed Erie, Pa., for the short run to the Welland Canal with 7,500 tons of coal and the hatches left open. The vessel encountered a storm on the lake, developed a list and arrived 11 hours late.

1943: NORMAN B. MACPHERSON, a small canaller in the Upper Lakes fleet, went aground on Hammond Shoal in the American Channel of the St. Lawrence near Alexandria Bay, N.Y.

1969: OPHELIA was a Great Lakes caller before the Seaway opened. The West German freighter also made 16 trips inland from 1959 to 1964. It was under Greek registry when it was abandoned off Sibu, Sarawak, with a fire in the engine room, on this date in 1969. The vessel was enroute from Sibu to Kuching, China, and the hull drifted aground as a total loss.

1991: OGDENSBURG was built as a barge to ferry rail cars across the St. Lawrence between Prescott and Ogdensburg. The vessel had joined McKeil as a regular deck barge in 1988 and broke loose in a storm on this date in 1991 while working off Blanc Sablon, Q.C. carrying heavy construction equipment. Refloated, the hull was towed to Hamilton and became one of three former railway barges rebuilt as a floating drydock.

[yachtsmanwilly]

On September 28, 1980, BURNS HARBOR entered service, departing Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, bound for Superior, Wisconsin, to load pellets.

THOMAS WILSON left Toledo on September 28, 1987, in tow of the tug TUSKER for overseas scrapping. WILSON had been laid up since December 16, 1979.

On 28 September 1891, THOMAS PARSONS (2 mast wooden schooner, 135 foot, 350 tons, built in 1868, at Charlotte, New York) was carrying coal out of Ashtabula, Ohio, when she foundered in a storm a few miles off Fairport in Lake Erie.

On 28 September 1849, W.G. BUCKNER (wooden schooner, 75 foot, 107 tons, built in 1837, at Irving, New York) was carrying lumber in a storm on Lake Michigan when she sprang a leak, then capsized. The man to whom the cargo belonged was aboard with his wife and five children. One child was washed overboard while the wife and three children died of exposure. The schooner ERWIN took off the survivors plus the bodies.

1921: The W.H. RITCHIE caught fire and sank at Port Arthur, ON where it had become a bulk grain transport vessel. The remains were uncovered during dredging work in 1961.

1946: BRIG. GEN. M.G. ZALINSKI, built at Lorain in 1919 as a) LAKE FROHNA and later operated inland in the package freight trade as b) ACE, hit the rocks off Pitt Island, British Columbia. The vessel was enroute from Seattle to Whittier, Alaska, with a cargo of army supplies, and sank in 20 minutes. All on board were rescued by the tug SALLY N. and taken to the fishing village of Butedale.. The hull was located in June 2011 and is upside down.

1960: CHICAGO TRIBUNE and SHENANGO II were both damaged in a collision in the St. Clair River off Marysville.

1973: FRANK R. DENTON and FEDERAL SCHELDE (i) collided in the St. Marys River with minor damage to both ships. The former was scrapped at Ashtabula in 1985-1986. The latter began Seaway service when new in 1968, returned as b) C. MEHMET in 1977 and was delivered to the scrappers at Nantong, China, on March 16, 1999.

1998: ANDROS TRANSPORT, a Fortune Class cargo ship, first came through the Seaway in 1978. Flooding occurred in the engineroom in the Caribbean off Trinidad as d) GRIGOROUSSA on this date while traveling in ballast. The crew of 15 were removed and the ship was towed into Port au Spain. It was declared a total loss, sold to Mexican shipbreakers, and arrived at Tuxpan, under tow for dismantling on December 4, 1998.


9/27 - Middleburg Heights, Ohio – The newly repowered motor vessel Herbert C. Jackson departed Fraser Shipyards in Superior, Wis., Sunday, giving a farewell salute to the Twin Ports where it has been undergoing its steam-to-diesel conversion since December 21.

As the last steam-powered ship in Interlake Steamship Company’s fleet, the successful conversion of the Jackson represents the final phase of the company’s decade-long modernization program to create the most efficient, reliable and environmentally responsible fleet on the Great Lakes.

The 690-foot Jackson is the fifth ship to undergo a major overhaul and Interlake’s fourth and last steam-to-diesel conversion since 2006.

“After a successful repowering at Fraser Shipyards, the Herbert C. Jackson returns to service as an extremely versatile and efficient River Class freighter with a bright new future of carrying cargoes for our Great Lakes customers for decades to come,” says Interlake President Mark W. Barker.

Regularly carrying upwards of 25,000 tons of iron ore between Marquette and Detroit, Mich., the Jackson was powered by an aging steam turbine and two boilers, which have operated since the ship was built in 1959. Maintenance burdens and new emission requirements fueled Interlake’s decision to repower the ship.

“Even though steamships will always be an important part of our company’s legacy and the history of shipping on the lakes, we are very excited to enter an era where our modernized fleet can exceed the expectations of our customers while minimizing our environmental impact,” Barker says.

The Jackson’s new highly-automated engine room includes a 6,250-BHP propulsion package with a pair of MaK 6M 32E engines – the first of their kind to power a vessel on the Great Lakes. These engines give the ship enhanced propulsion capabilities and reliability.

In addition, the ship has been outfitted with a twin-input, single-output Lufkin gear box with twin pto shaft generators, a Schottel controllable-pitch propeller system and Gesab exhaust gas economizers along with an auxiliary boiler. The economizers allow the ship to harness the waste heat and energy from the main engine exhaust and produce “free steam” to heat the accommodations and for heating various auxiliary systems and fuel oil services.

The repowering is estimated to reduce the ship’s emissions of particulate matter by 35%, carbon dioxide by 57% and sulfur oxides (SOx) by 63%.

Interlake Steamship Co.


9/27 - Huge waves are expected to build along some segments of shoreline on Lake Superior, Lake Michigan and possibly Lake Huron.

Stiff west winds, cooler air aloft, and warm lake water will produce a good recipe for Michigan's Great Lakes to get rough.

Our first blast of cool fall air is moving in now. The temperature difference between a warm lake and the cool air aloft creates what we meteorologists call an "unstable" atmosphere. Unstable means the air wants to move up and down more than in a stable situation. The downward air movement of cool air aloft pushes a big force against the water, and builds big waves.

This isn't an incredible storm, but certainly our first big fall wave situation on the Great Lakes.

Read more, and view images at this link


East Chicago, Ill – An Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal dredging project that has resulted in the removal of almost 1 million cubic yards of sediment since 2012 resumed on Sept. 13.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers oversees the project that is a joint venture in which the Kokosing Construction Co., Inc. and O'Brien & Gere conduct the dredging and operation of a confined disposal facility.

Natalie Mills, project manager for the Army Corps, gave an update on the project recently to the East Chicago Waterway Management District board. "That work is scheduled to continue through December, and that includes the federal and the nonfederal work for a total of 270,000 cubic yards of material," Mills said.

That number represents an increase from the 170,00 cubic yards of material that was expected to be removed this year based on information provided at a public meeting held by the Army Corps and the Waterway Management Board in June. At that time it was thought the dredging project was to resume in August.

Mills said she did not know of any specific reason the dredging did not start until this month other than it depended on the contractor's schedule.

While Kokosing and O'Brien & Gere will finish their contractual obligations this year, Mills said the Army Corps is currently evaluating proposals for a new five-year operations and dredging contract. "We're on schedule to award a new contract by the 30th of September," Mills said.

According to a corps news release, the harbor was not dredged from 1972 to 2012 due to contaminated sediment and lack of a suitable storage place for it. That sediment is now stored at a confined disposal facility west of the Indianapolis bridge.

The Army Corps release also said removing approximately 1 million cubic yards of sediment has reduced the amount of contaminants that had been flowing into Lake Michigan and has allowed for more efficient commercial navigation.

NW Indiana Times


Port Maitland, Ont. – The Port Maitland On the Grand Historical Association is approaching a major fork in the road in the coming years. The catalyst for the formation of the group – and one of its ongoing triumphs – is the beautification and maintenance of the historic Port Maitland Lock.

The property has been transformed into a tourist draw and off-the-beaten-path green space by the group thanks to monumental efforts during the past 12 years. Re-discovered as – literally – an overgrown garbage heap in 2003, a group spearheaded by William Warnick cleaned up the 7.9 acres surrounding the stone lock on Feeder Canal Road, southeast of Dunnville.

The property boasts well-maintained lawns, benches lining the cleaned up lock and a couple of information boards featuring local history of the lock. During a work bee on Saturday to mow the lawn and burn some brush, Warnick said all of it is at risk in the coming years.

“We, for a number of years, kind of squatted on the property,” Warnick said. “We thought the property belonged to (Haldimand County) … and so did the county."

With use of the property increasing, the historical association was asked to get the deed and insurance for the property. To everyone’s surprise, including the staff at the county, the land didn’t belong to Haldimand.

“It turned out it was owned by (Canadian Pacific Railway),” Warnick said. “They have been good to us and they got us a lease for $1 last year." But the lease price went up to $500 this year, will increase to $1,000 next year and then hit and stay at $2,000 in 2018.

“The realty fellow told me it really should be $3,000, but (CPR) is capping it at $2,000 for us,” Warnick said. “We will have to decide what to do next year, but I can’t see us taking it when it gets to $2,000. We simply can’t afford it."

That said, Warnick said CPR has quoted the Port Maitland On the Grand Historical Association a price for the land – one he would rather not share at risk of spoiling negotiations. The price is too much for the society, but considering the more than a decade of work they’ve put into the site, Warnick said they aren’t giving up.

“So that’s still the goal now,” he said. “We are looking to raise some funds to see if we can make them an offer."

The history of the lock is significant. Besides being an integral part of the Feeder Canal for the Welland Canal’s construction in the 1800s, the Port Maitland Lock was the only entry between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie for a period of about five to seven years in the 1840s.

“It was also the first stone lock they built on the canal,” Warnick said. “And it was built by John Brown, the same engineer responsible for the Mohawk Island Lighthouse. Just being his lock makes it historically significant."

In the meantime, Warnick and the historical association have their work cut out for them. “We have at least this year and next to chase some money and make an offer,” Warnick said. “We have to figure it out, maybe hit up some corporations.

“We’ve proven the community interest. I can’t get over the number of tourists I see here when I’m cutting the lawn during the summer."

Sachem & Glanbrook Gazette

[yachtsmanwilly]

September 29, 1930, for the first time in the history of Pittsburgh Steamship Company, the boats of the fleet loaded more than one million tons in a seven-day period. The 64 Pittsburgh boats loaded 1,002,092 tons of cargo between 9/23 and 9/29.

The J. H. SHEADLE (Hull#22) of the Great Lakes Engineering Works, was launched September 29, 1906, for the Grand Island Steamship Co. (Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co., Cleveland, Ohio, mgr.) Renamed b.) F. A. BAILEY in 1924, c.) LA SALLE in 1930. Sold Canadian in 1965, renamed d.) MEAFORD, and e.) PIERSON INDEPENDENT in 1979. She was scrapped at Santander, Spain, in 1980.

Henry Ford II, 70, of Grosse Pointe, Michigan, passed away on September 29, 1987. Mr. Ford's namesake was the Ford Motor Company self-unloader.

On September 29, 1986, the Polish tug KORAL left Lauzon, Quebec with the JOHN E. F. MISENER and GOLDEN HIND enroute to Cartagena / Mamonal, Columbia, for scrapping.

September 29, 1892 - The ANN ARBOR NO 1 was launched.

On 29 September 1872, ADRIATIC (3-masted wooden schooner-barge, 139 foot, 129 net tons, built in 1865, at Clayton, New York as a bark) was in tow of the tug MOORE along with three other barges in Lake Erie in a heavy gale. She became separated from the tow and foundered. The entire crew of 7 was lost. The wooden schooner DERRICK was used in salvage operations. On 29 September 1854, she had just positioned herself above the wreck of the steamer ERIE off Silver Creek, New York on Lake Erie when she went down in a gale. She had spent the summer trying to salvage valuables from the wreck of the steamer ATLANTIC.

On 29 September 1900, the steamer SAKIE SHEPARD was re-launched at Anderson's shipyard in Marine City. She had been thoroughly rebuilt there during the summer.

1974: J.A.Z. DESGAGNES and HAVRE ST. PIERRE collided while trying to pass on the St. Lawrence. The former often visited the Great Lakes but was scrapped in Croatia as e) A. LEGRAND in 2003-2004. The latter, originally a Dutch coastal vessel, worked on the St. Lawrence and around Eastern Canada but was deleted from Lloyds Register in 1999.

1982: ATLANTIC SUPERIOR went aground off Wellesley Island in the American Narrows of the St. Lawrence. This new member of the Canada Steamship Lines fleet was released October 1 and repaired at Thunder Bay. It was back on the Great Lakes in 2012.

EASTERN FRIENDSHIP first came to the Great Lakes in 1986. It had been stranded off the coast of Bangladesh as d) TONY BEST since April 10, 1993. While refloated on June 21, the anchors dragged on July 24 and the ship went aground again. The hull later cracked and the ship sank on this date in 1993.

[yachtsmanwilly]

9/30 - Traverse City, Mich – Another tall ship is sailing in to Grand Traverse Bay.

Utopia, a 65-foot schooner, is the latest addition to the Inland Seas Education Association, which promotes Great Lakes stewardship through hands-on education. Utopia will dock at Discovery Pier in Elmwood Township rather than alongside the nonprofit's other schooner, Inland Seas, in Suttons Bay.

"It's a pretty unique boat," ISEA's lead scientist and education specialist Jeanie Williams said. "We're pretty excited to have it here."

Ellsworth Peterson of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin donated Utopia to ISEA after keeping it in the Peterson family for 70 years. Youth outreach is important to the Peterson family, and they wanted the ship to remain in the Great Lakes, ISEA Executive Director Fred Sitkins said.

"When they found out Inland Seas focused on youth and the health of the Great Lakes they found that it was the perfect combination," Sitkins said.

ISEA officials hope the schooner will arrive in Traverse City this week and plan to use Utopia as a platform for an underwater education program for school groups and the public starting in 2017.

Grant money allowed ISEA to purchase a remotely operated underwater vehicle, which students will use to explore Grand Traverse Bay while docked.

Keeping Utopia in Elmwood Township also will allow ISEA to branch out to the Traverse City community, he said.

Sitkins is hopeful Utopia also will receive approval from the U.S. Coast Guard to carry up to six passengers out to sea, but he did not know how soon that could happen. If and when it does, he would like to use the ship to take high school education groups on multiple-day trips on the Great Lakes.

One of Sitkins' favorite things about Utopia is its rich history.

The ship was built in 1946 by Peterson Shipbuilders, and cruised the North Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea and Caribbean Islands in 1947. In 1956, a Peterson family member and crew embarked on a three-year voyage around the world, stopping at in Gibraltar, the Canary Islands, Havana, New Guinea and dozens more ports. Utopia has logged more than 60,000 miles, including several Chicago to Mackinac races.

Record Eagle

9/30 - St. Clair, Mich. – Just a few months after announcing plans to close the St. Clair Power Plant, DTE Energy is planning to build another facility nearby. The company on Thursday unveiled plans to build natural gas-powered plants worth between $1 billion and $1.5 billion by 2023.

DTE spokesman Brian Corbett said it’s early in the process, and whether it will just be one or several facilities are details still being worked out. But officials said at least one plant is in the works, and it will be on DTE property adjacent to the Belle River plant in China Township.

“The availability of undeveloped company-owned property is in that area,” Corbett said. “We have an experienced local work force there and proven utility grid for sufficient delivery of electricity to our 2.2 million customers.”

It is news that comes in the wake of both DTE’s announcement last June that it intended to close three of its five coal-fired plants, including the facility on the St. Clair River in East China Township, and the fire that erupted at that plant in August, temporarily shutting down its operations.

Times Herald


9/30 - Washington, D.C. – A delegation of Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway maritime industry leaders held day-long meetings on Wednesday with Wisconsin state political leadership.

Briefings covered the economic impacts of Great Lakes Seaway shipping to Wisconsin’s economy – 8,800 jobs and $1.4 billion in business revenue, as well as the investments being made within the navigation system by both public and private entities, and the maritime trade opportunities that are essential not only to the state, but to the region, nation and to the world.

State agency leaders from Transportation, Economic Development, and Administration participated in a roundtable discussion with industry CEOs. Topics ranged from the importance of the Soo Locks and ballast water management, to harbor dredging and the Harbor Assistance Program, as well as the potential impact of marine sanctuaries.

A meeting with Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch provided another opportunity for industry leaders to reinforce key messages about Great Lakes Seaway shipping and its importance to the state. Each member addressed the relevance of the Great Lakes Seaway System to their business or organization.

The day closed with a meeting with select legislators from around Wisconsin to discuss the local impact of the Great Lakes shipping industry to the state’s economic bottom line in terms of jobs and revenue.

“The access today to key decision makers has been important to Fednav as we continue to make significant investments in new ships built specifically for the Great Lakes,” said Paul Pathy, President & CEO of Fednav Limited. “These ships also include outstanding environmental characteristics which are fundamental to our company’s ongoing environmental commitment. In addition to the new ships, we have made substantial investments in equipment at our terminal facilities in the state to ensure the safe and efficient handling of cargo for our customers.”

Great Lakes-Seaway Partnership


On September 30, 1896, SUMATRA (wooden schooner-barge, 204 foot, 845 gross tons, built in 1874, at Black River, Ohio) was loaded with railroad rails in tow of the steamer B.W. ARNOLD in a storm on Lake Huron. The SUMATRA was blown down and foundered off the Government Pier at Milwaukee. Three of the crew was lost. The four survivors were rescued by the ARNOLD and the U.S. Lifesaving Service. The SUMATRA was owned by the Mills Transportation Company.

The 660-foot forward section of the BELLE RIVER (Hull#716) was side launched on September 30, 1976, at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, by Bay Shipbuilding Co. Renamed b.) WALTER J. McCARTHY, JR. in 1977.

ARTHUR SIMARD entered service on September 30, 1973, sailing to Montreal, Quebec, to load gasoline.

GOVERNOR MILLER was towed down the Welland Canal on September 30, 1980, in tow of TUG MALCOLM, STORMONT and ARGUE MARTIN on her way to Quebec City.

ROBERT C. STANLEY departed light on her maiden voyage from River Rouge, Michigan, on September 30, 1943, bound for Two Harbors, Minnesota, to load iron ore.

On September 30, 1986, the Canadian Coast Guard vessel CARIBOU ISLE struck a rock in Lake Huron's North Channel and began taking on water. C.C.G.S. SAMUEL RISLEY arrived and helped patch the ship. The pair then departed for Parry Sound, Ontario.

On September 30, 1888, AUSTRALIA (wooden schooner, 109 foot, 159 gross tons, built in 1862, at Vermilion, Ohio) was carrying cedar posts from Beaver Island to Chicago when she encountered a gale. She was laid on beam ends and sprung a leak. She headed for shelter at Holland, Michigan, but struck a bar and foundered in the mouth of the harbor. The wreck blocked the harbor until it was removed on October. 5 Her crew was rescued by the U.S. Lifesaving Service.

On September 30, 1875, AMERICAN CHAMPION (wooden scow-schooner, 156 tons, built in 1866, at Trenton, Michigan) dropped anchor to ride out a gale near Leamington, Ontario, on Lake Erie. The chains gave way and she struck a bar and sank to the gunwales. The crew of eight spent the night in the rigging and the next day a local woman and her two sons heroically rescued each one.

1906: The first FAYETTE BROWN ran into the pier entering Lorain, became disabled and stranded on the beach. The ship was refloated with considerable damage. It last operated as c) GLENMOUNT in 1923 and was scrapped about 1928.

1913: CITY OF LONDON sank off Point Pelee, Lake Erie after a collision with the JOE S. MORROW. The hull was later dynamited as an obstacle to navigation.

1964: DUNDRUM BAY was a pre-Seaway visitor to the Great Lakes on charter to the Hall Corporation. The vessel was driven aground on this date as f) ESITO near Necochea, Argentina, while traveling in ballast. The hull broke in two and was a total loss.

1965: PROTOSTATIS, a Greek Liberty ship, went aground on Traverse Shoal, Lake Ontario, while enroute from Detroit to Genoa, Italy, with a cargo of scrap. The vessel was lightered and refloated with the aid of tugs. It went to Kingston to anchor and reload in the shelter of Wolfe Island.

[yachtsmanwilly]

10/3 - Port Colborne, Ont. – The Canadian-flagged self-unloader Algosoo sailed proudly under her own power up the Welland Canal to the breaker’s yard at Port Colborne, Ontario, on Sunday. She will be cut up in the coming months.

Her first stop will be Wharf 17 in Port Colborne for parts removal before being shifted to the International Marine Salvage scrapping slip. Algosoo received a good send-off from many Boatnerds along the canal who braved frequent downpours but were rewarded with many salutes. She also passed downbound fleet member Algoma Enterprise below Lock 2 around 1 p.m., with stirring blasts of their horns as they passed.

Algosoo has been laid up this season at Toronto, Ont., after arriving for winter lay-up on Dec. 30, 2015. While other idled vessels returned to service this fall due to increasing demand, the Algosoo wasn’t one of them.

Built by Collingwood Shipyards, Collingwood, Ont., in 1974, the vessel sailed her entire career under the same name and for the same owner, the Algoma Central Corp. Four other members of the Algoma fleet have been disposed of for scrap already this season, with more scrappings expected next year as new vessels are built to replace them.

Algosoo and her slightly newer fleetmate Algolake are considered near-sister ships, with similar hull designs and machinery. However Algolake was built with all accommodations and wheelhouse aft, while Algosoo has the wheelhouse and some accommodations forward. She was the last cabins-forward laker (straight-decker or self-unloader) built on the Great Lakes.

In 1975, Algosoo carried a record cargo of 23,300 tons of salt from Goderich to Toronto, and a record 32,600 tons of stone from Stoneport to Sarnia. Also that year, she carried a record 926,204 bushels of wheat to Port McNicoll, Ont. On July 12, 1977, she set a salt cargo record from Ojibway Salt in Windsor, loading 31,936 tons for Buffalo. December 9, 1977 saw Algosoo carry the 60 millionth ton of cargo through the St. Lawrence Seaway. A milestone in Algosoo's history was the carrying of the 2 billionth ton of cargo through the St. Lawrence Seaway on May 10 1996.

On February 28, 1998, while at winter lay up at Port Colborne's Wharf 10, a fire caused serious damage to the self-unloading belts and other nearby equipment. In honor of Algoma Central's 100th anniversary, an open house event was held on board the Algosoo on July 31, 1999 at the Canal Days Festival at Port Colborne, Ont. The event was almost directly across the canal where she will be demolished.


10/3 - Thunder Bay, Ont. - A historic Thunder Bay industrial complex could soon be seeing new life. The signage outside the old shipyard indicates the property is under new ownership.

Heddle Marine president Rick Heddle said the company is not ready to announce anything at this point, or even confirm that a purchase has taken place.

The company's part-owner Blair McKeil confirmed to TBT News this week that Heddle Marine has taken over control of the former Lakehead Marine and Industrial operation, which has been idle for nearly 3 years.

Heddle has ship repair facilities in the Hamilton area and in the Maritimes, and McKeil said they're excited about expanding into Thunder Bay. He added that they're looking forward to resurrecting the ship repair operation, although it's not clear how soon that might happen.

Steelworker's union rep Herb Daniher said it's encouraging news.

“I went by a couple of weeks ago, and they were just starting to drain the dry dock, so we know there was some activity there,” Daniher said. “Certainly, this is a better outcome then having to shut down and having some kind of proposal for some other infrastructure development town that doesn’t really create any jobs.”

Daniher added that this industrial manufacture repair facility has been successful in the past, and he is expecting they are going to have some success going forward and that means prosperity for the community.

The Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company was launched in 1911, and saw the construction of dozens of vessels over the next 50 years. After that, the company continued to repair and renovate ships under various names, including Pascol Engineering and Lakehead Marine and Industrial.

Between 40 and 100 employees would spent the winter months welding and repairing lake and ocean vessels, but in 2014, Lakehead Marine declared bankruptcy, assets were auctioned off and then the property went into third party ownership.

Daniher said if and when the operation reopens, the former employees would have the best skills for the new company's hiring process. “If there’s a place they can apply then hopefully the new company is successful in obtaining the necessary work to get up and running and continue to operate,” he said. “I don’t presume they bought the site without anything else in mind, so it’s positive news.

Daniher said for those who haven’t found any employment elsewhere jobs are still probably available.

Heddle Marine officials said they could be ready to announce about their plans, in the weeks or months ahead.

TBNewswatch


10/3 - Keweenaw Peninsula, Mich. – The bodies of three boaters who went missing on Lake Superior in mid-September were found in their sunken boat this weekend.

At 12:45 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1, 61-year-old Keith Karvonen and 9-year-old Ethan Chartre were located and recovered from a sunken boat on Lake Superior. Forty-three-year-old Steven Chartre was also located, and additional resources are being used to assist in efforts to recover him.

Karvonen's 14-foot boat was found using sonar by two nonprofit/volunteer search and rescue organizations, Bruce's Legacy from Black River Falls, Wis., and Crossman Consulting of Duluth, Minn.

Michigan State Police said the search began two weeks ago after the trio didn't return from a fishing trip. They left Chassel in the Upper Peninsula on Saturday, Sept. 17 and family members called police later that day.

The U.S. Coast Guard called off the search on Sept. 21. Extending from Keweenaw Bay into Lake Superior, Coast Guard searchers covered more than 14,000 square miles for a total of 151 hours.

M Live


On October 3,1887, EBENEZER (3-mast wooden schooner-barge, 103 foot, 158 gross tons, built in 1847, at Buffalo, New York) was driven ashore off the breakwater at Holland, Michigan, during a storm. She had sprung a leak in the terrific storm, lost her deck load of shingles and struck the pier trying to get into the harbor. She broke in two but was later raised and rebuilt. She lasted until 1903.

On October 3,1887, CITY OF GREEN BAY (3-mast wooden schooner, 145 foot, 346 gross tons, built in 1872, at Green Bay, Wisconsin) was carrying iron ore from Escanaba to St. Joseph, Michigan, on Lake Michigan and having difficulty in a strong westerly gale. She sprang a leak and anchored four miles from South Haven and put up distress signals. The wind and waves were so bad that the crew could not safely abandon the vessel. She slipped her anchor and was driven on to a bar at Evergreen Point, just 500 feet from shore. The crew scrambled up the rigging as the vessel sank. The South Haven Life Saving crew tried to get a breeches buoy out to the wreck, but their line broke repeatedly. So much wreckage was in the surf that it fouled their surfboat. Soon the masts went by the board and the crew members were in the churning seas. Six died. Only Seaman A. T. Slater made it to shore. The ineffective attempts of the Life Saving crew resulted in Keeper Barney Alonzo Cross being relieved of his command of the station.

The E. G. GRACE was delivered to the Interlake Steamship Co., Cleveland on October 3, 1943. The GRACE was part of a government program designed to upgrade and increase the capacity of the U.S. Great Lakes fleet during World War II. In order to help finance the building of new ships, the U.S.M.C. authorized a program that would allow existing fleets to obtain new boats by trading in their older boats to the government for credit. As partial payment for each new vessel, a fleet owner surrendered the equivalent tonnage of their existing and/or obsolete vessels, along with some cash, to the Maritime Commission.

October 3, 1941 - The CITY OF FLINT 32, eastbound from Milwaukee, collided with the PERE MARQUETTE 22 westbound. The PERE MARQUETTE 22 headed directly for Manitowoc for repairs while the CITY OF FLINT 32 continued to Ludington where she discharged her cargo, then headed for the shipyard in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

The barges BELLE CASH and GEO W. HANNAFORD, owned by Capt. Cash of East China Township, Michigan, were driven ashore on Long Point in Lake Erie on 3 October 1875.

On October 3, 1900, the steel freighter CAPTAIN THOMAS WILSON left Port Huron on her maiden voyage for Marquette, Michigan, where she loaded 6,200 tons of iron ore for Cleveland, Ohio.

ARK (3-mast iron-strapped wooden scow-schooner-barge, 177 foot, 512 tons, built in 1875, at Port Dalhousie, Ontario) was in tow of the steam barge ALBION (wooden propeller, 134 foot, 297 gross tons, built in 1862, at Brockville, Ontario) on Lake Huron when a terrific storm struck on October 3,1887. Both were loaded with lumber. Both vessels were driven ashore near Grindstone City, Michigan. The U.S. Lifesaving Service rescued the crews. The ALBION was pounded to pieces the next day and the ARK was declared a total loss, but was recovered and was sailing again within the month.

1907: The wooden tug PHILADELPHIA dated from 1869 and briefly served in the Algoma fleet. It was wrecked at Gros Cap, Lake Superior, on this date in 1907.

1911: The wooden freighter A.L. HOPKINS had cleared Bayfield the previous day with a full load of lumber and foundered in a storm on this date near Michigan Island, Lake Superior. Buoyed by the cargo, the hull floated a few more days before it disappeared. All 15 on board were picked up by the ALVA C. DINKEY.

1928: The steel bulk carrier M.J. BARTELME ran aground at Cana Island, Lake Michigan. The bottom was ripped open and the ship was abandoned. It was dismantled on site in 1929.

1953: The superstructure of the idle passenger steamer PUT-IN-BAY was burned off in Lake St. Clair and the remains of the iron hull were later dismantled at River Rouge.

1963: The Liberian flag Liberty ship TRIKERI, on her only trip to the Great Lakes, swung sideways in the Welland Canal near Welland, blocked the waterway and delayed traffic for 4 hours. The ship arrived at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for scrapping as e) DAHLIA on December 27, 1967.

1963: A fire broke out in the cargo hold of the FRED CHRISTIANSEN while downbound at Sault Ste. Marie. The stubborn blaze took 4 hours to put out and was believed caused by some of the grain igniting as it was close to a steam line. The Norwegian freighter began Seaway trading in 1959 and returned as b) HERA in 1964. It arrived at Pasajes, Spain, under this name for scrapping on May 30, 1974.

1969: JOSEPH H. ran aground at Bic Island, in the St. Lawrence while enroute from Milwaukee to Russia with a cargo of rawhides. The Liberian-flag vessel sustained heavy bottom damage. It was refloated on October 6, taken to Levis, QC, and subsequently broken up there for scrap. The ship was operating under her fifth name and had first come through the Seaway as a) GRANADA in 1959.

1980: POLYDORA first came inland for four trips as a) FERNFIORD in 1963 and returned under her new name in 1964 on charter to Canadian Pacific Steamships. The ship had been at Marina di Carrara, Italy, and under arrest as d) GEORGIOS B., when it sailed overnight without permission. A fire in the engineroom broke out the next day and, while taken in tow, the ship foundered east of Tavolara Island, Sardinia.

1999: MANCHESTER MERCURIO traded through the Seaway in a container shuttle service beginning in 1971. It was abandoned by the crew and sank off the coast of Morocco as f) PHOENIX II on this date in 1999.

2000: The tug KETA V. usually operated on the St. Lawrence for Verreault Navigation but came to the Great Lakes with barges for Windsor in 1993. It ran aground and sank near Liverpool, NS on this date in 2000 but all on board got away safely on life rafts.



On her maiden trip in 1905, the PETER WHITE grounded outside the Lackawanna breakwall. After lightering 200 tons, she proceeded to the Lackawanna Steel mill where the remainder of the cargo was unloaded.

On this day in 1979, the ELTON HOYT 2ND unloaded her last cargo as a straight decker at the Ashtabula & Buffalo Dock, Ashtabula, Ohio.

On October 2,1901, M. M. DRAKE (wooden propeller freighter, 201 foot, 1,102 gross tons, built in 1882, at Buffalo, New York) and her consort MICHIGAN (3-mast wooden schooner-barge, 213 foot, 1,057 gross tons, built in 1874, at Detroit, Michigan) were loaded with iron ore while sailing in a strong gale on Lake Superior. The MICHIGAN began to leak and the DRAKE came around to take off her crew, but the two vessels collided. Both sank off Vermilion Point, Michigan. One life was lost. As the vessels sank, the passing steamers NORTHERN WAVE and CRESCENT CITY stood by and rescued the crews.

Upper Lakes Shipping's new self-unloader CANADIAN OLYMPIC was christened on October 2, 1976, at St. Catharines, Ontario. Her name honored the Olympic Games that were held at Montreal that year.

TADOUSSAC (Hull#192) departed Collingwood on her maiden voyage for Canada Steamship Lines Ltd. on October 2, 1969, to load iron ore at Fort William, Ontario.

The sandsucker AMERICAN last operated in 1956, and laid up at Manitowoc, Wisconsin. She was scrapped in S. Chicago in 1984.

JOHN T. HUTCHINSON and CONSUMERS POWER arrived at Kaohsiung, Taiwan on October 2, 1988, where dismantling began on October 14t by Li Chong Steel & Iron Works Co. Ltd.

On her maiden voyage October 2, 1943, E. G. GRACE cleared Lorain, Ohio, bound for Superior, Wisconsin, to load iron ore.

HOCHELAGA of 1949 departed Toronto October 2, 1993, in tow of the McKeil tugs GLENBROOK and KAY COLE for Montreal, Quebec, and then to the cutter’s torch.

October 2, 1954 - The PERE MARQUETTE 21 sailed into Ludington, Michigan, on her second maiden voyage of her career.

On October 2,1888, OLIVER CROMWELL (wooden schooner-barge, 138 foot, 291 tons, built in 1853, at Buffalo, New York) was being towed by the steamer LOWELL in a storm in Lake Huron when she broke her towline. She rode out most of the storm at anchor, but then she snapped her anchor chains and she was driven ashore at Harbor Beach, Michigan, where she broke up.

The 183 foot, 3-mast wooden schooner QUEEN CITY was launched at W. Bay City, Michigan, on 2 October 1873.

The Port Huron Times reported the following shipwrecks from a severe storm that swept the Lakes over 2-3 October 1887: Schooner CITY OF GREEN BAY lost near South Haven, Michigan; the schooner-barge CHARLES L HUTCHINSON, lost near Buffalo, New York; the steam barge ALBION and her consort the schooner-barge ARK ashore near Grindstone City, Michigan; the 3-mast schooner EBENEZER ashore near Holland, Michigan; the wooden package freighter CALIFORNIA sunk in the Straits of Mackinaw; the schooner HOLMES ashore at Middle Island on Lake Huron; the schooner GARIBALDI ashore near Port Elgin on Lake Huron; the barge MAYFLOWER disabled near Grand Haven, Michigan; the schooner D. S. AUSTIN ashore at Point Clark; and the schooner HENRY W HOAG ashore at Erie, Pennsylvania.

1891: WINSLOW ran aground in fog while inbound at Duluth. The hole in the wooden hull was patched and the ship was released and able to be docked. The vessel caught fire while unloading the next day and destroyed.

1938: The first WINDOC was struck when Bridge 20, a railway bridge across the Welland Canal, was lowered prematurely and removing the stack, spar and lifeboats of the N.M. Paterson steamer.

1953: A collision occurred between PIONEER and WALLSCHIFF in the St. Clair River on this date and the latter, a West German visitor to the Great Lakes, rolled on its side and settled in shallow water. One crew member perished. PIONEER, a Cleveland-Cliffs steamer, was repaired for further service and was later scrapped at Genoa, Italy, in 1961. WALLSCHIFF, on her first and only trip to the Great Lakes, was refloated and departed for permanent repairs overseas in 1954. The vessel was still sailing as g) GOLDEN MERCURY in 2011.

1973: A head-on collision in fog off Gull Island, Lake Michigan between the T-2 tanker MARATHONIAN and Norwegian freighter ROLWI left both ships with massive bow damage. The former had begun Seaway service as f) MARATHON in 1960 and was repaired at South Chicago. It disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle as h) SYLVIA L. OSSA in October 1976. ROLWI, a Norwegian salty, was also repaired and returned inland as b) DOBERG in 1974 and c) LORFRI in 1976. It arrived at Alang, India, for scrapping as e) PEROZAN on February 6, 1996.

1992: The Canadian coastal freighter SIR JOHN CROSBIE was built in St. Catharines by Port Weller Dry Docks in 1962. It sank in the Gulf of Mexico off the west coast of Florida as c) HOLSTEN on this date but all on board were rescued



In 1986, the HERBERT C. JACKSON rescued Carl Ward and his nephew after they had been adrift on lower Lake Michigan for 80 hours.

On October 1,1888, the ST CLAIR (3-mast wooden schooner, 156 foot, 296 gross tons, built in 1859, at Montreal as a bark) was carrying coal in a storm on Lake Huron as part of a 5-barge tow of the tug CHAMPION. She broke loose and came to anchor off Harbor Beach, Michigan. The anchor dragged and she sank near the mouth of the harbor. The crew was rescued by the U.S. Life Saving Service. However, this rescue was ill fated since all were taken in the lifesavers surfboat and the boat was rowed 23 miles to Port Sanilac. 100 yards from shore, just a half mile from Port Sanilac, the surfboat capsized and five lives were lost. The wreck of the ST. CLAIR was later lightered, raised and towed out into the lake and re-sunk.

CHICAGO TRADER, a.) THE HARVESTER of 1911, was laid up on October 1, 1976, at the Frog Pond in Toledo, Ohio.

Dismantling commenced October 1, 1974, on the KINSMAN INDEPENDENT a.) WILLIAM B. KERR of 1907, at Santander, Spain.

October 1, 1997 - The CITY OF MIDLAND 41 was towed out of Ludington to be converted to a barge.

On October 1, 1843, ALBANY (wooden brig, 110 tons, built in 1835, at Oswego, New York) was carrying merchandise and passengers when she went aground in a storm and was wrecked just a few miles from Mackinaw City, Michigan.

The steam barge C. H. GREEN was launched at E. Saginaw, Michigan, for Mason, Green & Corning of Saginaw on October 1, 1881. She was schooner rigged and spent her first year as a tow barge. The following winter her engine and boiler were installed. Her dimensions were 197 feet X 33 feet X 13 feet, 920 tons. She cost $70,000.

On October 1,1869, SEA GULL (wooden schooner, 83 tons, built in 1845, at Milan, Ohio) was carrying lumber in a storm on Lake Michigan. She was driven ashore and wrecked south of Grand Haven, Michigan. The wreck was pulled off the beach a few days later, but was declared a constructive loss, stripped and abandoned. She was owned by Capt. Henry Smith of Grand Haven.

1918: The Canadian bulk carrier GALE STAPLES was blown ashore Point au Sable about 8 miles west of Grand Marais. All on board were saved but the wooden vessel, best known as b) CALEDONIA, broke up.

1942: The former CANADIAN ROVER, Hull 67 from the Collingwood shipyard, was torpedoed and sunk as d) TOSEI MARU in the Pacific east of Japan by U.S.S. NAUTILUS.

1946: KINDERSLEY, loaded with 2074 tons of excess munitions, was scuttled in the deep waters of the Atlantic. The former C.S.L. freighter had been on saltwater to assist in the war effort.

1984: ANNEMARIE KRUGER arrived at Finike, Turkey, as e) BANKO with engine damage on this date and was laid up. The ship, a frequent Seaway visitor in the 1960s, was sold for scrap and arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, under tow on August 3, 1986, and was dismantled.

1998 The tank barge SALTY DOG NO. 1 broke tow from the tug DOUG McKEIL and went aground off Anticosti Island the next day. The vessel was released and it operated until scrapping at Port Colborne in 2005