Today in Great Lakes History

[yachtsmanwilly]

6/28 - Cheboygan, Mich. – The USCG icebreaker Mackinaw hosted a Change of Command ceremony Tuesday at which Commander Vasilios Tasikas turned the vessel over to his successor, Commander John Stone. Rear Admiral June Ryan, Commander U.S. Coast Guard 9th District, delivered remarks.

Valley Camp a fascinating display for tourists in Sault Michigan

6/28 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – Not everyone has the time or money for travel to far away places this summer, but folks from Sault, Ontario looking for a change of scenery and a fascinating look at the history of the Great Lakes need not look any farther than Sault, Michigan’s Museum Ship Valley Camp.

The U.S. vessel, a former freighter which sailed the Great Lakes for 49 years before its conversion into a museum ship, is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2017.

Many are aware the restored, original Edmund Fitzgerald ship’s bell is on display at Whitefish Point’s Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, but not everyone knows the Museum Ship Valley Camp has two battered lifeboats from the Edmund Fitzgerald, for all visitors to see, in an eerie display in the bottom of the ship.

The presence of the Fitzgerald lifeboats display gets around largely by word of mouth, said Paul Sabourin, Sault (Michigan) Historic Sites curator and tour guide.

Read more and view photos at this link: www.sootoday.com/sault-michigan/fascinating-display-for-tourists-in-sault-michigan-18-photos-video-653314



On this day in 1955, the 456 foot WYCHEM 105, a.) SAMUEL F. B. MORSE, was loaded with sand at the B&O docks in Lorain and towed to Rocky River, Ohio where she was sunk as a temporary breakwall. She was later raised and taken to Bay Ship Building Co, and became a barge for the Roen Steamship Co. fleet. In the early 1970s, most of the hull was scrapped, except for two sections of the bottom, which were used for scows around Sturgeon Bay until the 1980s.

On this day in 1957, the JOSEPH S. YOUNG departed Manitowoc, Wisconsin on her maiden voyage. She traveled in ballast to Port Inland, Michigan to load a cargo of stone. The YOUNG was the a.) ARCHERS HOPE, A T2-SE-A1 tanker, converted to Great Lakes service at Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock, Baltimore, Maryland. Renamed c.) H. LEE WHITE in 1969, and d.) SHARON in 1974. Scrapped at Brownsville, Texas in 1986.

On June 28, 1938, at 8:50 a.m., the WILLIAM A. IRVIN departed Duluth with her first cargo of iron ore for Lorain, Ohio. 48 years later, in 1986, almost to the minute, the WILLIAM A. IRVIN opened as a museum to the public.

The ATLANTIC SUPERIOR arrived at the Algoma Steel Plant, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario on her maiden voyage in 1982, with a load of taconite but before she was unloaded christening ceremonies were conducted there.

The SAM LAUD ran aground June 28, 1975, on a shoal south of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, with a cargo of coal from Chicago, Illinois for Green Bay, Wisconsin. Six-thousand tons of coal were off-loaded the next day into the NICOLET, a.) WILLIAM G. MATHER, before she could proceed to Green Bay along with the NICOLET to discharge cargoes. SAM LAUD entered the dry dock at Sturgeon Bay on July 3rd for repairs. She had suffered extensive bottom damage with leakage into seven double bottom tanks and the forepeak. She returned to service on August 21, 1975.

On 28 June 1893, JAMES AMADEUS (wooden propeller tug, 65 foot, 44 gross tons, built in 1872, at Cleveland, Ohio) sprang a leak and foundered near Cleveland, Ohio. Her crew abandoned her just before she went down.

On 28 June 1909, TEMPEST (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 138 foot, 370 gross tons, built in 1876, at Grand Haven, Michigan) burned to a total loss while unloading coal at the Galnais Dock at Perry Sound, Ontario. She was consumed very quickly and six of her crew were killed.

1923 The PHILETUS SAWYER sinks in the Detroit River off Windmill Point after a collision with the HARRY R. JONES.

1960 DIVINA sustained heavy damage to the portside after striking a pier of the Prescott-Ogdensburg Bridge along the St. Lawrence. The Norwegian freighter had been a Great Lakes visitor since 1952 and was scrapped as d) PETROL 20 at Eleusis, Greece, in July 1984.

1970 CASTOR, enroute from Japan to Chicago with automobiles and steel products, sinks in the Pacific after a collision with the ORIENTAL HERO two days out of Yokohama. All 38 on board are saved. The ship dated from 1960 and first came through the Seaway in 1966.

1979 STAR GERANTA, a Seaway visitor in 1966 and a return caller as d) REGAL SWORD in 1977, sinks in the Atlantic off Cape Cod, MA after a collision in fog with the EXXON CHESTER.

1987 The small tanker NADY was built at Rochester, NY as the army tanker Y-86 in 1944 and returned to the Great Lakes as b) NADY in 1953 and again in 1955. It was abandoned, in leaking condition as d) ELENI S. while inbound 12 miles off the Lagos, Nigeria, breakwall. Water is entering the engineroom and the ship settles in shallow water. (One source suggest this may have occurred 2 days earlier) 2005 CSL NIAGARA loses power and goes aground in the American Narrows of the St. Lawrence while upbound with a cargo of coke. The ship is holed in the forepeak but soon released and repaired.

[yachtsmanwilly]

6/29 - Thunder Bay, Ont. – The Alexander Henry, the former coast guard icebreaker built in the Thunder Bay area almost 60 years ago, has completed its journey back to the Lakehead, but it will be a little while longer before people can see it up close.

An agreement still has to be finalized for the ship to dock at the former Pool 6 site along the waterfront, Charlie Brown, the head of the Lakehead Transportation Museum Society, told CBC News on Tuesday just after the breaker arrived.

In the meantime, the Alexander Henry will sit at a privately-owned dock nearby "which unfortunately the public is not going to be able to access," he said. "We wanted to have a big celebration while she was coming in, but that wasn't possible," Brown continued. "Hopefully we'll be able to get her where she needs to be, hopefully at the Pool 6 site."

The Alexander Henry was built by the Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company and was commissioned in 1959. It worked the Great Lakes until the mid-1980s, when the Samuel Risley, came into service. Before Brown and his group took ownership of the breaker, it was almost intentionally sunk to the bottom of Lake Ontario as a dive tourism spot.

Thunder Bay city council recently signed off on $125,000 to have the Alexander Henry towed north; now, they'll have to okay a deal with the port authority to use the Pool 6 site, Brown said. Council isn't scheduled to meet again until later in July, meaning the Alexander Henry's public unveiling probably won't happen until mid-August, assuming a deal is reached, Brown added.

"[It'll] give us the opportunity to work on her over the next month and then hopefully the issues will be resolved," he said. "We'll get her where she needs to be and then we'll open 'er up to the public and have a big grand affair and a big party and we'll take it from there."

Brown said there are some security concerns with the Kam River Heritage Park site and the museum society would rather not use it.

As for the Alexander Henry itself, Brown said it is in generally very good condition but still needs final inspections and a tidying up before people can board it.

"We're just thrilled to have seen her come through the breakwall," Brown said, adding that he wants to open the ship to the public as soon as possible so it can start generating revenue.

CBC


6/29 - St. Catharines, Ont. – Hovercraft rides across Lake Ontario are a step closer to becoming a reality. St. Catharines city councillors gave the plan their approval in principle Monday night. Beamsville, Ont., resident Bruno Caciagli, who has spent the past two years developing the plan as an alternative to spending hours in traffic gridlock, hopes the first trip will set sail next June.

The plan, proposed by Caciagli’s company Lake Ontario Express — a consortium of several businesses — would start with a fleet of two hovercraft, each making seven round trips per day carrying commuters between Port Dalhousie and Toronto at a cost of about $25 per trip.

Port Dalhousie Coun. Carlos Garcia described it as “just an excellent idea for us to have a reliable water link.”

“I know that it has been tried before, but I have personally met with the proponent in this case … and he has done a lot of research that leads him to believe that hovercraft is the way to go. We have not used hovercraft before,” he said. “There is a lot of work still to be done, obviously, studies and so on.”

Garcia said Caciagli “has a lot of reliable good partners that are working with him, and at this stage I just want council to show that we believe this is a good idea and we support it in principle, so that Mr. Caciagli and his company can work with Toronto to look at what can happen at the other end and proceed with the project.”

Garcia’s motion to support the service in principle received unanimous support from St. Catharines councilors.

After considering problems with past efforts to provide reliable ferry service across the lake, Caciagli said hovercraft seemed like a more viable way to cross the water.

“There have been several attempts made in recent history, and they were using hydrofoils made in Russia. They were for rivers and lakes, but nothing like the conditions on Lake Ontario,” he said in an interview.

During the maiden voyage of one of those failed hydrofoil services in August 1998, then Ontario tourism minister Al Palladini was aboard when a 2.5-metre wave crashed through the ship’s window eight kilometres offshore.

Caciagli said large ferry services were also tried over the years, but the boats created such a large wake that they were forced to slow down to a crawl while still far from dock. In comparison, he said his hovercraft will be able to make the trip in less than 40 minutes.

Caciagli said poor marketing plans also contributed to sinking previous lake crossing companies. That’s a mistake he said he will not repeat. Unlike with past attempts, he said, the hovercrafts will provide year-round service — although his business plan allows for the loss of up to 60 days per year due to adverse weather conditions.

He said his company is finishing the preliminary design for the 40-seat hovercrafts, specifically to cope with conditions they might encounter while crossing the lake. He said MetalCraft Marine in Kingston, Ont., will be brought aboard to build the hovercrafts, which will also be designed to be quieter than most vessels of that type.

St. Catharines Standard


On this day in 1946, the tug DALHOUSIE ROVER, Captain J. R. Mac Lean, capsized in the Welland Canal. There were no survivors among the crew of six.

On 29 June 1910, ALABAMA (steel propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 272 foot, 2,626 gross tons, built in 1909, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin) made her first trip in regular service for the Goodrich Line from Chicago to Grand Haven and Muskegon. She ran opposite the VIRGINIA. Cut down to a barge in 1961, she was scrapped in La Salle, Ontario, in 2006.

On 29 June 1902, GEORGE DUNBAR (wooden propeller freighter, 134 foot, 238 gross tons, built in 1867, at Allegan, Michigan) was loaded with coal when she was damaged by a sudden squall on Lake Erie near Kelley’s Island and sank. Seven of the crew elected to stay aboard while the skipper, his wife and daughter made for shore in the lifeboat. Those three were saved but the seven perished on a makeshift raft.

The CHARLES M. SCHWAB (Hull#496) was launched in 1923, at Cleveland, Ohio, by the American Ship Building Co., for the Interlake Steamship Co. Lengthened with a new mid-body and repowered with the stern section of the tanker GULFPORT in 1961. Sold Canadian in 1975, renamed b.) PIERSON DAUGHTERS and c.) BEECHGLEN in 1982. Scrapped at Port Maitland, Ontario, in 1995.

On June 29, 1962, the HAMILTONIAN began her maiden voyage for Eastern Lake Carriers (Papachristidis Co. Ltd.). Renamed b.) PETITE HERMINE in 1967. Purchased by Upper Lakes Shipping in 1972, renamed c.) CANADIAN HUNTER. Scrapped at Alang, India in 1996.

The JOSEPH L. BLOCK was christened on June 29, 1976, for Inland Steel Co. The Canadian schooner DUNSTOWN arrived at Malden, Ontario, on 29 June 1875, to be put in place as a lightship. Her sides were painted in large white letters: BAR POINT LIGHTSHIP.

On 29 June 1864, ALVIN CLARK (2-mast wooden schooner, 113 foot, 220 tons, built in 1846, at Truago (Trenton), Michigan) foundered in a terrific squall off Chambers Island on Green Bay. Two of the crew were rescued by the brig DEWITT, but three lost their lives. In 1969, a schooner identified as the CLARK was raised at great expense and put on display for some time at Marinette, Wisconsin, then at Menominee, Michigan. The hull gradually deteriorated and was dismantled in May 1994.

1934: The retired wooden schooner LYMAN M. DAVIS was torched as a spectacle off the Sunnyside Amusement Park at Toronto and it burned to the waterline.

1962: The Swedish freighter AMACITA was beached in sinking condition after hitting a shoal in the St. Lawrence near Brockville. It was refloated and towed to Kingston for hull and rudder repairs. The 10,137 gross tons vessel also visited the Seaway as b) HERVANG in 1965 and arrived at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, as f) MALDIVE PIONEER on January 5, 1984, for scrapping.

1966: Two Canada Steamship Lines ships, LEMOYNE and MARTIAN, were in a collision while passing at Welland and the former struck the Main Street Bridge during rush hour. The ships only received minor damage, but land and Welland Canal traffic were held up.

1994: The tug A.F. FIFIELD was built at Port Dalhousie by Port Weller Dry Docks in 1955 and sank in the Gulf of St. Lawrence as c) J. MANIC while towing a barge from Sept Iles to Port Cartier. All on board were rescued.

[yachtsmanwilly]

6/30 - Manistee, Mich. - On Saturday, August 5, the museum ship S.S. City of Milwaukee in Manistee, Mich. will host Marine Enthusiasts Weekend/Open House starting at 10 a.m. The public is invited to come on board the historic Lake Michigan car ferry and share their maritime and railroad related videos, pictures, slides and stories. There will also be display space for items related to maritime and railroad history.

For the event, the museum ship is offering special overnight pricing to stay on board the City of Milwaukee for Friday, August 4 and Saturday, August 5. The rate will be $30 per person per night (plus tax). Most of the ship's cabins can accommodate 1-2 people with one room capable of accommodating four guests.

When you make your reservation, please mention your participation in our event, so we can give you this pricing. Phone [phone] for more information and reservations.

www.carferry.com



FREE CRACK VHF RADIOS IN DETROILET NOW??

6/30 - Cleveland, Ohio − Coast Guard units across the Great Lakes request the public's assistance in combating a rise in false distress calls.

A false distress or hoax can be made by phone or over a marine radio by a person claiming to be in distress to intentionally deceive others and cause an unnecessary search. There have been more than 160 false distress calls made to date across the Great Lakes compared to 55 similarly in 2016.

The Coast Guard treats all emergency calls as if they were real until they can be proved otherwise. A false distress can put other mariners in real danger at greater risk because of the redirecting of available search and rescue responders.

"False distress and hoax calls expose not only Coast Guard rescuers, but our partner agencies and other mariners to unnecessary risks, and potentially take away personnel and resources from real emergencies," said Capt. Joseph McGilley, chief of incident management for the Ninth Coast Guard District, which encompasses the entire Great Lakes region.

If someone makes a distress call in error during a radio check or learns that a distress call was made over the radio by accident or a child, they are advised to contact a local Coast Guard unit or the Ninth District Command Center at 216-902-6117 so that personnel and units can stand down.

Persons who knowingly make hoax or false distress calls to intentionally deceive rescuers can face up to six years in prison, $250,000 fine, $5,000 civil penalty, and the possible reimbursement to the Coast Guard for the cost of performing the search. The Coast Guard works closely with the Federal Communications Commission and law enforcement partners to track and pinpoint potential hoax calls.

The average cost of launching a Coast Guard response boat is about $4,500 an hour while the cost of a Coast Guard helicopter involved in a search could run as high $16,000 an hour. A hoax mayday case can sometimes last an average of 3 hours before it is called off.

In 2017, a Chicago man was sentenced to 6 months in prison, three years of supervisory release and ordered to pay the Coast Guard $28,181 in restitution for knowingly calling in false distress calls of a body in the Chicago River on two separate occasions in 2014.

USCG



On this day in 1962, the CLIFFS VICTORY passed down through the Welland Canal to become the first boat in the Cleveland Cliffs Fleet to enter Lake Ontario in 20 years.

The CSL ASSINIBOINE was rechristened at Port Weller Drydocks Ltd., on June 30, 2005. She was the a.) JEAN PARISIENNE and the fourth CSL vessel to receive a forebody replacement.

On 30 June 1917, while being towed out of the Milwaukee River by the tugs WELCOME and KNIGHT TEMPLAR, the Goodrich Lines’ CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS (steel propeller whaleback passenger steamer, 362 foot, 1,511 gross tons, built in 1893, at West Superior, Wisconsin), with 413 passengers onboard, was caught by the current and swung close to shore. The overhang of her snout-bow sheered off two legs of the water tower of the Yahr-Lang Drug Company and the tower fell onto the vessel, destroying the pilothouse and forward decks. The water from the tower rushed down the length of the upper decks. 16 were killed and over 20 were seriously injured. The surviving passengers were taken to Chicago by train. The vessel was repaired and put back into service the following year.

On 30 June 1900, MARIAN TELLER (wooden propeller tug, 52 foot, 33 gross tons, built in 1879, at West Bay City, Michigan) was towing the barge CANTON on Lake St. Clair. The TELLER sprang a leak about one mile from the Lake St. Clair Lightship. The rising water put out her fires. In the scramble to escape, the yawl was swamped and three lives were lost. Only Captain Cornwall and his son were saved when the passing steamer NORWALK picked them up.

1889 WILLIAM ARMSTRONG, a wooden rail car ferry, sinks in the St. Lawrence off Morristown after being swamped. One life is lost but the ship is refloated and repaired. It was renamed MONS MEG in 1910 and served as a drill barge but was abandoned due to its age and condition in 1938.

1940 The Imperial Oil tanker ACADIALITE cuts too close to shore and strands off Cape Hurd of the Bruce Peninsula. The ship received about $100,000 in damage and is repaired at Collingwood. It later sails as IMPERIAL CORNWALL and GOLDEN SABLE before being scrapped at Louiseville, QC about 1980.

1959 TAXIARHIS, a Lebanese flag visitor to the Great Lakes and the West German freighter CARL JULIUS are in a collision 6 miles west of the Eisenhower Lock. The former is most seriously damaged and goes aground with a V shaped dent in the port bow but both were repaired. The former arrived at Piraeus, Greece, for scrapping as d) TONY C. on March 29, 1972, while CARL JULIUS was scrapped as d) MACHIAVELLI at Savona, Italy in 1982.

1962 The GUIDO DONEGANI gets stuck in the St. Lawrence below the Iroquois Lock due to engine trouble. Part of the cargo of corn is lightered to P.S. BARGE NO. 1 and the Italian freighter is refloated on July 1. It is also a Seaway trader as b) PUNTA MESCA beginning in 1970 and as c) COCLERDUE in 1979. This ship arrived at Savona, Italy, for scrapping on June 1, 1981.

1974 KIMIKAWA MARU began Great Lakes trading in 1962 and the Japanese freighter made a single visit each year through 1965. It went aground as b) WELFARE NO. 2 off Navlakhi, India, on this date. The ship later broke in two and sank in shallow water as a total loss. 1980 VILLE DE MONTREAL was engaged in pre-Seaway service to the Great Lakes. It was sailing as c) CHERRY MAJU, enroute from Bahrain to Colombo, Sri Lanka, when it developed a list and drifted aground off Karwar, India. The ship became partly submerged and was abandoned as a total loss.

[yachtsmanwilly]

On this day in 1943, the J. H. HILLMAN JR (Hull#524), the 14th of 16 Maritime-class ships being built for Great Lakes Service, was launched at the Great Lakes Engineering yard at Ashtabula, Ohio. After having the stern of the CANADIAN EXPLORER, ex CABOT of 1965, attached, her forward section still exists today as the ALGOMA TRANSFER.

The JOHN B. AIRD was christened June 3, 1983, at Thunder Bay, Ontario for Algoma Central Marine, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

U.S. Steel's ROGER BLOUGH was moved out of the dry dock at Lorain, Ohio, on June 3, 1972.

In 1954, CLIFFS VICTORY successfully completed her sea trials.

FRANK ARMSTRONG departed light from Ashtabula, Ohio, on her maiden voyage in command of Captain H. Chesley Inches June 3, 1943, bound for Superior, Wisconsin, to load iron ore.

PATERSON (i) entered service on June 3, 1954, with 440,000 bushels of wheat from Port Arthur, Ontario. She was scrapped at Thunder Bay, Ontario, in 1985.

On 3 July 1872, the wooden steam barge MARY MILLS was launched at P. Lester's yard at Marysville, Michigan.

On 3 July 1872, GRACE DORMER (wooden propeller passenger & package freight ferry, 71 foot, 66 gross tons, built in 1868, at Buffalo, New York) had just finished loading a cargo of fish at St. James, Beaver Island, when she caught fire and burned. One life was lost. The vessel was rebuilt and lasted until she burned at the bone-yard at Grand Island, New York in 1925.

1964: The A. & J. FAITH, idle at Cleveland and under arrest, was struck by the MIKAGESAN MARU when the latter was caught by a wind gust. The former sustained $5,000 in damage. This ship was sold and renamed c) SANTA SOFIA at Cleveland in August 1964. It arrived for scrapping at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, as d) COSMOS MARINER in August 1970. The latter, a Japanese freighter that made 6 trips to the Great Lakes from 1962 to 1966, was scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, as b) UNION SINGAPORE in 1979.


In July 2, 1966, the SIMCOE entered service for Canada Steamship Lines. Renamed b.) ALGOSTREAM in 1994, she was scrapped at Alang, India in 1996, as c.) SIMCOE. The railroad carferry TRANSIT was launched at Walkerville, Ontario, on 2 July 1872, at the Jenkins Brothers shipyard.

Before noon, Saturday, 2 July 1870, several attempts were made to launch the barge AGNES L POTTER at Simon Langell's yard at St. Clair, Michigan. Nothing happened until 3 p.m. when the vessel moved about 100 feet but still was not launched. The tug VULCAN arrived at 8 a.m. the following day and broke the line on the first attempt to pull the vessel off the ways. A 10-inch line was obtained in Port Huron and at 2 p.m. a second effort only moved the barge about four feet. Finally, on the third attempt, the VULCAN pulled her into the water. The POTTER's dimensions were 133 feet X 27 feet X 9 feet, 279 gross tons and she was built for the iron ore trade. She was named for the daughter of the general superintendent of Ward's Iron Works of Chicago. She lasted until 1906.

1990 CUNARD CAVALIER first visited the Great Lakes in 1978 and returned later that year as b) OLYMPIC HARMONY. The ship went aground off Port Muhammad Bin Asimov, Pakistan, on this date in 1990 as d) VILLA while en route to West Africa. It was abandoned July 13. The hull was refloated November 30, 1990, and arrived at Singapore, under tow, on May 16, 1991. The ship was declared a total loss and reached Alang, India, for scrapping on February 2, 1992



July 1, 1991 - The automobile/passenger ferry DALDEAN celebrated its 40th year in operation between Sombra, Ontario and Marine City, Michigan. She was built by Erieau Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, Erieau, Ontario, for Bluewater Ferry Ltd. Service started between the two communities on July 1, 1951.

On this day in 1943, the nine loading docks on Lake Superior loaded a combined 567,000 tons of iron ore into the holds of waiting freighters.

At 16:00 hours on July 1, 2005, an explosion hit the Cargill elevator in Toledo, Ohio, which collapsed on one of the silos and fire was found in five of the silos.

On July 1, 1940, the HARRY COULBY became the first Great Lakes vessel to load in excess of 16,000 tons of iron ore when it loaded 16,067 tons of iron ore in Ashland, Wisconsin. Renamed b.) KINSMAN ENTERPRISE in 1989, she was scrapped at Port Colborne, Ontario in 2002.

On 1 July 1927, ROBERT C. WENTE (wooden, propeller, bulk freighter, 141 foot, 336 gross tons, built in 1888, at Gibraltar, Michigan) burned to a total loss in the St. Clair River. In 1911, she sank in Lake Michigan, but was raised and refurbished.

July, 1983 - The C&O sold its remaining 3 car ferries to Glen Bowden and George Towns. They begin operating cross-lake service between Ludington and Kewaunee under the name Michigan-Wisconsin Transportation Co. (MWT)

On 1 July 1852, CASPIAN (wooden side-wheeler, 252 foot, 921 tons, built in 1851, at Newport, Michigan) foundered a short distance off Cleveland's piers. Some of her gear and structural material were salvaged in the Spring of 1853, and the wreck was then flattened with dynamite.

July 1, 1900, the new wooden steam barge ALFRED MITCHELL started her maiden voyage from St. Clair, Michigan for Cleveland, Ohio, to load coal. She was owned by Langell & Sons.

On 1 July 1869, the wooden schooner GARROWEN was carrying coal from Cleveland to Toronto when she sprang a leak and sank in 60 feet of water about 10 miles from shore off Geneva, Ohio. The crew escaped in the yawl. She was only 19 years old and some of the crew claimed that she was scuttled as an insurance scam. However, a number of divers visited the wreck on the bottom of the Lake at the time and that claim was refuted.

On 1 July 1875, the iron carferry HURON (238 foot, 1052 gross tons, built at Point Edward, Ontario, with iron plates prefabricated in Scotland) made her trial voyage between Fort Gratiot, Michigan, and Point Edward, Ontario, across the St. Clair River. This vessel served the Grand Trunk Railway and ran between Windsor and Detroit for over a century.

In 1876, a 25-square-mile ice field was still floating at the head of Lake Superior in northwest Wisconsin.

1918: The wooden steam barge CREAM CITY stranded on Wheeler Reef in upper Lake Huron due to fog while towing the barge GRACE HOLLAND. All were rescued but the ship was abandoned. The hull caught fire and was destroyed in 1925. 1939: ALGOSOO (i) arrived at Collingwood for hull repairs after hitting bottom, in fog, near Cape Smith, Georgian Bay.

1964: WHITEFISH BAY went aground off in the St. Lawrence off Whisky Island while bound for Montreal with a cargo of grain. Six tugs pulled the ship free on July 3.

1975: VALETTA first came to the Great Lakes in 1962 and returned as c) ORIENT EXPORTER in 1966 and d) IONIC in 1972. The leaking ship was beached at Cheddar, Saudi Arabia, with hull cracks. It slipped off the reef July 11, 1975, and sank.

1972: H.M.C.S. COBOURG was built at Midland as a World War Two corvette and rebuilt as a merchant ship about 1947. It caught fire and burned as d) PUERTO DEL SOL at New Orleans while undergoing repairs and the upper works were gutted. The ship was sold for scrapping at Brownsville, TX, later in the year.

1980: The Swedish-flag freighter MALTESHOLM first came through the Seaway in 1963. It began leaking in the engine room as c) LITO on this date while bound from Kalamata, Greece, to Vietnam with bagged flour. It was abandoned by the crew and then sank in the eastern Mediterranean. The ship had been sold to Taiwan ship breakers and was likely bound for Kaohsiung after unloading in the Far East.


7/1 - Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. will modify one of its taconite facilities to support its planned hot-briquetted iron plant (HBI) with better-quality pellets, chairman and chief executive officer Lourenco Goncalves said Wednesday.

Speaking at the 32nd annual Steel Survival Strategies conference in New York, N.Y., USA, Goncalves said the US$70 million project is designed to reduce silica content of the pellets being produced at its Northshore Mining operation in Silver Bay, Minn.

Goncalves said that through the project, Cliffs will install a dedicated line for low-silica pellets, ensuring a more stable production flow.

From the sidelines of the conference, Clifford T. Smith, executive vice president for business development, said the project will progress in parallel with the HBI plant. Engineering has begun, he said, and the new equipment will be started up to coincidence with the opening of the HBI plant.

Cliffs revealed the location for the $US700 million plant earlier this month, saying it had chosen a plot of land along the Maumee River in Toledo, Ohio, near the southwestern shores of Lake Erie. The plant is being designed to produce 1.6 million tons annually and is to enter production in 2020.

Goncalves told conference attendees that the target market for the plant’s output is the electric arc furnaces in the Great Lakes region. Cliffs also could barge briquettes through the Great Lakes and down the Mississippi Rivers to southern EAF operators, he said, although the transportation costs would reduce some of the cost advantages that the northern operators will enjoy.

Source: AIST


7/2 - Marinette, Wis. – On Saturday, an American tradition continued, as the newest littoral combat ship out of Fincantieri Marinette Marine was christened and launched after months of production.

Named after Montana’s largest city, the U.S.S. Billings will carry two crews, at about 75 sailors each. For more than a year, crews have been hard at work on the ship, but there’s still more to be done.

“They will complete the construction of the ship. As you can see, compared to other ships that are already further along in the cycle, there’s more equipment that needs to be installed on there,” says Nathan Rowan, the Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. Billings LCS 15. “That's going to take roughly a little over a year.”

For now, onlookers are marveling at the work done so far.

“My heart right now is with those who will be serving on her,” says Sharla Tester, the Ship Sponsor. “For however long she's going to be in the waters. Montana's a proud state. We're going to make sure that she's taken care of, and the crew is too.”

At the christening and launch, Wisconsin politicians from both sides came out, bringing their congratulations and support. They say shipyards like Marinette Marine benefit the local economy, while working to maintain the United States’ freedom. The estimated cost of the U.S.S. Billings is more than $300 million.

Watch a video of the launch at this link: www.wbay.com/content/news/USS-Billings-littoral-combat-ship-christened-and-launched-432016773.html

[yachtsmanwilly]

PAUL H. CARNAHAN was launched in 1945, as a.) HONEY HILL, a T2-SE-Al World War II tanker, for U.S. Maritime Commission.

July 5, 1991 - Charles Conrad announced he had formed a corporation to purchase the Ludington, Michigan, carferry operation from Michigan-Wisconsin Transportation Company.

JUSTIN R. WHITING was launched on 5 July 1874, at Langell's yard at the mouth of the Pine River in St. Clair, Michigan. Her dimensions were 144 feet X 26 feet 2 inches X 11 feet 6 inches. Although built to be a self-powered steam barge, she was towed as a regular barge during her first season of operation.

IDA CORNING (2-mast wooden barge, 168 foot, 444 gross tons) was launched in East Saginaw, Michigan, on 5 July 1881. She was built for L. P. Mason & Company of East Saginaw. In 1858, her rig was changed to that of a 2-masted schooner. She lasted until abandoned at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, in 1928.

1940: MAGOG, part of convoy HX-52, was hit by gunfire from U-99, torpedoed and sank stern first. The crew was eventually rescued by the Finnish freighter FIDRA. There are conflicting dates for this event but many sources agree on this date for the loss of the former C.S.L. canaller.

1969: The crew of the W.F. WHITE rescued eight from a foundering pleasure boat off Southeast Shoal, Lake Erie.

1973: The British freighter TRELEVAN visited the Seaway in 1961. It caught fire while pumping oil bilge in the engineroom at Halifax as d) BAFFIN BAY and was a total loss. The ship was sold for scrap to Marine Salvage of Port Colborne but resold to Spanish shipbreakers and arrived at Valencia, Spain, under tow for dismantling, on October 4, 1973.

1975: The T-2 tanker NASSAU CAY, formerly the IMPERIAL TORONTO, visited the Seaway in 1960. It was converted to a dry bulk carrier in 1961 and was abandoned by the crew, in sinking condition, as f) NICHOLAS C. some 200 miles off Beira, Somalia, and was not seen again. The ship was enroute from Sorel to Basrah, Iraq, when it ran out of fresh boiler water and had been drifting.

1979: The Swedish freighter MONICA SMITH was built in 1952 and came to the Great Lakes that year. It returned on a regular basis through 1966 and again, as b) MONICA S. in 1967. It sank in the Mediterranean soon after leaving Cartagena, Spain, for Port Said, Egypt, as c) MESSINA II.



July 4, 1996 - The veteran Buffalo fireboat EDWARD M. COTTER, built in 1900, was designated a National Historic Landmark by the U. S. National Parks Service.

The WILLIS B. BOYER museum ship was opened to the public at Toledo, Ohio in 1987. She was built by Great Lakes Engineering Works (Hull#82) in 1912 as a.) COL. JAMES M. SCHOONMAKER. Renamed b.) WILLIS B. BOYER in 1969 and COL. JAMES M. SCHOONMAKER in 2011.

In 1976, the SAM LAUD grounded entering Buffalo, New York. She was dry docked at Lorain, Ohio, for repairs to bottom plates of No. 1, 2 and 3 port and starboard tanks. Also on this day in 1976, the H. LEE WHITE struck the Algoma Steel plant dock at the Canadian Soo resulting in damage to her stern amounting to $108,000 at the repair yard of Sturgeon Bay.

The JOSEPH S. YOUNG, a.) ARCHERS HOPE of 1945, was commissioned July 4, 1957. She was the first of seven T-2 tanker conversions for Great Lakes service. The YOUNG was renamed c.) H. LEE WHITE in 1969 and d.) SHARON in 1974. She was scrapped at Brownsville, Texas in 1986.

On July 4, 1953, the JOHN G. MUNSON set a Great Lakes record for limestone by loading 21,011 tons of limestone at Calcite, Michigan. This record for limestone stood until being broken by the Canada Steamship Lines self-unloader MANITOULIN late in the 1966 season.

July 4, 1952 - The PERE MARQUETTE 18 of 1911, was laid up due to railroad strike. She was never to operate again and was scrapped at Hamilton, Ontario, in 1957.

The wooden propeller freighter MAINE, owned by Northern Transportation Co., had sailed from Chicago and was on Lake Ontario on 4 July 1871, when Fireman Orsebius Kelley stoked the fire at 8 p.m. and went to the porter's room to get a lamp. When he returned, the boiler exploded with such force that Kelley was mortally wounded. The blast also killed Engineer M. H. Downer, deckhand Joshua Kelley (the fireman's brother), Halbert Butterfield (a 13 year old passenger) and his mother. The MAINE still floated after the blast. She was repaired and put back in service. Including this boiler explosion, she had four major mishaps in her career. She sank in 1872, burned in 1898, and finally burned again in 1911.

On 4 July 1900, during her maiden voyage from St. Clair, Michigan, to Cleveland, Ohio, the wooden steam barge ALFRED MITCHELL ran aground at Bar Point Light. It was claimed that the steering gear broke which rendered the boat unmanageable. Later that same day the MITCHELL was released by the wrecker SAGINAW.

About 9 p.m. on 4 July 1874, the steam barge W H BARNUM, with the schooner THOMAS W FERRY in tow, collided with the bark S V R WATSON near Point Pelee on Lake Erie. The WATSON sank in 28 feet of water. She was raised about two weeks later by the Coast Wrecking Company.

July 4, 1958 - The keel for the second of two new bulk freighters for Interlake Steamship Co. was laid at Great Lakes Engineering Works shipyard at River Rouge, Michigan on Wednesday morning June 25. Assigned Hull 302, the ship will be 689 feet long, 75 feet beam and 37-1/2 feet molded depth with a designed maximum cargo capacity of about 24,000 tons. H. C. Downer & Associates of Cleveland did the design work. The ship will be powered by a 6,000 shp steam turbine main engine with coal-fired boilers. Hull 302 was eventually named HERBERT C. JACKSON.

Interlake's other new ship, the 710-ft. flagship JOHN SHERWIN (Hull#192) at Toledo, Ohio, joined the Great Lakes bulk cargo fleet in May of that year. 1959: The tug GRAND BANK, pushing a barge, sank in Lock 4 of the Welland Canal and the captain was lost. The vessel, built at New Orleans in 1940 as SST-123, was salvaged and, as of 1997, was operating out of Delta, BC.

July 4, 1995 - While the United States celebrated its Independence Day, a small fleet gathered 20 miles off of Whitefish Point in Lake Superior as the bell from the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald was raised and taken aboard the Purvis Marine Tug Anglian Lady. The bell would later be taken to Michigan State University in Lansing where it would be cleaned with the name EDMUND FITZGERALD applied on the bell once again. The bell was later to taken to the museum at Whitefish Point and put on display as a memorial to remember the 29 men crew. The next day divers placed a new bell inscribed with the names of the 29 men lost in the sinking.

1973: The Liberian flag bulk carrier Florence visited the Great Lakes in June 1973. The ship was outbound when it collided, in fog, with the tanker St. Spyridon, inbound from Venezuela with 32,500 tons of Bunker C oil, off Les Escoumins, QC. Both ships were damaged. All on board were rescued and the two vessels were ultimately repaired. Florence was scrapped at San Esteban de Pravia, Spain, in 1976 and St.Spyridon at Vigo, Spain, as f) Globe Maritima in 1982.



On this day in 1943, the J. H. HILLMAN JR (Hull#524), the 14th of 16 Maritime-class ships being built for Great Lakes Service, was launched at the Great Lakes Engineering yard at Ashtabula, Ohio. After having the stern of the CANADIAN EXPLORER, ex CABOT of 1965, attached, her forward section still exists today as the ALGOMA TRANSFER.

The JOHN B. AIRD was christened June 3, 1983, at Thunder Bay, Ontario for Algoma Central Marine, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

U.S. Steel's ROGER BLOUGH was moved out of the dry dock at Lorain, Ohio, on June 3, 1972.

In 1954, CLIFFS VICTORY successfully completed her sea trials.

FRANK ARMSTRONG departed light from Ashtabula, Ohio, on her maiden voyage in command of Captain H. Chesley Inches June 3, 1943, bound for Superior, Wisconsin, to load iron ore.

PATERSON (i) entered service on June 3, 1954, with 440,000 bushels of wheat from Port Arthur, Ontario. She was scrapped at Thunder Bay, Ontario, in 1985.

On 3 July 1872, the wooden steam barge MARY MILLS was launched at P. Lester's yard at Marysville, Michigan.

On 3 July 1872, GRACE DORMER (wooden propeller passenger & package freight ferry, 71 foot, 66 gross tons, built in 1868, at Buffalo, New York) had just finished loading a cargo of fish at St. James, Beaver Island, when she caught fire and burned. One life was lost. The vessel was rebuilt and lasted until she burned at the bone-yard at Grand Island, New York in 1925.

1964: The A. & J. FAITH, idle at Cleveland and under arrest, was struck by the MIKAGESAN MARU when the latter was caught by a wind gust. The former sustained $5,000 in damage. This ship was sold and renamed c) SANTA SOFIA at Cleveland in August 1964. It arrived for scrapping at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, as d) COSMOS MARINER in August 1970. The latter, a Japanese freighter that made 6 trips to the Great Lakes from 1962 to 1966, was scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, as b) UNION SINGAPORE in 1979.


7/4 - Cleveland, Ohio – Shortly after 6 p.m. Sunday evening the freighter Great Republic struck the dock of Shooters on the Water and a recreational vehicle on the Cuyahoga River while making a turn, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The recreational vehicle was moored in a no-mooring zone – one of the 10 or so safety locations along the river where boats are prohibited from anchoring or tying up as to provide ships, like the Great Republic, which clocks in at 625 feet in length, ample space to make turns on the tight and twisty waterway.

The boat didn't sustain any damage, nor did the freighter, and there were no injuries. The collision did do some damage to Shooter's dock, a Coast Guard spokesperson said. An investigating officer was dispatched to the scene and is waiting on an estimate from the riverside restaurant.

It's at least the fourth time in the past two years that a freighter has collided with the dock.

Cleveland Scene

[yachtsmanwilly]

Coast Guard rescues 8 family members from water near Youngstown

7/6 - Cleveland, Ohio – The U.S. Coast Guard rescued eight people from the water near Fort Niagara State Park in Youngstown, New York, Wednesday. The eight family members were in a 14-foot aluminum boat heading to Porter on the Lake park in Youngstown, N.Y., when a wave came over the bow and the boat started taking on water.

A watchstander at Coast Guard Station Niagara saw the family waving for help at approximately 4:54 p.m., and Station Niagara launched a 25-foot response boat crew to assist. The boat crew rescued the four children and four adults. The four children all had life jackets on; the adults' life jackets had floated away with the waves. There were no reported injuries.

The Coast Guard urges boaters to always wear life jackets while on the water, have signaling devices on board, and obey the boat manufacturer's suggested maximum occupancy.

USCG



CACOUNA's bow was damaged in a collision with the Greek tanker CAPTAIN JOHN on the fog-shrouded St. Lawrence River July 6, 1971. The CACOUNA of 1964, was repaired by replacing her bow with that of her near sistership the SILLERY, which was being scrapped. Later renamed b.) LORNA P and c.) JENNIFER, she foundered 20 miles Northeast of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on December 1, 1974.

Canada Steamship Lines’ ASHCROFT was used to haul ore, grain and coal only on the upper Great Lakes until July 6, 1932, when she was able to enter Lake Ontario through the newly expanded Welland Canal. On that trip ASHCROFT, loaded with grain from Fort William for Kingston, Ontario, was the largest vessel to traverse the canal to date.

The keel was laid for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.'s, GOVERNOR MILLER (Hull #810) in 1937, at Lorain, Ohio, by American Ship Building Company.

COLUMBIA STAR set a record for the Head-Of-The-Lakes coal trade. The vessel loaded 70,903 net tons of low-sulfur coal at Superior Midwest Energy Terminal in Superior, Wisconsin, on July 6, 1997. She was renamed b.) AMERICAN CENTURY in 2006.

On 6 July 1836, YOUNG LION (2-mast, wooden schooner, 73 foot, 83 tons, built in 1830, at Buffalo, New York) was carrying railroad iron and lumber. About 12 miles from Erie, Pennsylvania, in rough weather, her seams opened and she quickly sank with just her topmasts left above the water. 3 died, but 5 managed to clamber up the masts and hold on until the schooner NEW YORK rescued them.

On 6 July 1871, CASTALIA (2-mast wooden schooner, 119 foot, 242 gross tons, built in 1847, as a brig at Sandusky, Ohio) was on her way to pick up lumber at the camp at Bying Inlet, Georgian Bay, when she came too close to Cove Island Reef and stranded in 3 feet of water. Although not badly damaged, she was about a mile from deep water. Tugs could not get to her and she was sailing light, so there was no cargo to lighten. She was stripped and abandoned. She finally broke up in a storm on 12 July 1871.

On 6 July 1871, the Detroit newspapers (Detroit Free Press and Detroit Daily Post) both published articles stating that there were rumors on the docks regarding the tug TAWAS having her boiler explode on Saginaw Bay. The rumors originated with sailors from Port Huron and proved to be unfounded. However, in a sense this rumor turned into a prediction since TAWAS did blow her boiler about three years later (14 May 1874) on Lake Huron off Rock Falls, Michigan. At that time 6 crewmembers perished.

1893: ROSEDALE, upbound and light, ran aground off Knife River, Lake Superior, in dense fog and was almost on dry land. The vessel was released July 10 and went to Superior for repairs. It combined Great Lakes and ocean service until sunk in the Bristol Channel, via collision, on April 8, 1919.

1941: RAPIDS PRINCE, enroute from Prescott to Montreal, went aground in an awkward position in the Lachine Rapids and was stuck for 2 months. The 218 passengers were removed in motorboats.

1965: LAKE TRAVERSE, built at Duluth in 1918, sank off Tortuga Island, in the Caribbean after hull plates were sprung.

[yachtsmanwilly]

7/7 - The U.S. Coast Guard has been flooded with prank distress calls in recent months, sometimes receiving multiple calls in a single day in what authorities say is a bad joke. In the Great Lakes region alone, more than 160 phony calls for help have been received so far this year, nearly triple the 55 such calls received in the same period in 2016.

The Coast Guard is obligated to respond to all calls. Hoax calls may delay response to legitimate water emergencies, and depending on whether aircraft is deployed, it could cost up to $16,000 an hour and affect departures and arrivals at nearby airports, the Coast Guard says.

“False distress and hoax calls expose not only Coast Guard rescuers, but our partner agencies and other mariners to unnecessary risks, and potentially take away personnel and resources from real emergencies," Capt. Joseph McGilley, chief of incident management for the Ninth Coast Guard District, said.

Tracing the bogus mayday calls is a complicated affair, dependent on the signal strength of VHF radio stations dotting the coastlines, some of them more than 50 miles apart. The Coast Guard is also looking for clues in social media, but voice recognition technology may offer the best chance to track them down, according to Coast Guard Lt. Gianfranco Palomba, a U.S. Homeland Security liaison in charge of stemming the problem.

“We’re just getting more hoaxes every day,” he said. “We’re seeing a direct impact, not just on man-hours but on assets.”

Authorities think there are only a handful of people making multiple prank calls each. Voice recognition technology may not be enough for agents to gain a search warrant, but it does give them a clear voice sample that would help them match callers.

Voiceprint technology isn’t new. Large call centers use it in anti-fraud efforts, Citizen and Immigration Services is considering adding the technology to its call centers, and last week, Google announced a Google Home product that can identify the voices of up to six people using a single account, based on locally stored voiceprints.

Those systems can build a voiceprint in 40 seconds of conversation, but the Coast Guard hoax calls often are only a few seconds long. There’s another problem, too.

Carnegie Mellon University research professor Rita Singh, who has been analyzing Coast Guard hoax calls since 2014 under a separate partnership, said it’s generally simple to distinguish male and female voices, but callers may attempt to mask their voices, effectively overriding automated voice readers.

“Although probably not aware of the biometric potential of their voice, they instinctively attempt to hide their identity by disguising it,” Singh and her research colleagues wrote in Profiling Hoax Callers. “They try to sound like a real – albeit fictitious – person other than themselves.”

As the Coast Guard looks for a new technology solution, it is going old school in the meantime, aiming for a high-profile arrest, Palomba said. Conviction carries a $250,000 fine, a $5,000 civil penalty and time in prison.

“People still see that wiggle room, just because they haven’t been reminded of a really big prosecution lately,” Palomba said. “We’re looking for that deterrent effect.”

Detroit Patch



July 7, 1939 - The Bureau of Lighthouses was merged into the U. S. Coast Guard.

The BURNS HARBOR's sea trials were conducted on July 7, 1980. JEAN PARISIEN (Hull#684) was launched July 7, 1977, at Lauzon, Quebec, by Davie Shipbuilding Company Ltd. for Canada Steamship Lines. Port Weller Drydocks replaced her entire forward section and she was renamed b.) CSL ASSINIBOINE in 2005.

The DAVID Z. NORTON sailed on her maiden voyage July 7, 1973, as the a.) WILLIAM R. ROESCH. She sailed light from Lorain to Superior, Wisconsin where she loaded 18,828 tons of iron ore on July 9th bound for Jones & Laughlin's Cuyahoga River plant at Cleveland, Ohio. She now sails as d.) CALUMET.

In 1971, the CITY OF SAGINAW 31 went to Manitowoc for a thorough overhaul. While there, a fire broke out July 29, destroying her cabin deck and rendering her useless for further use. The blaze was caused by an acetylene torch, and caused over $1 million in damage.

On 7 July 1895, IDA MAY BROWN (wooden schooner, 53 foot, 20 gross tons, built 1884, at Charlevoix, Mich.) was carrying gravel when her cargo shifted in heavy weather. She capsized and later drifted to the beach near Michigan City, Indiana. Her crew was rescued by U.S. Lifesavers.

On 7 July 1851, GALLINIPPER (wooden schooner, 95 foot, 145 tons, built in 1846 at Milwaukee on the hull of NANCY DOUSMAN) capsized and foundered in a white squall in Lake Mich. The wreck drifted to a point about 10 miles SSE of Manitowoc, where it sank.

1963: The Canadian coastal tanker SEEKONK first came to the Great Lakes in 1951 on charter to the British-American Oil Co. It was later part of the Irving fleet and caught fire in the galley at Charlottetown, PEI. The ship was pulled from the pier by CCG TUPPER and beached at Governor's Island. The blaze burned itself out but the SEEKONK was a total loss and was towed to Buctouche, NB, and scrapped in 1964. 1970: PRINSES EMILIA made 3 trips through the Seaway for the Oranje Lijn in 1967. It sank as c) BOULGARIA on this date 25 miles off Cherbourg, France, after a collision with the HAGEN in dense fog. The vessel was enroute from Hamburg to Istanbul and 17 on board were lost.

1978: The British freighter BEECHMORE began Great Lakes service in 1959 and returned as c) MANDRAKI in 1971 and d) NAFTILOS in 1973. It was sailing as f) MARI when fire broke out on a voyage from Rijeka, Yugoslavia, to Alexandria, Egypt, on July 7. The ship was beached near Dugi Otok Islands the next day and eventually abandoned. The hull was refloated in 1979 and taken to Split with scrapping getting underway on July 19, 1979

1981: CONDARRELL, upbound below Lock 2 of the Welland Canal, lost power and hit the wall, resulting in bow damage. The ship returned to Toronto for repairs but only finished the season before tying up. The vessel, built in 1953 as D.C. EVEREST, has been unofficially renamed K.R. ELLIOTT by International Marine Salvage.

[yachtsmanwilly]

7/10 - Ludington, Mich. – After more than eight years of planning and a $5.2 million dollar fundraising campaign – almost all of it local donations – the Great Lakes museum fraternity has a new addition. The Port of Ludington Maritime Museum opened to the public earlier this summer.

Exhibitions, stretched over three levels, tell the stories of schooners, railroad car ferries, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the many other maritime activities of the region. High tech installations that include holograms, a piloting simulator, and numerous hands-on experiences are getting the most attention. Executive director Dr. Rick Plummer and his team have also liberally leveraged artifacts of all descriptions, from lenses to life rings.

Using an army of volunteers, the museum will be open every day from 10 am-5 pm. Admission is $12.50 for adults, $11.50 for seniors, $9 for children 6-17 years, or $39 for a family ticket. For more information, call 231-843-4808 or visit the web: ludingtonmaritimemuseum.org

Association for Great Lakes Maritime History


On this day in 1979, Captain Thomas Small had his license for Master of Steam and Motor Vessel of any gross tonnage renewed at the St. Ignace Coast Guard Station. Captain Small, a retired Pittsburgh Steamship employee and 106 years of age, was the oldest person to be licensed and the issue number of his license is the highest ever issued by the Coast Guard 14-17 (14th masters license and 17th license as a pilot, mate, or master).

On July 10, 2005, noted marine photographer Paul Wiening passed away at his residence in Port Washington, Wisconsin.

G. A. TOMLINSON (Hull#370) was launched at the American Ship Building Co., Lorain, Ohio, on July 10, 1909, for the Douglas Steamship Co (J.J.H. Brown, mgr.), renamed b.) HENRY R. PLATT JR in 1959. The hull was used as a breakwater in Burlington Bay, Ontario, in 1971.

In 1998, the ALGOWEST was re-dedicated at Port Weller Dry Docks. The $20 million conversion of the ship to a self-unloader from a bulk-carrier was completed by 400 shipbuilders at Port Weller Dry Docks during the previous eight months. Renamed in 2001, she sails for Algoma today as b.) PETER R. CRESSWELL.

On 10 July 1866, COQUETTE (1-mast wooden scow-sloop, 90 foot, 140 tons, built in 1858, at Perry, Ohio as a schooner) capsized in a storm on Lake Michigan and was lost with her crew of four. She had originally been built for the U.S. Government.

On 10 July 1911, JOHN MITCHELL (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 420 foot, 4,468 gross tons, built in 1907, at St. Clair, Michigan) was carrying wheat off Whitefish Point on Lake Superior when she was rammed broadside by the coal-laden steel steamer WILLIAM HENRY MACK (steel propeller bulk freighter, 354 foot, 3781 gross tons, built in 1903, at Cleveland, Ohio). The MACK tried to keep her bow in the hole, but the MITCHELL still sank in 7 minutes. Quick work saved most of her crew and all 7 passengers. Three of the 34 onboard were lost. The MACK got most of the blame for the accident. The MITCHELL's wreck was discovered upside-down on the bottom in 1972. (Note: Bowling Green's database gives the date of this accident as 19 July 1911 and Dave Swayze's Shipwreck database gives the date as 10 July 1911.)

1930 YORKTON was beached with only the top of the pilothouse above water after a head-on collision in fog on Whitefish Bay with the MANTADOC. The ship was later salvaged and repaired at Collingwood.

1938 RAHANE ran aground on a shoal in the American Narrows of the St. Lawrence while downbound with steel, package freight and grain. Some cargo was removed by the lighter COBOURG and the ship was refloated with major bottom damage. The vessel last sailed on the lakes as A.A. HUDSON before departing for saltwater service in the fall of 1965.

[yachtsmanwilly]

On this day in 1962, the EDWARD L. RYERSON carried a record cargo of 24,445 tons of iron ore through the newly opened Rock Cut Channel. The new channel increased allowable depths by 26 inches to 25 feet 7 inches.

On this day in 1943, the new MacArthur Lock was formally opened to traffic. The first boat to lock through during the ceremonies was the upbound CARL D. BRADLEY, Captain F. F. Pearse. There were 250 dignitaries and passengers aboard the Bradley during the lockage. The first downbound vessel was the new Leon Fraser of the Pittsburgh Steamship fleet.

The INDIANA HARBOR was christened July 11, 1979.

On 11 July 1888, the 2-mast wooden schooner JOHN TIBBETS was carrying coal on Lake Erie when she foundered in the shallows near Clear Creek, 7 miles west of Port Rowan, Ontario and then broke up in the storm waves. Her crew made it to shore in the yawl. She was built in 1863, at Clayton, New York on the hull of the Canadian schooner PERSEVERANCE, which was originally built in 1855.

The PERSIA, a 150-foot passenger/package freight vessel, was launched at Melancthon Simpson's shipyard at St. Catharines, Ontario, on 11 July 1873. She was built at a cost of $37,000. She lasted until the 1920's when she was converted to a barge and then abandoned.

MONTEZUMA (3-mast wooden schooner-barge, 341 feet, 2,722 gross tons) was launched at the John Davidson shipyard (Hull #102) in West Bay City, Michigan, on 11 July 1903. She was one of the largest wooden vessels ever built. It was later stated in the press that the reason Davidson's last large vessels took so long to build was the difficulty in obtaining the required large oak timbers and their expense. As steel went down in price, wood went up, and Davidson's last hulls cost as much as comparably-sized steel ones. At the time of launching this vessel the Davidson shipyard announced that it would not build any more wooden freight vessels. 1915: CHOCTAW, enroute from Cleveland to Duluth with a cargo of coal, sank following a collision with the WAHCONDAH in foggy Lake Huron. All on board were saved.

1940: WILLIAM F. STIFEL ran aground in the St. Clair River near Port Lambton and was struck by the ALBERT E. HEEKIN. 1964: CHEMBARGE NO. 4, formerly a) JUDGE KENEFICK and b) H.J. McMANUS was towed out into Lake Huron by ATOMIC and ABURG and scuttled in deep water about 16 miles off Goderich after sulphuric acid began leaking into the bilges of the recently-converted tanker barge.

2007: CANADIAN NAVIGATOR lost power and went aground in mud off Courtright and six tugs were needed to pull the ship free.


7/11 - Cleveland, Ohio – The U.S. Coast Guard rescued 13 people and assisted 16 others over the past busy weekend across the Great Lakes.

In one instance, Coast Guard Station Buffalo launched a 25-foot response boat-small boatcrew in response to a notification of a person in the water near Bird Island Pier, Buffalo, New York, shortly after midnight Monday. Local fishermen had thrown the individual a net but were unable to get the person into their vessel. The Coast Guard rescued the exhausted individual and brought the survivor to Erie Basin Marina for medical evaluation.

In the remaining cases, the Coast Guard rescued or assisted boaters across the Great Lakes taking on water or beset by weather.

USCG

[yachtsmanwilly]

On this day in 1978, the keel for Hull #909 was laid at Toledo, Ohio, after Interlake Steamship and Republic Steel signed a 25-year haulage contract. Hull#909 was to be named WILLIAM J. DE LANCEY and renamed PAUL R. TREGURTHA in 1990.

On July 12, 2005, the DAY PECKINPAUGH, under tow of the tug BENJAMIN ELLIOT, departed the lakes through the New York State Barge Canal to Lockport, New York for a new life as a traveling history museum.

The BELLE RIVER, renamed b.) WALTER J. McCARTHY JR in 1990, was christened on July 12, 1977, as American Steamship's first thousand-footer and the first thousand-footer built at Bay Shipbuilding.

The H. M. GRIFFITH (Hull#203) was launched July 12, 1973, at Collingwood, Ontario by Collingwood Shipyards for Canada Steamship Lines. Rebuilt with a new cargo section in 2000, renamed b.) RT. HON. PAUL J. MARTIN.

In 1986, when ENDERS M. VOORHEES was chained together with her sisters, A.H. FERBERT and IRVING S. OLDS, a severe thunderstorm struck Duluth, Minnesota, pushing the trio across St. Louis Bay, eventually grounding them near Superior, Wisconsin. It was discovered that the force of the storm had pulled the bollards out of the Hallett Dock No. 5, thus releasing the ships.

On July 12, 1958, Upper Lakes Shipping Ltd.'s FRANK A. SHERMAN entered service, departing Port Weller Dry Docks, for Duluth and a load of iron ore on its maiden voyage.

On 12 July 1871, ADVANCE (wooden scow-schooner, 49 tons, built in 1847, at Fairport, Ohio), was bound for Detroit from Cleveland with a load of coal. She and the steamer U S GRANT collided near South Bass Island (Put-in-Bay) in Lake Erie and ADVANCE sank. Her crew escaped in the yawl.

On 12 July 1852, CITY OF OSWEGO (wooden propeller passenger-package freight vessel, 138 foot, 357 tons, built in 1852, at Buffalo, New York) collided with the steamer AMERICA and sank off Willoughby, Ohio, a few miles east of Cleveland. 15 lives were lost. This was CITY OF OSWEGO's first season of operation.

On 12 July 1889, T.H. ORTON (wooden barge, 262 gross tons, built in 1873, at Buffalo, New York) anchored off Marblehead, Ohio on Lake Erie to ride out a storm. She dragged her anchors and was driven ashore where she was declared a total wreck. She was recovered and just two years later, at the same place, this incident was repeated.

1909 The ore laden JOHN B. COWLE (i) was struck amidships by the ISAAC M. SCOTT off Whitefish Point, Lake Superior, and sank with the reported loss of 11 lives. 1917: GEORGE N. ORR was wrecked at Savage Point in the Strait of Northumberland, Prince Edward Island, on her way to New York City and wartime saltwater service. The vessel had been cut in two and towed from the lakes to be rejoined at Montreal. 1969: The deep-sea tug MISSISSIPPI arrived at Bilbao, Spain, with the lakers DONNACONA (ii) and BEN E. TATE, for scrapping.

1977: The stern section of the former canaller BIRCHTON was raised at Halifax after the two parts, which had been created for use as pontoons in the construction of offshore drilling platforms, sank at the dock.

1985: MONTY PYTHON first visited the Great Lakes as a) MONTE ZALAMA in 1970. It returned as b) MONTY PYTHON after being renamed in 1985. The ship drifted aground in the St. Lawrence off La Ronde while loading scrap at Montreal and had to be lightered to P.S. BARGE NO. 1 before floating free on July 18. This saltwater vessel was sold for scrap before the year was out and arrived at Dalian, China, on November 3, 1985, to be dismantled.