Today in Great Lakes History

[yachtsmanwilly]

7/27 - There’s more than just fish and sand in the Great Lakes. According to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Michigan, there are over 6,000 shipwrecks in the lakes – and an estimated 30,000 lives lost.

About 13 miles from Cleveland, the tug boat Admiral sits on the bottom of Lake Erie. It sank in a storm in December of 1942, and its entire crew, 14 men, died. The 18 men on the Cleveco, the oil barge it was towing also died.

Carrie Sowden, archeological director for the National Museum of the Great Lakes, is taking a group of volunteer divers out to the Admiral to help with a site survey.

“What we're trying to do is take a snapshot of what's down there at the moment, to get an understanding of how the boat lies, what remains of the vessels are left, what has fallen apart, what hasn't. Any clues to what may or may not have happened the night that it sank,” she says.

Listen to the story and view photos at this link: radio.wosu.org/post/divers-chronicle-great-lakes-shipwreck-left-32-dead#stream/0


On 27 July 1884, ALBERTA (steel propeller passenger/package freight vessel, 264 foot, 2,282 gross tons, built in 1883, at Whiteinch, Scotland, by C. Connell & Co.) collided in fog six miles north north west of Whitefish Point on Lake Superior with the JOHN M. OSBORNE (wooden propeller "steam barge", 178 foot, 891 tons, built in 1882, at Marine City, Michigan. The OSBORNE had two barges in tow at the time. ALBERTA stayed in the gash until most of OSBORNE's crew scrambled aboard, then pulled out and the OSBORNE sank. ALBERTA sank in shallow water, 3 1/2 miles from shore. 3 or 4 lives were lost from the OSBORNE, one from ALBERTA in brave rescue attempt while trying to get the crewmen off the OSBORNE. This was ALBERTA's first year of service. She was recovered and repaired soon afterward. She was the sister of the ill-fated ALGOMA which was lost in her first year of service. The wreck of the OSBORNE was located in 1984, 100 years after this incident.

On 27 July 1900, the steel freighter RENSSELAER (Hull#402) was launched in Cleveland, Ohio, by the American Ship building Co. for the Pittsburgh Steamship Company.

1897 – SELWYN EDDY and MARIPOSA collided head-on in dense fog off Manitou Island, Lake Superior. The damage was light, as both ships were proceeding slowly due to the conditions.

1912 – G. WATSON FRENCH, later the first ALGOWAY, was in a collision with the MATAAFA in Lake St. Clair and the latter was heavily damaged and almost sank.

1931 – The Canada Steamship Lines bulk canaller BARRIE went aground at Les Ecureuils Shoal in the St. Lawrence while enroute to Quebec City.

1944 – The FORT PERROT was damaged by a torpedo in the English Channel south of Hastings, while providing support for the ongoing invasion of Normandy and the liberation of Europe. As c) DORION, this ship made two trips to the Great Lakes in 1959. The vessel was scrapped at Yokohama, Japan, as e) ANTONIOS S. after arriving on June 17, 1963.

1987 – The ANDREW H. went aground off Cornwall Island, in the St. Lawrence, after experiencing steering problems. The ship, loaded with steel for Dofasco in Hamilton, was lightered by MAPLEHEATH and released on August 2. The cargo was reloaded at Valleyfield. The ship first came inland as EKTOR in 1976. It arrived at Alang, India, for scrapping as e) BLUEWEST on January 31, 1998.

1999 – The SPIRIT OF 98 went aground on a rock in the Gulf of Alaska 40 miles southeast of Juneau, forcing the passengers to abandon the ship. Flooding was checked and the ship released and repaired. As c) VICTORIAN EMPRESS, the ship saw passenger service on the St. Lawrence and came into the Great Lakes to Lake Ontario beginning in 1990.

[yachtsmanwilly]

7/28 - If you've ever wanted to buy a lighthouse, now is your chance. The U.S. General Services Administration has announced that four Michigan lighthouses are for sale. They are the Detroit River Light, Fourteen Foot Shoal Light, Lansing Shoal Light and Poe Reef Light. The sale is part of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act.

9&10 News


7/28 - St. Clair, Mich. – The longest freighter on the Great Lakes is the Paul R. Tregurtha at 1,013 feet and six inches, which regularly traverses the St. Clair River hauling coal and iron ore. But how long is 1,013 feet really?

“A thousand feet is a long ways,” said Chrissy Gorzen, a member of the St. Clair Historical Commission.

Gorzen is about to show visitors to St. Clair’s Palmer Park the length of contemporary and historical Great Lakes ships by physically marking off their sizes in increments along the boardwalk. The St. Clair City Council recently approved the test project to be painted on the boardwalk this summer. The boardwalk is scheduled to be replaced next spring.

“At the museum, I design the maritime room and set it up and when children come in, I love teaching them about ships that were built in St. Clair, ships in general and the common freighter nowadays — what’s on the water, what it might be carrying, how to tell the difference between a laker and a salty,” Gorzen told the St. Clair City Council at its regular meeting on July 17.

Gorzen’s demarcation of ship lengths would begin near the St. Clair Garden Club’s perennial garden, where there is a jog in the seawall, and proceed south toward the Voyageur restaurant. “I thought we could start there and mark off different lengths, so eventually (visitors) would walk 1,013 feet,” said Gorzen.

A number of ships were built in St. Clair, beginning around 1820 and continuing for a century. Those ships could be marked along the boardwalk, too.

“At 133 feet, you might see the Agnes Potter,” said Gorzen. “It carried stone for the Cleveland breakwater in 1880.” At 140 feet, you might see the Nipigon, built in St. Clair in 1883; at 151 feet, the Langell Boys, built in town in 1890; and at 440 feet, the freighter Normania, built in St. Clair in 1908 with a carrying capacity of 7,500 tons.

At 1,000 feet, visitors might see the Indiana Harbor, built in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, launched in 1979 and still working the lakes.

“I wanted to do it now so that, if it does go over well, when we have the new boards on the boardwalk, maybe we could do little plaques or something,” said Gorzen. “Right now, I would just paint in on.”

“Basically, the idea is that we’re going to try this out and when we replace the boardwalk, hopefully next spring, then we’ll come back and revisit the issue and see what we think about it,” said Mayor Bill Cedar.

Besides their names, where would visitors find the other information about the boats? asked council member Tom McCartney.

Some of it could be displayed in the showcase bulletin board in the park, Gorzen said. Other information could be posted on the city’s website or the historical museum’s website or Facebook page.

The Downtown Development Authority constructed historical markers along Clinton Avenue that visitors can scan with their cell phones to pull up the history of the local Langell Shipyard or specific ships built in St. Clair, said McCartney. Would something like that be possible? That could be considered for the permanent project if the trial project works well, said Gorzen.

The council unanimously supported Gorzen’s project by voice vote.

The Voice


On July 28, 1973, the ROGER M. KYES (Hull#200) was christened at Toledo, Ohio by American Ship Building Co. by Mrs. Roger Kyes for the American Steamship Co. Renamed b.) ADAM E. CORNELIUS in 1989.

B.A. PEERLESS (Hull#148) was launched July 28, 1952, at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. for British American Transportation Co. Ltd. Renamed b.) GULF CANADA in 1969, and c.) COASTAL CANADA in 1984.

The JOHN T. HUTCHINSON was delivered on July 28th to the Buckeye Steamship Co. (Hutchinson & Co., mgr.), Cleveland. The HUTCHINSON 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. The vessel was the ninth Maritimer and fourth of the six L6-S-Al types delivered. "L6" meant the vessel was built for the Great Lakes and was 600 to 699 feet in length. The "S" stood for steam power and "Al" identified specific design features.

On 28 July 1854, BOSTON (wooden propeller, 134 foot, 259 tons, built in 1847, at Ohio City, Ohio) was bound from Chicago for Ogdensburg, New York, with pork, corn, whiskey and produce. On Lake Ontario, about 20 miles off Oak Orchard, New York, she collided with the bark PLYMOUTH and sank in about 20 minutes. No lives were lost. The crew and passengers made it to shore in three lifeboats. The boat that the captain was in sailed 50 miles to Charlotte, New York.

In 1900, the freighter PRINCETON (Hull#302) was launched at Lorain, Ohio, by American Ship Building Co. for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.

On 28 July 1862, CONVOY (2-mast wooden schooner, 130 foot, 367 tons, built in 1855, at Buffalo, New York) was sailing downbound on a dark night on Lake Erie with 18,000 bushels of wheat when she collided with the empty bark SAM WARD and sank quickly in 12 fathoms of water. Her wreck drifted along the bottom and during the shipping season several vessels collided with her.

1922 – The wooden passenger and freight carrier CARIBOU went aground in the North Channel of Georgian Bay near Richards Landing.

1923 – The wooden steamer W.J. CARTER, enroute from Oswego to Cobourg with a cargo of coal, began leaking and sank in Lake Ontario 20 miles south of Point Peter. Nine crewmembers were rescued by the KEYPORT.

1929 – The newly-built canaller C.H. HOUSON was in a collision with the collier WABANA off Cap au Saumon on the St. Lawrence in heavy fog. The investigation of the accident was critical of the operation of both vessels. The former served in the Misener fleet, becoming b) PAUL MANION in 1949, and was scrapped at Deseronto, Ontario, in 1961.

1949 – NORMAN J. KOPMEIER was holed by an underwater obstruction entering Muskegon with a cargo of coal from Chicago. The vessel had to be beached and almost capsized. It was later refloated and repaired. The ship last sailed as e) PINEDALE in 1976 and was scrapped at Hamilton in 1981.

1961 – After loading a cargo of scrap steel for Japan on its first visit to the Great Lakes, the Greek freighter MIHALIS ANGELOS ran aground leaving Toronto harbor. The ship had been one of the “Empire Class” ships of World War Two, being built as a) EMPIRE MASEFIELD. It arrived at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for scrapping as f) GLORIA on December 6, 1967.

[yachtsmanwilly]

On this day in 1948, in a total elapsed time of 19 hours, the JAMES DAVIDSON of the Tomlinson fleet unloaded 13,545 tons of coal at the Berwind Dock in Duluth and loaded 14,826 tons of ore at the Allouez Dock in Superior.

On this day in 1955, Al A. Wolf, the first Chief Engineer of a Great Lakes freighter powered by a 7,000 hp engine, retired as Chief Engineer of the WILFRED SYKES. Chief Wolf started as an oiler on the POLYNESIA in 1911, became Chief Engineer in 1921, and brought out the SYKES in 1948.

Sea trials took place for the JAMES R. BARKER this day in 1976. She was to become Interlake's first 1000 footer and the flagship of the fleet for Moore McCormack Leasing, Inc. (Interlake Steamship Co., Cleveland, Ohio, mgr.). She was built at a cost of more than $43 million under Title XI of the Merchant Marine Act of 1970. She was the third thousand-footer to sail on the Lakes and the first built entirely on the Lakes.

On July 31, 1974, the Liberian vessel ARTADI approached the dock at Trois Rivires, Que. where she damaged the docked GORDON C. LEITCH's stern.

The CEDARBRANCH was damaged and sunk by an explosion on July 31, 1965, several miles below Montreal, Quebec resulting in a loss of one life. Repaired and lengthened in 1965, she was renamed b.) SECOLA in 1978, and c.) KITO MARU in 1979, and scrapped at Brownsville, Texas, in 1985.

On 31 July 1849, ACORN (wooden schooner, 84 foot, 125 tons, built in 1842, at Black River, Ohio) was struck amidships by the propeller TROY near West Sister Island in Lake Erie. She sank quickly, but no lives were lost since all hands made it to the TROY.

On 31 July 1850, AMERICA (wooden side-wheeler, 240 foot, 1,083 tons, built in 1847, at Port Huron, Michigan) suffered a boiler or steam pipe explosion while sailing on Lake Erie. The explosion immediately killed nine persons and scalded others who died later. The vessel was repaired and sailed for three more seasons.


July 30, 1996 - CSL's self-unloader H.M. GRIFFITH, which was off Whitefish Bay in Lake Superior, and bound for Nanticoke, Ontario, with a load of 22,775 tons of western coal, had a spontaneous combustion fire in her number 2 cargo hold. Water was used to cool the fire and the GRIFFITH used her unloading boom to dump 3,000 tons of coal into Lake Superior. After an inspection by the USCG at the Soo the following day, revealed only minor damage, the vessel was cleared to proceed on her journey. Reconstructed and renamed b.) RT HON PAUL J. MARTIN in 2000.

This News Page on the BoatNerd site was launched in 1996, reporting the coal fire aboard the GRIFFITH.

GORDON C. LEITCH (Hull#36) was launched July 30, 1952, at Midland, Ontario, by Canadian Shipbuilding & Engineering Ltd. for the Upper Lakes & St. Lawrence Transportation Co. Ltd., Toronto, Ontario.

The Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker C.C.G.S. ALEXANDER HENRY entered service July 30, 1959. Since 1985, the HENRY has served as a museum in Kingston, Ontario.

On 30 July 1871, the 162-foot bark HARVEY BISSELL was carrying lumber from Toledo to Tonawanda, New York. When she was on the Western end of Lake Erie, she sprang a leak. Although the crew worked the hand-powered pumps constantly, the water kept gaining at a rate of about a foot an hour. The tug KATE WILLIAMS took her in tow, intending to get her to Detroit to be repaired, but this proved impossible. So the BISSELL was towed close to Point Pelee and allowed to sink in 14 feet of water. The WILLIAMS then left for Detroit to get steam pumps and other salvage equipment. On returning, they pumped out the BISSELL, refloated and repaired her. She lasted until 1905.

On 30 July 1872, the Port Huron Dry Dock launched SANDY, a lighter. Her dimensions were 75 feet x 20 feet x 5 feet.

On 30 July 1873, George Hardison of Detroit announced the beginning of a new shipyard in Port Huron, Michigan. It would be located above the 7th Street Bridge on the Black River on land owned by J. P. Haynes, accessible by River Street. Within 30 days of this announcement, the new yard had orders for two canalers three-and-aft rig for delivery in the spring of 1874. Their dimensions were to be 146 feet overall, 139 feet ¬keel, 26 foot beam and 11 foot 6 inches depth.

On 30 July 1866, CITY OF BUFFALO (wooden propeller, 340 foot, 2,026 tons, built in 1857, at Buffalo, New York as a side-wheeler) was unloading 72,000 bushels of wheat at the Sturgis Elevator at Buffalo, New York, when arsonists set fire to the complex. The fire destroyed the wharf, the elevator, several businesses and the ship. The arsonists were caught. Incidentally, the CITY OF BUFFALO was converted from a passenger side-wheeler to a propeller freighter during the winter of 1863-64. After the conversion, she was dubbed "the slowest steam-craft on the Lakes".


OTTERCLIFFE HALL cleared Lauzon, Quebec, July 29, 1969 on her maiden voyage as the last "straight deck" Great Lakes bulk freighter built with a pilothouse forward.

While at the Manitowoc Ship Building Co. for general repairs and engine overhaul, the CITY OF SAGINAW 31 caught fire on July 29, 1971, 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. She was not repaired. The CITY OF SAGINAW 31 was sold to Marine Salvage Ltd., Port Colborne, Ontario, for scrapping.

On July 29, 1974 the W.W. HOLLOWAY grounded in Lake St. Clair off the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club while running downbound with stone. Lightering into the J.F. SCHOELKOPF JR was necessary before she was freed by four tugs on July 31st.

ENDERS M. VOORHEES departed Great Lakes Engineering Works, River Rouge, Michigan, on her maiden voyage July 29, 1942, bound for Duluth, Minnesota, to load iron ore. She was the second of five "Supers" for the Pittsburgh fleet to enter service.

July 29, 1974 - PERE MARQUETTE 21 was towed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to be reduced to a barge.

The steam barge MARY ROBERTSON burned near Mackinac on 29 July 1872. Her crew escaped to a schooner-barge they were towing.

The MATERIAL SERVICE foundered in a heavy summer gale in 1936, off the South Chicago lighthouse. She was a canal motor barge not designed for open-lake use.

The side-wheel river steamer DOMINION burned to the water's edge at her dock in the Thames River near Chatham, Ontario, on 29 July 1875. She was built in 1867, at Wallaceburg, Ontario.

1912 – REPUBLIC stranded at Point Louise in the St. Marys River and sustained bottom damage.

1930 – The sandsucker GEORGE J. WHALEN capsized and sank off Dunkirk, N.Y., in heavy seas and 15 sailors perished. Only 6 were rescued and taken aboard the AMASA STONE.

1942 – The first PRESCODOC was torpedoed and sunk by U-160 off Georgetown, British Guiana, with the loss of 15 lives. The bauxite-laden steamer went down quickly, bow first, while enroute to Trinidad and only 5 were saved.

1943 – LOCKWELL and KEYBELL collided above Bridge 11 of the Welland Canal. The former was repaired at Port Dalhousie with $13,450 in damages.

1946 – TEAKBAY went aground on Featherbed Shoal off Carleton Island in the St. Lawrence while bound for Montreal with a load of coal. This member of the C.S.L. fleet was released, with the aid of tugs, the next day and proceeded to Kingston for repairs.

1971 – While undergoing a major refit at Manitowoc, fire broke out aboard the CITY OF SAGINAW 31 destroying the top deck and accommodation area. The damage was listed as between $450,000 and $700,000 and the vessel became a total loss. It was towed to Castellon, Spain, for scrapping.

1979 – The Cayman Islands registered QUIDNET came through the Seaway in 1978 but sank, in a collision with the SEA TIDE at Mamei Curve in the Panama Canal while enroute from Callao, Peru, to Trinidad. The hull was abandoned as a total loss and had to be cut in two before being towed away to a dumping ground. The ship had also been a Great Lakes visitor as b) LUDMILLA C. in 1968.

1993 – The second FEDERAL SCHELDE to visit the Great Lakes was built in 1977 and came inland that year on its maiden voyage with sugar for Montreal and Toronto. The ship received major bow damage after striking the ARARAT in the Orinoco River of Venezuela. It went to Hamburg, Germany, for repairs and resumed service. It became b) TRIAS in 1994 and continued Seaway service until 1999. The ship arrived at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, for scrapping on December 12, 2000


7/29 - Algoma Central is searching for qualified senior officers for our dry-bulk and tanker fleets.

Chief Mate positions are available on our dry bulk fleet and 2nd Engineers are needed in our tanker fleet. Algoma offers a competitive wage and compensation package to shipboard employees. In order to be considered for these Chief Mate positions candidates must posses a minimum of Chief Mate, Near Coastal and for engineer positions, candidates must possess a minimum of a 2nd Class Engineer, Motor Certificate and Advanced (Specialized) Oil Tanker endorsement.

If you are interested in a seagoing career with Algoma and meet the profile described within please submit your resume in confidence to Human Resources at [e-mail]. Algoma Central Corporation encourages applications from designated group members identified under the Federal Employment Equity Act. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.


7/29 - Washington, D.C. – A bipartisan group of Congress members from Michigan are urging the U.S. Department of Commerce to maintain the size of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Huron, which is lumped into a review of protected ocean areas that President Donald Trump ordered with the goal of expanding offshore oil and gas drilling.

Michigan's U.S. House Republicans Dave Trott, Jack Bergman and Fred Upton joined Democrats Brenda Lawrence, Dan Kildee and Debbie Dingell on the letter to Trump's Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, which was also signed by Michigan's two U.S. Senate Democrats, Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters.

"We strongly urge you to maintain the expanded boundaries of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary," wrote the lawmakers. "Michigan depends on its marine sanctuary to support the rural and coastal communities of northeast Michigan and preserve this unique area and cultural artifacts for future generations."

Read more and view photos at this link: www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/07/thunder_bay_defenders.html


7/29 - N. Manitou Island, Mich. – As cleanup and renovation jobs go, this one will be a doozy. But its work crews will have some of the best views in Northern Michigan.

The North Manitou Shoal Light, sold at government auction to the highest bidder last year, is seeing its first flurry of activity in decades. The lighthouse sits in Lake Michigan off the coast of Leland, where for years it warned ships away from the dangerous shallow shoals of the Manitou Island passage.

A nonprofit group that formed specifically to purchase the light announced earlier this month that restoration work has already begun on the historic structure, with an eye toward opening it to public tours and viewing on July 4, 2021.

Read more and view a photo gallery at this link: www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/07/manitou_island_lighthouse_sold.html


7/29 - Chicago, Ill. – I knew we had to get to the front of the barge. Cameraman Tom Siegel and I had been riding all day on the tugboat Kimberly Selvick. We interviewed Captain Larry Van Dusen and filmed as he and his two-man crew did the challenging and skilled work of moving barges on the Calumet River.

One thing we learned was that when a barge is attached to the tug and moving down the river, one deckhand rides at the front of the barge to offer the captain an extra set of eyes. As they pass other barges or bridges, deckhand Bill Hruska radios the caption. “Fifteen wide,” he might say, then “Ten” and “Five” to help the captain know distance from the barge to an obstacle.

We heard Hruska radio the information to the captain, but if we wanted to film him doing that part of his job, we had to make the long walk ourselves – roughly 200 feet as the barge moved down the river. We’d seen the deckhands do it. The ledge was narrow, but they seemed to walk comfortably. And we were wearing life vests!

So we ventured out. The only thing to hold on to was the top of the empty, but coal-dust-covered, barge. Luckily Siegel had brought a camera much smaller and lighter than the typical Chicago Tonight news camera. But, still, this was not the kind of casual stroll we’d seen the deckhands making all day. We moved slowly and got filthy, but we made it to the front and got the shot.

We also got to see the remarkable view back at the tugboat’s pilothouse, peering over the massive, empty barge.

Spending the day with a tugboat crew was a remarkable experience. Adding a little fear and coal dust only made it more memorable.

See the video at this link: chicagotonight.wttw.com/2017/07/27/day-chicago-tugboat-crew#.WXshHLjpMmJ.facebook


7/30 - The Buffalo News recently posted a series of photos of the former Great Lakes passenger vessel Columbia, which is now in New York state awaiting restoration. View the images at this link: galleries.buffalonews.com/default.aspx?id=8808#/28


7/30 - Port McNicoll, Ont. – The SS Keewatin isn’t going anywhere. Ever since Skyline Investments sold its 334-hectares along the Port McNicoll waterfront, rumours have been swirling about what might happen with the historic ship. Eric Conroy has squashed those rumors.

“My plan is to stay here. I didn’t go to all that trouble to build that million-dollar dock to move,” said Conroy. “We have no plans to do anything other than what we have been doing,”

Conroy, president and CEO of the Friends of the Keewatin, , a charitable foundation established in 2012 when the ship was brought back to Port McNicoll, says the ship has been averaging 10,000 visitors a year since it came back into the Port McNicoll harbour in 2012.

In early July, a brand new dock was unveiled in front of the Keewatin down at 453 Talbot Street. The dock is just one of the many projects the Friends of the Keewatin has undertaken over the past six years to improve the ship. “This has very much been a community project,” said Conroy.

Volunteers are currently working on repainting the entire ship. The far side of the Keewatin will be repainted over the course of the summer months, before the dock side of the vessel gets a new coat in the fall. All of the hard work from the foundation and its many volunteers has paid off.

In 2012, Skyline invested a total of $2.5 million to purchase the ship, get it seaworthy and tow it from Michigan to its current location.

“Last year we had it appraised by the Smithsonian’s marine division and they appraised it at $32.5 million,” said Conroy. Part of the reason its value is so high is due to its deep, often unknown, connection to Canadian history.

Simcoe.com


7/31 - Buffalo. N.Y. – The tattered SS Columbia looks like a ghost ship. The three-deck steamboat that last transported passengers a quarter-century ago between Detroit and an amusement park in Canada now sits docked on the Buffalo River in the middle of the old grain silos.

Peeling paint, rotted wood and rust mark the once-gleaming boat. The ballroom on the second deck could have staged the ballroom-dancing ghouls in the cult classic “Carnival of Souls.”

The boat arrived here about two years ago to undergo restoration. When the crew’s work is eventually completed – 2023 or 2024 is the current timeline – the plan is for the boat to once again carry on open waters. But not here or elsewhere on Lake Erie.

“The whole mission of the project is to restore the tradition of the day-liners, that grand tradition of excursion boats on the Hudson River,” said Liz McEnaney, an architectural and urban historian who serves as executive director of the SS Columbia Project.

The steam engine is also envisioned as a teaching lab for science and math students, and a floating platform for arts and cultural programming.

“This is a regional story of generations who remember what it was like to be on these boats, escape the city and see the shoreline slipping away without a care in the world,” McEnaney said. “It was more about the journey than the destination. This was the vehicle for escape.”

Before the boat can return to the water, more money will be needed. The cost is pegged at $18 million, with just $4.4 million raised to date. Those funds have been used to scrape 2 tons of zebra mussels off the hull below the waterline, shore up decks, clean the engine room and remove asbestos.

Most of the restoration work will be done in a Kingston boatyard. To prepare for its planned transport in 2019, the ship is being stabilized in Buffalo.

But step aboard, and the boat reveals its aging beauty, from her long corridors and ornate mahogany markings, to the old-school engine room, a deck level below water.

Read more and view photos at this link: buffalonews.com/2017/07/29/steamboat-past-charges-future/

[Avenger]

Jul 31, 2017 4:54:03 GMT -5 yachtsmanwilly said:

.

While at the Manitowoc Ship Building Co. for general repairs and engine overhaul, the CITY OF SAGINAW 31 caught fire on July 29, 1971, 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. She was not repaired. The CITY OF SAGINAW 31 was sold to Marine Salvage Ltd., Port Colborne, Ontario, for scrapping.



1971 – While undergoing a major refit at Manitowoc, fire broke out aboard the CITY OF SAGINAW 31 destroying the top deck and accommodation area. The damage was listed as between $450,000 and $700,000 and the vessel became a total loss. It was towed to Castellon, Spain, for scrapping.

What do we think, phantom ship and multiple insurance claims?

[yachtsmanwilly]

Don't proof this shit at 0500. Probably went to Port Colborne and the on to Spain. ws

[yachtsmanwilly]

8/1 - Port Huron, Mich. - On July 2, a recreational fisherman purposely impeded two downbound vessels at Huron Cut Buoys 1 & 2 in Port Huron, causing both vessels to take extreme evasive action. One was an oceangoing vessel under guidance of an American pilot, and the other following behind was the Lee A. Tregurtha. The boater purposely ignored danger signals and maneuvered into the path of the Tregurtha as it was taking action to avoid it. The boater screamed obscenities to both ship captains and told one to get out of "his" channel.



fish.jpg (85437 bytes)While boaters and commercial ship incidents are nothing new, this one is particularly disturbing in that the boater was intentionally trying to impede the ships with malice. Lakes Pilots Association is addressing this and offering a $200 reward to help find this fisherman. If anyone knows the identity of the fisherman, or the registration number of this boat that leads to the positive identification of the boat owner, please email [e-mail] or call [phone].

The boat is described as a 16 foot, grey or white aluminum vessel with a starboard console, walk-through windshield with black accent stripe below deck edge, vintage 40 to 60 HP Johnson outboard with orange stripe, black electric trolling motor on bow and two fishing nets upright.

It seems the problems with fisherman are increasing. Lakes Pilots is hosting a meeting with USCG Sector Detroit, Station Port Huron, US and Canadian police authorities and some local sportfishing associations at its office on Aug. 8 to discuss the problem and possible remedies.

Lakes Pilot Association



8/1 - Detroit, Mich. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, has awarded a contract for major construction repairs at the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. The contract for almost $2.4 million to replace Poe Lock quoin and miter blocks was awarded to Morrish-Wallace Construction Inc., of Cheboygan, Mich., (d.b.a.) Ryba Marine Construction.

Ryba Marine will replace crucial aging and deteriorating infrastructure at the Soo Locks. This contract involves removing existing miter blocks and quoin blocks, then fabricating and replacing these steel blocks on Gates 1 and 3 of the Poe Lock at the St. Marys River navigational locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

“The Poe Lock provides a critical connection for navigation between the upper and lower Great Lakes,” said Lt. Col. Dennis Sugrue, district engineer. “Repairs like this are necessary to maintain reliable functionality of the Poe Lock gates. We are pleased to award this contract that helps to achieve our vision of a reliable and resilient Great Lakes Navigation System.”

This key priority project will be performed during the winter shutdown of the Soo Locks facility from January to mid-March 2018 with completion by June 2018.

The quoin block is a square, relatively flat block placed at the interface between the gate and the wall. Miter blocks are a similar block placed on each gate leaf where the gates contact each other. The gates are large doors that seal off the lock chamber from the upper and lower canal. These gates, called miter gates, when closed meet at an angle like a chevron with the pressure from the water level keeping the gates closed.




In 1862, UNION (wooden propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 163 foot, 434 ton, built in 1861, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin) was sold by the Goodrich Line to James H. Mead and J. F. Kirkland for $28,000. This was $9,000 more than Goodrich had paid to have the vessel built just the previous year.

On August 1, 1982, the Canadian tanker L’ERABLE NO 1 entered service. Renamed b.) HUBERT GAUCHER in 1982. Sold foreign in 1996, renamed c.) RODIN and d.) OLYMPIC PRIDE in 2000.

August 1957 - The PERE MARQUETTE 18 of 1911 was sold to Luria Brothers, Chicago scrap merchants, along with the PERE MARQUETTE 14.

On 1 August 1871, the construction of the canal through the St. Clair Flats was finished at a cost of $365,000. It was the first real channel built to help ships through the shallow waters where the St. Clair River empties into Lake St. Clair and where there are seven mouths or passes. It took the Canadian contractor John Brown three years to dig the channel that measures 300 feet wide and 8,421 feet long. The water was 18 feet deep. It was protected on most of its sides by piers and dikes. The new channel was considered too small even as it was being dug. At only 300 feet wide, tows of log rafts were encouraged to sue the old shallower channels. Within 20 years, plans were made to deepen the channel to 20 feet.

On 1 August 1849, CHICAGO (wooden passenger/package freight vessel, 95 foot, 151 tons, built in 1842, at Oswego, New York) burned in Buffalo harbor. No lives were lost.

1911 – Seven lives were lost when the wooden passenger ship SIRIUS capsized and sank in the St. Lawrence 8 miles from Massena, N.Y. There were 75 passengers on board headed for a picnic when the accident occurred. Apparently, many passengers had rushed to one side of the ship to see a woodchuck as the ship was turning in the current and this led to the ship going over.

1951 – The first SAGUENAY to sail for Canada Steamship Lines was built at Govan, Scotland, in 1913 for service between Quebec City and Saguenay River ports. It left Canada for the Far East as b) KIANG YONG in 1946 and became c) YANGTSE PHOENIX in 1949. The vessel dragged her anchors while riding out a typhoon near Tai Po, Hong Kong, on this date in 1951, went aground and was wrecked.

1969 – The British freighter HOPERIDGE made two trips to the Great Lakes in 1959. It sank on this date in 1969 as b) BETHLEHEM due to a collision with the SHOWA MARU while about 30 miles from Singapore. The ship was enroute from Tokyo to Aden and 7 of the crew were lost.

[Avenger]

I wonder how much alcohol was involved. I'm guessing quite a bit.

[yachtsmanwilly]

If I was fishing or dead in the water, with two big ships bearing down on me in a channel, Id have been paddling like and idiot with my hands even, to clear the way... ws

[skycheney]

Aug 1, 2017 12:30:58 GMT -5 yachtsmanwilly said:

If I was fishing or dead in the water, with two big ships bearing down on me in a channel, Id have been paddling like and idiot with my hands even, to clear the way... ws

Just run em over. That will eventually alleviate the problem.

[yachtsmanwilly]

The LEE A. would've sucked them in and spit hem out!

8/2 - The Lake Superior water level continues its fourth year of rising. As the water level rises on Lake Superior, it comes closer to the monthly record water level. In July 2017, Lake Superior fell just short of its July record high water level.

In July 2017 the Lake Superior average was 602.85 feet. This number doesn't represent a water depth. It is a height measurement that is used to compare to water levels in other months and other years. It would be similar to if you put some markings on the side of your bathtub.

Read more, and view a water level chart at this link


8/2 - Cleveland, Ohio – The U.S. Coast Guard is scheduled to hold a change-of-command ceremony for its 9th District which encompasses the five Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway and eight states in the surrounding region, at Windows on the River, downtown Cleveland, Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Vice Adm. Karl L. Schultz, Coast Guard Atlantic Area commander, will preside over the ceremony to transfer command of the 9th District from Rear Adm. June E. Ryan to Rear Adm. Joanna Nunan. A retirement ceremony will be held for Rear Adm. June Ryan immediately following the change of command, which will be presided over by Adm. Paul F. Zukunft, commandant, U.S. Coast Guard.

USCG


8/2 - Goderich, Ont. – Preparations to demolish the Huron County Marine Museum at the foot of West St. in Goderich are underway this week. CAO Larry McCabe says the museum is owned by the town, but was operated by the county.

Earlier this year the county determined the number of visitors and the costs of bringing it up to current standards didn’t justify keeping it open.

McCabe says the town conducted a hazardous study on the building and found lead paint and asbestos in the building, and a decision was made by council to demolish the structure. McCabe says the cost will be around $60,000 and will be paid by the town.

McCabe adds discussions are underway with representatives of industry along the waterfront on the future of the land, and it could very well fit into the town’s waterfront master plan. However, there are no immediate plans at this time.

Blackburn News


8/2 - Grand Haven, Mich. – Thousands of people lined the Grand Haven channel to usher in five Coast Guard ships Monday as part of the annual Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival. Families of all sizes and people of all ages stood near the channel as the ships sailed in from Lake Michigan. The five ships included the USCGC Bristol Bay, USCGC Biscayne Bay, USCGC Alder, USCGC Mackinaw and CCGS Constable Carriere from Canada.

The ships serve as tug boats, multi-mission buoy tenders to ice breakers, among other duties. The vessels also ranged in size from 140 feet to 240 feet in length. The crowd waved and cheered upon arrival of the ships whose crew members waved back and sounded their horns creating a family geared atmosphere.

"We've been doing this for close to 20 years," said Grand Haven resident Larry Dutkiewicz, 62, who was at the event with his grandchildren. "It's just a fun thing to kick off the week of Coast Guard."

The Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival runs through Sunday, Aug. 6.

Read more and view photos at this link: www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2017/07/spectators_welcome_gigantic_co.html


On August 2, 1991, Paterson's 1961-built lake bulk carrier CANADOC, which had been in lay-up in Montreal since April 6, 1990, and sold for scrapping, cleared the port in tow of the Netherlands Antilles tug DALMAR SPIRIT, bound for Mamonal, Columbia, arriving there on August 26, 1991.

On this day in 1880, the new Goodrich propeller CITY OF LUDINGTON was launched at Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The CITY OF LUDINGTON was 170 feet loa x 35 feet x 11 feet, had 44 staterooms and a salon. She was built at a cost of $90,000. The CITY OF LUDINGTON was partially dismantled at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin in 1930-1931, and the hull was towed to Big Summer Island, Lake Michigan in 1933, for use as a breakwall.

On the morning of 02 August 1869, Deputy U. S. Marshall Insley sold at auction the scow AGNES HEAD to pay for debts incurred when she was repaired that spring by Mr. Muir and Mr. Stewart. Bidding started at $500 and ran very lively. Mr. John Stewart of Detroit purchased the vessel for $1,050. The AMERICAN MARINER (Hull#723) was launched on August 2, 1979, at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin by Bay Shipbuilding Co. for the Connecticut Bank & Trust Co., (American Steamship Co., Buffalo, New York, mgr.). She was to be named CHICAGO, but that name was removed before launch.

The U.S. Coast Guard's report on the sinking of the EDMUND FITZGERALD was released on August 2, 1977. It cited faulty hatch covers, lack of watertight cargo hold bulkheads and damage caused from an undetermined source as the cause of her loss.

The BENSON FORD's maiden voyage was on August 2, 1924, with coal from Toledo, Ohio to Duluth, Minnesota and returned with iron ore to the Ford Rouge Plant at Dearborn.

On August 2, 1990, the Lightship HURON was dedicated as a National Historic Landmark. LIGHTSHIP 103 had been almost completely restored and was opened to the public in 1974, for tours and remains so at this time.

August 2, 1862 - John C. Ackerman was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin. At the time of his death in 1916, he was commodore of the Pere Marquette carferry fleet based in Ludington.

On 2 August 1877, GRACE A CHANNON (wooden schooner, 141 foot, 266 gross tons, built in 1873, at East Saginaw, Michigan) was bound from Chicago for Buffalo when she collided with the propeller tug FAVORITE and sank 12 miles south of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The young son of the owner of the CHANNON lost his life in this accident.

In 1858, the wooden side-wheeler TELEGRAPH collided with the schooner MARQUETTE and sank 40 miles north of Cleveland.

1909 – GLENELLAH of Inland Navigation struck the east breakwall at Port Colborne, damaging both the ship and the structure. The vessel joined Canada Steamship Lines in 1913 becoming b) CALGARIAN (ii) in 1926. It was broken up at Hamilton in 1960.

1915 – KENORA went aground off Flat Point, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, enroute from Montreal to Sydney. The C.S.L. canal ship was operating on saltwater due to the demands of World War One and was soon refloated.

1931 – The RAPIDS KING took out the gates of Lock 2 of the St. Lawrence Canal at Montreal and SASKATOON was one of 7 ships left on the bottom of the channel.

1967 – The West German freighter JOHANN SCHULTE and the new Canadian self-unloader CANADIAN CENTURY brushed each other in the Welland Canal near Thorold. The former hit the bank and was holed but made it to the tie-up wall before settling on the bottom. The ship was travelling from Duluth-Superior to Poland with wheat. The 4-year old vessel was refloated August 5 and went to Port Weller Dry Docks for repairs. It was scrapped in China as d) SINGAPORE CAR in 1984-1985.