Today in Great Lakes History

[yachtsmanwilly]

11/23 - Thunder Bay, Ont. – Five months after she was towed from Kingston to Thunder Bay, the Alexander Henry is expected to undergo her second and perhaps final tow this week. She is scheduled to depart her temporary dock about 0930 on Thursday bound for her new home.
She will be under tow of Thunder Bay Tug Services and crewed by personnel from HMCS Griffon Naval Reserve.
Charlie Brown, spokesperson for the Lakehead Transportation Museum, says the lease agreement with the City of Thunder Bay and the Thunder Bay Port Authority has been finalized. That clears the way to move the retired Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker from her temporary berth at the CN ore dock to the former Pool 6 grain elevator property south of Marina Park.
"We've signed our part. We've sent it off to both the port and the city. They agreed to everything so I think that's a done deal as far as that's concerned," Brown said Monday. The agreement provides for a five-year lease at Pool 6 where the Alexander Henry will serve as Thunder Bay's newest tourist attraction.
Brown said he hopes the weather holds out long enough to make the move. "We've gotta arrange a crew to handle the lines, and we're going to bring in a couple of tugs to tow her over. It won't take too long, but we need a nice day with the water relatively calm, and now that there's snow and ice we just have to move a little slower, that's all."
The retired Amalgamated Transit Union president was interviewed while he was doing work on the Alexander Henry, a task he's been committed to ever since it arrived in Thunder Bay. He and other volunteers hope to have electricity hooked up, and heating available in parts of the ship, so that cleanup and restoration can continue over the winter. Their goal is to conduct a re-dedication ceremony for the icebreaker before the end of May.
tbnewswatch.com

Spam and Kraft macaroni and cheese is expected to be served for dinner on all the American side ships for dinner today compliments of the Kraft and Hormel companies.
In 1940, the CONSUMERS POWER, a.) HARRY YATES of 1910, collided with the MARITANA on the Detroit River. The MARITANA sustained $11,089.91 in damage. MARITANA was scrapped at Hamilton, Ontario, in 1947.
On 23 November 1863, BAY OF QUINTE (wooden schooner, 250 tons, built in 1853, at Bath, Ontario) was carrying 7,500 bushels of wheat to Toronto when she was driven ashore on Salmon Point on Lake Ontario and wrecked. No lives were lost.
On 23 November 1882, the schooner MORNING LIGHT (wooden schooner, 256 tons, built in 1857, at Cleveland, Ohio) was sailing from Manistee for Chicago with a load of lumber when a storm drove her aground off Claybanks, south of Stony Lake, Michigan. One crewman swam to shore, the rest were saved by a lifesaving crew, local fishermen and the tug B. W. ALDRICH. Earlier that same year, she sank near St. Helen Island in the Straits of Mackinac. She was salvaged and put back in service, but she only lasted a few months.
After discharging her cargo, the SAMUEL MATHER, launched as a.) PILOT KNOB b.) FRANK ARMSTRONG (1943-73), proceeded to DeTour, Michigan, laying up for the last time at the Pickands Mather Coal Dock on November 23, 1981. She was scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey in 1988.
In 1987, the self-unloader ROGERS CITY was towed out of Menominee, Michigan, for scrapping in Brazil.
STADACONA's sea trials were completed on November 23, 1952, and was delivered to Canada Steamship Lines the next day.
On 23 November 1872, Capt. W. B. Morley launched the propeller JARVIS LORD at Marine City, Michigan. Her dimensions were 193 feet X 33 feet X 18 feet, 1,000 tons. She was the first double decker built at Marine City. Her engine was from Wm. Cowie of Detroit.
On 23 November 1867, S. A. CLARK (wooden propeller tug, 12 tons, built in 1863, at Buffalo, New York) was in Buffalo's harbor when her boiler exploded and she sank.
November 23, 1930 - The Ann Arbor carferry WABASH grounded in Betsie Lake. She bent her rudder stock and her steering engine was broken up.
On 23 November 1853, the wooden schooner PALESTINE was bound from Kingston to Cleveland with railroad iron at about the same time as the like-laden schooner ONTONAGON. Eight miles west of Rochester, New York, both vessels ran ashore, were pounded heavily by the waves and sank. Both vessels reported erratic variations in their compasses. The cargoes were removed and ONTONAGON was pulled free on 7 December, but PALESTINE was abandoned. A similar event happened with two other iron-laden vessels a few years previously at the same place.
On 23 November 1853, the Ward Line's wooden side-wheeler HURON struck an unseen obstruction in the Saginaw River and sank. She was raised on 12 December 1853, towed to Detroit and repaired at a cost of $12,000. She was then transferred to Lake Michigan to handle the cross-lake traffic given the Ward Line by the Michigan Central Railroad. The carferry GRAND HAVEN was sold to the West India Fruit & Steamship Co., Norfolk, Virginia in 1946, and was brought down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, Louisiana for reconditioning before reaching Port Everglades and the Port of Palm Beach, Florida. She was brought back to the Lakes and locked up bound through the Welland Canal on 23 Nov 1964. She was intended for roll on/roll off carrier service to haul truck trailers laden with steel coils from Stelco's plant at Hamilton, Ont.
CSL NIAGARA a.) J. W. McGIFFIN, passed Port Huron, Michigan on 23 Nov 1999, on her way to Thunder Bay to load grain. This was her first trip to the upper lakes since the vessel was re-launched as a SeawayMax carrier in June 1999.
1901: QUITO stranded off Lorain, Ohio, and broke up in a Lake Erie storm. All on board were saved.
1902: SILVANUS J. MACY was last observed battling heavy seas in Lake Erie off Port Burwell. The coal laden, wooden steamer was lost with all hands.
1936: A fire at Portsmouth, Ontario, just west of Kingston, destroyed several idle wooden steamers including the SIMON LANGELL and PALM BAY. Their remains were towed into Lake Ontario and scuttled in 1937.
1961: AMVRAKIKOS ran aground on Pancake Shoal, Lake Superior, on its first and only visit to the Great Lakes. This World War Two vintage Liberty ship was refloated on November 26, loaded scrap steel at Toledo for Japan and was the last saltwater ship of the 1961 season to depart the St. Lawrence Seaway.
1997: AN TAI, an SD 14 cargo carrier registered in Belize, began to list and then the hull cracked at the dock in Port Klang, Malaysia. The ship sank at the wharf the next day. The vessel had visited the Great Lakes, first as a) LONDON GRENADIER in 1972 and again as b) FIRST JAY in 1979. Subsequent salvage efforts failed and the hull was cut into sections, taken out to sea, and dumped in a fish breeding grounds.

[ppat324]

11/24 - Thunder Bay, Ont. – The Alexander Henry is now docked at its new location. The vessel was towed into the former Pool Six elevator site on the north waterfront Thursday morning where it will remain permanently. The Lakehead Transportation Museum Society plans to convert the decommissioned icebreaker into a museum.
Spokesperson Charlie Brown says work will begin almost immediately. He hopes it can be open to the public sometime in May. View a video at this link: country1053.ca/news/1175970132/video-alexander-henry-towed-pool-six-site


Coast Guard performs burial at sea on Great Lakes

11/24 - A Coast Guard veteran received a fitting farewell this month when the military performed a burial at sea near a lighthouse in Lake Erie. The cremains of Master Chief Boatswain's Mate William Smitley, a Toledo native, were spread by the Toledo Harbor Light at his family's request on Nov. 11, the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Detroit said in a Facebook post this week.
"Per a longstanding policy, the Coast Guard provides burials at sea for ashes of military personnel, dependents and federal Coast Guard civilians using boats, ships or aircraft of the Coast Guard." Smitley had served in the Coast Guard for 20 years.
"When relieving a shipmate, the following words are always spoken, 'I have the watch,' indicating that the person has been properly relieved and no longer needs to remain on deck for duty," the Coast Guard said in its post.
"BMCM William Smitley, we have the watch. Thank you for your service."
MLive


On this day in 1966, Hjalmer Edwards became ill while working as a second cook on the steamer DANIEL J. MORRELL. He was transferred to the hospital at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan when the MORRELL transited the locks for the last time on Thanksgiving Day. Five days later, the DANIEL J. MORRELL sank during a severe storm on Lake Huron with just Dennis Hale as its lone survivor.
On 24 November 1945, SCOTT E. LAND (steel propeller C4-S-A4 cargo ship, 496 foot, 10,654 gross tons) was launched at Kaiser Corporation (Hull #520) in Vancouver, Washington for the U.S. Maritime Commission. She was converted to a straight-deck bulk freighter at Baltimore, Maryland in 1951, and renamed TROY H. BROWNING. In 1955, she was renamed THOMAS F. PATTON. After serving on the Great Lakes, she was scrapped in Karachi, Pakistan, in 1981.
On November 24, 1950, while bound for South Chicago with iron ore, the ENDERS M. VOORHEES collided with the up bound steamer ELTON HOYT II (now the ST. MARYS CHALLENGER) in the Straits of Mackinac during a blinding snowstorm. Both vessels received such serious bow damage that they had to be beached near McGulpin Point west of Mackinaw City to avoid sinking.
ROSEMOUNT, stored with coal, sank alongside CSL's Century Coal Dock at Montreal, Quebec, on November 24, 1934.
Paterson's PRINDOC (Hull#657) was launched November 24, 1965, at Lauzon, Quebec, by Davie Shipbuilding Co. Ltd.
November 24, 1892 - The ANN ARBOR NO 1 ran aground on her first trip just north of the Kewaunee harbor.
On 24 Nov 1881, LAKE ERIE (wooden propeller canaller, 136 foot, 464 gross tons, built in 1873, at St, Catharine's, Ontario) collided with the steamer NORTHERN QUEEN in fog and a blizzard near Poverty Island by the mouth of Green Bay. LAKE ERIE sank in one hour 40 minutes. NORTHERN QUEEN took aboard the crew but one man was scalded and died before reaching Manistique.
The CITY OF SAGINAW 31 entered service in 1931.
On 24 November 1905, ARGO (steel propeller passenger/package freight, 174 foot, 1,089 tons, built in 1896, at Detroit, Michigan) dropped into a trough of a wave, hit bottom and sank in relatively shallow water while approaching the harbor at Holland, Michigan. 38 passengers and crew were taken off by breeches' buoy in a thrilling rescue by the U.S. Lifesaving Service.
NEPTUNE (wooden propeller, 185 foot, 774 gross tons, built in 1856, at Buffalo, New York) was laid up at East Saginaw, Michigan, on 24 November 1874, when she was discovered to be on fire at about 4:00 a.m. She burned to a total loss.
The ANN ARBOR NO 1 left Frankfort for Kewaunee on November 24, 1892. Because of the reluctance of shippers to trust their products on this new kind of ferry it was difficult to find cargo for this first trip. Finally, a fuel company which sold coal to the railroad routed four cars to Kewaunee via the ferry.
1905: ARGO missed the entrance to the harbor at Holland, MI while inbound from Chicago and went aground. All on board, an estimated 72 passengers and crew, were rescued by breeches buoy in a very challenging task. The ship was salvaged in January 1906.
1938: The idle former passenger ship CITY OF BENTON HARBOR was gutted by a fire at Sturgeon Bay.
1970: C.W. CADWELL hit a submerged rock in the Niagara River near Queenston and was stranded.
1988: KATIA was abandoned off Nova Scotia, enroute from Brazil to Carleton, QC, and all 27 on board were taken off by rescue helicopter. Despite salvage efforts, the listing ship sank November 26. It had been through the Seaway earlier in 1987 after previous inland voyages as c) TIMI in 1978 and d) HAPPY MED in 1981.

[yachtsmanwilly]

At 4:00 a.m. on 27 November 1872, the wooden schooner MIDDLESEX was struck by a terrible winter storm on Lake Superior. The winds caught the vessel with such force that she listed at a 45 degree angle and her cargo shifted. In danger of sinking, the crew jettisoned much of the cargo and the ship righted herself. Her lifeboat and much of her rigging and sails were washed away. She limped into Waiska Bay and anchored to ride out the storm. However, she had developed a leak and it was so cold that her pumps had frozen. To save the vessel, she was run ashore and sank in shallow water. The crew climbed into her rigging until the tug W. D. CUSHING rescued them.

ALGOSEA entered Lake service as a self-unloader for the first time with salt loaded at Goderich, Ontario and passed down bound in the Welland Canal November 27, 1976, for Quebec City.

AVONDALE was condemned and was not allowed to carry cargo after she arrived at Toledo, Ohio on November 27, 1975, to load soybeans.

The steam barge CHAUNCY HURLBUT was launched at the shipyard of Simon Langell at St. Clair, Michigan on Thanksgiving Day, 27 November 1873. She was built for Chandler Bros. of Detroit.

On 27 November 1886, COMANCHE (wooden schooner, 137 foot, 322 tons, built in 1867, at Oswego, New York) was carrying corn in a storm on Lake Ontario when she ran on a shoal and sank near Point Peninsula, New York. A local farmer died while trying to rescue her crew of 8. His was the only death. She was later recovered and rebuilt as THOMAS DOBBIE.

The PERE MARQUETTE 22 collided with the WABASH in heavy fog in 1937.

In 1966, the CITY OF MIDLAND 41 ran aground at Ludington, Michigan in a storm. Stranded on board were a number of passengers and 56 crewmen. Ballast tanks were flooded to hold the steamer on until the storm subsided. She was pulled off four days later by the Roen tug JOHN PURVES.

The propeller MONTGOMERY, which burned in June 1878, was raised on 27 November 1878. Her engine and boiler were removed and she was converted to a barge. She was rebuilt at Algonac, Michigan in the summer of 1879.

On 27 November 1866, the Oswego Advertiser & Times reported that the schooner HENRY FITZHUGH arrived at Oswego, New York with 17,700 bushels of wheat from Milwaukee. Her skipper was Captain Cal Becker. The round trip took 23 days, which was considered "pretty fast sailing".

The CITY OF FLINT 32 was launched in Manitowoc on 27 Nov 1929. Cut down to a rail barge at Nicholson's, Ecorse in 1970, renamed b.) ROANOKE.

On Monday, 27 Nov 1996, the Cyprus flag MALLARD of 1977, up bound, apparently bounced off the wall in the Welland Canal below Lock 1 and into the path of the CANADIAN ENTERPRISE. It was a sideswipe rather than a head on collision. The ENTERPRISE was repaired at Port Weller Dry Docks. The repairs to the gangway and ballast vent pipes took six hours. The MALLARD proceeded to Port Colborne to be repaired there.

At 10:20 p.m. on Monday, 27 Nov. 2000, CANADIAN TRANSFER radioed Soo Traffic to report that the vessel was aground off Algoma Steel and "taking on water but in no danger." The crew reported that they had two anchors down and one line on the dock. Purvis Marine was contacted.

1905: LAFAYETTE stranded at Encampment Island, Lake Superior, broke in two and was a total loss. MANILA, its consort barge, also came ashore but was later salvaged.

1942: JUDGE HART stranded at Fitzsimmons Rock, Ashburton Bay, Lake Superior, enroute to Toronto with 101,500 bushels of grain. All on board were rescued and the ship later slid off the rocks, drifted and sank.

1981: LOUKIA, a Greek flag visitor to the Great Lakes in 1976, arrived at Monrovia, Liberia, as f) DESPOULA and was abandoned. The vessel was looted before being sold for scrap. On September 2, 1982, while under tow for Yugoslavia for dismantling, the vessel broke loose in heavy seas and grounded about 14 miles north of Monrovia.

2006: SPAR OPAL had mechanical problems and ran aground near the Iroquois Lock. It was released on November 29. It did not return through the Seaway in 2007 but was back for two final trips in 2008. The ship was renamed h) ARWAD PRINCESS in 2012 and re-registered in Belize.

[ppat324]

As Willy is still sick and was up all night, I will do BoatNerd today for him. Love you baby. Rest up this morning. I need you this afternoon when I am getting sedated again. Mucinex is coming home with me this morning.

11/28 - Warwick, R.I. – The Steamship Historical Society of America (SSHSA), of Warwick, is heading to New York City Dec. 5 to honor the excursion steamship SS Columbia, a National Historic Landmark, as the SS Columbia Project coaxes her out of retirement.
SSHSA, a Warwick nonprofit dedicated to recording, preserving and sharing America’s maritime heritage, will present the SS Columbia with the 2017 Ship of the Year award, recognizing the vessel’s 115 years on the water.
Once a ferry tasked with making daily roundtrips from Detroit to Canada’s Bob-Lo Island Amusement Park on the Great Lakes, the ship is now on track to get back to work providing New Yorkers and tourists access to the great parks, historic sites, and cultural institutions of the Hudson Valley.
“As a kid growing up in Detroit, it was always a thrill to think of the possibility of taking a trip on the iconic Bob-Lo boats and experience the warmth of the steam and feel the gentle rhythm of the engine,” SSHSA Executive Director Matthew Schulte said. “Looking back, it seems that the boat ride was just as fun as the amusement park rides, and we are proud that the SS Columbia Project is here to make sure these memories are preserved for the next generation.”
The reception will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 5, from 6-9 p.m. at India House, 1 Hanover Square, New York, NY. The suggested donation is $100, with all proceeds benefiting the SS Columbia Project. Please RSVP to [e-mail] by Nov. 30, 2017.
SSHSA will also present its C. Bradford Mitchell Award to Captain Brian McAllister of New York’s McAllister Towing & Transportation for publishing the recent book, McAllister Towing, chronicling the 150th anniversary of his family’s company. McAllister Transportation is the owner of Providence Steamboat Co., located on India Street in Providence.


11/28 - The International Shipmasters' Association (ISMA) presents a freighter cruise raffle as part of the 128th Annual ISMA Grand Lodge Convention in Toledo, OH, Feb. 1 - 4, 2018.
The grand prize is a trip for -6 adults aboard an Interlake Steamship Company Vessel for the 2018 season. Guests must be at least 18 years of age, adhere to all company policies and procedures, and be flexible concerning ports of departure and return. The drawing will be held on Sat. Feb. 3, 2018 at 10 p.m. at Renaissance Toledo Downtown Hotel. The winner need not be present to win. Tickets cannot be redeemed for cash.
Donation is $10 per ticket. Additional raffle prizes include: second prize - $1,000 in cash, third prize - round trip for two aboard historic car ferry S.S. Badger, fourth prize - a pilot boat ride to touch a freighter (good for four trips for four people, courtesy Lake Pilots’ Association).
To purchase a raffle ticket, send check or money order payable to ISMA Toledo Lodge No.9 to:
Mr. James Byrne
Treasurer
ISMA Toledo Lodge No. 9
P.O. Box 5218
Toledo, OH 43611
For more information on the International Shipmasters' Association, visit: www.shipmaster.org
To become an ISMA member or for membership information, visit: www.shipmaster.org/learn-more.html

In 1949, sea trials for the largest freighter built on the Great Lakes, the WILFRED SYKES, were held off Lorain, Ohio. SYKES was converted to a self-unloader in 1975.
In 1942, the Canadian grain carrier JUDGE HART grounded and then sank in Ashburton Bay, Lake Superior. The entire crew of the JUDGE HART was rescued by the JAMES B. EADS, Captain Stanley J. Tischart, and the whaleback JOHN ERICSSON, Captain Wilfred E. Ogg.
On 28 November 1867, MARQUETTE (wooden bark, 139 foot, 426 tons, built in 1856, at Newport [Marine City], Michigan) was carrying corn from Chicago to Collingwood, Ontario when she sprang a leak during a storm on Lake Huron. She was run ashore on Hope Island on Georgian Bay.
On November 28, 1905, the Pittsburgh Steamship Company vessel MATAAFA was wrecked as it tried to re-enter the Duluth Ship Canal in a severe storm. The MATAAFA had departed Duluth earlier but had decided to return to safety. After dropping her barge in the lake, the vessel was picked up by waves, was slammed against the north pier and was swung around to rest just hundreds of feet offshore north of the north pier, where it broke in two. Much of the crew froze to death in the cold snap that followed the storm, as there was no quick way to get out to the broken vessel for rescue. The MATAAFA was repaired prior to the 1906, season; she ultimately ended her career as an automobile carrier for the T.J. McCarthy Steamship Company and was sold for scrap in 1965.
The CANADIAN OLYMPIC's maiden voyage was 28 Nov 1976, to load coal at Conneaut, Ohio for Nanticoke, Ontario. Her name honored the Olympic games that were held at Montreal that year.
On November 28, 1983, while up bound after leaving the Poe Lock, the INDIANA HARBOR was in a collision, caused by high winds, with the downbound Greek salty ANANGEL SPIRIT resulting in a 10 foot gash in the laker's port bow.
LANCASHIRE (Hull#827) was launched at Lorain, Ohio on November 28, 1942. She would soon be renamed b) SEWELL AVERY.
CATHY B towed the GOVERNOR MILLER to Vigo, Spain on November 28, 1980, where she was broken up.
BENSON FORD was renamed e) US265808 and departed River Rouge on November 28, 1986, towed by the Sandrin tugs TUSKER and GLENADA bound for Ramey's Bend in the Welland Canal.
FRONTENAC arrived at the Fraser Shipyard, Superior, Wisconsin on November 28, 1979. Her keel, which had hogged four feet, was declared a constructive total loss.
The BRANSFORD stranded on a reef off Isle Royale in Lake Superior during a major storm on 28 November 1905, (the same storm that claimed the steamer MATAAFA). She was recovered.
On her third trip in 1892, the ANN ARBOR NO 1 again ran aground, this time three miles north of Ahnapee (now called Algoma). There was $15,000 damage to her cargo.
In 1906, the ANN ARBOR NO 4 left Cleveland bound for Frankfort on her maiden voyage. The ANN ARBOR NO 4 ran aground off Kewaunee in 1924.
On 28 November 1905, AMBOY (2-mast wooden schooner-barge, 209 foot, 894 gross tons, formerly HELENA) was carrying coal in tow of the wooden propeller GEORGE SPENCER in a gale on Lake Superior. In an effort to save both vessels, AMBOY was cut loose. The SPENCER was disabled quickly and was driven ashore near Little Marais, Minnesota. AMBOY struggled against the gale for a full day before finally going ashore near Thomasville, Ontario on 29 November. No lives were lost from either vessel.
On 28 November 1872, W O BROWN (wooden schooner, 140 foot, 306 tons, built in 1862, at Buffalo, New York) was carrying wheat in a storm on Lake Superior when she was driven ashore near Point Maimanse, Ontario and pounded to pieces. Six lives were lost. Three survivors struggled through a terrible cold spell and finally made it to the Soo on Christmas Day.
On 28 Nov 1874, the propeller JOHN PRIDGEON JR was launched at Clark's shipyard in Detroit, Michigan. She was built for Capt. John Pridgeon. Her dimensions were 235 X 36 X 17 feet. The engines of the B F WADE were installed in her.
On 28 Nov 1923, the Detroit & Windsor Ferry Company and Bob-Lo docks were destroyed by a fire caused by an overheated stove in the ferry dock waiting room. The blaze started at 3 a.m.
CANADIAN TRANSFER underwent repairs most of Tuesday, 28 Nov. 2000, at the Algoma Steel dock at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. She had run aground the previous night in the Canadian channel approaching Algoma Steel. CANADIAN TRANSFER was freed by two Purvis Marine tugs. The vessel suffered a crack or hole in the hull plating about 10 feet from the bottom along its port side.
1918: The bow section of the former passenger steamer NORTH WEST sank in Lake Ontario. The ship had been cut in two for a tow out of the Great Lakes. The stern was later rebuilt as b) MAPLECOURT.
1923: LINDEN, a wooden bulk carrier, burned as a total loss in Tawas Bay.
1932: The Canadian freighter GEORGIAN stranded at Munising while downbound from Port Arthur to Detroit. The crew was rescued on December 3. The first salvage attempt failed on December 5 and the vessel was not released until May 1933.
1961: IQUITOS, enroute from Callao, Peru, to Manzanillo, Mexico, with fish meal, caught fire off the coast of Mexico and was abandoned by the crew. The vessel first visited the Great Lakes as a) RUTENFJELL in 1936 and returned on numerous occasions. It was back as b) POLYRIVER from 1951 to 1958. The abandoned IQUITOS drifted for months and was finally sunk by a U.S. destroyer as a hazard to navigation about 100 miles southeast of the Christmas Islands, on April 9, 1962.
1966: The Liberty ship TEGEAN ran aground on The Sisters rocks in fog south of Halifax while inbound for bunkers. All on board were saved by Coast Guard and Navy helicopters. The hull broke into 3 pieces and was dynamited by Navy divers as a hazard on December 16, 1966. The vessel had traded through the Seaway as b) ST. MALO in 1962.
1981: LONDON EARL went aground at Pointe aux Trembles while outbound from Thunder Bay to Hamburg, West Germany, with a cargo of wheat. Five tugs released the ship, with only minimal damage, on November 30. The vessel later returned through the Seaway as b) OLYMPIC LIBERTY beginning in 1983, as c) STABERG in 1990 and as d) ITHAKI in 1996. It was scrapped at Alang, India, in 2001.

[yachtsmanwilly]

Thanks baby... you did good! me

[yachtsmanwilly]

11/29 - Sturgeon Bay, Wis. – Clusters of shipyard workers gathered in the bright sun Tuesday morning at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding. They proudly stood in the long shadows cast by the huge vessels they helped to make, minutes away from being officially christened.

From welders and machinists to painters and carpenters, the men and women posed for photos snapped to commemorate their achievement — the completion of a new articulated tug barge unit that will transport fuel in the Gulf Coast and to ports in Florida.

"It was great to do this and now to see the product, it's pretty amazing," said Jon Clark, one of the Bay Shipbuilding welders. "These are very unique and impressive."

The articulated tug barge unit, known as an ATB, is a cargo vessel integrated with a powerful tug at its stern. There is a notch in the stern where the tug and the barge are linked together, creating a nimble and cost-efficient ship for transportation.

Many of the workers at Bay Shipbuilding also are members of social media sites focused on ships and shipbuilding, and they often see vessels they worked to complete on videos shared around the world.

"It's the coolest thing when we see something we built on a Facebook video, like a ship going by the new Trade Center in New York and it was something I had worked on," said Andy Martyn, a painter at Bay Shipbuilding. "This is definitely a big day."

The work of the men and women transcends building ships — their work also is part of the economic engine of the shipbuilding industry and the nation, said Fidel Silva, a carpenter at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding.

"This is a proud moment," Silva said. "From start to finish there is a sense of pride in knowing you are building a future for this company and you are building a future for the U.S."

Read more and see a video at this link

www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=W6QeWsS0OMfcjAPS47DoCg&q=gren+bay+press+gazette+ship+christening&oq=gren+bay+press+gazette+ship+christening&gs_l=psy-ab.3...2443.15462.0.16065.39.39.0.0.0.0.368.6279.0j36j0j1.37.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..2.35.5980...0j0i131k1j0i10k1j0i13k1j0i22i30k1j33i21k1j33i160k1j33i22i29i30k1.0.CkXbFr_18rk

11/29 - Lorain, Ohio – The lure of the lake freighters has not faded for a man who grew up around the vessels in the Port of Lorain. Don Talbot, 86, lives at home with Dorothy, 86, his wife of 64 years. Their house is not on the lakefront — but it is well stocked with photographs and memories of the waterborne haulers.

“I wasn’t too good of a school student, but I knew the boats when they were coming,” Don said. “That’s what they would tell me in school, ‘You didn’t care about the books but you knew what was coming out in the lake.’”

His forebears arrived in Lorain from Buffalo via barge. His father, A.J., would become a freighter captain on the lakes, working for the Tomlinson line of ships. Don still keeps photos of his father’s vessels: the Merton E. Farr, Ball Brothers, Rufus P. Ranney, Cuyler Adams.

When Don was a youth, A.J. would leave in March to begin the shipping season and return when it ended in December. Don’s mother would drive him to Conneaut, Toledo, Sandusky, or Erie, Pa., to meet his father’s boat. The family would go to lunch or dinner when the freighter was docked for seven or eight hours. “I always liked the boats,” he said.

As he grew older, he would ride along with his father. “I used to go every year,” Don said. “My dad would take me for two, three weeks at a time. Always had something to do out there. He would always give me a job, painting or doing what you couldn’t do today because of the union business.”

In Lorain, from age 10 or 11, Talbot found he could hitch rides on the Black River when freighters arrived at the port to deliver ore to the steel mill. “I used to hear those boats blowing out in the lake for a tug,” Don said. “Well, I would go down to the tug office and I knew some of these fellows that were on the tugs.”

He recalled the tugboats Arizona, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and the Utah came later, along with names of some of the captains and crew. “I used to get right on the tugs,” Don said. “I said, ‘can I go with you?’ ‘OK, come on.’ We would go out and meet the lake freighter and the tug would grab a hold of her and take her to the steel plant,” he said.

The Lorain tug office was right to the north of bascule bridge, painted red with G on top of the roof for Great Lakes Towing, Don said. In World War II, one tug company would tow a barge behind the lake freighter, but would leave the barge out in the lake off Lorain. Two tugs would go out to catch it and take it to the steel plant, where the ore was unloaded, Don said. Once it was empty of ore, the tugs would take out to the lake and drop off. The freighter would come back to pick it up “and away they went,” he said.

“Well, today the bow thrusters have eliminated pretty much the tug business for going up the river,” he said. Bow thrusters are smaller propellers that can change direction of the front end of vessel, making it more maneuverable. In the winter, the freighters would tie up to the shore, then one or two more would raft up next to those ones, to stay in town for the cold season.

Don considered shipping out himself. “I never sailed,” he said. “I had a chance to go. My dad talked to a guy and I got a telegram to go to Toledo to fit out this boat.” But his heart was torn between the sea and his love on land. When he showed Dorothy the telegram, she asked him to make his choice. “Well, we’ve been married 64 years, so you know who won out,” Don said.

His love of the ships continued, but on shore. Don served in the Air Force from 1951 to 1954. It was the time of the Korean War, but he served stateside, mostly at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. Nearby, Dorothy became a secretary in Newport News, Va., and watched construction of the Forrestal “supercarrier” aircraft carrier, and other ships. After his time in the service, they moved back to Lorain, where Dorothy became a school teacher in Lorain and Sheffield Lake. Don worked 43 years for Ohio Edison and Penn Power, assigned to various locations.

Lorain’s former Edgewater Power Plant was ideal for watching the freighters arrive and depart the city. Don also picked up his nickname from a shift engineer who was the boss.

“He hung a name on me, Gus Talbot, and that stuck,” Don said. “When I got transferred to Ohio River, they didn’t know who Don Talbot was, but they knew there was a Gus Talbot, and it still stays with me.”

The couple would have four children. Their summer travel plans were not optional. “He didn’t ask any of us, where do you want to go?” Dorothy said. “We knew when he took his vacation, that he would get us ready and that we were going

up to the Soo,” she said, referring to the Soo Locks of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. “That was every summer – ‘Aw, dad, we got to go there?’” Don said. “That’s when there was a lot of boats and they would be locking down through the locks.”

There are two cities with the same name, one in Michigan and one in Ontario, divided by the rapids that connect Lake Superior and Lake Huron. The Soo Locks raise or lower the freighters 21 feet to travel between the two bodies of water.

The family would stay as close as they could to the water. “During the night if he heard the whistle blow, he would jump up,” Dorothy said. “I would go right over to the locks,” Don said. “That was always a good two, three days up there and then I got a good collection boat of pictures.”

He still has them, along with dozens of newspaper clippings from over the years, showing the passage of time with the vessels plying the Great Lakes.

Morning Journal


11/29 - One day the freighter you see coming up the Detroit River might not have a crew aboard. The day of autonomous ships is soon dawning. A Norwegian company will be launching a container vessel next year that it expects will not only navigate a river in Norway fully autonomously by 2020, but be battery powered as well.

Industry players say autonomous vessels will be cheaper to run — with no crew to feed and house — and take the danger out of sailing as well.

Guy Meadows, the director of the Great Lakes Research Center at the Michigan Technological University in Northern Michigan said the advantages are especially notable at this time of year, when it is more hazardous to venture onto the lakes.

"It knows the chart of the region. It has sensors to be able to detect the moving targets from the fixed targets, such as buoys and navigation aids. It understands the rules of the road," said Meadows, who is working with the State of Michigan on developing smaller autonomous research vessels to do the tedious drudge work such as bottom mapping.

Read more and view images at this link



In 1953, BENJAMIN F. FAIRLESS, Captain H. C. Buckley, transported the last iron ore of the season through the Soo Locks. The ore originated at Two Harbors and was unloaded at Conneaut. After unloading, the FAIRLESS headed for Monroe, Michigan, for layup.

On 29 November 1886, ALFRED P. WRIGHT (wooden propeller tug, 56 gross tons, built in 1877, at Buffalo, New York) was towing the schooner A J DEWEY in a blizzard and gale in the harbor at Manistee, Michigan. The towline parted and fouled the WRIGHT's propeller. Disabled, she capsized and her crew clung to the overturned hull. One crewman swam 1,000 feet to shore and summoned the U.S. Lifesaving Service. The WRIGHT's and DEWEY's crews were both rescued but three lifesavers were lost in this effort.

On November 29, 1966, the DANIEL J. MORRELL sank approximately 20 miles north of Harbor Beach in Lake Huron. Her nearly identical sistership, the EDWARD Y. TOWNSEND, was traveling about 20 miles behind the MORRELL and made it to the Lime Island Fuel Dock in the St. Marys River where cracks were found in her deck; the TOWNSEND proceeded to Sault Ste. Marie where she was taken out of service. The TOWNSEND sank in the Atlantic on October 7, 1968, while being towed overseas for scrap.

E. B. BARBER was laid up for the last time at Toronto, Ontario, on 29 Nov. 1984.

On November 29, 1903, snow and stormy seas drove the two-and-a-half year old J. T. HUTCHINSON onto an uncharted rock (now known as Eagle River Reef) one-half mile off shore and 10 miles west of Eagle Harbor, Michigan near the northwestern coast of the Keweenaw Peninsula.

On November 29, 1974, the PERE MARQUETTE 21 was loaded with remnants of Port Huron's Peerless Cement Dock, which reportedly were bound for Saudi Arabia, and cleared there in tow of the Great Lakes Towing Co., tugs AMERICA and OHIO.

SYLVANIA was in a collision with the DIAMOND ALKALI in the Fighting Island Channel of the Detroit River on 29 Nov 1968, during a snow squall. SYLVANIA's bow was severely damaged.

The propeller BURLINGTON had barges in tow up bound on Lake Erie when she was damaged by the ice and sank in the Pelee Passage.

On 29 November 1856, ARABIAN (3-mast wooden bark, 116 foot, 350 tons, built in 1853, at Niagara, Ontario) had stranded on Goose Island Shoal, 10 miles ENE of Mackinac Island ten days earlier. She was relieved of her cargo and was being towed to Chicago by the propeller OGONTZ when a gale blew in and the towline parted. ARABIAN made for shore, her pumps working full force and OGONTZ following. During the night they were separated and ARABIAN sank off Point Betsey in Lake Michigan. Her crew escaped in her yawl.

In 1903, the PERE MARQUETTE 19 arrived Ludington on her maiden voyage. Captain John J. Doyle in command.

On 29 November 1881, the 149 foot wooden propeller NORTHERN QUEEN, which had been involved in a collision with the 136 foot wooden propeller canaller LAKE ERIE just five days before, struck the pier at Manistique so hard that she was wrecked. Besides her own crew, she also had LAKE ERIE's crew on board.

On 29 Nov 1902, BAY CITY (1-mast wood schooner-barge, 140 foot, 306 gross tons, built in 1857, at Saginaw, Michigan as a brig) was left at anchor in Thunder Bay by the steamer HURON CITY during a storm. BAY CITY's anchor chain parted and the vessel was driven against the Gilchrist dock at Alpena, Michigan and wrecked. Her crew managed to escape with much difficulty.

1902: The wooden bulk freighter CHARLES HEBARD (i) stranded on the Ontario shore of Lake Superior at Point Mamaise in a snowstorm. The hull broke up but all on board were rescued.

1950: ESSO ROCHESTER, a T-2 tanker, broke in two in heavy weather off Anticosti Island, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence while enroute, in ballast, from Montreal to Aruba. The two sections were taken in tow but the bow had to be cut loose in a storm on December 21, rolled over and was lost. The stern was taken to Newport News, VA and rebuilt. It was a Seaway trader in 1959 and scrapped at Onimichi, Japan, in July 1966.

1959: VILJA went aground in fog while outbound through the Brockville Narrows. The 14-year old ship was refloated on December 13 and had to spend the winter at Prescott. The Norwegian-flag freighter never returned inland and was scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, as c) SILVER HOPE in 1974.

1960: FRANCISCO MORAZON went aground on the rocks of South Manitou Island, Lake Michigan and the remains of the hull are still there.

1960: CATO II, a small survey vessel, was cut loose by vandals at Port Dalhousie, drifted with the current into Lake Ontario, and stranded on the rocks of the west pier off Port Weller. Despite gale force winds and cold, the hull was salvaged the next day. At last report, the ship was still intact and was owned by Seneca College of Toronto.

1964: The MARIA COSULICH was wrecked at the breakwall at Genoa, Italy, when the engine failed while outbound. The crew was saved but the vessel was a total loss. It had been built at Sturgeon Bay in 1943 as WILLIAM HOMAN.

1985: JALAGODAVARI sliced into the St. Louis road and rail bridge on the Seaway and navigation had to be suspended for seven days. The vessel was removed, taken to Montreal and arrested for damages. The ship was repaired and survived until scrapping as f) BLUE OCEAN in 2000-2001.

[yachtsmanwilly]

11/30 - Buffalo, N.Y. – The chances of getting a tour of the new USS Little Rock when it arrives here early next month for her commissioning are not good. But if a close look at the ship at Canalside will satisfy your curiosity, that's doable. In order to get near the ship, you'll first have to pass through an airport-style security checkpoint at Canalside.

Security is a high priority for the Navy's newest $440 million warship, according to officials involved in arranging for the historic commissioning. It's the first time in the Navy's 242-year history that a new ship is being commissioned adjacent to its decommissioned namesake. The old Little Rock is anchored at the Buffalo & Erie County Naval and Military Park.

When the ship arrives at noon Dec. 8 for the start of commissioning week festivities, a temporary fence will be in place around the perimeter of Canalside, where streets in the vicinity will be closed to vehicular traffic. Marine Drive, however, will remain open, except on Dec. 16, the day of the commissioning.

Throughout the week, there will be prearranged tours for Buffalo school students and members of veteran organizations, according to Daniel Mecca, vice chairman of the local USS Little Rock LCS9 Commissioning Committee.

Read more and view photos at this link: buffalonews.com/2017/11/26/uss-little-rock-arrives-dec-8-but-getting-aboard-for-tour-will-be-tough/


11/30 - Chicago, Ill. – The crew of the Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw and members of the Chicago’s Christmas Ship Committee will reenact a tradition dating back to the late 1800s Friday and Saturday at Navy Pier.

The schedule of events is as follows:

Fri. Dec. 1
8:30 a.m. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw arrives at west wall of Navy Pier; Chicago Fire Department Fire Boat water cannon salute to the Mackinaw, with the Hubbard High School Drum Line and Taft High School Choir; crew of Mackinaw commences decorating ship with trees and lights
9:30 a.m. Students from Goodwin Elementary School (Cicero), Epiphany School (Chicago), and St. Odilo School (Berwyn) tour Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw
1 p.m. – 3 p.m. public ship tours

Sat. Dec. 2
10 a.m. Memorial Service and tree offload
U.S. Merchant Marine Honor Guard and Taft High School Choir; Lee Murdock-singer, songwriter of ballad “When Big Mac Comes to Chicago” - Presentation of Colors by Lincoln-Way Central High School Air Force JROTC Cadets; Wreath laying on Lake Michigan by Chicago Fire Department Air-Sea Rescue helicopter
Tree presentation and offloading of trees
1 p.m. – 3 p.m. Public ship tours

The location is Polk Brothers Park, southwest corner of Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave. Chicago, Ill., near the Army Corps of Engineers parking lot.

USCG



On 30 November 1896, CITY OF KALAMAZOO (wooden propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 162 foot, 728 gross tons, built in 1892, at South Haven, Michigan) burned at her lay-up dock at South Haven, Michigan, with the loss of four lives. She was rebuilt and lasted until 1911, when she burned again.

On November 30, 1910, ATHABASCA (steel propeller passenger steamer, 263 foot, 1,774 gross tons, built in 1883, in Scotland) collided with the tug GENERAL near Lime Island in the St. Mary's River. As a result of the collision, the GENERAL sank. She was later recovered and rebuilt as a bulk freighter and lasted until she was broken up in 1948.

On 30 November 1934, HENRY CORT (steel propeller whaleback crane vessel, 320 foot, 2,394 gross tons, built in 1892, at W. Superior, Wisconsin as PILLSBURY) was driven onto the north pier at Muskegon, Michigan, in a storm. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter ESCANABA rescued her crew, but one Coast Guardsman lost his life. The vessel settled in shallow water and then broke in half. Her remains were scrapped the following year.

CANADIAN PIONEER suffered a major engine room fire on 30 Nov 1987, at Nanticoke, Ontario.

On November 30, 1981, A.H. FERBERT was laid up for the last time at the Hallett Dock #5, Duluth, Minnesota. The PERE MARQUETTE 22 passed down the Welland Canal on November 30, 1973 in tow of the tugs JOHN PURVES and YVON SIMARD en route to Sorel, Quebec, where she was cut down to a barge for off-Lakes use.

On 30 Nov 1967, the CITY OF FLINT 32 was laid up, never to run again.

On 30 Nov 1900, ALMERON THOMAS (2-mast wooden schooner, 50 foot, 35 gross tons, built in 1891, at Bay City, Michigan) was carrying gravel in a storm on Lake Huron when she sprang a leak and ran for the beach. She struck bottom and then capsized. She broke up in twenty feet of water near Point Lookout in Saginaw Bay. No lives were lost.

The schooner S.J. HOLLY came into the harbor at Oswego, New York, on 30 November 1867, after a hard crossing of Lake Ontario. The previous day she left the Welland Canal and encountered a growing gale. Capt. Oscar Haynes sought calm water along the north shore, but the heavy seas and freezing winds made sailing perilous. The ropes and chains froze stiff and the schooner was almost unmanageable. The only canvas out was a two-reef foresail and it was frozen in place. With great skill, the skipper managed to limp into port, having lost the yawl and sustained serious damage to the cargo. Fortunately no lives were lost.

1905: The steel consort barge MADEIRA stranded at Split Rock, while under tow of the WILLIAM EDENBORN, broke in two and became a total loss.

1908: D.M. CLEMSON (i) disappeared on Lake Superior while upbound with a cargo of coal from Lorain to Superior. All 24 on board were lost and only 2 bodies were ever found.

1911: Three lives were lost when the wooden steamer RALEIGH sank off Port Colborne. The crew took to the yawl boats but these capsized. Spectators on shore helped pull the sailors to safety.

1922: MAPLEHURST foundered near the West Portage entry Lake Superior while upbound with coal. The captain sought shelter from a storm but the engine failed and the anchors did not hold. There were 11 casualties and the ship was a total loss.

1924: MAPLEDAWN was wrecked at Christian Island, Georgian Bay while downbound with barley. The hull was pounded and could only be salvaged in pieces for scrap about 1942.

1926: CITY OF BANGOR stranded on Keweenaw Point in a blizzard with zero visibility. The ship fell into the trough and was carried ashore. It could not be salvaged and the hull was cut up for scrap during World War II.

1943: RIVERTON, aground for two weeks at Lottie Wolf Shoal, Georgian Bay, was released and taken to Collingwood for repairs. It resumed sailing in 1944 as MOHAWK DEER.

1945: OUTARDE (i) sank at the Consul-Hall Coal Dock, Clayton, NY after being repeatedly pounded against the structure in a wild storm and holed by an underwater piece of steel. The ship was finally refloated on April 18, 1946.

1961: ALGOWAY (i) was damaged while shifting at Port Arthur when it hit a discarded underwater oxygen tank.

1987: A fire aboard the ULS self-unloader CANADIAN PIONEER at Nanticoke damaged the wiring under the control panel. The ship went to the Welland Dock for repairs and then left the Seaway for Sorel where it was reflagged Vanuatu and renamed b) PIONEER.

1997: The tug CAROLYN JO suffered a fire in the engine room off Snake Island, Lake Ontario, and had to be towed to Kingston. The ship is still sailing as d) SEAHOUND.

[yachtsmanwilly]

12/1 - Chicago, Ill. – The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw and members of the Chicago’s Christmas Ship Committee will reenact a tradition dating back to the late 1800s, Friday and Saturday at Navy Pier.

The Mackinaw, serving once again as this year’s “Christmas Ship” and loaded with more than 1,200 Christmas trees, is scheduled to return to Chicago Friday at 8:30 a.m., for a two-day event.

The Christmas trees, purchased by the Chicago’s Christmas Ship Committee through private donations, will be offloaded Saturday by members of the Coast Guard and local youth volunteers including the Sea Cadets, Venture Crews, Sea Scouts and the Young Marines, following a brief, public ceremony beginning at 10 a.m.

The ceremony will take place at the west end of Navy Pier in Polk Brothers Park. The ceremonial first tree will be presented to a representative of Ada S. McKinley Community Services on behalf of more than 1,200 deserving families who will be given a tree. The remaining trees will then be loaded onto trucks for distribution by 18 local community organization chosen by the Christmas Ship Committee.

The Mackinaw’s reenactment continues a treasured piece of Chicago’s maritime tradition. Herman Schuenemann, the captain of the original Christmas Ship, came to Chicago from Michigan for more than 30 years with fresh evergreens and wreaths for the holiday season during the late 1800s and early 1900’s. Captain Schuenemann and the Rouse Simmons was lost in a storm on Lake Michigan and sank with a crew of 16 between Kewaunee and Two Rivers, Wis., November 23, 1912.

During the transit to Chicago, the crew of the Mackinaw held a solemn tribute and dropped a wreath into the waters near the resting place of the Rouse Simmons, which was located in 1971.

Chicago’s boating community has been re-enacting the days of the Rouse Simmons landing in Chicago for the past 18 years. The Chicago’s Christmas Ship Committee is comprised of and supported by all facets of the Chicago’s boating community, which includes: the International Shipmasters’ Association; Chicago Marine Heritage Society; the Navy League of the United States; Chicago yacht clubs; Friends of the Marine Community; the Chicago Yachting Association, the Cruise Ship Mystic Blue and others. Navy Pier hosts the event while staff lends support to this ongoing tradition.

The Committee, in conjunction with Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Chicago and members of the Coast Guard Auxilliary, will also host educational programs for local area schools aboard the Mackinaw. More than 300 students from the Chicago area will learn about the role of the Coast Guard, the “Christmas Ship” tradition, observe a Sea Partners ecology presentation and experience a ship tour by Coast Guard Auxiliary. Members of the Mackinaw’s crew and volunteers from Chicago’s boating community will decorate the ship on Friday afternoon for the “Chicago’s Christmas Ship” event.

The Mackinaw, homeported in Cheboygan, Mich., was commissioned in June 2006 and has a crew of 60. It is one of the Coast Guard’s most technologically advanced multi-missioned cutters. In addition to search and rescue and maritime law enforcement operations, this weekend's charitable activity takes place in conjunction with a scheduled aids to navigation mission in the southern region of Lake Michigan to remove seasonal buoys for winter maintenance and replace them with ice buoys to protect them from ice damage. Additionally, regular underway crew training and drills are being conducted in preparation for the ship’s primary winter mission of ice-breaking to keep commerce moving through the Great Lakes.

USCG




In 1940, the Columbia Transportation steamer CARROLLTON laid up in the Cuyahoga River with a storage load of 75,000 bushels of potatoes.

On 01 December 1884, the N BOUTIN (wooden propeller tug, 68 foot, 46 gross tons, built in 1882, at Buffalo, New York) sank in ten feet of water near Washburn, Wisconsin. Newspaper reports stated that she was leaking badly and was run toward shore to beach her but no details are given regarding the cause of the leak. She was recovered and repaired.

On December 1, 1974, the Canadian motor vessel JENNIFER foundered on Lake Michigan in a storm. Her steel cargo apparently shifted and she foundered 24 miles southwest of Charlevoix, Michigan. The JENNIFER went to the bottom in water too deep for any salvage attempt.

FRED G. HARTWELL, the last boat built for the Franklin Steamship Co., was delivered to her owners on December 1, 1922, but her maiden voyage didn't occur until early 1923, because of unfavorable weather conditions.

The SASKATOON's ownership was transferred to the Canada Steamship Lines Ltd., Montreal, on December 1, 1913, when the company was formed and all six vessels of the Merchants Mutual Line were absorbed by CSL in 1914.

HUDSON TRANSPORT was put up for sale by Marine Salvage in December 1982.

On 1 December 1875, BRIDGEWATER (3-mast wooden schooner, 706 tons, built in 1866, at Buffalo, New York, as a bark) grounded on Waugoshance Point in the Straits of Mackinac. She was released fairly quickly and then was towed to Buffalo, New York, for repairs. In Buffalo, she was gutted by fire. In 1880-82, the propeller KEYSTONE was built on her hull.

In 1909, the MARQUETTE & BESSEMER NO 2 sank on Lake Erie, 31 lives were lost.

December 1, 1985 - SPARTAN broke loose from her moorings at Ludington in a storm and ended up near Buttersville Island. She was pulled off on December 5, by the Canonie tugs SOUTH HAVEN and MUSKEGON with the help of the CITY OF MIDLAND 41. It took about 10 hours.

On 1 December 1875, the Port Huron Times reported: "The schooner MARY E. PEREW went ashore in the Straits of Mackinac and by the brave efforts of the people on shore, her crew was rescued from perishing in the cold. Her decks were completely covered with ice and the seas were breaking over her. The vessel has a large hole in her bottom made by a rock that came through her. She will prove a total loss." On 7 December 1875, that newspaper reported that MARY E. PEREW had been raised by a wrecker and would be repaired.

On 1 December 1882, DAVID M. FOSTER (wooden 3-mast schooner, 121 foot, 251 tons, built in 1863, at Port Burwell, Ontario as a bark) was carrying lumber from Toronto to Oswego, New York, in a storm. She was picked up by a harbor tug outside of Oswego for a tow into the harbor, but the towline broke. The FOSTER went bows-on into the breakwater. She was holed and sank. No lives were lost. Her loss was valued at $3,300.

On 01 December 1934, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter ESCANABA (WPG 64) (165 foot, 718 gross tons, built in 1932, at W. Bay City, Michigan) was involved in the rescue of the crew of the whaleback HENRY CORT off the piers at Muskegon, Michigan. Also that winter, she delivered food to the residents of Beaver Island, who were isolated due to the bad weather.

SULLIVAN BROTHERS (steel straight-deck bulk freighter, 430 foot, 4897 gross tons, built in 1901, at Chicago, Illinois as FREDERICK B. WELLS) grounded at Vidal Shoal on Tuesday evening, 01 Dec 1953. She was loaded with grain and rested on solid rock. She was recovered.

1934: The whaleback steamer HENRY CORT hit the north pier at Muskegon, MI and was wrecked. All on board were saved but one rescuer perished when the U.S.C.G. surfboat overturned. HENRY CORT was cut up for scrap on location during World War Two.

1961: The Canada Steamship Lines bulk canaller ELGIN struck the Charelvoix Bridge on the Lachine Canal when the structure did not open properly due to a faulty bridge mechanism. The waterway was closed for several days but the ship was not damaged.

1961: ARIE H., a Liberian flagged Liberty ship, went aground near the Snell Lock but was refloated and, the following day, departed the Seaway as the last oceangoing ship of the season.

[yachtsmanwilly]

In 1947, EMORY L. FORD, Captain William J. Lane, departed the Great Northern Elevator in Superior, Wisconsin, with the most valuable cargo of grain shipped on the Great Lakes. The shipment, valued at more than $3 million, consisted of 337,049 bushes of flax valued at $7 a bushel and 140,000 bushels of wheat.

On 04 December 1891, the side-wheel wooden passenger steamer JEANIE, owned by John Craig & Sons, caught fire at the Craig & Sons shipyard in Toledo, Ohio, and burned to the water's edge. She was valued at $25,000 and insured for $10,000.

Algoma Central Marine's ALGOSOO was the last ship built on the Lakes with the traditional fore and aft cabins; her maiden voyage took place today in 1974.

IMPERIAL QUEBEC entered service on December 4, 1957. Renamed b.) SIBYL W. in 1987, and c.) PANAMA TRADER in 1992. Scrapped in Mexico in 1997.

LIGHTSHIP 103 completed her sea trials December 4, 1920.

At 0210 hours on December 4, 1989, the U.S.C.G.C. MESQUITE ran aground in 12 feet of water at a point one-quarter nautical mile off Keweenaw Point. After a struggle to save the ship, the 53 persons aboard abandoned ship at 0830 hours and boarded the Indian salty MANGAL DESAI, which was standing by.

On 4 December 1873, a gale struck Saginaw Bay while the CITY OF DETROIT of 1866 was carrying 8,000 bushels of wheat, package freight and 26 crew and passengers. She was also towing the barge GUIDING STAR. The barge was cut loose in the heavy seas at 3:30 a.m. and about 7 a.m. the CITY OF DETROIT sank. Captain Morris Barrett of the GUIDING STAR saw three of the CITY OF DETROIT's crew in one lifeboat and only one in another lifeboat. The CITY OF DETROIT went down stern first and the passengers and crew were seen grouped together on and about the pilothouse. Capt. Barrett and his crew of seven then abandoned GUIDING STAR. They arrived at Port Elgin, Ontario on 6 December in their yawl with their feet frozen. The barge was later found and towed in by the tug PRINDEVILLE.

On 4 December 1838, THAMES (wooden passenger/package-freight side-wheeler, 80 foot, 160 tons, built in 1833, at Chatham, Ontario) was burned at her dock in Windsor, Ontario by Canadian "patriots" during a raid on Windsor involving more than 500 armed men.

EMERALD ISLE completed her maiden voyage from Beaver Island to Charlevoix on December 4, 1997. Her first cargo included a few cars and 400 passengers. EMERALD ISLE replaced BEAVER ISLANDER as the main ferry on the 32-mile run.

1920: The first RENVOYLE went to saltwater for war service in 1915. It foundered in shallow water on this date in the Bay of Biscay in 1920. Salvage attempts failed. The hull was broken up by the elements and part was scrapped on site.

1951: CAPTAIN C.D. SECORD was disabled and under tow of the SIR THOMAS SHAUGHNESSY when it broke loose in a storm off Isle Royale. The ship was retrieved by U.S.C.G. WOODRUSH and taken to safety and eventually to Port Arthur for repairs.

1966: NAKWA RIVER sustained extensive fire damage at Montreal. The flames broke out while outbound from the Great Lakes.

1986: AMERICAN REPUBLIC was blown on the breakwall at Lorain, Ohio, and received a five-foot gash on the side about 15 feet above the waterline.

1990: IONIA caught fire in the engine room about 90 miles south of Puerto Rico while enroute from Tampa to Chittagong, Bangladesh. The damage was not repaired and the hull was towed to Aliaga, Turkey, as f) ONIA in 1991 and scrapped. The vessel began Seaway service in 1971 as the British flag freighter ZINNIA, returned as b) TIMUR SWIFT in 1983 and as d) ZENOVIA in 1985.

1992: ZEUSPLEIN caught fire in the bridge at Campana, Argentina, and became a total loss. The vessel was sold to shipbreakers in India and arrived for scrapping on June 1, 1993. It had first traveled the Seaway as a) ZEUS in 1972 and had been rebuilt as a container ship in 1983.

On this day in 1942, the tug ADMIRAL and tanker-barge CLEVCO encountered a late season blizzard on Lake Erie. The ADMIRAL sank approximately 10 miles off Avon Point, Ohio, with a loss of 11. The CLEVCO sank 30 hours later off Euclid Beach with a loss of 19.

On 02 December 1857, the NAPOLEON (wooden propeller, 92 foot, 181 tons, built in 1845, at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, as a schooner) went to the assistance of the schooner DREADNAUGHT. In the rescue attempt, the NAPOLEON bent her rudder and disabled her engine. Helpless, she went on a reef off Saugeen, Ontario, and was pounded to pieces. Her engine, boiler and gear were salvaged in the autumn of 1858, and sold at Detroit, Michigan.

Hall Corporation of Canada’s OTTERCLIFFE HALL (Hull # 667) was launched December 2, 1968, at Lauzon, Quebec, by Davie Shipbuilding Co. Ltd.

GEORGE R. FINK, b) ERNEST T. WEIR under tow passed Gibraltar on December 2, 1973, and arrived at Gandia, Spain, prior to December 7, 1973, for scrapping.

Pittsburgh Steamship Co.’s GOVERNOR MILLER (Hull # 810) was launched in1937, at Lorain, Ohio, by American Ship Building Co.

NIPIGON BAY last ran in 1982, and was laid up at Montreal on December 2nd.

December 2, 1975, the brand new carferry WOLFE ISLANDER III sailed into Kingston from Thunder Bay, Ontario. The new 55-car ferry would replace the older ferries WOLFE ISLANDER and UPPER CANADA.

On 2 December 1874, the steam barge GERMANIA was launched at King's yard in Marine City, Michigan. The Port Huron Times of 4 December 1874 reported that she "is probably the cheapest boat ever built in Marine City, wages and material, iron, etc. being very low." This was due to the nation just recovering from the "Panic of 1873." The vessel's dimensions were 144 feet overall x 56 feet 2 inches x 11 feet 9 inches.

On 2 December 1832, the wooden schooner CAROLINE was carrying dry goods worth more than $30,000 from Oswego to Ogdensburg, New York, in a violent storm. She capsized and sank off Ducks Island on Lake Ontario with the loss of one life. Five survived in the yawl and made it to the island in 6 hours. After much suffering from the cold and snow, they were rescued by the schooner HURON.

Duluth - December 2, 1950 - In the early part of this week there were as many as 41 Great Lakes vessels lined up in the Duluth-Superior harbor awaiting their turn to take on their cargoes of iron ore. Freezing temperatures prevailed at the head of the lakes and ore steaming operations permitted loading only of about 10 boats per day.

1964: The anchors of AGIOS NICOLAOS II dragged in a storm on the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the ship drifted aground at Sea-Cow Head, near Summerside, Prince Edward Island. The ship was released and towed to Halifax but not repaired. It had first come through the Seaway as a) ALKAID in 1961 and made one trip inland as b) AGIOS NICOLAOS II in 1964. Following a sale for scrap, the ship arrived at Bilbao, Spain, under tow of the tug PRAIA DE ADRAGA, on April 2, 1965.

1967: The tanker LUBROLAKE and tug IRVING BEECH were blown aground on Cape Breton Island, near New Waterford, NS at a site called the No. 12 Stone Dump. Both ships were abandoned and broken up to the waterline there at a later date.

1976: PEARL ASIA went aground off Port Weller while waiting clearance to head upbound to Thorold with a cargo of bauxite. After being lightered to MAPLEHEATH, the vessel was pulled free. It had begun Seaway trading as a) CRYSTAL CROWN in 1960 and first returned as b) PEARL ASIA in 1971.

1977: KEFALONIA SKY arrived at New Orleans with engine trouble that was later deemed beyond economic repair. The vessel was sold for scrapping at Brownsville, Texas, in 1978. It had first visited the Seaway as NIEUWE TONGE in 1960 and returned as b) AMSTELDIEP in 1963.

2006: The tug SENECA broke loose of the SUSAN B. HOEY on Lake Superior and was blown aground 21 miles east of Grand Marais, Mich. It was refloated on Dec. 23 and taken to Sault Ste. Marie for assessment.

12/3 - Grand Haven, Mich. – Lake Michigan is expected to continue to rise above long-term averages this spring, according to the latest data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Keith Kompoltowicz, chief of watershed hydrology for the Corps of Engineers’ Detroit District, said Lakes Michigan and Huron are expected to be 7-9 inches higher in spring 2018 compared to this past spring.

Lakes Huron and Michigan are measured as one unit by the Corps of Engineers.

According to the data, all of the Great Lakes are expected to remain above long-term averages when it comes to water levels through the spring. Lake Ontario is expected to be close to its long-term average, while the rest of the Great Lakes are expected to be significantly above averages.

Kompoltowicz said instances of erosion and shoreline flooding have occurred on all of the Great Lakes within the past few years. “Anytime you get those higher-than-average levels, the waves break closer and closer to infrastructure and shoreline protection,” he explained. “Erosion and shoreline flooding will continue under these circumstances.”

Kompoltowicz said the corps is working on updated forecasts for the Great Lakes’ levels, which will include predictions for next month through May 2018. “It’s certainly a concern for those with property along the Great Lakes, and the Great Lakes are very powerful bodies of water, which can stir up large waves very quickly,” he said.

Drew Gronewold, a hydrologist with the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, said water levels are part of a cyclical process. The Great Lakes normally rise in the spring as snow melts, peak in August or July, and then decrease in November and October as water evaporates from the lakes at a high rate.

Water levels usually hit a low for the year in the winter months. If that process continued with average snowfall, average runoff in the spring and average evaporation in the fall, then water levels would stay around the same, Gronwold said.

Since early 2013, precipitation in the Great Lakes region has been above average and evaporation has been below average. Gronewold said this is the cause behind the increase in water levels since 2013.

If there is an abundant snowfall this winter and wet conditions in the spring, it is possible that Lakes Michigan and Huron could approach the record high levels of 1986.

Grand Haven Tribune

12/3 - Duluth, Minn. – Seeing a problem on the road and making a quick U-turn is one thing. Being alerted to a bridge ahead of you that won't raise means a wide turn and a whole lot of skill if you're the captain and crew of a 1,000-foot Great Lakes freighter.

The crew of the Paul R. Tregurtha had to pull a 360-degree maneuver on Friday morning when they learned the aerial lift bridge in Duluth, Minn., that they'd planned to go under had malfunctioned and was not raising properly.

To avoid a potential problem, the freighter did a wide turn before coming back under the bridge, which by then had resumed working. The spin maneuver was caught on an aerial camera and shared by Duluth TV station WDIO. View the video at this link: www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/12/why_the_great_lakes_largest_fr.html

[yachtsmanwilly]

Got the old atom smasher back AGAIN and now i finally bit the big weeine and am running google chrome. Im a nickel kinda guy so if this stuff turns out funky, deal with it LOL... ws

12/5 - Cold southwest winds 20-35 mph with gusts over 45 mph off Lake Michigan and the Straits will produce hazardous conditions from northwest Lower Michigan through the Straits and into the Upper Peninsula from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday evening. Total snow accumulations of 5 to 9 inches are expected, with localized amounts up to 13 inches possible.

9-10 News

12/5 - Bruce Peninsula, Ont. – After 136 years on the bottom of Colpoys Bay, the Jane Miller has been found. The 78-foot package and passenger steamer that sank in a storm on Nov. 25, 1881, taking along some 25 people, was discovered in the summer lying intact on the lake bottom.

American shipwreck hunters Jared Daniels, Jerry Eliason and Ken Merryman made the discovery on July 27 and revealed their find on the 136th anniversary of the sinking. The ship is mostly structurally intact with its mast still standing, rising within some 75 feet of the surface. They also spotted what could be bodies on the wreck.

Merryman, who has been hunting for shipwrecks for over 40 years, said it was exciting to be able to find the Jane Miller after it had been lost for so long. “People call these things time capsules and they absolutely are,” Merryman said Sunday from his home in Minnesota. “That ship took on 10 to 20 tonnes of cargo, so now the archeologists have a snapshot of 1880s life on the Bruce Peninsula with what kinds of things are there.”

Local marine history author Scott Cameron said finding the Jane Miller is a major discovery for the area. He said there aren't very many ships left from the era, the wreck is mostly intact and it holds substantial archeological significance.

The Jane Miller was launched in 1879 from a small shipyard at Little Current on Manitoulin Island. The coastal steamer conducted a regular service between Collingwood and Manitoulin with stops along the way, taking passengers along with loads of goods like apples, butter, furniture, farm implements and other assorted freight up the eastern side of the peninsula and to Manitoulin Island.

The night it sank it sailed with a very heavy load from Owen Sound to Meaford, where more freight and passengers were picked up. In total, 25 people were aboard the ship, including the crew, passengers heading to destinations on the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island and 10 unidentified shantymen heading for the lumber camps on the peninsula.

The Jane Miller docked at Big Bay at 8:30 p.m. to pick up cordwood fuel before setting off to continue its journey amid streamers of snow and gale-force winds. Its next stop was said to be what was then known as Spencer's dock, midway between Big Bay and Wiarton. Witnesses on shore last saw what was assumed to be the Jane Miller heading in the direction of Wiarton as it passed through the gap between White Cloud Island and the mainland sometime after 9 p.m.

A brass plaque stands at Colpoy's Lookout Conservation Area, 11 kilometres east of Wiarton detailing the loss of the Jane Miller. In the days after the sinking some wreckage, personal items and freight were found. Searchers also noticed some bubbles and discoloration on the water, but the steamer itself was never found.

On July 27, 2017, the team of Daniel, Eliason and Merryman, with a permit from the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, discovered the Jane Miller.

Merryman said they mostly shipwreck hunt on Lake Superior, but have also done some hunting on the U.S. side of Lake Huron, as well as Lake Erie and Lake Michigan. Merryman and Eliason have been hunting together for about 27 years and and have found 20 shipwrecks together. They also both found several shipwrecks before they teamed up. In July, the seasoned shipwreck hunters were in the Wiarton area with plans to search for the Manasoo and Jane Miller. After the weather made it difficult to search the open water where they believed the Manasoo is, they decided to look for the other ship.

Merryman, a founder of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Preservation Society, said history told them the Jane Miller went down between Big Bay and what was Spencer's dock. They decided to look past the dock location, theorizing that the captain, Andrew Port, might have shot past the dock in order to drift into it, or decided to continue on to Wiarton.

It was only on about the second or third pass the searchers realized success and their sonar picked up the wreck at 3:30 p.m. “We found it fairly quick and it was in a diveable depth,” said Merryman. “Nowadays that is fairly unusual. We weren't expecting that.”

The hunters aren't disclosing the exact location and depth of the wreck to allow government officials a chance to determine how to proceed with preservation and protection.

The next morning Merryman and the others headed back out to the site to dive and videotape the wreck. It was found sitting upright, three of the four large yawl davits that held the lifeboats still standing and the mast rising above. The hull is intact and the main deck cabins are intact, while the upper cabins have collapsed. Merryman said the wood on the side of the cabins had deteriorated and allowed them to see most of what was inside.

Their provincial permit didn't allow penetration of the wreck, but they made out what could be corpses on the ship.

Among some of the key features they made out were a fire extinguisher attached to the side of the ship, the ship's wheel, anchor and engine. Merryman could also make out a large stack of dishes that he suspected was cargo. Their dive lasted about 25 minutes and while Merryman said they would have liked to dive the wreck again, uncooperative weather and time constraints didn't allow for it.

He said he is hopeful that the government gets a chance to study the ship and see what is on the wreck. “We found it, but it is your wreck,” said Merryman, who said their permit allowed them to search and photograph the wreck before reporting it to the Ontario government, which they have done. The searchers have produced a video of the wreck, which can be seen at

Cameron expects the Jane Miller site will be protected since it is a gravesite and praised the dive team for not revealing the location.

“We certainly don't want people out there looking for it again,” said Cameron, who expects the Ontario Marine History Committee to protect the site, much like the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank on Nov. 10, 1975, with the loss of the entire crew of 29. “You can't dive on the Edmund Fitzgerald and that is probably what will happen on the Jane Miller,” Cameron said.

Owen Sound Sun Times


In 1927, ALTADOC crashed on the rocks of the Keweenaw Peninsula when her steering gear parted during a Lake Superior storm. The machinery and pilothouse of the wreck were recovered in 1928. The pilothouse was eventually refurbished in 1942 and opened as the Worlds Smallest Hotel in Copper Harbor, Michigan. The owners resided in the captains’ quarters, a gift shop was set up in the chart room, a guest lounge was set up in the wheelhouse, and there were two rooms for guests.

On 05 December 1897, the GEORGE W. MORLEY (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 193 foot, 1045 gross tons, built in 1888, at W. Bay City, Michigan) was sailing light from Milwaukee to Chicago when a fire started near her propeller shaft. It blazed up too quickly for the engineer to put it out and before he could get the fire pump started, the flames drove on deck. The firemen were kept at their posts as the vessel was steered to shore. She sank 100 yards off Greenwood Avenue, Evanston, Illinois. Luckily no lives were lost. The vessel’s engine was recovered in October 1898.

Tanker SATURN (Hull#218) was launched in 1973, for Cleveland Tankers at Jennings, Louisiana, by S.B.A. Shipyards, Inc.

SIR JAMES DUNN (Hull#109) was launched in 1951, for Canada Steamship Lines at Port Arthur, Ontario, by Port Arthur Shipbuilding Co. Ltd.

The keel was laid for the E.G. GRACE on December 5, 1942. This was the last of the six ships built by AmShip in the L6-S-A1 class for the United States Maritime Commission and was traded to the Interlake Steamship Company in exchange for older tonnage. She would later become the first of the "Maritime Class" vessels to go for scrap in 1984.

On 5 December 1874, the steam barge MILAN was scheduled to be hauled ashore at Port Huron to replace her "Mississippi wheel" with a propeller.

The wooden 100-foot schooner BRILLIANT was close to Sheboygan, Wisconsin, on 5 December 1857, where she was scheduled to pick up a load of lumber when she went on a reef close to shore and sank. No lives were lost.

1909: HENRY STEINBRENNER (i) sank in a snowstorm on Mud Lake following a collision with the HARRY A. BERWIND. The superstructure remained above water and the ship was later refloated and repaired.

1927: The wooden steamer ADVANCE went aground off Manitoulin Island and two sailors were lost. The ship was salvaged but tied up at Cornwall later in the month and never operated again.

1935: The lumber carrier SWIFT caught fire at Sturgeon Bay and was a total loss. The remains were scrapped in 1936.

1935: The 65-year old wooden tug LUCKNOW burned outside the harbor at Midland and the ship was beached as a total loss.

1952: The wooden tug GARGANTUA departed Collingwood under tow and sought shelter from a storm early the next day behind Cabot Head. The ship was scuttled to avoid the rocky shore with the main part of the hull above water. The intent was to refloat the vessel in 1953 but it was abandoned instead.

1964: FAYETTE BROWN, enroute to Bilbao, Spain, for scrap, broke loose of the tug BARENTSZ ZEE in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and drifted aground on the south shore of Anticosti Island. Salvage efforts were not successful and the remains of the hull, now broken into many pieces, are still there.

1971: VENUS CHALLENGER was sunk by a missile in the India-Pakistan war while 26 miles south of Karachi. The ship broke in two and sank in 8 minutes. All 33 on board were lost. The vessel was completely darkened and going at 16 knots when hit. The ship had been a Seaway trader earlier in 1971 and as b) PLEIAS in 1968.

1976: TATIANA L. and RALPH MISENER sustained minor damage from a collision in the St. Lawrence. The former was scrapped at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, as c) LUCKY LADY in 2009, while the latter arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, for dismantling as c) DON in September 2012.

1987: The CASON foundered off Punta Rostro, Spain, enroute from Hamburg to Shanghai, due to heavy weather. There were 8 survivors but another 23 sailors perished. There were explosions and fires in deck containers and the hull broke in two during a salvage effort in May 1988. The ship had come through the Seaway as b) WOLFGANG RUSS in 1978 and FINN LEONHARDT in 1979.