Today in Great Lakes History

[yachtsmanwilly]

8/21 - Ludington, Mich. – The 8:45 pm carferry Badger crossing for Monday night and the 1:30 am crossing for Tuesday morning were cancelled due to inclement weather. The National Weather Service was forecasting winds to 30 knots with waves up to 12 feet. Displaced passengers should call the reservations office at 1-800-841-4243 for assistance with rebooking their trip. The ferry service anticipates the weather will moderate and allow the vessel to sail on Tuesday morning, departing from Ludington at 9 am eastern time.

Lake Michigan Carferry


8/21 - Duluth, Minn. – Preparations are already in the works for the delicate movement of the William A. Irvin, Duluth's 611-foot long floating museum.

For the first time in about 30 years, the retired laker will leave its berth in Minnesota Slip, squeezing through the abutments of the pedestrian lift bridge with just over 7 inches to spare on either side. The ship has never before passed through the bridge, which was built after the vessel was moored and placed on display in the slip.

Inch by inch, the Irvin will be guided meticulously via winch cables attached to both its bow and stern. As detailed in bid specifications, the ship's speed as it navigates the slip will be restricted to a maximum crawl of 1 foot every 4 seconds. At that rate, it will take more than 40 minutes for the vessel to move one length.

"There will always be two winches on — one that pulls and one that brakes," said Chad Scott, a principal partner of AMI Consulting Engineers P.A.

He explained that controlling the speed of the ship is essential. "When you take a large mass, if you get moving too fast you need a huge force to stop it," Scott said. "It's simple physics."

He estimates it will take about four to five hours to get the ship into open water. "It's an orchestra that will be moving this vessel around and taking its time. It's not going to be a rush project," Scott said.

Jim Filby Williams, Duluth's director of public administration, said the movement of the Irvin is one of three linked projects, with the other two being the reconstruction of the seawalls at Minnesota Slip, and the remediation of contaminated sediments that have accumulated in the waterway.

The city of Duluth expects to spend a grand sum of about $800,000 from tourism tax collections to remove the Irvin from the slip, transport it to Fraser Shipyards in Superior, where it will be placed in drydock and then repainted, before it returns to Duluth in the spring.

But the city's costs pale in comparison to the $10 million that will be spent to complete the rest of the work at Minnesota Slip, with that larger burden being borne by the state of Minnesota, the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center.

The Irvin needs to be out of Minnesota Slip by Oct. 1 to allow for contaminated sediments there to be capped in place and stabilized. Filby Williams expects the vessel to be moved by late August or early September.

The timing will depend largely on the weather. The ship won't move in winds exceeding 5 mph or if gusts approach 10 mph. The contract limits wave heights to no more than 6 inches and currents to less than 0.5 feet per second.

Filby Williams said the ship likely will be moved during pre-dawn hours, when winds are typically more subdued and marine traffic is minimal.

"The narrow nature of the channel opening is what's adding a critical difficulty to the project. If it was 10 feet wider, I guess it would be a no-brainer," Scott said.

"You can't get the vessel turned at all or you're going to have problems," he explained.

Scott said the repair of failing seawalls was a necessary precursor, as its steel pilings had bowed so badly the Irvin would not have had room to safely clear the channel.

But the new seawall is straight and true. Scott said plans call for that wall to serve as a guide for the ship, with fenders placed along its length to prevent any direct contact. A couple of protection piles also will be installed to keep the vessel from drifting into the bridge abutments.

Scott said the Irvin will need to remain on a straight path even as it exits the slip to avoid contact with the bridge and the seawalls.

"We need a straight line, something that we can follow so that the vessel doesn't get turned. And it can't get turned by much or you're going to have issues," he said.

Wren Works LLC, the firm that will be hired to oversee the move, plans to use spud barges — which can be moored in place with through-deck pilings or steel shafts to provide a stable, solid platform — with fenders attached to guide the Irvin out into the harbor for about 450 feet from the bridge. A surveyor will be on hand to ensure the barges are properly aligned and secured in place.

The Irvin will undergo about $170,000 in improvements in preparation for the move, receiving work on its deck winches, anchor system, ballast alarms and rudder.

While relocating the Irvin will be costly, Filby Williams also views the project as an opportunity.

"Having to remove the Irvin in some ways is an unwelcome challenge, but there's actually something fortuitous about it, because the Irvin hasn't received substantial maintenance on its hull for 30 years, and in some places the pitting in the hull has eliminated nearly half of the thickness. We, as a community, were going to have to do this in 5-10 years anyway. But by doing it now, we're doing it with a level of expertise and support available that we probably would not have had if we were doing this only for the purpose of restoring the vessel," he said.

The city has submitted a Minnesota Legacy Grant proposal on behalf of the DECC, seeking $600,000 to $750,000 to cover the cost of work to be done at Fraser. Filby Williams expects to learn by late October if that grant application was successful and said he's "cautiously optimistic" it will be.

WDAY


August 21, 1996 - The former U. S. Army Corps of Engineers tug MARQUETTE was downbound past Detroit on her delivery trip to her new owners, based in Key West, Florida. Renamed MONA LARUE in 1997, she is no longer in documentation.
At 7:10 p.m. on August 21, 1901, the whaleback steamer ALEXANDER McDOUGALL (steel propeller modified whaleback freighter, 413 foot, 3,686 gross tons, built in 1898, at W. Superior, Wisconsin) ran into and cut in two the tug GEORGE STAUBER (wooden propeller tug, 55 foot, 43 gross tons, built in 1883, at Buffalo, New York) in the rapids at the mouth of the St. Clair River. The STAUBER sank immediately in about 60 feet of water. No lives were lost. The steam barge IDA assisted in retrieving people in the water. The McDOUGALL did not stop.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[yachtsmanwilly]

On this day in 1939, the RICHARD J. REISS collided with the YOSEMITE on the St. Clair River. There were no casualties but damage to the Reiss amounted to $26,593.80 and damage to the YOSEMITE amounted to $23,443.09. The REISS was built in 1901, as the a.) GEORGE W. PEAVEY. Renamed b.) RICHARD J. REISS in 1917, c.) SUPERIOR in 1943. She was scrapped at Hamilton, Ontario, in 1947. The YOSEMITE carried her name throughout her career, built in 1901, and scrapped at Buffalo, New York, in 1954.
Capt. Frank R. West took his 8-year-old son Robert and the boy's friend, 8-year-old Edward Erickson aboard the new schooner LOUIS MEEKER as guests on a trip carrying 27,000 bushels of oats from Chicago to Buffalo. There was hardly any wind and it took them four days to creep north as far as Pentwater, Michigan. On August 28, 1872, Captain West saw a storm coming and he had the sails taken in as a precaution. The winds came so suddenly and they hit the vessel so hard that the schooner was knocked over on her beam ends. Little Robert West, his dad and three sailors were lost when the vessel sank 15 minutes later near Big Sable Point. Peter Danielson dove and tried to cut away the lifeboat as the schooner was sinking and he almost drowned in that unsuccessful attempt. The mizzen gaff broke free and seven sailors plus little Edward Erickson clung to it until they were picked up by the schooner WILLIAM O. BROWN six hours later.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On August 22, 1898, the schooner FANNY CAMPBELL (wooden schooner, 404 tons, built in 1868, at St. Catherines, Ontario) ran ashore near Johnston's Harbor in Georgian Bay. She was sailing light on her way for a load of cordwood.
The ALGOPORT left Collingwood, Ontario, August 22, 1979, on her maiden voyage for Calcite, Michigan, to load limestone bound for Spragge, Ontario.

R. L. IRELAND (Hull #62) was launched August 22, 1903, at Chicago, Illinois, by Chicago Ship Building Co. for the Gilchrist Transportation Co. Renamed b.) SIRIUS in 1913, and c.) ONTADOC in 1926.

The ENDERS M VOORHEES was towed out of Duluth, Minnesota, on August 22, 1987, by the tugs AVENGER IV and CHIPPEWA, and was the first of the 'Supers' towed off the Lakes for scrap.

ROGER M. KYES sailed on her maiden voyage on August 22,1973, from Toledo, Ohio, to load iron ore at Escanaba, Michigan. She was built under Title XI of the Merchant Marine Act of 1970. This program allowed U.S. shipping companies to construct new vessels or to modernize their existing fleet by government guaranteed financing and tax deferred benefits. The KYES was the second of 10 ships launched for American Steamship but the first to enter service under this arrangement. The total cost of the ten ships was more than $250 million. Renamed b.) ADAM E. CORNELIUS in 1989.

On August 22, 1863, WILLIAM S. BULL (wooden propeller steam tug, 16 tons, built in 1861, at Buffalo, New York) waterlogged and went down in a storm 40 miles east of Erie, Pennsylvania. She was in company of the tug G. W. GARDNER and the canal boat M. E. PAINE, who saved her crew.

On August 22, 1876, the Canadian schooner LAUREL sank off Big Sandy Creek on Lake Ontario. The crew made it to shore in the yawl. The LAUREL was bound from Kingston, Ontario, to Charlotte, New York, with iron ore.

On August 22, 1900, SPECULAR (wooden propeller freighter, 264 foot, 1,742 gross tons, built in 1882, at Cleveland, Ohio) was carrying iron ore when she was a "hit & run" victim by the steamer DENVER at 2 a.m. and sank in six minutes in the Pelee Passage on Lake Erie. Fifteen of her crew abandoned in her yawl and were saved. The remaining five scrambled up into the rigging and clung there until they were rescued four hours later by the steamer MARITANA and brought to Detroit. Salvagers worked on the wreck continuously until they gave up on September 28. Wreck lies 3.16 miles SE from Pelee Passage light. She was owned by Republic Iron Co. of Cleveland.

1890: The wooden barge TASMANIA, upbound with coal under tow of the steamer CALEDONIA, sank in the Lake George Channel of the St. Marys River after a collision with the J.H. WADE. TASMANIA was later refloated and repaired only to be lost in Lake Erie on October 18, 1905.

1909: NORMAN B. REAM and SENATOR collided in the St. Marys River above Pipe Island and the latter sank with her masts above water. She was later salvaged but was lost in Lake Michigan, off Kenosha, after a collision with the MARQUETTE on October 31, 1929.

1917: The wooden steamer JOHN S. THOM, enroute to Erie with coal, went aground on a shoal 22 miles west of Charlotte, NY. The vessel was later refloated and taken to Ogdensburg, NY for repairs.

1940: The second THOROLD, sent overseas to assist in the war effort, was attacked and sunk by three German aircraft as she was carrying coal from Cardiff to London. There were 9 lives lost while another 3 crew members were injured. The vessel was under attack for 3 hours before it went down and became the third Canadian merchant ship lost in this, the early stages, of the war.

[yachtsmanwilly]

At 2:00 a.m. on 24 August 1892, the GEORGE N. BRADY (wooden propeller tug, 102 foot, 165 gross tons, built in 1865, at Detroit or Marine City, Michigan) was engaged in pulling a raft of logs across Lake St. Clair along with the tug SUMNER. Fire was discovered around the BRADY's smokestack and the flames quickly spread. The crew was taken off of the stricken vessel by the SUMNER, and the BRADY was cut free of the raft. The blazing vessel drifted to the American shore where she sank about three miles north of Grosse Pointe, Michigan. No lives were lost.
LEON SIMARD (Hull#413) was launched August 24, 1974, at Sorel, Quebec by Marine Industries Ltd. for Branch Lines Ltd. Renamed b.) L'ORME NO 1 in 1982. Sold off the lakes in 1997, renamed c.) TRADEWIND OCEAN d.) AMARA in 2001 and MENNA in 2008.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[yachtsmanwilly]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In 1791, John Fitch was granted a United States patent for the steamboat.
On August 26,1872, wooden propeller steamer LAKE BREEZE of 1868, was steaming from Saginaw to Mackinaw City with freight and about 40 passengers when fire broke out in the kitchen while off Au Sable, Michigan. Captain M. S. Lathrop ordered the engines shut down and the steam pumps activated. The crew battled the blaze with fire hoses and put the flames out. When the LAKE BREEZE pulled into Mackinaw City that night, the partially burned vessel was still smoking.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The new Poe Lock at the Soo was first flooded on 27 August 1968.
On August 27, 1886, The Detroit Evening News reported that a fireman on the tug J. H. HACKLEY of 1874, was sent to watch for a leak in the boiler, which was being filled with cold water at a dock in Chicago. He fell asleep and the boiler overflowed, very nearly sinking the vessel before another tug could pump her dry.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[yachtsmanwilly]

8/28 - Renovation started this summer on a multi-year and multi-million dollar project to restore a Great Lakes icon and, for the first time, open its doors to the public. White Shoal Lighthouse is offshore 20 miles west of the Mackinac Bridge. It’s not visible from land and is a rare sight for boaters, but its red and white, barber pole stripes make it a popular memorabilia item throughout the Great Lakes.

Michigan even featured the light on fundraising license plates until private owners purchased the light station for $110,000 in 2016. The sale was finalized in June.

The new co-owners, Brent Tompkins and Mike Lynch, with the White Shoal Light Historical Preservation Society, said they hope to convert the lighthouse into a bed and breakfast with a first-floor museum and gift shop that people can visit from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

They said the goal is to restore the lighthouse to its vintage “1950s glory.”

“That place is one-of-kind,” Lynch said. “The other ones are kind of like Alcatraz on water. They are not really pretty, they are not really stylish, but for that White Shoal one they spared no expense on it.”

The men said it’s a shame so few have seen it in person. “We could have turned it into a cottage, but I like it and Brent loves it,” Lynch said. “He wants to turn it into something super cool and let everyone come and be a part of it, where some of the other guys are just making personal fortresses of them (lighthouses), and not sharing them with the world. He wanted to share it, and I did too.”

It’s a lofty project for the 11-level building, which is still an active navigation aid. The Coast Guard inspects the battery, solar panel and foghorn yearly.

The red and white stripes are now faded. Birds perch on the lighthouse, leaving behind tell-tale droppings of their successful meals, Tompkins said. Bridge spiders, fortunate to catch a strong wind from the shore, have spun webs of nature-made security around the long-abandoned structure. It’s much different from the picture of the pristine White Shoal Lighthouse he had on his wall as a child.

Inside, layer upon layer of lead paint chips from the wall. The Coast Guard removed doors for ventilation, but Tompkins said the trim and plaster work are in good condition.

“It seems like a huge money pit, and this is something I knew,” Tompkins said. “It was going to be difficult, and that was the part that drew me to it — the engineering challenges and the fact that nothing is going to be easy. Everything takes three times as long as it would on land, at least.”

Tompkins said the lighthouse holds “every smell known to man,” including dampness, fish and bird droppings and the faint odor of the diesel fuel the Coast Guard used to run generators.

The lighthouse has five bedrooms within the 5,000-square-foot interior. The stairs can be climbed without entering bedrooms, which is unique for Michigan lighthouses, Tompkins said. “The lantern room at the top is spectacular,” he said. “When you are in it, it is absolutely enormous. We could actually fit probably 20 people in the lantern room itself.”

The owners plan to offer boat tours for daily visitors. They’ve been collecting old photos from previous lightkeepers for the museum. They say they hope the pictures and the men’s stories will also guide the restoration.

Tompkins and Lynch, who both work as builders, said its condition makes it a huge undertaking, and the project will take years to complete.

The Coast Guard abandoned the White Shoal Lighthouse and others in the Great Lakes in the 1970s after technology and dredging made manned light stations unnecessary. Many were gutted. Contents, like cabinets and radiator covers, were thrown into the lakes in a practice known as “vertical disposal,” according to Terry Pepper, a lighthouse historian and director emeritus of the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association.

“When you’ve got a lighthouse sitting out 20 miles in the lake and you are removing things from it, a lot of the stuff wouldn’t serve any purpose, so it was not uncommon for those to be dumped,” Pepper said.

Pepper visited the White Shoal Lighthouse with a research crew in 2012. He said his organization discussed bidding on it when it came up for sale.

“If anybody thinks about what is a Michigan lighthouse, well dammit, White Shoal is the quintessential lighthouse, and we should step up and try it,” Pepper said he told his organization at the time.

“Everybody said we would love to, but we have a hard enough time coming up with large enough amounts of money that we need to preserve and restore the two lighthouses that we already own. It would be ridiculous to think we could take on that type of project, he said. The challenge ahead of those guys is pretty damn large.”

Pepper said the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association estimated restoration would cost the organization about $2 million to take it on.

“The thing that those guys have going for them is they have a group of guys that have a lot of abilities, and they are a very motivated and relatively young group,” he said. “A lot of the people on the board of the association, we are all in our 60s and 70s, so we are trying to get more young people involved, but those guys are all in their 40s and 50s.

“They’ve got the chutzpah and physicality and hopefully the money to do it,” said Pepper, who’s provided guidance to the new owners.

His association, with the help of hundreds of volunteers, spent more than 20 years renovating the St. Helena Island light station and site, which is 10 miles offshore from Gros Cap, in Lake Michigan.

Pepper said the location presented similar challenges because of the high waves and shallow water. Work crews couldn’t dock, so they anchored 100 feet from shore and transferred building materials by Zodiac rafts. It also lacks a dock, which makes it dangerous to leave boats against its concrete base. Tompkins said repairing the crane to lift boats from the water is a priority.

“Then as long as we’ve got supplies we can stay indefinitely,” Tompkins said. “That’s really the only way we are going to get anything done because usually we are running out, we are spending three or four hours on the station, and we are getting chased off by the weather.”

The lighthouse recently passed structural evaluations. Other priorities include asbestos and lead paint removal. Tompkins said they hope to repaint the faded red and white stripes next summer. “It really needs a paint job to get the excitement going,” he said.

Tompkins said it could take more than five years and $3 million before the lighthouse is ready for guests. “It’s going to take an army of people” and an abundance of donations to be successful, he said.

The White Shoal Light Historical Preservation Society recently launched a Facebook page with images of the restoration efforts. It includes historic photos, new videos and underwater pictures of what divers said is a newly discovered shipwreck. The organization will begin fundraising soon, the owners said.

Soo News


On this day in 1939, the RICHARD J. REISS collided with the YOSEMITE on the St. Clair River. There were no casualties but damage to the Reiss amounted to $26,593.80 and damage to the YOSEMITE amounted to $23,443.09. The REISS was built in 1901, as the a.) GEORGE W. PEAVEY. Renamed b.) RICHARD J. REISS in 1917, c.) SUPERIOR in 1943. She was scrapped at Hamilton, Ontario, in 1947. The YOSEMITE carried her name throughout her career, built in 1901, and scrapped at Buffalo, New York, in 1954.
Capt. Frank R. West took his 8-year-old son Robert and the boy's friend, 8-year-old Edward Erickson aboard the new schooner LOUIS MEEKER as guests on a trip carrying 27,000 bushels of oats from Chicago to Buffalo. There was hardly any wind and it took them four days to creep north as far as Pentwater, Michigan. On August 28, 1872, Captain West saw a storm coming and he had the sails taken in as a precaution. The winds came so suddenly and they hit the vessel so hard that the schooner was knocked over on her beam ends. Little Robert West, his dad and three sailors were lost when the vessel sank 15 minutes later near Big Sable Point. Peter Danielson dove and tried to cut away the lifeboat as the schooner was sinking and he almost drowned in that unsuccessful attempt. The mizzen gaff broke free and seven sailors plus little Edward Erickson clung to it until they were picked up by the schooner WILLIAM O. BROWN six hours later.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[yachtsmanwilly]

8/29 - On August 25 the crew of CSL Welland was involved in a rescue operation that saved a man’s life.

“We commend Captain Wilson Walters and his crew for this act of heroism that is a true testament to the professionalism, teamwork and courage of the crew,” said Louis Martel, CSL President and CEO. “Thanks to regular training and drills, CSL Welland seafarers instinctively performed their Man Overboard duties and did exactly what they were trained to do. The emergency operation explicitly demonstrated that training and drills do save lives.”

While transiting through Lake Ontario off the coast of Olcott, New York, crew members on watch in the CSL Welland’s wheelhouse noticed objects floating in the water. Captain Walters was immediately notified and communicated the information to the Coast Guard.

As the crew members kept watch, it became apparent that the objects were in fact two people. The captain immediately activated the general alarm, alerted the Coast Guard and proceeded with an emergency manoeuvre of the ship to seek and rescue the people. The entire crew immediately deployed Man Overboard protocols and procedures and took on the roles and responsibilities for which they were trained.

Meanwhile, a small fishing boat was sighted in the area and was summoned by the captain to assist with the rescue of one of the individuals. The fishing boat was able to rescue a conscious man, who was transferred onto CSL Welland. The crew provided the necessary first aid to prevent shock and keep the survivor warm, dry and hydrated.

The CSL Welland crew located the second person in the water and the ship’s rescue boat was launched. The crew recovered the visibly unconscious man into the rescue boat and commenced administering CPR to revive him. Because of the restricted space in the rescue boat, the man was transferred into the assisting fishing vessel and CPR was continuously performed until the arrival of the US and Canadian Coast Guards. Once on the scene, Coast Guard officials boarded the fishing vessel and attended to the unconscious man who was pronounced dead shortly after.

The deceased man was transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter and taken ashore. The survivor was transferred from CSL Welland to the fishing vessel and proceeded ashore along with the U.S. Coast Guard.

Following the departure of the Coast Guard, the Captain held a meeting with his crew and commended them on their heroic efforts. He also reminded them that their active participation in regular drills was the reason they were able to respond with such speed and precision that helped save a life.

CSL Group


8/29 - Toledo, Ohio – The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority has no power to intervene in a labor dispute between the stevedore company that operates one of its docks and a labor union, lawyers retained by a member of the port’s board of directors have advised.

But Basil W. Mangano, a local representative of the Cleveland-based Mangano Law Offices, advised the port board in a letter dated Wednesday that it “might consider suggesting to both parties that they resolve their private dispute by engaging the services of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

“In my 20 years’ experience as a union-side labor attorney, I have found the agency to be very helpful in resolving private disputes between my clients and employers,” Mr. Mangano wrote.

And a quick resolution to the labor dispute — which has spilled over to refusals by navigational pilots working on ocean-going ships to pass the dock workers’ picket boat — is something port officials would like to see before it disrupts the expected arrival of machinery for a $700 million iron-concentration plant now under construction near the port.

Sean Enright, business manager for the Northwest Ohio Building Trades council of unions, said he’s worried that Local 1982, International Longshoremen’s Association, which has been in a long-running dispute with Midwest Terminals of Toledo International, will spread its pickets to the former Interlake Dock where those iron plant machinery shipments are slated for handling.

Shipments of heavy equipment for expansion of the Oregon Clean Energy Center a few miles away also could be affected, Mr. Enright said.

“We reached out to the ILA to put their members to work on those ships coming in,” Mr. Enright said Thursday. “But after talking to us for a while, they said ‘no’ … so they may target our ships.”

Paul Toth, port authority president and chief executive, said 13 or 14 shipments of heavy machinery are scheduled later this year for the iron plant, plus several more next year. “If that equipment doesn’t come in, everything stops on that project,” he said.

The machinery cargoes could be transferred somewhere else from foreign ships to domestic barges, but that would be extremely expensive, Mr. Enright said.

But William Yockey, an ILA trustee managing Local 1982, said the union has not closed the door to efforts to defuse the situation. He said he is attempting now to structure an agreement to insure that upcoming work at the Interlake Dock goes unimpeded.

“As of right now, we’re in talks with people in [Local] 1982 to do the longshoring work at that dock. We don’t have a dispute at that dock,” Mr. Yockey said. “We’re gong to do everything we can to work something out with the building trades. We have a dispute with Midwest Terminals only.”

Mr. Yockey added that navigational pilots, some of which the ILA represents through its International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots union affiliate, are not taking sides in the labor dispute despite how it may look.

“I used to be a pilot, so I know. They are choosing to remain neutral,” he said. “They don’t get involved because they know the next day they have to work with everybody.”

A Cleveland-Cliffs spokesman did not respond to a call seeking comment.

www.toledoblade.com/business/2018/08/25/Concerns-mount-over-disruptions-by-the-ongoing-union-dispute-at-Toledo-Lucas-County-Port-Authority-s-general-cargo-docks/stories/20180823161


8/29 - Engine department of the S.S. Badger seeking to immediately fill entry-level position. This position assists the fireman in operating and maintaining the ships boilers and conveyor equipment. The mariner working this job can expect to live aboard the ship and stand a 4 hour watch, twice a day, 7 days per week for the rest of our 2018 sailing season (ends October 14th). Required to hold a USCG Merchant Mariner Credential and a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). Possibility of full-time hire for next season (mid-May to mid-Oct). To submit an online application, visit our website at www.ssbadger.com scroll to and click on Enrollment Opportunities to obtain access to the online application. For more information, call Laurie at 231-843-7223 Mon-Fri 8 am to 5 pm.


August 29, 1996 - The NICOLET, which had been sold for scrap, left Toledo under tow of the McKeil tug OTIS WACK, arriving in Port Maitland, Ontario during the early hours of the 30th. Last operated in 1990, the NICOLET was built in 1905 by Great Lakes Engineering Work at Ecorse, Michigan as the a.) WILLIAM G. MATHER (25), b) J. H. SHEADLE (55), c) H. L. GOBEILLE. The vessel spent the first 60 years of her life in service for the Cleveland-Cliffs Steamship Company. After 1965, her ownership was transferred to the Gartland Steamship Company and eventually American Steamship Company.
On this day in 1974, unsuccessful negotiations on a major shipbuilding contract resulting in Litton Industries terminating operations at its Erie yard. The Litton yard had built the first 1,000-foot boat on the lakes, the STEWART J. CORT, and the 1,000-foot tug-barge PRESQUE ISLE.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[yachtsmanwilly]

8/30 - Marblehead, Ohio - Lake Erie has no sea monsters, but it may house a Lake Serpent. The Lake Serpent, that is. After weeks of underwater excavation, a team of researchers and volunteers is inching closer to ruling on whether a wreck recently found near Kelley's Island is in fact the Lake Serpent, a ship known to have sunk in 1829.

If it is the Serpent, as suspected, the site would be the oldest known shipwreck in Lake Erie, a likely candidate for the National Register of Historic Places, and another significant feather in the cap of diver Tom Kowalczk and the Cleveland Underwater Explorers, the nonprofit group that discovered the wreck in 2015, during a scan of the area.

The work, funded by charitable donations and other gifts, has been slow and painstaking. Lake Erie is notoriously volatile, and to explore or work on the site, divers must have near-perfect conditions.

Read more and view a video at this link: www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2018/08/underwater_explorers_research.html


8/30 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – The Coast Guard will enact a temporary security zone around the Mackinac Bridge during the annual Labor Day Bridge Walk, Monday, from 6 a.m. until event conclusion.

The security zone will include all waters on either side of the Mackinac Bridge within one-quarter mile of the bridge, per 33 C.F.R. §165.928.

As part of enhanced security measures for this year’s event, all waters within the security zone will be closed to recreational vessel traffic. Only commercial vessels with a valid Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection or foreign equivalent, and under the command of a licensed mariner, will be permitted to transit through the security zone.

Commercial vessels seeking to enter and transit the zone must obtain permission from the Coast Guard prior to entering the zone and should do so at least one hour in advance. Vessels should make initial contact with the Coast Guard Designated Representative of the Captain of the Port (COTP) on VHF channel 16.

All vessels entering or moving within the security zone must operate at speeds necessary to maintain a safe course and not exceed 12 knots. The on-scene Coast Guard Designated Representative of the COTP may control the movement of all vessels in the security zone and may subject vessels intending to transit the zone to additional screening as a condition of entry.

The Coast Guard may be assisted in the patrol and enforcement of this security zone by federal, state, and local agencies. When hailed or signaled by an official patrol vessel, a vessel in the zone is required to immediately comply with the directions given. Uncooperative mariners will be expelled from the zone, cited for failure to comply, or both. All concerned traffic may contact the Coast Guard Designated Representative of the COTP on VHF channel 16.

For further information, mariners may contact Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie at 906-635-3233.

USCG


On this day in 1964, the retired Bradley Transportation steamer CALCITE was awarded the National Safety Council Award of Merit. The CALCITE accumulated a total of 1,394,613 man-hours of continuous operation over 17 years without a disabling, lost-time injury. The CALCITE was the first Great Lakes vessel to ever receive this honor.
On 30 August 1893, CENTURION (steel propeller freighter, 350 foot, 3,401 gross tons) was launched by F. W. Wheeler (Hull#100) at W. Bay City, Michigan. The name was a pun to celebrate the ship as Frank Wheeler's 100th hull.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[yachtsmanwilly]

8/31 - An incredible photo of a lightning bolt over Lake Michigan has gone viral. The photo, posted by Interlake Steamship Company on Tuesday morning, shows a massive lightning strike lighting up the skies and waters of Lake Michigan.

It was taken by Jack Brandenburg, who is a mate on the Mesabi Miner, a 1,000-foot freighter built in 1977 to honor the men and women of Minnesota's Mesabi Iron Range.

The Door County, Wisc. native took the photo with his cell phone using cell phone with a long exposure. According to the company, the freighter was sailing down Lake Michigan loaded with iron ore from Duluth, Minn. headed for Indiana Harbor, Ind.

As of Wednesday morning, the photo had more than 5,300 shares and 3,600 likes. View it here: www.wxyz.com/news/check-out-this-incredible-photo-of-a-lightning-bolt-over-lake-michigan


8/31 - A dispute between Midwest Terminals of Toledo International and International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1982 has caused some ships to divert from Toledo’s docks.

Toledo is facing an economic development challenge at the Port of Toledo, but also a labor fairness challenge. A labor dispute between the operator of the general cargo docks and the employees’ union has spilled over to stopping ships from being able to load and unload at the port.

Toledo doesn’t need to go back to the days of interminable and self-destructive labor spats.

As of now, the Great Lakes ship pilots, who are not even a union themselves, are refusing to cross an informational picket line set up on the dock by International Longshoremen’s Association, Local 1982.

It’s time for all the entities involved in this labor dispute to take stock of whether they are serving even their own, let alone the community’s, interests.

Of particular concern is the U.S. Coast Guard, which supervises shipping on the Great Lakes. Taking neutrality to an extreme, the Coast Guard refuses to enforce rules requiring the pilots to either show up and drive ships in and out of the port or pass up the job. As a result, multiple loaded freighters have been left standing for days in the Maumee Bay and at the docks or have chosen other ports at which to unload their cargo.

The dockworkers’ union needs to determine whether it is, or is not, in the business of providing skilled, honest, and competent labor to a hard-working business that handles millions of tons of cargo at the Great Lakes’ biggest industrial port.

Local 1982 has been mismanaged in the past. In fact, it has been repeatedly taken over by the parent union based in Cleveland and is now under the leadership of a trustee.

The company that runs the general cargo dock, Midwest Terminals of Toledo International, has been without contract with the union since 2010. In December, the National Labor Relations Board ordered Midwest Terminals to resume collecting dues and to compensate employees for being illegally left off of a skilled work list. In 2017, the U.S. 6th District Court of Appeals upheld a ruling requiring Midwest to establish a pension and health trust fund for Local 1982.

It may be too late for Local 1982 anyway. On Jan. 3, Midwest Terminals ceased recognizing the union saying it has received letters from more than half of the Local 1982 bargaining unit that they don’t want to be represented any longer by the ILA. The ILA contends that anti-union employees were “infiltrated” into the union to break it. The company says it had to hire people because the union often did not supply adequate numbers of workers. The National Labor Relations Board is still investigating.

Leaders in the community are speaking out. A letter signed by Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, all three Lucas County commissioners, and leaders of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority and of the Building Trades Council, and the Laborers and Teamsters unions have called for the Coast Guard to require pilots to be available 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

The pilots should back off and let the port load its ships. The ILA should cancel its informational picket. The Coast Guard should do its job and make sure ships are staffed with pilots.

Push is quickly coming to shove. There are two major industrial projects with a construction value of about $1.4 billion for which ships will soon need to begin offloading heavy, expensive equipment at the Port of Toledo.

Failure to handle that work will leave Toledo with a bad reputation that will take years to shake. And the potential loss of income and economic stimulus for the region is huge.

Toledo Blade


August 31, 1852 - The U. S. Congress passed an act requiring the president to appoint three officers from the Navy, three engineers from the Army and two civilian scientists to constitute the new Lighthouse Board. The Bureau of Lighthouses succeeded the Lighthouse Board in 1910.
On August 31, 1977, the BELLE RIVER entered service, departing Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, for Superior, Wisconsin. Renamed b.) WALTER J. McCARTHY, JR in 1990.

In mid-August 1987, a peregrine falcon that had disappeared from Regina, Saskatchewan, two weeks earlier landed on the deck of a lake freighter on Lake Huron. The bird was captured and taken to a bird sanctuary in Vineland, Ontario. The vessel name is unknown.

In mid-August 1985, the Belgium salty FEDERAL THAMES loaded 25,400 tons of low-concentrate chrome ore at Duluth's Hallett Dock and was bound for Sweden. This ore dates back to World War II when it was mined in Montana. Other shipments were to have been made later as well.

On 31 August 1906, CAVALIER (3-mast wooden schooner, 134 foot 268 gross tons, built in 1867, at Quebec City as a bark) was carrying cedar lumber when she struck a reef off Chantry Island in Lake Huron and sank. Her crew was rescued by the Chantry Island lightkeeper. She was bound from Tobermory for Sarnia, Ontario.

On 31 August 1869, the schooner W. G. KEITH was launched at the Muir & Stewart yard in Port Huron, Michigan. She was named after her skipper/owner. Her dimensions were 126 foot X 26 foot X 8 foot 6 inches. She was built for the Lake Michigan lumber trade.

On 31 August 1900, efforts to free the newly-launched steel steamer CAPTAIN THOMAS WILSON from the mud in the Black River at Port Huron, Michigan continued throughout the day. The launch had been watched by thousands the previous day and the vessel's stern stuck in the mud. On this date, the tugs BOYNTON and HAYNES tried to pull her free but were unable to do so. Finally 14 hydraulic jacks were used to lift the vessel and at 6 p.m. she was ready to be pulled by tugs. After a 15-inch hawser was broken in the first attempt, the tug PROTECTOR finally pulled the vessel free.

In 1982, the sandsucker NIAGARA made its last trip through the I-75 Bridge with a cargo of sand for the Chevrolet Saginaw Metal Castings plant.

In 1975, ALGOCEN stranded on South McNair Shoal in the St. Lawrence off Ogdensburg, N.Y. The ship was released and, after unloading at Port Cartier, sailed to Port Weller Dry Dock to spend from September 14 to October 10 on the shelf while a 600-foot section of the bottom of the hull was repaired.

[yachtsmanwilly]

9/4 - Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. – As of midnight Aug. 31, the lady is a tramp. M.S. Norgoma is no longer welcome at Roberta Bondar Marina, finally banished from the prominent city-owned berth she's occupied for more than four decades.

The former steamer is now officially homeless, but there's no indication the Norgoma will be going anywhere soon. It's one thing to serve an eviction notice, but getting your hippie-era love child to actually move out can be considerably more complicated than that.

Built in Collingwood in 1950, the Norgoma has been a fixture on the Sault waterfront since 1975, just as Canada's version of the hippie love-generation movement was winding down and the 364-foot Chi-Cheemaun had replaced the 185-foot Norgoma on the Tobermory-to-South Baymouth passenger ferry route.

Exasperated by the vessel's deteriorating condition, Mayor Christian Provenzano declared one year ago: "That boat has to go." In April of this year, Provenzano got his wish, with City Council voting to end the museum ship’s berthing rights at Roberta Bondar Marina effective Aug. 31.

But the St. Mary's River Marine Heritage Centre, which has owned the Norgoma since 1981, is continuing to fight to keep its ship in the Sault. Earlier this month, the centre's board launched an online petition aimed at getting City Council to reconsider its April decision.

The issue is expected to come back to City Council on Sept. 10 with an updated report to be presented by Tom Vair, the city's deputy chief administrative officer for community development and enterprise services.

It's not known what Vair will recommend, but any reconsideration of council's original decision must be moved by a councillor who voted in April with the prevailing side, and seconded by a member who either voted on the prevailing side or was absent then.

As of 9 p.m. Aug. 31, the online petition to save the Norgoma had more than 780 signatures, with more than 400 additional hard-copy signatories.

Louis Muio, president of the St Mary's River Marine Heritage Centre says he wants to present the petition to City Council on Sept. 10, together with a strategic plan for the ship prepared by Sean Meades at the NORDIK Institute. Muio's group met on Aug. 17 with city officials and asked to be allowed to keep the Norgoma at Roberta Bondar Marina until the end of next summer.

"We're having a difficult time finding a space to moor the Norgoma," Muio tells SooToday.

Parks Canada, Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre and the S.S. Valley Camp site in the Michigan Soo have all said they're unable to accommodate the Norgoma, even for just the winter.

Sault Ste. Marie Region Conservation Authority is expected consider a request from Muio at its September meeting.

The city wants the Norgoma out of Roberta Bondar Marina this fall so it can replace the deteriorating wooden docks there. "We can't get the Norgoma out of there until they move the docks," Muio told us. City staff have advised that the docks can't be moved until Sept. 11, so they've informally agreed to allow the Norgoma to stay until Sept. 15, Muio said.

Read more and view a photo gallery at this link: www.sootoday.com/local-news/unwelcome-as-of-midnight-tonight-norgoma-has-nowhere-else-to-go-788585

Soo Today


9/4 - Apostle Islands, Wisconsin – A family's vacation on Lake Superior took a tragic turn when a kayak capsized, killing the father and three young children and leaving the mother as the sole survivor.

Cari Mews, 29, and Erik Fryman, 39, took their children on an end-of-the-summer trip to visit the Apostle Islands on Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin. The family of five from Loyal, Wis., vacationed in the area last year and looked forward to visiting again, Bobi Jo Mews, Cari's sister, told CNN affiliate WCCO.

"They loved to go camping together and they took their kids everywhere and explored the world," she told the TV station.

They were kayaking from Madeline Island to Michigan Island on Thursday afternoon when the wind and waves started picking up and caused water to get into the kayak, U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Alan Haraf told CNN. The family's 13 ½-foot craft tipped over and all five, each wearing a life jacket, fell into the open water, Haraf said.

Cari Mews was able to use her cell phone, which was stored in a water-proof bag, to text her sister.

"I got a text message that said '911,' and then immediately following, 'Michigan Island.' I knew that they were going kayaking that day. ... I just knew I had to call the police to see if they could go look for them," Bobi Jo Mews told WCCO.

The text message did not reach Cari Mews' sister until about five hours later because there was no cell service in the area, according to Haraf.

After the sister contacted authorities, a half-dozen agencies mobilized to aid in rescue efforts in search of the family. The Coast Guard issued an emergency broadcast to all boats in the area asking them to divert to where the kayak had capsized.

USGS Research Vessel KIYI was the first boat to arrive on the scene. Around 10 p.m. CT, crews aboard the vessel spotted a small light coming from the water near Michigan Island. It was from Cari Mews, who had been submerged in 60-degree water for nearly six hours.

"She was holding what was possibly a cell phone light," Haraf told CNN. "She was exhausted and was suffering from hypothermia."

While attempting to swim to Michigan Island, Mews became separated from her husband and their children, ages 3, 6 and 9, in the choppy waters of Lake Superior, according to the Ashland County Sheriff's Office, which aided in the rescue. "It was shortly after (midnight) when a Coast Guard crew located the bodies of the father, the little boy and one of the little girls," Haraf told CNN.

Thunderstorms in the area hampered rescue efforts until Friday morning. At that time, the body of the 9-year-old daughter was located on the shore of Michigan Island by the National Park Service.

"Even with all the required safety equipment and all the right training, anything can happen when you get out on the lake," the Coast Guard's Justin Sickler told WCCO.

CNN


9/4 - Manitou Island Transit has been a family business since 1917. Every 10 years their contract is up for renewal with the National Park Service. “Our family started running this in 1917,” says Megan Munoz, co-owner of Manitou Island Transit.

“It’s important to us because my great grandfather lived out on North Manitou and my grandfather went to school there so it’s all a part of our family heritage,” says Munoz.

It’s a family heritage that’s been ferrying more than 10,000 people to the islands each year. The self-described once in a lifetime experience once again faces an uncertain future, with its renewal up this year.

“It’s what we’ve known and educated people about our whole lives teaching people the history, cultural history and natural history on the island,” says Michael Grosvenor, co-owner of Manitou Island Transit.

They will be sitting down with the National Park Service in the next month to discuss renewing the contract,

The hope is the family’s ferries continue running into century number two. “It would be heartbreaking to us (if it didn’t) because so much of our family heritage is involved in the islands,” says Munoz.

The family says they’ve always had a great relationship with the National Park Service and that the renewal is standard every 10 years.

9 & 10 News


On September 4,1889, the new steamer CHEROKEE (wooden propeller freighter, 209 foot, 1,002 gross tons) arrived in Port Huron, Michigan, from M. P. Lester's yard in Marine City, Michigan, for the Phoenix Iron Works in Port Huron to installed the engine and boiler. Her outfitting was completed by Carleton and Cole of Port Huron.
On September 4, 1876, CITY OF PORT HURON, a wooden steam barge, sank a few miles off shore near Lexington, Michigan, at about noon. She was heavily loaded with iron ore and sprang a leak at about 11 o'clock. Most of the crew managed to get on top of the cabin while two were in the forward rigging as she went down in 6 fathoms of water. The heavy seas washed over those on the cabin. Captain George Davis and two others floated ashore on wreckage while a fish boat picked up the five others. No lives were lost.

1921: The former laker RANDOLPH S. WARNER was cut in two to leave the Great Lakes during World War One. It was rebuilt with the pilothouse amidships and sank on this date about 40 miles off the Bosporus after reportedly striking an unrecovered mine.

1926: HARSEN, loaded with a cargo of sand, capsized and sank in a storm 3 miles northeast of the Pelee Passage Light in Lake Erie. The wooden-hulled vessel was a total loss.

1961: IMPERIAL HAMILTON caught fire while loading ethyl gasoline at Sarnia and sustained considerable damage. Six on board were injured.

1963: The Egyptian freighter SALAH ELDIN, a former Victory ship, caught fire in the crew quarters in Hamilton but the blaze was extinguished before it reached the cargo hold. The vessel almost capsized due to the weight of water but it remained upright. Two crew were injured and the Chief Steward died. The ship was towed out by GRAEME STEWART and JAMES BATTLE on November 22, 1963, for Quebec City and sold as is, where it became d) MERCANTILE VICTORY after a refit at Houston, Texas. Another fire on April 23, 1964, this time in the engine room on the Red Sea shortly after re-entering service in March 1964, led to an eventual resale to Spanish shipbreakers. The vessel arrived at Castellon for dismantling on May 10, 1965.

1967: The tugs MICHAEL McALLISTER and AMERICA towed the retired passenger ship NORTH AMERICAN through the Welland Canal enroute to a new career as a training ship for the S.I.U. at Piney Point, MD.

1972: NORSE CORAL was new when it entered the Seaway in 1962 and returned as b) TOTEM STAR in 1963. The ship opened the Seaway season on April 8, 1964, and returned to our shores as c) SILVERBEACH in 1965. It sustained heavy damage off Victoria, BC while inbound from Hong Kong to Vancouver on this date due to a collision with the C.E. DANT. The two ships were locked together. They were towed to Victoria the next day and then separated September 6. The damage was repaired and the former lakes trader survived until scrapping at Xingang, China, in 1986.
September 3, 1919, the WILLIAM A. McGONAGLE loaded a record 15,160 tons of soft coal at Toledo, Ohio for delivery to Gary, Indiana. The record lasted less than 24 hours as the D. G. KERR, Captain Harry Harbottle, loaded 15,532 tons of coal at the same Toledo dock for delivery to Gary.
September 3, 1942, the 250-foot STEEL VENDOR, Captain G. L. Kane, sank at 3:45 a.m. on Lake Superior with a cargo of 3,000 tons of iron ore. The lone casualty was Oiler John N. Sicken. Twenty-two survivors were rescued by the CHARLES M. SCHWAB, Captain Alfred Drouillard, and 2 survivors were rescued by the WILLIAM G. CLYDE, Captain David M. LeRoy. Other boats standing by were the B. F. AFFLECK, ELBERT H. GARY, JOLIET, and EUGENE P. THOMAS.

September 3, 1957, the HARRIS N. SNYDER of the Boland & Cornelius fleet, Captain Elmer Murray and Chief Engineer Frank Mc Cabe, rescued 2 from the waters of Lake Michigan. Not only did the crew rescue Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Colby, but the crew used the unloading boom to recover their sailboat and place it on the deck of the SNYDER. The entire maneuver only required 55 minutes.

On September 3, 1899, the Great Lakes Towing Company's RED CLOUD (wooden propeller tug, 62 foot, 40 gross tons, built in 1883, at Buffalo, New York) was sailing on Lake Erie for Lorain, Ohio, when a storm forced her to head for port at Cedar Point, Ohio. However she was thrown on a reef and broke in two - a total loss. The crew made it to Sandusky, Ohio.

On September 3, the BELLE RIVER (now WALTER J. McCARTHY, JR.) set a then Great Lakes record for coal when it loaded 62,802 tons of coal at Superior Midwest Energy Terminal on its maiden voyage. This record has since been surpassed many times.

At Lorain, Ohio keel-laying ceremonies for the 437-foot bow section of the ROGER BLOUGH (Hull#900) took place on September 3, 1968, and was float-launched December 21, 1968, less ballast tanks because the existing dry dock wasn't wide enough to accommodate her 105-foot width.

SOODOC (Hull#210) of 1976, on her maiden voyage from Collingwood, Ontario, loaded salt at Goderich, Ontario, on September 3, 1976. Renamed b.) AMELIA DESGAGNES in 1990.

U.S. Steel's SEWELL AVERY was laid up for the last time September 3, 1981, at Superior, Wisconsin. She was towed to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, in 1987, where the superstructure was removed and the hull was sunk for use as a dock.

THOMAS W. LAMONT was laid up for the last time at Duluth’s Hallett dock #6A on September 3, 1981. She was scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey, in 1987.

H. H. PORTER sailed on her maiden voyage for the Brier Hill Steamship Co. (Pickands Mather, mgr.) on September 3, 1920, light from Lorain, Ohio, to load iron ore at Two Harbors, Minnesota. Renamed b.) WALTER E. WATSON in 1957 and c.) NATIONAL TRADER in 1973. She was scrapped at Thunder Bay, Ontario, in 1978.

On September 3, 1985, PHILIP R. CLARKE plowed into the Drawbridge Cove Marina in Lorain's Black River, damaging 5-10 small craft and sinking one at the steel dock. CLARKE managed to stop before hitting the Route 6 drawbridge.

On September 3,1887, BULGARIA (wooden propeller, 280 foot, 1,888 gross tons) was launched at West Bay City, Michigan, by J. Davidson, as their hull number 16.

September 3, 1910 - The MARQUETTE & BESSEMER NO 2 (Hull#450) was launched in Cleveland, Ohio by the American Ship Building Co. for the Marquette & Bessemer Dock & Navigation Co. She was the replacement for MARQUETTE & BESSEMER NO 2 of 1905, (Hull#428), which foundered on Lake Erie, December 7, 1909.

On September 3, 1869, the 167-foot wooden propeller BOSCOBEL burned about two miles below St. Clair, Michigan. Three lives were lost. The ship was only about two years old and was in service of the New York Central Railroad, though owned by the Peshtigo Lumbering Co. of Chicago. The burned hulk was raised in 1876 and rebuilt as a schooner-barge at Algonac, Michigan. She lasted until 1909, when she sank on Lake Huron.

1905: The GEORGE STEPHENSON was blown aground at Pointe Aux Pins, Lake Superior and struck by her consort barge JOHN A. ROEBLING. Both were released and returned to service.

1942: DONALD STEWART, a canal trader for Canada Steamship Lines, was torpedoed by U-517 and sunk while in a convoy on the Gulf of St. Lawrence while carrying barrels of aviation fuel and bulk cement for the air base at Goose Bay, Labrador. Three members of the engine room crew were lost.

1944: LIVINGSTON, a former Great Lakes canal ship, was torpedoed and sunk by U-541 in the Atlantic about 80 miles east of Cape Breton Island. Fourteen lives were lost but another 14 were spared and rescued.

1965: The tanker EASTERN SHELL sank the small wooden goelette MONT BLANC in a collision blamed on fog about 20 miles from Trois Rivieres. All crewmembers of the pulpwood carrier were rescued.

1970: KENNETH made a single trip to the Great Lakes in 1959. It caught fire in the engine room on this date off the coast of Israel while enroute from Alexandria, Egypt, to Tripoli, Libya, as h) CHRISTINA MARIA. The ship was abandoned by the crew, towed into Haifa, Israel, September 6 and sold to Israeli shipbreakers later in the year.

1998: ORKANGER, a chemical tanker that first came through the Seaway in 1977, began leaking while inbound at Rio Grande, Brazil, as e) BAHAMAS with 12,000 tons of sulphuric acid and sank in the harbor. The hull was eventually refloated but never repaired although it had subsequent renames and was reported as broken up in 2003 as h) ORIENT FLOWER.
On 02 September 1902, the White Star Line’s TASHMOO (steel side-wheel excursion steamer, 308 foot, 1,344 gross tons, built in 1900, at Wyandotte, Michigan) hosted President Theodore Roosevelt when he came to Detroit, Michigan, to speak to Spanish American War veterans. The vessel took the president and his party on a sightseeing tour up and down the river while flying the president's blue and gold flag from the main mast.
The BROOKNES (Hull #1177) was launched on September 2, 1970, at Glasgow, Scotland by Lithgows Ltd. for "Langra" Schiffahrsges G.m.b.H. & Co., Hamburg, Germany. Brought to the Lakes in 1976, converted to a self-unloader and renamed b.) ALGOSEA. She sailed most recently as c.) SAUNIERE.

ROBERT KOCH's first trip was on September 2, 1977, up the Welland Canal bound for Buffalo with cement.

The W. F. WHITE was one of the earliest ships built as a self-unloader on the Great Lakes. On her maiden voyage September 2, 1915, the WHITE loaded coal at Erie, Pennsylvania, and sailed for Menominee, Michigan. She was the largest self-unloading bulk carrier on the Lakes at that time with a cargo capacity of 10,500 tons.

The RALPH H. WATSON departed light September 2, 1938, from Detroit, Michigan, upbound to load iron ore at Duluth, Minnesota. She was built as part of a fleet modernization plan for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co., Cleveland, Ohio, of four new "GOVERNOR MILLER' class bulk carriers, the other two were the JOHN HULST and the WILLIAM A. IRVIN. The WATSON was only the fourth steam turbine powered vessel on the Lakes

HUBERT GAUCHER ran aground in the lower St. Lawrence on September 2, 1988. It took three tugs to free her; repairs took place at Quebec City.

ZIEMIA TARNOWSKA lost her engine while docking at Pier 24, in Cleveland, ramming the dock and caused about $100,000 in damage on September 2, 1988. The Polish vessel had minimal damage to her bulbous bow.

On 2 September 1851, BUNKER HILL (wooden sidewheeler, 154 foot, 457 tons, built in 1835, at Black River, Ohio) burned to a total loss at Tonawanda, New York.

The COLONEL ELLSWORTH (wooden schooner, 138 foot, 319 gross tons, built in 1861, at Euclid, Ohio as a bark) was beached on Whitefish Point in Lake Superior the entire winter of 1895-96. She was repaired and put back into service late in the summer of 1896. Then, on 2 September 1896, the newly rebuilt vessel collided with the schooner EMILY B. MAXWELL about 6 miles from White Shoals on Lake Michigan and sank at about 4:00 a.m. Her crew escaped in the yawl and was picked up by the MAXWELL.

1905 The large wooden schooner PRETORIA, which cleared Superior with ore under tow of the VENEZUELA, hit a fierce storm and the steering gear failed. The vessel fell into the trough after the tow line snapped and the barge broke up off Outer Island. Five crew were rescued and another five were lost.

1905 IOSCO and the schooner OLIVE JEANETTE foundered off Huron Island, Lake Superior, with the loss of 19 lives on the former and another 7 on the latter. Both were downbound with iron ore and were last seen near Stannard Rock. Also, the SEVONA stranded on a reef in a Lake Superior storm and broke in two as a total loss. Seven drowned from the bow section when they tried to come ashore on hatch rafts. The wreck was dynamited in 1909 after the boilers had been salvaged.

1914 THOS. R. SCOTT became waterlogged and sank during a storm in the deepest part of Georgian Bay off the east coast of the Bruce Peninsula. The ship was swamped in a storm while carrying lumber from Cockburn Island to Owen Sound and all on board were saved. The hull was located using sidescan sonar in 1994.

1926 BURT BARNES, a wooden three-masted schooner, foundered in Lake Ontario while carrying 210 tons of coal from Sodus Point to Picton. The crew abandoned the ship in the yawl boat near Picton and were blown across the lake and came ashore safely 12 miles west of Rochester.

1972 The Cypriot freighter AEGIS WISDOM and the Italian vessel LIBRA collided in fog on the St. Lawrence near Les Escoumins. The former, which had been launched in March, was on her first trip outbound from the Seaway and was heavily damaged aft. The vessel was towed to Lauzon for repairs and survived until scrapping at Alang, India, as d) ANGELIKI II following arrival on January 14, 1997. LIBRA, dated from 1965 but did not come to the Great Lakes until 1975. It was scrapped in Mainland China as b) DEPY in 1986.

1975 CHICAGO TRIBUNE, enroute from Thunder Bay to Collingwood with grain, went aground in Georgian Bay and had to be lightered by the CHARLES W. JOHNSON, working with the tug ROD McLEAN. After being released and unloaded, the ship went to Port Weller Dry Docks for repairs.
September 1, 1880, the Cleveland Vessel Owners Association, later Lake Carriers’ Association, was created, with Alva Bradley as its first president.
September 1, 1892, the upbound WESTERN RESERVE, flagship of the Kinsman fleet, sank approximately 60 miles above Whitefish Point. There were 31 casualties among the crew and passengers. The lone survivor was Wheelsman Harry W. Stewart.

On 01 September 1891, EDWARD H. JENKS (wooden propeller freighter, 119 foot over all, 180 gross tons, built in 1882, at Port Dover, Ontario as the passenger/package freight steamer E.M. FOSTER) was carrying limestone up the Detroit River during a foggy night when she collided with GEORGE W. MORLEY (wooden propeller freighter, 193 foot, 1,045 gross tons, built in 1888, at W. Bay City, Michigan) in a misunderstanding of passing signals. Three were killed in the collision and the JENKS quickly sank at Ballard's Reef on the Detroit River. Her cargo kept her in place until she was recovered the following month and rebuilt.

Tragedy struck four days after the launch of the AGAWA CANYON, September 1, 1970, when the ship was rocked by an engine room explosion, killing one of the crew and injuring seven more. The AGAWA CANYON entered service in November, 1970, equipped with four 10 cylinder, two stroke cycle, single acting opposed piston diesel engines, built in 1970, by Fairbanks, Morse (Canada), Kingston, Ontario. Total bhp 6,680. Rated service speed: 12 knots (13.8 mph).

The TEMPLE BAR (Hull#101G) was launched September 1, 1970, at Govan, Scotland by the Govan Division of Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Ltd. for Lambert Bros. (Shipping) Ltd., London, England. Renamed b.) LAKE NIPIGON in 1977, c.) LAKETON in 1984, d.) LAKE NIPIGON in 1986, and e.) ALGONORTH in 1987.

Upon her arrival at Quebec City on September 1, 1962, the LAKE WINNIPEG was the first vessel of the Nipigon Transport Ltd. (Carryore Ltd., mgr.) fleet.

The self-unloader B.H. TAYLOR (Hull#787) was launched September 1, 1923, at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co., the third self-unloader built for the Bradley Transportation Co., Rogers City, Michigan. Renamed b.) ROGERS CITY in 1957. Scrapped at Recife, Brazil in 1988.

From September 1, 1947, to September 15, 1959, the U.S.C.G.C. MESQUITE was stationed at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

On 1 September 1854, ABIAH (2-mast wooden schooner or brig, 134 foot, 353 tons, built in 1848, at Irving, New York) was sailing light from Chicago, Illinois, to Oconto, Wisconsin, when she capsized and sank in a squall about 10 miles off Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The schooner L. LUDDINGTON rescued her crew and 2 passengers.

The 135-foot wooden schooner JOSEPH E. SPARROW was launched at Bangor, Michigan, on 1 September 1873.

On 1 September 1900, the Canadian steamer ADVANCE (wooden propeller package freighter, 168 foot, 1,178 gross tons, built in 1884, at St. Catharines, Ontario) was placed in service. In August 1899, when she was named SIR S. L. TILLEY, she had caught fire off shore, about 7 miles from Fairport, Ohio, and was destroyed. However, the hull was later recovered and used as the basis of the steamer ADVANCE. She lasted in this role until 1903, when she burned again.

September 1, 1919 - A switchman was killed in the yard at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, while the ANN ARBOR No. 6 was being loaded. This caused a delay of four hours in her sailing time.

September 1, 1931 - W. L. Mercereau retired as superintendent of steamships, a position he had held since 1899.

1916 DRONNING MAUD, a Norwegian freighter visited the Great Lakes on charter to Keystone Transports beginning in 1909. It hit a mine in the North Sea on this date and sank off the east coast of England, between Southwall and Lowestoft.

1929 EDWARD BUCKLEY caught fire and was destroyed in the North Channel of Georgian Bay. The blaze broke out aft while enroute to Little Current to load pulpwood. The hull burned to the waterline and sank near Narrow Island Lighthouse. Local fishermen rescued the crew.

1936 The Canadian canaller BENMAPLE of the Port Colborne & St. Lawrence Navigation Company, sank in the St. Lawrence at about 0400 hours, near Father Point, after being hit in fog by the inbound liner LAFAYETTE. A wheelsman was killed but all others on board were rescued.

1983 INDIANA HARBOR sets a record loading 67,896 tons of iron ore at Escanaba.



9/1 - Cleveland, Ohio – She's been the reigning Queen of the Lakes since setting sail in 1981. The Paul R. Tregurtha is the longest freighter to sail on the Great Lakes. Owned and operated by the Interlake Steamship Company. the Tregurtha backed into Cleveland Harbor earlier this week to unload iron ore.

While the ship has been to Cleveland before, this was her maiden voyage bringing cargo to the city. She and her crew of about 25 crisscross the lakes from March to January making more than 40 trips in a season carrying raw materials for the power generation and steel making industries.

The Paul R. Tregurtha is 1,013.5 feet long, spanning more than three football fields. It would take 700 train cars or 2,800 trucks to carry what the Great lakes freighter Paul R. Tregurtha can carry in a single trip.

Shipping on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway generates $35 billion annually, $3.8 billion in Ohio, as well as supports 33,000 jobs in Ohio.

View a video at this link: www.cleveland19.com/story/38987004/the-queen-of-the-lakes-the-tregurtha-makes-it-maiden-voyage-to-Cleveland

[Avenger]

Today in Great Lakes History - September 5
September 5, 1899, the DOUGLASS HOUGHTON grounded at Sailors Encampment and sank when rammed by her barge, JOHN FRITZ. The HOUGHTON completely blocked St. Marys River traffic for five days. More than 300 boats were delayed at an estimated loss of $600,000.

On 05 September 1898, the MONTGOMERY (wooden schooner-barge, 204 foot, 709 tons, built in 1856, at Newport [Marine City], Michigan as a passenger/package freight steamer) sank in 21 feet of water on Lake St. Clair after colliding with the whaleback barge 137 (steel barge, 345 foot, 2,480 gross tons, built in 1896, at W. Superior, Wisconsin) which was being towed by the ALEXANDER McDOUGALL (steel propeller semi-whaleback freighter, 413 foot, 3,686 gross tons, built in 1898, at West Superior, Wisconsin). The MONTGOMERY was raised and repaired. She lasted another two years before breaking up in a storm in 1901.
CHI-CHEEMAUN completed her sea trials on September 5, 1974, and then cleared the Collingwood shipyard on September 26th.
BENJAMIN F. FAIRLESS cleared Lorain on her maiden voyage September 5, 1942 for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.
J. P. MORGAN, JR. returned to service September 5, 1948, after repairs suffered in an accident in June.
NEW QUEDOC arrived at McLouth Steel, Trenton, Michigan, on her maiden voyage September 5, 1960, with a load of Labrador iron ore. Renamed b.) QUEDOC in 1963. QUEDOC was scrapped at Curacao Island, Lesser Antilles in 1985.
The WYANDOTTE of 1916, a.) CONNEAUT, was towed down the Welland Canal on September 5- 6, 1973, on her way to the cutter’s torch at Santander, Spain.
On 5 September 1905, ABERCORN (wooden propeller 'rabbit', 126 foot, 261 gross tons, built in 1873, at Marine City, Michigan) burned at the dock at Goderich, Ontario, while unloading coal. She reportedly caught fire from the explosion of a signal lamp.
The schooner CALEDONIA, wrecked the previous autumn near the Fishing Islands on Lake Huron, was raised and arrived in Port Huron, Michigan, on September 5, 1882, under tow to be rebuilt.
1896: The Canadian passenger ship BALTIC, built in 1867 as FRANCES SMITH, burned at the dock in Collingwood. The hull drifted to shallow water and remained there for several years.
1964: A. & J. MID-AMERICA, a Seaway caller in 1963, was driven ashore at Lantau Island near Hong Kong by typhoon Ruby. The vessel was refloated October 5 but came ashore again days later during typhoon Dot on October 13. Refloated October 21, the vessel returned to service and was scrapped as e) UNION TIGER at Inchon, South Korea, after arriving in April 1968.
1964: The former HEMSEFJELL, a pre-Seaway trader, was also blown aground at Hong Kong as d) PROSPERITY during typhoon Ruby but released on October 5. It was scrapped in Thailand during 1972.
1964: The three-year old bulk carrier LEECLIFFE HALL sank in the St. Lawrence, 65 miles below Quebec City, following a collision with the APOLLONIA. Efforts to beach the ship failed and three lives were lost. The hull was dynamited as a hazard to navigation in 1966. The latter, a Greek freighter, had been a Seaway trader in 1964 and was repaired at Levis, QC. The ship was scrapped at Shanghai, China, as c) MAYFAIR after arriving on May 3, 1985.