Today in Great Lakes History

[yachtsmanwilly]

10/4 - Strong northwest winds behind a severe weather-making storm will also produce huge waves on Lake Superior. Waves are expected to build to 14 to 18 feet in the southeastern part of Lake Superior.

Winds are expected to howl at up to 60 mph for the Keweenaw Peninsula. Other parts of Lake Superior should have 45 mph to 55 mph sustained winds. With the northwesterly winds, waves will build as they move across Lake Superior from northwest to southeast.

As of 10 p.m. on Thursday, Stewart J. Cort and Hon James L. Oberstar were anchored in the lee of Whitefish Point. Cedarglen was in the lee of the southern end of the Keweenaw Peninsula, while Joyce L. VanEnkevort was stopped in the lee of the northern tip. American Mariner was anchored off the south end of Washburn Island. Roger Blough and John J. Boland were at anchor north of St. Ignace. Paul R. Tregurtha, Lee A. Tregurtha and Herbert C. Jackson were in the lower St. Marys River north of DeTour and appeared on AIS to be at anchor. Algoma Buffalo was stopped just east of St. Ignace off the lower Michigan shore, with the tug Anglian Lady and barge stopped just to the west of them.

An 18-foot tall wave is about as high as a two-story house.

View weather maps at this link: www.mlive.com/weather/index.ssf/2018/10/18_foot_waves_predicted_for_la.html


10/4 - Detroit, Mich. – Boats large and small pass through the many harbors along the Great Lakes most days of the year. Who ensures they can navigate those waterways safely? The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers does.

One of the corps’ responsibilities is to maintain navigation by dredging harbors—that is, removing silt from the bottom of rivers to prevent vessels from getting stuck. If something needs repair or replacement, such as a pier, the engineers fix it or build a new one.

“We are construction experts,” says Lt. Col. Greg Turner, commanding officer of the corps’ Detroit district. That expertise will come in handy when it’s time to build a new shipping lock in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. The U.S. House authorized almost $1 billion to build a new lock in the Soo, a project that was first proposed in 1986, but never funded. President Donald Trump pledged to “fix” the lock as part of his proposal to improve America’s infrastructure. Turner says it would take at least seven years to build a lock large enough to handle the largest ships on the Great Lakes. Only one lock, the Poe, fits the bill now.

Turner says building a new lock is his top priority. “Of the four locks, only two are still in working condition,” Turner says. “The other two are over 100 years old that we’ve put out of service. The remaining locks are 75 years old and 50 years old.”

The C.O. notes that nearly all of the domestically produced high-strength steel comes from iron ore that passes through the Soo locks, making the St. Marys River the linchpin of the U.S economy.

“It affects the automobile industry, it affects the appliance industry, it affects almost anything that we make in America with high-strength steel,” Turner says. More about the mission

Navigation is just one of the Army Corps of Engineers’ responsibilities. It also helps local communities manage their flood risk and works with them on environmental restoration projects. Lt. Col. Turner’s troops are involved in the reconfiguration of Galloway Creek, a tributary of the Clinton River.

“What we’re doing is taking what was a creek running through a residential area and a golf course and changing how the creek works, and make it into a more natural stream bed,” Turner says.

Not just builders

The Army Corps of Engineers employ about 34,000 people, not all of whom are engineers. “There are biologists, financial experts, economists, a lot world-class experts work for the corps,” Turner says.

As for the future of a new lock at the Soo, the colonel says the economic benefit would be almost twice the cost to build it.

Click on the audio player to hear the conversation with WDET’s Pat Batcheller. wdet.org/posts/2018/10/03/87354-corps-values-army-engineers-keep-things-moving


On October 4, 1887, ORIENT (wooden propeller tug, 60 foot, 37 gross tons, built in 1874, at Buffalo, New York) foundered three miles west of Point Pelee on Lake Erie in a storm. She was seen going down by the schooners LISGAR and GLENFORD but neither was able to help. All six on the ORIENT were lost. She was out of Marine City, Michigan.
On October 4, 1979, the ST. LAWRENCE NAVIGATOR arrived at the Port Weller Dry Docks, St. Catharines, Ontario, where she was lengthened to the Seaway maximum length of 730-foot overall. A new bow and cargo section was installed including a bow thruster and was assigned Hull #66. New tonnage; 18,788 gross tons, 12,830 net tons, 32,279 deadweight tons. She was renamed c.) CANADIAN NAVIGATOR in 1980 and ALGOMA NAVIGATOR in 2012. She sails for Algoma Central Corp. She was converted to a self-unloader in 1997.

TEXACO BRAVE (Hull#779) was launched October 4, 1976, by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Shimonoseki, Japan for Texaco Canada Ltd., Don Mills, Ontario. Renamed b.) LE BRAVE in 1987, c.) IMPERIAL ST LAWRENCE in 1997, and d.) ALGOEAST in 1998.

On October 4, 1980, Bethlehem's ARTHUR B. HOMER was laid up for the last time at Erie, Pennsylvania. As a result of the collision between the PARKER EVANS and the SIDNEY E SMITH JR, four months earlier, alternate one-way traffic between the Black River Buoy and Buoys 1 and 2 in Lake Huron was agreed upon by the shipping companies on October 4, 1972

The JAMES E. FERRIS' last trip before scrapping was from Duluth, Minnesota, with a split load of 261,000 bushels of wheat for Buffalo, New York, arriving there October 4, 1974.

The JIIMAAN, twin screw ro/ro cargo/passenger ferry built to Ice Class 1D standards had its keel laid October 4, 1991, at Port Weller Drydocks, Ltd. (Hull# 76).

On October 4, 1982, the BENJAMIN F. FAIRLESS laid up for the last time in Duluth, Minnesota. She was towed out of Duluth, on her way to Kahoshiung, Taiwan for scrapping, on June 17, 1988.

October 4, 1940 - The Ludington Daily News reported "The Pere Marquette car ferries handled approximately 95,000 freight cars last year." (1939)

On October 4,1877, BRITISH LION (3 mast wooden bark, 128 foot, 293 tons, built in 1862, at Kingston, Ontario) was carrying coal from Black River, Ohio, to Brockville, Ontario. She was driven ashore at Long Point in Lake Erie by a storm and wrecked. She was the first bark on the Lakes to be wire rigged and she was built for the Great Lakes - Liverpool trade.

On October 4, 1883, JAMES DAVIDSON (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 231 foot, 1,456 gross tons, built in 1874, at W. Bay City, Michigan) was carrying coal and towing the barge MIDDLESEX in a storm on Lake Huron. She was driven onto a reef near Thunder Bay Island and ripped up her bottom. The barge was rescued by the tug V SWAIN. No lives were lost. Financially, the DAVIDSON was the most extensive loss on the Lakes in the 1883, season. She was valued at $65,000 and insured for $45,000. Her coal cargo was valued at $8,000.

1904: CONGRESS burned at the dock at South Manitou Island, Lake Michigan while loading lumber. The ship was towed away, abandoned, burned to the waterline and sank.

1966: ROBERT J. PAISLEY ran aground in heavy weather off Michigan City, IN. The ship was released the next day but went to Sarnia with hull damage and was laid up.

2008: MERKUR BAY came through the Seaway in 1984. It hit a rock as m) NEW ORIENTAL in heavy weather off Tuy An, Vietnam, and settled on the bottom with a large hole in the bow. The crew abandoned ship on October 18 when it showed signs of sinking. It was enroute from Thailand to China with iron ore and was a total loss.

[yachtsmanwilly]

10/5 - Zagreb, Croatia – Canada's Algoma Central Corporation last Friday terminated a contract for a bulk cargo vessel that was ordered to be built by the Uljanik Group, the Pula-based shipbuilding company said on Monday.

The reason cited for the contract termination was the shipyard's inability to deliver the vessel on time, the shipyard said, noting that actual construction work on the ship had not yet begun.

In early September, Uljanik's clients had terminated contracts for four other ships. The Cayman Islands-based Auto Marine Transport had cancelled an order for a car and truck carrier on September 1, after cancelling another order for the same type of ship. On that same date, Norway-based Siem Shipping also terminated contracts for car carriers, the construction of which hasn't been started.

The new cancellation add to the shipyard's problems, which is trying to find a new strategic partner willing to finance a restructuring plan intended to save the company, employing more than 4,000 workers, from looming bankruptcy.

Total Croatia News


10/5 - A citizens group has failed in its legal fight to save a historic steamship on Manitoulin Island. But now the fate of the SS Norisle could depend on who is elected mayor of the small town where it's moored.

"I think what we have to do is take a second look at what's going on here," says Dave Ham, a member of the SS Norisle Steamship Society, who is now running for mayor in the Township of Assiginack.

The society spent years, and according to Ham over one million dollars, restoring the Norisle, which was a passenger ferry on Lake Huron from 1946 to 1974.

In December 2016, the society filed suit against the municipality, which had announced plans to remove the ship from the Manitowaning harbour and have it sunk in the Tobermory area to entertain diving tourists. "Well, I think that's a tremendous waste," says Ham.

The lawsuit was recently settled, with the township's ownership of the Norisle reaffirmed and in exchange the municipality is reimbursing the citizens group for $45,000 spent removing asbestos from the ship.

Ham, who previously served nine years as the local reeve, says saving the ship was "part of the decision-making process" for throwing his hat into the mayor's race this election.

He faces four other candidates, including incumbent mayor Paul Moffatt.

He says taxpayers in Assiginack, a municipality of about 900 people on the eastern end of Manitoulin Island, shelled out $250,000 in legal fees to fight the failed lawsuit.

"I'm glad that's it's taken care and you can't go back, but it should never have happened," says Moffatt.

He says very few voters have asked him about his platform on the Norisle during this campaign. "I don't think you'd find many voters in Assiginack that would support something like that. I think any that I have spoken to are only too happy to see the stern of the Norisle heading up Manitowaning Bay," Moffatt says.

It has been a rough retirement for the Norisle and its sister ship the SS Norgoma, which has also been called a rusty eyesore. Sault Ste. Marie city council has ordered that the Norgoma, which has recently served as a museum ship, be removed from the city's waterfront this spring.

CBC


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.

[yachtsmanwilly]

10/8 - The USCGC Katmai Bay sailed from Halifax Sunday morning en route to its home base of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. The cutter left the lakes in April 2017 for a service life extension in Baltimore.


10/8 - Port Washington Wis. – A nonprofit organization’s plan to sink a freighter two miles off the mouth of the Port Washington harbor and sculptures created by area students off the breakwater met with mixed reaction from the Common Council last Tuesday.

Although the city was asked to be a co-applicant with the Shipwreck Education and Preservation Alliance in its application for a Department of Natural Resources permit to place structures at the bottom of the lake, aldermen tabled action until their Wednesday, Nov. 7, meeting saying they had too many questions to make a decision Tuesday.

Aldermen asked for additional information on SEAPA itself, how it would fund the six-phase project, potential city liability and the potential impact on the fishery, among other things. “I’m not ready to vote on this,” Ald. John Sigwart said. “I’m not comfortable with it yet.

“I don’t know that we know enough about the probability of success yet. It seems to me this is a very expensive project that may have value for tourism. I don’t see anything saying it’s of value to the perch. I really don’t see that here, the value to the fishery.”

Ald. Jonathan Pleitner added, “It’s a great project. I would just like to get more information. I think that would go a long way.” Ald. Dan Benning also noted that aldermen received a significant amount of information about the project shortly before the meeting and they need more time to review it.

Several residents at the meeting spoke in support of the project, including C.T. Whitehouse, a noted sculptor who said the artistic aspects could set Port apart from other communities and “turn it from a stopover to a destination. This is an opportunity we should embrace.”

SEAPA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to shipwreck preservation, freshwater education and aquatic habitat restoration, has proposed a six-phase, $9.97 million project intended to create artificial reefs off Port’s shore that it says will improve the aquatic environment and help restore native fish levels.

The initiative will also develop a public access into the lake, aid in educational efforts at local schools and colleges, help local police, fire and dive teams train for emergencies and increase tourism, said SEAPA President Tish Hase, co-owner of Port Deco Divers in Port Washington.

The organization is seeking permits from the DNR and Army Corps of Engineers for the first two phases of its project, which involve sinking a 200 to 600-foot-long freighter in 110 feet of water two miles off the mouth of the harbor and having local high school students create sculptures that will be anchored to the lakebed at varying levels outside of the breakwater. The city needs to be a co-applicant for the DNR permit because it has riparian rights in the area where the sculptures would be located, officials said.

We Energies has agreed to be a co-applicant for the first phase for the same reason, Hase said.

These phases will create artificial reefs that would create a “supersized” habitat where native fish such as lake trout and yellow perch can thrive, said Hase and SEAPA Vice President Joe Frank, who is also co-owner of Port Deco Divers.

“What we’re trying to do here is bring back healthy fish species,” Frank said. “These (structures) are all going to be habitat that brings back indigenous species. We have to take an active step to make that happen. This is probably the best, cheapest option for the community. When we do dives, we don’t see fish anymore,” Hase added.

The third phase would involve submerging a 41-foot wooden fishing vessel similar to the Linda E. — the last fishing tug out of Port Washington — in 50 to 70 feet of water to create a reef for larger aquatic species to use as habitat, as well as some sculptures. The fourth phase would require sinking a number of clean vehicles to create not only fish habitat but also an area for local emergency crews to use for training and education.

A 25-step staircase from the breakwater to the lakebed would be created as the fifth phase of the project, allowing public access to the lake, and fish cribs would be placed along the breakwater wall. The last phase involves long-term fundraising to support the project.

The first phase of the project, sinking of the freighter, is estimated to cost between $5 million and $6.8 million, while the projected price of the second phase is $540,000.

The project would also relieve pressure on shipwrecks in the area by providing divers with a destination, according to SEAPA. The DNR is reviewing the application to see if it meets standards for underwater structures, looking at the potential impact on habitat, water quality and navigation, among other things, Webb said.

If it meets those standards, Webb said, the department will issue the permit.

Because the project would be the first of its kind in the Great Lakes, Hase said, it would prompt interest and publicity that will draw donors. “Right now we’re not asking the city for money,” Hase said, adding she’s already applied for some grants for the project. She will find out the results of one grant application in mid-November, she said, and another application is due next month.

Fundraising, she said, will begin in earnest after SEAPA obtains the permits.

The organization has hired Artificial Reef International, a Florida firm that specializes in creating artificial reefs by sinking ships, to procure the freighter, which would be cleaned of anything that could contaminate the lake before being sunk, Hase said.

Ozaukee Press


10/8 - Toledo, Ohio – Shipwreck hunters who spent eight days this summer unearthing and examining the remains of a schooner in Lake Erie in Ohio think it’s most likely a sailing ship that sank nearly two centuries ago. That would make the wreckage the oldest ever found in the shallowest of the Great Lakes.

But there’s a bit of debate among the marine archaeologists and shipwreck hunters who are trying to identify the wreck about how confident they are it is indeed the Lake Serpent that sank in 1829.

So far, there are several signs that say it’s a match, according to the National Museum of the Great Lakes, which on Thursday released the findings from its work this summer.

Divers determined the wreck’s size and stone cargo point to it being Lake Serpent, and they uncovered what appears to be a carving at the ship’s bow, the museum said. Historical records show the Lake Serpent had a serpent’s head carved near the front — an unusual feature for a vessel of that era.

The site also seems to be near where the Lake Serpent was thought to go down near Kelleys Island off the Ohio shoreline.

Carrie Sowden, the Great Lakes museum’s archaeology director, said it all adds up, but she was hesitant to say that it’s definitely the Lake Serpent. “I don’t know what else it could be, but there’s still enough unknown that we haven’t seen,” she said, adding that divers plan to take another look at the site next year.

Some parts of the wreckage are still covered in several feet of mud and sediment. “You never know what’s under the sand,” Sowden said.

Lake Erie is a graveyard for hundreds of vessels taken down by violent storms that can whip up in a hurry. Many have been found in recent years by a small, dedicated band from the museum and the Cleveland Underwater Explorers club.

While identifying these wrecks often relies on circumstantial evidence, what makes their latest attempt difficult is that the Lake Serpent was constructed before ship builders began including hull numbers or name plates onboard.

Also, visibility was limited around the wreck and it was torn apart more than expected, making it tough to find key features, the museum said.

The schooner was built in 1821 in Cleveland at a time when the city had less than 1,000 residents. Its job was to carry cargo — produce, flour, whiskey, limestone — to ports along the lakes.

It went down eight years later. The body of one crew member was spotted in the lake days later while the bodies of the captain and his brother washed up on the shore of Lorain County in the fall of 1829, according to a newspaper report.

Tom Kowalczk, who spotted the wreckage on his sonar screen in the summer of 2015, said he’s pretty confident it’s the Lake Serpent because there are enough findings that line up.

That includes the unique carving they found on the ship and the large stones they came across — the Lake Serpent was said to be carrying stone from a Lake Erie island. “We haven’t found anything that says it’s something different,” he said.

David VanZandt, director of the Cleveland Underwater Explorers, said there’s enough evidence for him to say he’s almost certain the wreckage that sits nearly 50 feet (15 metres) below the surface is the Lake Serpent.

Toronto Sun


10/6 - Kewaunee, Wis. – After nearly 90-years of service, the Fresnel lens in the Kewaunee Pierhead Lighthouse is about to retire to a new home. By month’s end, the lens will be removed from the lighthouse and moved to the Kewaunee County Historical Society on Ellis Street.

Jayne Conard, president of the Friends of the Kewaunee Pierhead Lighthouse, says while the lens’s working life is over it will still offer some illuminating maritime history in its new home.

The Fresnel lens is one of 70 still in operation in the United States and one of 16 on the Great Lakes.

Listen to the full story at this link: www.doorcountydailynews.com/2018/10/02/kewaunee-pierhead-lighthouse-lens-will-soon-retire-to-a-new-home


10/6 - Grosse Ile, Mich. – State lawmakers are fighting a decision to close an Environmental Protection Agency office on Grosse Ile.

State Rep. Darrin Camilleri (D-Brownstown Twp.) introduced a resolution urging President Donald Trump and acting EPA head Andrew Wheeler to reverse their decision to close the EPA’s Large Lakes Research Station on Grosse Ile. Along with state Rep. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit), Camilleri also sent a letter to Wheeler on Oct. 4, urging him to reconsider the move.

“The EPA station in Grosse Ile plays a critical role in our state’s response to environmental emergencies,” Camilleri said. “At a time when Michigan is experiencing a flurry of environmental crises, closing this facility will result in delayed response times and, in turn, put our families and our state’s natural resources at risk.”

The letter outlines several concerns with the closure, which is slated for early 2019 and would relocate operations and personnel to Ann Arbor. The resolution comes on the heels of local opposition led by Grosse Ile Township Supervisor Brian Loftus, who explained his stance to The News-Herald in August.

Loftus said the on-scene coordinators currently located at the station are the first responders to any type of incident that could have an environmental impact, such as chemical spills. He pointed out that the EPA has the resources to mitigate and contain such emergencies, but time is of the essence and moving personnel to Ann Arbor could cause delays.

“Sixty-five percent of their responses are between the I-75 corridor, between Detroit and Monroe,” he said. “Imagine trying to respond from Ann Arbor on a (Michigan football) game day. They would never get there on time.”

The letter from Camilleri and Chang echoes this sentiment. “Every minute is critical in protecting residents in our community and our natural resources, and relocating the personnel will delay emergency response from the previous 20 minutes to over an hour. This delay could not be coming as a worse time, with the McLouth Trenton site’s southern portion potentially being added to the Superfund National Priorities List.”

Aside from the vitality of quick response times — the Large Lakes Research Station has responded to 475 oil spills and releases of chemical and hazardous substances over the past 16 years, including emergencies at the McLouth Steel and Marathon refinery sites — the letter says there don’t appear to be any significant cost savings associated with the move.

Furthermore, the letter states, the research station’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has played a key role in restoring “biological and physical integrity” to Michigan waterways.

“The effectiveness of the Grosse Ile EPA station in mitigating environmental disasters and implementing the highly successful Great Lakes Restoration Initiative here in Michigan cannot be overstated,” Chang said. “I hope President Trump and Acting Administrator Wheeler will reconsider their decision to close the station as they reflect on its importance to the people of Michigan.”

News Herald


On October 6, 1893, DAVID STEWART (3-mast wooden schooner, 171 foot, 545 gross tons, built in 1867, at Cleveland, Ohio) foundered in a gale off Pigeon Bay, Ontario, on Lake Erie. She crew clung to the frozen rigging for 14 hours until saved by the fish tug LOUISE of Sandusky, Ohio. The STEWART was carrying iron ore at the time of her loss.
Herb Fraser & Associates completed repairs on the ALGOSOO at the Welland Dock on October 6 1986. She had suffered a serious fire at her winter mooring on the west wall above Lock 8 at Port Colborne, Ontario, on March 7, 1986.

The bow section of the barge PRESQUE ISLE arrived Erie, Pennsylvania, on October 6, 1972 under tow of the tugs MARYLAND and LAURENCE C. TURNER. The total cost to construct the tug/barge 1,000- footer was approximately $35 million.

October 6, 1981, the Reoch self-unloader ERINDALE's bow was damaged when she hit the Allanburg Bridge abutment running down bound in the Welland Canal. Built in 1915, as a.) W. F. WHITE, she was renamed b.) ERINDALE in 1976.

In 1980, the LAC DES ILES grounded in the Detroit River just below Grassy Island, the result of a faulty steering mechanism. She freed herself a few hours later. The damage caused by the grounding ended her career. She was scrapped at Port Colborne in 1985.

This day in 1870, the schooner E. FITZGERALD was launched at the Fitzgerald & Leighton yard at Port Huron, Michigan. Her dimensions were 135 feet x 26 feet x 11 feet.

In 1875, the MERCHANT (iron propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 200 foot, 750 tons, built in 1862, at Buffalo, New York) was carrying lumber on Lake Michigan when she stranded on Racine Reef near Racine, Wisconsin. Then she caught fire and was gutted before she could be refloated. She had stranded on that same reef twice previously. She was the first iron cargo ship built on the Lakes and the first one lost.

On October 6, 1873, JOHN A. MC DOUGALL (wooden schooner-barge, 151 foot, 415 gross tons) was launched at Wenona, Michigan. She was built at the Ballentine yard in only five weeks.

On October 6, 1889, PHILO SCOVILLE (3-mast wooden schooner, 140 foot, 323 tons, built in 1863, at Cleveland, Ohio) was sailing from Collingwood for Chicago when a storm drove her into the shallows and wrecked her near Tobermory, Ontario. Her captain died while trying to get ashore through the rocks. The Canadian Lifesaving Service saved the rest of the crew. At first the vessel was expected to be recovered, but she broke up by 10 October.

1910: The wooden freighter MUSKEGON, formerly the PEERLESS, was damaged by a fire at Michigan City, IN and became a total loss.

1958: SHIERCLIFFE HALL hit bottom in the St. Marys River and was intentionally grounded off Lime Island with substantial damage. The ship was refloated and repaired at Collingwood.

1966: EMSSTEIN and OLYMPIC PEARL collided south of St. Clair, MI and the former had to be beached before it capsized. This West German freighter made 19 trips to the Great lakes from 1959 through 1967 and arrived at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, for scrapping as d) VIOLETTA on May 28, 1978. The latter, on her first trip to the Great Lakes, had bow damage and was also repaired. This ship arrived at Alang, India, for scrapping as b) AL TAHSEEN on May 6, 1985.

1972: ALGORAIL hit the pier inbound at Holland, MI with a cargo of salt and settled on the bottom about 12 feet off the dock with a gash in the port bow. The vessel was refloated in 24 hours and headed to Thunder Bay for repairs.

1982: CONTINENTAL PIONEER made 8 trips through the Seaway from 1960 through 1964. A fire broke out in the accommodation area as c) AGRILIA, about 20 miles north of Porto Praia, Cape Verde Islands and the heavily damaged ship was abandoned before it drifted aground in position 15.06 N / 23.30 W.

On October 7, 1968, the NORMAN P. CLEMENT was damaged in a grounding off Britt, Ontario. The Canadian boat was towed to Collingwood for repairs. However, while in dry dock, an explosion occurred on October 16 that injured 11 workers and further damaged the hull. Rather than repair her, the owners had the CLEMENT towed out into Georgian Bay where she was intentionally sunk on October 23, 1968.
On this day in 1939, the E. G. MATHIOTT collided with the steamer CORVUS on the St. Clair River. Damage to the CORVUS totaled $37,647.70.

On this day in 1958, the WALTER E. WATSON, Captain Ralph Fenton, rescued the sailing vessel TAMARA on Lake Huron.

On October 7, 1871, GEM (wooden schooner, 120 foot, 325 tons, built in 1853, at Buffalo, New York) was sailing up bound in a storm on Lake Erie with a load of coal. She began to leak and was run to shore in an effort to save her. However, she went down before reaching shoal water and settled with six feet of water over her decks.

ALGOWOOD was launched October 7, 1980, at Collingwood, Ontario, for Algoma Central Marine, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

PAUL THAYER was launched October 7, 1973, for the Union Commerce Bank Trustee, Cleveland, Ohio and managed by Kinsman Marine Transit Co., Cleveland. She was built under Title XI of the Merchant Marine Act of 1970, for $12.6 million. Renamed b.) EARL W. OGLEBAY in 1995.

The WILLIAM MC LAUCHLAN (Hull#793) was launched at Lorain, Ohio, by American Ship Building Co., on October 7, 1926, for the Interlake Steamship Co., Cleveland, Ohio. Renamed b.) SAMUEL MATHER in 1966, c.) JOAN M. MC CULLOUGH in 1975 and d.) BIRCHGLEN in 1982. Scrapped at Sydney, Nova Scotia, in 1988.

BLACK RIVER, a lake bulk freighter, was built as a steel barge in 1897, by the F.W. Wheeler & Co., she was launched October 7, 1896, as a.) SIR ISAAC LOTHIAN BELL (Hull# 118).

HUTCHCLIFFE HALL was raised October 7, 1962, and taken to Port Weller Dry Docks for repairs. She had sunk after a collision a few days earlier.

October 7, 1923 - The ANN ARBOR NO 4 went back into service after being overhauled and having new cabins built on her main deck.

MADISON suffered a fire on October 7, 1987, while lying idle at Muskegon, Michigan, and was badly damaged.

In 1903, ADVENTURE (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 108 foot, 142 gross tons, built in 1875, at Detroit, Michigan, as a schooner) caught fire while tied to the Kelleys Island Line & Transport Co. Dock. The blaze spread so quickly that those on board barely escaped. She was towed from Kelleys Island out into Lake Erie by the tug SMITH to save the dock and the adjacent schooner ANDERSON.

In a severe gale and rain/hail storm on October 7, 1858, the 247-ton schooner OSPREY approached Oswego, New York. As she was about to enter the harbor, the vessel struck the east pier broadside. Her masts and rigging were carried away and she started to sink. Capt. John Parsons got his wife and child out of the cabin to try to escape to the pier. His wife was washed overboard and drowned. Capt. Parsons held on to his child, but another wave struck the wreck and swept the child into the water. George Crine, the mate, was also swept overboard. Those three were lost, but the next wave swung the wreck about with her bowsprit over the pier and the captain and the six remaining crewmen scrambled to safety. The entire town and harbor mourned those deaths and held a dockside service two days later with many prayers and all flags at half-mast. Donations were accepted for the surviving sailors since they escaped with only the clothes on their backs.

On October 7,1873, the PULASKI was launched at the Archibald Muir yard on the Black River in Port Huron. Her dimensions were 136 feet x 26 feet x 11 feet, 349 gross tons. She was a three mast "full canaller", painted white and her private signal was a red M on a white ground bordered with blue. Her sails were made by Mr. D. Robeson of Port Huron, Michigan.

On October 7, 1886, The Port Huron Times reported that "The old side-wheel ferry SARNIA, which was a familiar sight at this crossing [Port Huron-Sarnia] for so many years, and which is said to have earned enough money in her time to sheet her with silver, the hull of which has been for some years back used as a barge by the Marine City Salt Company, has closed her career. She was last week scuttled near the Marine City Salt Works wharf."

1902: ANN MARIA hit a sandbar approaching Kincardine while inbound with a cargo of coal and broke up as a total loss. Four crew and a volunteer rescuer were reported lost.

1917: GEORGE A. GRAHAM was wrecked off Manitoulin Island, Georgian Bay, when the cargo shifted when turning in a storm. The ship ran for the safety of South Bay but stranded on the rocks. All on board were saved but the ship was a total loss.

1919: The wooden steamer HELEN TAYLOR was damaged by a fire in the pilothouse near Hessel, Mich., but was repaired.

1937: M & F DREDGE NO. 14, Hull 39 from the Collingwood shipyard, foundered in the St. Lawrence off Batiscan, QC as b) D.M. DREDGE NO. 14.

1956: The consort barge DELKOTE of the Hindman fleet was adrift for 9 hours in a Lake Superior storm with 13 on board and waves up to 20 feet. The ship had broken loose of the GEORGE HINDMAN but was picked up by the CAPT. C.D. SECORD.

1968: EDWARD Y. TOWNSEND, under tow for scrapping in Bilbao, Spain, broke in two about 400 miles southeast of St. John's, NF, and the bow sank. The stern was apparently retrieved and towed into Santander, Spain, for scrapping on October 28.

[yachtsmanwilly]

On 08-09 October 1871, NAVARINO (wooden propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 184 foot, 761 tons, built in 1870, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin) was lying at a dock when the Chicago fire swept through the city. The vessel tried to pull away from the dock and get to the safety of Lake Michigan, but the wind, which was being drawn into the fire held her against the dock. She burned to a total loss; no lives were lost. Her machinery was later salvaged and used in the new propeller MENOMINEE.
The CHIMO was moved onto the Port Weller Dry Dock on October 9, 1983, where workers began to cut her apart forward of her aft-located pilothouse and engine room. Upon completion Upper Lakes Shipping renamed her b.) CANADIAN RANGER.

GULF MACKENZIE (Hull#435) was launched at Sorel, Quebec, by Marine Industries, Ltd. on October 9, 1976. Renamed b.) L. ROCHETTE in 1985, departed the lakes and renamed c.) TRADEWIND ISLAND in 1995 and d.) KEMEPADE in 2003.

Pioneer Shipping Ltd's SASKATCHEWAN PIONEER arrived in the Welland Canal on her delivery trip October 9, 1983, en route to her formal christening at Thunder Bay, Ontario. Sold off the lakes and renamed b.) LADY HAMILTON in 1995. Brought back to the Lakes as VOYAGEUR PIONEER in 2006. Renamed KAMINISTIQUA in 2008.

JAMES DAVIDSON (Hull# 288) was launched at Wyandotte, Michigan, by Detroit Ship Building Co. on October 9, 1920, for the Globe Steamship Co., Cleveland, Ohio (G. A. Tomlinson, mgr.)

On October 9, 1984, the PATERSON was sold to Shearmet Recycling, a Thunder Bay, Ontario, ship breaker, and was broken up at their Mission River dock.

COL. JAMES M. SCHOONMAKER sailed from the Great Lakes Engineering Works on her maiden voyage on October 9, 1911, to Toledo, Ohio, where she loaded coal bound for Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The SCHOONMAKER was the largest vessel on the Great Lakes when she came out. For much of the decade this vessel either broke or held many bulk cargo records. Renamed b.) WILLIS B. BOYER in 1969. Since 1987, the BOYER serves as a museum ship in Toledo, Ohio, with her original name recently restored.

On 9 October 1820, ASP (wooden schooner, 57 tons, built in 1808, at Mississauga, Ontario) was carrying lumber and staves when she sprang a leak near Long Point in Lake Ontario. She waterlogged, then capsized. The upturned vessel was driven across the lake and finally went ashore off the Salmon River at Mexico Bay, New York, and broke up quickly. 9 of the 11 onboard lost their lives. She was originally built as the British armed schooner ELIZABETH.

On 9 October 1931, CHARLES H. BRADLEY (wooden propeller, 201 foot, 804 gross tons, built in 1890, at W. Bay City, Michigan) was carrying pulpwood and towing the barge GRAMPIAN. She was traversing the Portage Canal in the Keweenaw Peninsula when she ran onto a bar and stranded. The barge kept coming and plowed into her stern. The BRADLEY caught fire and burned to the waterline. The wreck still lies in 6 to 17 feet of water just off the mouth of the Sturgeon River.

On 9 October 1895, AFRICA (wooden propeller steam barge, 135 foot, 352 gross tons, built in 1873, at Kingston, Ontario) was towing the schooner SEVERN in a storm on Lake Huron when she struck a reef, 15 miles south of Cove Island light on Lake Huron. AFRICA broke up in the storm, all 11 of her crew were lost. SEVERN went ashore near Bradley Harbour and broke up. The crew was rescued by a fish tug from Stokes Bay.

1907: CYPRUS cleared Superior with a cargo of iron ore for Lackawanna, N.Y., on only the second trip. The vessel sank two days later and there was only one survivor. The hull was found on the bottom of Lake Superior in 2007 in 460 feet of water.

1922: TURRET CROWN ran aground off Cove Island, Georgian Bay, but was later salvaged.

1944: The German freighter LUDOLF OLDENDORFF, a Great Lakes trader as a) WESTMOUNT (i) and as e) TRACTOR, was sunk by British aircraft at Egersund, Norway.

1968: BUCKEYE, under tow for scrapping overseas, began drifting in rough weather when the anchors were unable to hold off Port Colborne. The ship was blown aground west of the city and the hull remained stuck until November 29.

2001: The Maltese flag freighter SYLVIA ran over a buoy below the Eisenhower Lock and the mooring chain was wrapped around the propeller. The cable was freed and the ship proceeded to Port Weller Dry Docks for repairs arriving October 19 and returning to service on October 27. The ship had previously been inland as a) CHIMO when new in 1981 and first returned as d) SYLVIA in 2000. The vessel was noted as h) INTERCROWN and registered in Cambodia as of 2010.

[yachtsmanwilly]

10/10 - There are gale warnings in effect for western Lake Superior. There is a wave warning in effect as well.

The forecast calls for northeast winds gusting to 50 knots Wednesday, with waves building to 12-16 feet by Wednesday morning. On the southern portion of Lake Superior, Duluth is expecting significant onshore waves which could cause lakeshore flooding. The water level of Lake Superior is high, making the shoreline more prone to damage from waves.


10/10 - Cleveland, Ohio – Shipments of iron ore from U.S. ports on the Great Lakes totaled 5.9 million tons in September, a decrease of 5 percent compared to a year ago. However, shipments did outpace the month’s 5-year average by 4.9 percent.

Year-to-date the iron ore trade stands at 38.9 million tons, a decrease of 2.8 percent compared to the same point in 2017. The gap has been decreasing over the course of the shipping season. At the end of April, iron ore shipments were down nearly 14 percent.

Through September iron ore loadings are 6.8 percent ahead of their 5-year average for the first three quarters.

Lake Carriers’ Association


10/10 - Cleveland, Ohio – Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 3.6 million tons in September, an increase of 3.7 percent compared to a year ago. Limestone cargos also bettered the month’s 5-year average by 8 percent.

Loadings from U.S. quarries totaled 2.9 million tons, an increase of 1.8 percent, or 54,000 tons compared to a year ago. Shipments from Canadian quarries totaled 685,000 tons, an increase of 12.4 percent, or 76,000 tons.

Year-to-date the limestone trade stands at 20.8 million tons, an increase of 3.6 percent compared to a year ago. Loadings from Michigan and Ohio quarries total 17 million tons, an increase of 3.1 percent. Shipments from Ontario quarries total 3.8 million tons, an increase 5.8 percent.

Lake Carriers’ Association


10/10 - Charlevoix, Mich. – Catching a ride on the ferry to Beaver Island is a Michigan adventure everyone should experience. Catching a wave off the ferry to Beaver Island is something else entirely. You don't need to tell Michigan surfer Ryan Bezemek that, because that's exactly what he did on Lake Michigan on Sunday, Sept. 30.

Armed with just his balance and a hydrofoil board, the Grand Rapids native surfed four miles in the wake of the Beaver Island Boat Company Ferry.

The feat was captured on video by his friend Ryan Sugnet, who filmed while another friend Logan Stanley drove a jet ski owned by Tom Boike nearby.

"We had this idea throughout the summer," Bezemek said. "But we weren't sure if it was achievable. We were kind of surprised when it worked. It took us a couple tries, but once I got up I did it seamlessly. I was stunned and excited that we actually made it happen."

Read more and view a video at this link: www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/10/surfer_uses_beaver_island_ferr.html


On this day in 1891, the SUSAN E. PECK collided with the schooner GEORGE W. ADAMS above the Soo Locks. The PECK, loaded with wheat for Buffalo, sank in a matter of minutes and completely blocked the navigation channel. General Orlando M. Poe, in charge of the Soo Locks, estimated that 275 boats lost an estimated 825 days and 5 hours waiting for the wreck to be cleared.
On this day in 1956, two F-86 Saber Jets collided over Lake Michigan. The ERNEST T. WEIR, Captain Ray R. Redecker, rescued one of the pilots (Lt. Kenneth R. Hughes) after he spent three hours in the water. ARTHUR M. ANDERSON, WILLIAM A. IRVIN and GEORGE W. PERKINS participated in an unsuccessful attempt to locate the second pilot.

On October 10, 1902, GARDEN CITY (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 133 foot, 352 gross tons, built in 1873, at Ogdensburg, New York) caught fire on the Saginaw River between Bay City and Saginaw while sailing up the river for winter lay-up. She sank four miles above Bay City near the old interurban railroad bridge.

While downbound with coal in the St. Lawrence River on October 10, 1981, the JEAN PARISIEN suffered considerable bottom damage when she ran aground near Comfort Island about a mile west of Alexandria Bay, New York. She was rebuilt with a new forebody at Port Weller Drydocks and renamed b.) CSL ASSINIBOINE in 2005.

BROOKDALE of 1909 was towed out of Toronto on October 10, 1980, by the tug GLENADA, assisted by the tug TERRY S. She was one her way to the cutters’ torch at Port Maitland, Ontario.

CHAMPLAIN with her former fleet mate CADILLAC was towed past Gibraltar October 10, 1987, heading for Aliaga, Turkey, for dismantling by Cukurova Celik Endustrisi A.S.

SAVIC b.) CLIFFS VICTORY cleared New York on October 10, 1986.

HULL NO 1, b.) KINSMAN ENTERPRISE, being towed by the Polish tug JANTAR arrived in Aliaga, Turkey, on October 10, 1989, to be scrapped there.

October 10, 1906 - The PERE MARQUETTE 5 was sold to The Barry Transportation Co. for $75,000. The PERE MARQUETTE 5 was the last of the "break-bulk" boats operated by the Pere Marquette Railway Co.

On October 10, 1905, CHARLES H. BURTON (3 mast wooden schooner, 158 foot, 514 gross tons, built in 1873, at Bangor, Michigan) was carrying coal in a storm in Lake Erie when she was driven ashore 4 1/2 miles east of Barcelona, New York and broke up. No lives were lost. She had been built on the hull of the bark GLENBULAH that had burned in the Chicago fire of 1871.

On 10 October 1877, ELIZA R. TURNER (wooden schooner, 156 foot, 409 gross tons, built in 1867, at Trenton, Michigan) was carrying wheat from Detroit to Buffalo when a storm drove her aground nine miles west of Long Point on Lake Erie where she was wrecked. The skipper and cook drowned, but the remaining 8 were saved.

The tug CRUSADER of Oswego burned and sank in the middle of the Straits of Mackinac about 9 p.m. on 10 October 1878.

On 10 October 1877, ABEONA (wooden scow-schooner, 100 tons, built in 1863, at Lambert, Ontario) was carrying lumber and shingles down bound on Lake Huron when she stranded during a storm one mile west of Port Austin where she reportedly later broke up.

In 1877, PORTLAND (2-mast wooden schooner, 118 foot, 250 tons, built in 1847, at Pillar Point, New York) stranded and went to pieces north of False Presque Isle on Lake Huron. Salvage attempts only retrieved her anchor and chain.

1923: HURONTON, a Canadian freighter, sank in Lake Superior off Caribou Island following a collision on the foggy lake with the CETUS. The vessel went down in 800 feet of water in 18 minutes but all on board were rescued.

1927: MICHIPICOTEN, of the Owen Sound Transportation Co., was destroyed by a fire at Gore Bay, on Manitoulin Island.

1963: The wooden freighter VAUQUELIN caught fire and sank in the St. Lawrence northeast of Quebec City off Cap Saumon. The vessel had previously sailed as a) LA RIVIERE MALBAIE.

1969: The T-2 tanker CARIBBEAN SKY visited the Seaway for 3 trips in 1960-1961 before being converted to a bulk carrier. The engine exploded and disintegrated during dock trials after repairs at Antwerp, Belgium, as f) LAKE PLACID, with the loss of one life. The hull settled but was pumped out and declared a CTL. It was towed to Rotterdam in 1971, repaired and returned to service as g) GARANDA. The after end again proved to be troublesome and was cut off and scrapped. The bow was joined to after end of the Panamanian tanker AKRON and the ship returned to service under this name. It was finally dismantled in Pakistan during 1981.

1987: The wheat-laden WILLOWGLEN went aground on the north side of Ogden Island in the St. Lawrence. The ship was released on October 13 and later went to Port Weller Dry Docks for repairs.

[yachtsmanwilly]

10/11 - Washington, D.C. – A long-proposed plan to build a new navigation lock on the Great Lakes in Michigan — and put thousands of people to work — won final approval in the U.S. Senate on Thursday, a key step toward making the project reality.

The Senate voted 99-1 in favor of a $4.4 billion package of water infrastructure projects and spending that included a measure authorizing $922 million to be spent on the new lock at the iconic Soo Locks in Sault St. Marie on the Upper Peninsula.

Once funded, construction of the new lock could put some 15,000 people to work. The U.S. House already approved the bill, so now it goes to President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it into law.

For decades, Great Lakes shippers and their supporters in Michigan have argued for the construction of a second lock capable of handling the largest vessels on the Lakes, saying that if the one lock at the Soo currently able to handle those vessels broke down, it could send ripple effects through the economy.

The Soo Locks lower or raise cargo vessels and other boats between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes along what would otherwise be a dangerous 21-foot drop along the St. Marys River.

The Free Press first reported some years ago on the details of a Homeland Security report that indicated that a prolonged shutdown of the existing Poe Lock could lead to a potential recession, depending on the time of year, because there would be no other adequate way to get iron ore pellets to steelmakers, in turn affecting auto and appliance manufacturers and others.

Almost all of those iron ore pellets are moved on the big 1,000-footers, which only the 50-year-old Poe Lock can currently handle.

James H.I. Weakley, president of Lake Carriers’ Association, the trade association representing U.S.-flag vessel operators on the Great Lakes, praised Congress for moving the lock project forward. “Many members of the Great Lakes delegation played a key role in advancing construction of the lock, but in particular I must thank Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Congressman Jack Bergman (R-MI) for their commitment to this project. Their dedication to twinning the Poe Lock pushed the project over the top.”

The locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, connect Lake Superior to the lower four Great Lakes. In a typical year, as much as 80 million tons of cargo pass through the Soo Locks. However, roughly 90 percent of that cargo transits the Poe Lock. The other lock, the MacArthur, is too small to accommodate the most efficient ships in the fleet.

“The American steel industry gets all its waterborne domestic iron ore through the Soo Locks,” said Weakley. “A Department of Homeland Security study found that if the Poe Lock went down for six months, domestic steel production would grind to a halt and 11 million Americans lose their jobs. A second Poe-sized lock is critical to our nation’s economic well-being and national defense capabilities.”

Detroit Free Press, Lake Carriers’ Association


10/11 - Duluth, Minn. – Wind gusts of 50 mph were common across the region on Wednesday as a strong fall storm hit, causing power outages, swamped roads and large waves and flooding along Lake Superior’s shore.

Water-swollen roads in Canal Park didn’t deter the wave-watchers from making their way to the shore, where waves crashed over the large boulder wall and the water flowed through the Lighthouse parking lot and onto Canal Park Drive.

The Canadian freighter CSL Assiniboine, anchored in Lake Superior just off Duluth, reported winds up to 64 mph and 20-foot waves. But the highest gust reported came just after midnight Wednesday morning from the Canadian freighter Algowood, which measured a wind gust of 86 mph, well into hurricane force range, off the Minnesota North Shore near Castle Danger, according to the National Weather Service.

The easterly winds were blowing so hard, and pushing so much Lake Superior water into the harbor that the water level in the harbor increased 10 inches Wednesday morning, the Weather Service reported.

The city of Duluth advised the public to not venture to the lakeshore or into areas closed by flooding, including Brighton Beach and parts of Canal Park. Duluth officially has received more than an inch of rain in the last 24 hours on top of several recent days of rain. That’s softened the ground enough in some areas that big trees are being uprooted and falling over.

Duluth News Tribune


10/11 - A post on the web site Facebook Marketplace Community has solved the mystery of what will become of the long-idled tug Jane Ann IV. The tug, which was formerly mated to the barge Sarah Spencer, is for sale for scrap. The price is $100,000.

Multiple items, including anchors, port holes, doors and tools, are also for sale. The tug was recently towed to Calcite, Mich., where it was recently pulled ashore.

The 150-foot-long tug was built in 1978 by Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding of Tokyo, Japan as Ouro Fino for Petroleo Brasilero. In 1981 she was renamed Bomare. In 1993 she was sold to Secunda Marine Canada and was renamed Tignish Sea. In 2000, the Tignish Sea was sold to Halifax Grain Elevators Ltd. and renamed Jane Ann IV. She was converted to an articulated tug with the installation of a Hydraconn coupler system. This system was removed earlier this year for possible use on another vessel. She last operated in 2009 and has suffered extensive damage since then due to sinking at her dock.

This leaves the fate of the Sarah Spencer, laid up in Toledo and needing extensive steel work, even more in doubt. The Transport Canada web site still lists her owner as TGL Marine Holdings or Toronto, Ont.


10/11 - Mackinac Island, Mich. – People around the world continue to realize what Michiganders have known for a long time. Mackinac Island is a treasure. The popular vacation spot was among the winners in this year's Conde Nast Traveler readers choice awards list of Best Islands in the United States.

More than 429,000 readers submitted millions of ratings as part of the award, sharing their recent travel experiences of the world's cities, hotels, resorts, airports, islands, airlines, and cruise lines - both positive and negative.

Mackinac Island was listed as No. 6 on the list, alongside tropical paradises like Maui and Oahu and picturesque getaways like Nantucket and Hilton Head.

"Hold up your hand to represent the mitten shape of Michigan and imagine Mackinac Island as a speck just above the tip of your middle finger, where Lake Huron meets Lake Michigan," Conde Nast Traveler's team noted.

"No motored transportation is allowed on the island, so tourists and locals alike travel by horse and carriage or bicycle. It's anchored by the stately columned porch of the historic Grand Hotel, which is looking great for 131 years old."

M Live


10/11 - Indianapolis, Ind. – The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to overturn the February ruling by Indiana's highest court that Lake Michigan's shoreline is open to all.

Attorneys for Bobbie and Don Gunderson, who previously owned a lakefront home in the LaPorte County town of Long Beach, late last week filed a petition for a writ of certiorari that asks the nation's high court to set the water's edge as the boundary of lake-adjacent properties — with no requirement to provide public access to Lake Michigan beaches.

If the Supreme Court agrees to hear the case, the ramifications of any decision by the justices are likely to extend well beyond Indiana's 45 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline; the Gundersons are asking the high court to apply the water's edge standard to all the land adjacent to all five of the Great Lakes.

"With thousands of miles of Great Lakes beaches hosting millions of visitors every summer — and with thousands of private owners facing that public influx to land they thought was their own — the stakes are unquestionably high," the Gundersons said.

"How to define the boundaries of the states' equal-footing title in the beds of the Great Lakes is an important question of federal law that has not been, but should be, settled by this court."

The Indiana Supreme Court determined, through an exhaustive review of historical property law, that the ordinary high water mark — essentially the spot where beach becomes land — is the boundary between the state-owned land under Lake Michigan and the interests of private property owners.

Within that shoreline area individuals are entitled to access the water for the traditional purposes of navigation, commerce or fishing, the court said.

The Hoosier justices also said, at a minimum, walking on the beach is a protected public use, and the General Assembly is empowered to enlarge the public's rights on Lake Michigan's beaches.

The Gundersons claim in their petition for U.S. Supreme Court review that the Indiana ruling, and a similar 2005 decision by the Michigan Supreme Court, upset a longstanding consensus in the Great Lakes states that held private ownership extended to the water's edge, wherever that edge may be at any given time.

They argue that having a standard based on vegetation changes is confusing and prone to be applied differently in different states.

Moreover, they posit the Indiana standard reaches well beyond the high tide public-private property boundary that applies to oceanfront land, to claim "title to a huge swathe of scenic and valuable real estate that private landowners had thought was theirs" adjacent to the non-tidal Lake Michigan.

"This aggressive theory cries out for this court's intervention," the Gundersons said.

"If a perception that Great Lakes beaches are public becomes widespread, that would make it much more difficult as a practical matter to unwind Indiana's new rule."

The Indiana attorney general's office and other participants in the original case, including Alliance for the Great Lakes, Save the Dunes and the Long Beach Community Alliance, now have at least 30 days to respond to the Gundersons' petition for Supreme Court review.

Nearly every case appealed to the nation's high court ultimately fails to garner sufficient interest from four of the nine justices and is denied certiorari, leaving the lower court ruling in force.

This one, however, may attract some extra attention since Chief Justice John Roberts grew up in Long Beach.

NW Indiana Times


On this day in 1923, the HENRY STEINBRENNER of 1901 collided with the J. McCARTNEY KENNEDY at 4:20 p.m. off Parisienne Island, Whitefish Bay. The accident occurred during thick, smoky weather and both boats were severely damaged.
MEDINA (wooden propeller tug, 66 foot, 57 gross tons) was launched by O'Grady & Maher at Buffalo, New York on October 11, 1890. She cost $12,000.

Quebec & Ontario Transportation's b.) BAIE COMEAU II cleared Sorel October 11, 1983, as c.) AGIA TRIAS, Panamanian registry #1355. Her Canadian registry was closed on October 12, 1983. Her mission was to carry grain from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Mexican and Caribbean Island ports. Subsequently she was renamed d.) OCEANVIEW in 1988, e.) SEA DIAMOND in 1989, f.) GOLDEN CREST in 1990, g.) ATLANTIC WOOD in 1991, h.) LONDON FURY in 1994 and i.) DONG SHENG in 1995. Cleveland Tankers’ MERCURY scraped the South Grand Island Bridge in the Niagara River in heavy fog on October 11, 1974. Her forward mast snapped off, the amidships mast was tilted and her smoke stack was toppled. She proceeded after the mishap to G&W Welding at Cleveland, Ohio under her own power for repairs. Upper Lakes Shipping's WHEAT KING, under tow, arrived at Chittagong Roads, Bangladesh on October 11, 1989, to be broken up.

In 1911, the rail ferry CHIEF WAWATAM arrived at St. Ignace, Michigan, and began service shortly thereafter.

On 11 October 1913, THOMAS H. CAHOON (3 mast wooden schooner-barge, 166 foot, 431 gross tons, built in 1881, at E. Saginaw, Michigan) was carrying lumber in tow of the steamer C. W. CHAMBERLAIN. They were bound from Sault Ste. Marie to Byng Inlet. However during a storm, the CAHOON stranded and went to pieces on 'Kenny Shoal' by the southwest corner of Innes Island in Georgian Bay. No lives were lost.

On October 11, 1839, DEWITT CLINTON (wooden passenger/package freight side-wheeler, 147 foot, 413 tons, built in 1836, at Huron, Ohio) foundered off Milwaukee with the loss of 5 lives. She was recovered the following year and lasted until 1851. She and her near-twin ROBERT FULTON were reportedly the first Lake steamers built primarily as freighters with relatively few passenger accommodations.

On October 11, 1866, GREAT WEST (wooden 3-mast bark, 175 foot, 765 tons, built in 1854, at Buffalo, New York) was carrying wheat in a storm on Lake Michigan when she stranded on Racine Reef. She was reported to be a total loss but she may have been recovered and then lost near Chicago in 1876. When launched, she was the largest sailing vessel on the Lakes and much was made of her beautiful lines. She was diagonally braced with iron. She stood 174 feet tall from her deck to her masthead. So if she were sailing today, although she'd be able to sail under the Mackinac Bridge, she'd be stopped at the Blue Water Bridge whose roadway is only 152 feet above the water.

1923: The canal-sized steamer GLENGELDIE, enroute from Killarney to Welland with a cargo of quartz rock, hit bottom in Georgian Bay and had to be towed to Collingwood for over $15,000 in repairs to the starboard side. The ship later sailed for Canada Steamship Lines as b) ELGIN.

1924: SENATOR DARBYSHIRE, a wooden bulk carrier upbound and in ballast, was destroyed by a fire on Lake Ontario, and sank near Point Petre Light. The crew fought the early morning blaze but eventually had to abandon the ship and was picked up by MAPLEBAY. Capt. J.W. Scarrow was later a master for Canada Steamship Lines.

1942: WATERTON was lost due to enemy action in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The former Misener freighter, operating for the Bowater Steamship Co., was attacked with 2 torpedoes from U-106 and went down in the Cabot Strait in 8 minutes. All on board got off safely. The ship was traveling from Cornerbrook, NF, to Cleveland with newsprint and pulpwood.

1982: The Israeli freighter DAGAN made 18 trips to the Great Lakes from 1959 to 1967. It ran aground on Cay Sal Bank, north of Cuba, as f) CORK and was abandoned the next day as a total loss.

[yachtsmanwilly]

10/12 - Houghton, Mich. – Conditions are largely good in Lake Superior, said Rob Hyde. But steps will have to be taken to keep it that way.

Hyde, a Great Lakes program officer for Environmental and Climate Change Canada, Canada’s environment department, spoke Tuesday at one of two public events as part of the State of Lake Superior Conference. The three-day conference is hosted by the International Association for Great Lakes Research.

The department is one of more than 30 federal, state, provincial and tribal government organizations that collaborate to restore and protect the lake through the Lake Superior Partnership Working Group. Those agencies are working with another 170 communities, businesses, nongovernmental entities and academics around the lake, including at Michigan Technological University, Hyde said.

“We’re looking to make sure we understand and maintain our understanding of the condition of the lake, talk about what’s really stressing the lake, and we work together to always try to identify what additional actions are necessary to restore and protect the lake,” he said.

That means listening to other members as well as outside groups with knowledge around the lake, he said.

The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, a compact between the U.S. and Canada, sets objectives for the Great Lakes. People should be able to swim, drink and fish. Pollutants shouldn’t be present in amounts that harm fish and wildlife. Lakes should be free of algae growth and invasive species.

Lake Superior scored a “good” on most indicators, including drinking, swimming, pollutants, habitats and species, algae and miscellaneous. Two were only “fair”: eating and invasive species. Groundwater was left undetermined due to a lack of scientific consensus. (The same indicators for Lake Erie found one good, three fair, one fair to poor and four poors.)

The “fair” for eating reflects fish advisory consumption in some areas. Some invasive species also continue to spread.

Trends can be reversed, Hyde said. Lake trout, now plentiful, were nearly wiped out in the 50s by sea lampreys, overfishing and habitat degradation.

Mercury, which is toxic, can reach humans through contaminated fish. After government clampdowns in the 1990s, emissions, from sources such as mining and fuel combustion, decreased by 82 percent from 1990 to 2015. Remaining major sources nearby are taconite mining in Minnesota and two coal-fired power plants in the U.S. The largest mercury source is atmospheric, largely coal-fired plants from the U.S. and globally.

“The trend of mercury in the atmosphere is also decreasing, so that is other good news,” he said.

Stressors in the lake include invasive species, climate change, chemicals, and fragmented habitats.

The partnership’s management plan has commitments to enhance lamprey control efforts and to eliminate the phragmites plant, a dense wetlands plant that crowds out native species. It’s already harmed beaches and biodiversity in the lower Great Lakes, Hyde said.

Climate change could increase the temperature water temperature by as much as 12 degrees by the end of the century, Hyde said. (After the panel, attendees overwhelmingly selected climate change as the greatest issue facing the lake.) Cold-water fish, such as brook trout, would be stressed. More extreme rain events are also likely, as are more algae blooms.

The Daily Mining Gazette


On this day in 1976, three boats discharged a record 108,379 tons of cargo on a single day at the Pinney Dock in Ashtabula, Ohio. The three boats were the JAMES R. BARKER (57,305 tons), the WILFRED SYKES (20,678 tons), and the JOSEPH L. BLOCK (30,306 tons).
On the night of October 12, 1871, the grain laden schooner PLOVER struck a reef near Whitefish Point on Lake Superior, put a hole in her hull and sank in deep water. Captain Jones and the crew of eight escaped in the yawl. They spent two days making their way to Sault Ste. Marie.

The JEAN PARISIEN suffered considerable bottom damage when she ran aground near Comfort Island about a mile west of Alexandria Bay, New York. She was released October 12, 1981, and returned to service after repairs were completed at the Canadian Vickers Montreal yard.

The CLIFFS VICTORY was sold October 12, 1985, to Hai International Corp. of New York for scrapping in the Orient and transferred to Panamanian registry. Her name was changed to c.) SAVIC, utilizing the "S" from CLIFFS, the "VIC" from VICTORY and inserting an "A". All the other letters were painted out.

The JOHN A. KLING sailed on her maiden voyage for the Rockport Steamship Co. (Reiss Steamship Co., mgr.) on October 12, 1922, light from Manitowoc, Wisconsin to load stone at Rockport, Michigan. Sold into Canadian registry in 1981, renamed b.) LEADALE. She was scrapped at Ramey's Bend in 1983.

The keel was laid October 12, 1925, for the Interlake Steamship Co.'s steamer COLONEL JAMES PICKANDS.

The SYLVANIA returned to service on October 12, 1967. She sank at the Peerless Cement Co. Dock at Port Huron, Michigan in June of that year after being struck by the Canada Steamship Lines package freight steamer RENVOYLE.

The tug EDNA G remained at Two Harbors, Minnesota, until October 12, 1993, when she was towed to the Fraser Shipyard at Superior, Wisconsin, by the Great Lakes Towing Co. tug KANSAS. She is now on display as a floating exhibit for the city.

On October 12, 1967, the Papachristidis Company Limited's FEUX FOLLETS entered service with the distinction of being the last steam-powered vessel built on the Great Lakes. The vessel was renamed b.) CANADIAN LEADER when it was sold to Upper Lakes Shipping in 1972 It was scrapped in 2011.

At 3:00 a.m., 12 October 1870, the 76-ton tug ONTARIO caught fire and burned to the waterline while lying at Harrow's dock in Algonac, Michigan.

On 12 October 1901, ALVINA (wooden schooner-rigged scow-barge, 89 foot, 95 gross tons, built in 1871, at Fair Haven, Michigan) was being towed by the steamer WESTON and had a load of 700 barrels of lubricating oil. They were bound from Cleveland for Manistique. The ALVINA was overwhelmed in a storm and sank near Thunder Bay Island in Lake Huron. Her entire crew made it to shore in her yawl. Her cargo was salvaged five days later.

On 12 October 1880, TRADER (wooden propeller, 115 foot, 169 gross tons, built in 1865, at Marine City, Michigan) was carrying lumber in a storm on Lake Michigan. She was battered severely and became waterlogged. Her crew abandoned her with water up to her decks. They were saved by the schooner GUIDE in a daring rescue. A few days later, in the "Alpena Storm,” her wreckage washed ashore near Holland, Michigan and she was erroneously reported as another "all-hands" victim of that storm.

On 12 October 1874, on her maiden voyage, the tug MARY passed Port Huron down bound with the bark FAVORITE in tow. The tug was owned by William Hardison of Port Huron.

1912: MARENGO, a wooden schooner under tow of the LLOYD S. PORTER, broke loose in a storm, came ashore west of Port Colborne and was pounded to pieces by the waves. The anchor was salvaged and now sits on the lawn of Port Colborne High School.

1912: S.K. MARTIN began leaking in heavy weather and sank in Lake Erie off Harbor Creek, NY. The coal laden wooden steamer ran for shore but the effort fell short. The crew took to the lifeboat and were saved. The ship went down bow first and rested on the bottom in 56 feet of water.

1918: The wooden tug ELLA G. STONE was destroyed by a brush fire that swept through the town of Cloquet, MN. Several scows, tugs and a dredge as well as over 400 lives were lost.

1941: ENARE, a Great Lakes visitor in 1932-1933, sustained heavy damage in an air attack in the North Sea as h) GLYNN. The ship was subsequently sunk by a convoy escort as a hazard to navigation. It had also been a Great Lakes trader as f) FLAKS in 1933 and 1934.

1991: ZIEMIA GNIEZNIENSKA hit the wall at Lock 7 and dislodged a chunk of concrete. The Welland Canal was closed for three days.

2002: STELLANOVA and CANADIAN PROSPECTOR were in a head-on collision on the Seaway near Cote St. Catherine and both ships sustained considerable damage. The former was repaired at Les Mechins and the latter at Port Weller Dry Docks.

[yachtsmanwilly]

On this day in 1893, according to reports in Buffalo newspapers, First Mate Ben Lewis was washed off the decks of the JAY GOULD during a storm. A succeeding wave picked him up and dropped him back on the deck of the GOULD.
On October 15, 1871, LA PETITE (wooden schooner, 94 foot, 122 gross tons, built in 1866, at Huron, Ohio) was carrying lumber from Alpena, Michigan, to Huron, Ohio, when she was caught in a terrific gale on Lake Huron. The heavy seas carried away the lumber strapped on deck. Then the vessel sprang a leak and turned on her beam ends. Capt. O. B. Smith, his wife, and four other sailors rode out the storm on the wreck until found by the tug BROCKWAY. The schooner was towed to Port Huron and repaired.

On her maiden voyage, Branch Lines new tanker LEON SIMARD was spotted traveling eastward on the St. Lawrence River on October 15, 1974. Renamed b.) L'ORME NO 1 in 1982. Sold off the lakes, renamed c.) TRADEWIND OCEAN in 1997 and d.) AMARA in 2001.

The self-unloader WOLVERINE departed the American Ship Building Co., October 15, 1974, on her maiden voyage from Lorain, Ohio, light to load stone at Stoneport, Michigan, for delivery to Huron, Ohio.

HERBERT C. JACKSON cleared Fraser Shipyard on October 15, 1988, after having the 1000 h.p. bowthruster motor installed from the JOHN SHERWIN. The motor from the JACKSON was later repaired and placed in the SHERWIN's cargo hold for future use.

The PAUL H. CARNAHAN came out on her maiden voyage October 15, 1961.

On October 15, 1984, JOHN O. McKELLAR of 1952, was sold to P.& H. Shipping of Parrish & Heimbecker Ltd., Mississauga, Ont., and renamed b.) ELMGLEN.

Scrapping began on October 15, 1988, of JOHN T. HUTCHINSON at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, by Li Chong Steel & Iron Works Co. Ltd.

C. H. McCULLOUGH JR was laid up on October 15, 1969, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

COVERDALE (Hull#34) was launched at Midland, Ontario, on October 15, 1949, for Canada Steamship Lines, Montreal, Quebec. Renamed b.) GEORGE HINDMAN in 1973 and c.) MELDRUM BAY in 1979. Scrapped at Lisbon, Portugal in 1985.

SCOTT MISENER of 1954 struck bottom on October 15, 1973, near Whaleback Shoal on the St. Lawrence River reportedly damaging 60 of her bottom plates. She proceeded to the Port Arthur shipyard for drydocking and repairs from October 20th through the 28th.

On October 15, 1980, the NIPIGON BAY, loaded with ore for Hamilton, Ontario, grounded at the "crossover" near Brockville, Ontario, on the St. Lawrence River and sustained a 100-foot rip in her bottom plates. She proceeded to Thunder Bay arriving there on October 24th where repairs were made at an estimated cost of $500,000.

R. P. MASON (3 mast wooden schooner, 115 foot, 155 gross tons, built in 1867, at Grand Haven, Michigan) was bound from Chicago for Detroit when she struck a rocky reef near Waugoshance Point in the Straits of Mackinac on October 8. 1871. Water gushed in an 8-foot hole. However, she was temporarily patched and her cargo of grain, flour and meat was taken off over the next few days. The tug LEVIATHAN took her in tow, going to Little Traverse Bay when, on October 15, they encountered a gale near Cross Village, Michigan. The MASON broke free and capsized. 5 died and 4 were rescued. The MASON drifted ashore upside down. She was eventually salvaged and sailed for another 46 years. She ended her days when she burned in Lake Michigan in 1917.

The tug DOUGLAS caught fire near Wyandotte while going down the Detroit River and sank. The crew all jumped overboard and was saved by the steam yacht JOSEPHINE, except for John Cassidy, one of the firemen, who drowned. A few days later, plans were made to raise and rebuild the DOUGLAS.

On October 15,1871, R. G. COBURN (wooden propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 193 foot, 867 tons, built in 1870, at Marine City, Michigan) was carrying 15,000 bushels of wheat, 3,500 barrels of flour and 30 barrels of silver ore from Lake Superior to Detroit. As she came down Lake Huron, she encountered a terrific gale that had driven most vessels to seek shelter. The COBURN fought the wind at Saginaw Bay throughout the night until she lost her rudder and turned broadside to the waves. Her large stack fell and smashed the cabin area and then the cargo came loose and started smashing holes in the bulwarks. About 70 passengers were aboard and almost all were terribly seasick. As the ship began her final plunge beneath the waves, only a few lifeboats were getting ready to be launched and those were floated right from the deck as the ship sank. 32 people perished, including Capt. Gilbert Demont. No women or children were saved.

On October 15, 1900, the wooden 186-foot freighter F. E. SPINNER was sunk in a collision with the steamer H. D. COFFINBERRY in the St. Marys River. She was raised from 125 feet of water, one of the deepest successful salvage operations to that time. She was later renamed HELEN C and lasted until 1922.

October 15, 1910 - After the sinking of the PERE MARQUETTE 18 of 1902, built at Cleveland, Ohio, the previous September, a new PERE MARQUETTE 18 of 1911, was ordered by the Pere Marquette Railway from the Chicago Ship Building Co.

On 15 October 1871, the EXCELSIOR (3-mast wooden schooner, 156 foot, 374 gross tons, built in 1865, at Buffalo, New York) was struck by a gale near Thunder Bay on Lake Huron. She sailed through the early morning hours only to sink about 4:30 a.m. Only Charles Lostrom survived. He was on the cabin roof, which blew off when the vessel went down. Mr. Lostrom remained on the floating roof-raft for two days and two nights until he was rescued by fishermen near South Hampton light on the Canadian side of Lake Huron.

1916: The wooden bulk freighter L. EDWARD HINES was sold to Nicaraguan owners and left the Great Lakes in 1916. The ship had loaded coal in New Orleans for Venezuela for its maiden voyage on this date in 1916 but got caught in a hurricane and sank with the loss of 17 lives while 45 miles east of Belize, British Honduras.

1971: SINGAPORE TRADER was upbound with general cargo from Japan to Detroit, on its first trip to the Great Lakes, when it ran aground in the Thousand Islands. The vessel was released on November 29 and towed back to Montreal on December 16. The ship was arrested there and offered for sale, by court order. The successful bidder for the 27-year-old vessel was a shipbreaker at Santander, Spain, and the ship arrived there for dismantling on June 22, 1972.

1977: The three-year old Panamanian bulk carrier GOLDEN STAR damaged its rudder when it struck the opposite bank while backing from the dock at Huron, Ohio. The vessel, bound for the United Kingdom, needed four tugs when it was towed out of the Seaway for repairs at Sorel, QC. The vessel was last noted as c) FUN JIN under the flag of Panama in 1993.

1978: The West German freighter FRANCISCA SARTORI made 21 trips through the Seaway from 1959 through 1967. It was lying at Piraeus, Greece, as f) GIOTA S. when the engine room flooded on this date in 1978. The ship departed for Chalkis on October 24, 1979, but further leaks developed and the vessel had to be beached at Laurium, Greece.

On this day in 1953, Boston Metals Company of Baltimore, Maryland, submitted a successful bid of $118,111 for six retired lakers to be scrapped by the U.S. Maritime Commission. The six boats were the CHACORNAC, COLONEL, MUNISING, NEGAUNEE, YOSEMITE and AMAZON.
On 14 October 1871, the LEVANT (2-mast wooden schooner, 91 foot, 115 tons, built in 1854, at Chicago, Illinois) was loaded with lumber when she was overtaken by a severe gale and went over on her beam ends off Sheboygan, Wisconsin, on Lake Michigan. The 6-man crew lashed themselves to the vessel so as not to be washed away by the waves. Throughout the night the men died one by one. At daylight, the schooner D P DOBBINS found the wreck with floating bodies tied to it and three still alive (two of them were barely alive). One died during the rescue attempt and another died within minutes of being rescued. Only Peter J. Thornum survived.

DEAN RICHMOND (wooden propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 238 foot, 1,432 gross tons, built in 1864, at Cleveland, Ohio) sailed from Toledo, Ohio, on Friday the 13th of October 1893, with a load of bagged meal, flour, zinc and copper ingots. She encountered hurricane force winds of over 60 mph and battled the storm throughout the night. She was seen on 14 October 1893, off Erie, Pennsylvania, missing her stacks and battling the wind and waves. The following day, wreckage and bodies were washing ashore near Dunkirk, New York. Among the dead were the captain, his wife and three children. A few crewmembers managed to make it to shore however all but one died of exposure. The only survivor was found on the beach near Van Buren Point two days later. During the search for bodies, three volunteers lost their lives. The wreck was found in 1984.

The keel to the JAMES R. BARKER was laid on October 14, 1974. She was to become Interlake's first 1000 footer and the flagship of the fleet for Moore McCormack Leasing, Inc. (Interlake Steamship Co., Cleveland, Ohio, mgr.).

On October 14, 1983, the CHI-CHEEMAUN encountered 48-knot winds after departing Tobermory with 113 passengers bound for South Baymouth. Due to high wind and waves the captain decided to find shelter rather than to continue on or return to port. The ferry made her way around the Bruce Peninsula southeast to Dyer Bay where she dropped anchor for the night, however she had no overnight accommodations. Complimentary meals were served and activities were organized by the crew. The anchor was lifted the next morning and the ferry returned to Tobermory.

The GEORGE A. STINSON departed Detroit on her maiden voyage October 14, 1978, light for Superior, Wisconsin, to load iron ore pellets for delivery to the Great Lakes Steel Division of the National Steel Corp. at Zug Island in River Rouge, Michigan. Renamed b.) AMERICAN SPIRIT in 2004.

On 14 October 1875, it was discovered that thieves had completely stripped the canvass and rigging from the schooner FORWARDER owned by Little & Brown. The schooner was lying about three miles below Port Huron.

On 14 October 1822, APPELONA (wooden schooner, 45 foot, 37 tons, built in 1814, at Henderson, New York) was bound from Oswego for Genesee, New York, when she was struck by lightning in Lake Ontario and sank about 15 minutes. All hands were injured but abandoned her for shore and all survived.

The tug NELSON burned at Chicago on Saturday, 14 October 1876. She was one of the smaller class of tugs and the damage was so great that she was not considered to be worth repairing.

October 14, 1911 - The ANN ARBOR NO 4 ran aground while enroute to Manistique, Michigan, at full speed, damaging several plates. The ANN ARBOR NO 3 pulled her off.

On 14 October 1876, NEW YORK (wooden propeller freighter, 183 foot, 704 tons, built in 1856, at Buffalo, New York) was carrying lumber and towing the schooner BUTCHER BOY and barges NELLIE MC GILVERAY and A. J. CORREY from Cove Island in Georgian Bay to Buffalo when they encountered a severe storm near Pointe aux Barques. The towline parted and the NEW YORK could not regain it in the heavy seas. She then sprang a leak and the water rose rapidly enough to put out her fires. The crew (15 men and one woman) abandoned in the yawl as NEW YORK was overwhelmed and sank. The open boat was adrift for five hours when the 74-foot schooner NEMESIS came upon it. NEMESIS tried twelve times to approach the yawl in the rough seas, losing a portion of her deck load of tanbark each time that she came about, but at last she got alongside the yawl. The NEW YORK's crew managed to get aboard the NEMESIS except for Fireman William Sparks, who fell between the yawl and the schooner and was lost. The other vessels in the tow all made it to Port Huron safely.

On 14 October 1883, NELLIE GARDNER (wooden schooner-barge, 178 foot, 567 gross tons, built in 1873, at Marine City, Michigan) was loaded with 39,000 bushels of corn while being towed by the steamer JOHN PRIDGEON JR in a storm on Lake Huron. The GARDNER released herself from the tow in the heavy weather to run for the shelter of Thunder Bay under sail. However, she was unable to make it, and turned back for Tawas, Michigan, but struck a reef, broke in two and was wrecked 1 mile SE of Scarecrow Island. Her crew made it to shore in her yawl.

1895: The wooden steamer AFRICA struck a reef near Cove Island enroute to Georgian Bay, broke up and sank with the loss of all 13 crew.

1922: ARROW, a steel sidewheeler, partially burned at the dock in Put-in-Bay.

1954: The Dutch freighter PRINS WILLEM V. sank off Milwaukee after a collision with the barge SINCLAIR XII pushed by the SINCLAIR CHICAGO. All 30 sailors on board were rescued but the overseas vessel was never salvaged. It was replaced in 1956 by another PRINS WILLEM V.

1966: The STONEFAX and ARTHUR STOVE collided in the Welland Canal between Allanburg and Port Robinson. The former, a member of the Halco fleet, sank with its cargo of potash and remained on the bottom until November 25. The latter subsequently visited the Seaway as b) TIARET and was scrapped at Nantong, China, as c) CLARET in 1984-1985.

1983: The British freighter HOUSTON CITY visited the Great Lakes in 1966. It ran aground at Mayotte Island, part of the Comoros, while enroute from the Far East to South Africa as c) ALPAC AFRICA. The ship was stuck until October 22 and scrapped at Shanghai, China, in 1984.

1985: FURIA was trapped in Lock 7 when a section of the lock wall collapsed. The Welland Canal was closed until November 7. The vessel arrived at Shanghai, China, for scrapping as b) YRIA on November 1, 2001, after it made a final trip inland as such in 2000.

1987: GEORGE A. SLOAN sustained major bottom damage going aground in the Amherstburg Channel and was repaired at Toledo. The ship is still sailing as c) MISSISSAGI

On this day in 1893, Chief Engineer J. H. Hogan left the DEAN RICHMOND in Toledo to take care of some family business. One day later, the DEAN RICHMOND burned off Dunkirk, New York, with a loss of 17 lives including the replacement Chief Engineer.
On October 13, 1909, GEORGE STONE (wooden propeller freighter, 270 foot, 1,841 gross tons, built in 1893, at W. Bay City, Michigan) was sailing from Ashtabula, Ohio for Racine, Wisconsin, with cargo of coal when she stranded on Grubb Reef in the Pelee Passage on Lake Erie. She then caught fire and was destroyed. Five of the 18 crewmen were lost.

The SASKATCHEWAN PIONEER made her first trip out of Thunder Bay, Ontario with grain on October 13, 1983. Renamed b.) LADY HAMILTON in 1995, sold to Voyageur Maritime in 2006, and now sailing as c.) KAMINISTIQUA for Lower Lakes Towing.

The tug GLENADA towed the BROOKDALE from Port Colborne to Newman's scrap yard at Port Maitland, Ontario the week of October 13, 1980.

On October 13, 1902, the MAUNALOA collided with her whaleback consort barge 129 on Lake Superior and sank it 30 miles northwest of Vermilion Point, which is between Upper Michigan's Crisp and Whitefish Points. MAUNALOA had been towing the 129, both vessels loaded with iron ore, when the towline parted in heavy seas. While trying to regain control of the barge, they came together and the steamer's port anchor raked the side of the barge, which started taking on water. The crew was taken off the barge before it sank.

On 13 October 1875, off Alpena, Michigan, the tug E. H. MILLER had her boiler explode while racing with the tug CITY OF ALPENA - both in quest of a tow. The ALPENA, who was ahead of the MILLER when she blew up, immediately turned around to pick up survivors. The ALPENA sunk in minutes. The engineer, fireman and a boy were rescued, but the captain and cook were lost. The fireman was in such poor shape that it was thought that he would not live.

On 13 October 1877, The Port Huron Times reported that the tug PRINDIVILLE and the 2-masted schooner PORTLAND had both gone ashore at the Straits of Mackinac and been pounded to pieces.

On 13 October 1886, SELAH CHAMBERLAIN (wooden propeller steam barge, 212 foot, 1,207 gross tons, built in 1873, at Cleveland, Ohio) collided with the 222-foot wooden lumber hooker JOHN PRIDGEON, JR. in heavy fog off Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The CHAMBERLAIN had been towing the schooner FAYETTE BROWN. The CHAMBERLAIN sank quickly. Five of the crew went down with the vessel when the lifeboat davits became fouled and they were unable to launch the lifeboat. The rest of the crew made it to shore in the other lifeboat after a 3-hour pull through the fog.

1902: The wooden steamer C. B. LOCKWOOD was swamped in a storm and sank on Lake Erie with the loss of 10 lives.

1927: The ONTARIO, once the largest carferry on the Detroit River, was later reduced to a barge and it foundered on Lake Superior, near Outer Island, while carrying 1100 tons of pulpwood. It had been under tow of the tug BUTTERFIELD and all on board were saved.

1973: SCOTT MISENER damaged 60 bottom plates when it hit bottom near Whaleback Shoal in the St. Lawrence.

1976: The former T2 tanker and now bulk carrier SYLVIA L. OSSA, remembered on the Great Lakes as the MARATHONIAN that was in a head-on collision with ROLWI in Lake Michigan, disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle with the loss of all 37 members of the crew.

1990: ERNA WITT first visited the Great Lakes in 1958 and returned through the Seaway in 1962. The vessel sank off Port Sudan as k) SHIBA after a collision with the ALTAAWIN ALARABI while inbound from Aqaba, Jordan. Three members of the crew were lost.

10/13 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is seeking public input as it develops an updates general management plan for the Lime Island Recreation Area. The 932-acre island tied with a 6.5 acre parcel on the mainland in Raber Township.

“The park’s remote setting makes it a perfect spot for hiking, fishing swimming, wildlife watching, hunting, watching the freighters and other activities,” said Corey Butcher, park manager. “The quiet retreat offers a boat dock, cabins powered by solar panels, and tent camping on wooden platforms.”

According to a DNR press release announcing this effort, Lime Island has a rich history as an industrial complex and vessel refueling depot due to its close proximity to the St. Marys River shipping lanes. Some of the original historical structures have been partially restored and repurposed as rental cabins or interpretative buildings.

To better determine what the public would like to see happen at the Lime Island Recreation Area, an online survey has been created to take public input. To access the survey, which will be offered through Oct. 31, utilize michigan.gov/limeisland.

The survey takes approximately 10 minutes. The questions are comprised to determine the level of use, how people come to the island and what their motivation is in making those visits.

With an eye to the future, the DNR is also seeking information to determine if there should be new development to fill future recreational needs at this location including the possible creation of a new campground and perhaps even ferry service from the mainland.

After compiling survey data, the DNR plans to hold an open house at a yet-to-be-determined time in 2019 to give the public the opportunity to review and comment on the draft plan.

Soo Evening News

10/14 - Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – It’s still peak fall color season in Northern Michigan. However one thing is reminding us winter is right around the corner: Road salt.

On Saturday afternoon, the Algoma Sault unloaded just over 17,000 tons of the salt in Sault Ste. Marie. The salt will be distributed throughout the eastern Upper Peninsula. The rest of the vessel’s cargo will be unloaded in the Houghton area.

This salt shipment isn’t enough for the Upper Peninsula winters. Another shipment will arrive next week.

9&10 News

[yachtsmanwilly]

On this day in 1950, the JOHN M. McKERCHEY of the Kelley's Island Lime and Transport Company sank at 2:30 a.m. while returning from the pumping grounds with a load of sand. Captain Horace S. Johnson went down with the boat, but the remaining 19 crewmembers were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard.

On October 16,1855, SENECA (wooden propeller tug, 92 foot, 73 tons, built in 1847, at Buffalo, New York) was towing the brig LANSING past the foot of Randolph Street at Chicago, Illinois, when her boiler exploded. Her skipper and engineer were killed instantly and several others were injured. The vessel was later recovered.

On October 16, 1990, the JOHN B. AIRD's loop belt caught fire while loading mill scale at Inland Steel Mill, East Chicago, Illinois. Fueled by coal dust left over after unloading coal at the mill, 1,400 feet of the rubber conveyor belt burned causing nearly $500,000 in damages.

ALGOWEST set a cargo record carrying 27,517 tons of grain down the Seaway October 16, 1982, to Port Cartier, Quebec. She was converted to a self-unloader in 1998, and renamed b.) PETER R. CRESSWELL in 2001.

The Cayman Islands-registered tanker RIO ORINOCO grounded off Anticosti Island, Quebec on October 16, 1990, and was abandoned. Later she was salvaged by Le Groupe Desgagnes (1981) Inc., refloated, repaired and renamed d.) THALASSA DESGAGNES.

Sea trials of MERTON E. FARR were successfully completed October 16, 1920.

On October 16, 1954, the SCOTT MISENER of 1954 became the first laker to load a record 800,000 bushels of grain on the Great Lakes when she was loaded with barley at Fort William, Ontario, for delivery to Port Colborne.

WILLIAM G. MATHER of 1925 was towed from her Cuyahoga River berth on October 16, 1990, by the Great Lakes Towing tugs IDAHO and DELAWARE. She was placed next to the 9th Street Pier of Cleveland's North Coast Harbor and now serves as a marine museum.

On October 16, 1912, JAMES BUCKLEY (2 mast wood schooner-barge, 161 foot, 442 gross tons, built in 1884, at Quebec City) was carrying coal and being towed by the tug WILLIAM PROCTOR in consort with the barges H B and MENOMINEE in Lake Ontario. The BUCKLEY separated from this group in a storm and was driven into the shallows off the coast of Jefferson County, New York. The tug PROCTOR delivered MENOMINEE to Cape Vincent, then returned in time to take BUCKLEY’s crew out of the rigging - hand over hand on a heaving line - before BUCKLEY finally sank.

On October 16, 1855, the brig TUSCARORA was carrying coal from Buffalo to Chicago. She anchored off Chicago's Harrison Street, but a storm dragged her in. Volunteers from shore were unable to get to the stricken vessel. A group of 9 ship captains and 4 seamen then organized a rescue party and took two new "Francis" metal lifeboats out and rescued the entire crew of eleven. By 21 October, TUSCARORA was pounded to pieces.

On October 16, 1853, PHILO SCOVILLE (2-mast wooden brig built in 1853, at Sheboygan, Wisconsin) was carrying flour, wheat, pigs and barreled fish when she encountered a gale in the eastern Straits of Mackinac. She was dismasted and drifted ashore where she was pounded to pieces. Her crew was saved by floating ashore while clinging to the floating main mast.

1880: ALPENA, a wooden sidewheel passenger steamer, was lost in Lake Michigan in a violent storm. All 67 on board perished.

1928: PARKS FOSTER ran aground, due to fog, in Lake Huron near Alpena. The ship was lightered, pumped out and refloated. While declared a total loss, the vessel was rebuilt as b) SUPERIOR and eventually dismantled at Port Weller in 1961.

1940: TREVISA was torpedoed and sunk by U-124 while 600 miles off the coast of Ireland. The ship had become a straggler from convoy SC-7 that had been attacked over a period of 3 nights. Seven lives were lost when TREVISA was hit in the engineroom by a single torpedo.

1968: The NORMAN P. CLEMENT was at Collingwood for examination of the grounding damage of earlier in the month when an onboard explosion on this date injured 11. The hull was contaminated with chemicals and declared a total loss.

1969: FREDEN V. came to the Great Lakes in 1958 and returned through the Seaway in 1959. The small tanker was heavily damaged as c) YARIMCA in an engine room fire at Sinop, Turkey, but that was repaired in 1972 and the ship survived until scrapping at Aliaga, Turkey, as f) ORTAC in 2004.

1971: The Cypriot freighter UNION came through the Seaway in 1971 after prior visits as c) MICA beginning in 1965. Fire broke out in the engine room and the ship was abandoned 130 miles off Freetown, Sierra Leone, on October 10, 1971. The vessel sank on October 16 and had been enroute from Gdynia, Poland, to Chittagong, Bangladesh.

[yachtsmanwilly]

10/17 - Massena, N.Y. – A Canadian man is dead after he fell off the dock while tying off a freighter outside Eisenhower Lock near Massena early Tuesday morning.

State police say 57-year-old Alfred Eshun from Quebec lost his balance and slipped off a dock after being lowered onto it off the side of the bulk carrier Spruceglen around 12:30 a.m. He was found in the water face down and unresponsive about three minutes later.

Two St. Lawrence Seaway employees went into the water to help. Both men were treated for possible hypothermia at Massena Memorial Hospital. Eshun was pronounced dead at Massena Memorial Hospital around 2 a.m. An autopsy is scheduled.

The Spruceglen was heading upriver and was waiting to go through the locks when the accident happened. The U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment is assisting with the investigation

The Associated Press

Canada Steamship Lines’ statement: In Memory of Alfred "Freddy" Eshun

It is with great sadness that that we learned of the tragic death of one our colleagues on Spruceglen in the early morning hours on October 16, 2018. That colleague was OS Alfred Eshun, known to his shipmates as “Freddy.” A long-time CSL seafarer, Freddy became permanent on Spruceglen in 2004 and had worked as a relief on a variety of CSL ships for over 20 years.

Freddy was a known as hard worker, well liked and appreciated by his crewmates, and an all-around good guy. He will be missed by his wife, his son, his friends and his CSL family. In honor of Freddy’s life, CSL ships worldwide will fly the CSL flag at half-mast for the rest of the week.


On this day in 1889, the whaleback 103 completed her maiden trip by delivering 86,000 bushels of Duluth wheat to Buffalo.
On this day in 1936, the 252-foot sand sucker SAND MERCHANT rolled over and sank when a 50 mph gale swept across Lake Erie. The steamer THUNDER BAY QUARRIES, Captain James Healey, rescued three survivors and the steamer MARQUETTE & BESSEMER NO 1, Captain George Wilson, rescued four additional survivors. Eighteen crewmembers and one female passenger drowned in the accident.

On October 17, 1887, Henry McMorran and D. N. Runnels bought the engine and boiler of the tug GEORGE HAND at the U.S. Marshall's sale in Port Huron, Michigan, for $500.

The CARLTON (Hull#542) was launched October 17, 1963, at Sunderland, England, by Short Brothers, Ltd., for Chapman & Willan, Ltd. Renamed b.) FEDERAL WEAR in 1975. Purchased by Upper Lakes Shipping Ltd. in 1975, renamed c.) ST LAWRENCE PROSPECTOR in 1975. Lengthened to Seaway size and renamed d.) CANADIAN PROSPECTOR in 1979. Scrapped in 2009 at Aliaga, Turkey.

The EMS ORE was launched October 17, 1959, for Transatlantic Bulk Carriers, Monrovia, Liberia. Purchased by Hall Corp. of Canada in 1976, reconstructed for lake service and renamed b.) MONTCLIFFE HALL in 1977. Renamed c.) CARTIERDOC in 1988, she sails today as d.) CEDARGLEN.

With an inexperienced Taiwanese crew, boiler problems and the collapse of Lock 7's west wall in the Welland Canal on October 17th, SAVIC's (CLIFFS VICTORY) departure was delayed until December 17, 1985, when she departed Chicago under her own power.

The carferry PERE MARQUETTE 19 was launched October 17, 1903.

In 1893, the FLINT & PERE MARQUETTE NO 1 was damaged by fire while in Ludington.

In 1988, the Society for the Preservation of the S.S. City of Milwaukee purchased CITY OF MILWAUKEE from the City of Frankfort for $2.

On October 17,1871, CASCADEN (2 mast wood schooner, 138 tons, built in 1866, at Saugeen, Ontario) was carrying much needed supplies for the Cove Island Lighthouse keeper and his family who were in desperate straits. But she went ashore 3 miles below Cape Hurd near Tobermory, Ontario, in a storm and was wrecked.

On October 17, 1843, the wooden schooner ALABAMA collided with a pier during a storm at the mouth of the Grand River at Fairport, Ohio, and was a total loss.

On October 17, 1871, the 42-ton wooden schooner SEA HORSE stranded on Fitzwilliam Island at the mouth of Georgian Bay in a storm. She was a total loss.

1923: The bulk carrier LUZON went aground in Lake Superior, northeast of Passage Island, due to poor visibility from the dense smoke of local forest fires. The vessel sustained serious bow damage but, fortunately, the bulkhead held. It was enroute from Fort William to Buffalo with grain at the time. The ship returned to service as b) JOHN ANDERSON in 1924 and was last known as G.G. POST.

1936: SAND MERCHANT sank in Lake Erie about 13.5 miles off Cleveland with the loss of 19 lives. The ship began taking on water faster than it could be pumped out and only 7 sailors survived.

1951: GEORGE F. RAND and HARVEY H. BROWN collided just below the Huron Cut at Port Huron and the former was beached with a starboard list. After being refloated, this vessel unloaded its cargo of silica sand at Port Huron and then went to Toledo for repairs. The latter later sailed as PARKER EVANS and MARLHILL.

1980: The Canadian tanker GULF CANADA and MEGALOHARI II collided at Montreal with minor damage. The former had been built at Collingwood as a) B.A. PEERLESS in 1952 and was scrapped at Alang, India, as d) COASTAL I in 1990. The latter had begun Seaway trading in 1965 and was scrapped at Alang as b) AGIOS CONSTANTINOS in 1985.