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Two Ships Aground at Iroquois Lock 11/29 - 9:00pm Update - An eyewitness has said that the Spar Opal has been freed, and is presently at the tie up wall at Iroquois, She was released when Spar Opal swung her cranes to her port side, only then were Ocean Jupiter and Ocean Bravo able pull her off her perch. The situation was made difficult by a channel marker close to her stern. The current is strong at this location and kept pushing her back onto the bank the moment either tug reduced the tension on the tow line. Spar Opal is now moored at the extreme west end of the upper tie wall. Golden Eye remains beached below the control dam. She is not anchored and the bow is very close to the channel marker 107, which is actually a pole on the shore with a green light atop it. When the ship was freed from her original strand it was allowed to drift down the river a very short distance and fetch up on the beach bow first. Why she was not taken out into the emergency anchorage area nearby remains a mystery. The tug Commodore Straits was asked to leave after this and she passed up the canal about 3:00pm and went to the Prescott Elevators to dock. The tug Ocean Hercules arrived about 5:00pm and is anchored in the river
below the grounded Golden Eye. The fleet of tugs has given notice that they
will be underway tomorrow morning at 5:00am to pull Golden Eye off the shore. 11/29 - 8:00am Update - Golden Eye is being reported by the Seaway as in the Emergency Anchorage below the Iroquois Lock, while Spar Opal remains tied at the Lock Upper Wall. The Ocean tug Ocean Bravo arrived at the grounding site before 6:00am Wednesday. The second Ocean tug Ocean Jupiter has just departed from the upper wall of Snell lock after being fog bound. Tugs Ocean Bravo and Commodore Strait are alongside the anchored Golden Eye, which seems to have been pulled from her grounding site. Pictures in the News Photo Gallery. Reported by Kent Malo 11/28 - 8:00 pm Update - Another Group Ocean tug has left Montreal to assist the grounded vessels at Iroquois. The 5000hp tug Ocean Jupiter departed Section 57, Port of Montreal, and is proceeding to the Seaway at 7:45pm. 11/28 - 5:00pm Update - The Ocean company tug Ocean Bravo left Montreal Tuesday afternoon to assist the two grounded vessels at Iroquois and is presently at Cote Ste. Catherines. Reported by Kent Malo Original story - 11/28- 3:30pm - St. Lawrence Seaway - It began with Spar Opal losing power as she was approaching the upper tie wall above Iroquois Lock at 8:40pm Monday night. She dropped all three anchors and the current pushed the ship aground a short distance above the lock on the south bank. In the lock was Algosoo. Below Iroquois upbound was Golden Eye. Behind Golden Eye was the light tug Commodore Straits. The Commodore Straits suggested she go up to assist the Spar Opal and this led to the pilot on Golden Eye to believe they should go to the anchorage below the Iroquois Control Dam on the U.S. side, just in case the Algosoo wanted to back out of the lock. Golden Eye got caught in the strong current during the turn and shot through the anchorage in onto the river bank, below Rocky Point. To make matters worse, the wind is now strong from the east and the river level is dropping and both ships are listing and hard aground. At midnight Algosoo cleared upbound and slid the upper tie wall nearly to the west end and proceeded up. Ships above and below went to anchor for the night and one way traffic resumed Tuesday morning as Commodore Straits runs from one grounded ship to the other with inspectors and takes soundings. Reported by Ron Beaupre, Walter Statham & Kent Malo Updates will be provided as they become available. |
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Port Reports - November 30 Marquette - Rod Burdick and Lee Rowe Goderich - Dale Baechler Milwaukee - John N. Vogel |
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Updates - November 30 News Photo Gallery updated Iroquois Lock grounded vessels Gallery Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 30 On 30 November 1896, CITY OF KALAMAZOO (wooden propeller passenger/package
freight steamer, 162 foot, 728 gross tons, built in 1892, at South Haven,
Michigan) burned at her lay-up dock at South Haven, Michigan with the loss of
four lives. She was rebuilt and lasted until 1911, when she burned again. |
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Morrell’s Horror Lingers Four Decades after Sinking 11/29 - Port Huron - A terrible storm, a sunken freighter, dozens of bodies and one remarkable story of a man’s survival. Those who remember won’t soon forget the sinking of the Daniel J. Morrell on Nov. 29, 1966, in Lake Huron about 20 miles northeast of Harbor Beach at the tip of Michigan’s Thumb. On the 40th anniversary of the disaster, people living along Lake Huron recall with awe the miracle of Dennis Hale’s survival and the newspaper images of frozen bodies being hauled from rescue helicopters that came too late. Twenty-eight men — including one from St. Clair, wheelsman Charles F. Fosbender — died when the Morrell split in two. Only Hale, now 66 and living in Rocky River, Ohio, survived. Freezing cold and wet, Hale spent about 36 hours on a life raft watching his companions die and waiting for help. “It is an incredible story as far as recent history is concerned,” said Tim Juhl of Forester Township, a retired teacher and diver. He helped Hale write a book about his experience, titled Soul Survivor: Dennis Hale’s Own Story. “It is one of the greatest stories of Great Lakes disaster and survival in the face of insurmountable odds.” The Morrell, a 7,000 ton, 600-foot freighter owned by a Pennsylvania steel company, fractured its bottom hull and broke in half while navigating 65-mph winds, 25-foot waves and frigid temperatures. It now lies in two pieces about five miles apart and 200 feet below the surface of Lake Huron. Slim chances A search did not begin until Nov. 30 when the crew aboard another ship found a body wearing a Morrell lifejacket floating in Lake Huron between Port Hope and Harbor Beach. A few hours later, Coast Guard officers in a helicopter found Hale, amazed he was alive, Juhl said. Rescue workers continued searching but found none of the other men alive. Slowly, the men’s bodies were recovered, some not for several months. “That water was terrible. It was cold — and full of death,” U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Ward A. Lewis, who commanded the search for survivors, said in a 1966 United Press International story. Bold headlines In the days after rescue workers began recovering bodies, Harbor Beach was filled with reporters from Port Huron, across Michigan and the nation, said Ralph Polovich, a semi-retired Times Herald photographer. Polovich was at the scene with a camera as a Coast Guard helicopter rescued Hale from the life raft. “No question, it was a major-league story. It got attention all over the country,” Polovich said. “For 28 sailors to lose their lives in a ship sinking is big news ... it was a tragic loss of life.” It was amazing Hale survived, Polovich said. Hale, who has been to Port Huron several times, has told his story throughout the state and has struggled with guilt, leading him sometimes to live destructively, Juhl said. Still, people who know the story consider Hale a marvel.
The following day, he said, he filmed at least one body being brought into the Harbor Beach marina, where the police, FBI and Coast Guard had gathered. He was interested but did not want to get close to the scene. “Most of the men were frozen, some of them were mutilated in some way or another,” DeFrain said. The event shook the small city, where many families knew people who worked on the water. “It certainly wasn’t a happy town. People were quite concerned,” he said. DeFrain said there had been many shipwrecks before the Morrell but “nothing of this magnitude.” The aftermath The DVD features underwater footage of the ship, which forever will sit at Lake Huron’s bottom about 16 miles off Pte. Aux Barques, attracting divers and shipwreck enthusiasts. It is an “eerie” place, said Juhl, who has seen the sunken ship several times. “You realize that you are seeing through a vessel that sank and claimed the lives of many men. “They weren’t anything extraordinary. They were just normal people, but because of what happened they are part of our maritime history.” From the Port Huron Times-Herald |
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St. Mary's Challenger Ready for Lay Up 11/29 - Charlevoix - The St. Mary's Challenger has one cargo left
for the season. The vessel is currently in Chicago, where she will sail light
for Charlevoix to load a "lay up" load of cement for Chicago. The vessel will
lay up at the Heavy Lift Dock near the St. Mary's Cement terminal. |
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Ballast Regulation Could Shut Down Great Lakes Shipping 11/29 - Milwaukee - Now that the State of Michigan has floated what
has previously been the unthinkable - a ban on Great Lakes freighters using
ballast water on many of their traditional shipping routes to prevent the
spread of dangerous invasive species - the debate is picking up steam across
the region. |
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Port Reports - November 29 Buffalo - Brian Wroblewski Milwaukee - Paul Erspamer Toledo - Sandusky - Jim Spencer Goderich - Dale Baechler |
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Updates - November 29 News Photo Gallery updated Iroquois Lock grounded vessels Gallery Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 29 In 1953, the BENJAMIN F FAIRLESS, Captain H. C. Buckley, transported the
last iron ore of the season through the Soo locks. The ore originated at Two
Harbors and was unloaded at Conneaut. After unloading, the FAIRLESS headed for
Monroe, Michigan for lay up. |
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Mississagi Disabled in St. Clair River 11/28 - 8:00pm Update - Mississagi is in the north end of the North Slip. She may be finished for the season, as her pilothouse shutters have been put in place. Reported by Barry Hiscock 11/28 - 3:30pm - Algonac - The Mississagi was disabled near Algonac MI Monday evening. It is believed she delivered a load of stone to Harsens Island in the North Channel and was upbound when engine or other mechanical problems occurred. She was towed upstream to Sarnia, Tuesday morning at 7:45am by the Gaelic Towing tugs Shannon and Patricia Hoey. Reported by Stewart R. Mac Donald Updates will be provided as they become available. |
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BoatNerd Tops 10 Million 11/28 - Monday morning over 10,000,000 visits had been recorded to
the main page of the Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping home page. The counter was
started as the page was launched in 1995. |
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Jobs by the Boatload 11/28 - Duluth - There’s a lot of gray hair floating on the Great Lakes these days. The average age of licensed officers serving on Great Lakes vessels is about 53, according to Adm. John Tanner, head of the Great Lakes Maritime Academy, a school for mariners in Traverse City, Mich. And many of those seamen are fast approaching retirement, said Tanner, who noted that it’s common for officers in their mid- to late-50s to call it quits. “It’s not only a matter of trying to keep our numbers strong,” Tanner said. “It’s an issue because all that knowledge is leaving our industry.” Tanner said carriers rightly are concerned about a looming shortage of mariners, unless more people train for careers on the Great Lakes. “Obviously, we need to create the next generation of officers,” said Glen Nekvasil, vice president of corporate communications for the Lake Carriers Association, a Cleveland-based trade organization representing the operators of U.S.-flagged ships on the Great Lakes. “It is a real concern,” said Kevin McMonagle, vice president of human resources for American Steamship Co., a Great Lakes carrier based in Williamsville, N.Y., just outside of Buffalo. “We certainly can’t take our work force for granted.” Toward that end, McMonagle said American Steamship has developed succession plans and has been grooming junior officers to assume greater responsibilities in the future. Unfortunately, Tanner said most people seem unaware of the job opportunities, moving freight on the Great Lakes. “It’s a very quiet industry,” he said. McMonagle finds it odd that more people aren’t pursuing maritime careers. “There’s a lot of interest out there in Great Lakes shipping, but people don’t seem to know about the employment opportunities on these vessels,” he said. McMonagle said it’s still possible to land an entry-level job as a utility worker or a seaman and advance through shipboard experience and study to positions of progressively greater authority. In the industry, this is called working your way “up the hawse pipe.” It’s also possible to move straight into an officer’s post with proper formal training. The Great Lakes Maritime Academy offers four-year degrees that qualify graduates to serve as officers on either freshwater or saltwater ships. Tanner said most graduates can expect to earn around $60,000 during their first year out of college. Still, many cadets don’t make the cut. Tanner said graduation rates vary from class to class, but typically between 40 and 55 percent of students who enroll in the academy drop out or fail to earn a degree. At present, about 130 cadets are enrolled at the Great Lakes Maritime Academy. That’s well shy of the 200-cadet target Tanner has set, in hopes of meeting the growing need for new officers. GOING ASHORE Davis Helberg, former director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority and a one-time laker deckhand, said some attrition is to be expected, given the demands of sailing. “People tend to go to sea when they’re young,” Helberg said. “But once a mariner reaches a certain age, life away from home and family often becomes more difficult, so the number of people who hang in there long enough to become officers and engineers diminishes.” Fred Cummings, former marine superintendent for the Great Lakes Fleet, a Duluth-based carrier, worked 20 years on the water before taking a shoreside job. He said working on a laker means spending long stretches of time away from home. Typically, crew members spend two solid months on the water, then take one month of vacation and repeat the cycle throughout the Great Lakes shipping season. Mariners also get a break during the winter lay up, from mid-January through March. “It takes a special breed of person to be employed on a laker,” he said. “But it’s just as important to have a loving and understanding wife, because you do give up a lot of time with your family. It takes a lot of dedication from your spouse.” Plant agreed that the seaman’s life can be tough on families. “Every mariner has stories about deaths, weddings, birthdays or anniversaries they missed,” he said. “When you’re on a ship, you’re working seven days a week.” STAYING FOR THE PAY The pay sometimes makes it hard for even disenchanted mariners to leave the profession, Helberg said, calling it the “golden handcuff” effect. “Some people find they can’t leave, because they’re making money they could never make on shore,” he said. Although Great Lakes carriers today are concerned about a potential shortage of mariners, there was a time when the industry had a glut. As lakers increased in size, the number of vessels plying the Great Lakes shrank. A single 1,000-footer can carry the equivalent of what five older lakers could. Great Lakes fleets also were downsized during the 1980s, as the nation’s steel production slipped. As layoffs generally occurred in order of seniority, Nekvasil said many young mariners working on the Great Lakes lost jobs, prompting them to relocate or take up work in another field. Today, about 60 U.S.-flagged lakers serve the Great Lakes — a fleet roughly one-third its former size. Crews have grown smaller, too. Back when lakers ran on coal, they often carried a crew of 36 people. As liquid fuels took coal’s place, laker crews dropped to 26 or 27 people. Today, thanks to technology and automation, most lakers operate with a crew of 22 people. But Tanner sees a bright future for people seeking careers on the Great Lakes. “As our roads become more and more plugged, I think there will only be more business for Great Lakes vessels,” he predicted. As for the challenge of crewing vessels, Adolph Ojard, executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, said carriers face a challenge that’s far from unique. “Finding workers has become an issue almost everywhere in the transportation industry,” he said, pointing out that truck drivers and railroad are in tight supply, as well. “Part of it is the lifestyle — having to be away from home for extended periods of time,” Ojard said. But transportation jobs are definitely on the rise. “Our transportation industry has been growing at almost double the rate of the GNP [gross national product],” he said. Reported by Al Miller from the Duluth News-Tribune |
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Port Reports - November 28 Toronto - Charlie Gibbons Indiana Harbor - Gary Clark Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey |
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Updates - November 28 News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 28 In 1949, sea trials for the largest freighter built on the Great Lakes, the
WILFRED SYKES, were held off Lorain, Ohio. SYKES was converted to a
self-unloader in 1975. |
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Boatnerd Heading for 10 Million 11/27 - The counter on the main page is expected to top 10,000,000 visitors sometime early this week. The counter is located at the bottom of the main page at www.BoatNerd.Com. This counter was started as the page was launched in 1995 and topped one million visitors in October 2000, two million in November 2001, three million in September, 2002, four million in June, 2003, five million in February, 2004, six million in October, 2004, seven million in June, 2005, and eight million in December, 2005. The nine million mark was reached in June, 2006. Please E-mail if you are the 10 millionth visitor. Please do not reload the page repeatedly. Server logs will be used to confirm who the visitor was. |
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Port Reports - November 27 Marquette - Rod Burdick Hamilton - Eric Holmes Alpena - Ben & Chanda McClain |
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Updates - November 27 News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 27 In 1934, the package freighter EDWARD L LOOMIS, Captain Alex McKenzie
collided with the W C FRANZ, Captain Alex McIntyre, about 30 miles southeast
of Thunder Bay Island, Lake Huron. Four crewmen on the FRANZ drowned when the
lifeboat turned over while being lowered. |
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Mackinaw Takes on Cargo of Trees for Annual Chicago Run 11/26 - Cheboygan - A tradition that began almost 100 years ago continued Wednesday with a new silhouette. The new U.S. Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw is carrying on the Christmas Tree Ship tradition resurrected in 2000 by its icebreaking predecessor, the original Mackinaw, and will leave Sunday to deliver 1,100 trees to Chicago. Wednesday the ship's crew, aided by family members and 17 Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps members from Ogemaw Heights High School, loaded aboard bundled trees on the after-deck and every available reserve space they could find. The trees will be sharing deck space with buoys as the cutter will be decommissioning lighted aids and replacing them with winter marks on the voyage to and from Chicago. “This is just another of old Mackinaw's legacy missions that fosters good will in the community,” said Cmdr. John Little, the Mac's skipper. Although the original Mackinaw - decommissioned in June - made this trip five times, Wednesday was the first experience for this crew with handling and storing the trees and the pine needles that go with them. Gloves and long sleeves were the order of the day for loading duty. “We were all concerned as to exactly how this would play out today,” Little admitted. “I'm seeing smiles all around. It's good to get our people involved with the community like this.” In addition, the crew of the Mackinaw distributed more than 200 trees to disadvantaged families throughout the Northern Michigan area and 200 trees for families of active-duty servicemen stationed in Michigan. The Cheboygan post of the Michigan State Police, the Cheboygan County Sheriff's Department, the City of Cheboygan Department of Public Safety, the Salvation Army, and other Northern Michigan Coast Guard units will work together to distribute the local trees. The bulk of the load, purchased by the Chicago's Christmas Tree Ship organization from local tree-growers Fred Stempky and Mike Jarman, will arrive at Chicago's Navy Pier at 8 a.m. on Dec. 1, and will be given to needy Chicago families. The event will invite school children aboard for tours and classes with nautical and historical themes and will culminate with a “grand tree unloading” ceremony on Dec. 2. “These are bigger trees,” Little remarked, “and what a testament to the generosity of the local Christmas tree growers. The cadets have done a lot of the work, too.” Cmdr. Michael Clift said his 17 Ogemaw Heights cadets were picked from a corps of 96 members at a high school with a student population of more than 900. “I called up the old Mackinaw about five years ago and they took our cadets out for a trip,” Clift said during a water break while loading the trees. “This is a Michigan tradition. We're giving back to the Mackinaw. We do a lot of community service.” The tradition of the Christmas Tree ship started in the early 1900s when pine trees, freshly cut from the forests of Northern Michigan, were loaded onto the sailing vessel Rouse Simmons and shipped to families in Chicago who used them to decorate for Christmas. Chicagoans became accustomed to purchasing their wreaths and trees this way as a festive start to the holiday season. Eventually, a number of trees were brought along specifically for needy families who couldn't afford a tree. Tragedy temporarily ended the tradition of the Christmas Ship when the Rouse Simmons was lost in a 1912 Lake Michigan blizzard along with 17 crewmembers and more than 5,000 trees. Today, the concept of Chicago's Christmas Ship is active as a charitable event organized by the Unified Marine Community of Chicago in cooperation with the Coast Guard. Little said he plans to sail sometime mid-day Sunday. The Mackinaw will be open for public tours in Chicago from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 2 and Dec. 3. The Mackinaw will retain 50 trees for the historic transit back to Cheboygan. These trees will be donated to Coast Guard families in the area. A return to Cheboygan is dependent on weather and work schedules tending buoys en route, likely to be around Dec. 7. By Mike Fornes for the Cheboygan Tribune |
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Army Corps Plans to Add Berm at Dike Disposal Site 11/26 - Lorain - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to build a
berm around the dike disposal site on Lorain's waterfront, allowing them to
continue using the site to hold sediment dredged from the Black River. In a
presentation yesterday to the Lorain Port Authority, Corps officials outlined
their plan to add the berm to the perimeter of the site in 2007. |
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Port Reports - November 26 Goderich - Dale Baechler, Wayne Brown & Jacob Smith Huron - Jim Spencer Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey & Gordy Garris Toronto - Charlie Gibbons |
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"Shipwrecks and Sharks" at Port Huron Maritime Center 11/26 - The Lake Huron Lore Marine Society will host a presentation Great Lakes divers Jim & Pat Stayer, at 7 p.m., at the Great Lakes Maritime Center at Vantage Point in Port Huron, on December 9. The program is entitled "Shipwrecks and Sharks", and is free and open to the public. For additional information visit the Society's website. |
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Updates - November 26 News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 26 In 1952, the PHILIP R CLARKE was launched at the American Ship Building
yard at Lorain, Ohio. The 647 foot freighter became the flagship of the
Pittsburgh Steamship Company. She was lengthened by 120 feet in 1974 and
converted to a self-unloader in 1982. |
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Port Reports - November 25 Wallaceburg - Al Mann Toledo - Saginaw River - Gordy Garris |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 25 In 1890, the WESTERN RESERVE delivered a record cargo of 95,488 bushels of
wheat from Duluth to Buffalo. |
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Port Reports - November 24 Gary - Brian Z. Thanksgiving Day saw two vessels calling on the same dock along the Saginaw River. The Earl W. Oglebay was inbound early in the day, traveling upriver to unload at the GM dock in Saginaw. She completed her unload during the evening at turned at the Sixth Street Turning Basin. At the same time, the Maumee was upbound passing the Airport Turning Basin headed for the dock the Oglebay had just cleared, the GM dock, to unload. the vessels planned to pass near the Sargent dock in Zilwaukee. The Maumee was expected to be outbound Friday morning. Thanksgiving day on the Saginaw River saw two vessels inbound. the Earl W. Oglebay was inbound first, passing the Front Range Light at 3 p.m. headed for the GM dock in Saginaw to unload. The Oglebay finished unloading at the GM dock in Saginaw at 10:45 p.m. and headed upstream to turn around at the Sixth Street turning basin. She finished the turn around at the Sixth Street turning basin at 11:30 p.m. Thursday night and headed outbound the Saginaw River, passing the Maumee at the Burroughs dock in Zilwaukee around midnight, Friday morning. Marinette/Menominee - Dick Lund |
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Updates - November 24 News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 24 On this day in 1966, Hjalmer Edwards became ill while working as a Second
Cook on the steamer DANIEL J MORRELL. He was transferred to the hospital at
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan when the MORRELL transited the locks for the last
time on Thanksgiving Day. Five days later, the DANIEL J MORRELL sank during a
severe storm on Lake Huron with a lone survivor. |
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Stuck Freighter Leaves a Debate in its Wake 11/23 - Bay City, MI - The ship that was stuck in downtown Bay City on Tuesday is gone, but the water-depth issues that hung her up remain. The Algoway ran aground on a shoal on the edge of the shipping channel, immobilizing it between the Liberty and Veterans Memorial bridges for most of the day. It took a tug boat from Saginaw about 45 minutes late in the afternoon to coax it back off the river bottom. The U.S. Coast Guard's Saginaw River Station reported the Algoway had run aground in low water conditions at about 9 a.m. as it sailed upriver, heading for a dock in Zilwaukee. The water level had dropped at least a foot due to a steady wind from the south. A Coast Guard spokesman said the water level was at least a foot below the chart datum, which ideally had been at 25 feet, but in recent years is less because silt has filled in the channel by several feet. William G. Webber, who represents the Saginaw River Alliance of dock owners, said there probably was about 20.5 feet of available depth due to water being blown out to the Saginaw Bay. Dredging of the river is badly needed, Webber said, as ships now are struggling to navigate in 22 to 23 feet of water. ''There is some money available next year for dredging the channel and the turn-around basin (near Cheboyganing Creek), but we really need it done now,'' Webber said. Webber said the conditions in the river are getting progressively worse, and that ships bringing in salt for winter road treatment might run into problems, too. The Algoway, carrying up to 13,000 tons of rock, ran aground just south of the city-owned Liberty Bridge and was stopped between Third and Fifth streets. The Coast Guard reported that the Algoway, once loosened enough to get its propeller running, backed down river past Liberty Bridge to the Wirt Stone Dock, where it off-loaded about 1,000 tons of stone, making the ship lighter and able to navigate the river. It then continued south to Zilwaukee to unload the remainder of the cargo. A Coast Guard spokesman said the ship's captain earlier had hoped the wind would die down or even shift enough to bring water back into the river so that it would allow the ship some room to move. But the wind stayed from the south, so the tug was called in. Another ship hauling gravel also arrived Tuesday, but only had to go as far as a facility in Essexville, so it didn't encounter any problems, the spokesman said. From the Bay City Times |
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Port Reports - November 23 Saginaw River - Gordy Garris The Maumee was inbound the Saginaw River late Tuesday night passing through Downtown Bay City around midnight. The Maumee arrived and unloaded stone at the Sargent dock in Zilwaukee Wednesday morning before turning at the Sixth Street turning basin in Saginaw and heading outbound for the lake Wednesday afternoon. The tug Olive L. Moore with the barge Lewis J. Kuber were inbound the Saginaw River early Wednesday afternoon, passing the outbound Algoway at the Front Ranges, headed for the Bay Aggregates dock in Essexville to unload. The Moore & the Kuber departed from the Bay Aggregates dock at 10 p.m. Wednesday night, backed from the slip, turned and headed outbound for the lake. The tug Undaunted with the barge Pere Marquette 41 were inbound the Saginaw River early Wednesday afternoon, passing the outbound Algoway at the Front Ranges, headed for the Wirt Stone dock in Saginaw to unload. The Undaunted and the Pere Marquette 41 were expected to be outbound from Saginaw around midnight. Goderich - Dale Baechler |
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Happy Thanksgiving 11/23 - To all those who sail, and all those who stand on the shore and watch, and take pictures, and listen for a salute, may you have a Happy Thanksgiving, from all the gang at BoatNerd.Com. |
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Updates - November 23 News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 23 In 1940, the CONSUMERS POWER, a.) HARRY YATES of 1910, collided with the
MARITANA on the Detroit River. The MARITANA sustained $11,089.91 in damage.
MARITANA was scrapped at Hamilton, Ontario in 1947. |
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Algoway Freed in Saginaw River 11/22 - Bay City - On Tuesday strong southwestern winds and low water levels made for a series of events to occur leading up to the closing of the Saginaw River to navigation for a short period of time during the evening hours. The Algoway was inbound the Saginaw River Tuesday morning passing through the Liberty St. Bridge in Bay City at 8 a.m. headed for the Buena Vista Stone dock in Saginaw with a cargo of stone. As the Algoway was approaching the Veteran's Memorial bridge in Bay City, she came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the channel, hung up on a high spot. Her captain backed the ship up and tried to pass over the high spot in the channel but was unsuccessful. The Algoway tried to pass over the high spot several other times but was unsuccessful. The Calumet had also got hung up on the same high spot between the Liberty and Veteran's Memorial bridges on September 21, two months earlier, but the Calumet was able to work herself free without tug assistance. The Algoway then became stuck in the river silt. The tug Gregory J. Busch was called to assist the Algoway in the afternoon. After a few hours of maneuvering in the channel the Busch was successful in pulling the Algoway off the high spot. The Algoway then backed to the Wirt Stone dock in Bay City to unload some of her cargo of stone and to empty her ballast tanks. Around 5 p.m. the Coast Guard closed the Saginaw River to navigation. It was now believed that the Algoway was caught on a submerged fiber optic cable in the channel. The U.S. Coast Guard closed the Saginaw River to shipping traffic for a few hours to determine if an underwater fiber optic cable had been damaged in the grounding of the Algoway. After inspecting the area, the Coast Guard reopened the Saginaw River to navigation around 6 p.m. Tuesday evening. The Algoway is expected to depart from the Wirt Stone dock in Bay City and proceed upriver to unload at the Buena Vista Stone dock in Saginaw sometime Tuesday evening and be back outbound the Saginaw River for the lake early Wednesday morning. Reported by Gordy Garris & Todd Shorkey Original Article - 11/21 - 11:00am - Bay City - Low water levels have a freighter aground in the Saginaw River. The Algoway is stuck between downtown Bay City's Veterans Memorial and Liberty Bridges. South-southwest winds between 10 and 20-miles an hour have lowered river levels, hampering the freighter heading upriver to docks in Saginaw. A spokesman from the U.S. Coast Guard's Station Saginaw River said the ship's captain is waiting to see if water levels will rise, freeing the freighter. Reported by Bill Hewitt |
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Port Reports - November 22 Milwaukee - Paul Erspamer & John N. Vogel Sarnia - Frank Frisk Twin Ports - Al Miller Toledo - Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey & Gordy Garris South Chicago - Brian Z. Sandusky - Jim Spencer Toronto - Charlie Gibbons Goderich - Dale Baechler |
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Welland Canal 177th Anniversary Commemoration Correction 11/21 - St. Catharines, Ont. - The Welland Canals Foundation in association with The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation and OEB International will celebrate the 177th anniversary of the opening of the first Welland Canal on Wednesday, November 29 at 10 am. (Note-The original article indicated Thursday.) The public is invited to the event which will be held at The Welland Canals Centre – Lock 3 (2nd Floor), 1932 Welland Canals Parkway, St. Catharines, Ontario. |
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Updates - November 22 News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 22 In 1947, the Canadian tanker BRUCE HUDSON broke down shortly after
departing Port Stanley. The U.S. tanker ROCKET, Captain R. B. Robbins, managed
to get a line on the HUDSON and tow her 50 miles through high seas and a snow
storm to shelter behind Point Pelee. Later, the tug ATOMIC arrived on scene
and towed the Hudson to Toledo for repairs. |
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Ship Cargo Fire Extinguished 11/21 - Sault Ste. Marie - A crane barge began the laborious task of off-loading a Dutch-registered bulk carrier Virginiaborg early Sunday after an on-board fire singed a portion of the pelletized sugar beet cargo very early Sunday morning. City firefighters responded to the ship fire call at 12:48 a.m. Sunday to await the ship's arrival at the Carbide Dock after the smoldering vessel was allowed to pass through the Soo Locks. Firefighters called in an additional aerial truck from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. as a precaution but the principal firefighting apparatus used to douse the smoky fire was a small clam-bucket crane. Set up alongside the ship, the small crane bucket pulled off burning cargo a few yards at a time for fire crews to extinguish at pierside. Damage to the ship was apparently minimal, even though the fire had apparently smoldered in the closed cargo holds for many hours before crew members discovered smoke aboard an hour or so before midnight Saturday. Virginiaborg relayed a fire aboard call to the U.S. Coast Guard as the ship passed Big Point in the upper St. Marys River late Saturday. After some relayed evaluation, the Dutch vessel was allowed to enter the Soo Locks for downbound passage before Virginiaborg made the Carbide Dock rendezvous with fire crews. Virginiaborg cleared the Locks at 2:32 a.m. Sunday with the cargo fire still smoldering in the forward cargo hold of the small, 434-foot bulk carrier. With the two aerial fire trucks arrayed alongside with a city pumper unit, firefighting by clam bucket began shortly after the ship arrived. The small bucket was still pulling off burning cargo at about 1 p.m. Sunday as the laborious task continued one bucket load at a time. All burning cargo was removed without incident during the afternoon hours, after which Virginiaborg buttoned up her cargo hatches to await Monday's off loading operation. Virginiaborg, one of several dozen small vessels owned by the Dutch Wagenborg shipping line, is divided into two large cargo holds. The fire involved pelletized sugar beets carried in both holds and damaged a moveable wooden-timber bulkhead that separates the two holds below decks. The aft cargo hold in a vessel like Virginiaborg is isolated by a steel bulkhead, possibly limiting the spread of the fire. City Fire Chief Ken Eagle said today that a number of officials from the Wagenborg line, cargo agents from Morocco and a cargo damage specialist are due in today to determine a course of action with remaining cargo. Eagle said U.S. Coast Guard officials are still investigating the probable cause of the blaze. Shortly after daybreak today, the Purvis Marine crane barge Chief Wawatam was alongside the ship pulling out additional cargo for transfer to the barge. The fire had long since been extinguished. Sault Ste. Marie Port Director John Wellington early today said it is unlikely that the entire cargo will be unloaded as damaged goods. At her maximum capacity, Virginiaborg carries some 10,000 tons of cargo. No injuries were reported as a result of the on-board fire. By The Soo Evening News |
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Coast Guard takes man from McCarthy 11/21 - Bay City - A 62-year-old crewman was evacuated by Coast Guard helicopter following a medical emergency Sunday. Coast Guard officials said John Norton, a crew member aboard the Walter J. McCarthy Jr., became ill and was in need of medical care. The McCarthy was off the Thumb when the call for help went out, according to Petty Officer Matt Schofield. A Coast Guard air rescue helicopter stationed at Selfridge Air National Guard Base responded at about 9:30 p.m. and was able to pick up Norton at the ship a short time later. He was flown to emergency medical personnel waiting at the Bad Axe Airport. His medical condition was not available. |
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U.S.-Flag Lakes Cargos Down in October 11/21 - Cleveland—U.S.-Flag Great Lakes fleets moved 11.1 million
net tons of dry-bulk cargo on the Great Lakes in October, a decrease of 3.4
percent compared to a year ago. The decrease was slightly less – 2.2 percent -
when compared to the fleet’s 5-year average for October. |
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Christmas Tree Ship's Crew May Have Sought Refuge 11/21 - Two Rivers, WI — The crew of the Rouse Simmons schooner — better known as the "Christmas Tree Ship" — may have been heading for safe harbor, but high lake waves doomed all men aboard to their death. That was one of the findings revealed by state underwater archaeologist Keith Merveden to a packed crowd Saturday at the Hamilton Community House. "We'll never know for sure ... but she wasn't oriented in the direction we expected," said Merveden, who led a 165-foot deep, two-week diving and photographic expedition last summer about 12 miles northeast of Rawley Point Lighthouse. "She was actually pointing north northwest," Merveden said of the ship that sank Nov. 22, 1912, with a crew believed to number 17. "At some point between distress sighting at Kewaunee and when the ship went down, she turned around and was headed towards a small bay." Merveden and volunteer divers from all over the country did an extensive survey of the shipwreck, including creation of a detailed "photo mosaic" combining hundreds of images. "Ten years ago we wouldn't have been able to do this because there would have been less visibility," Merveden said. But the deep water clarity comes with a cost, as the growing population of Quagga mussels filtering and eating plant and animal life in Lake Michigan also cling to the hulls and decks of shipwrecks. Each daily dive lasted about 90 minutes —45 minutes for survey and 45 minutes to slowly ascend, stopping at different compression points to avoid getting the bends. Divers wore "dry suits" in the 40-degree water. Hit bottom forcefully The 127-foot schooner was first discovered, via sonar, in 1971. Laws are
now in effect preventing private party scavenging of shipwrecks, and Merveden
said there are still some articles of clothing visible, but no bodies. "You
could pull her up and she would float," said Paul Bentley, one of the
volunteer divers. "The wood (deck and hull) has been preserved because of the
dark and cold at that depth." |
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Port Reports - November 21 Milwaukee - John N. Vogel South Chicago - Gary Clark Milwaukee - Paul Erspamer |
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Updates - November 21 News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 21 On 21 November 1861, ENTERPRISE (2-mast wooden scow-schooner, 64 foot, 56
tons, built in 1854, at Port Huron, Michigan) was driven ashore near Bark
Shanty at the tip of Michigan's "thumb" on Lake Huron. The storm waves pounded
her to pieces. Her outfit was salvaged a few days later. |
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Iron Nugget Plant Deal Falls Apart 11/20 – Duluth -- A proposal to build the world’s first commercial
iron nugget plant at the former LTV Steel Mining Co. site near Hoyt Lakes is
dead. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., a major partner in the $200 million project, said
Friday night that partners in the project have not been able to come to terms.
The exact details of what killed the deal were not available. |
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Vamand Wave Update 11/20 - It is now being reported that the saltie Vamand Wave
suffered engine failure that caused her strange behavior last Friday, and that
she did not hit the lock wall. The vessel was tied at the West Pier most of
Saturday and departed down bound in the evening. |
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Port Reports - November 20 Buffalo - Brian Wroblewski Goderich - Wayne Brown Lorain - William J. Davis Hamilton - Eric Holmes Sandusky - Jim Spencer Toledo - Dawn Roberts Toronto - Charlie Gibbons Saginaw River - Gordy Garris & Todd Shorkey Alpena/Stoneport - Ben & Chanda McClain |
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Updates - November 20 News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 20 In 1948, the ROBERT HOBSON was blown against the Duluth-Superior breakwall
as she tried to enter the harbor during a 68 mph gale. Damage to the vessel
was kept to a minimum when Captain John Mc Nellis ordered the seacocks open to
settle the HOBSON on a sandbar. Renamed b.) OUTARDE in 1975, she was scrapped
at Port Colborne, Ontario in 1985. |
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Port Reports - November 19 Saginaw River - Gordy Garris & Todd Shorkey Marquette - Lee Rowe Menominee - Dick Lund Hamilton - Eric Holmes |
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Updates - November 19 News Photo Gallery updated and more News Photo Gallery Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 19 On this day in 1939, in a 24 hour period, there were 132 transits of the
Soo Locks. There were 71 upbound passages and 61 downbound passages. |
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Saltie Strikes Wall at Soo 11/18 - Sault Ste. Marie - The saltie Vamand Wave had difficulty making the lock wall Friday. Just after the Paul R. Tregurtha was assisted out of the Poe lock by the G tug Missouri, the Vamand Wave attempted to make the wall unassisted. The ship struck the pier with its bulbous bow, and proceeded to get lines ashore and winch herself in. The ship has since been moved backwards and secured against the far end of the West Pier. She remained there late Friday evening. It appeared that the tug Missouri was delayed in its upbound trip in the Mac Lock as the lock was not filled, probably to prevent the suction from making things harder for the saltie. |
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177th anniversary commemoration of the first Welland Canal in 1829 11/18 - St. Catharines, Ont. - The Welland Canals Foundation in association with The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation and OEB International will celebrate the 177th anniversary of the opening of the first Welland Canal on Thursday, November 29th at 10:00 am. The public is invited to the event which will be held at The Welland Canals Centre – Lock 3 (2nd Floor), 1932 Welland Canals Parkway, St. Catharines, Ontario. |
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Port Reports - November 18 Toledo - Buffalo - Brian Wroblewski Milwaukee - John N. Vogel Sandusky - Jim Spencer |
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Updates - November 18 News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 18 On 18 November 1869, EQUATOR (wooden propeller package freighter, 184 foot,
621 tons, built in 1857, at Buffalo, New York) was trying to pull the schooner
SOUTHWEST off a reef near North Manitou Island on Lake Michigan. A storm swept
in and EQUATOR foundered in the relatively shallow water. She was thought to
be unsalvageable but was re-floated in 1870. Her hull was extensively rebuilt
and became the barge ELDORADO in 1871, while her engine was used in the tug
BISMARCK. |
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Port Weller Dry Docks to Shut Down 11/17 - Port Weller - After some signs in recent weeks that it might
stay afloat, financially troubled St. Catharines shipbuilder Port Weller Dry
Docks has taken a turn for the worse. Canadian Shipbuilding and Engineering,
which owns the shipyard, gave up on a restructuring plan Wednesday, laying off
Port Weller's last 35 employees and announcing it wants to put the business up
for sale. As the company has been in bankruptcy protection since the summer,
it will need the OK from a Superior Court judge on Friday before shopping for
a buyer. Editor's note: We wish the Port Weller Dry Dock employees the best of luck where ever their future careers take them. BoatNerd.Com had enjoyed a strong working relationship with the dry dock including the sharing of information and tours during our Fall Gathering at the Welland Canal. |
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Port Reports - November 17 Sandusky Jim Spencer Lorain - C. Mackin Buffalo - Brian Wroblewski Goderich - Jacob Smith Twin Ports - Al Miller Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey Toronto - Charlie Gibbons |
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Updates - November 17 News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 17 On 17 November 1884, PHOENIX (wooden propeller wrecking tug, 173 gross
tons, built in 1862, at Cleveland, Ohio) caught fire in one of her coal
bunkers at 7:00 a.m. while she was tied up to the C. S. R. Railroad slip at
Amherstburg, Ontario. Several vessels, including the Dunbar tug SHAUGHRAUN and
the steam barge MARSH, tried to save her. The SHAUGHRAUN finally got a line on
her and pulled her away from the dock and towed her near Norwell's wharf where
she burned and sank. |
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Lakes Coal Shipments Dip In October 11/16 - Cleveland---Shipments of coal on the Great Lakes totaled 4.1
million net tons in October, a decrease of 3 percent compared to a year ago.
Only two ports, Chicago and Conneaut, Ohio, bettered their shipments of a year
ago. The October total was also more than 7 percent behind the month’s 5-year
average. When high water levels offset the shortfall in dredging, 1,000-foot-long
U.S.-Flag Lakers were able to carry nearly 70,000 net tons per trip. |
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Lakes Limestone Trade Off 4.5 Percent in
October 11/16 - Cleveland---Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 4.1 million net tons in October, a decrease of 4.5 percent compared to a year ago. Loadings were more than 10 percent behind the month’s 5-year average. Although water levels on the Great Lakes usually begin their seasonal decline in the fall, the drop is occurring faster than normal this year, and so further amplifying the lack of adequate dredging in many ports and waterways. Cargo totals are being negatively impacted. Vessels in the limestone trade,
for example, forfeit anywhere from 80 to 125 net tons for each 1-inch
reduction in loaded draft. |
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Port Reports - November 16 Sarnia - Barry Hiscock Twin Ports - Al Miller |
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Updates - November 16 News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 16 On 16 November 1870, BADGER STATE (3-mast wooden bark, 150 foot, 302 tons,
built in 1853, at Milwaukee, Wisconsin) stranded and wrecked at Sleeping Bear
Dune on Lake Michigan during a storm. |
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Coast Guard Concludes Comment Period on Safety Zones 11/15 - Cleveland - The public comment period, concerning the Ninth Coast Guard District's proposal to establish 34 safety zones throughout the U.S. Great Lakes, expired at midnight Nov. 13. More than 880 comments have been submitted to the Federal Docket for formal consideration by the Coast Guard. A final total of docket submissions will be available after all letters, postmarked on or before Nov. 13, are received, and all of the comments received during the public meetings are transcribed and entered into the Federal Docket. "I pledge to thoroughly review the docket submissions and diligently work towards a resolution that will satisfy all concerns without degradation to the Coast Guard's readiness of the Great Lakes," said Rear. Adm. John E. Crowley, Jr., commander of the Ninth Coast Guard District. No specific timeline, for the announcement of a final decision, has been set. The Ninth Coast Guard District continues to maintain the Proposed Safety Zones web site, web site, with the intention to keep the public informed on the progress of this issue. As of Nov. 14, the web site has provided information to more than 31,000 visitors. USCG News Release |
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Ferry Could Ride Out Winter in Rochester 11/15 - Rochester, NY - Three serious bidders remain in contention for the high-speed ferry, and city officials hinted Monday that they will hold out through the winter if needed to get the best price. Closure of the St. Lawrence Seaway, connecting Lake Ontario to the Atlantic Ocean, had been looked at as a looming mid- to late-December deadline for the sale. But city officials said daily expenses to maintain the ship at the Port of Rochester have been cut roughly in half, and could be reduced further should the city need to winterize the vessel. "We all share the same frustration the public has," Mayor Robert Duffy said, speaking to the Democrat and Chronicle Editorial Board. He continued later: "We certainly do not want to think about the boat being here all winter long, but we have to be realistic. "If it means retaining the city's financial interest in keeping us on track to get what we think the boat is worth then ... we have to have the patience to bear down and have it winterized and stay here." Duffy announced in January that the city was shutting down the Rochester-to-Toronto service after the venture lost more than $10 million last year. In May, he said an upstart British firm, Euroferries Ltd., had agreed to buy the ship for $29.8 million and planned to start a service on the English Channel. Euroferries has failed to secure financing, however, leading the city to entertain other offers as Euroferries works to borrow enough money to sustain operations for at least a year. Euroferries remains committed, and recently secured winter storage space for the ship in Europe, said Thomas Richards, the city's corporation counsel who is negotiating the sale. Richards said there are at least two other two serious buyers, a government-supported corporation and a private entity. While Euroferries grapples with financing, the other bidders need to sell a ship before buying Rochester's Spirit of Ontario, or need to figure out how to retrofit the ferry to match their operation. Beyond the core three bidders, officials said, are a host of low bidders simply waiting for the city to fall on hard times and need to unload the ship at a bargain price. "It's a tough proposition with people all around the world who have no love for us," Richards said. Besides Euroferries, none of the interested parties are the same as when the city first went to market early this year, he said. Should the sale appear close with the seaway closing, officials said, the city also might consider moving the ferry out and docking it in New York City so it can depart during the winter. From the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle |
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Port Reports - November 15 Alpena - Ben & Chanda McClain Morrisburg - Ron Beaupre Grand Haven - Dick Fox Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey Buffalo - Brian Wroblewski Twin Ports - Al Miller Toledo - South Chicago - Gary Clark Milwaukee - Paul Erspamer Menominee/Marinette - Stephen P. Neal |
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Christmas Tree Ship Surfaces in Memory 11/15 - Milwaukee - For a ship that sank into the deep and dark waters of Lake Michigan nearly a century ago, the schooner Rouse Simmons is remarkably buoyant. Once again, as it has done for some time now, the famous Christmas Tree Ship has popped back into view. Or, better put, into memory. Last week, with another anniversary approaching, educational programs about the ship's sinking took place in Sturgeon Bay and Two Rivers. This Saturday, Two Rivers will mark Rouse Simmons Day with a presentation of the first underwater survey of the ship's wreckage and tours of the historic Rogers Street Fishing Village. On Dec. 2, neighboring Manitowoc will host the Lake Michigan Christmas Tree Ship Celebration at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, re-creating the tree delivery tradition - but with any luck not the sinking - with the tug Dauntless. And on a less watery stage in Janesville, the new Armory Dinner Theater will present the popular "The Christmas Schooner," a musical based on the Rouse Simmons story, through the holiday season. As I said, that's a lot of attention when the star of the show has been 170 feet under Lake Michigan's surface since that fateful voyage in November 1912. Then again, any story with such hearty measures of human drama and seasonal sentiment, if not actual schmaltz, should have the stuff to do what its fated sailors could not - to survive. Built in 1868 in Milwaukee, the Rouse Simmons (named for the Kenosha industrialist whose name is still known for mattresses and other products) had originally carried cargo between Muskegon, Mich., and Chicago but by the turn of the century was mostly a tramp schooner put to use as its captains could find work. That included carrying loads of Christmas trees from the Upper Peninsula to the big market in Chicago, which was the duty the Rouse Simmons, under the command of Capt. Herman Schuenemann and his crew of 16, pulled on chilly Nov. 22, 1912. "This will be my last letter," crewman Phillip Bauswein had written his sister in Chicago a few days earlier. "I have a beautiful blue spruce tree for your baby's grave. We are all on board and will pull the ropes, and off we will be." He had no idea, an account in the Wisconsin Historical Society's most recent newsletter noted, "how prophetic his letter would prove to be." His sister, Augusta, would never see that spruce, or again see her brother. By the time the heavily loaded Rouse Simmons passed the Kewaunee Coast Guard Station the next day in typically deadly November conditions, it was flying distress flags, but before a rescue boat could penetrate the storm to help, the Simmons had disappeared. Later, a bottle containing Schuenemann's final desperate message - "Everybody good-by," it read in part. "God help us." - was found near Sheboygan. All of her crew was lost, as the note had said, though for a long time no one knew exactly where the Simmons went down. For years, fishermen would pull up sodden Christmas trees in the area and once even recovered the captain's wallet, but it was not until 59 years later that the wreckage was discovered lying in 170 feet of water northeast of Two Rivers. All of those factors, that the Rouse Simmons was a schooner and passenger ship, the drama of its sinking and the mystery that lasted so long, not to mention the Christmas angle, account for the continuing interest in the story, said Keith Meverden, maritime archaeologist for the Wisconsin Historical Society and one of several divers who studied the wreck site this summer. The cold waters of Lake Michigan have helped to preserve the site - it is being added to both state and national historic registers - but until that effort in July and August there had never been a thorough archaeological survey of the wreckage to attempt to answer some of the lingering questions about the Simmons' disappearance. That same cold was one reason, Meverden said. With waters at the bottom of barely 40 degrees, even divers prepared for such conditions could stay below for only 45 minutes at a time, but the surveyors were able to find clues that will help improve their understanding of the sinking, he said. For one, despite long suspicion that the Rouse Simmons was out of control and at the mercy of the storm, the dive team did find evidence to show she was under control "right up to the point that she sailed beneath a large wave," the newsletter said. There was also evidence the crew was preparing to drop anchor, hoping to wait out the storm, but could not compete with the freezing waves and iced-up deck and finally crashed bow first into the lake. Meverden said other findings will be shared for the first time Saturday at the Rouse Simmons Day program in Two Rivers. "There's been a lot of speculation as to why it went down," he said, "but nobody's ever looked at the wreck itself. "We'll never know exactly (why), but we found some things" that were helpful. The survey presentation will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Two Rivers Community House on Park St. in downtown Two Rivers, followed by tours of the Rogers Street Fishing Village, where artifacts of the Rouse Simmons will be on display. For more information click here On Dec. 2 in Manitowoc, there will be free admission for the Wisconsin Maritime Museum's Christmas Tree Ship Celebration from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information click here For more on the Armory Dinner Theater's production of "The Christmas Schooner," Nov. 16 to Dec. 23, call (866) 995-7400 And for more about underwater archaeology in Wisconsin click here. From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel |
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Updates - November 15 News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 15 In 1883, the schooner E FITZGERALD, Captain Daniel Lanigan, was ashore and
completely covered with ice. The crew of 6 drowned while attempting to make
shore in the yawl. A couple days after the loss, Mrs. Lanigan received a
prophetic letter from her son stating he was tired of sailing and this would
be his last trip. |
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Boatnerd Server Suffers Temporary Outage 11/14 - Late Monday night the main BoatNerd.Com server failed to restart and was out for several hours on Tuesday. The server is again responding and BoatNerd is back Online. |
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Putting Curbs on the Cuyahoga River 11/14 - Cleveland - Planners want to launch a project that will explore whether fish and ore boats can coexist on the Cuyahoga River. What they want to create is a stream bank that offers habitat for fish migrating from Lake Erie to spawning areas upriver while also allowing for ship movement. But the vision goes beyond just helping restore the health of the Cuyahoga River. What planners hope to design is a new generation of inexpensive stream-bank curbs that can be manufactured in the Cuyahoga Valley and create jobs here. A successful product then could be sold to other Great Lakes port cities that face the same problems of protecting local industrial ship traffic and helping fish, said Jim White, who heads the Cuyahoga River Remedial Action Plan, which will lead the design and development process. "Given the cost of replacing bulkheads, it's a several hundred million, if not a $1 billion, marketplace," White said. The Cuyahoga River alone has 11 miles of bulkheads that line both sides of the stream bank from Lake Erie to the Mittal Steel USA Cleveland plant to a depth of about 22 feet. And many of these aging bulkheads are failing, which causes the river bank to erode into the river. Ignoring the problem "will result in catastrophic failure and potential closing of the river," according of the Flats Oxbow Association, which represents industrial and business interests in the Flats. It's estimated it would cost $300 million to replace the river's steel and wood bulkheads. Those bulkheads were built in the 1930s. The bill must be paid by the riverfront landowner. Earlier this year, the federal government awarded $500,000 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a bulkhead prototype project. The Corps is in the final stages of negotiations to release the money to local planners, White said. Once the money is available, which could be later this month, White said a group of materials specialists, local engineers, manufacturers and installers will design the product. He hopes to have three different prototypes that will be tested at three different points in the river. These "green bulkheads" would have open slots that create pockets behind them where plants can grow and fish could feed and find refuge as they swim to and from Lake Erie. One proposed idea is to build a trough-like molded concrete structure using surplus slag from Mittal Steel, which is working with planners on the project and could host one of the prototypes. From the Cleveland Plain Dealer |
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Wolfe Islander Ferry Presentation 11/14 - Wolfe Island, Ont. - On Saturday November 18, 2006 the Wolfe
Island Historical Society will host a slide show depicting the life and times
of the former Wolfe Island ferry which was commissioned into service on
November 18, 1946. |
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Tug Curly B Sold Off-Lakes 11/14 - The tug Curly B, owned for several years by Lake Michigan
Contractors at Holland, Mich., was southbound at Lock 27 near St. Louis at
8:00am on Monday. |
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Port Reports - November 14 Owen Sound - Peter Bowers Toledo - Sandusky - Jim Spencer Saginaw River - Gordy Garris Buffalo - Brian Wroblewski |
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Updates - November 14 News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 14 The ALGOBAY (steel propeller bulk freighter, 719 foot, ,22,466 gross tons,
built at Collingwood, Ontario in 1978) departed Sept Iles, Quebec on 14 Nov
1978, with an iron ore pellet cargo for Sydney, Nova Scotia when she collided
with the 90,000 ton Italian-flag ore carrier CIELO BIANCO. The
Collingwood-built tug POINTE MARGUERITE, which was towing the big salty, was
unfortunately crushed between the two vessels and sank, killing two crew
members. |
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Mariner's Church Honors Those Lost at Sea 11/13 - Detroit - Captains of vessels from the Great Lakes and their connecting waterways stood side by side and each rung the bell of the Great Lakes Steamer Octorara to honor the men and women who have perished in the estimated 10,000 shipwrecks strewn across their waters. The eight tolls -- one for each of the five Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway, the Detroit and St. Clair rivers and Lake St. Clair, and the men and women who died in military service -- rang sharply through the pews at the Mariners' Church of Detroit. The gesture marked the beginning of a new tradition for the hundreds who gather there annually to pay their respects to those whose tombs lie on the lakes' beds. It replaces an old tradition: the 29 tolls of remembrance for those who perished on the Edmond Fitzgerald on Nov. 10, 1975, on Lake Superior. The Canadian Parliament passed long-awaited legislation last year protecting the Fitzgerald and its 29 entombed crewman from exploration. "We got the legislation, so we went to a broader service," said Rev. Richard W. Ingalls, Jr., whose father started the tradition of tolling the church bell 29 times to honor the men in 1975. Bishop Richard W. Ingalls died earlier this year. Parishioners said they were pleased with the new tradition. "It's more equitable to remember everybody, rather than one ship's crew," said Capt. Roger G. Hewlett of the International Shipmasters' Association, Port Huron Lodge #2. "Every time you are out there you risk your life. We've all been through it." From the Detroit News |
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Lakes Coal Shipments Dip In October 11/13 - Cleveland - Shipments of coal on the Great Lakes totaled 4.1
million net tons in October, a decrease of 3 percent compared to a year ago.
Only two ports, Chicago and Conneaut, Ohio, bettered their shipments of a year
ago. The October total was also more than 7 percent behind the month’s 5-year
average. |
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Port Reports - November 13 Sandusky - Jim Spencer Toledo - Toronto - Charlie Gibbons Owen Sound - Peter Bowers |
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Updates - November 13 News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 13 In 1952, the 626 foot SPARROWS POINT successfully completed her sea trials
and departed Chicago on her maiden trip. The new Bethlehem boat, the largest
boat to enter the lakes via the Mississippi River Chicago Sanitary and Ship
Canal, was under the command of Captain Wilfred Couture and Chief Engineer
James Meinke. She was lengthened to 682 feet in 1958, converted to a
self-unloader in 1980, renamed b.) BUCKEYE in 1991, converted to a barge in
2006, renamed c.) LEWIS J KUBER. |
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Port Reports - November 12 Milwaukee - John N. Vogel Marquette - Lee Rowe Toronto - Superior - Saginaw River - GordyGarris |
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Lost Mariners Remembrance Detroit 11/12 - Detroit -Friday night a "Lost Mariners Remembrance" was
held at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum in Detroit. The special remembrance
was for the 40th Anniversary of the loss of the Great Lakes freighter Daniel
J. Morrell. The evening began by placing of 29 illuminated lanterns around
the anchor of the Edmund Fitzgerald that rests in the yard of the Dossin
Museum on Belle Isle. Inside Great Lakes balladeer Lee Murdock performed a concert
to a standing-room-only crowd in the DeRoy Hall Auditorium.
Dennis Hale followed telling his tale of surviving the sinking of the Daniel J. Morrell on November 29, 1966. The evening closed with Lee Murdock performing the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. |
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Whitefish Point Memorial goes on despite bad weather 11/12 - Whitefish Point - Heavy snow blanketed the area as Fitzgerald family members and several people from the shipping/boat watching community gathered for the 11th annual Edmund Fitzgerald memorial service last Friday Evening at The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point, MI. Music was provided by Great Lakes Balladeer Carl Behrend. The night’s main event was the “Call to
last watch” in which the
names of each lost crew member followed by a toll of the bell. |
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River Rouge Remembers the Fitzgerald 11/12 - River Rouge - A memorial service was held Friday night for
the Edmund Fitzgerald and her crew in River Rouge’s Belanger Park, just
upstream where the ill-fated vessel was launched. Reported by: Roger LeLievre |
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Maritime Museum Memorial in Rogers City 11/12 - Rogers City - Bell-ringing ceremonies for three of the
Great Lakes’ most recent tragedies will take place on three consecutive
Saturdays this month at the Great Lakes Lore Maritime Museum in Rogers City. |
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Updates - November 12 News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 12 In 1920, the FRANCIS WIDLAR stranded on Pancake Shoal in Lake Superior
and was written off as a total constructive loss of $327,700. The wreck was
purchased by Mathews Steamship Company in 1921 and placed back in service as
the BAYTON. The BAYTON sailed until 1966 and the hull was later used as a
temporary breakwall during construction at Burns Harbor, Indiana. |
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Wallaceburg Barge Service Underway 11/11 - Wallaceburg - The first stage of what is hoped to be the rebirth of commercial shipping to Wallaceburg (Ontario) was realized on November 10th. The tug Radium Yellowknife pushed the barge BIG 546 without incident along the 10 mile Chenal Ecarte and Sydenham River inland route, arriving at the Bruinsma Wallaceburg dock at 1:45pm. Since municipal officials were taking their Remembrance Day holiday a day early, no one was on duty to open the Don Truan Baseline Bridge adjacent to the Bruinsma dock. While the bridge swinger was located the tug-barge combo pulled up briefly at the unused government wharf. Local council representative Donald "Chip" Gordon was on hand to welcome the Norlake Transportation Co. tug and barge. He is optimistic this will spark new life into the Wallaceburg waterfront that has been idle since October 18,2003 when the tug Keewatin and barge Sand Merchant hauled in gravel to the Southwestern Sales Port Baldoon dock, just south of the present scheme. This trial run with an empty barge ran smoothly ,easily negotiating the sharp turns on the waterway and bridges at Walpole Island and Wallaceburg. Plans call for the empty barge to be left in Wallaceburg for loading while the Radium Yellowknife will depart and resume her run between Sarnia and Toledo with Wallaceburg now part of the service. A number of veteran waterfront observers were on hand recalling the days when Wallaceburg was a busy commercial port as part of the Great Lakes System. Reported by Al Mann |
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Port Reports - November 11 Buffalo - Brian Wroblewski Menominee/Marinette - Stephen P. Neal Morrisburg & Ogdensburg - Ron Beaupre Hamilton - Eric Holmes Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey |
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Updates - November 11 News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 11 The Port of Huron, Ohio received its first grain boat in seven years when
Westdale Shipping's AVONDALE arrived at the Pillsbury Elevator on November 11,
1971, to load 200,000 bushels of soybeans for Toronto, Ontario. |
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Sand Dredged from Ludington Harbor to Placed near Buttersville 11/9 - Ludington - A crew from MCM Marine Inc., Sault Ste. Marie, is in Ludington preparing to dredge about 46,000 cubic yards of sand which as drifted along the shoreline and settled between the pier heads of the outer harbor. One change in the $300,000 project is the sand will now be placed south of the harbor, roughly along the shoreline off Buttersville Park, according to Tom O’Bryan, a civil engineer with the U.S. Corps of Engineers. The original plans called for the dredged sand to be placed a bit north of the Stearns Park beach, but O’Bryan said the city expressed a concern that it was to be placed close to the Lake Michigan intake for the city’s water system. O’Bryan said at least one resident asked about the cleanliness of the sand to be dredged and transported to the Buttersville beach. The sand, he said, settled out from the sand that naturally drifts along the shoreline of the lake. Structures such as piers and breakwalls interrupt the current which results in sand being deposited behind them, in this case, within the harbor. Survey crews earlier determined there is four or five feet of shoaling both at the mouth of the pier heads and along the inside of the south pierhead. Crews, he said, have been installing dredge lines and doing preparatory work. The project, he said will involve about nine full days of dredging but is scheduled to be completed by the end of November allowing for the iffy weather of the season. From the Ludington Daily News |
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Great Lakes Safety Zone Comment Period Coming to an End November 13 11/10 - Cleveland - The Coast Guard has concluded all nine of the scheduled public hearing concerning the creation of 34 safety zones on the Great Lakes. About 750 people attended the nine meetings and more than 550 comments have been submitted to the docket. Members of the public who still wish to submit comment to the docket may do
so through Nov. 13 by one of the following three methods: Since October 16, the Coast Guard has held public meetings in Duluth, Minn., Grand Haven, Mich., Port Huron, Mich., Cleveland, Rochester, N.Y., Waukegan, Ill., Erie, Pa. and Sturgeon Bay, Wis. For additional instructions on submitting comments via mail, fax or in person please Click here. USCG News Release |
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Port Reports - November 10 Buffalo - Brian Wroblewski Milwaukee - John N. Vogel & Paul Erspamer Sandusky - Jim Spencer Toledo - Twin Ports - Al Miller Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey Port of Indiana - Burns Harbor - Brian Z. Owen Sound - Ed Saliwonchyk |
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Bells Ring to Honor Shipwreck Victims 11/10 - Rogers City - Bell-ringing ceremonies will be held to commemorate the losses of three Great Lakes shipwrecks in the coming weeks - all wrecked in the legendary “gales of November” that can occur in Northern Michigan. The public is invited to attend the free ceremonies at the Great Lakes Lore Maritime Museum, 367 N. Third St., Rogers City, and may visit all areas of the museum after the program. A newly constructed room called Memorial Hall has artifacts and memorabilia about the Edmund Fitzgerald, the Cedarville, the Carl D. Bradley and the Daniel J. Morrell. The service for the Fitzgerald will be held at 2:00pm Saturday. Museum Director David Erickson will give a brief history of the ship, which sank 31 years ago in Lake Superior about 17 miles off Whitefish Point. The names of each crewman who lost his life on that day will be read, accompanied by the tolling of a bell. A similar service will be conducted at 2:00pm on November 18 as a memorial for the freighter Carl D. Bradley, lost 48 years ago on November 18, 1958. Many of the crew's families resided in Rogers City at the time the ship went down in a storm off Beaver Island in Northern Lake Michigan. Some still reside in the area. The 40th anniversary of the sinking of the Daniel J. Morrell will be observed at 2:00pm on November 25, also a Saturday. The Morrell actually sank November 29, 1966 in a storm on Lake Huron near Michigan's “thumb area.” Crewmember Dennis Hale, the lone survivor of the disaster, will be present for the ceremony. “Bell ringers are needed to participate in these memorable events,” Erickson noted. “We'll toll the bell for the sailors lost in Great Lakes ship tragedies.” More information on the ceremonies can be obtained by calling the museum at
1-989-734-0706. |
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Lost Mariners Remembrance in Detroit
Tonight 11/10- This Friday, November 10, the Dossin Great Lakes Museum and the Great Lakes Maritime Institute will hold a special remembrance for the 40th Anniversary of the loss of the Great Lakes freighter Daniel J. Morrell. From 5:30 - 8:00 pm the evening events will recall that sailors who sail the inland seas, are sometimes placed in peril. Tickets are $10.00, available at the door The events will begin at 5:30 by placing of 29 illuminated lanterns around the anchor of the Edmund Fitzgerald that rests in the yard of the Dossin Museum on Belle Isle. At 6:00 p.m. the Great Lakes balladeer Lee Murdock will begin a concert in the DeRoy Hall Auditorium.
Tickets are $10.00, available at the door. For information call (586) 777-8300 or E-Mail The Dossin Great Lakes Museum is located at 100 Strand Drive on Belle Isle, Detroit, Michigan and is open Weekends from 11 - 5. This event will not be webcast |
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Updates - November 10 News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Notice to Boatnerd News Photographers 11/10 - We will no longer consider posting news files that are not submitted according to the Submission Guidelines found at the bottom of each News Photo Gallery. People are submitting photo files with the file name that comes out of the camera. If we use that file name, odds are someone has a similar camera, and has already used that same file name, and one file will overwrite the other. Please follow the section that explains how to name your photo files before you submit them. Help us to keep this free service up to date with current photos. Thanks for your support and cooperation. Your Boatnerd News Team. |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 09 In 1971, the French freighter PENCHATEAU unloaded 3,000 tons of fluorspar
at Erie Dock at Cleveland. This was (1) the first salty unloaded at this dock,
(2) the first cargo handled from directly overseas, and (3) the first time
Huletts unloaded directly into trucks. The operation required 9 hours
(previous efforts using clamshell buckets to unload required two days). __________________________________________________________________________________ Today in Great Lakes History - November 10 On this day in 1892, whaleback barge 102 loaded 2,073 tons of iron ore at
Superior consigned to Cleveland. This was the first shipment of Mesabi Range
iron ore carried by Oglebay Norton. Storm of 1913 (con't from above) More entries from the Storm of 1913 tomorrow. |
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Crew Member Still Hospitalized After Explosion 11/8 - A crew member from the ore boat, Kaye E. Barker, remains hospitalized in stable condition. Another injured crew member was released Tuesday afternoon. Both suffered second and third degree burns when the ship's boiler exploded on Sunday morning in Lake Superior off of Whitefish Point. Officials with the ship's owner, Interlake Steamship Company, say it appears the fire was caused by a mechanical failure. The Coast Guard is handling the investigation. From WLUC-TV Marquette |
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Mackinaw does Buoy Work 11/8 - Cheboygan - A two-week training period behind them, the
officers and crew of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw departed the
Cheboygan River early Monday for a week of buoy work in Lake Huron and Lake
Michigan. “Primarily this time out we will be removing summer buoys and replacing them with winter marks,” said Cmdr. John Little, the Mackinaw's captain. “Some are being decommissioned for the year, if they are primarily there for recreational boaters.” Little said the ship's crew is accompanied by Chief Warrant Officer Dave Baer, a Coast Guard-trained National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration technician. “He is from Bay St. Louis, Miss., where the National Buoy Data Center is located,” Little said of Baer. “He is accompanying us to check their equipment and determine what sort of damage has occurred and to see what type of equipment may be needed in these locations.” According to Little, buoys are much more than floating markers and often contain sophisticated high-tech gear that can be dialed up for information on current conditions. “Many of these buoys have sensing equipment on them, they record and help predict temperature, wave movement, current, and conditions that affect all mariners, even recreational boaters,” Little said. “We are one of several cutters working NOAA buoys this fall; Hollyhock and Alder are also in the lakes doing the same thing. They will have a NOAA tech on board too. The electronics package on those buoys is so extensive - and expensive - that they accompany us to help determine their operations. These buoys can give us real time data over the internet that help us in many ways. The equipment is sensitive to icing, so that's why they are decommissioned in the fall and we replace them with smaller, unlighted winter marks so we can find them again in the spring. Also onboard for the mission is Chief Warrant Officer Dave Merrill from the National Aids to Navigation School in Yorktown, Va. “He's here to get a handle on our buoy operations to determine what type of support I am going to need in the future,” Little continued. “We'll be in the northern quarter of Lake Huron, then we'll be servicing areas near the Manitous and off the bay of Green Bay in Lake Michigan.” The Mackinaw's sailing comes after a two-week stay in port for the Tailored Annual Cutter Training exercises. “We had a great two weeks of TACT training, it was the cutter's first time with that type of extensive training, and we did very well,” Little added. “If weather and winds cooperate we should be back inside a week.” The ship's return will be in time for the Great Lakes Ice Conference, to be held next week in Cheboygan. By Mike Fornes in the the Cheboygan Daily Tribune |
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Dennis Hale to be in Port Clinton 11/8 - Dennis Hale sole survivor of the Daniel J. Morrell will be in Port Clinton Ohio at the Great Lakes Cafe from 12:00 to 4:00pm on Saturday, November 11th. The event is open to the public and free. |
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Port Reports - November 8 Hamilton - Eric Holmes Milwaukee - John N. Vogel Sandusky - Jim Spencer Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey Buffalo - Brian Wroblewski Toledo - Twin Ports - Al Miller Milwaukee - John N.
Vogel |
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Bill Market III Passes 11/8 - Put-In-Bay - Bill Market III, owner of Miller Boat Line, Put-in-Bay, Ohio, passed away last Friday. Family and friends gave him a beautiful send off and service Monday on Put-in-Bay. Amidst a fall season of rain, wind (and today, the fog) - a perfect November day surrounded us. A touching and special honor was also given to dad on Monday. Capt. Russell Brohl (a Put-in-Bay resident and family friend), aboard the Lee A. Tregurtha, sounded a master salute. (also Russ "sent" the salute via cell phone, where Bill's family could share it.) Bill Market III was a regular reader of the Boatnerd News and other features. |
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Updates - November 8 News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 08 The NIMROD (3-mast wooden schooner, 184 foot, 559 tons, built in 1873, at
Toledo, Ohio) was carrying 37,000 bushels of corn from Chicago to Buffalo. On
08 November 1874, she encountered thick fog on Lake Erie and the large double
decked schooner MICHIGAN collided with her. The MICHIGAN continued on her
course while the NIMROD filled with water and sank in 70 feet of water off
Port Burwell-Port Stanley, Ontario. The crew escaped in the yawl and were
picked up by the schooner GRANTHAM. The wreck was discovered in 1978, when
Capt. Robert Hamilton, a commercial fisherman, snagged his nets on it. |
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Munson Strikes Fuel Dock Update - 11/8 - Tuesday at noon Capt. Don Gordon had the tug Menasha and crane barge onsite, along with a dive team from Gordon Marine Services and structural engineers to determine the extent of the damage to the north dock. About 200 feet of the dock is in the water and the support caissons are badly damaged. Operations at the middle and south docks, continue as normal. Reported by Barry Hiscock Original Article - 11/7- The John G. Munson struck Shell Canada’s fuel dock on the St. Clair River Monday. The Munson was pulling into the refueling station near Corunna, Ontario around 11:30 a.m. when it struck the dock. Investigators believe mechanical failure is to blame according to local law enforcement. The vessel struck the north end of the dock, demolishing nearly 200 feet of the structure, which sank into the St. Clair River. There were no injuries and there has been no impact on the environment, said Shell spokesperson John Peck. The incident was reported to both the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard and is being investigated by the Ontario Provincial Police Marine Unit. It is unknown if the Shell Fuel dock continues to operate fueling ships. Reported by Ward Burr from the Sarnia Observer |
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Voyageur Pioneer Christened 11/8- Tuesday afternoon Voyageur Marine Transport Ltd. christened the latest addition to their fleet. Shortly before 3 p.m. the "Voyageur Pioneer" was christened at Hamilton after an intense week of preparations. The Voyageur Pioneer is the former Lady Hamilton, former Saskatchewan Pioneer. The ship departed for Thunder Bay back under the Canadian Flag Tuesday and was due at the Welland Canal about 7:30 p.m. Reported by Bob Kay |
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Shallow Waters Lighten Loads 11/7 - Record low water levels for this season on the Upper Great
Lakes are creating concern for commercial shipping lines. From Northern Ontario Business |
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New technologies and investment could give Iron Range a rebirth 11/7 - Eveleth, MN. - Dan Smilanich studied the bedrock around him, shifted into gear and roared his two-story iron-ore truck to the other end of United Taconite's mine to pick up 240 tons of rock. "I've been laid off four times in my 10-year tenure as a miner. This last time was two years," Smilanich said. "This is the best it's been around here." The rebirth of bankrupt EVTAC Mining as United Taconite with 466 jobs would be notable by itself because new jobs have been scarce in the area in recent years. But the mine's reopening is part of a broader renaissance for the 110-mile Mesabi Iron Range, which in recent years had become a symbol of industrial decay. Thanks to new state and corporate investment, better technology and China's ravenous appetite for steel, 12 projects are being planned or built on the Range, promising to bring $5 billion in investments and about 3,000 full-time jobs to the area within the next five years. The technologies involved promise to play to the area's traditional strength in ore mining but produce more profitable products that can better weather global competition. The projects stretch from Silver Bay on Lake Superior to Grand Rapids in the west. They include new taconite, copper and nickel mines, iron nugget plants, and Minnesota's first integrated steel plant. "Not since the 1960s and early 1970s has the Range seen so many huge-scale projects under consideration all at the same time," said Dan Jordan, mining and minerals program supervisor for the state's Iron Range Resources. Legacy of pain Taconite is about 65 percent pure iron, and the pellets produced on the Range traditionally have been shipped to steel producers elsewhere in the country, tying the area to the fortunes of the big U.S. steelmakers. And as the domestic steelmakers began to struggle against foreign competition, the Range felt the pain. LTV Mining, with important Iron Range operations, went bankrupt in 2001, costing 1,400 Minnesota workers their jobs. National Steel Pellet followed in 2003, and then Smilanich's former employer, EVTAC Mining, also in 2003. "Around 2001 is when everything started to deteriorate," Iron Range Resources Commissioner Sandy Layman said. Since then, the Range has lost thousands of residents who have left to find work elsewhere, many of them heading to the Twin Cities area. Mining jobs on the Range, which peaked at more than 13,000 in 1979, hit a low of 3,444 in 2004 and have since recovered only modestly to an estimated 3,800. Many of the other 135,000 jobs spread across the Range pay well below those at the mining operations. That's what makes the projects being planned so important, since they promise to nearly double the number of high-paying jobs in mining and related activities. "If all these projects come to fruition, we would see 3,000 high-paying, permanent jobs added to the economy," plus 4,100 construction jobs for as long as the various projects are under construction, Layman said. Range residents are already taking heart from the turnaround. "The tumbleweeds are not blowing through here yet," said Debbi Rusch, a waitress in Mountain Iron's Adventures restaurant. "The [mines] seem to be doing really well because of China. And it's good that they are diversifying. At least they are not stuck in [just] taconite." New technologies, bigger profit MSI plans to bring in 2,000 construction workers to the defunct Butler Taconite site in Nashwauk, not simply to revive mining but to erect North America's first fully integrated taconite-mine-to-steel mill. "There is no other steel producer in all of North America that's physically sitting on a mine," said Jordan, the mining and minerals program supervisor at Iron Range Resources. The $1.6 billion plan has been seven years in the making. Iron Range Resources Deputy Commissioner Brian Hiti can quickly sum up why the investment is worth it. Under the current model, mining firms gouge Minnesota's earth for rock that's 20 to 30 percent iron. That rock is crushed, refined into taconite pellets -- 65 percent iron -- and shipped on the Great Lakes to other facilities. There they are converted into higher-value products such as pig iron -- 96 percent iron -- and steel -- 100 percent stable iron. "Today, taconite pellets command only about $40 a ton. But iron nuggets [fetch] roughly $300 a ton. When that's converted into steel slab it commands about $300 a ton. That is why we are excited. We are extracting ore from the ground. But what we are getting for that ore could be significantly more than today." East of Minnesota Steel, the publicly held Polymet Mining Corp. is working on its own project. The company will spend $380 million to transform LTV's old taconite mills in Hoyt Lakes into the first nickel mine in the country as well as the first copper mine and processing plant in Minnesota. Rarer still, the project, which will demand 1,000 builders and 400 permanent workers, will not involve a smelting plant. Heat, high pressure and water will be used instead to extract the metals. Just around the bend, also on LTV's former land, a start-up called Mesabi Nugget intends to build a $200 million pig-iron plant using clean-burning Japanese technology. All three firms are expected to begin construction next year. "The overriding theme that is exciting for us is we are very close to realizing some value-added projects for northeastern Minnesota," Layman said. "The [area's] economy has been based on natural resources, on timber and taconite. Those resources have supported families here for over 100 years. But now as we are in the 21st century, it's very important ... that we continually add value to those resources before they get exported from the region." From the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune |
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Port Reports - November 7 Prescott Elevators - Ron Beaupre Lorain - C. Mackin Grand Haven - Dick Fox |
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Lightship Whistle Whispering to Appease Neighbors 11/7 - Port Huron - In an effort to appease noise-conscious residents living near the Huron Lightship in Pine Grove Park, the museum's staff has reduced the volume of the ship's whistle. The pressure controlling the whistle on the ship, one of six Port Huron Museum sites, has been reduced by 50%, considerably quieting the whistle, said Jerry Rome, the lightship's site manager. "We hope that's a satisfactory solution," Rome said. Residents in the neighborhood north of the ship complained last month to Port Huron Museum Interim Director Dick McGrath that the ship's frequent whistle blasts were intolerably loud. Museum staff and visitors on the grounded ship, which once was a floating lighthouse anchored in Lake Huron, blow its whistle as a way of greeting passing freighters. It's been done that way for more than 30 years, Rome said. Since the whistle volume was decreased shortly after the Oct. 5 meeting, residents said they haven't noticed the blasts as much. "I haven't really noticed it lately," said Mike Course, who has lived on Pleasant Place his whole life and said in October the blasts were far too loud and frequent. Last month, Course and others said the whistle startles them, harms their health and ruins their sleep. Wendy Bowman, who suffers from migraines and lives on Pleasant Place, also said she has not heard the whistle lately. "It does seem lower now," said Mark Byrne, who lives on Prospect Place. Rome is concerned the whistle's volume has been reduced too much. Lately, passing freighters have not heard the ship's greeting, he said. The freighter Algoeast, which Rome said always responds to the ship's whistle, did not return the ship's salute Friday afternoon. Rome said many people support the ship and its traditions. It makes ship tours fun, he said. Visitors still can sound the whistle. But if the freighters don't answer, it lessens the thrill, Rome said. "It's a greeting with no stamp. It's like it got lost in the mail." From the Port Huron Times Herald |
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Intrepid Mission Scrubbed After Ship gets Stuck in the Mud 11/7 - New York - The USS Intrepid barely budged. Powerful tugboats worked to move the legendary aircraft carrier from its
home of 24 years at the same Hudson River pier, but the Intrepid's giant
propellers got stuck in the mud. It eventually began inching backward out of
its berth, but moved only a few feet. The mission was scrubbed for the day at
around 10:30 a.m., according to Dan Bender, a Coast Guard spokesman. |
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Updates - November 7 News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 07 On 07 November 1871, M COURTRIGHT (wooden schooner, 276 tons, built in
1856, at Erie, Pennsylvania) was carrying lumber in a storm on Lake Michigan.
She struck bottom after her anchor dragged. She then became waterlogged. The
crew abandoned in the yawl. The vessel went ashore several miles south of
Kenosha, Wisconsin. The revenue cutter ANDREW JOHNSON tried in vain to pull
her free but couldn't. The COURTRIGHT broke up a few days later. |
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Kaye E. Barker Update Update 11/6 - 4 p.m. - Kaye E. Barker was under way under her own power on Monday. She passed the 9 Mile call in point, downbound at 1:55 p.m. Monday. Original Article - 11/6 - A rare boiler explosion aboard the steamer Kaye E. Barker seriously injured two crewmen and temporarily disabled the ship about one half mile off Whitefish Point early Sunday. The two burned crewmen were evacuated from the Barker by a Coast Guard HH-65 helicopter and were flown to Sault Ste. Marie for initial medical treatment at War Memorial Hospital. The two were later transferred to the burn unit at University Hospital in Ann Arbor. Their names and extent of injuries were not available According to reports, Barker, powered by a steam turbine, was headed downbound near Whitefish Point when the boiler-room explosion occurred. The blast, very rare in recent Great Lakes shipping history, caused the ship to lose power about 8 a.m. Sunday morning. Along with the two crewmen injured, the explosion did unspecified damage to the ship's mechanical systems. Aboard the Barker, the ship's engineers were able to isolate the damaged boiler and make steam on alternate boilers for the short trip to the Carbide Dock in Sault Ste. Marie for inspection and evaluation. Typically, a steam-powered vessel is equipped with several boilers nested into the ship's boiler room. In addition to the vessel's engine, steam is typically used to power deck and anchor winches, steering motor, whistle and other equipment aboard ship. At one time a regular cause of severe casualties aboard ship, boiler explosions are today very rare in navigation with the advent of redundant boiler safety systems. Propulsion steam generated by marine boilers is maintained at very high pressures and high temperatures to supply power to engines. In the Barker's case, the ship is propelled by a marine steam turbine. No fire was reported aboard Barker after the blast. Sunday after noon the Barker moored at the Carbide Dock. She remained there on Monday while Coast Guard inspectors and officials from the ship's owner, Interlake Steamship, piece together the events leading up to the explosion and evaluate damage to the ship. Kaye E. Barker is a 767-foot self unloader, built in 1952. The ship, formerly the flagship of the old Cleveland Cliffs steamer line, was subsequently lengthened by 120 feet and fitted with self-unloader gear in 1981. Sunday's boiler explosion was the first such accident on a Great Lakes ship in many decades. From the Soo Evening News |
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Blough Lost Rudder Recovered 11/6 - Sault Ste. Marie, MI - A tug and crane barge maneuvered into the Carbide Dock slip after delivering the lost rudder from the motor vessel Roger Blough onto the city-owned pier. The massive rudder, measuring 23 feet high by 17 feet long was found in August by side-scan sonar but was not recovered until last week by the heavy-lift crane. The hollow rudder weighs in at about 30 tons. Blough, which lost the rudder in Maud Bay in early August, was fitted with a replacement rudder after a rare side-to-side tow down the Lakes by a fleet mate. From the Soo Evening News Picture in the Boatnerd News Gallery |
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Port Reports - November 6 Milwaukee - John N. Vogel Marquette - Lee Rowe Alpena - Ben & Chanda McClain |
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Updates - November 6 News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 06 On 06 November 1880, the W R HANNA (2-mast scow-schooner, 86 foot, 103
gross tons, built in 1857) was carrying 1,600 tamarac railroad ties to Toledo
on Lake Huron in a snow storm. She sprang a leak off Pointe aux Barques and
filled so fast that the pump was of no use. She broached to and rolled over
when about 5 miles north of Sand Beach, Michigan (now Harbor Beach), as the
sun set and the snow storm turned into a blizzard. The icy waves swept over
the hull while the crew clung on as best they could. Four hours later, they
drifted past Sand Beach, not 500 feet from the breakwater. They shouted for
help, saw lights moving here and there on the breakwater, but no help came.
When the wind shifted and started to blow the vessel out into the Lake, the
skipper cut away the weather lanyards and the vessel righted herself and they
dropped the anchor. The weather was freezing cold; and there was no dry place
left. The cabin was gone and the only spot out of water was on one side
forward - a space about four feet wide by ten feet long. The waves kept
washing over the waterlogged vessel, drenching the crew. The crew survived
through the night. Heavy snow kept falling, cutting visibility to almost zero.
Finally, at 10:00 a.m., the following morning, the storm broke and the
propeller H LUELLA WORTHINGTON (wooden propeller freighter, 148 foot, 375
gross tons, built in 1880, at Lorain, Ohio), which was in the harbor, saw the
wreck and rescued the crew. The skipper of the WORTHINGTON stated that he had
heard the cries of the crew throughout the night, but couldn't navigate in the
blinding snow storm. He was awake all night waiting for the storm to break so
he could rescue the crew. |
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Kaye E. Barker Suffers Boiler Explosion 11/5 - 10 p.m. Update - Two men aboard a ship near Whitefish Point were burned in a boiler explosion Sunday morning. The Coast Guard responded to the emergency which happened on the Kaye E. Barker on Lake Superior near Whitefish Point. A Medivac from Air Station Traverse City was launched and completed the evacuation shortly before 10 a.m., by delivering the two injured men to emergency personnel at Sanderson Field in Sault Ste. Marie. From 9 & 10 TV News Original Article - 11/5 - 6:30 p.m. - Information has been received that the Kaye E. Barker suffered a major boiler explosion near Ile Parisienne around 8 a.m. Sunday morning. Two crew members have been air lifted off the ship. The vessel has enough boiler power to for electricity and is anchored in Whitefish Bay. The G tug Missouri was up bound from the Soo around 6 p.m. The tug will tow the Barker to the Carbide Dock in the Soo. It is expected that another Interlake vessel will take the Barker's cargo of taconite that was loaded in Marquette. Updates will be posted here as information is received. |
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Memorial Service 11/5 - Detroit - Mariners’ Church has announced that it will be returning to the old tradition of having a Great Lakes Memorial Service in the fall, marking the symbolic close of the shipping season. After 30 years of focusing exclusively on the lost crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald, the Great Lakes Memorial Service will honor all sailors who over the years have lost their lives on the waters of the Great Lakes. Adjusting to the expanded focus of the Great Lakes Memorial Service, the traditional honor guard of uniformed personnel that had assembled around the Fitzgerald model on the main altar will not take place. The bell ringing at the side altar will continue in a modified format. The bell will be rung in memory of those who lost their lives on each of the Great Lakes and the interconnecting waterways. The Great Lakes Memorial Service will be held on Sunday, November 12 at 11:00 AM. |
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Port Reports - November 5 Marquette - Lee Rowe Sandusky - Jim Spencer Goderich - Jacob Smith Twin Ports - Al Miller Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey & Gordy Garris Hamilton - Eric Holmes South Chicago - Brian Z. |
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Updates - November 5 News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 05 At 2:00 a.m. on 05 November 1884, the steamer GRACE GRUMMOND (iron
side-wheel excursion steamer, 138 foot, 250 tons, built in 1856, at
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as the survey steamer JEFFERSON DAVIS, specifically
for the survey of the Great Lakes) burned at Grand Haven, Michigan. Her cargo
of apples, pears and potatoes was also destroyed. No lives were lost. After
the fire she was towed to Chicago to lay up until it was decided what to do
with her. It is not known if she ever operated as a steamer again, but in
1887, she was rebuilt as a schooner at Milwaukee. She was one of the only
sizable iron-hulled schooners ever used on the lakes. In 1904, as a tow-barge,
she was sold Canadian and renamed BALTIC (C.116760). She was later used as a
breakwater at Clear Creek, Ontario and was finally scrapped in 1939. |
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Frank Frisk in Temporary Lay Up 11/4 - Port Huron - "Freighter Frank" Frisk, the popular host at the Boatnerd World Headquarters in Port Huron, has been temporarily sidelined due to health issues. Frank reports to Boatnerd News that he is home from the hospital after having a pacemaker and defrib unit installed to correct a heart problem. "It may take a bit of time for my full return but looking forward to the schedule". "Not sure until further tests when I can return to the BoatNerd building, but the sooner the better though. I will get caught up on as many things as possible". "Thank you all for your support." A card sent to the Boatnerd World Headquarters, 104 First Street, Port
Huron, Michigan 48060-5429, will be sure to get to Frank. |
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Port Reports - November 4 Buffalo - Brian Wroblewski South Chicago - Gary Clark Sandusky - Jim Spencer Hamilton - Eric Holmes Marquette - Rod Burdick |
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Updates - November 4 News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 04 The Great Lakes Steamship Company steamer NORWAY passed downbound through
the Soo Locks with 6,609 tons of rye. This cargo increased the total tonnage
transiting the locks in 1953 to 120,206,088 tons - a new one season tonnage
record. Renamed b.) RUTH HINDMAN in 1964, she was scrapped at Thunder Bay,
Ontario in 1978. |
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Nordmeer Wreck to be Remembered in Alpena 11/3 - Alpena - Sunday, November 19 will mark the 40th anniversary
of the day the German freighter Nordmeer ran aground on Thunder Bay Shoal.
During a commemoration for the Nordmeer, Alpena residents will be able to hear
the stories of the rescue workers who helped crew member to safety, the
stories of the crane operators and divers who were part of the salvage
operation, and the stories of the recreational divers and fishermen who
continue to visit the wreck today. |
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Port Reports - November 3 St. Lawrence River - Ron Beaupre Goderich - Jacob Smith Hamilton - Eric Holmes Buffalo - Brian Wroblewski Alpena/Stoneport - Ben & Chanda McClain Milwaukee - Paul Erspamer Twin Ports - Al Miller |
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Updates - November 3 News Photo Gallery updated and more News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 03 On 03 November 1907, tug ESCORT (wooden propeller, 45 foot, 40 gross tons,
built in 1894, at Port Colborne, Ontario) tried to pass the barge BENJ
HARRISON at the mouth of the Niagara River. In a navigational error, the tug
sheared under the barge's bow, was run over and sank. Three lives were lost. |
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Restoration Campaign for South Channel Lights Ongoing 11/2 - When Chuck Brockman and his wife, Scotty, piloted their boat past the gradually collapsing South Channel Lights back in 1988, he heard the same voice in his head that many Lake St. Clair boaters ignored over the years: "Geez, it's too bad somebody doesn't do something about that." But Brockman listened to that inner voice. And now, after 16 years of bureaucratic wrangling, constant fundraising by his nonprofit, Save Our South Channel Lights, and an investment of $700,000, the future is brighter than ever for a pair of 146-year-old beacons that helped open the Michigan wilderness and turn a newborn state into an industrial powerhouse. In August, craftsmen wrapped up a second summer of reconstruction work at the lights, about a mile off the south shore of Harsens Island, Mich., in the shallow waters of Lake St. Clair. Both lighthouses enter the ice season stabilized with the larger, rear range light lovingly restored. But the work is far from finished. The front light leans at an alarming angle and needs at least as much work as the rear light once did. SOSCL also hopes to someday rebuild the brick light keeper's house, which was demolished in the early 20th Century. Altogether, Brockman said he expects the entire project to cost an additional $1.3 million. That's not to diminish what SOSCL has accomplished so far. Tour boats are expected to run out to the lights next year a miraculous reversal for structures that nearly fell into the lake a few years ago, victims of vandalism and the inexorable forces of nature. "I literally grew up looking at those things, and you watched them deteriorate thinking, 'Boy, I wish we could do something about that,'" said U.S. Rep. Candice Miller, a Republican from Macomb County's Harrison Township. "Then along comes a guy like Chuck Brockman." By the time Brockman started the drive to save the lights, they had been nearly demolished by 129 years of constant battering by ice, wind and water. The delicate Fresnel lenses in both towers, which amplified the light from the original oil lamps, had disappeared. Much of the stone foundation of the front light had washed away; its lantern room was gone, and the whole stubby structure was balanced on a sort of upside-down pyramid grounded in the lake bottom. The man-made island that once surrounded the taller rear light had completely washed away, leaving the base of the taller tower unprotected from pounding surf and ice floes grinding downstream each spring. "It had gotten to the point where the front one was going to fall down," said Brockman, a 72-year-old retiree who now lives on Harsens Island. "And we couldn't let that happen." So first, in the early '90s, SOSCL put a temporary steel ring around the front light to stabilize it. Later, the group built a permanent seawall. But costs mounted, and Brockman found himself raising cash wherever he could. He also found himself navigating bureaucratic waters more treacherous than those guarded by the lighthouses. The state owns the lake bottom; the federal government owned the lights themselves, and the area itself doesn't fall under the jurisdiction of any local government. "They had to have a community to sign the grant applications," said Miller, who was Harrison Township supervisor during SOSCL's early fundraising efforts. To get the process rolling, she said, she agreed to claim it as the township's property on the grant paperwork and that worked. An initial $10,000 grant helped the project get started, and donations since then have ranged from a few dollars to an anonymous $100,000 gift. More money was raised with donated artwork and South Channel Lights souvenirs sold at boat shows and art fairs and online. Over the years, SOSCL has raised more than $500,000 in grants, the largest for $450,000 from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. The Michigan Lighthouse Assistance Program also chipped in $20,000. With cash in hand, SOSCL awarded a $599,000 contract to Mihm Enterprises for the historical restoration of the rear light. Workers replicate original equipment whenever they can, and when they can't, they use historically compatible materials. The iron lantern room at the top of the tower, for example, had to be physically removed, trucked across the state to a shop near Holland, disassembled and rebuilt. The goal is to have the lights look as they did when they were lit for the
first time on Nov. 1, 1859, enabling mariners to reliably find the entrance to
the St. Clair River at night by lining up the lights from out in the lake. |
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Maritime Music Featured in Lexington this Saturday 11/2 - Singer/Songwriter Dan Hall will feature his many maritime songs as
he performs with his band in Lexington, Michigan this Saturday. Dan will be
joined by shipwreck survivor Dennis Hale and maritime documentary producer Ric
Mixter as he shares stories from the Great Lakes. |
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Boater Talks About his Rescue from the Icy Maumee 11/2 - Toledo - The man rescued from the icy Maumee River by the
Coast Guard is talking about his experience. |
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Port Report - November 2 Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey |
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Updates - November 2 News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 02 On 02 November 1924, TURRET CROWN (steel propeller 'turret ship', 253 foot,
1,827 tons, built in 1895, in England) was driven ashore in a gale on Meldrum
Point on the north side of Manitoulin Island on Lake Huron. Her hull was
wrecked during the storms that winter. She was cut up and removed for scrap
the following year. |
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Father and Son Rescued from Maumee Bay 11/1 - Toledo - A father and his 10-year-old son were rescued last night from frigid Maumee Bay after their 21-foot boat struck an unidentified object and sank, authorities said. Trent Cousino, 33, and his son Javan, 10, of Napoleon, both of whom were wearing life jackets, were found by the passing Federal Sakura on its way to Montreal, and pulled from the 47-degree water by the U.S. Coast Guard. The Federal Sakura reported that they could hear
screams for help and could see two people clinging to buoy #48 at the entrance
to the Maumee River. Station Toledo's response boat was getting underway for
an evening patrol and was on scene in less than ten minutes.
Mr. Cousino and his son were taking their boat from Harrison Marina on North
Summit Street to store it for the winter at Bi-State Marine Service in Erie,
Mich., when the vessel began taking on water. Mr. Cousino used a cell phone to
call his wife, telling her they hit something. She called 911 just before 7
p.m., Captain Jaksetic said. |
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Heavy Seas Make Rough Ending for Ferry Season 11/1 - Muskegon - November-like weather on Lake Michigan in September and October put a damper on the third-year performance of the Lake Express high-speed cross-lake ferry service. The final two round trips for the 2006 sailing season were scheduled for today. On Wednesday, the Lake Express operators will begin to prepare for the 2007 season, which is slated to start April 14. Although they are not sharing specific ridership and operational numbers, Lake Express officials said the service was affected by high wind and waves this year. Rough weather on Lake Michigan resulted in an unspecified number of trip cancellations which hurt the ferry's performance compared against season projections. Overall, Lake Express President Ken Szallai said the Muskegon-to-Milwaukee service carried about the same number of passengers as it did in 2005, which recorded about a 15 percent increase in traffic vs. the initial year in 2004. In Ludington, Lake Michigan Carferry officials said the SS Badger service to Manitowoc, Wis., also ended pretty close to its passenger numbers for 2005. However, Lake Express ridership per trip was up in 2006, according to company spokesman Jeff Fleming. "From a consumer standpoint, I think that shows good customer acceptance of the service," Fleming said. "That's a positive and bodes well for the future. It shows we have good word-of-mouth marketing and have significant repeat business." Due to the competition with the Badger, Lake Express has never reported specific passenger counts beyond saying that in its initial year it carried more passengers -- greater than 110,000 -- than the last year of the SS Milwaukee Clipper operation in 1970. But chances for a banner year were blown away by Lake Michigan's mercurial weather. "We were fighting the weather every step of the way this year," Szallai said. "We had a lot of weather and it was bad. But that's just the way it is." Lake Express officials walk a fine line in determining when to cancel a crossing due to bad weather. Szallai said the ship can take any weather dished out by Lake Michigan, but the passengers can't. However, client surveys indicate that passengers want to go, even in heavy seas and high winds, Szallai said. "The ship can always make it, but we then put our passengers in a situation in 8-foot seas ... and they are not going to like the ride," Szallai said. Without giving specific numbers of cancellations, Szallai said September was particularly rough. The September cancellations were twice what the service had experienced in the two prior years, he said. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration data collected from a weather buoy northwest of South Haven shows both September and October had much rougher conditions than the same two months of 2005. For September, the historic average wave height is just under 3 feet. There were 180 hours in September 2005 when waves were higher than 3 feet, but this September that increased to 331 hours. In October, the historic average wave height is just over 3 feet. Last year, there were 192 hours of 3-feet plus wave conditions compared to 372 this year. Even with a difficult early fall season, Szallai said Lake Express is beginning to plan for extending the season in the spring and through the entire month of November either in 2007 or 2008. Reservations continued to be strong through October this year, Szallai said. Lake Express was not the only ferry service to be battered by the winds and waves of Lake Michigan this fall. The Ludington Daily News recently reported that the Badger, a traditional coal-fired steamship, was rocked by high waves on its Sept. 22 crossing to Manitowoc. Minor injuries to passengers and crew resulted. Lake Michigan Carferry spokeswoman Lynda Daugherty said the Sept. 22 crossing was a "rare occurrence." Overall, the Badger passenger counts for 2006 were "on par" with 2005, Daugherty said, but like Lake Express, Lake Michigan Carferry does not released specific numbers. However, commercial truck traffic on the big ship was up 16 percent in 2005, mainly due to high fuel prices, Daugherty said. Lake Express does not carry commercial truck traffic. High fuel prices had both Lake Express and Lake Michigan Carferry officials charging a "fuel surcharge" during the 2006 season. Despite declining fuel prices, marine diesel prices remained high in 2006 for Lake Express. The Badger operates on coal. In Muskegon, county tourism officials are reporting a record year in 2006 in terms of room tax receipts, up some 9 percent from 2005, and higher than the previous record reached in 2000. Lake Express -- along with Michigan's Adventure Amusement Park, Lake Michigan beaches and summer festivals -- has become a mainstay for the local tourism economy, promoters say. "Lake Express continues to be a cornerstone for our summertime offerings," said Sam Wendling, director of the Muskegon County Convention & Visitors Bureau. "In the face of declines in the tourism industry statewide, I'm feeling pretty good about this year. Lake Express is helping to keep us healthy." The Lake Express -- a 192-foot high-speed catamaran that carries 46 vehicles and 250 passengers -- came through the season in fine shape, Szallai said. A freak structural defect in a huge gear that powers one of the four water jets caused a four-day shut down of the service at the height of the season in mid-August. The Lake Express will have regular engine work this winter at its Milwaukee dock, Szallai said. "We are starting to prepare for our fourth season," he said. In Ludington, no major work is scheduled for the Badger this winter after the owners spent $200,000 on major boiler repairs last winter, Daugherty said. Passengers can anticipate some ship "enhancements" that will be announced early next year. The Badger will begin its 2007 season in mid May and sail through mid October. From the Muskegon Chronicle |
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Port Reports - November 1 Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey Soo - Lee Rowe St. Marys River - Bonnie Barnes Twin Ports - Al Miller Toledo - Milwaukee - John N. Vogle |
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Updates - November 1 News Photo Gallery updated Public Photo Gallery updated |
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Today in Great Lakes History - November 01 The LEHIGH, Captain Edward P. Fitch in command, cleared the Great Lakes
Engineering Works yard at River Rouge, Michigan, to begin her maiden trip on
this day in 1943. The LEHIGH was one of two Maritimers (the other was the
STEELTON) acquired by Bethlehem Steel Corp. as part of a government program to
upgrade and increase the capacity of the Great Lakes fleet during World War
II. Bethlehem exchanged three older vessels, the JOHNSTOWN of of 1905, the
SAUCON, and the CORNWALL, plus cash for the two Maritimers. |
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