Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive

Today in Great Lakes History - November 29

On 29 November 1965, the KEEWATIN (steel propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 336’, 3856 gt, built in 1907 at Govan, Scotland) was officially retired by the Canadian Pacific Railway.

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 layup.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. This is a small sample, the books includes many other vessels with a much more detailed history.

Port Reports - November 28

Hamilton - John McCreery
As the season draws to a close there seems to be a wave of salties entering the Port before the onset of winter. Tuesday the Federal Saguenay arrived from Montreal with a cargo of chrome ore.
Fleet mate Federal Kushiro is unloading steel at Wharf 12N after the departure of Rebecca which is bound for Antwerp with a load of steel coils. The James Norris appears to be waiting out the wind in the west end of the lake.

Toronto - Charlie Gibbons
Stephen B. Roman arrived in port overnight Monday and unloaded at Essroc. Sheltering from the storm is the tug Everlast and its barge. Wave heights at Rochester are reported to be more than 20 feet from trough to crest.
The saltie Miltiades remained at Redpath unloading and the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Griffon remained in port until the storm blows through.

South Chicago and Indiana Harbor - Matt M.
Several classic lakers were on the Calumet Tuesday. In at the Carmeuse terminal on 106th st. was the Arthur M. Anderson around 10 a.m. unloading what looked like stone.
Waiting just inside the breakwater, still on the lake, was the Alpena. The the salt laden Algomarine was waiting farther out. The Joe Thompson called on Indiana Harbor around 10 a.m. and the Lee A. Tregurtha was making her way down the lake with a load of taconite for KCBX later on Tuesday.

Milwaukee - Paul Erspamer
Orna, a saltwater bulk carrier from Greece, unloaded steel at terminal #2 in Milwaukee's outer harbor Tuesday.
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw was on Lake Michigan off Milwaukee's south shore Tuesday, working aids to navigation.
Cement barge Integrity and its tug G. L. Ostrander were at the LaFarge dock on Jones Island in the inner harbor, offloading dry cement Tuesday.
Tuesday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. one northbound and two southbound lakers were seen on Lake Michigan off Milwaukee, passing close along the Wisconsin shore and avoiding northwest winds of up to thirty knots.
John B. Aird appeared to anchor in strong winds just outside Milwaukee's main breakwater gap about 3 p.m. Tuesday. Aird is expected to deliver salt in Milwaukee.

Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey
The Sam Laud finally arrived at the Bay Aggregates dock in Bay City on Monday. After unloading, she exited the slip and was outbound for the lake.
The Maumee was inbound early Tuesday morning going upriver to the Sargent dock in Zilwaukee. She completed her unload and was downbound Tuesday evening.

Goderich - Jacob Smith
On Tuesday morning, Algoma's Algosteel was in Goderich loading at the Sifto salt dock.

Waterways' importance stressed on canal's birthday;
Shipping industry strategist brings wish list to Lock 7 ceremony

11/28 - Welland Canal - John Dewar wants to correct Canadiana.

Turns out, if anything is coursing through the veins of Canadians, it's not beer or our other national elixir. "In Canada, some may think maple syrup runs in our blood, but let's think about that a minute," Dewar said. The chief strategist for Upper Lakes Shipping is certain it's water flowing through us.

After all, Canada is a maritime nation, Dewar told the crowd of local dignitaries and curious onlookers gathered at Lock 7 in Thorold Monday to celebrate William Hamilton Merritt Day and the opening of the first Welland Canal 178 years ago. Merritt, dubbed the Father of Transportation, founded the original canal to bypass Niagara Falls and link lakes Erie with Ontario to form "one unbroken highway of commerce."

To keep traffic on that highway of commerce flowing and, ultimately, Canada's shipping industry afloat, Dewar rhymed off a wish list to the crowd.

Encouraging investment in the industry through tax incentives is one wish. Enabling shipping companies to tap into a program that both provides financial assistance to buyers of Canadian built ships and allows manufacturers to write off equipment investments with ease was also among Dewar's wants.

Providing training and education to increase worker productivity for those in the industry and including research and development funding for the marine industry in the strategic aerospace and defense initiative would help, too, Dewar noted.

That money was available to the industry through Technology Partnerships Canada until four years ago, he said. "(Our) prosperity depends on a vibrant marine industry," Dewar said. "With the exception of Canada, every other maritime nation subsidizes its shipbuilding industry."

The need to propel the shipping industry's fortunes isn't lost on the newly appointed provincial transportation minister Jim Bradley. The St. Catharines MPP pointed out the Welland Canal is only operating at 50 per cent capacity. People would get annoyed at how often they would have to stop at lift bridges raised over the channel to let ships pass, but really, they should have been relishing it, he explained. "Of course, that ... meant prosperity for this part of the province and, of course, the whole country," Bradley said.

The province is studying the economic significance of the shipping industry. The province will lobby the federal government for changes that will benefit Canadian shipping companies, he said. There's also another benefit to having more ships ply our waterways, he said. "With Ontario's roads getting busier and more congested, marine transportation can offer a way to ease that congestion and improve the environment," Bradley said

From the St. Catharines Standard

Fifth Estate to air tall ship death investigation

11/28 - The CBC program Fifth Estate will air the result of their investigation into the death of Laura Gainey, the daughter of well known Canadian sports figure Bob Gainey, who was swept overboard to her death when sailing on the tall ship Picton Castle, several years ago.

The program will air, Wednesday Nov 28 at 9 p.m.

Updates - November 28

News Photo Gallery updated

Today in Great Lakes History - November 28
Compiled by Mike Nicholls

On 28 November 1876, the STEVEN F. GALE (2-mast wooden schooner, 122’, 266 gt, built in 1847 at Chicago, IL) was carrying stone from Kelley’s Island to Erie, Pennsylvania when she encountered a sudden violent storm and sank 17.8 miles northwest of Cleveland, Ohio. All hands were lost.

In 1949, sea trials for the largest freighter built on the Great Lakes, the WILFRED SYKES, were held off Lorain, Ohio. SYKES was converted to a self-unloader in 1975.

In 1942, the Canadian grain carrier JUDGE HART grounded and then sank in Ashburton Bay, Lake Superior. The entire crew of the JUDGE HART was rescued by the JAMES B EADS, Captain Stanley J. Tischart, and the whaleback JOHN ERICSSON, Captain Wilfred E. Ogg.

On 28 November 1867, MARQUETTE (wooden bark, 139 foot, 426 tons, built in 1856, at Newport [Marine City], Michigan) was carrying corn from Chicago to Collingwood, Ontario when she sprang a leak during a storm on Lake Huron. She was run ashore on Hope Island on Georgian Bay.

On November 28, 1905, the Pittsburgh Steamship Company vessel MATAAFA was wrecked as it tried to re-enter the Duluth Ship Canal in a severe storm. The MATAAFA had departed Duluth earlier but had decided to return to safety. After dropping her barge in the lake, the vessel was picked up by waves, was slammed against the north pier and was swung around to rest just hundreds of feet offshore north of the north pier, where it broke in two. Much of the crew froze to death in the cold snap that followed the storm, as there was no quick way to get out to the broken vessel for rescue. The MATAAFA was repaired prior to the 1906, season; she ultimately ended her career as an automobile carrier for the T.J. McCarthy Steamship Company and was sold for scrap in 1965.

The CANADIAN OLYMPIC's maiden voyage was 28 Nov 1976, to load coal at Conneaut, Ohio for Nanticoke, Ontario, Her name honors the Olympic Games that were held at Montreal that year.

On November 28, 1983, while up bound after leaving the Poe Lock the INDIANA HARBOR was in a collision, caused by high winds, with the down bound Greek salty ANANGEL SPIRIT resulting in a 10 foot gash in the laker's port bow.

LANCASHIRE (Hull#827) was launched at Lorain, Ohio on November 28, 1942, she would be renamed b) SEWELL AVERY.

The CATHY B towed the GOVERNOR MILLER to Vigo, Spain on November 28, 1980, where she was broken up.

The BENSON FORD was renamed e) US265808 and departed River Rouge on November 28, 1986, towed by the Sandrin tugs TUSKER and GLENADA bound for Ramey's Bend in the Welland Canal.

FRONTENAC arrived at the Fraser Shipyard, Superior, Wisconsin on November 28, 1979. Her keel, which had hogged four feet, was declared a constructive total loss.

The BRANSFORD stranded on a reef off Isle Royale in Lake Superior during a major storm on 28 Nov 1905, (the same storm that claimed the steamer MATAAFA). She was recovered.

On her third trip in 1892, the ANN ARBOR NO 1 again ran aground, this time three miles north of Ahnapee (now called Algoma). There was $15,000 damage to her cargo.

In 1906, the ANN ARBOR NO 4 left Cleveland bound for Frankfort on her maiden voyage.

The ANN ARBOR NO 4 ran aground off Kewaunee in 1924.

On 28 November 1905, AMBOY (2-mast wooden schooner-barge, 209 foot, 894 gross tons, formerly HELENA) was carrying coal in tow of the wooden propeller GEORGE SPENCER in a gale on Lake Superior. In an effort to save both vessels, AMBOY was cut loose. The SPENCER was disabled quickly and was driven ashore near Little Marais, Minnesota. AMBOY struggled against the gale for a full day before finally going ashore near Thomasville, Ontario on 29 November. No lives were lost from either vessel.

On 28 November 1872, W O BROWN (wooden schooner, 140 foot, 306 tons, built in 1862, at Buffalo, New York) was carrying wheat in a storm on Lake Superior when she was driven ashore near Point Maimanse, Ontario and pounded to pieces. Six lives were lost. Three survivors struggled through a terrible cold spell and finally made it to the Soo on Christmas Day.

On 28 Nov 1874, the propeller JOHN PRIDGEON JR was launched at Clark's shipyard in Detroit, Michigan. She was built for Capt. John Pridgeon. Her dimensions were 235 X 36 X 17 feet. The engines of the B F WADE were installed in her.

On 28 Nov 1923, the Detroit & Windsor Ferry Company and Bob-Lo docks were destroyed by a fire cause by an overheated stove in the ferry dock waiting room. The blaze started at 3:00 a.m.

CANADIAN TRANSFER underwent repairs most of Tuesday, 28 Nov 2000, at the Algoma Steel dock at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. She had run aground the previous night in the Canadian channel approaching Algoma Steel. CANADIAN TRANSFER was freed by two Purvis Marine tugs. The vessel suffered a crack or hole in the hull plating about 10 feet from the bottom along its port side.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Max Hanley, Russ Plumb, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. This is a small sample, the books includes many other vessels with a much more detailed history.

History is crumbling on islands
Long-neglected lighthouses lie off Door Peninsula's tip

11/27 - Door County, WI - Pilot Island - This baseball park-sized rock poking from the black waters of Lake Michigan on the edge of the treacherous shipping channel known as Death's Door is as lonely a place as you'll find.

The tip of the Door Peninsula lies maybe 3 miles away, but that popular vacation destination sends no tourists to Pilot Island - this 3.7-acre scrap of federal real estate has been mostly off-limits since it was set aside as a lighthouse station a century and a half ago. U.S. Coast Guard crews abandoned the 19th-century brick lighthouse in the early 1960s, though the automated light atop it still glows, a beacon for sailors trying to pick their way through the hull-cracking shoals and churning currents where the warmer waters of Green Bay mix with a frigid Lake Michigan with sometimes violent consequences.

The most important thing about this island is that it warns people away from itself. That is lonely. That is not to say Pilot Island doesn't have friends. A crew of volunteers frustrated by the collapsing rooftops and rotting exteriors of the lighthouse and its companion foghorn building has long wanted to venture out to the island to paint and patch the cream brick structures before they're too far gone to salvage.

It's the same story on nearby Plum Island, a glorious 325-acre federal preserve of forest and cobblestone beaches that is also home to a 19th-century lighthouse and a lifesaving station. The Coast Guard left Plum Island in the early 1990s.

Federal bureaucrats have spent the better part of two decades pondering what to do with this real estate, which would fetch a fortune on the open market. All the while, the structures on both islands were left mostly on their own to fend off the elements as well as swarms of birds and their loads of corrosive excrement. "It's not something anybody really wants to watch," said Brian Kelsey, executive director of the Door County Maritime Museum.

But that is exactly what the public has been forced to do. For many people these lighthouses that are visible from the mainland are more than just buildings. They are icons of an era when the Great Lakes really were our link to the world. They are our history. "If we let them go," asks Mike Kahr, a Door County dock builder, "what will that say about us in 50 years?"

"This is truly an isolated spot but I have spent five days on Pilot Island and they are among the happiest days of my eventuality . . . On moonlight nights it is like being in a dream of ideality to walk alone on the moss-covered rocks and listen to the swish of the breakers that break over the breakwater (at) the boat landing, hear them roaring on all sides of the little island, and to see huge vessels under full sail crossing the moonglade on their way through the Door. One seems to be completely separated from all that is worldly and bad. There is no field for gossip out here. The land is not suitable for general farming purposes, but it is a splendid place to raise an ample crop of good, pure thoughts." - Sturgeon Bay resident and island visitor Ben Fagg in 1890, courtesy of the Door County Maritime Museum

The Coast Guard pulled its last lighthouse keeper from Pilot Island in the 1960s but has since maintained the automated light. It removed the last of its crew from Plum Island in the early 1990s but continues to operate its two automated lights. With the Coast Guard's departure, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources hoped to turn both islands into a state park.

That plan was scrapped when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service claimed the islands for federal wildlife refuges, a move that makes a lot of sense; Fish and Wildlife already manages some small islands in the area as refuges. But the transfer process has dragged on for more than a decade. Federal bureaucrats worried that leaking fuel tanks from the middle of the last century and flaking lead paint on the buildings posed threats to the environment and human health, and in 2004 the government spent about $800,000 on the cleanup.

The transfer to Fish and Wildlife finally went through last month. That doesn't mean federal help is on the way to restore the dilapidated lighthouses. Fish and Wildlife has no plans to spend any money on them. It couldn't even if it wanted to. The agency's budget to manage islands: zero.

"We knew from the start that there would be no increase in our budget once we took over the islands, and no increase in staff," said Patti Meyers, manager of the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge. "But we still agreed it was extremely important to do this - to protect these islands." Plum and Pilot islands will be managed from the Horicon office, about a four-hour drive from the closest boat ride to the islands.

The islands, meanwhile, remain off-limits to the public without special permission from the Fish and Wildlife Service. Safety is a big reason. The docks are crumbling and landings can be dicey. Portions of the structures are also in danger of collapsing. Meyers said she hopes to work with the newly formed Friends of Plum and Pilot Islands Inc. to see that the buildings are at least stabilized in the short term.

But she has no plans to allow the public out to tiny Pilot Island, which has become a haven for cormorants, a swarming, fish-eating bird that has recovered from near extinction just three decades ago to a booming population of Hitchcockian proportions. She expects to allow limited access on Plum Island, but said because both islands have been largely undeveloped they have become critical refuges, particularly for migrating birds. "They need to have a place to rest and feed and a place free from harassment and development, and these islands provide that," Meyers said.

"I've got to say that life on that island brought me closer to nature . . . I realized that all clouds were once lakes and seas and that a power more miraculous than a young man can imagine devised an invisible energy that could lift them to the heavens, roll them into an ever-changing animation of color and mood and drop them back to earth to not only nourish us, but re-create the soup of life. The solitude was at times boring, but nevertheless revealing." - David Robb, Coast Guard crew member stationed on Plum Island in early 1960s

Now with winter setting in, the race is on to patch the lighthouse roof on Pilot Island before it collapses, as the roof next door on the foghorn building did.

That it has come to this - that people will have to brave the sketchy November waters to do work that could have been done a decade ago - has left some volunteers frustrated, but mostly they just want to get to work. "I'm just hoping now things are going to go forward," said Tim Sweet, who helped form the nonprofit Friends of Plum and Pilot Islands. They'll have to go forward fast.

Sweet said a historic building preservationist who has been to Pilot Island said its foghorn building could still be saved, but it would have to happen soon. Volunteers also hope to put a temporary roof on the lighthouse in the coming weeks before its floors and walls rot any further. Door County dock builder Kahr took a trip out to Pilot Island on Nov. 16 to see what it would take to patch up the island's dock so volunteers could get equipment out to the island.

He just shook his head at a sign warning people of lead paint. "Ridiculous," he said. "How about a warning sign that we've let these buildings fall apart?"

On Plum Island, the once brilliantly white buildings are peeling. The roof on the lighthouse keeper's building was replaced several years ago as an emergency measure, but the old roof has already collapsed through to the floors below. Sweet said it may take decades to actually restore the buildings, and he said he has no idea how much money that will take.

But he isn't worried about the money at the moment. He's worried about shoring up a piece of regional history before it suffers another winter's damage. Sweet said his group has about 75 members, but he is confident more people will join once they learn about - and experience - these stunning, rugged patches of land that have been off-limits for the last century and a half.

"You feel a real connection to the men who were stationed out there," Sweet said. "They had no higher calling. Their purpose was to be out there to rescue people in distress."

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Updates - November 27

News Photo Gallery updated

Today in Great Lakes History - November 27

On 27 November 1860, the wooden bark TORNADO (wooden bark, 333 t, built in 1850 at Kingston, ON as a barge, formerly MARY & INKERMAN) ran ashore in a storm on Lake Ontario near Kingston. All hands were lost. She was recovered and rebuilt as the bark STORK. She was renamed GARROWEN in 1865 and lasted until 1869.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Port Reports - November 26

Menominee - Dick Lund & Scott Best
It was a busy Sunday for the Selvick tug Jimmy L. Around 11 a.m. they departed Menominee and headed out to the Dongeborg to remove the Great Lakes Pilot, who had been aboard for the better part of a week.
They then headed back to Menominee, where later on that afternoon they assisted the Magdalena Green out of Menominee. But, their day wasn't done yet.
After they turned the Magdalena Green around out in the bay of Green Bay, they immediately went to assist the BBC Ontario, which had been anchored in the bay since the night before with a load of windmill blades, into Menominee.

Toronto - Charlie Gibbons
The Canadian Coast Guard Ship Griffon arrived late Friday night and remained in port for the weekend Grey Cup festivities.
Canadian Olympic was in with salt early in the morning and departed around 4 p.m.

Buffalo - Brain Wroblewski
The Manistee was in port on Saturday with sand for the Buffalo Ship Canal. The Lansdowne has been moved from the Bidco Shipyard out to the Cargill Pool Terminal Elevator, taking the place of the Aquarama.

South Chicago/Indiana Harbor - Matt
The Adam E. Cornelius arrived at Indiana Harbor around 3 p.m. Saturday.
At 2:30 p.m. the Algorail finished unloading what looked to be a Salt Cargo at the Chicago Export Dock, near 116th St. and the LTV Steel Coke Ovens Complex. By around 4, it had backed down the Calumet and out into Lake Michigan.

Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey
The tug Invincible and barge McKee Sons called on the Saginaw River on Friday stopping at the Sargent dock in Essexville to unload.
Late on Friday, the CSL Tadoussac called on the Essroc dock in Essexville to unload clinker.
Due to strong winds and low water levels, the Sam Laud was anchored off the Entrance Channel in the Saginaw Bay waiting to come in to unload at the Bay Aggregates dock in Bay City. She was still there as of Sunday.
Sunday afternoon saw the Maumee inbound, calling on the Wirt Stone dock in Bay City. She was expected to be outbound late Sunday night or early Monday morning.

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Updates - November 26

News Photo Gallery updated

Today in Great Lakes History - November 26

On 26 November 1888, the ANNIE P. DORR (wooden propeller tug, 76’, 44 gt, built in 1870 at E. Saginaw, MI) and the JAMES ADAMS (wooden propeller tug, 65’, 40 gt, built in 1882 at Buffalo, NY) went to Dunkirk, New York to release the stranded tug EDWARD MAYTHAM. However a severe gale and snow storm blew in and prevented the two tugs from entering the harbor. The DORR sprang a leak and foundered in about 30 minutes. With great difficulty, her crew were taken aboard the ADAMS.

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.

On 26 November 1856, CHEROKEE (2-mast wooden schooner, 103 foot, 204 tons, built in 1849, at Racine, Wisconsin) foundered in a gale 7 miles south of Manistee, Michigan on Lake Michigan. All aboard (estimates range from ten to fourteen persons) were lost.

The U.S.C.G.C. MESQUITE departed Charlevoix and locked through the Soo on November 26, 1989, to begin SUNDEW's normal buoy tending duties on Lake Superior.

The ELIZABETH HINDMAN was launched November 26, 1920, as a.) GLENCLOVA (Hull#9) at Midland, Ontario by Midland Shipbuilding Co. Ltd.

On 26 November 1872, the steamer GEO W REYNOLDS burned at 1 o'clock in the morning at the dock in Bay City. The fire supposedly originated in the engine room. She was owned by A. English of East Saginaw.

On 26 November 1853, ALBANY (wooden side wheel passenger/package freight, 202 foot, 669 tons, built in 1846, at Detroit, Michigan) was carrying passengers and miscellaneous cargo in a storm on Lake Huron.. She was making for the shelter of Presque Isle harbor when the gale drove her over a bar. Her crew and 200 passengers came ashore in her boats. Plans were made to haul her back across the bar when another storm wrecked her. Her boiler and most of her machinery were recovered the following year.

LAKE BREEZE (wooden propeller, 122 foot, 301 gross tons, built in 1868, at Toledo, Ohio) burned at her dock in Leamington, Ontario on 26 November 1878. One man perished in the flames. She was raised in 1880, but the hull was deemed worthless. Her machinery and metal gear were removed in 1881, and sold to an American company.

The ANN ARBOR NO 5 (steel carferry, 359 foot, 2,988 gross tons) was launched by the Toledo Ship Building Company (Hull #118) on 26 Nov 1910. She was the first carferry to be built with a sea gate, as a result of the sinking of the PERE MARQUETTE 18 in September of 1910.

On 26 Nov 1881, JANE MILLER (wooden propeller passenger-package freight "coaster", 78 foot, 210 gross tons, built in 1878, at Little Current, Ontario) departed Meaford, Ontario for Wiarton-- sailing out into the teeth of a gale and was never seen again. All 30 aboard were lost. She probably sank near the mouth of Colpoy's Bay in Georgian Bay. She had serviced the many small ports on the inside coast of the Bruce Peninsula.

HIRAM W SIBLEY (wooden propeller freighter, 221 foot, 1,419 gross tons, built in 1890, at E. Saginaw, Michigan) was carrying 70,000 bushels of corn from Chicago for Detroit. On 26 Nov 1898, she stranded on the northwest corner of South Manitou Island in Lake Michigan during blizzard. (Some sources say this occurred on 27 November.) The tugs PROTECTOR and SWEEPSTAKES were dispatched for assistance but the SIBLEY re-floated herself during the following night and then began to sink again. She was put ashore on South Fox Island to save her but she broke in half; then completely broke up during a gale on 7 December 1898.

During the early afternoon of 26 Nov 1999, the LOUIS R DESMARAIS suffered an engine room fire while sailing in the western section of Lake Ontario. Crews onboard the DESMARAIS put out the fire and restarted her engines. The DESMARAIS proceeded to the Welland canal where she was inspected by both U.S. and Canadian investigators. No significant damage was noted and the vessel was allowed to proceed.

Port Reports - November 25

Toledo - Bob Vincent
The Canadian Enterprise finished loading around 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the CSX Coal Dock. Next coal boat will be the Tug Salvor, due Monday at 11 a.m.
On the ore side, Torco will have the Atlantic Erie coming from Port Cartier due Tuesday around 7 p.m. Next ore boat will be the CSL Assiniboine due Friday coming from Seven Islands.
At the Midwest Terminal of Toledo Stone Dock, the Canadian Navigator was due Saturday at 8 p.m.

Alpena and Stoneport - Ben & Chanda McClain
The Alpena was in port Saturday morning loading under the silos at Lafarge. Once the Alpena left, the tug G. L. Ostrander and barge Integrity came in to take on product. The Integrity was outbound in the bay around 2 p.m.
A Purvis Marine tug and barge were seen anchored out in the bay, waiting out the weather. The Durocher tug Ray D is tied up in the small boat harbor.

At Stoneport, the Earl W unloaded dolomite early Saturday morning and then took on stone at the dock as well.
The McKee Sons was expected to load sometime during the night, after the Earl W departs.

Updates - November 25

News Photo Gallery updated

Today in Great Lakes History - November 25

On 25 November 1908, while being towed by the WALTER VAIL (wooden propeller freighter, 200’, 726 gt, built in 1890 at W. Bay City, MI), the BERWYN (wooden schooner, 128’, 269 gt, built in 1866 at Algonac, MI, formerly R. C. CRAWFORD & CAPT. GEORGE W. NAUGHTIN) was caught by a sudden gale and stranded on a reef about two miles from Pilot Island Light on Lake Michigan. She was pounded to pieces by the waves. No lives were lost.

In 1890, the WESTERN RESERVE delivered a record cargo of 95,488 bushels of wheat from Duluth to Buffalo.

In 1913, the schooner ROUSE SIMMONS, Captain August Schueneman, departed Thompson Harbor with a load of fresh cut Christmas trees bound for Chicago. Somewhere between Kewaunee and Two Rivers, the SIMMONS was lost with all hands.

On 25 November 1857, ANTELOPE (wooden schooner, 220 tons, built in 1854, at Port Robinson, Ontario) was driven ashore by a gale near St. Joseph, Michigan. Five lives were lost. She was recovered the next year and rebuilt.

INCAN SUPERIOR was withdrawn from service after completing 2,386 trips between Thunder Bay and Superior and on November 25, 1992, she passed down bound at Sault Ste. Marie for service on the Canadian West Coast. Renamed PRINCESS SUPERIOR in 1993.

ROBERT C STANLEY was laid up for the last time November 25, 1981, at the Tower Bay Slip, Superior, Wisconsin. She was scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey in 1989.

CITY OF MILWAUKEE (Hull#261) was launched November 25, 1930, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. She was sponsored by Mrs. Walter J. Wilde, wife of the collector of customs at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She entered service in January of 1931.

On 25 November 1866, F W BACKUS (wooden propeller, 133 foot, 289 tons, built in 1846, at Amherstburg, Ontario) was carrying hay, horses and cattle off Racine, Wisconsin. She was run to the beach when it was discovered that she was on fire. Her crew and passengers disembarked. The tug DAISY LEE towed her out while she was still burning, intending to scuttle her, but the towline burned through and she drifted back to shore and burned to the waterline. Her live cargo was pushed overboard while she was still well out and they swam to shore.

On 25 November 1874, WILLIAM SANDERSON (wooden schooner, 136 foot, 385 gross tons, built in 1853, at Oswego, New York) was carrying wheat in a storm on Lake Michigan when she foundered. The broken wreck washed ashore off Empire, Michigan near Sleeping Bear. She was owned by Scott & Brown of Detroit.

During a storm on 25 November 1895, MATTIE C BELL (wooden schooner, 181 foot, 769 gross tons, built in 1882, at E. Saginaw, Michigan) was in tow of the steamer JIM SHERRIFS on Lake Michigan. The schooner stranded at Big Summer Island, was abandoned in place and later broke up. No lives were lost.

On 25 Nov 1947, the CAPTAIN JOHN ROEN was renamed c.) ADAM E CORNELIUS by the American Steamship Co. in 1958, CORNELIUS was renamed d.) CONSUMERS POWER. Eventually sold to Erie Sand, she was scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan in 1988. Built in 1927, as a.) GEORGE M HUMPHERY.

On 25 Nov 1905, the JOSEPH G BUTLER, JR (steel straight-deck bulk freighter, 525 foot, 6,588 gross tons) entered service, departing Lorain, Ohio for Duluth on her maiden voyage. The vessel was damaged in a severe storm on that first crossing of Lake Superior, but she was repaired and had a long career. She was renamed DONALD B GILLIES in 1935, and GROVEDALE in 1963. She was sunk as a dock in Hamilton in 1973, and finally sold for scrap in 1981.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Max Hanley, Jody Aho, Russ plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. This is a small sample, the books includes many other vessels with a much more detailed history. Please e-mail if you would like to contribute a significant event in Great Lakes history.

Jiimaan Caught by fishermen

11/24 - Kingsville, Ont. - The Jiimaan ferry to Pelee Island is out of service after one of its propellers got caught in a fishing net in Lake Erie, causing an engine shut down Wednesday afternoon as the vessel attempted to dock in Kingsville with 21 passengers on board.

The Owen Sound Transportation Company (OSTC), which runs the ferry service, sent divers to examine the damage Thursday. They determined that a fishing net became entangled in a propeller, causing the shafts to seize. As a result, the port engine shut down and the ferry ran aground as the captain attempted to manoeuvre it, said OSTC general manager Susan Schrempf.

"(The fishing nets) are a huge problem," she said Thursday. "Sometimes the local fishermen leave the nets where they're not supposed to be, or they drift into the channel in the wind."

It was windy when the Jiimaan left Pelee Island at 4 p.m. Wednesday with 14 vehicles and 21 passengers on board, including Township of Pelee Mayor Rick Masse. The ferry was scheduled to dock in Kingsville at 5:30 p.m., but got into trouble around 5:25 p.m., Schrempf said. "When the port engine shut down, the captain had to back out, but while trying to back away, he went into the ground," she said.

Because of the way the dock is configured in Kingsville, it was impossible to dock without use of the port engine. The captain had to decide whether he would request a tugboat or attempt to dock in Leamington, where he could dock using only the starboard engine.

Eventually, the decision was made to steer the vessel toward Leamington, using the working propeller and the starboard engine. The wind was also blowing the ferry in that direction. By 8:30 p.m. the Jiimaan docked in Leamington and all the passengers were on the ground.

"We're very happy that no one was injured," Schrempf said, adding that the cost of repairing Jiimaan will be "significant." "There was never any risk (to the passengers)," the Pelee mayor said. "Just the inconvenience of waiting a couple of hours."

A local commercial fisherman, who did not want to give his name, said most fishermen follow the charts outlining the ferry's path and never put their nets in the channel. "It's not in our interest to do that. It's a loss to us when the nets get cut up," he said, adding that it's possible the Jiimaan steered from its usual path because of the gusting winds.

Schrempf said the Pelee Islander, a smaller ferry, will now transport passengers to and from the island. She said the Jiimaan was supposed to be out of service for the season a week ago, but it kept running because of a late harvest season on Pelee Island. The Jiimaan was needed to transport crop-carrying trucks which cannot fit on the smaller ferry.

One truck remains on the island and Schrempf said alternative plans are being made to bring it and its load to the mainland.

From The Windsor Star

Antarctic cruise ship evacuated and sinks

11/24 - Shetland Islands - One hundred passengers and crew have been rescued from a stricken tourist ship after it hit ice off Antarctica. The M/S Explorer was listing at 30 degrees close to the South Shetland Islands, in the Antarctic Ocean. The vessels eventually sank late Friday.

Susan Hayes, of Gap Adventures, which owns the ship, said 91 passengers and nine crew members were evacuated to lifeboats and then to another ship. The firm said 23 Britons, 17 Dutch, 10 Australians, 13 Americans and 10 Canadians were among the passengers. The remaining nationalities of the rescued tourists are Irish, Danish, Swiss, Belgian, Japanese, French, German and Chinese, said the Toronto-based tour company.

Earlier reports suggested 154 people were on board but the tour company said that figure was the vessel's maximum capacity. All passengers and crew were transferred to a Norwegian cruise ship, the Nordnorge.

The BBC's Daniel Schweimler in Buenos Aires says they are on their way to port in Ushuaia, on Argentina's southern tip, from where they disembarked on 11 November for a 19-day cruise through the Drake Passage. The captain and the chief officer abandoned the Explorer after initially remaining on board to pump water.

The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said it was informed at 0524 GMT on Friday of the incident involving the 2,400-tonne vessel. The expedition ship ran into trouble approximately 120km (75 miles) north of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Ms Hayes, vice-president of marketing for Gap Adventures, told the BBC News website: "The M/S Explorer has been evacuated after it hit a lump of ice off King George Island this morning. "All passengers and crew are safe and well and they have now been transferred to a Norwegian cruise ship. "The hull has a hole the size of a fist and the outlook is not so positive for the ship at the moment."

Gap Adventures said the ship was listing at 30 degrees and that pumps were being used to stop the ship sinking. The rescue operation was coordinated by the Ushuaia coastguard.

The 19-day cruise costs around $11,600 (£5,630), not including international flights.

Coastguards said the weather conditions were good for this time of year, though the average temperature is still -5C.

From BBC News

Port Reports - November 24

Milwaukee - John N. Vogel
Late Friday morning the Annalisa, a general cargo carrier from Germany, and Polsteam's Isolda were docked at the Municipal Piers in the outer harbor. At the same time the St. Mary's Challenger was berthed at its dock on the Kinnickinnic River discharging cement.

Toronto - Charlie Gibbons
Algosteel departed the Redpath Sugar dock at 6:30 Friday morning, making way for the saltie Miltiades, which arrived at 10 a.m. along with the tugs LaPrairie and Omni Richelieu. The tugs departed for Hamilton after assisting the saltie into the slip.
The tug M. R. Kane got underway with Verendrye in tow at 1 p.m., bound for the drydock at Ramey's Bend in the Welland Canal.
Tour boat Obsession III remained on Toronto Drydock undergoing its 5 year inspection. It is slated to come off the dock on Monday next, with one of the island ferries next in line for drydocking the same day.
The Sonderholm tug Diver III and barge Y & F No. 1 were engaged in retaining wall reconstruction at the foot of Spadina Ave.

Dongeborg Correction

11/24 - The Wagenborg Shipping vessel Dongeborg, which had been previously reported to be grounded near Chambers Island in the bay of Green Bay, it now believed to be at anchor.

Usually reliable sources indicate that the vessel may be waiting on repair parts of some sort.

No tug activity has been seen around the ship, which has been in the same location since Tuesday. Normally, a grounded vessel would seek assistance from local tugs. It has also been noted that the Dongeborg's heading has changed with the wind direction, which is another indicator she is not aground.

Eatery in same boat as taxpayers.

11/24 - Toronto - You can't escape Toronto's property taxes by running away to sea, the owners of Captain John's waterfront restaurant have discovered.

The floating restaurant appealed to the courts, saying it shouldn't be assessed for property taxes because of its unusual situation. But Justice Laurence Arthur Pattillo scuppered the application, saying the Municipal Property Assessment Corp. has the right to assess the eatery so the city can levy taxes.

Captain John's is housed in the M.S. Jadran, a 90-metre former cruise ship. It has been moored at the foot of Yonge St. for three decades, paying a $2,250 monthly fee to the port authority and taxes to the city. The case hinged in part on a complex argument over an apparently simple word. The Assessment Act says "real property" – which can be assessed for taxes – includes "all structures" on the property.

Captain John's lawyer, Jeff G. Cowan, argued the Jadran is not a "structure" under the act. He pointed to a ruling by British jurist Lord Denning in 1925 that "a structure is something which is constructed, but not everything which is constructed is a structure. A ship, for instance, is constructed, but it is not a structure." Some objects that are constructed are merely "in the nature of a structure" without actually being one, Denning ruled. A structure, he said, is built from component parts and "intended to remain permanently on a permanent foundation."

Since the Jadran doesn't rest on a foundation, it remains a ship and not a structure, Cowan argued. That means it's not real property and can't be assessed. But Denning's definition doesn't apply in this case, Pattillo ruled.

The crucial question is whether the ship is intended to remain permanently where it is. The Jadran has been moored since 1975, he noted; it has water, sewer and electricity connections. "Although it still has engines, they have not been operated since November 1975. It cannot leave its location to cruise or travel without assistance."

Pattillo also rejected the argument that, because the Jadran sits on water, it doesn't occupy the land beneath it. That's not the case, he ruled. Moreover, the ship occupies almost the entire slip it holds under licence from the port authority: "There is no way anyone or anything could occupy the property in addition to the Jadran."

No decision has been made whether to appeal the judgment. John Letnik, who owns Captain John's, couldn't be reached for comment.

From the Toronto Star

Updates - November 24

News Photo Gallery updated

Today in Great Lakes History - November 24

At 1600 hours on 24 November 1871, the HURON (wooden side-wheel passenger-package freight steamer, 167’, 445 gt, built in 1852 at Newport [Marine City], MI) broke a cylinder off Lexington, Michigan on Lake Huron. While waiting for help, she was struck during the night by the ELIZA R. TURNER (3-mast wooden schooner, 153’, 409 gt, built in 1867 at Trenton, MI) which was being towed by the tug KATE MOFFAT (wooden propeller tug, 106’, 235 gt, built in 1864 at Port Huron, MI). The TURNER’s masts were carried away in the collision and the HURON’s port side planks and rails were smashed. Neither vessel sank and both were repaired.

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.

On 24 November 1945, SCOTT E LAND (steel propeller C4-S-A4 cargo ship, 496 foot, 10,654 gross tons) was launched at Kaiser Corporation (Hull #520) in Vancouver, Washington for the U.S. Maritime Commission. She was converted to a straight-deck bulk freighter at Baltimore, Maryland in 1951, and renamed TROY H BROWNING. In 1955, she was renamed THOMAS F PATTON. After serving on the Great Lakes, she was scrapped in Karachi, Pakistan in 1981.

On November 24, 1990, the KINSMAN INDEPENDENT ran hard aground off of Isle Royale. The vessel was on its way to load grain in Thunder Bay, Ontario when she ended up 25 miles off course. The damage to the vessel was nearly $2 million, and she was repaired at Thunder Bay before the start of the 1991 season. Built in 1952, as a.) CHARLES L HUTCHINSON, renamed b.) ERNEST R BREECH in 1962, c.) KINSMAN INDEPENDENT in 1988. Sold Canadian, renamed d.) VOYAGEUR INDEPENDENT in 2005.

On November 24, 1950, while bound for South Chicago with iron ore, the ENDERS M VOORHEES collided with the up bound steamer ELTON HOYT II (now the ST MARYS CHALLENGER) in the Straits of Mackinac during a blinding snow storm. Both vessels received such serious bow damage that they had to be beached near Mc Gulpin Point west of Mackinaw City to avoid sinking.

The ROSEMOUNT stored with coal, inadvertently sank alongside CSL's Century Coal Dock at Montreal, Quebec on November 24, 1934.

Paterson's PRINDOC (Hull#657) was launched November 24, 1965, at Lauzon, Quebec by Davie Shipbuilding Co. Ltd..

November 24, 1892 - The ANN ARBOR NO 1 ran aground on her first trip just north of the Kewaunee harbor.

On 24 Nov 1881, LAKE ERIE (wooden propeller canaller, 136 foot, 464 gross tons, built in 1873, at St, Catharine's, Ontario) collided with the steamer NORTHERN QUEEN in fog and a blizzard near Poverty Island by the mouth of Green Bay. LAKE ERIE sank in one hour 40 minutes. NORTHERN QUEEN took aboard the crew but one man was scalded and died before reaching Manistique.

The CITY OF SAGINAW 31 entered service in 1931.

On 24 November 1905, ARGO (steel propeller passenger/package freight, 174 foot, 1,089 tons, built in 1896, at Detroit, Michigan) dropped into a trough of a wave, hit bottom and sank in relatively shallow water while approaching the harbor at Holland, Michigan. 38 passengers and crew were taken off by breeches' buoy in a thrilling rescue by the U.S. Lifesaving Service.

NEPTUNE (wooden propeller, 185 foot, 774 gross tons, built in 1856, at Buffalo, New York) was laid up at East Saginaw, Michigan on 24 November 1874, when she was discovered to be on fire at about 4:00 a.m. She burned to a total loss.

The ANN ARBOR NO 1 left Frankfort for Kewaunee on November 24, 1892. Because of the reluctance of shippers to trust their products on this new kind of ferry it was difficult to find cargo for this first trip. Finally, a fuel company which sold coal to the railroad routed four cars to Kewaunee via the ferry.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Max Hanley, Jody Aho, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II, The Marine Historical Society of Detroit and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series.

Lake levels up for foreseeable future

11/22 - Houghton - Heavy precipitation will keep Lake Superior’s monthly average water levels out of the record book for the foreseeable future.

“Based on the new forecast we did (this month), it looks like we’re going to stay at least a few inches above the record lows at least until April and that’s due primarily to the rain that fell in September and October,” said Keith Kompoltowicz, a meteorologist with the Army Corps of Engineers Detroit office. However, water levels remain well below average, he said.

The surface of the lake was at 600.9 feet above mean sea level, Sunday, down slightly from October’s monthly average of 600.98 feet above mean sea level. “Since the beginning of September the lake rose quite dramatically due to all the rain during the months of September and October the Lake Superior basin received well over 10 inches of rain and the lake level responded by rising quite a bit during that same time frame,” Kompoltowicz said.

September was the wettest month on record at Houghton County Memorial Airport with 11.24 inches of total precipitation. October followed as the wettest October on record with precipitation totalling 6.83 inches.

September still set a record low monthly average lake level of 600.46 feet above mean sea level, following an August that set a record low of 600.43 feet. Most of the rain that fell in September came in the latter portion of the month.

“The heaviest rainfall fell from about the 21st of September right through October,” Kompoltowicz said. And it didn’t percolate fast enough to keep the monthly average lake level from setting a record low. “It takes time before it will really show up, for that runoff to get into the lake,” said Kevin Crupi, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Marquette.

Whether rainfall impacts the level of the lake depends on a number of factors. “If you get a large amount of rain falling directly on the lake you’ll see the levels start to climb a little bit quicker,” Kompoltowicz said. “Lake Superior is such a large body of water, too. Maybe you’ll get a cell sitting over one part of the lake and the rest of the lake won’t be getting that rainfall.”

Still, Superior’s water levels rebounded about eight inches in a one-month span ending Oct. 21. Kompoltowicz said the increase was enough to elevate lake levels above the record threshold.

So far, November hasn’t been out-of-the-ordinary for precipitation at the airport. As of this morning, Crupi said, 0.75 inches of liquid-equivalent precipitation had fallen in the month. That included 3 inches of snow. Painesdale had recorded 9.5 inches of snow and 1.35 inches of total, water-equivalent precipitation by this morning.

Crupi said the September and October rainfall also eliminated the Western U.P.’s long-term drought. “In that two-month period, you’ve gotten enough precipitation to wipe out that extreme drought condition,” Crupi said. “Basically, we’re just down to being abnormally dry over the Western U.P. for the year.”

From the Marquette Mining Gazette

Port Reports - November 23

Toronto - Clive Reddin and Charlie Gibbons
Algosteel was in Toronto Harbour to off load sugar at the Redpath sugar refinery Wednesday night, and continues into Thursday.
The tug M. R. Kane returned to port at 11:30 p.m. Thursday from Whitby. The Kane will pick up the ex-Coast Guard buoy tender Verendrye, which has been idle at Toronto since 1995, on Friday, and tow it to the drydock at Ramey's Bend.

Cheboygan - Jon Paul
The tug Michigan and barge Great Lakes arriving from Whiting, IN spent Thanksgiving Day unloading their cargo of gasoline at the BP Tank Facility.

Menominee - Dick Lund
After spending the night at anchor out in the bay of Green Bay, the Magdalena Green headed into Menominee at first light on Thanksgiving Day in some fairly strong winds. The Selvick tug Jimmy L assisted.
The Dongeborg remains grounded, out near Chambers Island in the bay, were she has been since Tuesday morning..

Two Minnesota divers make Lake Michigan history

11/22 - Two Minnesota divers made history when they visited the site of a Lake Michigan shipwreck that claimed 33 lives.

After two local divers, John Janzen and John Scoles, met the last remaining survivor of a 1950s Lake Michigan shipwreck, they knew they had to dive to the site about 370 feet below the surface. In 2004 at a diving and shipwreck show in Minneapolis, Janzen of Champlin and Scoles of Farmington met Frank Mays, who was 26 when the freighter Carl D. Bradley sank on Nov. 18, 1958. "For me, it was meeting Frank that really was the inspiration," Janzen said.

This August, Scoles and Janzen retrieved the ship's original bell and replaced it with an honorary bell engraved with the names of the 33 crew members who died. Most of the sailors were from the ship's home port of Rogers City, Mich. "The main reason we did it is for the family members, hoping it would bring some comfort and closure," Scoles said.

Mays, who now lives in Florida, was one of only two people who survived by clinging to a lifeboat during the storm that claimed the ship. He has gone out on Lake Michigan with Scoles and Janzen on several of their dives, including the most recent one when they retrieved the bell. "I hadn't seen the bell in 49 years and all of a sudden, it pops up," Mays said. "I thought it would never happen after the Bradley went down."

For the divers, exploring the Carl D. Bradley wreck is not a responsibility they take lightly. Few people have been to the site because of its depth. After seeking permission from Michigan government agencies, Scoles and Janzen became the first divers to reach the stern of the wreck. "It's easily the most rewarding thing I've done and the most stressful because there were a lot of things that could have gone wrong," Janzen said. "I didn't want to lose the bell because that would be blasphemous. If you drop it, it's gone."

The two divers planned how to retrieve the bell for several months, including creating their own portable battery system to operate the underwater torch needed to detach the bell and doing several practice dives in Wisconsin's Wazee Lake. They did separate dives to remove the original bell and attach the replacement bell. "The bell is the soul of the ship," Scoles said. "You can't just take the real bell off the ship and not put anything back."

The original bell was given to the Great Lakes Lore Maritime Museum in Rogers City, where the director, David Erickson, restored it and will ring it for the first time at the 50th anniversary of the sinking next year. He said some family members of the Bradley crew still live in Rogers City. "It's home is here in Rogers City where all the families of the crew members live," he said. "It's 50 years ago, but there are still a lot of them who lost fathers and brothers. It's just like it happened yesterday."

Janzen and Scoles agreed to dive mainly around the outside of the 600-plus-foot ship and enter only a few designated rooms -- out of respect for the crew members' remains likely still in the wreck.

Mays said he is glad other people are interested in preserving the history of the ship. He wrote a book, "If We Make It 'Til Daylight," that documents his experience the night of the shipwreck. "What happened that night, every detail, is burned in my mind," he said. "I'll never forget it." He said he was glad that Janzen and Scoles were able to bring up the bell so the crew members' families could have a memorial to the lost sailors.

"It's the ship that time forgot, and it's about time it's brought back into being," Mays said.

From the Minneapolis Star Tribune

Updates - November 23

News Photo Gallery updated

Special Calumet Last Trip Gallery updated

Today in Great Lakes History - November 23

At 2350 hours on 23 November 1923, the JOHN A. DONALDSON (steel propeller bulk freighter, 400’, 4315 gt, built in 1908 at Lorain, OH) was being towed through the Louisiana Street Bridge in Buffalo, New York. However, when the captain saw that the DONALDSON was not going to make the draw, he ordered full back and fetched up against the abutment of the bridge, doing considerable damage. Repairs cost $5,959.64.

In 1940, the CONSUMERS POWER, a.) HARRY YATES of 1910, collided with the MARITANA on the Detroit River. The MARITANA sustained $11,089.91 in damage. MARITANA was scrapped at Hamilton, Ontario in 1947.

On 23 November 1863, BAY OF QUINTE (wooden schooner, 250 tons, built in 1853, at Bath, Ontario) was carrying 7,500 bushels of wheat to Toronto when she was driven ashore on Salmon Point on Lake Ontario and wrecked. No lives were lost.

On 23 November 1882, the schooner MORNING LIGHT (wooden schooner, 256 tons, built in 1857, at Cleveland, Ohio) was sailing from Manistee for Chicago with a load of lumber when a storm drove her aground off Claybanks, south of Stony Lake, Michigan. One crewman swam to shore, the rest were saved by a lifesaving crew, local fishermen and the tug B W ALDRICH. Earlier that same year, she sank near St. Helen Island in the Straits of Mackinac. She was salvaged and put back in service, but she only lasted a few months.

After discharging her cargo, the SAMUEL MATHER, launched as a.) PILOT KNOB b.) FRANK ARMSTRONG (1943-73), proceeded to De Tour, Michigan laying up for the last time at the Pickands Mather Coal Dock on November 23, 1981. She was scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey in 1988.

In 1987, the self-unloader ROGERS CITY was towed out of Menominee, Michigan for scrapping in Brazil.

STADACONA's sea trials were completed on November 23, 1952, and was delivered to Canada Steamship Lines the next day.

On 23 November 1872, Capt. W. B. Morley launched the propeller JARVIS LORD at Marine City, Michigan. Her dimensions were 193 feet X 33 feet X 18 feet, 1,000 tons. She was the first double decker built at Marine City. Her engine was from Wm. Cowie of Detroit.

On 23 November 1867, S A CLARK (wooden propeller tug, 12 tons, built in 1863, at Buffalo, New York) was in Buffalo's harbor when her boiler exploded and she sank.

November 23, 1930 - The Ann Arbor carferry WABASH grounded in Betsie Lake. She bent her rudder stock and her steering engine was broken up.

On 23 November 1853, the wooden schooner PALESTINE was bound from Kingston to Cleveland with railroad iron at about the same time as the like-laden schooner ONTONAGON. Eight miles west of Rochester, New York, both vessels ran ashore, were pounded heavily by the waves and sank. Both vessels reported erratic variations in their compasses. The cargoes were removed and ONTONAGON was pulled free on 7 December, but PALESTINE was abandoned. A similar event happened with two other iron-laden vessels a few years previously at the same place.

On 23 November 1853, the Ward Line's wooden side-wheeler HURON struck an unseen obstruction in the Saginaw River and sank. She was raised on 12 December 1853, towed to Detroit and repaired at a cost of $12,000. She was then transferred to Lake Michigan to handle the cross-lake traffic given the Ward Line by the Michigan Central Railroad. The carferry GRAND HAVEN was sold to the West India Fruit & Steamship Co., Norfolk, Virginia in 1946, and was brought down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, Louisiana for reconditioning before reaching Port Everglades and the Port of Palm Beach, Florida. She was brought back to the Lakes and locked up bound through the Welland Canal on 23 Nov 1964. She was intended for roll on/roll off carrier service to haul truck trailers laden with steel coils from Stelco's plant at Hamilton, Ont.

The CSL NIAGARA a.) J W McGIFFIN, passed Port Huron, Michigan on 23 Nov 1999, on her way to Thunder Bay to load grain. This was her first trip to the upper lakes since the vessel was re-launched as a SeawayMax carrier in June 1999.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Max Hanley, Russ Plumb, Steve Haverty, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. This is a small sample, the books includes many other vessels with a much more detailed history.

USCGC Mackinaw prepares to spread Christmas cheer

11/22 - Cheboygan - More than 1,050 Christmas trees were loaded aboard the stern deck of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw on Monday in preparation for Sunday's trip to Chicago as the Christmas Tree Ship. The new icebreaker/buoy tender is carrying on a tradition resurrected in 2000 by its predecessor, the original Mackinaw. This is the second year that the new vessel has performed the honorary duty.

Under leaden skies and 36-degree temperatures, the trees were loaded from the parking lot up the ship's ladder in a relay by ship's officers and crew, families of crewmembers and the Ogemaw Heights High School Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets. The Christmas greenery 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.

“We'll be decommissioning the big buoys again this time,” said Cmdr. John Little of the Mackinaw. “There are a couple of NOAA weather buoys that we'll be bringing back, and they are huge.”

Two hundred trees were presented to the Salvation Army in Cheboygan, which accepted them along with local police and fire departments for distribution to deserving resident families. The trees were purchased from Cheboygan-area tree growers by Chicago's Christmas Tree Ship committee. The annual event is a culmination of efforts by the Chicago Christmas Tree Ship Committee, working together with the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, the Sea Partners Program, Chicago Navy Pier, and the generous boaters of the marine community to help make Christmas special for deserving Chicago families.

Cmdr. Michael Clift said his 16 Ogemaw Heights cadets were picked from a corps of 96 members at a high school with a student population of more than 900. Four adults with the group also lended a hand in the work detail. “Our part of this legacy is to be the stevedores for this operation,” Clift grinned as an icy sleet fell. “This is our fourth year doing it and our kids have a ball.”

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 Sunday. The Mackinaw will be open for public tours in Chicago.

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 in early December, Little said

By Mike Fornes for the Cheboygan Daily Tribune

Port Reports - November 22

Menominee - Dick Lund
The Dongeborg ran aground near Chambers Island in the bay of Green Bay as it headed for Menominee with a load of wood pulp on Tuesday. It was still aground on Wednesday.
The Magdalena Green arrived in the bay of Green Bay off Menominee and went to anchor because of weather. The ship is carrying a load of windmill parts.

Alpena and Stoneport - Ben & Chanda McClain
On Tuesday afternoon the American Courage was seen backing into Lafarge, to likely unload a coal cargo.
Later that night, the Steamer Alpena returned from Superior, WI and loaded cement under the silos. Its next destination was Green Bay, WI.

At Stoneport on Tuesday the tug Victory and barge Lewis J. Kuber unloaded dolomite at the dock and then later took on stone.
The Pathfinder followed the Kuber and finished its load Wednesday morning.
Also taking on cargo Wednesday was the John G. Munson, which tied up before 11 a.m.

Crew member passes away aboard freighter near Marblehead

11/22 - Port Clinton, OH - A freighter crewman went into cardiac arrest and died Wednesday aboard his vessel that was docking near the U.S. Coast Guard, Marblehead Station, an official said.

The 54-year-old man, who was not identifed, stopped breathing while aboard the freighter, David Z, said Petty Officer Bryan Kaseman of the Marblehead station.

Workers aboard the vessel unsuccessfully performed CPR, and the Coast Guard sent two boats to carry the man to the shore, where Marblehead Emergency Medical Service workers were waiting, Kaseman said. They were unable to revive him, Kaseman said.

The freighter had been docking at the LaFarge North America stone quarry, he said.

From the Port Clinton News Herald

Updates - November 22

News Photo Gallery updated

Special Calumet Last Trip Gallery updated

Today in Great Lakes History - November 22

On 22 November 1906, the CHARLES B. HILL (wooden propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 252’, 1731 gt, built in 1878 at Cleveland, OH, formerly DELAWARE) was sailing from Buffalo, New York to Fairport, Ohio with the barge COMMODORE in tow, both carrying hard coal. She dropped the barge in a gale then she stranded off North Madison, Ohio. By the following Spring, the HILL had broken up. No lives were lost.

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.

On 22 November 1860, WABASH VALLEY (wooden propeller, 592 tons, built in 1856, at Buffalo, New York) was caught in a blizzard and gale off Muskegon, Michigan on Lake Michigan. Her skipper thought they were off Grand Haven and as he steamed to the harbor, visibility dropped to near zero. The vessel ran onto the beach. Her momentum and the large storm waves carried her well up onto the beach where she broke in two. Her machinery was salvaged and went into the new steamer SUNBEAM.

Scrapping of the SPRUCEGLEN, a.) WILLIAM K FIELD was completed on November 22, 1986, by Lakehead Scrap Metal Co. at Thunder Bay Ontario. The SPRUCEGLEN was the last Canadian coal-fired bulker.

Cleveland Cliffs steamer FRONTENAC while in ballast sustained major structural damage from grounding on Pellet Reef attempting to enter Silver Bay, Minnesota at 2140 hours on November 22, 1979.

On 22 November 1869, CREAM CITY (3-mast wooden bark, 629 tons, built in 1862, at Sheboygan, Wisconsin) was carrying wheat in a gale when she lost her way and went ashore on Drummond Island. She appeared to be only slightly damaged, but several large pumps were unable to lower the water in her hull. She was finally abandoned as a total wreck on 8 December. She was built as a "steam bark" with an engine capable of pushing her at 5 or 6 mph. After two months of constant minor disasters, this was considered an unsuccessful experiment and the engine was removed.

The CITY OF MILWAUKEE was chartered to the Ann Arbor Railroad Co. and started the Frankfort, Michigan-Kewaunee, Wisconsin service for them on November 22, 1978.

November 22, 1929 - The CITY OF SAGINAW 31 went out on her sea trials.

On 22 November 1860, CIRCASSIAN (wooden schooner, 135 foot, 366 tons, built in 1856, at Irving, New York) was carrying grain in a gale and blizzard on Lake Michigan when she stranded on White Shoals near Beaver Island. She sank to her decks and then broke in two. Her crew was presumed lost, but actually made it to Hog Island in the blizzard and they were not rescued from there for two weeks.

A final note from the Big Gale of 1879. On 22 November 1879, The Port Huron Times reported, "The barge DALTON is still high and dry on the beach at Point Edward."

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Max Hanley, Russ Plumb, Steve Haverty and Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series.

Port Reports - November 21

Port Colborne -
Calumet was moved Tuesday afternoon to the south scrapping berth at International Salvage, the tugs Vigilant and Seahound assisted.
Federal Seto was at wharf 18-2 possibly with another coke cargo. The Algosteel is stopped at Wharf 16 and Innovation is downbound in the canal at 3 p.m. on a rare visit.

Buffalo - Dan Sweeley
John J. Boland was unloading stone at the Gateway terminal in Lackawanna, NY on Tuesday.

Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey
The tug Karen Andrie and her tank barge departed the SEM Materials dock in Essexville on Monday after arriving there to unload early Sunday morning.
Inbound on Monday was the tug Undaunted and barge Pere Marquette 41. The pair traveled upriver to the Buena Vista dock in Saginaw to unload before coming back downriver for the lake Tuesday morning.
The American Mariner was inbound Tuesday night, calling on the Consumers Energy dock in Essexville to unload coal. She was expected to be outbound late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

Goderich - Jacob Smith
On Tuesday the salty BBC Ems was into port, loading at the elevators on a damp, warm day.

Milwaukee - Paul Erspamer
Cement carrier Integrity and its tug G. L. Ostrander entered Milwaukee's inner harbor at about 9:30 p.m. Monday, turning to dock at LaFarge on Jones Island. Integrity departed about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.
American Mariner backed upriver Tuesday evening about 11:00 p.m., bringing coal to the WE Energies yard at Greenfield Avenue.

U.S. steel shipments down in September

11/21 - Duluth - Steel shipments from U.S. steel mills in September were 8.4 million net tons, a 7.7 percent decline compared to a year ago, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. Shipments in September 2006 were 9.1 million net tons.

September 2007 shipments were also down 7.8 percent compared to 9.2 million net tons shipped in August 2007, according to the institute.

On a year-to-date comparison, shipments to steel service centers and distributors are down 11.6 percent, automobile manufacturers down one percent, construction and contractors down 2.9 percent and oil and gas producers down 8.5 percent.

From the Duluth News-Tribune

Iron Range Steelworkers prepare for contract talks

11/21 - Duluth - Iron Range Steelworkers, whose labor contracts expire in nine months, already are bracing for the worst.

“A lot of people shot an extra deer this year, just in case,” said Mike Maleska, president of United Steelworkers Local 6860 at United Taconite in Eveleth and Forbes. Labor agreements covering about 4,000 Iron Range Steelworkers expire Sept. 1, 2008. With iron ore and steel companies reporting record revenues and demand for iron ore pellets remaining strong, negotiations are likely to be intense.

Steelworkers presidents and labor contract negotiating committees from Minnesota and Michigan will meet today at an iron ore conference in Duluth to begin discussing issues and strategies. “They [iron ore and steel companies] will certainly have a bargaining position on the issues, and so will we,” said Bob Bratulich, USW District 11 director. “We think with the industry being as financially well-off as they are should make bargaining easier. But we’ll see.”

Northeastern Minnesota’s six taconite plants are running at capacity. Together, they are projected to produce nearly 40 million tons of iron ore pellets this year. The pellets, containing about 65 percent iron, are shipped to domestic steelmakers and turned into steel. High demand, especially in China, is fueling a worldwide thirst for iron. As a result, iron ore and steel companies are enjoying some of their best times.

In addition to continued strong demand, analysts are saying that world iron ore pellet prices could increase by 25 to 50 percent in 2008, said Peter Kakela, a Michigan State University professor. A 2008 increase, on top of significant pellet price hikes in recent years, would mean more revenue for iron ore producers that sell pellets on the open market.

Cleveland-Cliffs, which manages and holds ownership in three Iron Range taconite plants, reported an $81.9 million net income in the third quarter, after a second-quarter net income of $86.9 million.

U.S. Steel, which owns and operates two Iron Range taconite facilities, had a net income of $269 million in the third quarter after $302 million in the second quarter. ArcelorMittal, the parent company of the Minorca Mine near Virginia, reported a third-quarter net income of $3 billion and second-quarter net income of $2.7 billion.

Good times should make for smoother contract talks, said Tony Barrett, a College of St. Scholastica economics professor. “I would expect the negotiations to not be friendly,” Barrett said. “There hasn’t been a labor negotiation anywhere in the last three or four years that isn’t focused on health care. But I don’t think they will be hostile. It’s a good time for the industry and I think both sides realize that. I would not expect a strike.”

From the Duluth News-Tribune

Boatnerd Logos for sale

Just in time for Christmas, a new order of BoatNerd logos has arrived. They make great stocking stuffers for your favorite Boatnerd.

For your vehicle we have 4" x 4" bumper stickers or interior window clingers. For your jacket, cap or shirt we have 3.25" x 3' sew-on cloth patches.

Let your Boatnerd show his/her colors and meet other people of similar interest. All proceeds go to support this site and help keep us online.

To order these items, click here for order form and pricing. BoatNerd logos are also available at Vantage Point in Port Huron.

Updates - November 21

News Photo Gallery updated

Special Calumet Last Trip Gallery updated