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Port Reports - June30 Milwaukee - Paul Erspamer |
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Updates - June 30 News Photo Gallery updated. Scenes from the 2007 Soo BoatNerd Gathering Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today in Great Lakes History : July 30 July 30, 1996 - CSL's self-unloader H M GRIFFITH, which was off Whitefish
Bay in Lake Superior, and bound for Nanticoke, Ontario with a load of 22,775
tons of western coal, has a spontaneous combustion fire in her number 2
cargo hold. Water was used to cool the fire and the GRIFFITH used her
unloading boom to dump 3,000 tons of coal into Lake Superior. After an
inspection by the USCG at the Soo the following day, revealed only minor
damage, the vessel was cleared to proceed on her journey. Reconstructed and
renamed b.) RT HON PAUL J MARTIN in 2000. |
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Port Reports - June 29 Gary Indiana - Brian Z. Kingsville - Eric
Zuschlag Toronto - Charlie Gibbons |
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Updates - June 29 News Photo Gallery updated. Scenes from the 2007 Soo BoatNerd Gathering Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today in Great Lakes History : June 29 On this day in 1946, the tug DALHOUSIE ROVER, Captain J. R. Mac Lean, capsized in the Welland Canal. There were no survivors among the crew of six. On 29 June 1910, ALABAMA (steel propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 272 foot, 2,626 gross tons, built in 1909, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin) made her first trip in regular service for the Goodrich Line from Chicago to Grand Haven and Muskegon. She ran opposite the VIRGINIA. Cut down to a barge in 1961, she was scrapped in La Salle, Ontario in 2006. On 29 June 1902, GEORGE DUNBAR (wooden propeller freighter, 134 foot, 238 gross tons, built in 1867, at Allegan, Michigan) was loaded with coal when she was damaged by a sudden squall on Lake Erie near Kelley's Island and sank. Seven of the crew elected to stay aboard while the skipper, his wife and daughter made for shore in the lifeboat. Those three were saved but the seven perished on a makeshift raft. The CHARLES M SCHWAB (Hull#496) was launched in 1923, at Cleveland, Ohio by the American Ship Building Co., for the Interlake Steamship Co. Lengthened with a new midbody and re-powered with the stern section of the tanker GULFPORT in 1961. Sold Canadian in 1975, renamed b.) PIERSON DAUGHTERS and c.) BEECHGLEN in 1982. Scrapped at Port Maitland, Ontario in 1995. On June 29, 1962, the HAMILTONIAN began her maiden voyage for Eastern Lake Carriers (Papachristidis Co. Ltd.). Renamed b.) PETITE HERMINE in 1967. Purchased by Upper Lakes Shipping in 1972, renamed c.) CANADIAN HUNTER. Scrapped at Alang, India in 1996. The JOSEPH L BLOCK was christened on June 29, 1976, for Inland Steel Co.. The Canadian schooner DUNSTOWN arrived at Malden, Ontario on 29 June 1875, to be put in place as a lightship. Her sides were painted in large white letters: BAR POINT LIGHTSHIP. On 29 June 1864, ALVIN CLARK (2-mast wooden schooner, 113 foot, 220 tons, built in 1846, at Truago (Trenton), Michigan) foundered in a terrific squall off Chambers Island on Green Bay. Two of the crew were rescued by the brig DEWITT, but three lost their lives. In 1969, a schooner identified as the CLARK was raised at great expense and put on display for some time at Marinette, Wisconsin, then at Menominee, Michigan, but it only lasted until 1995 when it was destroyed. Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Russ Plumb, Mike Nicholls, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. Marine Historical Society of Detroit. This is a small sample, the books includes many other vessels with a much more detailed history. |
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Port Reports - June 28 South Chicago - Steve B. Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey |
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Only 2 Days until Engineer's Day Engineer's Day is Friday, June 29. The annual Open House at the Soo Locks will be followed by the annual 3-hour BoatNerd Freighter Chasing Cruise aboard Lock Tours Canada's the Chief Shingwauk. Have you made your reservations yet? Call today. It is not too late. Go to the Boatnerd Gatherings page for all the details. June 28 - 31 - Engineer's Weekend at the Soo
Thursday, June 28 - Unofficial Boatnerd Picnic Mariner’s Banquet on the Valley Camp. See details at www.saultstemarie.com Friday, June 29 - 9:30 a.m. - Boatnerds gather on the steps below the MacArthur Lock for a group picture. Come early and get a name tag. 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m..- The Corps of Engineers will open the area between the MacArthur and Poe Locks, the Administration Building and the Davis Building to visitors. This is a once-a-year chance to see inside the Corps operation, and see passing freighters from a different angle. The Edison Sault and LSSU Aquatics Lab will also be open.
6:00 p.m. - Annual Boatnerd Freighter Chasing Cruise. Saturday, June
30 - Daytime 10:00 – 4:00 – Maritime Vendors Mart at Pullar Center. Lee Murdock concerts at 11 and 2:30. Noon – Tug boat races in Soo Harbor Noon – 4:00 – USCG Station Sault open house Informal gatherings at Mission Point, weather permitting. Bring your best pix to compare and show. Bring your radio-controlled boats for an informal regatta. |
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Updates - June 28 News Photo Gallery updated. Scenes from the 31st Annual International Tugboat Race on the Detroit River Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today in Great Lakes History : June 28 On this day in 1955, the 456 foot WYCHEM 105, a.) SAMUEL F B MORSE, was loaded with sand at the B&O docks in Lorain and towed to Rocky River, Ohio where she was sunk as a temporary breakwall. On this day in 1957, the JOSEPH S YOUNG departed Manitowoc, Wisconsin on her maiden voyage. She traveled in ballast to Port Inland, Michigan to load a cargo of stone. The YOUNG was the a.) ARCHERS HOPE, A T2-SE-A1 tanker, converted to Great Lakes service at Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock, Baltimore, Maryland. Renamed c.) H LEE WHITE in 1969, and d.) SHARON in 1974. Scrapped at Brownsville, Texas in 1986. On June 28, 1938, at 8:50 a.m., the WILLIAM A IRVIN departed Duluth with her first cargo of iron ore for Lorain, Ohio. 48 years later, in 1986, almost to the minute, the WILLIAM A IRVIN opened as a museum to the public. The ATLANTIC SUPERIOR arrived at the Algoma Steel Plant, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario on her maiden voyage in 1982, with a load of taconite but before she was unloaded christening ceremonies were conducted there. The SAM LAUD ran aground June 28, 1975, on a shoal south of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, with a cargo of coal from Chicago, Illinois for Green Bay, Wisconsin. Six-thousand tons of coal were off-loaded the next day into the NICOLET, a.) WILLIAM G MATHER, before she could proceed to Green Bay along with the NICOLET to discharge cargoes. SAM LAUD entered the dry dock at Sturgeon Bay on July 3rd for repairs. She had suffered extensive bottom damage with leakage into seven double bottom tanks and the forepeak. She returned to service on August 21, 1975. On 28 June 1893, JAMES AMADEUS (wooden propeller tug, 65 foot, 44 gross tons, built in 1872, at Cleveland, Ohio) sprang a leak and foundered near Cleveland, Ohio. Her crew abandoned her just before she went down. On 28 June 1909, TEMPEST (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 138 foot, 370 gross tons, built in 1876, at Grand Haven, Michigan) burned to a total loss while unloading coal at the Galnais Dock at Perry Sound, Ontario. She was consumed very quickly and six of her crew were killed. Data from: Jody Aho, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Russ Plumb, Mike Nicholls, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. Marine Historical Society of Detroit. This is a small sample, the books includes many other vessels with a much more detailed history. |
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Port Reports - June 27 Marquette - Rod Burdick Soo - Jerry Masson Sturgeon Bay - Jeff
Birch Milwaukee
- Paul Erspamer |
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Updates - June 27 News Photo Gallery updated. Scenes from the 31st Annual International Tugboat Race on the Detroit River Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today in Great Lakes History : June 27 On 27 June 1892, in rain and fog, the FRED A MORSE (wooden schooner, 182
foot, 592 gross tons, built in 1871, at Vermilion, Ohio) was being towed
downbound by the HORACE A TUTTLE (wooden propeller freighter, 250 foot, 1,585
gross tons, built in 1887, at Cleveland, Ohio) about 12 miles southeast of
Thunder Bay on Lake Huron, both carrying loads of iron ore. At the same time,
JOHN C PRINGLE (wooden propeller freighter, 173 foot, 474 gross tons, built in
1880, at Detroit, Michigan) was sailing upbound in that vicinity with a load
of coal and Italian marble with the schooners HARRISON, SWEETHEART and
SUNSHINE in tow. At 1:30 a.m., the PRINGLE collided with the schooner MORSE
which sank in less than 15 minutes. The crew made it to the TUTTLE in the
lifeboat, although one woman was badly injured. The PRINGLE's bow was stove
in, her deck planks forward were split and spread, her bulwarks torn away, and
her anchors and foremast were lost. She cast off her tow and made for Alpena,
Michigan, where she arrived later in the day. |
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A Great Lakes legend turns 100 6/26 - Douglas, Mich– Hundredth birthdays are a big deal whether they're for people or Great Lakes passenger ships. Just ask Toronto entrepreneur Eric Conroy. If all goes as planned, on July 6 he and some other prominent Canadians he's persuaded to join him will converge on this quiet Lake Michigan resort town to celebrate the centennial of the launch of the former Canadian Pacific Railway steamer Keewatin, which for generations transported travelers in Edwardian-era elegance between Port McNicoll on Georgian Bay and Fort William (now part of Thunder Bay) on Lake Superior. "I just feel a part of it," says Conroy of the trim, white, much-beloved 106-metre ship, which he worked on as a waiter in the 1960s and has been visiting for the past 10 years, sometimes acting as a tour guide. The vessel, the sole survivor of a once sizable number of classic Great Lakes cruise ships, has been a privately operated floating museum permanently moored here since 1968, three years after its withdrawal from passenger service. To raise consciousness among Canadians about the Keewatin, Conroy, who publishes The Magazine, a popular monthly for teens, says he's talked a select group of his compatriots into attending the rechristening of the steamer on the 100th anniversary of its launch in Glasgow, Scotland. They include Ontario Minister of Tourism Jim Bradley, country singer Albert Hall, who'll perform a song he's written about the Keewatin, and Toronto developer Gil Blutrich, who wants to make the ship the centre piece of his ambitious project to redevelop Port McNicoll. What they will see is a centenarian that has aged gracefully. "When you go on board, it looks exactly like the day I left it," Conroy said in a phone interview. He wasn't kidding. Take one of the Keewatin Maritime Museum's guided tours and you find a ship that seems ready to depart on yet another day-and-a-half voyage across two Great Lakes. Champagne bottles stand on bedside tables in the deluxe staterooms, period-piece desks await letter writers in the ladies' lounge, and in the 120-seat, walnut-paneled dining room, all the tables are set with Canadian Pacific silverware and china. The ship's exterior looks just as it did to those who once arrived at Port McNicoll by the special boat train from Toronto. A smart-looking dark green band still encircles the hull, and the steamer's enormous, 78-metre stack still sports the distinctive red and white checkerboard CP insignia. A nearly identical sister ship, the Assiniboia, also carried passengers for 57 years under CP colours, but soon after retirement it was destroyed by fire. The Keewatin has escaped demise because of its owner, R.J. Peterson, who, Conroy says, "had a vision that no else did." Although both Port McNicoll and Fort William are said to have spurned CP's offer to sell them the ship for a dollar in the 1960s, Peterson, the owner of two marinas here, paid about $42,000 for the vessel itself and another few thousand for the steamship's furnishings, and has used his own funds and revenues from the museum to maintain the ship. Ironically, officials in Thunder Bay have recently expressed interest to Peterson in bringing the ship back there as a tourist attraction. Meanwhile, Blutrich says he wants to help establish a charitable foundation that would receive private and public donations to preserve this "fine, fine piece of Canadian history" at Port McNicoll. For his part, in early June Peterson, now 80, took the first step toward creating his own foundation for the same purpose. "It's just possible," he says, the ship "might be better off where it's at." Asked his preference for the Keewatin's final resting spot, Conroy answers
carefully. "I have an allegiance to R.J. Peterson at this point," he says but
then adds, "If it goes anywhere, I'd like to see it go to Port McNicoll." |
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Port Reports - June 26 Grand Haven - Dick Fox |
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Updates - June 26 News Photo Gallery updated. Scenes from the 31st Annual International Tugboat Race on the Detroit River Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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News Photo Submission Guidelines We will not longer accept photos for inclusion in the News Photo Galleries that do not meet the News Photo Submission Guidelines that are linked at the bottom of each News Photo Gallery page. Photos that are received that do not meet the guidelines will be ignored. The three most frequent mistakes are (1) not changing the file name of each photo to meet the guidelines, or making the file name more than 20 characters long: (2) not including a caption for each photo in the text part or your email, and (3) sending too many pictures of the same scene or same boat at the same time. Please help us to provide complete coverage of the Great Lakes shipping scene. Sending reports in this format ensures that your pictures are processed as quickly as possible. It saves hours of editing time over a typical week and makes it possible to easily identify who took a picture allowing proper credit to be given. |
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Today in Great Lakes History : June 26 On this day in 1942, the LEON FRASER, Captain Neil Rolfson, completed her
maiden voyage and delivered a record cargo of 16,414 tons of ore to Conneaut.
The downbound trip only required 67.5 hours and broke the record of 15,218
tons set by the Canadian freighter LEMOYNE 15 days earlier. The FRASER was
shortened and converted to a bulk cement carrier in 1991, and sails today as
the b.) ALPENA. |
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Port Reports - June 25 South Chicago - Brian Z. |
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Boatnerd logos for sale The boat watching season is in full swing. Are you able to be identified as
a BoatNerd? |
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Updates - June 24 News Photo Gallery updated. Scenes from the 31st Annual International Tugboat Race on the Detroit River Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today in Great Lakes History : June 25 The whaleback steamer WASHBURN (steel propeller freighter, 320 foot, 2,234
gross tons) was launched by the American Steel Barge Co. (Hull #124) at W.
Superior, Wisconsin on 25 June 1892. She lasted until 1936, when she was
scrapped at Cleveland, Ohio. |
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Port Reports - June 24 Rochester - Tom Brewer |
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U.S. Coast Guard Seeks Mariner Feedback 6/24 - Washington - The U.S. Coast Guard announced today that its Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee has established a mechanism to provide ongoing feedback on the mariner licensing and documentation program and the relocation of the National Maritime Center. “The committee is reaching out to organizations such as trade associations, labor unions, and educational institutions to obtain their feedback, as well as mariner feedback, on how implementation of the plan is affecting their constituents,” said Andrew McGovern, committee chairman. “This process includes an early warning email contact system so problems warranting immediate action can be brought to the Coast Guard’s attention.” Those wishing to provide feedback should email the committee at MERPACfeedback@gmail.com. The Coast Guard began restructuring its mariner licensing and documentation Martinsburg, W. Va., change mission focus for the 17 regional examination centers and implement technological improvements such as electronic imaging of mariner records, electronic administration and grading of exams, and on-line payment of user fees. When the plan is complete the processing of all applications for credentials will be centralized and managed by the reorganized National Maritime Center staff, and the responsibilities of the regional examination centers will be limited to fingerprinting mariners, establishing mariner identities, providing application assistance, administering testing, and providing course oversight. From Maritime Executive Magazine online |
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Updates - June 24 News Photo Gallery updated. Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today in Great Lakes History : June 24 On June 24, 1971, a fire broke out in the engine room of the ROGER BLOUGH
at the American Ship Building, Lorain, Ohio yard, killing four yard workers
and extensively damaging her Pielstick diesel engines. Extensive repairs,
which included replacement of both engines, delayed her delivery for nearly a
year. |
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Fire on Duluth Waterfront 6/23 - Duluth - About 8 a.m. Friday a fire started on the east end of the Duluth Timber facility at the former B.N. # 2 dock. The fire quickly turned into a massive blaze with smoke visible as far away as 25 miles. The entire eastern portion of the old Northern Pacific freight sheds was quickly engulfed in flames while the Duluth fire departments and two commercial vessels shot water into the fire with water cannons. The massive fire was finally under control by 11:30 a.m. Destroyed in the fire were several trucks, cranes, heavy equipment, two historic grocery boats, the Dona and the Fred Beatty, the wooden fish tug Last Chance, numerous antique wooden cruisers, and the cedar wood mill, whose home was in the facility. All of the commercial vessels that were dockside were unharmed. The facility was once home to the Zenith Dredge Company and several of their old steam dredges are still moored there, unused. The pier is also home to the forward cabins off the 1917 steamer Irvin L. Clymer, which were unharmed in the fire. |
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Port Reports - June 23 Hamilton - Eric Holmes South Chicago/Indiana Harbor - Duluth - Al Miller Detroit - Ken Borg Saginaw River -
Todd Shorkey |
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Lawsuit Planned to Force Action on
Ballast, Invasive Species 6/23 - Milwaukee - A group of conservation organizations led by the
National Wildlife Federation announced its intent Thursday to sue the
oceangoing shipping industry to get the ships to stop polluting the Great
Lakes with contaminated ballast water discharges. |
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Updates - June 23 News Photo Gallery updated. Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today in Great Lakes History : June 23 J.P. MORGAN, JR. was involved in a collision with steamer CRETE, June 23, 1948, off Devils Island, Lake Superior. 1 life was lost. Thirty years ago this morning, the NEPCO 140, carrying six million gallons of No. 6 bunker oil and being pushed toward Oswego by the tug EILEEN C, grounded on the shore of Wellesley Island in the American Narrows section of the St. Lawrence River, just upstream from Alexandria Bay, N.Y. The grounding occurred about 1:35 a.m. in heavy fog and was followed by a second apparent grounding further up river, just before the barge reached the Seaway anchorage site off Mason's Point, some four miles above the initial grounding site. In all, over 300,000 of the thick crude was spilled into the River, creating the largest slick ever to pollute an inland U.S. waterway to that day. Seaway traffic was halted immediately, sending at least 20 ships to anchor. Within hours, over 20,000 feet of boom were deployed, but the spill moved steadily down river, coating granite shoreline, trapping waterfowl, forcing boat owners to pull their boats, and oozing into sensitive marshland, particularly Chippewa Bay in New York waters. Some oil eventually reached as far down the river as Lake St. Lawrence and coated shoreline along the Long Sault Parkway on the Canadian side of the lake. Clean-up lasted into the fall and cost in excess U.S. $8 million. On 23 June 1903, the tug O W CHENEY steamed out of Buffalo harbor in heavy fog to tow the steamer CHEMUNG into the harbor. The tug ran too close to the on-coming steamer, was struck by the bow, and the CHENEY overturned and sank. Three crewmen were killed; two survivors were picked up by the tug FRANK S BUTLER. On 23 June 1969, RALPH MISENER (steel propeller bulk freighter, 730 foot, 19,160 gross tons, built in 1968, at Montreal, Quebec) transited the Soo Locks upbound for the first time. She had an innovative self-unloading system with twin booms. The movable crane was equipped with a chain of buckets so it could discharge cargo from either side. This unloading system only lasted until 1976, when it was severely damaged in a squall on Lake Michigan. The vessel was then converted from a combination self-unloader/bulk carrier to a bulk carrier. She was renamed b.) GORDON C LEITCH in 1994. In 1926, the GLENMHOR (Hull#16), the name was soon corrected to GLENMOHR, was launched at Midland Ontario by Midland Shipbuilding Co., for Great Lakes Transportation Co., (James Playfair). She was 6 feet wider and 4 feet shallower than the largest ship at that time. Purchased by Canada Steamship Lines in 1926, renamed b.) LEMOYNE. Scrapped at Santander, Spain in 1969. In 1929, the WILLIAM G CLYDE (Hull#804) was launched at Lorain, Ohio by American Shipbuilding Co., for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. Converted to a self-unloader and renamed b.) CALCITE II in 1961. Renamed c.) MAUMEE in 2001. Launched in 1972, was the ALGOWAY (Hull#200) at Collingwood, Ontario by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., for Algoma Central Railway. The first whaleback barge, 101, was launched along the shore of St. Louis Bay near Duluth, Minnesota on 23 June 1888. Captain Alexander Mc Dougall, the inventor and designer, was there along with his wife, her sister-in-law and several hundred spectators. As the vessel splashed in to the bay, Mrs. Mc Dougall is supposed to have muttered, "There goes our last dollar!" On 23 June 1900, the 450 foot steel steamer SIMON J MURPHY (Hull#135) was launched at Wyandotte, Michigan by the Detroit Ship Building Co., for the Eddy - Shaw Transportation Co. of Bay City, Michigan. On 23 June 1873, B F BRUCE was launched at Crosthwaite's yard in East
Saginaw, Michigan. She is not properly a schooner, but what is known as a
"three-and-after" in nautical terms. Her capacity was 50,000 bushels of grain
(800 tons) and the building cost was $50,000. |
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'Ghost ship' discovered off Vermilion 6/22 - Vermilion - One of Lake Erie's ghost ships, the most sought wrecks of the last century, has been found about eight miles off the Vermilion shore. The side-wheel steamship General Anthony Wayne sank in 1850. The other ghosts are the Consuella, which sank in 1875, and the Marquette & Bessemer No. 2, which sank in 1909. The man who found the General Anthony Wayne, Tom Kowalczk, of Lakeside, dispensed with one rumor at a Wednesday news conference at the Great Lakes Historical Society: No gold was on board. For more than a century, rumors persisted that the ship, named in honor of Revolutionary War hero Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne, carried a fortune in gold. But the historical society and Kowalczk said research showed that the ship held nothing more than locally made wine, cattle and 93 passengers and crew. The ship left Toledo on April 27, 1850, bound for Buffalo, N.Y. It stopped to pick up passengers and cargo in Sandusky, then headed toward its next stop at Cleveland, when the boilers of its steam engines exploded. Thirty-eight people were killed, 15 were injured and 40 people were rescued. About 2,000 ships have sunk in Lake Erie and the locations of 275 to 300 are known. The story of the General Anthony Wayne tantalized Kowalczk, director of corporate quality assurance for Shiloh Industries of Valley City, which engineers metal products for the automobile industry. In September 2006, Kowalczk started looking for the ship. "I researched everything I could about it and knew the general area where the ship went down," he said. "I laid out a grid search pattern and starting hunting." Kowalczk pulled a side-scanning sonar device through the water, which sent back pictures of the lake bottom to a display screen on his boat. About 12 hours into the search, he saw a bright spot on the screen in about 50 feet of water. He sent the device in for closer pictures and saw the sidewheels. He knew he had found it. It was not until May 20 that Kowalczk dived down to the wreck, which is in two sections, and photographed it. He saw the sidewheels, 26 feet in diameter, the foot-wide engine shaft and other parts that fit the description of the General Anthony Wayne. Great Lakes Historical Society Executive Director Christopher Gillcrist said the exact location will not be revealed until undersea archaeologists explore and document the wreck. "We will eventually make the location known," he said. "We support eco-tourism, so drivers can go look at the site. We just don't want people to go out and remove part of the wheel and make it into a coffee table, or put it on eBay." Gillcrist said two treasure hunters claimed to have found the ship earlier, but he discounts their report. "They never revealed the location," he said. "They were looking for gold that was not there. The state of Ohio and its residents own sunken ships, not individuals." The two men, Kellogg Vance and Matthew Roalofs, both of Seven Hills, have said they pinpointed the wreck in 1988. At the time, they said they believed the ship carried two strongboxes containing $101,600 in pre-1850 gold coins, which could be worth more than $40 million. But before they could explore the site and find the coins, the state ruled
that such wrecks belong to the people of Ohio. Kowalczk insists the wreck has no treasure and that its value is historical. "There's no historical record, no newspaper articles, or anything else to indicate that there was that kind of money on board the ship," Kowalczk said. "If there was, you can be sure that the owners of the ship would have gone out and salvaged it immediately." From the Cleveland Plain Dealer |
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Port Reports - June 22 Milwaukee - Paul Erspamer Soo - Jerry Masson |
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Dock Outage Contributes To Coal Slump in May 6/22 - Cleveland—Repairs at a Lake Erie coal loading dock proved a factor in the nearly 11 percent drop in coal shipments on the Lakes in May. Shipments totaled 4.1 million net tons, a decrease of 10.7 percent compared to both a year ago and the month’s 5-year average. The Pittsburgh & Conneaut dock in Conneaut, Ohio, experienced mechanical problems in May and so was able to load only three coal cargos during the month. As result, its shipments fell below 100,000 net tons, only one-fifth its 5-year average. However, repairs are complete and the dock is shipping as demand dictates in June. The inability to carry full loads was another factor in the May slump. The largest coal cargo in the Head-of-the-Lakes trade (Lake Superior to Lower Lakes destinations) totaled 64,392 net tons, yet 1,000-foot-long U.S.-Flag Lakers have carried as much as 70,903 net tons in a single trip in this trade. Nearly 10 percent of these vessels’ carrying capacity has been negated by low water levels and the dredging crisis. For the year, the Lakes coal trade stands at 10.4 million net tons, a decrease of 15.5 percent compared to the same point in 2006. Compared to the 5-year average, shipments are down by 5 percent, or 550,000 net tons. More information is available at www.lcaships.com Source: Lake Carriers’ Association |
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Great Lakes' past may offer clues on climate 6/22 - Chicago - From one view of history, the Great Lakes are near
record lows, approaching the bottom-scraping frustration of the mid-1960s. |
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Updates - June 22 News Photo Gallery updated. Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today in Great Lakes History : June 22 On 22 June 1959, BAYPORT (steel propeller tug, 72 foot, 65 gross tons, built in 1914, at Cleveland, Ohio, formerly named a.) FAIRPORT) had the steamer MOHAWK DEER in tow when she was hooked by her own tow cable, capsized and sank at Collingwood, Ontario. Three lives were lost. The tug was later raised and converted from steam to diesel. Later renamed c.) TWIN PORT, and d.) ROD MC LEAN in 1974. She is currently owned by Purvis Marine and is at the Purvis West Yard at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. On 22 June 1909, W P THEW (wooden propeller freighter, 133 foot, 207 gross tons, built in 1884, at Lorain, Ohio) was in ballast, creeping through the fog off Alpena, Michigan on Lake Huron when she was rammed by the WILLIAM LIVINGSTONE (steel propeller freighter, 532 foot, 6,634 gross tons, built in 1908, at Ecorse, Michigan). After the collision, the LIVINGSTONE drifted away and lost track of the THEW. The THEW sank in 80 feet of water. Fortunately the steamer MARY C ELPHICKE answered the distress whistle and picked up the THEW's crew from the lifeboat. No lives were lost. The WILLIAM R ROESCH (Hull#901) was launched and christened at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co., on June 22, 1973, for the Union Commerce Bank, Ohio (Trustee) and managed by the Kinsman Marine Transit Co., Cleveland, Ohio. Renamed b.) DAVID Z NORTON in 1995. June 22, 1957 - W.L. Mercereau, known as the "Father of the Fleet", died. Mercereau developed the Pere Marquette fleet of car ferries into the "largest in the world". On 22 June 1853, CHALLENGE (wooden propeller freighter, 198 foot, 665 tons, built in 1853, at Newport, Michigan) was bound from Chicago for Buffalo with barreled pork and oats on one of her first trips. However, her boiler exploded off Cheboygan, Michigan. She burned and sank. Five died. The schooner NORTH STAR heard the blast ten miles away and came to the rescue of the rest of the passengers and crew. On 22 June 1875, The Port Huron Times reported that "the Northern Transportation Company's fleet of 20 propellers, which have been idle all the season owing to difficulties between the Central Vermont and the Ogdensburg & Champlain Railroad Companies, have passed from the control of the Central Vermont Railroad Company and will commence regular trips as soon as they can be fitted out." Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Mike Nicholls, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. Marine Historical Society of Detroit. This is a small sample, the books includes many other vessels with a much more detailed history. |
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Port Reports - June 21 Twin Ports - Al Miller Marquette - Lee Rowe & Rod Burdick Saginaw River - Todd
Shorkey Toronto - Charlie Gibbons |
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Cliffs, Kobe Steel strike deal on nugget plant 06/20 - Duluth - Cleveland-Cliffs and Kobe Steel have reached an
agreement under which Kobe’s patented iron nugget-making process would be
used in a Cleveland-Cliffs iron nugget plant. |
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Algoma Steel announces closing of its acquisition by Essar 6/21 - Sault Ste Marie, ON - Algoma Steel Inc. today announced
the completion of the arrangement involving the acquisition by a subsidiary
of Essar Steel Holdings Limited of all of Algoma’s outstanding common shares
for all cash consideration of $56 per share. |
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Algoma Steel dredges its slip 6/21 - Sault Ste Marie, ON - Algoma Steel Inc. will be dredging
the river bottom by its deep-water slip, members of the Sault Ste. Marie
Region Conservation Authority were advised last night. |
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Studio 1219 to exhibit new works by Robert McGreevy 6/21 - Port Huron - Studio 1219 in Port Huron will host an
exhibition by maritime artist Bob McGreevy throughout the month of July. The exhibition of some 30 works will be
highlighted by the arrival of nine new works by the artist. A
wine and cheese reception will be open to the public on Friday June 29th
from 7:30 to 9:30 pm. There is no cost and it is a great opportunity to meet
the artist and discuss his work. |
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Updates - June 20 News Photo Gallery updated. Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today in Great Lakes History : June 21 On 21 June 1868, the D&C Lines' MORNING STAR (wooden side-wheel steamer,
243 foot, 1,075 tons, built in 1862, at Trenton, Michigan) was late in
leaving her dock in Cleveland, Ohio because she was loading some last-minute
freight (iron bars and glass). As she sailed on Lake Erie to Detroit during
the dark and rainy night, she collided with the heavy-laden bark COURTLAND
and sank quickly, 10 miles off Lorain, Ohio. Twenty feet of the steamer's
bow had been torn off while the bark was swept into one of the paddle wheels
and destroyed. The side-wheel steamer R N RICE arrived on the scene at 3:00
a.m. and picked up the survivors but only 44 of them. In September, MORNING
STAR was raised, towed to Lorain and re-sunk in 55 feet of water, for
possible future rebuilding. Attempts were made to raise her again several
times, but in the summer of 1872, she was abandoned because it was
determined that the previous attempts had reduced her to rubble. |
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QE2 Retires To Her Own Private Island 6/20 - Cunard Line has announced the sale of Queen Elizabeth 2 to
Dubai World for US$100m. Opening 2009, the famous liner will be berthed at a
specially-constructed pier as a luxury floating hotel, retail and
entertainment destination at The Palm Jumeirah, the world's largest man-made
island. QE2 will be delivered to Dubai in November 2008. Reported by www.maritimematters.com |
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Port Reports - June 20 Buffalo - Brian Wroblewski |
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Irish Navy vessel visits Canada 6/20 - The Irish Patrol vessel L. E. Eithne P 31 entered the St
Lawrence Seaway for the first time Monday. |
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More BoatNerd Gathering Cruises Scheduled Friday, June 29 - Annual Boatnerd Freighter Chasing Cruise at the
Soo - The annual trip aboard the Chief Shingwauk for a full three (3) hours
leaving from Roberta Bondar Pavilion in Soo, Ontario. |
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Updates - June 20 News Photo Gallery updated. Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today in Great Lakes History : June 20 On this day in 1943, the IRVING S OLDS departed Two Harbors with 20,543 tons of ore and the BENJAMIN F FAIRLESS departed Two Harbors with 20,386 tons of ore. It was the first time that two lakers departed the same harbor on the same day with cargos in excess of 20,000 tons. The SENATOR (steel propeller freighter, 410 foot, 4,048 gross tons) was launched by the Detroit Dry Dock Company (Hull #122) at Wyandotte, Michigan on 20 June 1896, for the Wolverine Steamship Company. She lasted until 31 October 1929, when she collided with the steamer MARQUETTE in fog off Port Washington, Wisconsin and sank with her cargo of 241 automobiles. On 20 June 1893, GEORGE STONE (wooden propeller freighter, 270 foot, 1,841 gross tons) was launched by F. W. Wheeler & Co. (Hull #98) at West Bay CIty, Michigan. She lasted until 1909, when she stranded and burned on Lake Erie. The WILLIAM P COWAN (Hull#724) cleared Lorain, Ohio on her maiden voyage in 1918. Renamed b.) AMOCO ILLINOIS in 1962. Scrapped at Windsor, Ontario by M & M Steel Co., in 1987. In 1903, the twin screw rail car ferry GRAND HAVEN (Hull#92) was launched at Toledo, Ohio by the Craig Ship Building Co., for the Grand Trunk Carferry Line, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. On June 20, 1953, the Canada Steamship Lines bulk freighter BURLINGTON collided with and sank the Paterson steamer SCOTIADOC in Lake Superior. On June 20, 1959, the SEAWAY QUEEN began her maiden voyage. The vessel was appropriately named, as at the time she was the largest Canadian vessel on the Great Lakes, the 2nd largest on the Great Lakes overall (behind the EDMUND FITZGERALD), and she entered service the same week that Queen Elizabeth II and President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally dedicated the St. Lawrence Seaway. She was one of the more popular and classic looking vessels on the Great Lakes. June 20, 1936 - The PERE MARQUETTE 21 was blocked in Manitowoc following an accident which disabled the Manitowoc Tenth Street Bridge, making it impossible to raise the structure. June 20, 1993 - The BADGER struck the Ludington breakwall while arriving Ludington. She was sent to Sturgeon Bay for repairs. Ten operating days and twenty-one sailings were lost. The 230 foot wooden freighter JAMES DAVIDSON (Hull#4) was launched at West Bay City, Michigan for James Davidson at his shipyard on 20 June 1874. JAMES DAVIDSON was wrecked in Lake Huron in 1883. The MINNEHAHA, a wooden "clipper" schooner, was launched at James A. Baker's shipyard in Oswego, New York on 20 June 1857. Her dimensions were 110 foot keel, 125 foot overall, x 25 foot 6 inches x 10 foot 6 inches. She could carry 13,000 bushels of grain. Mr. James Navagh, her master builder, received a gold watch and chain worth $200 in appreciation of his fine work on this vessel. On Wednesday night, 20 June 1877, the schooner EVELINE (wooden schooner, 118 foot, 236 gross tons, built in 1861, at Litchfield, Michigan) was struck by lightning about sixty miles out from Alpena, Michigan. The bolt shattered the mainmast, throwing three large pieces over the vessel's sides. The large spar was split perpendicularly in two and the lightning bolt followed the grain of the wood in a circular manner until it reached the main boom jaw, which is enclosed in a band of iron fastened by a large bolt. This bolt was literally cut in two. The mate, George Mayom, had the left side of his body blistered and the skin burned off from the shoulder to the foot. His right leg, hands and arm were also severely burned, and he suffered internal injuries and bled freely. The vessel made it to port and she was repaired. She lasted until September 1895, when she sank off Kewaunee, Wisconsin. Data from: Max Hanley, Joe Barr, David Swayze, Russ plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, 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. |
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Port Reports - June 19 Marinette - Dick Lund Marquette - Rod Burdick Cheboygan - Jon Paul Michaels |
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S.S. City of Milwaukee silent auction planned 6/19 - Manistee, MI— The S.S. City of Milwaukee is holding a silent
auction on Saturday, June 30, from 6 to 8pm.
Entertainment, refreshments and special items of every variety will be on
hand, with proceeds going towards restoration of this 76-year-old railcar
ferry. |
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Great Lakes/ Owen Sound Russel Brothers Tugboat Festival planned 6/19 - Owen Sound - Registration has begun for the Great
Lakes/Owen Sound Russel Brothers Tug Festival scheduled for July 28-29. The fest is open to any steel-hulled
boats, but of course, the planners want to have as many Owen Sound built Russels
as possible. |
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Updates - June 19 News Photo Gallery updated. Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today in Great Lakes History : June 19 On 19 June 1889, NORTH STAR (steel propeller freighter, 299 foot, 2,476
gross tons, built in 1889, at Cleveland, Ohio) collided with CHARLES J
SHEFFIELD (steel propeller freighter, 260 foot, 1,699 gross tons, built in
1887, at Cleveland, Ohio) about sixty miles west of Whitefish Point on Lake
Superior in heavy fog. The NORTH STAR kept her bow in the SHEFFIELDÕs side
after the impact, giving the crew time to board. The SHEFFIELD then sank in
8 minutes. Her loss was valued at $160,000. The courts found both vessels to
be equally at fault after years of litigation. |
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Agawa Canyon reported aground, freed 6/17 - 11:55 p.m. Update - The G tugs Superior and Vermont arrived on scene Sunday night and were working to free the Agawa Canyon. At 10:30 p.m. the vessel reported they were working with the tugs and maneuvering to raise the anchors. Shortly before midnight the vessel was turning in the river and continued downbound. 10 p.m. - The American Courage passed down bound in the last few minutes. At 9:40 p.m. two Great Lakes Towing Co. tugs were on the scene. Reported by S. R. MacDonald Original article - 6/17 - 8 p.m. - Shortly after 1 p.m. Sunday the Agawa Canyon was reported to have lost steering while transiting downbound on the St. Clair River off Algonac, Michigan. Eye witnesses report the Canyon dropped its stern anchor in the middle of the river then turned side ways in the river. The vessel came to a stop with the bow facing up bound about 5 feet from shore on the U.S. side of the river. The vessel reported that they had lost steering and were dropping anchor to stop her. The Agawa Canyon was downbound with stone for Detroit and Windsor. No damage was reported as the vessel is stuck in the muddy bottom in an estimated 10 - 15 feet of water. |
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Port Reports - June 18 Goderich - Dale Baechler Alpena/Stoneport - Ben & Chanda McClain Buffalo - Brian Wroblewski Holland - Bob Vande Vusse Milwaukee - Paul Erspamer
Saginaw River - Gordy Garris |
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Freighter drought sinks some Bay City spirits, raises others 6/18 - Bay City, MI - Forgive Jack Panzer for gushing now that freighter traffic on the Saginaw River in Bay City has slowed to a trickle. ''I'm no freighter lover - I've seen enough of the freighters,'' said Panzer, whose business, Jack's Deli, sends a delivery driver across the river - and over one of four drawbridges in Bay City - about 30 times every work day. Freighters typically flow frequently through Bay City in May and June. But boat watchers say freighters have become downright rare due to a sputtering economy, low river levels and a strike idling three boats that regularly floated through town. Todd Shorkey, a Bay City firefighter who reports and shoots photos for the Web site www.boatnerd.com said freighters made 40 trips in or out of Bay City from May 29 to June 14 of 2005. During the same time period this year, freighters made only eight trips in or out of Bay City - down from 16 trips in the same time period of 2006, Shorkey said. ''There was a point in late May and early June where I didn't have any freighters pass through for about two weeks, and that's a real long time without one,'' said Larry McShane, a bridge tender on the Independence Bridge, the Bay City bridge on the Saginaw River closest to Saginaw Bay. One reason for the slowdown is the absence of three regular guests - the Wolverine, the David Z and the Earl W. Those three 630-foot bulk carriers have been idled since early May when officers and stewards on each boat went on strike. The strike, involving a total of about 30 employees, is still in effect, said Don Cree, a Toledo-based vice president with the American Maritime Officers union. The Wisconsin & Michigan Steamship Co., based in Lakewood, Ohio, owns the three boats. The freighters are now stuck in Sarnia, Ontario, where workers walked off the lakers on May 8 and 9. The Times could not reach company officials for comment. According to the American Maritime Officers union's Web site, the dispute centers on the company's refusal to agree to a labor contract that was approved by other Great Lakes operators. Another reason for the lack of ship traffic hits closer to home - the economy. Docks along the river count on freighters to bring in supplies for construction and road projects. But data from various townships in Bay County, for example, shows construction of new homes has lagged so far this year in many areas of the county. Great Lakes shipments of limestone - related to home or road construction - fell by 15 percent in May compared to one year ago, according to the Lake Carriers' Association, representing operators of U.S.-flag vessels on the Great Lakes. A strike and decreased demand for product only add to the frustration for area docks. The biggest headache has long been low water levels and the need for dredging. The Lake Carriers Association has said dredging has been a long-term issue but that in the 1990s, high water masked the problem. Not so anymore. Dock owners say the river has become so shallow that some ships no longer will travel upriver. Dredging of the Saginaw River could come later this summer after construction of the Dredged Material Disposal Facility is completed along the Bay-Saginaw county line. In the meantime, the fewer the freighters, the smoother automotive traffic travels across the four drawbridges. McShane, the bridge tender, says there are still delays on the bridges. ''But it's just for the two Appledore (schooners), the Princess Wenonah tour boat and for sailboats,'' McShane said. ''The delay for one of the Appledores is about two minutes, though the wait for a freighter can be 10 or 15 minutes.'' Shorkey, who has tracked freighters on the Saginaw River for about 10 years, said he can't remember a lull in Bay City freighter traffic as severe as the one lasting for the past three weeks. Several dozen commercial docks exist along the river, employing several hundred workers, in Bay and Saginaw counties. ''We get kind of disappointed when the boat traffic is so slow,'' Shorkey said. ''I'd say the general public and the motorists don't mind, but for the economy of this area, it's important the freighters keep coming, because they provide lots of jobs for workers on the docks, for the companies that own the docks and for the truck drivers.'' Freighters floating through the middle of Bay City can cause frustration, but they're part of the town's identity, according to Shorkey. ''Bay City is a very unique town due to the fact we have these freighters coming through so close you can almost touch 'em.'' From the Bay City Times |
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Low water sinks run to Isle Royale 6/18 - Duluth - Isle Royale will welcome fewer visitors from Minnesota in 2007 because of low water levels. This weekend, the Wenonah was to have resumed its summer duty — shuttling people between Grand Portage, Minn., and Isle Royale — but lower Lake Superior water levels forced the 71-foot ship to abandon its run for the first time in more than 30 years. “We’d need at least two more feet of water to operate safely,” said Don Szczech, chief operations officer for Grand Portage-Isle Royale Transportation Lines, the company that owns and operates the Wenonah. “We were running dangerously close to the bottom last year, and this year the water is even lower,” Szczech said. “Operating in these conditions was out of the question.” Lake Superior has dropped 14 inches from last year’s level and is 21 inches below its average June depth, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. As the result of several years of unusually dry weather, the lake is only 3 inches above its all-time June low, recorded in 1926. The Wenonah draws about 6 feet of water and can no longer navigate its way into the Hat Point Marina in Grand Portage, from which it normally operates. Grand Portage-Isle Royale Transportation Lines continues to provide service to Isle Royale via the Voyageur II, a 63-foot vessel with a 4-foot draft. But the Voyageur II has a much lower capacity. It is authorized to carry 48 people, less than one-third of the 149-passenger load the Wenonah can handle. Szczech said the Voyageur II will step up service this summer, but even so, the line probably will be able to carry only about half of the 4,700 visitors it transported to Isle Royale last year using both vessels. He already has been forced to turn away business because of his reduced capacity. The entrance to the Hat Point Marina, which is used by Grand Portage-Isle Royale Transportation Lines, has about 4 to 6 feet of draft at its entrance. The Grand Portage Marina, across the bay from Hat Point, has only about 3 feet of draft in places, said Gene Stone, who manages both facilities for the Grand Portage band of Ojibwe. Stone said water levels in Grand Marais can vary by as much as a foot, depending on wind direction. Besides the Wenonah, several other large vessels that usually tie up in Grand Portage also have had to relocate to deeper marinas, such as Knife River’s. Stone said the loss of clients with bigger vessels hits his bottom line especially hard because longer boats pay higher dockage fees. Having larger boats out of the mix also will cut into marina fuel sales, he said. Szczech plans to reposition the Wenonah in Grand Marais and offer sightseeing cruises of the North Shore from there. He sees an opportunity to fill a void left when the Grandpa Woo discontinued its regular service. The Wenonah was tied up at a dock in Superior on Friday, where it underwent a U.S. Coast Guard inspection. Although Szczech is eager for the Wenonah to resume service between Grand Portage and Isle Royale, he’s not encouraged by Lake Superior’s languishing water levels. “I hope we’ve found the bottom, but I don’t know that we have,” he said. “It’s grim,” Szczech said, adding: “From what I’m seeing right now, I don’t anticipate the Wenonah will be able to get in here next year, either.” Szczech said Grand Portage-Isle Royale Transportation Lines is looking into the possibility of purchasing a new boat with less draft and possibly a water jet propulsion system. Even marinas situated in deeper water have had problems because of low lake levels this year. Joe Radtke, manager of Barker’s Island Marina in Superior, said he has about 8 feet of draft at his facility. But even that has not been enough for some of his customers. Radtke said the marina recently enlisted the help of Jeff Foster Trucking to move a 44-foot sailboat with an 8½-foot draft about one-half mile down shore so it could launch safely. A crane from Kraemer Construction lowered the vessel into the water from a commercial dock that formerly served a Georgia-Pacific plant. For Barker’s Island, low water levels have boosted business, because some boat owners displaced from private docks or more shallow marinas have sought alternative moorings this summer. Commercial traffic on the Great Lakes has been affected by low water levels as well. The Lake Carriers Association, a group representing the operators of the U.S. Great Lakes fleet, reports that through May, lakers have moved 28.1 million tons of cargo, 7 percent less cargo than they did during the same period last year. Nevertheless, carriers managed to beat their five-year average tonnage movement for January through May by 3 percent. The Lake Carriers Association pointed out that tonnage figures would have been even stronger if lakers weren’t being forced to lighten their loads because of low water. Fred Shusterich, president of Midwest Energy Resources, said 1,000-footers loading coal at the facility he oversees in Superior are leaving with 62,000 tons instead of the 64,000 tons they would normally receive. Despite the reduced loads, Shusterich said his facility is running ahead of last year’s pace with about 1.9 million tons of coal shipped through May. “It should be another good year for us,” he said. From the Duluth News Tribune |
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Updates - June 18 News Photo Gallery updated. Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today in Great Lakes History : June 18 The steamer ILLINOIS was the first vessel to pass through the newly opened Soo locks in 1855. To help commemorate the 100th anniversary of this event, an open house was held aboard the J L MAUTHE. While tied up at the Cleveland Lakefront dock, an estimated 1,700 persons toured the MAUTHE. During a moonlight charter on 18 June 1936, the TASHMOO (steel side-wheel excursion steamer, 308 foot, 1,344 gross tons, built in 1900, at Wyandotte, Michigan) struck a boulder in the Sugar Island channel in the Detroit River. The vessel docked at Amherstburg, Ontario where her passengers disembarked as the vessel settled to the bottom in 14 feet of water. Although the damage was not fatal, the salvage crew botched the job. The TASHMOO had one end raised too quickly and her keel broke. This ended this well-loved vessel's too short career. The Soo Locks opened for their first season on 18 June 1855. The first vessel through the locks was the steamer ILLINOIS of 1853. In 1949, the WILFRED SYKES (Hull#866) was launched at American Shipbuilding Co., Lorain, Ohio, for Inland Steel Co. At the time she was the largest and most powerful vessel on the lakes. The SYKES was also the first boat to have a poop deck. She was converted to a self-unloader in 1975. In 1964, the bulk freighter SAGUENAY (Hull#647) was launched at Lauzon, Quebec by Davie Ship Building Ltd., for Canada Steamship Lines Ltd. In 1968, the ALGOCEN (Hull#191) was launched at Collingwood, Ontario by
Collingwood Shipyards Ltd, for Algoma Central Railway. Renamed b.) VALGOCEN in
2005, she is in use as a spoils barge in Keasby, New Jersey. On 18 June 1858, the steamship CANADA left the Lakes via the St. Lawrence rapids since she was too large for the existing locks. She had been built by Louis Shickluna at the Niagara Drydock Company in 1853, at a cost of $63,000. She was sold for ocean service after the Depression of 1857. Her hull was rebuilt and she was renamed MISSISSIPPI. She foundered in a gale in the South Atlantic on 12 August 1862. The venerable side-wheel passenger ferry TRILLIUM (Hull#94) was launched June 18, 1910, at Toronto, Ontario by Polson Iron Works., for the Toronto Ferry Co. Data from: Gerry O., Joe Barr, 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. |
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Port Reports - June 17 Detroit River - Ken Borg Hamilton - Eric Holmes Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey |
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Ogdensburg hoping DEC rule will spare Lighthouse Point from wrecking ball 6/17 - Ogdensburg, NY - City officials hope a State DEC rule may help them stop the destruction of a local landmark. According to the Ogdensburg Journal, the City this week contacted the DEC to see if the State Environmental Quality Review process could be applied to the planned demolishing of Lighthouse Point by its owner, Blair Roethel. The SEQR assess environmental impact of any development. DEC officials are also being asked to consider historical impact. Roethel plans to tear down the 172-year-old Lighthouse that he resides in. He has declined all comment to the media about his plans. Roethel was denied a demolition permit two weeks ago because it did not include asbestos removal plans or structural reviews. The news he planned to tear the landmark down sent lawmakers scrambling, looking for ways to head off its demolition. Mayor Bill Nelson told NewsWatch50 when the plan was first discovered opponents were already mobilizing against it. “It's one of those points that when folks come to Ogdensburg you relate the lighthouse to Ogdensburg. It's a very significant part of our history and part of who we are. So we want to do whatever we can to ensure that demolition does not take place.” The lighthouse is one of only four left on the St. Lawrence River. From WWTI - NewsWatch 50 |
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"Know Your Ships" Book Signing
Today 6/17 - "Know Your Ships" Editor and Publisher Roger LeLievre will attend another book signing that will take place from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday, June 17 in Toledo, aboard the museum ship Willis B. Boyer. Anyone getting a book signed will be able to tour the Boyer for free; a portion of the book sales will go to benefit the Boyer museum. For more information and directions to this historic laker:
www.willisbboyer.org |
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Updates - June 17 News Photo Gallery updated. Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today in Great Lakes History : June 17 On June 17, 1895, the J. W. Westcott Co., inaugurated its unique mail delivery service. On 17 June 1878, the Canadian schooner JAME SCOTT of Port Burwell capsized and sank in Lake Erie. The captain's wife, their child and two seamen were drowned. The wooden schooner MONTEREY which stranded on Sleeping Bear Point on Lake Michigan in early December 1890, was released on 17 June 1891. The SCOTT MISENER (Hull#11) was christened on June 17, 1951, for Colonial Steamships Ltd. She was the first vessel built at Port Weller Drydocks Ltd. Renamed b.) JOHN E F MISENER in 1954. She was scrapped at Cartagena, Columbia in 1986. The PATERSON of 1954, collided with the steamer EDMUND W MUDGE in 1957, in fog on the St. Clair River opposite Marine City, Michigan. The WILLIAM A IRVIN was towed to the Duluth Convention Center on June 17, 1986, by the tugs SIOUX and DAKOTA to be on station as a museum ship at the new $3 million convention facility. June 17, 1998 - The barge PERE MARQUETTE 41 and tug UNDAUNTED arrived Ludington, Michigan from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin after the remainder of the conversion there. The propeller OWEN SOUND was launched at Collingwood, Ontario on 17 June 1875. She measured 900 tons and could carry 30,000 bushels of grain. Data from: Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Father Dowling Collection, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Detroit Marine Historian, Marine Historical Society's 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. |
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Algoma Tankers purchases new tanker 6/16 - Toronto - Algoma Central Corp., through its wholly-owned
subsidiary Algoma Tankers Limited, has entered into an agreement with
MedMarine Group for the purchase of a double-hulled petroleum product tanker
under construction in the Eregli Shipyard, Turkey. Since 2002, approximately $150 million has been invested in modernizing the tanker fleet and positioning Algoma Tankers to be our customers' first choice in marine transportation. Algoma Central News Release |
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Port Reports - June 16 Buffalo - Brian Wroblewski Alpena/Stoneport Report - Ben & Chanda
McClain Milwaukee - Paul Erspamer |
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Museum Icebreaker Alexander Henry on the move 6/16 - Kingston, Ont. - The retired Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Alexander Henry was on the move again Friday. At 5 a.m., she was expected to begin her first voyage since she arrived in
Kingston. She will be pulled by ropes etc. approximately 70 yards into her new
berth. She will be permanently secured in the dry-dock at the old Kingston
Shipyards, now the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes. |
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Historic ship returns to Monroe 6/16 - Monroe, MI - A voyage into the past awaits visitors to the
Port of Monroe this weekend when the U.S. Brig Niagara, a replica of an 1812
warship, berths for two days of public tours. From the Monroe News |
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Detroit RiverWalk ready to open 6/16 - Detroit's hardworking riverfront is finally going to have some fun. For more than 300 years, the land along the Detroit River has been home to forts, farms and factories, with little room for recreation. But through the efforts of a public/private coalition and $300 million, the first phase of RiverWalk, a series of promenades and parks carved out of former industrial properties, is ready to welcome visitors. It officially opens with the inaugural Detroit International River Days celebration, June 22-27 RiverWalk will eventually cover a distance of about five miles, connecting new and existing features between the Ambassador Bridge in the west to Gabriel Richard Park near Belle Isle, an island park at the eastern end of the downtown area. The 3.5-mile section of RiverWalk between Joe Louis Arena, the home of the Detroit Red Wings, to the Belle Isle area, including Hart Plaza and the GM Renaissance Center (RenCen), is 75 percent complete. The East RiverWalk has been greatly anticipated by Detroit boosters like Josh and Megan Christie. "We are so lucky to have that riverfront," says Megan, who grew up in the city. "It's a natural resource that's been underutilized," adds Josh, who hails from Iowa via Washington, D.C. The Christies, ages 32 and 27, supported the development of RiverWalk by purchasing a commemorative brick for the new walkway. They have a special affection for Hart Plaza, a 14-acre space adjacent to
RenCen that had been the most accessible downtown spot for lovers and others
to enjoy views of the Detroit River and Windsor, Canada, across the water.
It's where Josh first told Megan that he loved her and, he says, "That's why
we chose to get married there," on a cold, clear day in December 2005. Fur traders and farmers worked the Detroit riverfront, as did the French, British and American military, the captains of Great Lakes steamships and freighters, and Prohibition era rum-runners who smuggled hootch from Canada over the waters, under the river through the international tunnel, or across the graceful Ambassador Bridge. Before Detroit became the Motor City, it was an important port, a shipbuilding center, and leading manufacturer of pig iron, stoves and railcars. The waterfront grew into a jumbled, unsightly web of railroad tracks, plants, cement silos, warehouses and workshops. In the 1960s the city built a waterfront convention hall, and in 1977 Henry Ford II opened Renaissance Center, a pet project he hoped would spark a rebirth of Detroit. The massive hotel-office-retail-dining complex was built to take advantage of river views, but was roundly criticized for its fortress-like design. RenCen is credited with stimulating some development and sparking excitement in the city, which hosted the 1980 Republican National Convention and 1982 Super Bowl XVI. In 1996, General Motors made Renaissance Center its world headquarters and launched a $500 million renovation of the landmark, including construction of a five-story, glass-walled Wintergarden overlooking the Detroit River. GM invested in the RiverWalk by building a plaza just outside the Wintergarden, and the company is an active partner in the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy, which is guiding the development of RiverWalk. Visitors can enjoy the East RiverWalk on foot, bicycle or in-line skates, and relax at two pavilions (two more are planned) with food concessions, WiFi-ready outdoor seating and restrooms. The River Carousel at Rivard Plaza features creatures native to the Detroit River, including sturgeon, bass, catfish, egret, heron, wood duck and frog, plus a mythical River Monster and River Mermaid; a spin is $2. Those in a more contemplative mood will want to walk the 35-foot labyrinth at Gabriel Richard Park at the east end of RiverWalk. New on this stretch of the riverfront is Michigan's first urban recreation area, the Tri-Centennial State Park and Harbor. A striking, 63-foot replica of the Tawas Point Lighthouse (the original is on Lake Huron near East Tawas) guards the marina entrance. RiverWalk also links the established Mount Elliott Park, St. Aubin Park and marina, and the seasonal concerts at Chene Park's 6,500-seat waterfront amphitheater. "RiverWalk will bring a sense of community to Detroit that's long overdue," says Megan. "We have big hopes for what it will be." From the Cincinnati Inquirer |
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Boatnerd logos for sale The boat watching season is in full swing. Are you able to be identified as
a BoatNerd? |
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Updates - June 16 News Photo Gallery updated. Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today in Great Lakes History : June 16 The steamer UNIQUE (wooden propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 163 foot, 381 gross tons) was built by Alexander Anderson at Marine City, Michigan. She was launched stern first at 3:00 p.m. on 16 June 1894. There was quite a crowd assembled to watch the launch. While waiting for the launch, Engineer Merrill of the steamer MARY composed the following verse:
The vessel was painted a bright yellow up to the promenade deck with white
cabins and upper works. In 1901, she left the upper Lakes and was chartered
for the Thousand Islands cruise trade. Later that year, she was sold to
Philadelphia buyers for Delaware River service. Her upper cabins were removed
in 1904, when she was rebuilt as a yacht. She lasted until 20 November 1915,
when she burned to a total loss in New York harbor. |
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May U.S.-Flag Float on the Great Lakes
Static 6/15 - Cleveland—U.S.-Flag vessels moved 12.1 million tons of
dry-bulk cargo on the Great Lakes in May, a virtual tie with a year ago.
However, lack of adequate dredging and falling water levels and the resulting
light loads were the primary factor behind the static total. Source: Lake Carriers’ Association. |
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Port Reports - Jun 15 Marquette - Rod Burdick
St. Joseph - Michael Barlow Toronto - Charlie Gibbons |
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The Case of the Disappearing Great Lake 6/15 - Baraga, Mich. — "Where did the water go?" asks Ted Shalifor, manager of a marina and campground on Lake Superior's Chippewa Indian Reservation. The water on Lake Superior is so low that he couldn't put his docks in the water this year. Where he used to see water, he now sees sandbars. Lake Superior, the world's largest freshwater lake, has dropped to its lowest level in 81 years. The water is 20 inches below average and a foot lower than just a year ago. The dropping levels have had serious environmental and economic consequences. Wetlands have dried up. Power plants run at half capacity. Cargo ships carry partial loads. Boaters struggle to find a place to dock. The changes can be seen all along the 2,800-mile shore of Lake Superior, the coldest and deepest of the Great Lakes. The water has receded, sometimes 50 feet or more, from its normal shoreline. Lake Huron and Lake Michigan are at low levels, as well, although not quite as extreme. Researchers at the University of Minnesota and elsewhere study whether Lake Superior's low water levels are a result of global warming. The average water temperature of Lake Superior has risen 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979. A drought and warm weather are the immediate cause of the drop in water levels. In the past year, precipitation was 6 inches less than the average of 31 inches. The lake's southern shore had a green Christmas in 2006. The ice and snow pack that usually cover the lake arrived late, allowing water to evaporate. "It's been a long time since we've been this low, but it has happened," says Tim Calappi, a hydraulic engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers, which tracks water levels. "We still think this is within the range of what's normal, but we have to wait and see." Many people living near Lake Superior don't buy drought or warm weather as the reasons for dropping water levels — a conspiracy theory is more popular. They say Lake Superior was drained through the St. Mary's River to raise the levels of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. "It's like the tide went out and didn't come back," says Dan Alexander, a commercial fisherman in Baraga. "We know what it is. They drained the lake." The water is so low he had to find a new place to dock his 38-foot boat. Calappi says it's a myth that the Army Corps drains Lake Superior to help other lakes with presumably more powerful benefactors. He says the amount of water that flows out of Lake Superior is established by an international agreement with Canada. The water flow is regulated by how much water is permitted to pass through hydroelectric plants on the St. Mary's River, which connects Lake Superior and Lake Huron and, indirectly, Lake Michigan. The Edison Sault Electric power plant in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., will operate at less than 50% capacity this year because its water flows have been slashed as a result of the low lake levels, the company said. That pushed the company to buy high-cost power elsewhere and increase rates. Other problems are cargo ships run partly empty, especially those that carry heavy materials such as coal and iron ore. On a recent trip, the 1,004-foot freighter James R. Barker had to leave 7,000 tons of coal behind, so the boat would draft 26 feet under water, instead of 29 feet. "We need more rain, and we need more dredging," says Robert Dorn, senior vice president of Interlake Steamship Co., which owns the ship. Adolph Ojard, executive director of the Duluth (Minn.) Seaway Port Authority, says cargo ships have lightened loads about 5%. For ships averaging $6 a cargo ton and making 40 trips a year, that amounts to about $1 million in lost revenue per ship, he says. Large beds of wild rice that grow in wetlands have gone dry. Wild rice beds in the Kakagon Slough of Bad River in Wisconsin have been hit particularly hard. Recreational boaters find fewer berths everywhere along Lake Superior. Smaller boats compete for fewer spaces. Owners of big boats not suitable for shallow water are sometimes forced to move on or spend the night in deeper waters. In Marquette, Mich., the water is so low, the city had to build two-step stairs for people to walk down to their boats. The landings are supposed to be level with the boats. "It's a mess. There's not much to tell people with deep-keeled sailboats other than, 'There's no place for you anywhere,' " says Hugh Leslie, parks and recreation director in Marquette (pop. 20,714), the largest Michigan town on the lake. In Marquette, boulders line the shore to prevent waves from washing out Lakeshore Boulevard. Today, the lake is more than 50 feet from the road. The receding water has created wide swaths of scenic beach, but even this has created problems. Changing currents at South Beach in Marquette carved a 4-foot crevice in the popular family beach. "It cut the beach in half and exposed drainage pipes," Leslie says. Elsewhere along Lake Superior, the beaches are wider than usual but they aren't expected to attract larger crowds. Because of the cold, "here in Duluth, we're not really beach people," says Ann Norris of the city's Parks and Recreation Department. Scott Brossart, engineer for the Army Corps in Duluth, says some dredging will be done to make the commercial channels in Lake Superior ports a little deeper. In Washington, Congress is considering more money for dredging. But the corps doesn't work in recreational harbors. "We're getting requests to dredge from everywhere this year, but I have to tell them we don't do that," Brossart says. Away from shore, Lake Superior is doing fine. A 19-inch drop doesn't make a big difference in a lake that is 1,330 feet at its deepest. The fishing has never been better. Alexander says he's catching huge amounts of trout and whitefish. For now, he's waiting, like everyone else, for the water to rise. "It seemed normal last October," Shalifor says. "Then it dropped and never came back." From USA Today |
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Water levels will be fluctuating 6/15 - Cornwall, Ontario - The below-average water levels in the
Great Lakes are having a severe effect on St. Lawrence River levels. All five
Great Lakes are currently below average, and Lake Superior, in particular, is
expected to reach all-time record low levels by this fall. The level in Lake
Superior has not been this low at this time of the year since 1925. |
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Harbor project worries workers 6/15 - Waukegan - Worried employees of a plant on Waukegan Harbor
turned out by the dozens Wednesday night to vent their frustrations and try to
get answers about a dredging project that could mean the elimination of their
jobs. |
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Updates - June 15 News Photo Gallery updated. Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today in Great Lakes History : June 15 On this day in 1967, the new $6 million Allouez taconite pellet handling facility in Superior, Wisconsin was dedicated. The first cargo of 18,145 tons of pellets was loaded into the holds of the Hanna Mining Company freighter JOSEPH H THOMPSON. At midnight, on Saturday, 15 June 1901, OMAR D CONGER (wooden propeller ferry, 92 foot, 199 gross tons, built in 1882, at Port Huron, Michigan) burned at her dock on the Black River in Port Huron, Michigan. Her upper works were destroyed, but she was repaired and put back in service. She lasted until 1922, when her boiler exploded, killing four people and destroying the vessel. On June 15, 1943, the D M CLEMSON collided with and sank the GEORGE M HUMPHREY in the Straits of Mackinac. Both of these 600-footers recovered for long careers. The D M CLEMSON was sold for scrap in 1980. The GEORGE M HUMPHREY was recovered over a year later, renamed the b.) CAPTAIN JOHN ROEN, later converted to a self-unloader, and finished her career as the d.) CONSUMERS POWER at the end of the 1985, season before being scrapped in 1988. In 1989, the ROGER M KYES was rechristened b.) ADAM E CORNELIUS by American
Steamship Co. GRECIAN (steel propeller freighter, 296 foot, 2,348 gross tons, built in 1891, at Cleveland, Ohio by Globe Iron Works (Hull#40) had struck a rock near Detour, Michigan on 7 June 1906, but made dock at Detour before settling on bottom.. After her cargo was removed, she was raised, and towed by her fleet mate SIR HENRY BESSEMER, bound for Detroit Shipbuilding Co. in Wyandotte, Michigan for repairs, relying on air pressure in her sealed holds to keep her afloat. However, on 15 June 1906, her holds began to fill with water and she sank in Lake Huron off Thunder Bay. Her crew was rescued by SIR HENRY BESSEMER. Data from: Jody Aho, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, 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. |
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Dredging of St Marys River - Tannery Bay to resume 6/14 - Sault Ste. Marie - The US Environmental Protection Agency with Phelps Dodge and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality was due to resume dredging contaminated sediment in the St Marys River at Tannery Bay, Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, in early June. The bay, located just above the Soo Locks, is being cleaned up under the Great Lakes Legacy Act. The $8 million clean-up began last July. Dredging was halted during winter months. The goal is to remove about 40,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from the bay and a nearby wetland including 500,000 pounds of chromium and 25 pounds of mercury. The pollution is mainly by-products from the former Northwestern Leather Co. tannery that operated during the first half of the 20th century. From Dredging News Online |
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Port Reports - July 14 Marquette - Rod Burdick St. Lawrence Seaway - Ron Beaupre
Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey |
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New "Handysize" under construction in Cleveland 6/14 - Cleveland - TUGZ International, LLC, the well-known and
successful owner-charterer of the “Z Class”, 4,000 hp multipurpose U.S. flag
reverse tractor tugs designed by Jensen Maritime Consultants, Seattle, is
introducing a new Jensen designed tug to fill the niche between the 2,000 -
3,000 hp tug market for harbor work, fireboats, and construction operations as
well as for coastal towing. |
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Updates - June 14 News Photo Gallery updated. Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today in Great Lakes History : June 14 On this day in 1985, Captain Edward Rogowski passed away. Captain Rogowski started sailing as a deckhand on the 514 foot JOHN SHERWIN in 1936. He retired in 1982 as the first Captain of the largest freighter on the Great Lakes, the 1,013 foot PAUL R TREGURTHA. On this day in 1957, the Interlake Steamship Company freighter HARVEY H BROWN, Captain Percy E. Mc Ginness, delivered the first cargo of coal to the new taconite loading port of Taconite Harbor, Minnesota. The ROGER BLOUGH departed the shipyard in ballast on her maiden voyage for U.S. Steel Corp. the night of June 14, 1972, for Two Harbors, Minnesota to load 41,608 gross tons of taconite ore pellets. She was nearly a year late because of a fire in her engine room. On June 14, 1988, the CONSUMERS POWER of 1927, with her former fleet mate JOHN T HUTCHINSON, departed Lauzon, Quebec in tow of the Panamanian tug/supply ship OMEGA 809, bound for a scrap yard in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The steamer PRINCESS was sold to Little and Fitzgerald on 14 June 1873. She was built in 1858, at Algonac, Michigan by Z. Pangborn.The wooden scow TINKER was launched at Leighton & Dunford's yard in Port Huron, Michigan on 14 June 1876. Data from: Jody Aho, Max Hanley, Joe Barr, David Swayze, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II, The Marine Historical Society of Detroit and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. This is a small sample, the books includes many other vessels with a much more detailed. |
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Port Reports - July 13 Twin Ports - Al Miller Milwaukee - John Vogel & Paul Erspamer Marquette - Rod Burdick
Hamilton – Eric Holmes |
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Updates - June 13 News Photo Gallery updated. Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today In Great Lakes History : June 13 On 13 June 2003, after completing her conversion from American to Canadian
registry, Lower Lakes Towing's newly acquired MICHIPICOTEN, a.) ELTON HOYT
2ND, departed the Government dock at Sarnia, Ontario. First she went to the
Shell Oil dock in Corunna, Ontario to fuel, then she departed for Marquette,
Michigan to load ore for Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. |
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Port exports Indiana steel to Spain 6/12 - Portage, Ind. – About 11,000 tons of Indiana-made steel headed for Spain aboard the Julietta on Monday. The ship was loaded at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor with hot-rolled steel coils from Mittal Steel in East Chicago, Ind. The shipment is destined for Pasajes, Spain. Federal Marine Terminals, which serves as the port's general cargo stevedore, will load the vessel Monday and Tuesday. This is the first export shipment of steel through the Port of Indiana since 2005. There were a few export steel shipments between 2003 and 2005 – just over 55,000 tons total. In 1995, the port handled an all-time high 243,000 tons of exported steel. "Historically, the majority of steel moving through the port is imported from European countries," said Ian Hirt, general manger of Federal Marine Terminals, "but changing market conditions and a weak U.S. dollar can trigger export opportunities. There is a possibility for more export shipments this year." Since the Port of Indiana also has year-round access to the inland river system, it does ship out some steel by barge which can eventually be exported to world markets after it is trans-loaded to ocean-going vessels in or around New Orleans. The Port of Indiana generally handles more ocean-going cargo than any other U.S. Great Lakes port and about 15 percent of all U.S. steel trade with Europe. In 2006, the port set a new record with $584 million in steel shipments, up 57 percent from 2005. Sharing boundaries with two of the largest steel mills in the country, this port handles a wide range of steel-related cargoes. All three of Indiana's ports on Lake Michigan and the Ohio River set individual records for total shipments in 2006 – Mount Vernon: $482 million (+20%), Jeffersonville: $588 million (+30%) and Burns Harbor/Portage: $820 million (+21%). Overall, the Ports of Indiana set a new record of $1.89 billion of cargo handled in 2006. This was a 23-percent increase from 2005, which had been the previous 36-year high. Port of Indiana news release |
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Port Reports - June 12 Twin Ports - Al Miller Milwaukee - Paul Erspamer Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey Holland - Bob Vande Vusse |
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Great Lakes Iron Ore Trade Revs Up a Bit
in May 6/12 - Cleveland---Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes in May
increased 5 percent compared to a year ago. |
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Low water levels in harbor expose pitted pilings 6/12 - Duluth - As Lake Superior sinks toward an all-time low, many Twin Ports commercial dock owners are being treated to an alarming view of steel that has been submerged in the harbor for decades. And it’s not pretty. An aggressive form of corrosion has deeply pitted the steel that girds the port’s working shoreline, and some pilings are so riddled with holes that they’re on the verge of failure. Efforts to diagnose the cause of the accelerated freshwater corrosion that’s attacking the Twin Ports continue. But as researchers scramble for answers, dock owners are confronting questions about what to do. Most sheet piling with an original thickness of 3/8 of an inch or less that has been in the harbor for more than 30 years has been badly perforated, said Chad Scott, owner of AMI Consulting Engineers of Duluth. Some steel piles have emerged from the water with gaping holes this year as Lake Superior has fallen 18 inches from its average historical level. Some of the most dramatic damage can be found on U.S. Coast Guard range towers near the Bong Bridge and at the foot of the Duluth Missabe & Iron Range Railway ore docks now operated by Canadian National Wooden structures have been affected, too, said Scott, who is leading an underwater survey of port structures. He explained that the metal drift pins and bolts that hold together wooden cribbing in older parts of the port also are failing because of corrosion. Timbers are beginning to drift out of place, and Scott predicts many will go astray, particularly under the pressure of shifting ice. Scott advises dock owners to have their facilities inspected, particularly if they are constructed of 3/8-inch material. He said awareness of the corrosion issue has increased greatly in the past couple of years, largely as a result of widely-publicized research efforts and declining water levels. “These low-water conditions are optimum for people to see the damage for themselves,” Scott said. He noted that the most severe corrosion in the harbor seems to be occurring within six feet of the water’s surface. And the recent drop in water levels is giving many people their first clear view of how much damage has occurred. The corrosion issue tapers off below about 10 feet. Most 3/8-inch docks probably will face collapse in the next five to 10 years unless their steel pilings are replaced, Scott said. But he believes most of the ½-inch thick docks can still be saved. That’s good news to Jim Sharrow, facilities manager for the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. Buying Time Sharrow hopes to apply protective coatings to existing steel structures to arrest corrosion as researchers work to understand the forces at work on steel in the harbor. The Port Authority is planning to test several promising coatings side-by-side and pick the best to protect its docks. The testing will be shared with other dock owners. Applying coatings won’t be cheap, however. Sharrow estimated steel pilings can be coated for about 10 percent to 20 percent of the cost of replacing them. Coating the docks would be a labor-intensive process. A coffer dam would be clamped to the side of a dock. Water would be pumped out of the chamber. Then the pilings would be sandblasted to remove corrosion and any organic buildup. The coating would be applied to clean, bare metal and allowed to dry before the coffer dam was removed. Some initial coating tests have been done at the Midwest Energy Resources coal terminal in Superior. Scott said that 5-year test produced some promising results that should help the Port Authority focus on the most promising family of products. “A thousand companies will say they have the solution, but their products have never been tested in our heavy ice conditions,” said Scott, speaking to the need for field testing. “Our ice abrasion here on Lake Superior is a killer. Most standard coatings will last maybe five to eight years, and we’re looking for something that will last 15 to 20 years.” Sharrow said many private dock owners are confronting corrosion so severe that replacement is their only alternative, and they will need to determine whether it makes sense to invest the money needed to maintain their Twin Ports facilities. Grain facilities could be especially vulnerable to closure. “Certainly
we’re concerned about their future because of recent declines in grain
shipments from our port and the ongoing changes in grain markets,” Sharrow
said. “But so far, we’ve had no indication of any grain elevator planning to
pull out of the port.” Research Continues Hicks has been studying a sampling of organisms found living on the port’s steel pilings. Scott collected the samples during dives last fall and delivered them to Hicks’ lab. There, Hicks has successfully isolated two types of bacteria that could be of interest. One appears to be an iron oxidizer and the other an iron reducer. “We have some interesting preliminary results, but it’s way too early to tell if these bacteria are culprits,” Hicks said.
Hicks will study DNA samples and will collaborate with Brenda Little, a scientist at the Naval Research Center in Biloxi, Miss. She specializes in scanning electron microscopy and will use her skills to examine life forms on samples of corroding steel. Those samples will be sent to her overnight in specially designed cylindrical packages filled with harbor water. Scott, too, will continue his work as he wades through the findings of his dive surveys. “We already have mounds of data, and this year we need to go through and look for trends and anomalies,” he said. “We have to plot out the data and look for patterns.” Scott has found that the corrosion issue isn’t confined to the Twin Ports’ harbor. While there seems to be little issue with steel structures in the lake, he has found evidence of accelerated corrosion upstream in the St. Louis River. Scott discovered evidence of pitting at the Oliver Bridge and also at the Thomson dam. It’s unclear whether there’s a similar problem still further upstream. Sharrow said he understands that it will take time to get to the bottom of this issue. He probably also will need to seek additional state and federal money to support ongoing research. “The whole process has been frustratingly slow — slower than I thought it would be,” Sharrow said. “But we’re moving ahead toward some concrete findings. We’re still probably one to two years away from having answers.” Meanwhile, Sharrow will look for ways to stave off any more irreparable damage to the port. “It feels like we’re in a boat drifting toward the edge of a waterfall, and we’re getting closer and closer to the edge,” he said. “Sometimes it’s difficult to have patience, but we need to go through this process.” From the Duluth News-Tribune |
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Updates - June 12 News Photo Gallery updated. Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today in Great Lakes History : June 12 On 12 June 1898, SAKIE SHEPHERD (wooden propeller freighter, 100 foot, 189
gross tons, built in 1883, at Huron, Ohio) burned while at the dock in
Courtright, Ontario. The fire was discovered at 1:00 a.m. and the crew just
had time to escape. The schooner YOUNG AMERICA also caught fire and had damage
done to her stern. The SHEPHERD was towed to Detroit where she was rebuilt and
lasted until 1903, when she sank in Lake Huron. |
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Port Reports - June 11 Toronto - Charlie Gibbons Marquette - Lee Rowe |
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More BoatNerd Gathering Cruises Scheduled Friday, June 29 - Annual Boatnerd Freighter Chasing Cruise at the Soo - The annual trip aboard the Chief Shingwauk for a full three (3) hours leaving from Roberta Bondar Pavilion in Soo, Ontario. Saturday, July 14 - Annual St. Clair River Gathering aboard the Hammond Bay - The Hammond Bay will depart their dock 2 miles south of Sombra, Ontario at 11:00am for a 3-hour narrated cruise passing Fawn Island, Sombra, Courtright, St. Clair, and Marine City. Saturday, August 11 - Boatnerd Detroit Down River Cruise - A 4-hour freighter chasing cruise on the lower Detroit River, to Detroit River Light, aboard the luxurious Friendship, driven by Capt. Sam Buchanan. Go to the Boatnerd Gatherings page for all the details and reservation forms. |
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Updates - June 11 News Photo Gallery updated. Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today In Great Lakes History : June 11 TASHMOO (steel side-wheel excursion steamer, 308 foot, 1,344 gross tons, built in 1900, at Wyandotte, Michigan) entered regular service for the White Star Line at Detroit, Michigan on 11 June 1900. On 11 June 1903, HORACE H BADGER (wooden 3-mast schooner, 129 foot, 263 gross tons, built in 1867, at Conneaut, Ohio as a 2-mast schooner, formerly KATE GILLETT) was carrying coal in a storm on Lake Erie. She was driven onto the breakwater at Cleveland, Ohio and broke up in the storm waves. The crew of seven was rescued by the Life Saving Service. This vessel had been wrecked twice before; once at Cross Village, Michigan in 1895, and again near Alpena, Michigan in 1896. The ATLANTIC SUPERIOR (Hull#222) was float launched at Thunder Bay, Ontario by Port Arthur Ship Building Co. Ltd.. in 1982, for Federal Commerce & Navigation Ltd., Montreal, Quebec (Canada Steamship Lines Ltd., mgr.), built for the Caribbean trade. The MESABI MINER was christened at Duluth, Minnesota in 1977, she became the fourth thousand-foot bulk carrier on the Great Lakes and Interlake Steamship Co.'s second. CARL D BRADLEY (Hull#718) cleared Lorain, Ohio in her gray and white livery in 1917, on her maiden voyage light bound for Calcite, Michigan to load limestone. She was the first Great Lakes commercial ship equipped with both Morse code telegraphy as well as ship-to-shore radio in 1922, which was standard on only 20 vessels by 1924. Renamed b.) JOHN G MUNSON in 1927, c.) IRVIN L CLYMER in 1951. She was scrapped at Duluth, Minnesota in 1994-5. On June 11, 1936, the EDWARD J BERWIND collided with the AYCLIFFE HALL 16 miles West of Long Point on Lake Erie. The Hall Corp. steamer went to the bottom and was not salvaged. June 11, 1981 - The BADGER steamed out of Ludington en route to Milwaukee under an MDOT subsidy that was approved earlier in March. The propeller E B HALE was launched at Cleveland, Ohio at the yard of Quayle & Sons on 11 June 1874. Her length was 217 foot keel, 227 foot overall. She was owned by Capt. Bradley, Mr. Thomas Quayle and Mr. Loomis and she cost $100,000.The wooden rabbit J S RUBY was launched at Fair Haven, Michigan on 11 June 1881. Her dimensions were 106 feet 6 inches x 21 feet x 7 feet. She was towed to Port Huron for the installation of her boiler and engine that were built by the Phoenix Iron Works. She lasted until burned to a total loss off Stag Island in the St. Clair River on November 9, 1891. Data from: Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Father Dowling Collection, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, 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. |
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Port Reports - June 10 Toronto - Charlie Gibbons |
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Toppled crane kills miner near Virginia 6/10 - Virginia, MN - A 49-year-old rural Gilbert man was killed Friday at Mittal Steel USA’s Minorca Mine near Virginia when the crane he was operating tipped over. Details of the accident are under investigation by the Mine Safety and Health Administration and St. Louis County Mine Inspector’s Office. David Allen, a company spokesman, said the employee died when the crane he was using tipped over while he was setting a de-watering pipe into place following a routine blasting operation. The crane operator was injured as he tried to leave the crane cab when the crane began tipping, Allen said. A 911 call at 12:03 p.m. reported that a miner was pinned under a mining equipment vehicle, according to a Gilbert Police Department news release. The accident occurred in the active Laurentian pit at the mine. The victim’s name has not been released, pending notification of relatives. He was a longtime employee of the plant, Allen said. The accident occurred about one bench, or level, above the floor of the mine pit, said Barry Lesar, St. Louis County Inspector of Mines. A bench is typically about 40 feet high. The last fatality at the taconite plant, just north of Virginia, was in 1987, Allen said. A United Steelworkers Emergency Response Team is en route from Pittsburgh to take part in the investigation, said Bob Bratulich, United Steelworkers District 11 director. It’s the third fatality at an Iron Range taconite plant since October, when an electrical coordinator was killed in an electrical explosion at United Taconite in Forbes. In April, a United Taconite drill operator died when the drill he was operating tipped over in the facility’s mine at Eveleth. While there appear to be different circumstances in the accidents, Bratulich said three deaths within nine months is troubling. “We obviously have less people [working] in the plants,” Bratulich said of the roughly 4,400 miners currently employed, compared to more than 16,000 in 1978, the industry’s peak modern-day employment high. “Three deaths in the mines in nine months is a reason for concern.” It’s been many years since three deaths have occurred within the span of year at Iron Range taconite plants, Lesar said. Since 1973, when four miners died, the highest yearly toll has been two — in 1977, 1983 and 1989. Single fatalities since 1973 occurred in 1974, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1987, 1988, 1994, 1998, 2000 and 2006. Iron Range taconite plants use large trucks, shovels, drills, cranes and
bulldozers to mine low-grade taconite. Within massive processing plants that
contain miles of conveyor belts, crushers, mills, millions of gallons of water
and extreme heat, the taconite is turned into iron ore pellets. The pellets
are the primary product in steelmaking Six taconite plants operate in Northeastern Minnesota, producing about 40 million tons of iron ore pellets per year. From the Duluth News Tribune |
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Updates - June 10 News Photo Gallery updated. Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today in Great Lakes History : June 10 On 10 June 1891, the tug AMERICAN EAGLE (wooden propeller tug, 46 gross
tons, built in 1865, at Buffalo, New York) collided with the tug ALVA B
(wooden propeller tug, 73 foot, 83 gross tons, built in 1890, at Buffalo, New
York) which was not in motion, about 2.5 miles west of the Cleveland
breakwater. The ALVA B hooked up a line and started towing the AMERICAN EAGLE
in, but she sank a half mile from the harbor entrance. |
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Big Drop in Lakes Limestone Trade in May 6/9 - Cleveland - Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes fell
sharply in May. Loadings totaled 4.4 million net tons, a decrease of 15
percent compared to a year ago, and a drop of nearly 8 percent compared to the
month’s 5-year average. Source - Lake Carriers' Association |
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Port Reports - June 9 Twin Ports - Al Miller Holland - Kevin Hirdes |
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Great Lakes cruises offer majestic views, relaxing pace 6/9 - A massive freighter towers over the Grande Mariner as the 183-foot-long cruise boat slips past the Motor City skyline en route to Mackinac Island. By the time the Grande Mariner and its 65 passengers reach Chicago four days after seeing Detroit, they will have traveled through the Erie Canal and four of the five Great Lakes. It's a journey of contrasts, with stops in reviving Rust Belt cities and quaint tourist towns, passing heavily industrialized stretches of the Detroit River and miles of unspoiled coastline. The route is rich in history and natural beauty. And the trip is one of dozens of multi-day vacation cruises planned this year for the Great Lakes, from weeklong Lake Michigan coast excursions to fall leaf-peeping tours of New York and Quebec and 15-day voyages from Chicago to Warren, R.I. ''It's just beautiful travel and beautiful scenery,'' says Roy Keith, the Grande Mariner's captain, who for the last decade has taken cruise ships onto the Great Lakes. Largely dormant since the 1960s as international air travel and tropical cruises increased in popularity and affordability, the Great Lakes cruise tradition began a revival in the mid-1990s. For travelers accustomed to the massive cruise ships of the Caribbean and Mediterranean, the Great Lakes boats are modest. The pace is easygoing, passengers get to know the crew on a first-name basis and the scenery along the way -- best seen from the top deck -- is much of the attraction. ''When you travel by car, you've got to find those hot spots,'' says Ryan McMullen, cruise director on the Grande Mariner. ``When you travel by water, you just have to sit back and watch those hot spots come by.'' The trip on the Grande Mariner, which is owned by American Canadian Caribbean Cruise Line Inc. and can hold up to 100 passengers, began in the company's Warren, R.I., home port. The boat passed by New York City and traveled up the Hudson River, heading through the Erie Canal and stopping in cities along the way. After visiting Buffalo and Rochester, N.Y., it headed to Cleveland before stopping in the Detroit suburb of Wyandotte. Many of the passengers got off the boat for an optional tour in Dearborn of The Henry Ford, which includes the Henry Ford Museum, a collection of auto-related and other technological and cultural artifacts. Others, like Jan Musson, 69, of Goshen, Ky., stayed on board to read a book
while her husband, Wick, 71, went on the tour. They took the cruise to
celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary and enjoy the chance to relax. Since the Grande Mariner is so small, it can squeeze through the Erie Canal and dock in smaller communities like Wyandotte, as well as bigger cities, letting passengers off right in downtown. Cost varies by cabin size, with prices for the 16-day trip ranging from $2,785 to $3,840. The Grande Mariner spends the summer in Lake Michigan before returning to its home port for fall color tours on the Erie Canal. Tour options on different lines vary widely. Smaller boats carry up to 18 passengers on cruises that skirt Lake Ontario. And the MV Columbus -- a 423-passenger ship designed especially for the Great Lakes -- offers 11-day cruises between Toronto and Chicago that spend time in all five Great Lakes during prime fall color season. On the Columbus, prices range from $2,139 to $6,190 per person, depending on cabin size and trip. The Great Lakes and their connecting channels form the largest fresh surface water system on the planet. Travel promoters say the Great Lakes region, well-known for its recreational boating, stunning beaches and summer vacation towns, has the potential to attract more cruise ships. More than a half-dozen ships have cruises scheduled for this year. The Great Lakes Cruising Coalition, which since 1997 has worked to promote the industry, said it would like to see about 60 of the about 130 cruise boats that can get to the Great Lakes via the St. Lawrence Seaway offering tours. Stephen Burnett, executive director of the coalition, whose members include port towns and others with interests in attracting more tourists to the region, says Great Lakes cruises have a broad appeal. ''You return home with a great sense of where you've been traveling,'' Burnett says. ``You didn't just get off the ship and go shopping.'' From the Miami Herald |
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Windmill power spins into reality 6/9 - Buffalo - The eight towering windmills that make up the Steel Winds wind farm at the old Bethlehem Steel plant site in Lackawanna are up and running. Nine months after developers broke ground on the unprecedented wind energy project, the giant blades can now be seen spinning in the strong, steady gusts off Lake Erie — and they are not only generating electricity. They’re creating a buzz. At a wind energy conference in Los Angeles this month that has drawn about 7,000 participants, the windmill manufacturer — Clipper Windpower — fielded questions about the progress of the Lackawanna project. A delegation of officials from Cleveland came here to tour the wind farm as the fellow Rust Belt city mulls a similar project on former industrial land there. Lackawanna Mayor Norman L. Polanski Jr. has been deluged with calls about the 20-megawatt wind farm that has become a symbol of both the future of renewable energy and the possibilities of urban renewal in the national — and even international — media. “Al-Jazeera called, and I thought, Oh, my God,” Polanski said. A producer from the Arab news network who had grown up in Rochester was interested in coming to Lackawanna to do a feature on the windmills. Polanski also has taken calls from NBC News and Fox News. “Something interesting is going on here,” Polanski said. “And it’s all good. Finally, Western New York has got the limelight.” The $40 million wind project marks several firsts in the burgeoning wind industry in the United States, helping to bring attention to the region as well as the wind power business. It is the first “urban” wind farm in the country. It’s the world’s first commercial project to use Clipper Windpower’s massive Liberty series turbines. The wind farm is the first of its kind in the United States to be built on a former industrial site and the first to go up along the shores of the American side of the Great Lakes. The developers of Steel Winds are apparently so happy with the way the project has gone that “we are looking at the idea of expanding the project,” said Mark B. Mitskovski, project manager of Steel Winds. They are considering building as many as 19 additional windmills on the old Bethlehem Steel property, Mitskovski said. So far, just two have been permitted for the Lackawanna side of the property. Eleven more are being proposed for the Lackawanna side and an additional six on the Hamburg side. Hamburg officials have raised some concerns about the turbines and initially even considered a moratorium on wind energy projects. Instead, the town is working on a comprehensive wind ordinance that would set rules for any future development. A public hearing on the ordinance is scheduled Monday. Steel Winds is hardly the only wind power project in the area. Later this month, Noble Environmental Power is breaking ground on a $210 million, 67-turbine farm, dubbed the Noble Bliss Wind Park, in the Town of Eagle in Wyoming County. It is a different, much larger-scale wind power project than Steel Winds — one that is far more typical of those found on rural areas nationwide. Noble Bliss is being built on private farms, with farmers receiving monetary compensation. The town also was able to forgo levying any taxes on its residents this year because of payments from Noble. Many wind farms in rural areas of Western New York — including another Noble project in Allegany County — have met with some opposition from the community over concerns regarding aesthetics, impact on birds and other wildlife, sound pollution and property values. Sherry Grugel, who handles community outreach in Western New York for Noble, said she believes that Steel Winds is starting to make people less wary of wind farms. “I have talked to more people who have gone out to go see them,” she said. “. . . Everybody looks at them, and they look good.” Steel Winds also is standing as an example of the potential for economic development of the region’s industrial land along Lake Erie. The windmills that now spin atop a mountain of steel byproduct on the long-shuttered Bethlehem Steel plant site are suddenly piquing the interest of all kinds of developers. “People are talking about the site,” said Christopher S. Pawenski, coordinator of Erie County’s industrial-assistance program. Steel Winds “grabs someone’s interest who would never think of looking at Lackawanna or Buffalo,” Pawenski said. “They think, ‘Wow! Look at that!’ ” Developers are realizing that “the soil can’t be that bad if they’re willing to invest $40 million,” he added. To make the land even more attractive, the county is getting ready to move the rail lines on the property to make it more accessible for trucks from Route 5, he said. Also, Tecumseh, the current owner of the land, is working on investigating and cleaning up 400 acres of its property to meet state requirements that would designate the land as a brownfield, with special tax incentives. The Wind Action Group, a local organization that has been a strong proponent of Steel Winds, is hoping to host a conference soon that would explore the potential for spin off projects, including the creation of technical jobs related to wind energy production. Pawenski is quick to point out that while millions of private dollars are being poured into the Steel Winds project, very little tax revenue and just a handful of jobs are being generated. “By state law, [renewable energy projects] are tax-exempt,” he explained. The federal government also offers numerous tax incentives for such projects. Steel Winds developers worked out an agreement with the City of Lackawanna,
agreeing to pay $100,000 a year for the next 15 years for the eight turbines
that are in place. Pawenski said the lack of revenue is made up for by all the
interest the project is creating. “To me,” he said, “it is free PR every time
the windmills are talked about.” |
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Updates - June 9 News Photo Gallery updated. Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today in Great Lakes History : June 9 The TASHMOO (steel side-wheel excursion steamer, 308 foot, 1,344 gross
tons, built in 1900, at Wyandotte, Michigan) hosted Admiral George Dewey on
her inaugural trip from Cleveland, Ohio to Detroit, Michigan on 09 June 1900.
Admiral Dewey had just returned from his conquest of the Philippines during
the Spanish American War and was a national hero. TASHMOO entered regular
service for the White Star Line two days later. |
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Containers may be moving between Halifax and Hamilton 6/8 - Ottawa - The Canadian Transportation Agency has issued a coasting license to Great Lakes Feeder Lines Inc., to operate the container ship CFL PROSPECT between Halifax, NS and Hamilton, ON, starting on or about Aug 1, 2007 for a period of one year. More details are posted on
CTA's Website. According to the site, the ship is a new purpose built, ice class vessel,
able to operate between Halifax and Montreal in winter, and with a capacity of
200 to 300 TEUs with containers of all sizes, including refrigerated. |
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Port Reports - June 8 Marquette - Rod Burdick
Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey |
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Ashtabula-Canada lake freight ferry service speeds ahead 6/8 - Ashtabula - U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette, R-Concord, has thrown his support behind the start-up of a freight ferry service from Pinney Dock & Transport to Port Maitland, Ontario, with MarineLink Inc. services on the Canadian side. LaTourette and Growth Partnership for Ashtabula County Executive Director Joseph Mayernick met Tuesday with MarineLink Inc. project director Robert J. Armstrong and the Pinney Dock officials to discuss the proposed venture. MarineLink officials are proposing the intermodal connections for shippers transporting freight by road between the U.S. and Canada by using the lakes. "Ashtabula would be a truck trailer ferry location on Lake Erie linking to Canadian ports. It will cost the Canadians $7 million and Ashtabula Harbor $2 million for improvements needed at the docks," LaTourette said. Public and private moneys would be needed here to construct special docks for trucks to pull up to and unload trailers. Mayernick said 100 trailers at one time could be loaded on a barge, and then transported across Lake Erie to Port Maitland, which is roughly opposite Dunkirk, N.Y. Return trips would bring Canadian goods on the ferries back to the Ashtabula Harbor. Once in Ontario, Canadian drivers would pick up the trailer loads. Trucks using the marine ports would minimize customs red tape, including long lines now facing them at the border, plus save rising fuel and insurance costs, LaTourette said. "From a business point, trucks now use Route 11 and Interstate 90 hauling freight. I'm 100 percent for this project, and hopefully we can find the (federal) money," he said. The congressman also is looking at the 2009 federal budget to leverage money for the proposed ferry freight service. "It would get an average of 400 trucks a day off the highways with three ferries and a tug (boat). There would be fuel savings for trucking companies, also," LaTourette said. Federal security checkpoints would be required even though the facilities would serve trucks, rather than passengers, LaTourette and Mayernick said. Helping cut costs and exempting the ferries from the federal Harbor Maintenance Tax are goals of a bill introduced in Congress by U.S. representatives Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Cleveland, and Phil English, R-Erie, Pa. Other Lake Erie ports competing for various ferry services to Canada, include Cleveland, and Grand River and Fairport Harbor in Lake County, he said. Lee Demers, Pinney Dock's manager, is optimistic about the project getting
LaTourette's support. "It's all still in the talking stage," he said. "We are
a marine terminal, but special dockage and dock apparatus would be needed here
for this type of ferry service. We have large boats bringing in coal and
limestone, now," Demers said. |
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Cleveland-Cliffs sells mine interest 6/8 - Duluth - Iron ore supplier Cleveland-Cliffs is selling its interest in a Canadian mine. Officials announced Wednesday that the Cleveland-based company has accepted an offer to sell its 26.8 percent interest in the Wabush Mines joint venture. The mine, operating since 1965, is at Newfoundland, Labrador. Under a definitive purchase agreement, Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Ltd. would acquire 71.4 percent of Wabush Mines owned by Cleveland-Cliffs (26.8 percent) and Stelco Inc. (44.6 percent) for $64.3 million in cash and 3 million shares of Consolidated Thompson Iron Ore Mines. Cleveland-Cliffs’ share of the deal would be $24.1 million. Cleveland-Cliffs would also hold the option to purchase about 1.1 million shares. Wabush has long-term issues with its mine pit, said Donald Gallagher, Cleveland-Cliffs president of North American iron ore. The sale would allow Cleveland-Cliffs to allocate resources to longer-lived assets in North America, Gallagher said. In Minnesota, Cleveland-Cliffs owns and manages Northshore Mining Co. and holds ownership and manages United Taconite and Hibbing Taconite. From the Duluth News-Tribune |
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Two "Know Your Ships" Book Signings Scheduled 6/8 - "Know Your Ships" Editor and Publisher Roger LeLievre will
help The Book Blues, 102 Broadway St., Marine City, Mich., mark its one-year
anniversary with a book-signing session from 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. Saturday, June 9.
The Book Blues is located right on Marine City¹s waterfront, on the corner of
Broadway and Water Street. Anyone getting a book signed will be able to tour the Boyer for free; a portion of the book sales will go to benefit the Boyer museum. For more information and directions to this historic laker:
www.willisbboyer.org |
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Lake Huron Lore Society to present program 6/8 - Port Huron - The Lake Huron Lore Society will present a program Friday, June 8, 2007, at 7 p.m. at the Great Lakes Maritime Center at Vantage Point, 51 Water St. in Port Huron, Michigan. Gareth McNabb will present "The Life & Times of Russell Sawyer," - The story of a free lance photographer who photographed scenes along the St. Clair River, & Port Huron, with a focus on the marine traffic of the 1940's and the 1950's! The program is free and open to the public. |
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Marine Artists Hold Show in St. Joseph 6/8 - The American Society of Marine Artists will hold its Great
Lakes Regional exhibition June 15-Aug. 5 at the Krasl Art Center in St.
Joseph, Mich. |
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Updates - June 8 News Photo Gallery updated. Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today in Great Lakes History : June 8 1951, the CLIFFS VICTORY entered Cleveland with a load of iron ore from
Marquette. The VICTORY completed the one-way trip in 37 hours - 20 hours faster
than the best previous time. |
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St. Lawrence Seaway reports decreased traffic 6/7 - The St. Lawrence Seaway reported decreases in both vessels passages and cargo tonnage for the year-to-date through May 31, 2007. In the first five months of the year, combined traffic from Montreal through the Welland Canal totaled 923 vessels carrying 9,223,000 tons of cargo. The figures represent a reduction of 205 vessels (18.2%) and 2,554,000 tons (21.7%) compared to the same period in 2006. Seaway News Release |
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Port Reports - June 7 Marquette - Rod Burdick Milwaukee - Paul Erspamer Lorain - C. Mackin Toronto - Charlie Gibbons |
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Magazine Issue features the Mackinac Bridge 6/7 - Mackinaw City - The Mackinac Bridge will turn 50 years old, available in July 2007, the expanded 96-page issue is filled with stories
about life before the bridge, the businessmen who bankrolled it, the fearless
workers who built it and one daring pilot who flew under it. Subscribe by July
2007 to receive the issue as part of a subscription. Visit
michiganhistorymagazine.com |
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Only 22 Days Until Engineer's Day Friday, June 29 is Engineer's Day at the Soo Locks. This is the annual opportunity to walk between the Poe and MacArthur Locks to get an up close look at the passing freighters. To start the activities on Friday, Boatnerds will gather on the steps below the MacArthur Lock for a group picture. The fun will begin on Thursday, with the 2nd Annual Unofficial BoatNerd Picnic at Mission Point. The picnic will begin about 2:00pm and continue thru the afternoon/evening. Grills will be provided, but anyone with a portable grill or canopy please contact Lee Rowe at boatnerd2@yahoo.com with the information. Plates, napkins, eating utensils will also be provided. Bring something to share. Soo delis will have food options to purchase and bring to the park. Come one, come all and enjoy a great time with other Boatnerds. Name tags will be provided in case you don't recognize faces. Plan now to attend To cap off a busy Friday, the annual trip aboard the Chief Shingwauk for a full three (3) hours leaving from Roberta Bondar Pavilion in Soo, Ontario. Cruise will return at 9:00 p.m. Cost is US$30.00 per person. Price includes dinner. Cash bar on board. Make reservations today by calling (705) 253-9850, or 1-877-226-3665. |
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Updates - June 7 News Photo Gallery updated. Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today in Great Lakes History : June 7 1958, the largest freighter ever built on the Great Lakes slid down the ways at River Rouge, Michigan. The new freighter was christened by Mrs. Edmund Fitzgerald and named EDMUND FITZGERALD. The 729 foot FITZGERALD was owned by Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company and operated by Columbia Transportation under a 25 year bare boat charter. 1977, tugs refused to tow the new MESABI MINER out of the harbor due to high winds. Captain William Mc Sweeney brought the MESABI MINER out under her own power to begin her maiden trip. On 07 June 1890, EMILY P WEED (steel propeller freighter, 300 foot, 2,362 gross tons) was launched by F. W. Wheeler (Hull #69) at W. Bay City, Michigan for the Hollister Transportation Co. She lasted until 02 September 1905, when she stranded on Sand Island Reef, Apostle Islands on Lake Superior and broke in two. On 07 June 1862, MORNING STAR (wooden side-wheel steamer, 248 foot, 1,265 gross tons) was launched by A. A. Turner at Trenton, Michigan. She only lasted until 1868, when she sank in Lake Erie in a collision with the bark COURTLAND. In 1977, the WILLIAM A IRVIN ran into the side of the Rock Cut after a power failure on board. The vessel received only slight damage. (For a more detailed account, read Jody Aho's book "The Steamer William A Irvin: Queen of the Silver Stackers"). On June 7, 1991, the ALPENA, the former LEON FRASER, began her maiden voyage as a cement carrier, departing Superior, Wisconsin, for her namesake port. Fraser Shipyards, who performed the conversion, took out a full-page ad in the Superior Evening Telegram proclaiming "INLAND LAKES MANAGEMENT, YOUR SHIP IS READY" and a picture of the vessel. On 7 June 1859, COLUMBIA (2-mast wooden brig, 92 foot, 177 gross tons, built in 1842, at Sandusky, Ohio) broke up in a storm near Sherwood Point, Green Bay (Death's Door). She was famous for bringing the first load of copper ore from the Keweenaw Peninsula to through the Soo. She also brought the first locomotive to Marquette. The METEOR (wooden steam barge, 201 foot, 729 gross tons, built in 1863, at Cleveland, Ohio) burned at Buckley's dock at the foot of 2nd Street in Detroit, Michigan on 7 June 1873. The fire supposedly started in her hold at 1:30 a.m. and was not discovered until it was too late. The ship burned to the waterline and sank. Some docks and warehouses also burned in this catastrophe. The wreck was raised in early September 1875, and towed to the foot of Belle Isle where the machinery and hull were sold at the U.S. Marshall's sale on 24 April 1876. Although originally thought to be the end of this vessel, the hull was purchased by Stephen B. Grummond of Detroit for $480. It was rebuilt as the schooner-barge NELSON BLOOM in 1882 and lasted until abandoned in 1925. Data from: Jody Aho, Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Ahoy & Farewell II, The Marine Historical Society of Detroit 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. |
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Boblo Boat Returning to Detroit 6/5 - Detroit - The 97-year-old Ste. Claire, one of the Boblo boats ingrained in local history, will be tugged up the Detroit River later this month to kick off the weeklong celebration of the renovated Detroit riverfront. The Boblo boat will dock at Tri-centennial State Park at the start of the International River Days on June 22 and remain there through Nov. 9. Visitors can walk through it, buy souvenirs and become part of renovation efforts that will start this fall. "A lot of people's first memories of the Detroit River have to do with time they spent on the Boblo boat," said Caroline Marks, spokeswoman for the Detroit River Front Conservancy. "It's a perfect fit" for the city's River Days, she said. The journey of the 197-foot steamboat, which holds memories for generations of local families and couples, is one that twists and turns. The Ste. Claire is one of two boats that used to take metro Detroiters to an amusement park on Boblo Island, now a luxury condo development. The boats have been passed around to various owners since the park closed in 1993. A New York investor owns the Columbia, the other Boblo boat. Several efforts to get them back in operation have failed. And the Ste. Claire might have wasted away if it weren't for an intensive care doctor who is determined to restore the vessel. Dr. Ron Kattoo, 39, of Bloomfield Hills bought the boat in March 2006 from Diane Evon of Cleveland, who bought it years earlier with her then-husband John Belko. The couple bought it on Sept. 11, 2001, and had moved it around to different shipyards, renovating it and using it for a haunted house on Halloween. Kattoo and two friends formed Maximus Corp. and bought the Ste. Claire. The team had a dream of slowly breathing life into the boat and hauling it back to Detroit for the public to enjoy. In December, the Free Press told Kattoo's story, prompting an unexpected outpouring of support that Kattoo wasn't quite ready for. Kattoo, associate director of Henry Ford Hospital's intensive care unit, received a barrage of letters from readers wanting to help revive the boat. "I had about 400 letters and hundreds of e-mails," Kattoo said, adding that people have continued to write. His three-person team has grown to hundreds of volunteers as event planners, engineers, designers and fund-raising experts have contacted Kattoo. Since December, Kattoo has been going to the Toledo shipyard -- where the Ste. Claire is now -- to clean up the boat. His plan for the vessel initially involved turning the Ste. Claire into a sparkly fantasyland of restaurants, clubs, movie theaters and bars. That plan remains in place. However, some things have changed. The boat will become a nonprofit, run by a board of directors, which will make it easier to raise money and apply for grants. He has an immediate goal of raising $5 million to get restorations going as soon as possible. "Going nonprofit will enable us to get grants and corporate sponsorships and will allow the public to become fully involved," he said. In the fall, the Ste. Claire will be placed in dry storage for renovations. Kattoo hopes to have the boat in operation by 2010. While searching for a permanent dock for the Ste. Claire, Kattoo wanted to bring the boat back to the area as soon as possible. It was Kattoo's idea to make the Boblo boat a part of the River Days. "I was trying to find a place for the summer," he said. "I called the River Front conservancy and when I heard of the River Days, I thought it would be perfect for the ship." Mike Evans, 44, of Waterford is one of hundreds of volunteers who have helped bring the boat back. A graphic artist, he helped make logos and promotional materials. He also has gotten involved in cleanup efforts. "It's easy to be awestruck by the size of the thing and the history involved," he said, adding that he will be part of the towing crew that brings the Ste. Claire to Detroit. Andy Whitman, a former sailor from Woodhaven, said he is thrilled to see the vessel return. "This boat is a very small key to a very rich history of passenger ships that traveled the waters of Detroit," said Whitman, 40. "People used to catch the boat to get to Cleveland and Mackinac Island. For the moment, Kattoo is spending much of his time and money on the project. He is paying to have the boat hauled to Detroit on June 22. The Gaelic Tug Boat Co. of Lincoln Park will tug the boat to Detroit. The trip will take 6 hours, leaving at 9 a.m. and arriving in Detroit about 3 p.m. He said he hopes spectators gather along the river to watch the Ste. Claire come home. "The way I see it, and this might sound corny, but this is the people's boat. It's no different than the 'Spirit of Detroit,' " he said. "The more people have a part in this, the better." From the Detroit Free Press |
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Port Reports - July 6 Detroit River - Mark Swarthout Toronto - Charlie Gibbons Holland - Bob Vande Vusse Marquette - Lee Rowe & Rod Burdick Alpena & Stoneport - Ben & Chanda McClain |
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Boatnerd Detroit Up River Cruise Canceled 6/5 - The 3-hour freighter chasing cruise, scheduled for Saturday,
June 16 . on the lower Detroit River aboard the luxurious Friendship, driven
by Capt. Sam Buchanan, has been canceled due to lack of reservations. It is not too late to make reservations for other BoatNerd Gatherings planned for the balance of the season. Friday, June 29 - Annual Boatnerd Freighter Chasing Cruise at the Soo - The annual trip aboard the Chief Shingwauk for a full three (3) hours leaving from Roberta Bondar Pavilion in Soo, Ontario. Saturday, July 14 - Annual St. Clair River Gathering aboard the Hammond Bay - The Hammond Bay will depart their dock 2 miles south of Sombra, Ontario at 11:00am for a 3-hour narrated cruise passing Fawn Island, Sombra, Courtright, St. Clair, and Marine City. Saturday, August 11 - Boatnerd Detroit Down River Cruise - A 4-hour freighter chasing cruise on the lower Detroit River, to Detroit River Light, aboard the luxurious Friendship, driven by Capt. Sam Buchanan. Go to the Boatnerd Gatherings page for all the details and reservation forms. |
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Updates - June 6 News Photo Gallery updated. Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today in Great Lakes History : June 6 On 06 June 1891, BAY CITY (wooden propeller freighter, 152 foot, 372 gross tons, built in 1867, at Marine City, Michigan) burned to a total loss while being repaired at the foot of Rivard Street in Detroit, Michigan. She was loaded with 300,000 feet of white pine lumber at the time. Her watchman reported the fire during the night and firemen thought they had it out, but it re-ignited and the vessel burned to a total loss. This ship had previously burned 20 years before on 10 April 1871, when she was on her first trip of the season after being rebuilt over the winter. Then she caught fire and burned nearly to the waterline but was rebuilt again and lasted until this last fire in 1891. On 06 June 1917, ISABELLA J BOYCE (wooden propeller sandsucker, 138 foot, 368 gross tons, built in 1889, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin as a freighter) grounded on Middle Bass Island in Lake Erie and then was destroyed by fire. No lives were lost. In 1944, the C-4 bulk carrier MARINE ROBIN participated in the D-Day invasion at Normandy. In 1952, after conversion into a bulk freighter she began service in the lakes for M.A. Hanna Co., as b.) JOSEPH H THOMPSON. She serves today as a tug barge combination created from the sections of the original vessel. The E B BARBER (Hull#111) of the Port Arthur Shipbuilding Co., entered service on June 6, 1953, for Algoma Central Railway Ltd. In 1953, the ARMCO (Hull#870) began her maiden voyage from Lorain, Ohio for the Columbia Transportation Div., bound for Superior, Wisconsin to load iron ore. On June 6, 1959, the ADAM E CORNELIUS (Hull#) 424) began her maiden voyage for the American Steamship Co., from Manitowoc, Wisconsin. This was the last Great Lakes vessel constructed with telescoping hatch covers. Sold Canadian and converted to a barge she was renamed b.) CAPT EDMUND V SMITH in 1988, and c.) SEA BARGE ONE in 1991 and d.) SARAH SPENCER in 1996. Currently in service being pushed by the tug JANE ANN IV. Upper Lakes Shipping's POINTE NOIRE was in collision with Cleveland Tanker's SATURN on June 6, 1977, near Fighting Island in the Detroit River. On 6 June 1869, ASA COVELL (wooden propeller tug, 20 gross tons, built in 1852, at Buffalo, New York) was towing the brig IROQUOIS up the Cuyahoga River at Cleveland when her boiler exploded and she sank. Her captain was killed when the pilothouse was blown into the river. On 6 June 1883, HERCULES (wooden schooner-barge, 139 foot, 195 tons, built in 1867, at Algonac, Michigan) was upbound in the south bend of the St. Clair River near Algonac, Michigan when the CLARION (iron propeller package freighter, 240 foot, 1,711 gross tons, built in 1881, at Wyandotte, Michigan) overtook her and collided with her in broad daylight. HERCULES drifted to the bank, capsized and sank. No lives were lost. Data from: Jody Aho, Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Father Dowling Collection, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Ahoy & Farewell II, The Marine Historical Society of Detroit 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. |
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Port Reports - June 5 Lorain - C. Mackin Saginaw River -
Todd Shorkey |
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Medical Transport Plane Crashes In Lake Michigan 6/5 - Milwaukee, Wisc. A medical transport plane carrying six
members of the University of Michigan Survival Flight team back to Michigan
went down Monday afternoon in Lake Michigan shortly after the pilot signaled
an emergency, authorities said. There was no word on survivors. "Within five minutes of its departure from the airport the pilot declared
an emergency and requested a return to Mitchell but at that time the plane was
no longer on our radar screens, so we've contacted the Coast Guard to begin a
search and rescue mission," Molinaro said. The six people aboard included two
crew members, he said. Jerry Guyer, a salvage and diving guide, used his high-definition sonar
unit to help in the search. He said the unit is towed in back of his boat by a
50-foot cable and can detect objects within 100 feet of it. "I used to look
for shipwrecks and it works very well for anything on the bottom, from a car
tire up as far as being able to pinpoint an item and location," he said. From CBS2 Chicago |
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Coast Guard Conducts Medical Evacuation 6/5 - Charlevoix, MI - Coast Guard Station Charlevoix medically
evacuated a tug vessel crewman on May 31 who experienced severe bleeding, 16
nautical miles from the Charlevoix River. |
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Coast Guard Terminates Vessel's Voyage 6/5 - Milwaukee - The U.S. Coast Guard terminated the voyage of a 55-foot Chris Craft vessel after it was determined it was transiting unsafely approximately 25 miles west of Holland, Mich., at about 6:30 a.m on May 28. It was determined that the vessel was taking on water this morning at a rate that would have made it unsafe for it to transit from Muskegon to Chicago and determined the closest port of safe haven at Saugatuck, Mi. The Coast Guard received the initial distress call over the radio at 10:48 p.m. Sunday. The sailor onboard the Chris Craft stated that he was concerned about the amount of water entering his vessel, but did not want Coast Guard assistance. Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan set up a communication schedule to monitor the situation. The vessel's pumps had failed but were working again and were able to keep up with the water intrusion. Several hours after setting up the communication schedule, the sailor did not respond to a radio check with the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard launched a Station Grand Haven 47-foot motor life boat and a Coast Guard Air Facility Muskegon HH65 helicopter to assist. The Coast Guard helicopter arrived on scene and vectored in the crew of the 47-foot rescue boat. The Coast Guard noted that there was three feet of water in the vessel, entering through a split seam. After rewiring the dewatering pumps on board to keep them working, the operator had approximately six inches of water onboard with the pumps working continuously. The Coast Guard determined that the vessel could not safely transit to Chicago. Coast Guard Stations Grand Haven and Holland combined efforts to escort the vessel safely to Saugatuck, Mich. USCG News |
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Today in Great Lakes History : June 5 Over the Winter of 1960 - 1961, the CHARLES M SCHWAB was "jumboized" by
joining the forward end of the original SCHWAB with the after end of the
former oil tanker GULFPORT. |
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Three Long, Two Short to Boatnerd Raffle Supporters Our thanks to everyone who participated in the recent raffle to benefit
Great Lakes and Seaway Shipping on Line Inc., the non-profit support group for
the BoatNerd.com website. Nearly 4,000 tickets were sold, with the Grand Prize
a trip for four adults on either the Paul R. Tregurtha or Lee A. Tregurtha,
generously provided by the Interlake Steamship Co. (all winners listed below). |
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Boatnerd Freighter Trip Raffle Winners Announced 6/4 - Results for the Raffle to Benefit Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping Online the non-profit support organization for the BoatNerd.Com web site. Drawing was held on June 2, 2007 at the BoatNerd.Com World Headquarters
in Port Huron, MI. State of Michigan Raffle License # R89067 Grand Prize Prize - A round trip for two including auto aboard the S.S.
Badger between Michigan and Wisconsin donated by Lake Michigan Carferry Prize - A private two hour St. Clair River cruise for up to
20 people onboard the Hammond Bay donated by Hammond Bay River Cruises Prize - Two tickets for a river tour with Diamond Jack's
River Tours on the Detroit River. (5 prizes) Prize - Cruise for five people on a two hour tour aboard
the Huron Lady II (2 prizes), donated by Huron Lady II Prize - Sightseeing Soo Lock Cruise aboard the Chief
Shingwauk (2 prizes) donated by Lock Tours Canada Prize - Sightseeing cruise for two aboard the Vista Fleet
in Duluth (3 prizes of 1 pass for two people), donated by Vista Fleet Prize - Two round trip tickets to Beaver Island donated by
Beaver Island Boat Company Prize - Passes for 2 aboard the Keweenaw Star for a cruise
on the on the Keweenaw Waterway. (2 prizes) donated by Keweenaw Excursions Prize - A weekend stay for two at the Inn at Lock 7 on the
Welland Canal donated by The Inn at Lock 7 Prize - Overnight accommodations for two at Whitefish Point
in the restored 1923 US Coast Guard Lifeboat Crews Quarters, donated by
Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society Prize - DeTour Reef Lighthouse Tour donated by the DeTour
Reef Light Preservation Society Prize - Two tickets for the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers
Association “Lunch at the Lighthouse” cruise to St. Helena Island donated by
the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association All winners will be notified by mail. |
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Port Reports - June 4 Toronto - Charlie Gibbons |
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New walkway kicks off Rotary Park project at Mission Point 6/4 - Sault Ste. Marie - Using donated equipment, materials and volunteer labor, the Rotary Club's ambitious, seven-step project to improve the city's Rotary Island Park started late last week with foundation work for a new pedestrian walkway to the small island park. Volunteer landscape architect John Rowe, on site to coordinate placement of large rip-rap blocks along the existing causeway to the park, said the companion walkway will substantially improve public access to the small park. A project spearheaded by the local Rotary Club, the improvement project will eventually extend to a variety of improvements at the leased city park. Rotary Club members working on the ambitious project scheduled two “work days” for Saturday and next Saturday to tap volunteer labor on walkway construction. By Thursday, volunteers were placing large donated limestone blocks on the south side of the Rotary Island causeway to support the 100-foot long walkway, measuring three feet wide. When completed, three courses of the large blocks will furnish shore erosion protection and support for a built-up walkway to be finished off in paver bricks. The walkway will also feature a timber guardrail to separate vehicles from the walking path connecting the island to the adjacent Sugar Island ferry dock at Mission Point. Rowe said this summer's walkway construction is just the first of a chain of pathways Rotary officials plan for the park as future phases unfold. He said later stages of the project include a vehicle turnaround, fishing pier for the youth fishing hole attached to the park, new playground equipment, new benches, public restrooms and signage scattered around the island park. New asphalt for the existing roadway and parking areas are also in the
plan, as is lighting for pedestrian walkways in the park and landscaping work
around the park. Rowe said the aim is to make the new walkway to the park a
year-around path to the island, currently effectively closed to vehicles and
walkers during the winter months. Rowe said a number of local contractors chipped in with in-kind assistance for the Rotary project. The Bourque quarry near Rexton contributed the large limestone blocks that will act as a foundation for the public walkway. Other contractors, including Northern Sand and Gravel, Burton Excavating, Soo Welding, McGahey Construction and a number of others volunteered their services and equipment for the project. The civic club is also soliciting public contributions of labor and cash to
assist in defraying the walkway costs. Anyone in fit physical condition can
volunteer to help out on walkway construction. The club is offering to
inscribe individual and entity donor names on paver bricks sold to the general
public during the construction process. “It will upgrade the entire park ... make it into an all-season park,” he
said. Special emphasis will be placed on wheelchair and handicapped access to
the park and the nearby shore of the St. Marys River steamer channel. Owned by the Corps of Engineers, Rotary Park is leased to the city for use
as a park. The Rotary Club placed its name on the park by assisting with
initial development of the island park. The city recently requested a renewed
lease agreement from the Corps to qualify the park for the desired DNR grant. |
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Former Great Lakes Passenger Boats Re-sold 6/4 - Washington, DC - The saga of the Great Lakes visiting cruise ship Cape May Light continues with more twists and turns as time goes on. An unnamed company has placed a non refundable deposit on her and her sister ship Cape Cod Light. The two 300 foot, 224 passenger vessels are currently being held in the possession of MARAD and tied to a pier near Jacksonville, Florida until a sale of some sort can be completed. Both ships were built for American Classic Voyages, about seven years ago, before the company went bankrupt in 2001. ACL had sent the Cape May Light to the Great Lakes for the summer port cruise business at that time. The future looked bright last year when Hornblower Marine Service announced plans to buy the two ships and enter the coastal cruise market, including trips to the Great Lakes. Events took another turn for the worse when HMS allowed their option to expire on the pair after they were unable to secure the needed loan requirements to buy them outright. The Cape Cod Light was not fully fitted out and has never been in revenue
service. Both were built with a "Classic" design, recalling passenger
steamboats from the olden days. The ships have a large smokestack, a wide,
rounded bow, and straight horizontal deck lines such as seen on coastal and
lake streamers from the early 1900's. |
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Rochester considers private ferry 6/4 - Rochester, NY — City officials hope to work with the Toronto
Port Authority over the next six months to determine the viability of a
privately run ferry service between their respective ports. |
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Updates - June 4 News Photo Gallery updated. Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today in Great Lakes History : June 2 On 02 June 1958, the Liberian-flagged freighter MOUNT DELPHI sank enroute
to Karachi, Pakistan. She was built by the British American Shipbuilding
Company at Welland, Ontario during the final years of World War I. She had 12
different owners during her career and had been seized by Vichy interests at
Casablanca, Morocco in 1940, and then by the Italian government in 1942. ___________________________________________________________________ Today in Great Lakes History : June 3 On 03 June 1882, the schooner C BELL was launched at the yard of Mason,
Corning & Company in East Saginaw, Michigan. Her dimensions were 185 foot x 30
foot x 11 foot and she cost $20,000. ___________________________________________________________________ Today in Great Lakes History : June 4 1955, the J L MAUTHE established a new Great Lakes cargo record for a coal
cargo delivered to an upper lakes port. She loaded 18392 tons of coal at the
Toledo C&O dock. |
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Port Reports - June 3 Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey |
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Updates - June 3 News Photo Gallery updated. Calendar of Events updated Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Port Reports - June 2 Twin Ports - Al Miller Marquette - Rod Burdick |
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Update on Lake Superior Outflow 6/2 - Cleveland - The International Lake Superior Board of Control, under
authority granted to it by the International Joint Commission, has set the
Lake Superior outflow to 1,530 cubic metres per second (m3/s) (54.0 thousand
cubic feet per second (tcfs)) for the month of June. |
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Updates - June 2 News Photo Gallery updated. A special Badger Boatnerd Gathering Photo Gallery updated. Calendar of Events updated Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Great Lakes Coal Trade Sluggish in April 6/1 - Cleveland - Shipments of coal on the Great Lakes in April
totaled 3.8 million net tons, a decrease of 5 percent compared both to a year
ago and the month’s 5-year average. |
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Port Reports - June 1 Lorain - C. Mackin South Chicago - Brian Z. Menominee - Scott Best |
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June 2 is deadline to make reservations
5/31 - A 3-hour freighter chasing cruise on the lower Detroit River aboard the luxurious Friendship, driven by Capt. Sam Buchanan. Cruise leaves the Portofino's On The River restaurant, in Wyandotte, MI at 10:00 am on June 16. We'll go where the boats are, maybe up the Rouge River. Bring your camera. To make the trip even more interesting, a pizza buffet will be delivered by the mail boat J. W. Westcott. Cash bar on board. Plenty of free, safe parking at Portofino's. Click here for directions. All this for only $25.00. Limited to the first 100 reservations. We must have a minimum of 50 paid reservations, or the cruise will be canceled and checks returned. Checks and reservations must be received no later than June 2, 2007. Click here for Reservations Form. Checks will not be cashed until the week before the cruise. No physical tickets will be issued. Your name will be on the Boarding List. Details on the Gatherings Page. Mail your reservation and check today to: |
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Algonac to Celebrate Flag Day 6/1 - Algonac - Flag Day will be celebrated with a family party and
picnic, Sunday, June 10, at 2:00 P.M. in the Algonac City park. |
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Updates - June 1 News Photo Gallery updated. A special Badger Boatnerd Gathering Photo Gallery updated. Calendar of Events updated Public Photo Gallery updated. |
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Today in Great Lakes History - June 1 On 01 June 1903, ISAAC L ELLWOOD (steel propeller freighter, 478 foot, 5,085 gross tons, built in 1900, at W. Bay City, Michigan) broke the record for ore when she carried a cargo of 8,579 tons of ore out of Duluth harbor. This broke the record held by JOHN SMEATON (steel barge, 458 foot, 5,049 gross tons, built in 1899, at Superior, Wisconsin) which was 8,571 tons of ore. The ASA CHILDS (wooden scow schooner, 125 foot, 204 gross tons, built in 1866, at Mentor, Ohio) was carrying lumber in a storm on Lake Michigan when she was driven ashore at Highland Park just north of Chicago, Illinois on 01 June 1879, and was a total loss. The crew escaped in the lifeboat. On 01 June 1914, the St. Joseph-Chicago Steamship Company bought the EASTLAND (steel propeller passenger steamer, 265 foot, 1,961 gross tons, built in 1903, at Port Huron, Michigan) from the Eastland Navigation Company for $150,000. In 1943, the IRVING S OLDS collided with the 524 foot steamer CHARLES O JENKINS in heavy fog 28 miles northeast of Cleveland on Lake Erie and was holed eight feet above the water line. The OLDS was able to help the badly damaged JENKINS back to Cleveland by lashing the two vessels together. After a grueling seven hours the JENKINS was beached in the outer harbor to prevent her from sinking. The OLDS was repaired in time to carry a new record of 17,817 gross tons of iron ore on June 13, 1943. In 1952, the steamer J L MAUTHE (Hull#298) was launched at Great Lakes Engineering Works, River Rouge, Michigan for the Interlake Steamship Co. The WHITEFISH BAY, loaded with 950,000 bushels of spring wheat, was honored as she carried the billionth metric ton of cargo through the Eisenhower Lock in 1983. On June 1, 1907, the Great Lakes Engineering Works launched the bulk steamer WILPEN (Hull#28) at Ecorse, Michigan for the Shenango Steamship Co., a subsidiary of Shenango Furnace Co., Cleveland, Ohio. Renamed b.) DAVID P THOMPSON in 1926, and converted to a self-unloader in 1957, at Superior, Wisconsin. She was renamed c.) JOSEPH S YOUNG in 1969, and scrapped at La Spezia, Italy in 1979. The H LEE WHITE departed Sturgeon Bay in ballast on her maiden voyage for the American Steamship Co., on June 1, 1974, to load iron ore at Escanaba, Michigan for Indiana Harbor. June 1, 1902 - While northbound for Manistique, Michigan, the ANN ARBOR NO 1 went aground in a heavy fog about noon on South Manitou Island, but was able to free herself and to proceed undamaged. June 1, 1938 - The PERE MARQUETTE 21, under the command of Captain Arthur Altschwager, was released from a sand bar in the outer harbor at Manitowoc at 1:06 p.m today after being aground for six hours. Her sister ship, the PERE MARQUETTE 22, commanded by J. F. Johnson, freed the ferry after taking a line and pulling the big ship back off the bar. June, 1958, The ANN ARBOR NO 6 was taken out of service for extensive refitting. she was renamed b.) ARTHUR K ATKINSON. On 1 June 1887, LUCINDA VAN VALKENBURG (wooden schooner, 129 foot, 302 gross tons, built in 1862, at Tonawanda, New York) collided with the iron steamer LEHIGH in fog and sank near Thunder Bay Island on Lake Huron. The crew was safely taken aboard the LEHIGH and brought to Port Huron. On 1 June 1892, the steel bulk freighter CHOCTAW was launched at the Cleveland Shipbuilding Company (Hull #17) in Cleveland, Ohio for the Lake Superior Iron Company. Her dimensions were 207 feet x 38 feet x 18 feet and she had a triple expansion steam engine 17 feet, 29 inches, 47 inches x 36 inch stroke. She was built as "monitor" type vessel based on whaleback design with all her cabins aft. She lasted until sunk in a collision in 1915. Data from: Jody Aho, Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Father Dowling Collection, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Ahoy & Farewell II, The Marine Historical Society of Detroit 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. |
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