Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive

Today in Great Lakes History : July 31

On this day in 1948, in a total elapsed time of 19 hours, the JAMES DAVIDSON of the Tomlinson fleet unloaded 13,545 tons of coal at the Berwind Dock in Duluth and loaded 14,826 tons of ore at the Allouez Dock in Superior.

On this day in 1955, Al A. Wolf, the first Chief Engineer of a Great Lakes freighter powered by a 7,000 hp engine, retired as Chief Engineer of the WILFRED SYKES. Chief Wolf started as an oiler on the POLYNESIA in 1911, became Chief Engineer in 1921, and brought out the SYKES in 1948.

Sea trials took place for the JAMES R BARKER this day in 1976. She was to become Interlake's first 1000 footer and the flag ship of the fleet for Moore Mc Cormack Leasing, Inc. (Interlake Steamship Co., Cleveland, Ohio, mgr.). She was built at a cost of more than $43 million under Title XI of the Merchant Marine Act of 1970. She was the third thousand footer to sail on the Lakes and the first built entirely on the Lakes.

On July 31, 1974, as the Liberian vessel ARTADI approached the dock at Trois RiviŹres, Que. where she damaged the docked GORDON C LEITCH's stern.

The CEDARBRANCH was damaged and sunk by an explosion on July 31, 1965, several miles below Montreal, Quebec resulting in a loss of one life. Repaired and lengthened in 1965, she was renamed b.) SECOLA in 1978, and c.) KITO MARU in 1979, and scrapped at Brownsville, Texas in 1985.

On 31 July 1849, ACORN (wooden schooner, 84 foot, 125 tons, built in 1842, at Black River, Ohio) was struck amidships by the propeller TROY near West Sister Island in Lake Erie. She sank quickly, but no lives were lost since all hands made it to the TROY.

On 31 July 1850, AMERICA (wooden side-wheeler, 240 foot, 1,083 tons, built in 1847, at Port Huron, Michigan) suffered a boiler or steam pipe explosion while sailing on Lake Erie. The explosion immediately killed nine persons and scalded others who died later. The vessel was repaired and sailed for three more seasons.

Grand Haven - Dick Fox
The Wilfred Sykes delivered another load to Verplank's dock in Ferrysburg Tuesday afternoon. Inbound it passed the U.S. Coast Guard cutters Mackinaw and Biscayne Bay that arrived on Monday and will remain docked at Government Basin for ship tours and festivities as part of the Grand Haven Annual Coast Guard Festival.

Toronto - Frank Hood
Stephen B Roman arrived back in Toronto Sunday night.

Buffalo - Brian W.
Sunday the tug Barbara Andrie and barge A-397 were ready to depart the Noco Product Terminal at 7 p.m..

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.

This "News Page" on this site was "launched" in 1996, reporting the coal fire aboard the GRIFFITH.

The GORDON C LEITCH (Hull#36) was launched July 30, 1952, at Midland, Ontario by Canadian Shipbuilding & Engineering Ltd. for the Upper Lakes & St. Lawrence Transportation Co. Ltd., Toronto, Ontario.

The Canadian Coast Guard Ice Breaker C.C.G.S. ALEXANDER HENRY entered service July 30, 1959. Since 1985, the HENRY serves as a museum in Kingston, Ontario.

On 30 July 1871, the 162 foot bark HARVEY BISSELL was carrying lumber from Toledo to Tonawanda, New York. When she was on the Western end of Lake Erie, she sprang a leak. Although the crew worked the hand powered pumps constantly, the water kept gaining at a rate of about a foot an hour. The tug KATE WILLIAMS took her in tow, intending to get her to Detroit to be repaired, but this proved impossible. So the BISSELL was towed close to Point Pelee and allowed to sink in 14 feet of water. The WILLIAMS then left for Detroit to get steam pumps and other salvage equipment. On returning, they pumped out the BISSELL, refloated and repaired her. She lasted until 1905.

On 30 July 1872, the Port Huron Dry Dock launched SANDY, a lighter. Her dimensions were 75 feet x 20 feet x 5 feet.

On 30 July 1873, George Hardison of Detroit announced the beginning of a new shipyard in Port Huron, Michigan. It would be located above the 7th Street Bridge on the Black River on land owned by J. P. Haynes, accessible by River Street. Within 30 days of this announcement, the new yard had orders for two canalers three-and-aft rig for delivery in the Spring of 1874. Their dimensions were to be 146 feet overall, 139 feet keel, 26 foot beam and 11 foot 6 inches depth.

On 30 July 1866, CITY OF BUFFALO (wooden propeller, 340 foot, 2,026 tons, built in 1857, at Buffalo, New York as a side-wheeler) was unloading 72,000 bushels of wheat at the Sturgis Elevator at Buffalo, New York when arsonists set fire to the complex. The fire destroyed the wharf, the elevator, several businesses and the ship. The arsonists were caught. Incidentally, the CITY OF BUFFALO was converted from a passenger side-wheeler to a propeller freighter during the winter of 1863-64. After the conversion, she was dubbed "the slowest steam-craft on the Lakes".

Legal Battle Heats Up Over 300-Year-Old Shipwreck

Today in Great Lakes History : July 29

The OTTERCLIFFE HALL cleared Lauzon, Quebec July 29, 1969, on her maiden voyage as the last "straight deck" Great Lakes bulk freighter built with a pilot house forward.

While at the Manitowoc Ship Building Co. for general repairs and engine overhaul, the CITY OF SAGINAW 31 caught fire on July 29, 1971, destroying her cabin deck and rendering her useless for further use. The blaze was caused by an acetylene torch, and caused over $1 million in damage.. She was not repaired. The CITY OF SAGINAW 31 was sold to Marine Salvage Ltd., Port Colborne, Ontario for scrapping.

On July 29, 1974, the W W HOLLOWAY grounded in Lake St. Clair off the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club running downbound with stone. Lightering into the J F SCHOELKOPF JR was necessary before she was freed by four tugs on July 31st.

ENDERS M VOORHEES departed Great Lakes Engineering Works, River Rouge, Michigan on her maiden voyage July 29, 1942, bound for Duluth, Minnesota to load iron ore. She was the second of five "Supers" for the Pittsburgh fleet to enter service.

July 29, 1974 - The PERE MARQUETTE 21 was towed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to be reduced to a barge.

The steam barge MARY ROBERTSON burned near Mackinac on 29 July 1872. Her crew escaped to a schooner-barge they were towing.

The MATERIAL SERVICE foundered in a heavy summer gale in 1936, off the South Chicago lighthouse. She was a canal motor barge not designed for open-lake use.

The side-wheel river steamer DOMINION burned to the water's edge at her dock in the Thames River near Chatham, Ontario on 29 July 1875. She was built in 1867, at Wallaceburg, Ontario.

Great Lakes to Halifax short sea runs begin

Coast Guard Festival Parade

Soo Coast Guard busy assisting passing vessels

Port Reports - July 28

Menominee & Marinette - Dick Lund
On Saturday afternoon, the Marlene Green arrived in Menominee with its eighth load of wind turbine parts. Meanwhile, at Marinette Marine, workers have been preparing the USS Freedom (LCS-1) to head out for Sea Trials, which are scheduled to begin early Monday morning. On Sunday, there was smoke coming from its stack and the containment boom, which had been in place almost since it was launched nearly two years ago (Sept. 23, 2006), has been removed.

Milwaukee - Bill Bedell
Saturday was a busy day in Milwaukee, The saltie Isa was loading grain at the Nidera elevator, The Lafarge tug G L Ostrander and barge Integrity was unloading cement at their plant. H Lee White was unloading coal at the Kinder Morgan Greenfield Ave dock.

Holland - Bob VandeVusse
The Grand Mariner was docked in Holland at Boatwerks for the day on Friday. Saturday morning the Manitowoc delivered a load of stone to the Verplank dock, departing at mid-day. She is reportedly having trouble with an engine and operating on only one.

Chicago
The training vessel Manatra was expected to depart Chicago on Sunday for her yearly lake excursion. Aboard this year will be 13 U.S. Naval Sea Cadets for ten days. First port of call will be South Haven at the Maritime Museum dock on Sunday evening to get the vessel ready for tours and showing. After a brief stay she will depart for Grand Haven. Mid-week they will return to the Wisconsin shore with a stop in Manitowoc. By Saturday she will return to Chicago.

Buffalo - Brian W.
Rebecca Lynn came through the North Entrance around 5 p.m. on the 24th heading towards the Black Rock Canal. She departed at 8:25 a.m. on Saturday pushing her barge. The Adam E Cornelius was unloading stone at the Gateway Metroport on Saturday afternoon.

Today in Great Lakes History : July 28

On July 28, 1973, the ROGER M KYES (Hull#200) was christened at Toledo, Ohio by American Ship Building Co. by Mrs. Roger Kyes for the American Steamship Co. Renamed b.) ADAM E CORNELIUS in 1989.

B A PEERLESS (Hull#148) was launched July 28, 1952, at Collingwood, Ontario by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. for British American Transportation Co. Ltd. Renamed b.) GULF CANADA in 1969, and c.) COASTAL CANADA in 1984.

The JOHN T HUTCHINSON was delivered on July 28th to the Buckeye Steamship Co. (Hutchinson & Co., mgr.), Cleveland. The JOHN T HUTCHINSON was part of a government program designed to upgrade and increase the capacity of the U.S. Great Lakes fleet during World War II. In order to help finance the building of new ships, the U.S.M.C. authorized a program that would allow existing fleets to obtain new boats by trading in their older boats to the Government for credit. The JOHN T HUTCHINSON was the ninth Maritimer and fourth of the six L6-S-Al types delivered. "L6" meant the vessel was built for the Great Lakes and was 600 to 699 feet in length. The "S" stood for steam power and "Al" identified specific design features.

On 28 July 1854, BOSTON (wooden propeller, 134 foot, 259 tons, built in 1847, at Ohio City, Ohio) was bound from Chicago for Ogdensburg, New York with pork, corn, whiskey and produce. On Lake Ontario, about 20 miles off Oak Orchard, New York, she collided with the bark PLYMOUTH and sank in about 20 minutes. No lives were lost. The crew and passengers made it to shore in three lifeboats. The boat that the captain was in sailed 50 miles to Charlotte, New York.

In 1900, the freighter PRINCETON (Hull#302) was launched at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co. for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.

On 28 July 1862, CONVOY (2-mast wooden schooner, 130 foot, 367 tons, built in 1855, at Buffalo, New York) was sailing down bound on a dark night on Lake Erie with 18,000 bushels of wheat when she collided with the empty bark SAM WARD and sank quickly in 12 fathoms of water. Her wreck drifted along the bottom and during the shipping season several vessels collided with her.

Today in Great Lakes History : July 27

On 27 July 1884, ALBERTA (steel propeller passenger/package freight vessel, 264 foot, 2,282 gross tons, built in 1883, at Whiteinch, Scotland by C. Connell & Co.) collided in fog 6 miles North North West of Whitefish Point on Lake Superior with the JOHN M OSBORNE (wooden propeller "steam barge", 178 foot, 891 tons , built in 1882, at Marine City, Michigan. The OSBORNE had two barges in tow at the time. ALBERTA stayed in the gash until most of OSBORNE's crew scrambled aboard, then pulled out and the OSBORNE sank. ALBERTA sank in shallow water, 3 1/2 miles from shore. 3 or 4 lives were lost from the OSBORNE, one from ALBERTA in brave rescue attempt while trying to get the crewmen off the OSBORNE.

This was ALBERTA's first year of service. She was recovered and repaired soon afterward. She was the sister of the ill fated ALGOMA which was lost in her first year of service. The wreck of the OSBORNE was located in 1984, 100 years after this incident.

On 27 July 1900, the steel freighter RENSSELAER (Hull#402) was launched in Cleveland, Ohio by the American Ship building Co. for the Pittsburgh Steamship Company.

Port Reports - July 26

Marquette - Rod Burdick
Friday evening at the Upper Harbor ore dock, Herbert C. Jackson was loading taconite and fleetmate Kaye E. Barker was waiting to load after unloading coal.

Stoneport - Ben & Chanda McClain
The tug Gregory J. Busch and barge STC 2004 tied up at the Stoneport dock on warm Friday evening to take on a load of stone.

Grand Haven - Dick Fox
The Manitowoc deliverd a load of stone to Verplank's dock in Ferrysurg on Tuesday. The St. Mary's Challenger came in with a load for the St. Mary's Terminal in Ferrysburg about 1 p.m. on Thursday afternoon and left around midnight.

Owen Sound - Ed Saliwonchyk
Playfair, a 72-foot brigantine is in Owen Sound as part of the Marine/Rail Museum's Heritage Days. Playfair is a sister ship to the St. Lawrence II which was in Owen Sound a several weeks ago while on a Georgian Bay tour.

Today in Great Lakes History : July 26

On June 26, 2005, the salty ORLA ran aground at Kahnawake, Quebec and the passing rum tanker JO SPIRIT made contact with her. Both vessels were damaged and repaired in Montreal.

The ALGOWEST sailed on her maiden voyage in 1982 from Thunder Bay, Ontario to Quebec City with a 27,308 ton load of barley.

On July 26, 1943 the BRUCE HUDSON caught fire while loading gasoline at East Chicago, Illinois and four persons lost their lives.

The CONALLISON departed Windsor, Ontario on her first trip for Johnstone Shipping Ltd. on July 26, 1981.

WILLIAM A McGONAGLE (Hull#154) sailed light on her maiden voyage from Great Lakes Engineering Works at Ecorse, Michigan on July 26, 1916, to Duluth, Minnesota to load iron ore. Renamed b.) HENRY STEINBRENNER in 1986. She was scrapped at Port Maitland, Ontario in 1994.

On 26 July 1885, ISLE ROYALE (wooden propeller passenger/package freight vessel, 92 foot, 92 gross tons, built in 1879) sprang a leak near Susick Island near Isle Royale on Lake Superior. She sank but her passengers and crew made it to the island. She was owned by Cooley, Lavague & Company of Duluth. She was originally built as the barge AGNES.

Overseas Steel imports slide at Cleveland port, but shipments from Canada rise

The import of foreign steel has hit a 15-year low at Cleveland's port.

At the same time, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority is handling unprecedented levels of steel barged from Canada. And ArcelorMittal is about to double the modest amount of steel it sends to foreign markets through the Cleveland port.

Such are the vagaries of a port tied to steel.
The import-export dynamics, to some degree, reflect our economy. Port officials hope the future holds more business for its underused docks and warehouses, west of Cleveland Browns Stadium.

Port officials say the mini-boom of ArcelorMittal exports show how the port can serve a lot more Northeast Ohio businesses.

ArcelorMittal will send 64,000 tons of steel coil through the port to Brazil and Europe, by year's end. Last year, the steel mill sent just 30,000 tons through. There was none in 2006.

"We believe the [port] can play a growing role . . . in the movement of goods directly from the Northeast Ohio manufacturing sector to overseas markets," port President Adam Wasserman said in a news release announcing the ArcelorMittal shipments. The weak American dollar is one reason foreign companies have a growing interest in American steel.

But ArcelorMittal also sees local steel orders weakening later this year, so the international company is plying its global network of customers, said Stephen Pfeiffer, head of the port authority's maritime services. Meanwhile, American demand is subsiding for foreign steel that's grown more expensive against the weak dollar.

Imports of specialty steel from the Netherlands, Germany and other foreign producers are down by one-third this year at the Cleveland port, at 97,000 tons, Pfeiffer said. Cleveland's not alone. Steel and iron traffic on the St. Lawrence Seaway was down 48 percent through May, officials said.

Offsetting Cleveland's loss in foreign-steel tonnage is new business by barge. An Ontario steel mill has sent 48,000 tons so far by water, rather than rail and truck. Port officials said the port would see even more steel traffic by barge, if only more were available on the Great Lakes.

Activity is also up at the Cleveland Bulk Terminal, which handles iron ore for the busy ArcelorMittal plant. Shipments are at 960,000 tons after six months, an increase of 11 percent.

Reported by: Cleveland Plain Dealer

Port Reports - July 25

Toledo - Jim Hoffman
On Thursday the Canadian Transfer was at Andersons "K" Elevator unloading potash. The Saginaw was at the Midwest Terminal Dock unloading oats. The tug Karen Andrie with her barge was at the Hocking Valley Dock. The CSL Niagara was at the Torco Dock unloading ore. The revised schedule for coal boats due into the CSX Docks has the John J. Boland due in Friday morning. The CSL Laurentien due in Tuesday evening. The Philip R. Clarke and Lee A. Tregurtha on Wednesday afternoon followed by a return visit by the Philip R. Clarke on Thursday afternoon. The revised schedule for ore boats due into the Torco Dock has the John J. Boland following the CSL Niagara early Friday morning. The CSL Laurentien on Tuesday morning followed by the Capt. Henry Jackman on Thursday afternoon.

Today in Great Lakes History : July 25

July 25, 1991 - The sixteen-man crew of the ocean-going tug PACIFIC TIDE NO 3 were arrested at Montreal on charges of smuggling drugs. The tug had arrived from the Philippines to tow the damaged Spanish vessel MILANOS to Spain.

Algoma Central Marine's former ALGOCEN departed Montreal on July 25, 2005, under tow of the tugs ATLANTIC OAK and ANDRE H bound for Keasby, New Jersey. She was renamed b.) VALGOCEN and was registered in Panama.

The bow section of the ROGER BLOUGH (Hull#900) was floated into the new American Ship Building Co. Lorain dry dock on July 25, 1970, and was joined with the 421 foot stern section. The launch of the completed hull was scheduled for July, 1971, but a fire broke out in the engine room on June 24, 1971, killing four yard workers and extensively damaging her Pielstick diesel engines. Extensive repairs, which included replacement of both engines, delayed the launch for nearly a year.

The CANADA MARQUIS was upbound at Detroit, Michigan on July 25, 1983, on her maiden voyage for Misener Holdings Ltd. She sails today as CSL's e.) BIRCHGLEN.

July 25, 1983 - A wedding was held aboard the BADGER during the sailing of "Love Boat II". Chris Gebhart and Pat Sroka of Ludington were married by Rev. John Christensen.

The wooden lumber tug CYGNET, which worked on the Shiawassee and Bad Rivers and Lake Huron, was destroyed when her boiler exploded in "Blow-up Bayou" on the Shiawassee River.

The wooden bulk freighter D C WHITNEY was launched at Langell's shipyard in St. Clair, Michigan on 25 July 1882. Her dimensions were 229 feet x 40 feet x15 feet, 1090 gross tons.

Port Reports - July 24

Toledo - Jim Hoffman
Nanticoke finished unloading ore at the Torco Dock and departed Wednesday morning. Herbert C. Jackson finished loading coal at the CSX Docks and departed early Wednesday afternoon. Algomarine finished unloading stone and departed from the Midwest Terminal Stone Dock late Wednesday afternoon. Tug Sea Service with the barge Energy 6506 was at the B-P Dock loading cargo.
The revised schedule for coal boats due into the CSX Docks has the John J. Boland due in Friday morning.
The revised schedule for ore boats due into the Torco Dock has the CSL Niagara due in Thursday, John J. Boland early Friday morning followed by the CSL Laurentien on Tuesday.
The Canadian Transfer and Saginaw are due in Toledo the next several days. The Canadian Transfer is bringing in a load of Potash loaded at Thunder Bay, Ontario. The Saginaw is bringing in a load of oats loaded at Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Marquette - Rod Burdick
Wednesday evening at the Upper Harbor ore dock, Robert S. Pierson was waiting to load taconite.

South Chicago - Matt Monahan
Around 2 p.m. Wednesday the tug Invincible and barge McKee Sons was loading at the south dock of KCBX terminals.
On the lake, near the Calumet Harbor Coast Guard Station, the Chicago Fire Department, Police Department and the Coast Guard were aiding in the rescue of a stranded wave runner pilot. Apparently his craft capsized and he attempted to swim the several hundred yards to shore when the Fire Department was notified and a helicopter dropped a diver to aid the man back to shore.
At Navy Pier, the Exiderdome is docked along the East Wall.

Toronto - Frank Hood, Charlie Gibbons and Clive Reddin
Algosteel arrived in port Tuesday afternoon, assisted into the Redpath Sugar slip by our old friend Jarrett M. (ex-Atomic), which had departed the Lakes early this spring for the Magdalene Islands.
The Canadian Coast Guard fisheries ship Limnos came into Toronto harbour about 8:30 p.m. hours and docked at the foot of Sherbourne Street.

Saginaw River - Todd Shorkey
The Calumet was inbound the Saginaw River late Tuesday night headed upriver for the GM dock in Saginaw. She had completed her unload by Wednesday morning and was outbound.
CSL Tadoussac was inbound around the same time, tying up at the Essroc dock in Essexville about five minutes before the Calumet slid by on her trip to the lake. The Tadoussac was outbound, backing for Light 12 to turn and head for the lake around 10pm Wednesday evening.

Today in Great Lakes History : July 24

On July 24, 1980, 34 ships were delayed when the BALTIC SKOU, a 595 foot Danish-flag freighter built in 1977, ran aground after losing power three miles east of the Snell Lock, near Massena, New York. The ship, loaded with sunflower seeds, was headed for Montreal and the Atlantic Ocean when the grounding occurred. No injuries or pollution resulted from the accident and the vessel did not take on any water.

The ALGOSOO (Hull#206) was launched July 24, 1974, at Collingwood, Ontario by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. for Algoma Central Railway, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

The BURNS HARBOR sea trials were conducted on July 24, 1980, during which she performed an emergency stop in 3,160 feet loaded to a depth of 25/26 feet. She was the third thousand footer built for Bethlehem and the tenth on the Great Lakes.

ST CLAIR (Hull#714) was launched July 24, 1975, at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin by Bay Shipbuilding Corp. for the American Steamship Co.

The WILLIAM G MATHER, left River Rouge, Michigan on her maiden voyage July 24, 1925, for Ashtabula, Ohio to load coal for the Canadian Lakehead at Port Arthur/Fort William, Ontario.

The wooden steamer OSCAR TOWNSEND was launched at 2:20 p.m. at E. Fitzgerald's yard in Port Huron on 24 July 1873. The launch went well with a few hundred spectators. She was built for use in the iron ore trade by the Lake Superior Transportation Co. Her dimensions were 210 feet overall, 200 foot keel, 33 foot 10 inches beam and 15 foot depth. She had three masts and was painted deep green.

On 24 July 1847, CONSTITUTION (wooden passenger/package freight side-wheeler, 141 foot, 444 tons, built in 1837, at Charleston, Ohio) struck a pier in Sandusky harbor, stove a large hole in her bow and sank. Her machinery was later recovered and installed in J D MORTON.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to bid out the work soon, and award a contract by Aug. 20, said Lynn Duerod, a Corps spokeswoman in Detroit. The work will clear 200,000 cubic yards of silt that has built up while local and federal officials have tried to develop a site for the spoils, a process that has been going on for more than 20 years. A $5 million, 200-acre Dredged Material Disposal Facility has since been built on the Bay-Saginaw county line in Frankenlust and Zilwaukee townships, Koski said. It's designed to accept spoils for 20 years.

"The site is complete and done, so we're ready whenever they're ready," Koski said Monday. Fourteen additional monitoring wells were recently installed at the site, a compromise to address concerns that contaminants in the river mud could leak into groundwater. The Corps also is lining up $3.8 million dredging money for 2009, to clear out a backlog of silt in the lower river, Bay City to the mouth, and in Saginaw Bay, Duerod said. The $3.8 million is included in an Energy and Water Appropriations bill that cleared a U.S. Senate committee on July 11.

"There's a good portion out there that they need to get out," Duerod said of dredging planned for 2009. "This will make it more convenient for the ships to be able to get in and out of that channel area, a little easier to get the products into the harbor." After the upper river is cleared out this year, the Corps plans to skip that portion for a year, and concentrate on the lower river and bay, she explained. The Corps plans to clear the upper river every two years.

Once the contract is awarded, the Corps plans to conduct the dredging throughout the rest of this year, putting in the most contaminated materials first, based on sediment testing. Solids in the dredgings, which will be mostly water, will settle out in three cells of the facility over a number of months. Water will be discharged back to the river once it's been tested and shown to meet state water quality standards.

Marquette - Rod Burdick
Tuesday morning, John J. Boland unloaded limestone at the Lower Harbor Shiras Dock. She was the first American Steamship Company vessel to visit the Shiras Dock this season. Boland was scheduled to load ore at the Upper Harbor later in the day.

Toledo - Jim Hoffman
The revised schedule for coal boats due into the CSX Docks has the Herbert C. Jackson due in Wednesday morning, followed by the John J. Boland and Saginaw on Friday morning.
The revised schedule for ore boats due into the Torco Docks has the Nanticoke due in Wednesday, followed by the CSL Niagara and John J. Boland on Thursday.

Toronto Frank Hood
English River had departed Toronto by 7 a.m. Tuesday morning.

The project will reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, mercury and other air pollutants while increasing production of taconite pellets from 5.3 million tons to 6 million tons per year and adding 24 new jobs. The company filed a permit amendment for the project Friday with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Construction work on the project will begin after the permit amendments are finalized – perhaps be the end of the year.

According to the company, the project would:
* Reduce sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter emissions per ton of pellets produced by 37 percent.
* Reduce greenhouse gas emissions per ton of pellets by up to 30 percent.
* Reduce mercury emissions per ton of pellets produced by 14 percent.
* Control more than 99 percent of particulate emissions from Line 1 by replacing existing control equipment with a new wet electrostatic precipitator.

The project includes spending around $35 million to add new emission control equipment and to modify the plant to burn cleaner fuels. UTAC currently uses a combination of fuels that includes natural gas, fuel oil, petroleum coke and Eastern coal. The Green Production Project would allow enhanced fuel blending and the use of lower-emitting fuels, resulting in substantially less use of petroleum coke and natural gas in favor of lower sulfur coal and biomass.

The renovations will also allow UTAC to use Renewafuel, a next-generation, carbon-neutral biofuel with substantially fewer greenhouse gas, sulfur dioxide, and mercury emissions than fossil fuels. Cliffs recently became a 70 percent owner in Renewafuel and hopes to use the renewable fuel in its mining operations.

“The Green Production Project is a win-win proposition – for the environment and for operations at UTAC,” Dana Byrne, vice president of public and environmental affairs, said in a news release. “When all improvements are in place, UTAC expects to have the lowest combined emissions per ton of taconite produced of any facility operating in Minnesota and will have the added potential to reduce emissions further in the future.”

In addition to the environmental improvements, UTAC will upgrade its concentrator and pellet plant equipment to allow for an increase in production of 700,000 tons per year. UTAC employs about 557 employees and has an annual payroll, including benefits, of about $50 million.

More than two years after the United States Coast Guard Cutter Acacia was decommissioned from service, and nearly as long since President Bush signed H.R. 889 which ordered that the Coast Guard maintain, at a minimum, its then current vessel capacity for ice-breaking in the Great Lakes, U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) is still fighting to make that a reality.

“It is important that a new Coast Guard cutter or similar asset be stationed in Charlevoix to replace the Acacia and continue the Coast Guard’s long-standing presence in the northern Great Lakes,” he stated in a July 17 press release. “While the Mackinaw is now stationed in Cheboygan, ice-breaking capacity in the northern Great Lakes has been reduced from two cutters to one, threatening the coast guard’s ability to meet its operational responsibilities on the Great Lakes. The Coast Guard fleet is down one hull, but the scope of its ice-breaking mission is still the same.”

Stupak recently urged House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee members on the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation board, via written testimony, to enforce what he called “congressional intent” by demanding an asset be stationed in Charlevoix. Stupak addressed the subcommittee in writing, hoping to sway the board chaired by Elijah Cummings.

“The Acacia provided essential navigational and search and rescue services in the northern Great Lakes. She also tended nearly 200 buoys and lighthouses and kept channels open by breaking ice,” Stupak wrote. “This work is important for safety as well as for businesses and individuals that rely on the Great Lakes. The community has felt great pride in being the home of the Acacia, and I have been proud that the cutter has been stationed in my district.”

Stupak’s main argument for replacing Acacia hinged on the Great Lake’s reputation as a major shipping channel.

“The Great Lakes serve as a main thoroughfare for iron ore to America’s steel mills and other cargos to destinations in the United States, Canada, and overseas. During the winter months, 17 million tons of commerce moves through the Great Lakes. Without sufficient cutter presence, these goods will not reach their destination. Ice-breaking operations in the Great Lakes also play an important role for the local community. The residents of Beaver Island relied upon the coast guard’s ice-breaking assets in Charlevoix to assure their safety and support their economy.”

He added, “This year’s cold winter showed the need for a cutter presence when Beaver Island again had to make an emergency call to the Coast Guard to break the ice to facilitate a fuel shipment. This is a common occurrence during cold winters.” According to Stupak, the Coast Guard’s workload is being taxed because of the decommissioning of two Canadian ice-breakers.

Stupak has accused the Coast Guard of ignoring congressional intent. “I have written the Coast Guard multiple times requesting that they follow Congressional intent. Unfortunately, the Commandant of the Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen continues to insist that the Coast Guard will not follow the requirements within the Fiscal Year 2006 Coast Guard Authorization Bill (HR 889), leaving Northern Michigan without a replacement for the Acacia.”

So far, a paid lobbyist, a mayor, Charlevoix citizens and state and federal representatives to name a few have toiled with no avail for a replacement of the cutter Acacia which was decommissioned on June 7, 2006, after more than 60 years of service. Neither a Coast Guard spokesman or Stupak returned calls by press time.

About half of a 300-foot seawall guarding the lighthouse and park's north side needs to be replaced after falling into Lake Erie a few years ago. A $50,000 grant secured through State Sen. Catharine Young's office was the final piece of the puzzle to fund the immediately-needed seawall work. The Chautauqua Home Rehabilitation and Improvement Corporation (CHRIC) and its Executive Director John Murphy played a key role in securing the necessary funds.

"I am particularly pleased to be here today because it's truly a celebration. This work needed to be done and I want to thank John Murphy and CHRIC for your leadership in securing the funds that are necessary to make sure that our landmark, our historical treasure here at the Dunkirk Lighthouse, is preserved," Young said during the ceremony. "I know that it was a main cause of concern when we had the collapse a couple of years ago, so John reached out to me and said, 'we need to do something,'" she added.

"I especially want to thank Congressman (Brian) Higgins for your leadership. I know you have been very helpful for this project as has Assemblyman Bill Parment. I'm joining them today to announce that I've been able to secure $50,000 for this project so that we can rebuild the wall and we can improve the security here. We always have the threat of vandals. People being here when they're not supposed to be. "We need to make sure that this place is protected, so I'm glad to be a part of that. I'm glad that you can be here today so we can celebrate the Dunkirk Lighthouse."

Prior to the short ceremony Murphy explained the process and the cause for the ceremony. "It's a culmination of a lot of preliminary work we had to go through, all the permitting. We had to clear the state Historic Preservation Office reviews, we did archeological studies, we did topography studies," he said. "The contracts are out to bid now and they'll be opened up later this week, so this hopefully is the beginning of construction now on phase one of hopefully, a two-phase project to restore the Lighthouse."

According to Murphy, that construction will come quickly. "We're hoping that it gets done this summer. It's a relatively simple design. It's a retaining wall ... it's sort of an L-shaped thing. It will involve some excavation and forming up and pouring it and putting a railing along the top and kind of restoring what was lost," he said. "Then we have two other grant applications in to build a retaining wall on the East shore and one to restore the architectural details on the Lighthouse building itself."

The city's contribution was also appreciated by Murphy. "Common Council agreed to waive the fee for the building permit, which was very generous and we're pleased that the Common Council is involved in the project," he said.

Higgins was asked if the latest grant would be enough to complete the funding. "Well, bids will have to go out so you don't want to prejudice the bids and how they come back," Higgins said. "We're accumulating monies toward the goal of getting all the work that needs to be done financed here and I think we're well on our way. I think everybody here has done a great, great job and we just have to keep working together in a non-partisan way toward the goal of returning this historic site in its full capacity back to the people of Chautauqua County and the city of Dunkirk."

Perhaps the happiest person about the project's go-ahead was Harold "Dick" Lawson, one of the main driving forces behind the success of turning the lighthouse and its grounds into a tourist destination. "We're very ecstatic. We're getting in all this money, grants and everything to keep this historic lighthouse going," Lawson said. "It's not mine, I'm just doing my volunteer job of taking care of it and trying to raise funds for it. The seawall is very important to replace because probably 300 feet of it has to be replaced within the next 10 years. Right now we're going to do maybe 150 feet of it and if we don't control the erosion now we'll lose the lighthouse with the undermining, the waves and everything. So we're quite thrilled about the whole thing being here. We think this is the jewel of Dunkirk. A lot of people don't think it is but our gang does."

According to Lawson, the site gets about 15-16,000 visitors between April 1 and the end of October each year, barring disruptions due to construction or detours. The 7th Annual Lighthouse Festival, featuring a WWII battle reenactment and military encampment, draws about 5,000 people and will run Aug. 16-17 - rain or shine.

There is also another addition at the lighthouse. "We have five young tour girls who volunteered this summer and they're giving tours, they really know what they're doing when they're in there," Lawson said. "I have to give them credit."

"It's a great opportunity for what CHRIC is called, a rural preservation company under New York state Department of Housing and Community Renewal. They fund us so that we can bring resources into the community. ... I'm very pleased that the state supports us and it allows us to do these kinds of projects. "I thank all of these folks for their financial support and of course acknowledge Dick and Barb Lawson, who work as tirelessly as volunteers and have for 20 years preserved this structure on the National Historic Register."

Today in Great Lakes History : July 23

On this day in 1906, the 556 foot ELBERT H GARY arrived to a 21-gun salute to deliver the first cargo of Minnesota ore at the new United States Steel mill in Gary, Indiana.

The keel for the TEXACO CHIEF (Hull#193) was laid July 23, 1968, at Collingwood, Ontario by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., for Texaco Canada Ltd. Renamed b.) A G FARQUHARSON in 1986, and c.) ALGONOVA In 1998.

CANADOC sailed on her maiden voyage July 23, 1961.

Upper Lakes Shipping Co. Ltd.'s, RED WING was christened on July 23, 1960, as the first all-welded vessel to emerge from Port Weller Dry Docks.

On 23 July 1878, H R PRESTON (wooden quarter-deck canal boat built in 1877, at Oneida Lake, New York) was carrying 250 tons of ashes from Picton, Ontario to Oswego, New York in tow of the tug ALANSON SUMNER along with three other canal boats when they encountered a storm on Lake Ontario. About 15 miles from Oswego, the PRESTON broke her towline and was taken alongside the SUMNER with some difficulty. About a mile out of port she lost her hold tarps and began to sink quickly. She was cut loose from the tug and her two crewmen were saved by the Oswego tug WM AVERY. Though she was lying heavily on the bottom in 50 feet of water, her wreckage came ashore near 4 Mile Point in early September.

Port Reports - July 22

Toronto - Frank Hood
English River arrived back in Toronto on Monday. At 6 a.m. she was sitting low in the water, and by 11 a.m. she sitting high in the water and unloaded.

South Chicago - Brian Z.
The Algowood was loading Monday morning at KCBX Terminals on the Calumet River.
The Maumee was inbound shortly after midnight destined to load at Chicago Fuels Terminal. After her loading, the Maumee was outbound at noon, headed for Manistee, MI.

Alpena - Ben & Chanda McClain
The tug G. L Ostrander and barge Integrity was at Lafarge early Monday morning.
Also calling at Lafarge on Monday was the Manistee. It unloaded a cargo of coal and was seen backing out into the bay after 3 p.m. to head for its next destination.

Milwaukee - Paul Erspamer
During the early hours Saturday morning Maumee backed downriver, then turned and departed after unloading salt at Milwaukee's inner harbor bulk cargo dock.
John J. Boland backed into the inner harbor in fog and delivered coal to the Greenfield Avenue yard of WE Energies on Saturday afternoon.
St. Marys Challenger arrived on Sunday morning with the assistance of one tug at the stern, proceeding upriver to its Kinnickinnic Avenue terminal.
Sunday afternoon, Algoway backed upriver, bringing a load of salt to the bulk cargo dock in the inner harbor.
Lake Erie was berthed at Terminal 2 in the municipal docks along the outer harbor on Monday, carrying steel.

American Steamship Company - Employment Opportunity

7/22 - American Steamship Company has an immediate opening for a Vessel Scheduler at the Company's headquarters in Williamsville, New York.

Interested individuals are directed to the Company's website for more information or to apply for this position:

Book Documents History of S.S. St. Marys Challenger

Today in Great Lakes History : July 22

On this day in 1961, the barge CLEVECO, originally lost with a crew of 22 during a December 02, 1942, storm on Lake Erie, was floated by salvagers, towed outside the shipping lanes, and intentionally sunk.

PERE MARQUETTE 22 (Hull#210) was launched on July 22, 1924, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. for the Pere Marquette Railway Co.

One hundred years ago on 22 July 1900, the tug MATT H ESSER was launched at Lorain, Ohio by H. D. Root for Captain Burke of Erie.

The M I MILLS (wooden propeller tug, 122 foot, 152 tons, built in 1867, at Marine City, Michigan), which sank in a collision with the bark UNADILLA on 9 May 1873, was found on 22 July 1873, in 90 feet of water in Lake Huron off Sand Beach, Michigan. Plans were made to raise her at the cost of $5,000. This effort was unsuccessful as was another abortive attempt in 1895.

Port Reports - July 21

Marquette - Rod Burdick
Sunday afternoon at the Upper Harbor, Algocape arrived to load ore and was secured on the north side of the ore dock waiting for the Mesabi Miner to finish unloading coal on the south side. Algocape last visited Marquette in October of 2007. Her visit followed Canadian Leader on Friday.

South Chicago - Brian Z.
The Arthur M. Anderson was loading coal early Sunday morning at KCBX Terminals, destined for Escanaba, MI. Algoma Central's Algowood was scheduled to follow the Anderson, taking a cargo of 30,000 tons of green delayed petroleum coke.

Boatnerd Detroit River Cruise planned for August 16

A 4-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. We'll go where the boats are. Hopefully, up the Rouge River, maybe down the Detroit 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 $30.00 per person. Limited to the first 100 reservations.

 Mail your check today to: Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping Online, Inc., 1110 South Main Street, Findlay, OH 45840-2239. 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. Check in before boarding.

Today in Great Lakes History : July 21

The JAMES DAVIDSON and KINSMAN INDEPENDENT arrived under tow at Santander, Spain on July 21, 1974, for scrapping.

On July 21, 1975, the GEORGE D GOBLE arrived at Lorain, Ohio with an unusual deck cargo loaded at American Ship Building Company's yard at South Chicago, Illinois. She was carrying the deckhouses for two Interlake Steamship Company thousand-foot self-unloaders being built at AmShip's Lorain yard. These vessels were completed as the JAMES R BARKER and MESABI MINER.

On 21 July 1875, the schooner ELVA, which was built in Port Huron, Michigan in 1861, for Capt. Sinclair, was sailing from Holland, Michigan for Milwaukee, Wisconsin loaded with stove bolts. She capsized 12 miles from Milwaukee. Her crew took to the boats and made a landing in Kenosha and then rowed to Milwaukee. A tug was sent for the schooner and she was recovered.

In 1900, R J GORDON (wooden propeller passenger-package freighter, 104 foot, 187 gross tons, built in 1881, at Marine City, Michigan) was placed back in service carrying freight and passengers between Chicago and Grand Haven. She had burned in September 1899 at Chicago but was rebuilt during the winter.

On 21 July 1875, the old barge HURON, which had been in use for a number of years as a car ferry for the Grand Trunk Railroad at Port Huron/Sarnia, was sold to Sandie and Archie Stewart. They planned to convert her to a dry-dock by adding three feet to her sides and removing her arches. The sale price was $1,500 in gold.

Departure from Halifax was initially scheduled for the 9th of July but the tug boat was delayed on two occasions. First it was unfavorable weather conditions in Halifax, and then it was a mechanical failure which delayed the departure. The tug boat and submarine finally departed Halifax at 16:00 on the 11th of July for a trip estimated to last 5 days. The first leg of the voyage from Halifax to the Strait of Canso went well, but high winds forced the convoy to remain tied up for nearly 48 hours at the Strait of Canso as a prevention until the wind died down.

Upon arrival at Rimouski, the Onondaga will be tied up at the Rimouski-Est wharf where she will undergo final preparations before being installed at Pointe-au-Pčre. Final towing maneuvers will begin at 3:23 a.m., during the night of August 1 to August 2, when high tide is expected reach a height of 4.6 M.

The submarine Onondaga is a relic of the cold war and roamed the oceans during 33 years, from 1967 to 2000. Interpretation activities will target the sharing with visitors of life onboard a submarine and the daily challenges facing a submariner, as well as the many technological innovations being experienced onboard submarines.

Toronto - Frank Hood
Olympic Merit departed Toronto on Saturday.

South Chicago - Matt Monahan
Around 10:30 a.m. Saturday, the Maumee, after backing unassisted, stern-first down the Calumet River, arrived at the South Dock of the KCBX terminal.
Soon after the Maumee tied up, Lafarge's tug G. L. Ostrander and barge Integrity passed on their way out to the lake.
Sometime in the late morning, the Mackinaw left her berth along the south side of Navy Pier and took up station a few miles out on Lake Michigan for the Mac Race.

Hamilton - Eric Holmes
Saturday afternoon the CSL Tadoussac departed US Steel at 1:30 p.m. The tug Anglian Lady and barge PML 2501 also departed at 1:30 p.m. Canadian Coast Guard Ship Cape Lambton arrived at 5 p.m. for the Canada Centre for Inland Waters. The Ocean Groupe tugs Omni Richelieu and LaPrairie arrived at 5:30 p.m. The CSL Laurentian departed at 8 p.m. from Pier 26 with slag for Sept. Ile Quebec after a lengthy delay due to electrical problems on the Burlington Lift Bridge.

Great Lakes Towing Co. sold the tugboat, built from steel keel to wheelhouse at the company's West Side Cleveland lakeshore shipyard, to a customer in Central America. It will go into operation in September. "We're especially proud that our buyer for this boat is in Honduras, because we know that this customer could buy a tug from anywhere in the world," said Ronald Rasmus, the tug company's president. "It tells us that we're competitive with the whole world."

The craft is a harbor tug that will operate in Puerto Cortes on the north coast of Honduras. It gets its power from two 1,400-horsepower diesel engines and, Rasmus said, "is just the right size (74-feet long and 28-feet wide), just the right power, environmentally sound, fuel-efficient and versatile enough to accomplish most tug jobs at the lowest operating cost."

Rasmus acknowledges that the buyer benefited in part from the lower value of the U.S. dollar, a circumstance that makes American-made products cheaper in many nations than they were in previous years. Great Lakes Towing has been in the tug-building business only since late 2006, when Rasmus established a shipbuilding facility at his more than 100-year-old business. The tug headed for Honduras is the second the company has built. "There's a big worldwide market need for tugs of this size, smaller tugs that a two-man crew can handle," he said.

He referred to studies that show that just in the United States, more than 1,500 tugs in this size class - between 2,000 and 3,000 horsepower - will probably need to be replaced in the next few years. The first craft, similar to tug No. 2, came out of the shipyard in April, and Rasmus quickly shipped it to its new owner on the West Coast. That earlier craft was the first tug built in Cleveland since 1931, and Rasmus said he expects his 68-member team to build many more in the coming years. Tug No. 3 is already under way and drawing interest from another buyer in Latin America.

While shipbuilding has not had any role in Greater Cleveland for many years - George Steinbrenner closed American Ship Building in Lorain in the 1970s - Great Lakes Towing recovered a brownfield on the Lake Erie shore just west of downtown and hired welders who, for the most part, had no experience in nautical construction.

Rasmus also forged a relationship with the welding, diesel mechanics and industrial arts programs at nearby Max Hayes High School, hiring tradesmen who graduated from the institution. He said he has a $3 million to $4 million payroll and expects to expand the company's site. While building the two tugboats, Great Lakes also has constructed and sold 27 metal barges that buyers have put to use in hauling cargo, as floating docks and, linked together, as temporary bridges.

Rasmus and his team designed the barges so they can be hauled on trucks and any number of them can be connected as platforms or much larger hauling surfaces. "We're shipping them all over the country and expect to be exporting the barges, too," he said. Depending upon the array of options that end up on tug No. 2, its Honduran buyer will pay between $3.2 million and $4 million.

Today in Great Lakes History : July 20

The CANADOC suffered severe bow damage on July 20, 1963, in a collision with the Swiss-flagged freighter BARILOCHE in dense fog off Ile de Orleans, near Quebec City.

The LEON FALK JR was christened at Cleveland, July 20, 1961, after one trip to Duluth, Minnesota for ore.

HORACE JOHNSON (Hull#805) was launched July 20, 1929, at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co. for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.

The JAY C MORSE (Hull#438) was launched on July 20, 1907, at Cleveland, Ohio by American Ship building Co. for the Mesaba Steamship Co. (Pickands & Mather & Co., mgr.) Sold Canadian in 1965, renamed b.) SHELTER BAY, used as a storage barge at Goderich, renamed c.) D B WELDON in 1979. In 1982, her pilothouse was removed and is used as a museum in Goderich Harbor. The WELDON was scrapped at Thunder Bay in 1984.

At the end of June, 1877, the ferry MYRTLE began running between Port Huron and Sarnia. However, on 20 July 1877, The Port Huron Times reported that "The ferry MYRTLE has been taken off the route on account of the extreme dullness of the times."

The scow DIXIE burned during the night of 20 July 1875, while lying at Kenyon's dock in East China Township on the St. Clair River.

7/19 - Cleveland—Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes from U.S. and Canadian ports totaled 4.4 million net tons in June. The increase – 11,558 tons – represents one cargo in a 600-foot-long vessel.

The dredging crisis continued to impact the trade. A large tug/barge unit that has carried more than 35,000 tons of limestone in a trip twice saw its load fall below 30,000 tons in June. The vessel’s top load in June was only 34,036 tons.

For the year, the Lakes limestone trade stands at 11.8 million net tons, a decrease of 4.2 percent compared to the same point in 2007. Shipments are more than 10 percent behind the 5-year average for the first half of the year.

Marquette - Rod Burdick and Lee Rowe
Canadian Leader arrived at the Upper Harbor ore dock just before sunrise on Friday and loaded taconite later in the morning. She was the first straight decker to load ore this season and last visited Marquette in October of 2007.
On a foggy Friday evening at the Upper Harbor, John G. Munson departed after loading ore, and Michipicoten was waiting to load ore. Munson's visit was her third of the season to the ore dock.

Toronto - Frank Hood and Charlie Gibbons
The new Great Lakes Feeder Line's Dutch Runner made its first stop in Toronto, arriving at Pier 52 early Friday morning. Stephen B. Roman departed Toronto Friday morning.
Hamilton Energy was refueling Olympic Merit at Redpath sugar just before the noon hour.

He and wife Morag and friends would drift over to the far shore of the West Bay, drop anchor off Carrolls Point for a few hours and slip home as darkness fell, loving the twinkle of the Hamilton skyline. Last summer was especially fine aboard the Queen B. But the boat was mainly for entertaining. With a grandchild on the scene, Smith thought it would be nice to have something bigger, with proper bedrooms for the family. He got something bigger all right. And that is why he has been stranded for weeks in a corner of Kentucky, trying to get his new boat home.

The Mississippi has been at its mightiest this year due to heavy rains across the Midwest. That rampaging river has been full of debris flying by -- 60-foot trees, pieces of buildings, refrigerators. Some say it could be months before Smith can put that boat on the big river. Others say he should never have tried. "I love problem solving," he says. "I love it when things go wrong." Exactly what you'd expect from the man inside Red Green.

His new houseboat, tied up in Grand Rivers, population 300, just east of the Mississippi. The mayor has just come over to shake his hand. Thanks to Kentucky Educational Television, Red Green is known here. Marine mechanics pull out their duct tape and smile. The new boat is 79 feet long. They're hard to find in Canada, Smith explains, because they're not good for the Great Lakes -- unless you're going to sit in Hamilton Harbour for months on end.

Down where he is now, there are lots of man-made lakes. On Lake Cumberland, for instance, are 2,400 houseboats, including some very big ones. Smith bought one of those. He's not saying what it cost, "but it's not nearly what you'd think. Half the price of a cottage." It's nine years old, has four bedrooms, a salon, an office, its own sewage treatment plant and water purification system -- though Smith isn't sure he's ready to try that in Hamilton. The boat was christened the Bacardi Breeze, but that will be changing to the King B.

The plan was to sail over to the Mississippi, coming in south of St. Louis. They expected the current against them to be no more than three knots an hour. As the King B moves comfortably on still water at eight knots, there would be a net forward speed of five knots. On July 2, they set out for the Mississippi. From one of the e-mails he has been sending to dozens of fascinated friends: "Had an easy 23 miles up the Cumberland River, past the Kentucky State Prison, home of 160 executions with two more on deck, and arrived in Grand Rivers.

"After gett