MARINE SOCIETY. Ray Bawal Jr. Terry Doyon Andy Rosales

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1 LAKE LORE MARINE SOCIETY Incorporated in the State of Michigan October 21, Vol. XXIII, No.2 March I April, Terry Doyon (Editor) 272 Elgin S1. Sarnia, ON, N7T 5B6 Cy Hudson (Assistant Editor) Membership (annual) -. $12.00 (U.~.) $18.00 (Can. funds). Send to: L.H.L. Port Huron Museum, th Sf, Port Huron, MI Phone (810) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE DIRECTORS President V. President Secretary Treasurer - Fred Miller - Paul Schmitt - Karen Gorski - Cy Hudson Ray Bawal Jr. Terry Doyon Andy Rosales Gareth McNabb Dick Wicklund Gene Buel (Hon. Advisory Director) ANNOUNCEMENTS Our first member's slide night was held at the Port Huron Museum on Saturday, January 19th. The audience, mad~ up of 31 L.H.L. members and their guests, viewed a wide variety of ships ranging from the Lakes to European waters. Also shown were aerial shipping scenes of Toledo in the 1960's which was rather different and well received. Thanks to our generous donors, we had 7 door prizes to give away. The Great Lakes Photo Magazine from Jon LaFontaine was won by Nancy Grant of Port Huron, MI. Jim Morris of S1. Clair Shores, MI, Father Pete Van der Linden of Marysville, MI, Dave Michelson of New Baltimore,MI and your Editor, Terry Doyon of Sarnia, ON, each won a 2002 wall calendar donated by Interlake S/S Company. Two Marine Historical Society of Detroit 2002 calendars, donated by M.H.S.D., were won by Al Kasdorf of Fort Gratiot, MI afld Dave Schultz of Port Huron, MI. Our thanks also to those who brought along and shared their interesting and enjoyable slides. Mark Your Calendar - Our first dinner meeting of 2002, which as usual will be a joint meeting with our friends, the Marine Historical Society of Detroit, will be held at the Port Huron Museum on Saturday, April 6th. The doors will be opened at 6:00 pm and the dinner, prepared by Faulkner's Catering, will be served at 6:30 pm. The cost is $10.00 (U.S. funds) per person with checks or money orders made payable to LAKE.HURON LORE to be

2 received, along with the enclosed yellow reservation slip, by the closing date of Thursday, March 28th. The evening's entertainment program, to be presented by two members of the United States Naval Sea Cadets Corps: L1. Cmdr. Bill Barnhardt of Kimball, MI and L1. Cmdr. Phil vvinteringham of Howell, MI, is entitled Phil & Bill's Great Adventure. They vvill describe the trials and tribulations of bringing the Black River based USNSCS Greyfox from Florida to Port Huron. The program is of local interest and should prove to be an interesting evening. New luembers - L.H.L. wishes to welcome Lambton, ON. aboard Glenn Smith of Port Huron, MI and David Pilon of Port Lake Huron Lore Newsletter - The 1st Issue The first issue of Lake Huron Lore Marine News was published December 30th, As our front page states, Lake Huron Lore had only been incorporated the previous year, October 21S\ In 1964, the Board of Directors were: President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Directors Lee Cooper Rev. Peter Van der Linden Nancy Cooper Miss Laura Briesemeister Judge Edward T. Kane Commodore Don E. Manuel Cap1. Albert Penzenhagen William Patterson Stanley Townsend Lake Huron Lore Marine News Number 1 December 30, 1964 Five months and five days from keel laying, the Port Weller Dry Docks delivered the two thousand ton freighter to her owners, Crosbie & Company of S1. Johns, NewfOlmdland. (See footnote) Clifft Victory was grounded in lower Detroit River on December 9 and was released by the help of four tugs of the Great Lakes Towing Company at 9:30 p.m. on December 10. Montreal, December 8... Four salt water vessels will be tied up in inland waters because of lingering too long on the Lakes. Two CSL freighters, j\;fclagan and Thunder Bay, will winter in Montreal because of the S1. Lawrence lock closing.. Bay City, December 9... Ice set in early on Saginaw Bay and seven ships were delayed by ice and released by the Coast Guard cutter Acadia after some delay. Owen SOlmd Comet issue ofniay 18, 1855 reports water rose nine feet then at once fell ten feet, people walking on the Bay bottom to Indian Village. Many vessels broke loose from moorings, piers were covered and twenty five buildings were demolished by the blow. Captain J. C. McCormick of the vvyandotte fleet and previously of the D & C fleet passed away late last summer. He was well knmvn in the thumb area. Mrs. McCormick is the daughter of the late Engineer Joseph C. Leno of Lexington. The old car ferry Grand Haven returns to the Great Lakes from Miami. She will be operated by Uscan Transport from Cleveland to Port Stanley and will carry truck trailers. It has been suggested that considerable financial relief might be found by the extension of the shipping season another thirty days, thus gaining more earnings each season. It is Jeported that the tug j\;faverick and the barge SandusA:Y were both sunk in the Port Huron area this fall. At this v\'titingboth have been raised and the tug is tied up in the Black River. 2

3 It is reported the crane barge which sank at the Dunn Paper Company docks, Port Huron, Michigan, this summer was refloated and is now laying at the Marysville City docks. On September 16 it was reported that the tanker Orion, laid up sine 1957 at Cleveland, was taken to Ashtabula for scrapping. On September 19 the last American cruise ship, SS South American, laid up at Grand Haven after dry docking at Manitowoc. President Goebel reported a very successful season. The largest self-unloader, Cape Breton Miner, after a successful coal-hauling season, loaded grain for Europe at Toledo. She was launched in June On August 1964, seventeen Greek sailors boarded the tanker Clark Milwaukee, for a forty-three day trip to Piraeus, Greece. (See footnote) - LeeclifJe Hall which sank in lower S1. Lawrence after a collision, is reported a total loss. The SS North American was sold at public auction on July 30 for $39,000 under bankruptcy sale. The successful bidder was an Erie banking interest - holders of the first mortgage. Three well known Lake freighters are headed for Port Colborne scrap pile. Andrew S. Upson, Angeline and L.D. Browning will be seen no more. Individual memberships are $2.00 annually - join and help us get a Marine Museum. Footnote: Of the original Board Members in 1964, we still have two of them as Life Members; Father Peter Van der Linden and William Patterson, both living in Marysville, MI. The ship that was mentioned at the beginning of the newsletter was Port Weller Dry Dock's Hull #38, Chesley A. Crosbie (C ). Her Canadian registry was closed in March 1992 when she was sold to Northern Star Naviera, renamed Northern Star and registered in Honduras. The tanker c) Clark Milwaukee (US ) was built in 1941 by Ingalls Shipbuilding Co., of Decatur, AL as Hull # 290. Built for Husky Transit Co. as a) Minneapolis Husky, the ship's dimensions were 235 ft. x 35 ft. x 14 ft. Sold to American Barge Line in 1944, she was renamed b) Republic-Pittsburgh. The vessel was converted to a tanker in 1952 and brought to the Lakes in Sold to Clark Oil & Refining and renamed c) Clark Milwaukee in 1954, she continued service on the Lakes until 1964 when she was purchased by Triad Shipping Co. of London, England and renamed d) Limni. The tanker sailed from Milwaukee in mid-summer of 1964 bound for the Mediterranean. *** NAME THIS SHIP *** See Answer On Page 7 A. E. Young Photo

4 THE LOSS OF THE CHICORA NA UTICAL NEWS The non-profit South-West Michigan Underwater Preservation Committee discovered a shipwreck on September 21st, 2001 off the eastern coast in south-west Lake Michigan. The wreck, believed to be that of the Chicora, a wooden passenger and freight steamer, was lost in a storm in that area in The Chicora Preservation Society has been formed to consolidate the various interested groups who wish to continue work on the discovery of the wreck. With the kind permission of Author Captain Ray 1. McGrath, here is his story of the Chicora from his book, Great Lakes Stories. The Chicora The wooden passenger and freight steamer Chicora was launched in Detroit June 25, 1895 to carry passengers to Lake Michigan ports and fruit and vegetables back to Chicago and Milwaukee. She was feet long, 35 feetand 13.6 feet deep, a smart propeller vessel and capable of 16 knots. Late in December of 1894, after she was laid up for winter, the shippers asked that she make one more trip carrying bagged flour from Milwaukee to Benton Harbor, and then return to winter layup. On January 21 at 5 a.m., the vessel cleared Milwaukee. A winter storm was brewing, the barometer had been falling steadily all the previous day, but the captain and crew were eager to complete the trip and return to their homes. Pounded by ice and tossed like a cork by the giant waves, the Chicora fought the storm for hours that afternoon and finally lost the fight and sank. She was never seen again. She carried 23 crew members and one passenger to their deaths somewhere in Lake Michigan's icy waters. Rescue crews spent days looking for her, but to no avail. Captain Henry F. Stines of the steamer City of Ludington spent two days looking for his brother, Captain Eddie Stines, on the Chicora, but found no trace of the vessel or crew after the storm. Later that year, bags of flour, parts of the ship, her name board and mast washed ashore near Saugatuck, MI. The mast now stands at Glenn Lake, MI as a sad reminder of the proud Chicora and her crew. LIBERTY ISLAND The Liberty Island, a trailing suction hopper dredge, passed the Bluewater Bridge downbound on December 14th, 2001 at 7:00 a.m. destined for her owner Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company of Oak Brook, Illinois. The new trailing suction hopper dredge was the 50th hull built by Manitowoc Company's Bay Shipbuilding at Sturgeon Bay, WI for the 110-year old dredging contractor, which was financed by MDFC Equipment Leasing Corp. and designed by Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co. with Krupp Fodertechnik GmBH of Lubeck, Gennany and MIL Systems of Ottawa, Ontario. The U.S. flagged Liberty Island was floated out of the drydock on August 14th and positioned at the fitout wall. Classed as an ABS + Al Dredger + AMS, ACCU and measuring 315 ft. in length with a breadth of 59 ft. and a hull depth of 28 ft., the new dredge is equipped with controllable-pitch propellers and able to sail at 14 knots while loaded and 15.3 knots light. She is also capable of dredging to a depth of 108 ft. The vessel's two 5,000 h.p. engines provide both propulsion and the power for the dredging pumps. The Liberty Island was built at a reported cost of$51.6 million. THE SOO LOCKS IN 1952 The Soo Locks are one of the top tourist attractions in Michigan during the vacation period with thousands of visitors watching the Lakers and Salties passing through, although the locks have not always been as accessible to the public in times of high security in the U.S. During the W.W. II days, the military presence was large}n the Sault Ste. Marie area as well as the following years of the Korean conflict, 1950 to 1953, however, it was annolillced by the Military Authorities in April, 1952, that there would be an easing up of some of the restricted area for the public. Brady Park, the government owned property on the St. Mary's riverfront just below the Soo locks, was opened to the public that summer enabling the visitors to observe the ships passing through the locks without peering through the wire fences as they have had done for the last two years. The lock piers, under guard, were not opened to the public. The large fountain at the lower end of MacArthur lock was to be put in operation again. 4

5 Once more we are lmdergoing a period of high security owing to terrorist activities and it remains to be seen if the security measures taken after the 9-11 incident will be kept in place at the Soo locks for any length of time..miv ccolumbus Since the arrival of the ccolumbus on the Great Lakes in 1999, one of the first passenger vessels to cruise the Lakes since the retirement of this class of ship over two decades ago, she has been successful and very popular in this field.. The Great Lakes Cruise Company, in partnership with Acheson Ventures of Port Huron, have introduced three sailings of the passenger ship from Port Huron in September of this year. September 4-11, 2002 Port Toronto Huron to Port to Port Huron Huron Voyages of Discovery The Le Levant, the 1998-built French cruising ship, is also slated to visit Port Huron during her season on the Lakes. This ship is smaller than the ccolumbus with accommodations for 95 guests in 45 staterooms. The larger ccolumbus has a capacity for 420 passengers who will visit the ports of Little Current, ON, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Door County, WI, Marquette, MI and Mackinac Island, MI on her 4 and 6 night cruises from Port Huron. Further details may be obtained from Great Lakes Cruising Company. Phone (888) or info@greatlakescruising.com or 'vvww.2ieatlakescruising. com. ISMA RAFFLE OFFERS CHANCE TO WIN A TRIP ON ccolumbus The International Shipmasters Association Port Huron Lodge No.2 is offering a chance to win a Great Lakes cruise for two on the passenger ship ccolumbus. The trip includes one-night accommodations in Port Huron, a 6-night cruise aboard the ccolumbus as well as all meals and entertainment aboard the ship. The ship departs Port Huron on September 16th and visits places such as Little Current, ON, Sturgeon Bay, WI, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Marquette, MI and Mackinac Island, MI, returning to Port Huron on September 23rd. Price of a raffle ticket is $ Drawing of the winning ticket will take place on August 315\ Winners need not be present at the drawing to win and will be promptly notified by mail and lor phone. License # To purchase raffle ticket(s), contact ISMA Port Huron Lodge #2 Raffle, P.O. Box , Port Huron, MI, MARINE NEWS 10 years ago... (1992). March 11 - The cement carrier Paul R. Townsend (US ) opened the 1992 shipping season when she departed Milwaukee bound for St. Joseph and Muskegon to discharge her winter cement cargo. th. March 18 - The C.c.G.S. Samuel Risley locked through upbound at the Soo bound for Thunder Bay. March 19th - The Windsor waterfront tug I restaurant Queen City (2) (C ) was holed by ice and in danger of sinking. Quick work with cranes and pumps avoided further damage. She was eventually removed from further service in April, 1994 and placed in lay-up at LaSalle, ON. March 22nd - The Soo Locks opened to commercial shipping for the season with the upbound passages of the Paul R. Tregurtha (US ) and the Edgar B. Speer (US ). March 25th - The Soconav Inc. tanker A. G. Farquharson (C ) was the first vessel of the season to dock at Sault Ste. Marie, ON. The traditional top hat was presented to Captain James Van Overbeek. March 30th - The St. Lawrence Seaway was opened with the upbound transit of the Senneville (C ) destined for Chicago. Also, on this date, the WeIland Canal was opened by the upbound Ralph Misener (C ). 5

6 April 3rd - The Edwin H. Gott (US ) lost one of her twin rudders when she was leaving her Duluth winter berth. The Gott had previously lost a rudder when she was on her maiden voyage from Milwaukee to Two Harbors in 1979 which resulted in a two month lay-up for repairs. April 8th - lw. Westcott Company's Mail Boat J. W Westcott II (US ), piloted by Capt. Sam Buchanan, began its 119th season when she came alongside the Seaway Queen (C ). April 13th - The Liberian flag tanker Chippewa was the first saltwater vessel to arrive in Sarnia when she tied up at the Shell Oil Refinery dock. April 21st - Unseasonable warm weather, combined with the cold water and ice, caused heavy fog in the St. Mary's river which resulted in the backing up of more than 43 ships for 2 days. This was the longest delay to shipping for 2 decades. April 22nd - American Steamship CO.'s John J. Boland (3) (US ), idle for over 8 years, returned to service when she departed Superior bound for Marquette. April 29th - The American Republic (US ) passed Port Huron downbound, towed by Great Lakes Towing's tugs Missouri (US ) and Superior (3) (US ) bound for a Toledo drydock. The selfunloader had struck a buoy in the Saginaw River on April 25th, causing the buoy's anchor chain to wrap around the ship's propeller shaft. 20 years ago... (1982) March 5th - The keel for Hull # 70, a laker/salty to be christened Canadian Ambassador (C ) for Upper Lakes Shipping, was laid by Port Weller Dry Docks. March 8th - The Henry Ford II (US ), under heavy ice conditions, began her coal run to Toledo. March 15th - The keel was laid for Hull # 731 by Bay Shipbuilding at Sturgeon Bay for the petroleum tank barge Amoco Great Lakes (US ). She was renamed Great Lakes (2) in March 29th - The general cargo carrier Prindoc (3) (C ) was sold by N.M. Paterson & Sons for off-lakes use. Her new owners, Southern Steamship Co. of Georgetown, Cayman Islands, renamed the vessel Hankey. April 9th - Under heavy ice conditions, the Soo Locks opened the season with the upbound passage of the Benjamin F. Fairless (US ) behind the USCG Mackinaw (WAGB-83). Apri128th - Collingwood Shipyards launched Hull # 226, the straight decker Algowest (C ) for Algoma Central Marine. A few hours later the keel of Hull # 224 was laid for the cargo and stern sections of the John B. Aird (C ). Also on this date, Gaelic Tug's newly acquired tugs from Texas owners, Propeller (US ) and Jennifer George (US ), later renamed Bantry Bay and Galway Bay, arrived at the company's River Rouge docks. 30 years ago... (1972) March 28th - The first ships of the season to pass through the Straits of Mackinac were the west bound cement carriers J.A. W Iglehart (US ) and S. T. Crapo (US ) assisted by the USCG cutter Edisto. April 3rd - The WeIland Canal opened the 1972 shipping season with the downbound transit of the Tadoussac (2) (C ). April 10th - The Soo Locks opened for the season when the upbound William Clay Ford (1) (US ) locked through, This marked the first time a ship ofthe Ford Fleet had achieved this honor. April 13th - The John Dykstra (1) (US ) loaded the first iron ore cargo at Duluth bound for River Rouge delivery. April 14th - At the Canadian head of the Lakes, the Frank A. Sherman (C ) arrived to load 1972's first grain cargo. She reported heavy ice in the area. April 17th - The first salty to move through the WeIland Canal in 1972 was the upbound Danish flagged vessel Olau Syd. Also, Detroit's mail boat J. W Westcott opened for business 3 days later than the previous season. F. Y.L Port Huron's Huron Lightship had 14,678 visitors in The Editor would like to thank Asst. Editor Cy Hudson and L.H.L. members Wayne Arnold and John Philbin.

7 BLUEWATER EA SH I PWRECKS Martha Hindman Jvfartha Hindman was on the last trip of the season with the dock in sight when the Canadian ship hit the breakwall on the approach to Goderich on Desember 22, The collision peeled back the steel hull on the starboard side and the ship barely made port before settling on the bottom. The damage was repaired and next season the ship continued work for Quebec & Ontario Transportation as Lac Des Iles. The ship had been built by the Detroit Shipbuilding Co. of Wyandotte, MI and entered service in June, 1905 as the Lynn C. Smith of L.c. Smith Transportation Co. She moved to the Great Lakes Steamship Co. in 1911 and Wilson Marine Transit in 1957 before coming to Canadian registry as Martha Hindman of Hindman Transportation in The 550 foot long (overall) by 55 foot wide bulk carrier was powered by an 1800 horsepower triple expansion engine and could carry in the range of 11,200 tons deadweight or 375,000 bushels of grain. Martha Hindman joined Q & 0 in 1978 and continued in their service as Lac Des Iles until The vessel grounded in the Detroit River on October 6, 1980, and a stop at Port Weller Dry Docks on November 16 soon revealed that the damage was too severe to justify the cost of repairs. Lac Des Iles was sold to Marine Salvage and resold for use as a storage barge at Tampico, Mexico. The hull was stripped to the deck at Toronto in April, 1981 and she departed under tow of the Salvage Jvfonarch and Helen M McAllister passing down the Seaway on May 5th. On June 1, 1981, while under tow of the Irving Birch, Lac Des Iles broke loose and sank: in a stonn some 62 miles east south east of Cape Charles, VA. * lv/artha Hhldman in St. Lawrence,River - April / Rene Beauchamp Photo * Answer to Name This Shiv (Pg.3) Thomas Walters (US ) 580 ft. length x 58 ft. breadth x 32 ft. depth, 7,518 GRT. Built in 1911 as Hull # 390 by the American Ship Building Co. at Lorain, Ohio. Launched as a) Thomas Walters for the Interstate S/S Co. of Cleveland, Ohio (subsidiary of Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. Sold to Wilson Marine Transit Co. in 1952 and renamed b) Frank R. Denton. Sold again in 1973 to Kinsman Marine Transit Co. Laid up at Buffalo at end of 1982 season. Sold to Triad Salvage and towed to Ashtabula in November, 1984 for scrapping. 7

8 ~~\&rt'lspotlighr 'GOLDENEYE ~~ Z), ~, (Z)(J."-9') S"k,ilj Built in 1986 by Oshima Shipbuilding Co. Ltd.; Nagasaki, Japan as Hull #10095 Length - 591' - 6" Breadth - 75' - 10" Depth - 48' - 7" GRT - 16,344 M. Bulk Carrier Main Engine - 6,670 bhp Mitsubishi Member Dick Wicklund recently sent me some photos from one of his excursions to Duluth, Minnesota. Goldeneye has been a regular visitor to the Great Lakes, though under three different names. She made her first visit to the lakes in 1986, the year she was buil~, as Sun Ocean. She made at least one inland voyage each year up until 1993.' She was owned by Diana Lines Ltd, and her registry was Panama. That changed later to Arnical Shipholding S.A.. Her last owners were. listed as 6mni Interlink Inc. and her registry was in the Philippines. Her final trip to the lakes as Sun Ocean was in April of 1993 with a voyage to Detroit and Chicago. She returned to the lakes in November of 1993 with the name Luna Verde, and her new owners were Prime, Orient Shipping S.A.. Her registry stayed as the Philippines. That voyage took her to Cleveland, Detroit and Toledo. She again visited the lakes every year fora total of 11 voyages. The vessel was renamed Goldeneye in either late 1999 or early 2000, and her new owners were Kover Nav. Ltd.. She is now listed as registered in Cyprus. She made her first voyage to the Great Lakes in 2000 with a trip to Hamilton, Cleveland, Detroit and Milwaukee. She came onto the Lakes with a cargo of steel and left with a load of wheat. She returned in 2001 but I have no available information at this time as to the ports she visited or how many voyages she made. She has had an uneventful career and as the' new shipping season prepares to begin, at least one voyage to the Lakes will probably be made by this ship. * Dick Wicklund photo - Sept 24, Superior, WI *