1851
GALLINIPPER (wooden schooner, 95 feet, 145 tons, built in 1846 at Milwaukee on the hull of NANCY DOUSMAN) capsized and foundered in a white squall in Lake Michigan. The wreck drifted to a point about 10 miles SSE of Manitowoc, where it sank.
1895
IDA MAY BROWN (wooden schooner, 53 feet, 20 gross tons, built 1884, at Charlevoix, Michigan) was carrying gravel when her cargo shifted in heavy weather. She capsized and later drifted to the beach near Michigan City, Indiana. Her crew was rescued by U.S. Lifesavers.
1939
The Bureau of Lighthouses was merged into the U.S. Coast Guard.
1963
The Canadian coastal tanker SEEKONK first came to the Great Lakes in 1951 on charter to the British-American Oil Co. It was later part of the Irving fleet and caught fire in the galley at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The ship was pulled from the pier by CCG TUPPER and beached at Governor’s Island. The blaze burned itself out, but the SEEKONK was a total loss and was towed to Buctouche, New Brunswick, and scrapped in 1964.
1970
PRINSES EMILIA made three trips through the Seaway for the Oranje Lijn in 1967. It sank as c) BOULGARIA on this date 25 miles off Cherbourg, France, after a collision with the HAGEN in dense fog. The vessel was en route from Hamburg to Istanbul, and 17 on board were lost.
1971
CITY OF SAGINAW 31 went to Manitowoc for a thorough overhaul. While there, a fire broke out on July 29, 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.
1973
The DAVID Z. NORTON sailed on her maiden voyage as the a.) WILLIAM R. ROESCH. She sailed light from Lorain to Superior, Wisconsin, where she loaded 18,828 tons of iron ore on July 9 bound for Jones & Laughlin’s Cuyahoga River plant at Cleveland, Ohio. She now sails as d.) CALUMET.
1977
JEAN PARISIEN (Hull #684) was launched at Lauzon, Quebec, by Davie Shipbuilding Company Ltd. for Canada Steamship Lines. Port Weller Drydocks replaced her entire forward section, and she was renamed b.) CSL ASSINIBOINE in 2005.
1978
The British freighter BEECHMORE began Great Lakes service in 1959 and returned as c) MANDRAKI in 1971 and d) NAFTILOS in 1973. It was sailing as f) MARI when fire broke out on a voyage from Rijeka, Yugoslavia, to Alexandria, Egypt, on this day. The ship was beached near Dugi Otok Islands the next day and eventually abandoned. The hull was refloated in 1979 and taken to Split, Croatia, with scrapping getting underway on July 19, 1979.
1980
The BURNS HARBOR’s sea trials were conducted.
1981
CONDARRELL, upbound below Lock 2 of the Welland Canal, lost power and hit the wall, resulting in bow damage. The ship returned to Toronto for repairs but only finished the season before tying up. The vessel, built in 1953 as D.C. EVEREST, has been unofficially renamed K.R. ELLIOTT by International Marine Salvage.
Contributors & Sources
Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Mike Nicholls, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II, and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series /from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit.
Compiled by Roger LeLievre.
