Today in Great Lakes History – September 27

1872
1872:   On September 27–29, a big storm swept the lower lakes. On Lake Huron, the barges HUNTER and DETROIT were destroyed. The tug SANDUSKY rescued the 21 survivors from them. The schooner CORSAIR foundered off Sturgeon Point on Saginaw Bay at 16:00 on Sunday the 29th, and only two of the crew survived. The barge A. LINCOLN was ashore one mile below Au Sable, MI, with no loss of life. The barge TABLE ROCK went ashore off Tawas Point and went to pieces. All but one of her crew was lost. The schooner WHITE SQUALL was sunk 10 miles off Fish Point, and only one crewman was saved. The schooner SUMMIT went ashore at Fish Point about seven miles north of Tawas, MI, with two lives lost.

1877
1877:   HIPPOGRIFFE (wooden schooner; 295 tons; built in 1864 at Buffalo, NY) had just left Chicago, IL, for Buffalo loaded with oats on a fine day with clear weather. The crew saw EMMA A. COYNE (wooden schooner; 155 feet; 497 tons; built in 1867 at Detroit, MI) approaching from a long way off and loaded with lumber. The two vessels’ skippers were brothers. The two schooners collided about 20 miles off Kenosha, WI. The COYNE came alongside and picked up the HIPPOGRIFFE’s crew a few minutes before that vessel rolled over and dove for the bottom.

1884
1884:   WALDO A. AVERY (wooden propeller; 204 feet; 1,294 gross tons) was launched at West Bay City, MI. Her construction had been subcontracted by F.W. Wheeler & Co. to Thomas F. Murphy.

1903
1903:   The CITY OF GENOA arrived with the first cargo of iron ore for the new factory at Zug Island, reported the Detroit Free Press.

1909
1909:   ANN ARBOR NO. 4 returned to service after being repaired from her capsizing at Manistique, MI, the previous May.

1911
1911:   The waterlogged wooden steamer THREE BROTHERS was beached off South Manitou Island on Lake Michigan. The cargo of lumber was salvaged, but the 23-year-old vessel was left to rot.

1912
1912:   The wooden steamer GEORGE T. HOPE, loaded with 2,118 tons of iron ore, foundered in Lake Superior near Grand Island when it began leaking in heavy weather. All on board were saved.

1934
1934:   SASKADOC departed Erie, PA, for the short run to the Welland Canal with 7,500 tons of coal and the hatches left open. The vessel encountered a storm on the lake, developed a list, and arrived 11 hours late.

1943
1943:   NORMAN B. MACPHERSON, a small canaller in the Upper Lakes fleet, went aground on Hammond Shoal in the American Channel of the St. Lawrence River near Alexandria Bay, NY.

1947
1947:   The tanker IMPERIAL COLLINGWOOD (Hull #137) was launched at Collingwood, ON, by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. for Imperial Oil Ltd. of Toronto, ON. Renamed b.) SEAWAY TRADER in 1979, she was sold off the lakes in 1984 and later renamed c.) PATRICIA II and d.) BALBOA TRADER in 1992.

1959
1959:   The West Neebish Channel, through which downbound traffic normally passes, was temporarily closed to permit dredging to the maximum Seaway depth of 27 feet. Two-way traffic was instituted in the Middle Neebish Channel until dredging was completed.

1969
1969:   OPHELIA was a Great Lakes caller before the Seaway opened. The West German freighter also made 16 trips inland from 1959 to 1964. It was under Greek registry when it was abandoned off Sibu, Sarawak, with a fire in the engine room on this date in 1969. The vessel was en route from Sibu to Kuching, China, and the hull drifted aground as a total loss.

1976
1976:   ROGER M. KYES proceeded to Chicago, IL, for dry docking, survey, and repairs. She struck the bottom of Buffalo Harbor on September 22, 1976, sustaining holes in two double-bottom tanks and damage to three others.

1986
1986:   GEORGE M. HUMPHREY, under tow, locked through the Panama Canal from September 27–30 on her way to the cutter’s torch at Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

1989
1989:   The H.M. GRIFFITH experienced a smoky conveyor belt fire at Port Colborne, ON. Repairs were completed there.

1991
1991:   OGDENSBURG was built as a barge to ferry rail cars across the St. Lawrence River between Prescott, ON, and Ogdensburg, NY. The vessel had joined McKeil as a regular deck barge in 1988 and broke loose in a storm on this date in 1991 while working off Blanc-Sablon, QC, carrying heavy construction equipment. Refloated, the hull was towed to Hamilton, ON, and became one of three former railway barges rebuilt as a floating drydock.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Max Hanley, Russ Plumb, 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.

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