1889
1889: LITTLE MAC [Built-1886 US-140861 by William Hinston & Son at Buffalo, New York] First enrollment issued at Buffalo, NY, March 5, 1889, and Yacht License #1, issued at Dunkirk, NY, March 5, 1889, surrendered. Abandoned in 1930.
1898
1898: On 05 March 1898, the WILLIAM R. LINN (Hull#32) (steel propeller freighter, 400 foot, 4,328 gross tons) was launched at the Chicago Ship Building Company in South Chicago, Illinois. In 1940, she was sold, renamed b.) L.S. WESCOAT and converted to a tanker. She was scrapped in Germany in 1965.
1910
1910: HARRY L. ALLEN was launched March 5, 1910, as a.) JOHN B. COWLE (Hull#379) at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co. She was declared a constructive total loss after a fire on January 21, 1978. The vessel was in winter lay-up at the Capitol elevator in Duluth when part of the elevator complex burned. Debris from the elevator fell on the boat, badly damaging it. The owners decided to scrap it rather than repair it. The ALLEN was scrapped at Duluth in 1978.
1910: LEADALE was launched March 5, 1910, as a.) HARRY YATES (Hull#77) at St. Clair, Michigan, by Great Lakes Engineering Works. Scrapped at Cartagena, Columbia in 1979.
1913
1913: ANNABELL WILSON [Built-1887 US-106475 by William Dulac at Mount Clemens, Michigan. Renamed: ANNABELL WILSON 1913 -Canada] First enrollment issued at Detroit, MI, May 20, 1887.Final U.S. enrollment surrendered at Buffalo, NY, March 5, 1913, and endorsed \”sold foreign.\”. Foundered off Dunkirk, NY, Lake Erie, on July 12, 1913; two lives lost. Vessel completely broke up on December 8, 1913, while still on the bottom
1932
1932: March 5, 1932 – In distress with a broken steering gear off the Ludington harbor, S.S. VIRGINIA entered port under her own power
1943
1943: FORT MINGAN [Built-1943 UK-168468 by George T. Davie Shipbuilding & Repair LTD at Lauzon, Canada. Renamed: HALIGONIAN KING 1948 C-168468 and STREATHAM HILL 1950 UK-168468] Vessel built as \”North Sands\” type dry cargo vessel; delivered on March 5, 1943. Transferred from Canadian to British registry, as STREATHAM HILL, on June 12, 1950. Sold to Spanish shipbreakers; arrived at Santander, Spain, on October 8, 1966, for scrapping.
1951
1951: ASHBEL HUBBARD [Built-1943 UK-169556 by Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Co. at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Renamed: SOLIDARITY 1949 UK-169556] Built as N3-S-A1 class cargo vessel for U.S. Maritime Commission. Sent under Lend-Lease Program to Great Britain. As SOLIDARITY reported foundered at sea, March 5, 1951.
1997
1997: On 05 March 1997, the Canadian Coast Guard cutter GRIFFON pulled the smashed remains of a 1996 Ford Bronco from the icy depths of the Straits of Mackinac. The vehicle flipped off the Mackinac Bridge on 02 March 1997, and the driver was killed. The U.S. Coast Guard cutter BISCAYNE BAY served as a platform for the M-Rover submersible craft used to locate the Bronco in 190 feet of water.
1997: The former Greek bulk carrier ANTONIS P. LEMOS Built-1961 IMO-5038727 had been built at Osaka, Japan, in 1976, and visited the Great Lakes that year. As c) ALBION TWO, the ship departed Gdynia, Poland, for Kingston, Jamaica, with a cargo of steel products and was reported as missing on March 5. Wreckage was later found off the coast of France and identified as from the missing vessel. All 25 crewmembers were lost. The ship had also been through the Seaway as b) MACFRIENDSHIP in November 1993 with a cargo of steel for Hamilton.
2025
2025: ALGOMA ENDEAVOUR built-2025 IMO-9790141 left the 3.maj shipyard, Rijeka, Croatia, enroute to Canada. She’ll make a stop in Garrucha, Spain, for cargo (to cross the Atlantic it must take on a load, it cannot sail empty on the open sea for stability).
Data from: Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Eric Holst, Mike Nicholls, Joe Barr, Father Dowling Collection, “Ahoy & Farewell II” and the “Great Lakes Ships We Remember” series
