1831
1831: The wooden schooner HENRY CLAY was carrying 800 barrels of salt and passengers from Oswego, New York, to the Welland Canal on her maiden voyage when she capsized in a squall and sank about 10 miles off Port Dalhousie, Ontario, on Lake Ontario. About 11 persons were aboard, and at least six of them lost their lives. Three were saved by the steamer CANADA.
1871
1871: J. BARBER (wooden propeller steamer, 125 feet, 306 tons, built in 1856 at Cleveland, Ohio) was carrying fruit from St. Joseph, Michigan, to Chicago when she caught fire and sank 14 miles off Michigan City, Indiana. Five lives were lost.
1893
1893: LIZZIE A. LAW stranded in the Pelee Passage on Lake Erie following a collision with the DAVID VANCE. It was refloated on September 14.
1900
1900: The name of the Toledo tug A. ANDREWS JR. was changed to PALLISTER.
1921
1921: After losing her way in fog, the BINGHAMPTON stranded on Gannet Rock Ledge near Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, en route from Boston to Reval, France, and Riga, Latvia, with relief supplies. The vessel was abandoned and later caught fire. The ship had been built at Buffalo as H.J. JEWETT in 1882 and left the lakes in two pieces in 1915 for saltwater service.
1943
1943: CLARENCE B. RANDALL sailed light on her maiden voyage from Ashtabula, Ohio, bound for Two Harbors, Minnesota. She was renamed b.) ASHLAND in 1962. The ASHLAND was scrapped at Mamonel, Columbia, in 1988.
1957
1957: JOSEPH S. YOUNG, a.) ARCHERS HOPE, was christened at Buffalo, New York. The YOUNG was the first of seven T2 tanker conversions for Great Lakes service.
1961
1961: N.M. Paterson & Sons’ CANADOC (Hull #627) was christened.
1970
1970: ARTHUR B. HOMER established a new Great Lakes loading record when she loaded 27,530 tons of ore at Escanaba. This eclipsed the previous record of 27,402 tons set by sister EDMUND FITZGERALD.
1971
1971: The first cargo of low sulfur Western coal in Great Lakes history was loaded in Superior, Wisconsin on July 19, 1971 aboard the Samuel Mather for delivery to Taconite Harbor, Minnesota. The 5,040 ton cargo was a test cargo to see how this type of coal would perform in power plants. This particular cargo was loaded at the Burlington Northern ore docks in Superior, which also makes this one of the few (if not the only??) times that an ore dock has loaded some cargo other than some form of iron ore.
1973
1973: JOHN P. REISS, in tandem tow with the car ferry CITY OF SAGINAW 31, arrived at Castellon, Spain, prior to this date for scrapping.
1978
1978: EDWIN H. GOTT (Hull #718) was float-launched at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, by Bay Shipbuilding Co. for U. S. Steel Corp.
1981
1981: BERGFALCK was sailing as b) BERGLIND when in a collision with the CHARM off Cape Breton Island. It was taken in tow but sank July 20. The hull was later refloated, taken out to sea and scuttled in the fall. BERGFALCK was registered in Singapore when she first came through the Seaway in 1976.
1982
1982: Norwegian freighter FARO, built in 1960, was gutted aft from a fire that began in the galley at Ghazawet Roads, Algeria, as b) ARGOLICOS GULF. The vessel was sold for scrap and arrived in Castellon, Spain, to be dismantled on October 1, 1982. She had visited the Seaway in 1970.
1985
1985: The registry of GORDON C. LEITCH of 1954 was closed as ‘sold foreign’. She was scrapped at Setubal, Portugal, in 1985.
1985
1985: CONSUMERS POWER (3) had her last five-year inspection at Port Weller on July 19, 1985.
1992
1992: Greek-flagged SD14 ROSARIO began leaking in the Indian Ocean as c) AL RAZIQU and was escorted into Mombasa, Tanzania, on July 29. The ship was allowed to sail to Alang, India, for scrapping and, after a resale, to Karachi, Pakistan. However, the vessel was sold again, taken to Dubai for repairs, and resumed trading as d) DELTA III. It developed a heavy list as e) CHALLENGE on August 2, 1993, after leaving New Mangalore, India. Attempts to tow the ship to shallow water fell short when the hull rolled over and sank with the loss of three lives. The vessel had visited the Great Lakes in 1978.
Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Russ Plumb, Lake Huron Lore Society, 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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- Arthur B. Homer is seen from the Blue Water Bridge at Port Huron, MI. Tom Manse collection
