Manitoulin still moored near Iroquois Lock after touching bottom
Manitoulin, damaged when it touched bottom near Cardinal, ON, Thursday, remained tied up at the south lower wall of Iroquois Lock on Friday. Waterfront reports indicate she veered out of the channel slightly above Cardinal at the turn, with the heavy current pushing her into the shallow area (as per her track line), and took on water (likely only the one tank, but nothing confirmed). At this point, she is likely waiting for Seaway clearance to continue her trip from Hamilton to Quebec.
[#shipjunkies-Janey Anderson]
Thamesborg Remains Aground
Thamesborg is still aground in the Franklin Strait of the Northwest Passage. The cargo (carbon blocks) from the forward hold, are being transshipped to the attending salvage vessel Silver Copenhagen, a Norwegian-flagged ice-class reefer cargo ship
After unloading in Resolute, Nunalik (a NEAS vessel) has now arrived to help with the cargo offloading using her heavy-lift cranes. Tug Beverly M1 is on standby to assist when/where needed. The Estonian-flagged Botanicais is also enroute.
Coast Guard officials approved the company’s plan for the safe refloating of the ship last week. The CCGS icebreaker Des Groseilliers remains on standby in the vicinity as well. Continuous inspection of Thamesborg through ROV surveys confirms that fuel tanks and cargo holds remain intact.
High winds are expected Saturday.
[#shipjunkies]
Ernest McSorley: The Last Captain of the Edmund Fitzgerald
As the 50th anniversary of the Edmund Fitzgerald’s sinking approaches, John U. Bacon’s new book revisits Captain Ernest McSorley and the tragedy that claimed 29 lives.
By Doug Marrin
On November 10, 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior in a powerful storm, taking with it 29 men and cementing its place in Great Lakes history. At the helm was Captain Ernest McSorley, a man whose reputation and career are at the center of John U. Bacon’s new book, The Gales of November, released on October 7.
Bacon portrays McSorley as a complicated but admired figure. “Very positive,” Bacon said when asked his opinion of the captain in a recent interview with the Sun Times News. “Now, I know he made some crucial mistakes that night. There’s no question. But he was, without question, the best captain on the Great Lakes. Even his rivals told me this.”
Read complete interview and about his book at following link: https://thesuntimesnews.com/edmund-fitzgerald-50th-anniversary-john-bacon/
AHOY & FAREWELL III Wins
Historical Society of Michigan Award
MHSD president and book co-author Roger LeLievre accepted the award recently at the HSOM’s annual conference. The book’s other two authors are Viktor Kaczkowski and William T. Moran.
Ahoy & Farewell III, the third installment of the MHSD’s long-running series marks the MHSD’s 80th anniversary. The book documents the vessels we welcomed, and those to which we had to bid farewell during the last 30 years. The nearly 300-page, high-quality volume features a wealth of color photos, with multiple images of every vessel referenced, plus a complete history of every vessel listed.
Marine Historical Society of Detroit
Mark 50 years since Edmund Fitzgerald sinking with historic cuisine, wreath laying
DETROIT, MI – From dining on authentic cuisine served on the ill-fated freighter to a solemn laying of wreaths on the water, the Detroit Historical Society is hosting a weekend of events to honor the 29 mariners who died in the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald nearly 50 years ago.
The museum is planning several opportunities, paid and free, to honor the Fitzgerald, which went down in a violent storm on Nov. 10, 1975, and is remembered in the Gordon Lightfoot ballad.
Rebecca Salminen-Witt, a spokeswoman for the Detroit Historical Society, said tickets are expected to sell out fast for a special brunch set for Sunday, Nov. 9, and the solemn wreath-laying ceremony on Nov. 10. Free events also are scheduled at the museum throughout the weekend.
“It’s important for people to learn about this history ― there’s a lot of it. And Detroit played a huge role in the maritime history of the state and in the whole country,” Salminen-Witt said.
Friday Nov. 7
The commemorative weekend kicks off at 11 a.m. with a book talk featuring Thomas Nelson, the author of “Wrecked: the Edmund Fitzgerald and the Sinking of the American Economy.”
Salminen-Witt said Nelson’s book takes a unique perspective on the ship’s sinking and how the loss of thousands of pounds of ore affected Michigan’s manufacturing economy, ultimately impacting the nation’s economy.
Register for the book talk here: https://www.detroithistorical.org/events/book-talk-wrecked
Detroit Free Press
Detroit Historical Society hosts several events for 50th anniversary of Edmund Fitzgerald sinking
By: Max White
(WXYZ) — The Detroit Historical Society is hosting a full weekend of activities to mark the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
According to the society, the activities all take place at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle, and will kick off on Friday, Nov. 7, with a talk by author Thomas Nelson, who wrote the book “WRECKED: the Edmund Fitzgerald and the Sinking of the American Economy.”
On Saturday, Nov. 8, curators and docents will host drop-in tours of the Edmund Fitzgerald exhibit on the lower level of the Dossin Great Lakes Museum. Also, the Great Lakes Maritime Institute will be there for information and merchandise.
Also on Saturday, the Livonia Amateur Radio Club will be in DeRoy Hall for the Edmund Fitzgerald radio broadcast, and a new pop-up exhibit will debut.
Sunday morning, the museum will host its first-ever Maritime Brunch, which will feature a chef-prepared meal directly from the Edmund Fitzgerald’s on-ship menu, along with a video presentation from Ship-to-Shore Chef Catherine Schmuck.
During the brunch, a new film will premiere about the Edmund Fitzgerald with experts from around the Great Lakes. Tickets for the brunch are available now.
Finally, on Monday, the society will host its 26th annual Lost Mariner’s Remembrance, which is a tribute to the sailors who were lost on the Great Lakes. The event takes place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and begins with a lantern vigil at the Fitzgerald’s bow setting. Officials say the event sells out every year, and tickets are available now.
Click to see Full story and videos: https://www.wxyz.com/news/detroit-historical-society-hosts-several-events-for-50th-anniversary-of-edmund-fitzgerald-sinking?sfnsn=mo&fbclid=IwY2xjawMsZ1VleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHi7V_IMl1KDLaV2aLwAgHT9l68-iG1GT4NPz0DBD_7FrGRv3vNimb9LJi74Q_aem_jJq4jLDiDZj4tCbMK3qspw
