Today in Great Lakes History – September 6

1871
1871:   The wooden schooner ROSA STEARNS, loaded with coal, was battling a storm for hours off Cleveland, OH. The ship was driven on the stone breakwater at about 01:00 and was pounded to pieces. The crew jumped onto the breakwater and crawled to safety as the waves crashed over them.

1872
1872:   J.W. SARGENT was listed as missing in Detroit, MI, newspapers 9 days after she set sail from Port Colborne, ON. The schooner was assumed to be a victim of an August 29 storm that struck Lake Erie. Later on the same day that the newspaper announcement was published, the SARGENT arrived in Detroit. Captain William Simms stated that the storm drove him south to Erie, PA, where he sheltered for a few days. He sent a telegraph message to the ship’s owner, but the news was not relayed to Detroit. The SARGENT only lasted another 3 months. In November 1872, a storm got her on Lake Erie.

1887
1887:   BLUE BELL (two-masted wooden scow-schooner; 84 feet; 122 gross tons; built in 1867 at Milwaukee, WI) was carrying lumber from Wilt’s Bay, MI, to Milwaukee when she missed the harbor entrance at Sturgeon Bay, WI, in a storm. She was driven ashore and broke up. Her crew made it to the beach with the aid of the local U.S. Life-Saving Service crew. The total loss was valued at $5,000.

1908
1908:   The wooden steamer CHAUNCY HURLBUT began leaking and was beached at Whitefish Point in Lake Superior along a rough and rocky shore. It became a total loss, and the hull was removed in August 1910 and sunk in deep water.

1952
1952:   The BADGER was launched at Sturgeon Bay, WI. A christening ceremony included the SPARTAN (launched earlier that year). The BADGER was named in honor of the University of Wisconsin. The BADGER was built by Christy Corporation and is powered by two Skinner 4-cylinder steeple compound uniflow marine steam engines, developing over 7,000 horsepower. She was the last of the large coal-fired steamers to be built in the U.S. and is the only ship of her type still operating on the Great Lakes. The BADGER offers seasonal passenger service from Ludington, MI, to Manitowoc, WI, from mid-May to early October.

1955
1955:   GEORGIAN BAY collided with the steamer CHARLES HUBBARD in the fog-covered lower St. Marys River.

1973
1973:   CHARLES E. WILSON completed her sea trials. She was later renamed b.) JOHN J. BOLAND in 2000.

1977
1977:   BELLE RIVER delivered a record 56,073 long tons of western coal on her maiden voyage to Detroit Edison Co.’s Belle River Power Plant. Renamed in 1990, she sails today as b.) WALTER J. MCCARTHY JR.

1989
1989:   The twin-screw railcar ferry GRAND RAPIDS left Muskegon, MI, in tow of the tugs ANGLIAN LADY and PRINCESS NO. 1, arriving at Port Maitland, ON, on September 11. Scrapping was completed in the fall of 1994.

1992
1992:   H. LEE WHITE was in tow of the G-tugs COLORADO and LOUISIANA entering the Trenton Channel when she struck a section of the toll bridge at Grosse Ile, MI, knocking down a 150-foot span immediately east of the main river channel. The WHITE was not damaged, but a new section of the bridge had to be installed at a cost of $1.7 million. The bridge was back in service in late January 1993. The U.S. Coast Guard investigated this casualty, and their report states that it was the failure of the bridge tender to operate and open the bridge that caused this casualty. The Coast Guard found that the master of the WHITE was operating his vessel in a prudent and lawful manner, including the use of whistle signals.

2009
2009:   ALGOPORT ran into heavy weather from Tropical Storm Dujuan while under tow of the PACIFIC HICKORY. The vessel broke up and sank in the Philippine Sea about a week’s tow from her destination of Jiangyin, China.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Jody L. Aho, Max S. Hanley, Ahoy & Farewell II, and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit. Compiled by Roger LeLievre.