beachcombing on lake erie

[Jeffrey Benson]

Don't forget spillage at both Ashtabula, Conneaut etc.. plus decks being washed off. This still doesn't eliminate a wreck(s). It's just cool to find it and imagine where it might have come from.

[Brian Ferguson]

From that area of Lake Erie me thinks it may be from the Marquette and Bessemer NO2 believed to be West of Long Point.
Divers had said they found coal everywhere near the wreck.
Its not officially reported where she lays.

I don't want to be a downer but I'd just assume it's possible that it has something to do with a Great Lakes Freighter. Read the book "Coal to Canada" they have been shipping coal from OH to the lake Erie ports of Ontario for the better part of 150 years. Assuming it came off the Marquette and Bessemer #2 would be like saying an iron ore pellet near Whitefish Point came off the Fitzgerald. Over a 100 million tons have been moved, spilled, washed off the deck, sunk, ect so it's like throwing a penny in a fountain and then pulling a penny out 100 years later and saying it was the same one. I don't doubt that it had something to do with a ship but I wouldn't try to assign a point of origin.

[Island Girl]

From that area of Lake Erie me thinks it may be from the Marquette and Bessemer NO2 believed to be West of Long Point.
Divers had said they found coal everywhere near the wreck.
Its not officially reported where she lays.

[Timerover51]

Not that inhaling wood smoke is healthy for you, but I'm wondering if the coal smoke or fumes would be worse to be breathing around the camp fire? I like the smell of it, reminds me of a steam engine, but I don't know.

Man has been inhaling wood smoke from fires for thousands of years. I, for one, am not worried about it.

[wlbblw]

Not that inhaling wood smoke is healthy for you, but I'm wondering if the coal smoke or fumes would be worse to be breathing around the camp fire? I like the smell of it, reminds me of a steam engine, but I don't know.

[Guest]

I too burned it in a campfire. Wasnt really too smoky or messy but the hotdogs tasted kinda funny!

[wlbblw]

Doesn't the coal make for a smokey, smelly, mess of a fire, or no?

[Jeffrey Benson3]

In a campfire usually.

[wlbblw]

What do you burn it in? A stove?

[Jeffrey Benson]

The coal is just one thing we find while beachcombing. We find it in all shapes and sizes. Burns like crazy! We also find beach glass, one year we found a deflated life raft from a lake ship!

[Guest]

The Sturgeon in the Saint Clair river use the cinder beds from burnt coal as spawning grounds. Most are found in the middle channel.

[Larry64]

I would think it is from wrecks. I know there are beds of coal from wrecks in the St. Clair River. Sturgeon now use them for spawning beds.

[Guest]

I'd bet it was from a shipwreck. Coal was a very common cargo and many small vessels carrying that cargo have sunk in the lakes and rivers. Sounds like what you found might be what was referred to as "egg" (a description of its size, as in egg, lump, etc).

[Randy S]

Coal that is spilled while loading or unloading is often washed overboard in the normal cleaning processes

[Guest]

I don't doubt that it was coal! I find coal on the beaches of the Keweenaw quite often. It's usually weathered smooth like you describe.

[Guest]

Two years ago if I remember right after a storm in May I went down to Nickel Beach in Port Colborne with a friend to grab some driftwood and while scavenging I filled a couple of shopping bags full of coal which had washed up. I mentioned to my friend that it was possible this coal came from shipwrecks many years ago. He doubted it. The coal lacked any sharp edges and was about the size of a golf ball at best. Am I right or is he? The stuff burned great too I might add. Thanks for any replies.