Historical Perspective in Photos

[Jon Paul]

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I have posted some photos of boats in the news again.
Some were in the Today in Great Lakes History (12/22) like the Cliffs Victory and Detroit Edison.
I also included photos of the;
Armco which is now the American Valor
Middletown which is the American Victory
Roger Kyes which is the Adam E Cornelius

The Roberst C Norton became the Buckeye which ds sailed on and he posted a storm story about and I'm always amazed when I look at photos on how top heavy it looked.

and for Bookworm...another Storm Signals photo!
This was taken Dec 1, 1977 as we passed Fort Gratiot @ 1425 upbound for Silver Bay with SW Gales forecast on VHF. Of course this was an off shore wind as we proceeded north so the first few hours were business as usual.
By 1700 SW Storm Warnings were put out and we took a pretty good dusting crossing Saginaw Bay with its open sweep to the SW, winds over 60knots and a heavy beam to quartering sea (18'-22')where we took some 30+ degree rolls till we picked up the coastline again off of Oscoda.

[Jon Paul]

I posted some of the boats that have been on boatnerd recently, the Aquarama was taken off of Sarnia, Buffalo under the Blue Water Bridge.
We used to see a lot of the Sykes because we both traded out of Escanaba frequently.
The Blough and Reiss brought back memories of Winter Navigation. It seemed we were always in the ice and that made sleeping difficult for those of us in the forward end. It was like hundreds of sledge hammers constantly pounding on the bow. The boat would shake and shimmy as we bounced off harder packs of ice with the hull following the least resistance.
It was a bit unnerving to wheel at times in those conditions especially in the rivers. You would line up on the course or object that the Mate called for only to have the ice cause you to sheer one way or another. I would apply wheel to compensate only to have the ice give way and then take off in the other direction.

[c ships]

Nice memories up the Cal. When we were kids in the sixties, we called the triplets the orange smokers. Never knew crew, but waved at them at 106th St. bridge often. When maneuvering the 108th bend with Interlake boats there must have been a trick for the captain especially in the dark. Lot's of horn tooting and the triplets had that unique sound. Thanks for sharing your history.Andy

[Jon Paul]

I'm really enjoying your photo collection Jon Paul. In the pictures we've seen of you, you look happy. How many years did you sail ? And what positions did you hold ? Looking forward to more..

I sailed from 1974-1979 and worked every job there was as deck crew. I had accumulated all my required river/lake trips as a wheelsman and my goal was to write my test for my mates license the winter of '79 but when Cliffs lost the Republic contract and the Carter Recession killed the steel industry I took a shore job.
I would loved to have stayed on the lakes but when the Footers all came out and the fleets started scrapping everything, it was pretty obvious the heyday of Great Lakes shipping was over.
In 1974 US Steel alone had over 40 boats

[BigRiver]

Posting on behalf of Capt. Graham Grattan

It was averaging 12 hours per ship with MACKINAW's assistance to go from Six Mile Point to Mission Point. As I recall the only ship that made it unassisted was EDWARD L. RYERSON. Interestingly, a day or two later when we became stuck MACKINAW eventually decided to put a towline on us (not in the vee though). That tow was successful. After struggling to take up about 10 or 12 ships the Coast Guard decided to try a small downbound convoy. I believe that they put JOHN G. MUNSON in the lead because she had just a bit more horsepower than the USS 'triple A' that was actually first in line. After they ran that short convoy it seemed to clear up the plug between Frechette Point and Six Mile Point. I have many memories of that time.

John Wellington was on BARBARA ANDRIE. They were not assisting ships but under charter to the University of Michigan doing ice research. They burrowed down just off our stern and came up with an ice depth of about 15 feet.

[Guest]

I'm really enjoying your photo collection Jon Paul. In the pictures we've seen of you, you look happy. How many years did you sail ? And what positions did you hold ? Looking forward to more.....

[Jon Paul]

Just some B & W shots from shipboard activity and also one of my favorites shots of the Sylvania. We met them as they were outbound from Toledo on a beautiful summers evening as they were headed for Conners Creek just north of Belle Isle on the Detroit River. Note the open hatches overflowing with coal.

[ds]

That's quite a story about the crane ship Buckeye's last year sailing. How many crew members did she have? Was that a steam engine and were there a number of diesel generators to run all that equipment?

I believe the Buckeye had a crew of 29. Crew's quarters were very small relative to other vessels I sailed on. She did have a steam engine. I'm not sure how or what powered all the equipment. I spent far less time in the Buckeye's engine room than any other ship I worked aboard and I guess the issue of a power source never crossed my mind back then.

[Darryl]

That's quite a story about the crane ship Buckeye's last year sailing. How many crew members did she have? Was that a steam engine and were there a number of diesel generators to run all that equipment?

[ds]

Jon Paul,

I'm impressed you sailed all three winters of the Winter Navigation Demonstration Program. Which of the three delivered the harshest weather/work environment? Since you're interested in hearing about the crane ship Buckeye, I copied and pasted my comments about her from another thread I contributed to a few months back.

I was a crewmember (deckwatch) of the Buckeye during its final season (1978) with Columbia. The cranes could be equipped with either buckets or magnets, depending on what cargo was being loaded or unloaded. The crane operators were the 3 wheelsmen and 3 watchmen. Those guys were homesteaders. A couple of them were also the welders and racked up some pretty significant overtime, given the age of the ship and the types of cargo we sometimes carried. The cargo holds tended to take a real beating from the buckets, magnets, pig iron, broken ingot molds, etc. We had our own tractor/dozer aboard in a garage forward of cargo hold #1. It was operated by the deckwatches. We went to a large variety of ports and the cranes were occasionally used to put the deckhands/deckwatch ashore during situations where the alternative was more difficult or dangerous. We rode in the bucket. Going from memory, that season we hauled iron ore, coal, stone, slag, pig iron, cement, broken ingot molds, finished steel coils, and probably a couple other commodities. We did all our sailing on Lakes Erie, Huron, and Michigan plus some trips up the St. Marys River to Algoma Steel.

I believe the Buckeye had an 1,800 horsepower engine that the chief said was probably only generating 1,200 horsepower max. We were always being overtaken by other ships when on the lakes and in the rivers. I can only recall passing two other ships: the Presque Isle on Lake Michigan (obviously running at a checked-down speed or having a mechanical issue) and the J.B. Ford on Lake Michigan (I was on watch and relieving the wheel). It took us a few hours to very gradually overtake the Ford. I'm pretty sure we went to anchor or stayed in port more frequently than other vessels due to being underpowered and top heavy. In November of that season we were sailing light to Buffalo in a pretty serious storm. We turned to port to seek shelter behind Long Point along the Canadian shore and were caught/suspended in a trough for what seemed like forever. My quarters were next to the galley and I could hear the furnishings and supplies being tossed and smashed every which way as we rolled violently from side to side. The seat on the toilet in our quarters was slamming up and down with water flying everywhere. It was the deckwatches' responsibility to secure and check on the cranes, crane booms, hoppers, and unloading boom after loading and unloading, as well as when underway. The turnbuckles could conceivably loosen some when working in stormy seas and I had really cranked them down only 2 to 3 hours earlier near the end of my watch. The other two deckwatches were less vigilant and much older than I was and who knows whether they'd have braved the weather conditions on deck to re-secure this equipment. Heaven forbid one of the booms or cranes breaking loose during this time. When the Buckeye finally powered out of the trough and sailed to safety behind Long Point, I was amazed to see all the crewmembers who had donned their survival suits out on deck. There were quite a few very angry crewmembers who suffered a fair bit of personal property destruction. Anything that wasn't tied down/secured was destroyed during the long time spent rolling in the trough. The galley was heavily damaged. That being said, the Buckeye was the most dangerous of the many ships I sailed aboard, given all the machinery and equipment occupying the great majority of the square footage of the deck.

In addition, I'll add that she was a good ship to work aboard as far as making money. Quite a bit of OT was available for the deck crew. I was used to that, as the great majority of my sailing days were spent aboard smaller Columbia self-unloaders. The great variety of ports the Buckeye serviced was also a nice benefit; however, I can't understate the many dangers present whenever working out on deck. Even something rather benign such as removing or putting on hatch/cargo hold covers was potentially very dangerous relative to other vessels I was employed aboard. Having an unloading boom running down the port side, a conveyor and hoppers running down the starboard side, an elevated crossover belt/conveyor up forward, and the two cranes/booms made for a very congested deck space.

You may be interested to know that all three of my younger brothers' sailing careers included time spent aboard several Cliffs vessels, although never aboard a C4. One of them crewed the Victory during the season I was aboard the Buckeye.

ds

[Brian Ferguson]

The photos taken at LS&I Ore Dock help to show what little room deckhands have to work with while shifting a boat at a gravity dock. I was always concerned about slipping on the pellets strewn all over the 3 feet of space you have to walk on. Its a real trick to pull a heavy cable with any traction while sliding around on marbles!

Amen to that. My first trip into to Marquette on the Earl W. Oglebay I was surprised how tiny the work space was. I had only been to Superior and Two Harbors before that time. The pellets were so bad one time I had them throw down a broom just so I could get some bare concrete to work with. The bollards were also tapered with no real lip or protrusion on the top for the cables to catch too so sometimes you got a surprise by the wire flying off when heaved on.

[Jon]

I kept a Journal/Log of my sailing days so I can still reference times, dates, special ice and westher conditions. It even includes tonnage of loads and the type of pellets. Unfortunately it was several volumes and because of a divorce and moving several times I have misplaced several of them.
ds - I'm curious to hear of your experiences on the Buckeye. She was a fascinating boat that had some specific and unique cargoes and trading patterns.
I worked during the Winter Navigation Program 3 seasons in a row and must say it was something I will never forget.
As for the whether the Cliffs Victory or the C-4's were better ice boats I can't speak to any specifics. They each had 10k hp but different hull characteristics.
The C-4's had a wider beam and more of a broader bow that worked better in certain ice conditions where the Victory being narrower and with "salty" rake to its bow sliced thru other ice types more effectively.

[ds]

So during winter Nav those yrs was it the regular crew or was it volunteer how did the crewing work?

I can only speak about the crew of the Wolverine during the 1977-78 winter navigation season. Due to a four-month-long iron ore miners strike earlier that sailing season, many vessels were laid up for varying periods of time. As a result, some of the crew that served as winter relief were regulars from other Columbia vessels that hadn't sailed a full season. Among them were a couple guys who had always crewed straight deckers and this was their first experience on a self-unloader. They hated it. Some of the crew were the same guys who were aboard at fit-out and didn't elect to seek winter relief. A couple others shipped out from the Local 5000 union hall as winter relief.

The following season I worked aboard a ship that laid up in early-to-mid December. I could have put in for winter relief work aboard another Columbia vessel but elected not to despite the incentive of a greater end-of-season bonus. I guess I was less money hungry one year later and sailing during the winter was a greater hardship than during the other three seasons.

ds

[Guest]

[quote="Jon Paul"For ds-

I will post later today a pic I took of the Wolverine while it was at Am Ship in S Chicago.
We were not part of the St Mary's convoy, that was the Tom Girdler.
Our original orders when we passed Ft Gratiot on 01/10/78 were for LS & I Presque Isle/Marquette. Because of the huge logjam of ships stuck in the St Mary's River we had our our orders caged to load C & NW Escanaba when we were battling the storm off Sturgeon Point.
We arrived and anchored 1/2 mile ESE of Mission Point on Mackinac Island @ 0645 on 01/11 due to extremely heavy ice from Round Island Passage to White Shoal and to wait for other boats to assemble for a convoy.
At 0715 on 1/12 we raised the anchor and led a convoy consisting of the following vessels in this order;
Roger Blough
Phillip R Clarke
Cliffs Victory
Samuel Mather
Robert C Norton
Crispin Oglebey

After an intership discussion, The Blough had seemed the logical choice to follow the White with the plan being the White would break the path and the Blough at 105' would widen it for the rest of the convoy.
At Boulder Reef we left the convoy and made course for Rock Island Passage (1405hrs)and our shortcut to Escanaba where we arrived at C&NW northside @ 1725. Wilfred Sykes was on the Southside.[/quote]


Jon Paul,

Thanks for the reply! You have quite the memory. Did you keep a journal or other written record of these facts or are you relying on your recall? There was a fair bit of convoy travel that winter. Thank goodness the C4s were still out running to lead the way! In retrospect, it seems almost unfair to Cliffs to have had to absorb much of the damage/punishment to hulls/equipment and excessive fuel consumption. I know the shipping companies were allegedly generously compensated by the Federal government (and taxpayers) for many costs incurred involving winter navigation. Perhaps Cliffs could make additional claims back then for reimbursement for often taking the lead in convoys with one of their vessels.

Thanks for posting the photo of the Wolverine. It appears to be located where we laid it up in February 1978. Nice to see the photo of the crane ship Buckeye. I was a member of her crew the following season after crewing the Wolverine. 1978 was her final season with Columbia and we laid her up in Toledo in early-to-mid December.

Look forward to seeing more of your historical photos in the coming days!

ds

[Guest]

So during winter Nav those yrs was it the regular crew or was it volunteer how did the crewing work?

[Alex]

Jon Paul, you listed the Cliffs Victory in the convoy. Which of the two boats, yours and the Victory, was better breaking ice?

[Jon Paul]

The photos taken at LS&I Ore Dock help to show what little room deckhands have to work with while shifting a boat at a gravity dock. I was always concerned about slipping on the pellets strewn all over the 3 feet of space you have to walk on. Its a real trick to pull a heavy cable with any traction while sliding around on marbles!

I included the J L Mauthe pic because it has been on a thread here and also the shot of the Wolverine on the Calumet River in S Chicago because "ds" mentioned his working on it during the Winter of 77/78.

[Guest]

The Winter Navigation Board, which was made up of various U.S. government agencies setup to oversee the demonstration program decided to temporarily suspend shipping to and from Lake Superior on January 21, 1977, due to the severe ice conditions.

However, the Canadian government made a diplomatic request for passages of the tankers, Doan Transport, Hudson Transport and Imperial St. Clair in February 1977, so that emergency supplies of heating oil could be brought to Thunder Bay. It took over two weeks for the tankers to make a round trip from Sarnia to Thunder Bay and back, with continuous icebreaker assistance needed for most of the passage across Lake Superior.

The Cason J. Calloway, Philip R. Clarke and John G. Munson resumed official movement to and from Lake Superior on March 17, 1977.

[Jon Paul]

For ds-

I will post later today a pic I took of the Wolverine while it was at Am Ship in S Chicago.
We were not part of the St Mary's convoy, that was the Tom Girdler.
Our original orders when we passed Ft Gratiot on 01/10/78 were for LS & I Presque Isle/Marquette. Because of the huge logjam of ships stuck in the St Mary's River we had our our orders caged to load C & NW Escanaba when we were battling the storm off Sturgeon Point.
We arrived and anchored 1/2 mile ESE of Mission Point on Mackinac Island @ 0645 on 01/11 due to extremely heavy ice from Round Island Passage to White Shoal and to wait for other boats to assemble for a convoy.
At 0715 on 1/12 we raised the anchor and led a convoy consisting of the following vessels in this order;
Roger Blough
Phillip R Clarke
Cliffs Victory
Samuel Mather
Robert C Norton
Crispin Oglebey

After an intership discussion, The Blough had seemed the logical choice to follow the White with the plan being the White would break the path and the Blough at 105' would widen it for the rest of the convoy.
At Boulder Reef we left the convoy and made course for Rock Island Passage (1405hrs)and our shortcut to Escanaba where we arrived at C&NW northside @ 1725. Wilfred Sykes was on the Southside.

[Guest]

I didnt realize they took a break in 1977, I thought it went all the way to 1979.