Historical Perspective in Photos

[Jon Paul]

TRIP #43
We entered Rock Island Passage @ 07:55 on 2/3/78 and went to the assistance of Fleetmate Pontiac stuck in 2.5'/3' of Ice approx 4 miles SSE of Minneapolis Shoal LT(just off Drisco Shoal) @ 08:45. Temperatures at the time were near 0* F.
Stopped in the Ice 1/2 mile NE of Escanaba LT @ 10:30 waiting dock space.Wilfred Sykes on Southside of C&NW Dock, Mesabi Miner on North.
Tied up C&NW Dock @ 00:20 2/4/78 - begin loading @ 00:45
Numerous stoppages.
Finished loading and depart @ 11:25 (02/04/78) - 13,604 mixed load of Marquette & Groveland Pellets.
Outbound Rock Island Passage @ 13:30 headed for Republic Steel/S Chicago


The photos of the Thomas F Patton were taken 7 miles SSE of Escanaba Lt and it was an impressive site seeing them blaze trail through solid Blue Ice. If you look closely you can see large pieces of ice flying outward from the bow across the smooth surface of the ice pack.

[Jon Paul]

What was the wave height during that particular time frame when the winds were knocking close to a 100 mph? Was there any real threat of losing the boat?

Hi Jared
The effects of the Blizzard made it real difficult to see and judge wave heights.
I have found observing and guessing a sea state to be VERY subjective. When your pitching, twisting and rolling in a heavy sea, you really have no perspective like standing on shore and watch waves hitting a breakwall.
One man's 20 footer is another's 25.
That being said, at the time of the highest winds we were well enough off shore to be feeling the full effects of a sea running unhindered for several hundred miles and the consensus between Mates and Captain was an average of 25' with a lot of 30'+ mixed in.
The highest seas were between Wind Point and Rawley Point which we took a bearing abeam @ 16:50. At that point we adjusted course somewhat more NE
And the winds went NNW so we were picking up a bit of a Leeward shore effect.
This was actually our 3rd full fledged STORM for the month. On Jan 2nd we crossed Lake Superior in NW Storm with peak winds at 55+, the Storm I wrote about earlier when I posted the pic of Storm Warnings at Fort Gratiot Lt on Jan 10 and then this one.
The other 2 had really given me a lot of confidence in the Whites seaworthiness in just about any kind of weather, and the Blizzard of '78 put any lingering doubts to rest. That and trusting a very good crew with qualified professional Mates, Engineers and a well seasoned Heavy Weather Skipper, lol

[Jared]

What was the wave height during that particular time frame when the winds were knocking close to a 100 mph? Was there any real threat of losing the boat?

[Jon Paul]

I need to make a correction to my original post on the Great Blizzard of '78.
I consulted my log for that trip and found that we had not entered Little Bay De Noc through Porte Des Morte Passage which is the normal LCA course but rather used the Rock Island Passage route on Jan 25th @ 22:50
My notes indicate that the Captain felt that Rock Island was more open and almost 2 miles wider than the the narrower and shallower Deaths Door.
It would also mean less time plowing in darkness through the heavy ice in the bay.
The strongest steady winds we encountered, North 80-83 knots (90-95mph) were recorded @ 12:15 while between Milwaukee and Port Washington.
I was the 12-4 wheelsman and I well remember the harrowing climb up 4 flights of stairs to the pilothouse and how the snow felt like buckshot hitting my face.
It's one of the many times I was very thankful that we had 10k horsepower. I thought back on those poor souls in the 1913 storm facing winds like that and more with 1800hp or less and getting blown off their heading and broaching in the trough of the heavy seas.
When we finally got to Escanaba we stopped in the ice 1/2 due East of the CN&W Dock @ 01:10 (1/26). We joined the H Lee White, Roger Kyes and our fleet mate Pontiac already holding in the ice and waiting out the storm.
By the time we took our place at the loading dock on the 28th, we had had to clear 18+ of snow off the deck with hot water hosing it down.
We departed Escanaba on Trip# 41 @ 15:50 (1/28) with 13,615 tons of Empire Pellets destined for Republic Steel/S Chicagp

[Bookworm]

The Great Blizzard of 1978

I remember this harsh storm very well. I was a member of the crew of the MV Wolverine. We were sailing from either Taconite Harbor or Marquette with pellets for Indiana Harbor. We experienced the brunt of the storm while sailing south on Lake Michigan. As I recall, the majority of the time we felt its fullest fury was during the nighttime hours. The ship was relentlessly climbing up one large wave and plunging down the same for many hours on end. By first light, it became evident how much ice had accumulated all over the ship. A pretty amazing sight and I now wish I'd had a camera to record such a spectacle. Once in port, there was lots of work to do before we could even think about unloading, as the hatch covers, hatch crane, and hatch crane railings had to be broken out of their icy grip. The unloading boom was all iced up as well. This required lots of work using sledgehammers and hoses supplied with hot water. Many crewmembers were assigned to this task, even the gateman and conveyorman. It was snowing hard the majority of the time and temperatures were frequently sub-zero.

During this time the E.J. Block was running shuttles in Indiana Harbor and tied up nearby. A few of her crew came aboard at lunchtime to eat, visit, check out first-hand all the ice, and ask questions about our winter navigation experiences. They were pretty amazed by the Wolverine's appearance. Later that day, or perhaps the following day, one of the more modern Cleveland Tankers vessels (either the Jupiter or Saturn) entered port and slowly sailed right past us. Another missed photo opportunity as this ship was easily more encased in ice than any I'd seen prior to or since then. The crew on deck of the Wolverine all stopped working and just gazed in astonishment. They definitely put us to shame in terms of amount of ice relative to the size of the ship.

This turned out to be our last trip of the winter season and, after a very slow unload, we sailed to S. Chicago and laid up.

Thanks for sharing. Makes me feel cold just reading your well-detailed account!

[ds]

The Great Blizzard of 1978

I remember this harsh storm very well. I was a member of the crew of the MV Wolverine. We were sailing from either Taconite Harbor or Marquette with pellets for Indiana Harbor. We experienced the brunt of the storm while sailing south on Lake Michigan. As I recall, the majority of the time we felt its fullest fury was during the nighttime hours. The ship was relentlessly climbing up one large wave and plunging down the same for many hours on end. By first light, it became evident how much ice had accumulated all over the ship. A pretty amazing sight and I now wish I'd had a camera to record such a spectacle. Once in port, there was lots of work to do before we could even think about unloading, as the hatch covers, hatch crane, and hatch crane railings had to be broken out of their icy grip. The unloading boom was all iced up as well. This required lots of work using sledgehammers and hoses supplied with hot water. Many crewmembers were assigned to this task, even the gateman and conveyorman. It was snowing hard the majority of the time and temperatures were frequently sub-zero.

During this time the E.J. Block was running shuttles in Indiana Harbor and tied up nearby. A few of her crew came aboard at lunchtime to eat, visit, check out first-hand all the ice, and ask questions about our winter navigation experiences. They were pretty amazed by the Wolverine's appearance. Later that day, or perhaps the following day, one of the more modern Cleveland Tankers vessels (either the Jupiter or Saturn) entered port and slowly sailed right past us. Another missed photo opportunity as this ship was easily more encased in ice than any I'd seen prior to or since then. The crew on deck of the Wolverine all stopped working and just gazed in astonishment. They definitely put us to shame in terms of amount of ice relative to the size of the ship.

This turned out to be our last trip of the winter season and, after a very slow unload, we sailed to S. Chicago and laid up.

[Jon Paul]

I believe the same thing happened with a Steinbrenner boat on Lake St Clair in '77 or '78. The regular buoys had been pulled and the winter markers had been swept under by the ice shifting to the east. The track was now out of the channel and the boat ran aground.
We passed by it and I was on watch so I didn't get a photo.

[pcolachap]

Yes, hello. If you are stuck in an ice field you are not stationary. The best example I can give you is the George M. Humphrey's grounding in 1956 on Gros Cap reef. They chose to follow the track of the ship ahead of them. Unfortunately the ice field shifted and the Humphrey ran aground, almost sinking. An almost brand new vessel. Watch out for those shifting ice fields! Mike

[Guest]

Lake ice is very dynamic and will move depending on the wind direction. The storm moved north between Cleveland and Erie and into Southern Ontario.

Peak wind gusts at the time would have been from the south to southwest, and hence the ice-field would have moved towards the north shore of Lake Erie, taking the Burton with it. That's the reason why the engines would have been running ahead - to keep her from running aground.

I've been studying the January 25-27, 1978 storm for many years, and have created a meteorological case study of it on my personal website. You can see the mslp graphics here: http://www.goldenhorseshoewx.ca/case_st ... _loop.html

http://www.goldenhorseshoewx.ca/case_st ... ector.html

[Guest]

An article that appeared in an Euclid newspaper regarding the J. Burton Ayers and the January 25-27, 1978 blizzard.

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vmLtYkbDhQ4/ ... 1978-7.JPG

The article says they were stranded in ice and engine was a full ahead to keep it headed into the wind. Does that mean the ice was moving with the ship stuck in it. I thought being stuck in ice meant you weren't moving anywhere.

[Jon Paul]

I always heard it referred to as Federal Furnace by the Captain in giving his wheel instructions. I believe that was what it was before Acme/Interlake.

The captain must have really been an old-timer! By-Products Coke Corporation took over the Federal Furnace Company plant at 108th Street in 1915. By-Products became Interlake Iron in 1929.

I think it's more of a tradition concerning the old ways that Great Lakes sailors had passed down without realizing it. Capt Long was probably near 70 when I sailed with him. The Captains and Mates he learned under had probably refered to it as Federal Furnace too. He referenced many spots along the St Mary's and St Clair Rivers by names that had passed down for generations and that had nothing to due with what was now on that spot.
Many of us called USS boats Steel Trusters but they hadn't been that for a long time and the USS limestone ships were still called Bradley boats..
I loved the old customs of being a wheelsman even though I was just 21 years old. Knowing how to box a compass, polishing the brass and old wooden wheel and being in awe of the Old Man's uncanny knack for sensing weather changes and his amazing ship handling.
It was like our own world with its own slang, traditions and a certain lifestyle that only other sailors really understood.

[Guest]

An article that appeared in an Euclid newspaper regarding the J. Burton Ayers and the January 25-27, 1978 blizzard.

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vmLtYkbDhQ4/ ... 1978-7.JPG

[William Lafferty]

I always heard it referred to as Federal Furnace by the Captain in giving his wheel instructions. I believe that was what it was before Acme/Interlake.

The captain must have really been an old-timer! By-Products Coke Corporation took over the Federal Furnace Company plant at 108th Street in 1915. By-Products became Interlake Iron in 1929.

[pcolachap]

Hello Jon Paul, I am glad you mentioned about the Federal Furnace. When dad was sailing the Joe Thompson that was the name he referred to that dock by. Really enjoying your pictures and commentary. Thanks again! Mike

[Jon Paul]

The pictures and weather report are fascinating. In the picture on the Calumet river, are the blast furnaces above the White's stack those of what became Acme Steel ? I've never been able to identify all of the steel mills along the Calumet and the evolution of their ownership. TIA !

I always heard it referred to as Federal Furnace by the Captain in giving his wheel instructions. I believe that was what it was before Acme/Interlake.

[Jon Paul]

Jon Paul, Speaking of weather, as an aside, where were you and The White at the time of the Edmund Fitzgerald casualty? TIA

No I wasn't. I went on the White in May of '76

[William Lafferty]

In the picture on the Calumet river, are the blast furnaces above the White's stack those of what became Acme Steel ? I've never been able to identify all of the steel mills along the Calumet and the evolution of their ownership.

Yes. Acme's original mill was on the Little Calumet River at Riverdale, built in 1918. I believe it still operates as a minimill for ArcelorMittal. The Calumet River plant had earlier been Interlake Iron Company but Acme and Interlake merged in 1964 to form Interlake Steel Corporation. Here's what it looked like in 1970.

[Darryl]

Jon Paul, Speaking of weather, as an aside, where were you and The White at the time of the Edmund Fitzgerald casualty? TIA

[Guest]

The pictures and weather report are fascinating. In the picture on the Calumet river, are the blast furnaces above the White's stack those of what became Acme Steel ? I've never been able to identify all of the steel mills along the Calumet and the evolution of their ownership. TIA !

[Jon Paul]

THE GREAT BLIZZARD OF '78
We were a Weather Reporting ship so our Mates regularly took notes and observations that we sent in several times a day.
This Blizzard was an extreme situation and after the January 10th Storm we plowed through on Lake Huron we had already had our fill of Winter Navigation!
Wave heights were a real challenge to determine because the blizzard conditions made visibility near zero through most of the storm. The best guess by the Mates and Captain were anywhere from 20'-25'. Once we made our haul through Porte Des Morte and were inside Little Bay De Noc headed north, ice cover was nearly 100%.