George M. Humphrey Grounding 1956

[Jared]

was capt. john roen born on beaver island?

Captain Roen was born at Tysse, Norway, in 1887. He emigrated to the United States in 1906 and began shipping out on Great Lakes vessels in 1908, saving money to build the little tug Red Wing in 1910 at Beaver Island, used to tow log rafts from the island to the mainland. He relocated to Charlevoix in 1920 and to Sturgeon Bay in 1932.

He didn't have the capacity on hand to salvage a ship of that size using his lighters.

The book is wrong. He certainly did have the capacity. The Maitland No. 1 and Hilda, in his fleet when the Humphrey sank, raised the Humphrey using sheaves, cables, and steam winches. The only floating equipment Roen bought for the project was the former Chicago harbor lighter Commerce.

He overcame their shortage of lift capacity by sealing the ballast tanks and filling them with air once they removed 14,000 tons of ore. She was drug to shallow waters and patched while she was in the water column. What an amazing feat. Working under a sunken ship suspended by cables is a very risky process.

[Guest]

THAT Humphrey eventually became the Consumers Power. I sailed on it twice near the end of her career. Articles of the event were posted in the forward end quarters

I always thought it ironic that the original George M. Humphrey outlived the second George M. Humphrey as both an operational vessel and before being scrapped.

[William Lafferty]

was capt. john roen born on beaver island?

Captain Roen was born at Tysse, Norway, in 1887. He emigrated to the United States in 1906 and began shipping out on Great Lakes vessels in 1908, saving money to build the little tug Red Wing in 1910 at Beaver Island, used to tow log rafts from the island to the mainland. He relocated to Charlevoix in 1920 and to Sturgeon Bay in 1932.

He didn't have the capacity on hand to salvage a ship of that size using his lighters.

The book is wrong. He certainly did have the capacity. The Maitland No. 1 and Hilda, in his fleet when the Humphrey sank, raised the Humphrey using sheaves, cables, and steam winches. The only floating equipment Roen bought for the project was the former Chicago harbor lighter Commerce.

[badger]

was capt. john roen born on beaver island?

[Jared]

Well, concerning the salvage of the first Humphrey, I don't think Captain John Roen's operation could be deemed a "small no name marine service" nor that he raised the vessel "with the equivalent of duct tape and chewing gum." Merritt, Chapman & Scott gave the underwriters and the Corps of Engineers a rather dismal report on the Humphrey's condition (quite possibly because the firm, already faced with mammoth wartime obligations on the east coast, didn't want to deal with the project). Roen had a sizable fleet of lighters and tugs and a modern shipyard at his disposal and had already overseen the salvage of the Eugene J. Buffington on northern Lake Michigan the previous year. He entered into a contract whereby if the vessel were salvaged he'd keep it and its ore cargo and if he couldn't he would demolish it in situ to provide 35 feet clearance above it. Over the winter of 1943-1944 Roen meticulously studied the wreck and consulted with civil engineers and naval architects on how best to raise it. As is well known, he succeeded admirably in raising the Humphrey in September 1944, a month before the deadline the Corps of Engineers had mandated. And, of course, Roen's Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding & Drydock Company rebuilt the vessel into the Capt. John Roen that left Sturgeon Bay 1 May 1945 for Duluth for its first cargo, destined for South Chicago. Roen's success in the vessel's salvage was far, far greater than what he experienced as a vessel owner in the ore and coal trade, and the Roen was sold to Boland & Cornelius in April 1947.

The "no name" salvage story came from Graveyard of Lakes. He didn't have the capacity on hand to salvage a ship of that size using his lighters. The book stated he didn't have divers employed at his company at the time and hired a friend to do the first dives. Nevertheless, I think they should write a book on the subject. Truly an amazing feat of engineering and as far as I am aware, it is the deepest salvage to have occurred on the lakes.

I have seen 3 articles the day after the Cedarville sank in 65 talking how the corps would begin raising her and returning her to service. That didn't happen obviously, and technology had improved the 22 years between the wrecks.

[William Lafferty]

Well, concerning the salvage of the first Humphrey, I don't think Captain John Roen's operation could be deemed a "small no name marine service" nor that he raised the vessel "with the equivalent of duct tape and chewing gum." Merritt, Chapman & Scott gave the underwriters and the Corps of Engineers a rather dismal report on the Humphrey's condition (quite possibly because the firm, already faced with mammoth wartime obligations on the east coast, didn't want to deal with the project). Roen had a sizable fleet of lighters and tugs and a modern shipyard at his disposal and had already overseen the salvage of the Eugene J. Buffington on northern Lake Michigan the previous year. He entered into a contract whereby if the vessel were salvaged he'd keep it and its ore cargo and if he couldn't he would demolish it in situ to provide 35 feet clearance above it. Over the winter of 1943-1944 Roen meticulously studied the wreck and consulted with civil engineers and naval architects on how best to raise it. As is well known, he succeeded admirably in raising the Humphrey in September 1944, a month before the deadline the Corps of Engineers had mandated. And, of course, Roen's Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding & Drydock Company rebuilt the vessel into the Capt. John Roen that left Sturgeon Bay 1 May 1945 for Duluth for its first cargo, destined for South Chicago. Roen's success in the vessel's salvage was far, far greater than what he experienced as a vessel owner in the ore and coal trade, and the Roen was sold to Boland & Cornelius in April 1947.

[Jon Paul]

She was hardly out of the builder's yard and suffered a relatively serious casualty at Groh Cap. Another story comes to mind of an earlier ore carrier of the same name that sunk west of the Mackinac Bridge due to a collision, sank in 75 ft of water and was successfully salvaged and repaired / returned for service, in 1944.

I originally posted about that in response, but the mods must have missed it or known that I was referring to a different Humphrey. I didn't know there was two of them and thought they were the same vessel. The one that sank in 1943 had an amazing story about how she was raised. Essentially the Corps of engineers was taking bids to dynamite the wreck or wire cable it, and this small no name marine service raised her with the equivalent of duct tape and chewing gum. Truly a amazing story if you look into it.

It was not a small "no name" salvage company, it was Roen Salvage, one of the top salvage companies on the Great Lakes.
The Humphrey sank not west of the current Mac Bridge but rather East of it and 1.5 miles NE of Old Point Mackinac Lighthouse.
Here is a link to the very challenging salvage and Capt Roen getting a boat for his efforts.

https://nmgl.org/recovery-of-the-steame ... uary-1945/

[Guest]

THAT Humphrey eventually became the Consumers Power. I sailed on it twice near the end of her career. Articles of the event were posted in the forward end quarters

[Jared]

She was hardly out of the builder's yard and suffered a relatively serious casualty at Groh Cap. Another story comes to mind of an earlier ore carrier of the same name that sunk west of the Mackinac Bridge due to a collision, sank in 75 ft of water and was successfully salvaged and repaired / returned for service, in 1944.

I originally posted about that in response, but the mods must have missed it or known that I was referring to a different Humphrey. I didn't know there was two of them and thought they were the same vessel. The one that sank in 1943 had an amazing story about how she was raised. Essentially the Corps of engineers was taking bids to dynamite the wreck or wire cable it, and this small no name marine service raised her with the equivalent of duct tape and chewing gum. Truly a amazing story if you look into it.

[FWE]

She was hardly out of the builder's yard and suffered a relatively serious casualty at Groh Cap. Another story comes to mind of an earlier ore carrier of the same name that sunk west of the Mackinac Bridge due to a collision, sank in 75 ft of water and was successfully salvaged and repaired / returned for service, in 1944.

[Guest]

Also, a cute story from the Humphrey's upbound trip before the accident:

Kansas City Times, April 11, 1956

[Guest]

Largest boat on the lakes at the time, initially it was thought to have been holed by pack ice while down bound above the locks. After some of her cargo was removed and unloaded at Algoma, she was freed and continued to Cleveland to unload the rest, then went to dry dock in Lorain. The captain later reported that it had in fact struck a boulder due to the low water levels. Articles from the Sault (Ont) Daily Star, April 16, 1956 and the Port Huron Times Herald, April 17, 1956:

[guest]

That was a sad day for the Hanna fleet. Not only was the Humphrey the flagship of a ten vessel fleet, but she was also the largest ship on the Great Lakes. She was less than two years old when this accident happened at Gros Cap Reef.
They were downbound, loaded & chose to follow the track of the vessel ahead of them, rather than turning on bearings. They didn't realize that the ice field was shifting and hence the grounding at Gros Cap.
The damage and list were very serious, but using ballast on the opposite side of the hole stabilized the ship.

[Guest]

the George M. Humphrey has always been a favorite of mine even though I had only seen it one time during the early 1980s as it passed downbound on the St. Clair River shortly before being retired from service. My uncle that sailed on the lakes at the time once told me about seeing the Humphrey grounded on the shoal in the April 1956 accident while I was growing up during the 1980s. He said that at the time there was talk that the ship came close to being lost in the accident but luckily the salvage operation was successful. I cannot remember what ship he was on at the time, but I believed he was sailing for Boland & Cornelius (ASC) at the time. Has anyone else ever heard of the extent of the damage suffered by the Humphrey in this accident? The image in the "Toady in Great Lakes History" section from April 13, 2022, is the first time I have ever seen a photograph of the ship on the shoal.