Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Thursday 11/30/2012

Cason J. Callaway departed at 07:25
CSL Assiniboine departed at 16:15
Arthur M. Anderson arrived at 18:15
Mesabi Miner arrived eat 21:20

Snowflake Photography

With the recent snowfall, I was prompted to get out in my backyard and take some pictures of snowflakes using my camera and a special microscope.  Enjoy this snowflake video as you wait for more boats.

Full Moon at Split Rock Lighthouse

The full moon during the winter months rises at an azimuth where it comes up from behind the cliff at Split Rock Lighthouse making for a spectacular back-lit scene when viewed  from the Lake Superior shoreline below.
Split Rock Lighthouse was built in 1910 atop a 130 foot cliff. The lighthouse and has stood sentinel over the waters of western Lake Superior for more than 100 years.

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Wednesday 11/28/2012

Paul R. Tregurtha departed at 07:27
Cason J. Callaway arrived at 19:30
CSL Assiniboine arrived at 21:30

Harbor History: November 28 , 1905: The Mataafa Storm

By Tony Dierckins; Zenith City Online

On this day on Lake Superior in 1905, a great storm began, known to many as the “Thanksgiving Storm” and, more often, the “Mataafa Storm.” The storm produced hurricane-force winds, and the water on Lake Superior’s western end was so high it drove through Minnesota Point at a spot known as “the barrens” hard enough to cut a channel. That day and the next, twenty-nine ships were wrecked or suffered damage, seventeen were stranded, and at least one foundered. The human toll was also heavy; the storm took thirty-three souls, nine of them just outside Duluth’s ship canal. The Mataafa, hauling a load of iron, steamed hard for the canal and safety beyond it. But as the Mataafa entered the canal, currents and wind gusts forced the ship into the north pier; conditions then carried it back into the lake before slamming it broadside against the pierhead. About 150 yards from shore, the Mataafa settled to the lake bottom and split in two. Members of the U.S. Life Savers stood helplessly on shore, the storm too strong to launch their lifeboats. That night thousands of Duluthians lined the shore, standing vigil as the storm pounded the wounded ship. When the Life Savers finally reached the ship the next morning they found fifteen sailors—including the ship’s captain—alive. Unfortunately, nine of the crew either drowned or froze to death. 

Read more about the Mataafa storm here and a sample of the newspaper coverage of the event here: MataafaStorm_11.29.1905_DNT,MataafaStorm_11.29.1905_02_DNT, MataafaStorm_11.29.1905_02_DNT,MataafaStorm_11.30.1905_DNT, MataafaStorm_11.30.1905_02_DNT.

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Tuesday 11/27/2012

Ebroborg departed at 18:30
Paul R. Tregurtha arrived at 18:50

Harbor History: November 27, 1886: Fire Destroys Grain Elevators A & Q

By Tony Dierkins - Zenith City Online - On this day in Duluth in 1886, fire destroyed Duluth’s first two grain elevators, Elevators A and Q, located along the lake at the base of Third Avenue East. Elevator A was built in 1869 by Jay Cooke’s Union Improvement and Elevator Company with wood purchased from Roger Munger’s sawmill on Lake Avenue. the grain terminal that could hold 350,000 bushels of grain and came equipped with a steam-powered conveyance system. Only one other grain elevator, Elevator Q in 1878, was built on the lake itself. Grain dust is highly combustible, and wooden grain elevators often went up in flames. When elevators A and Q burned, they took with them about 500,000 bushels of grain and the lives of elevator foreman Edward Lee, fireman Charles Moore, and W. B. Loranger, whose charred body was not discovered until December 17, among the ruins of Elevator Q. The loss was so substantial it actually led to a rise in value of the Chicago grain market. The fire also consumed a saloon, a carriage factory, houses, and warehouses on the 400 block of East Superior Street. The following year wheat from both burned elevators remained on the site, rotting away. It was loaded onto barges and dumped into Lake Superior. In 1892, founders of the Duluth Curling Club used Elevator A’s foundation to build the club’s first rink, which was destroyed in a blizzard in March 1892. Read about Duluth’s historic Grain Trade here, in the Zenith City History archives Industry section. Read newspaper coverage of the fire here: ElevatorFire_12.03.1886_01_DWT, ElevatorFire_12.03.1886_02_DWT, ElevatorFire_12.03.1886_

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Monday 11/26/2012

American Century departed at 02:04
Algolake arrived at 05:50
Walter J. McCarthy Jr. departed at 12:00
Algolake departed at 19:50

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Sunday 11/25/2012

James R. Barker arrived at 06:35
American Century arrived at 08:05
Lee A. Tregurtha arrived at 12:35
James R. Barker departed at 15:30
Walter J. McCarthy Jr. arrived at 16:00
Lee A. Tregurtha departed at 22:20

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Saturday 11/24/2012

Great Republic Arrival

Due to a strong cold front passing through the region, we had the first "Sea Smoke" appearance of the season.  The is a wonderful time of year for watching the sea smoke rise off the warm (relatively) waters of Lake Superior in columns of steamy fog.

Great Republic arrived at 08:49
Mesabi Miner arrived at 10:30
Ebroborg arrived at 21:20
Mesabi Miner departed at 22:15

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Friday 11/23/2012

John G. Munson arrived at 00:41
H. Lee White arrived at 05:00
Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin departed at 06:19
Algolake arrived at 16:05
John G. Munson departed at 16:50
H. Lee White departed at 17:40

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Thursday 11/22/2012

Lakes Contender/tug Ken Boothe, Sr. departed at 01:02
Birchglen arrived at 03:25
Great Lakes Trader/Joyce L. Van Enkevort departed at 09:33
CSL Tadoussac arrived at 10:07
Birchglen departed at 13:53
Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin arrived at 16:34
CSL Tadoussac departed at 17:50

Nautical History: The Mayflower

The Mayflower was the ship that transported English and Dutch Separatists and other adventurers to Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620.

From 1609 through 1620, the Mayflower was used almost exclusively as a cargo ship carrying English goods (primarily cloth, fox and rabbit furs, and iron and pewter goods) to France and Spain, almost always returning home fully laden with French wines, and occasionally some vinegar and salt. Like many ships of the time, the Mayflower was most likely a carrack with three masts, square-rigged on the foremast and mainmast but lateen-rigged on the mizzenmast. The ship's dimensions are unknown but estimates based on its load, weight, and the typical size of 180-ton merchant ships of its day, suggest a length of 90–110 feet (27.4–33.5 m) and a width of about 25 feet (7.6 m). In July 1620, the ship was hired, along with the ship Speedwell, and the two embarked on their first voyage attempt on August 5. The Speedwell was leaking too much, so the two ships put in to Dartmouth for repairs. The second voyage attempt was made August 22. The two ships made it 300 miles out into the Atlantic before the master of the Speedwell, William Reynolds, decided the ship was too leaky to continue. Both ships turned back, and put in to Plymouth, England. There, the decision was made to leave the Speedwell behind and only take the Mayflower. About 20 people, decided to quit the voyage and go home. The remaining 102 passengers and goods were packed onto the Mayflower, and embarked from Plymouth, England to America on September 6: this time for good.

Mayflower Compact
As the passengers aboard the Mayflower journeyed across the Atlantic, tensions arose among the three factions: the Separatists seeking religious freedom, the merchant-adventurers seeking their fortune, and the crew seeking their livelihood. It became apparent that if these passengers were to survive in an alien land, they needed to consent voluntarily to a cooperative form of government. Thus it was that the Mayflower Compact came into being and was signed by the adult male passengers in November, 1620.

  "In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord, King James, by the Grace of God, of England, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, e&. Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia; do by these presents, solemnly and mutually in the Presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid; And by Virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the General good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In Witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord, King James of England, France and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini, 1620."

There followed the signatures of the 41 male passengers. This compact established the first basis in the new world for written laws.

After a three month voyage through a stormy North Atlantic, the Mayflower's crew sighted Cape Cod on November 9; they attempted to sail south to an area around the mouth of the Hudson's River, near modern-day Long Island, New York. They nearly shipwrecked at some shoals to the south of the Cape nicknamed Tucker's Terror; narrowly escaping, the decision was made not to try that again--they would go back and explore Cape Cod. They anchored off Provincetown Harbor on November 11, and over the next month they put out several expeditions to survey Cape Cod and the vicinity. By mid-December, running out of both patience and provisions (including beer, the primary beverage since water was usually contaminated with parasites), the Pilgrims decided upon the area we now know as Plymouth Colony. They continued to live out of the Mayflower for several more months, making trips to land to build storehouses and houses.

Constructing homes and storehouses proved to be very slow going: many were sick and could not labor hard; bad weather frequently prevented much work from being done; and the few structures they did build occasionally succumbed to fire. By April, the weather started turning for the better, the people's health began to recover, so on April 5, 1621, the Mayflower set sail home for England, arriving back on May 6, bringing letters and news of the successful establishment of Plymouth: but with a devastating 50% loss of lives, and with no profit (lumber, furs, fish) sent home as cargo. After returning home, the Mayflower was again employed in a trip to France, bringing home to London a cargo of salt. Shortly thereafter, her master and quarter-owner, Christopher Jones, fell sick. He would die in March 1623. By 1624, the Mayflower, which apparently had not been used since October 1621, was sitting in ruins in the river Thames. She was appraised for a pathetically low $300, including the suit of worn sails and an old pitch pot and kettle. Undoubtedly the ship was sold off as scrap lumber.

Thanksgiving revisited

Following is a contemporary account of the 1621 Thanksgiving written by  Edward Winslow in a letter dated December 12, 1621.  

Our corn [i.e. wheat] did prove well, and God be praised, we had a good increase of Indian corn, and our barley indifferent good, but our peas not worth the gathering, for we feared they were too late sown.  They came up very well, and blossomed, but the sun parched them in the blossom.  Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors.  They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week.  At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others.  And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.

For more information on the Mayflower, visit mayflowerhistory.com
More credits http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayflower

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Wednesday 11/21/2012

Great Lakes Trader/Joyce L. Van Enkevort arrived at 20:15
James R. Barker departed at 21:30

Harbor History: November 21, 1902: The Steamer Bannockburn Vanishes

November 21, 1902: The Steamer Bannockburn Vanishes By Tony Dierckins On November 21, 2012

The Bannockburn, the “Flying Dutchman of the Great Lakes.” (Image: Great Lakes Vessel Index)

 On this day on Lake Superior in 1902, the steamer Bannockburn—a 254-foot, 1,620-ton steel-hulled steamer—vanished. She was headed down lake to Saulte Sainte Marie from Port Arthur/Fort William (today’s Thunder Bay, Ontario) with 95,000 bushels of wheat grown in Manitoba. Built in Scotland in 1893, the Bannockburn was piloted by Captain George Woods, who had a crew of 19 with him. The reports of her disappearance first reached Duluth on November 27, in a report from Chicago. At first it was hoped she was stranded on Caribou Island. The steamer John D. Rockefeller reached Duluth the day before, and the same issue of the Duluth News Tribune that carried the Chicago story also reported that the Rockefeller’s crew said they had passed through a large debris field off Stannard Rock east of the Keweena Peninsula, with no signs of life. Later the steamer Algonquin reported seeing her on November 17 about sixty miles southeast of Passage Island (part of today’s Isle Royale National Park) and northeast of Keweenaw Point, within a heavily used shipping lane. Tugs searched along the entire north shore of Lake Superior to no avail. In December, one of her life preservers was found near Grand Marais. No one ever saw her again. Except…well, some did. She apparently had a unique profile and was easily identifiable from a distance. In the years after she vanished, crews of Lake Superior vessels have reported seeing her, most often in November storms. In the late 1940s the captain and crew of the Walter A. Hutchinson claimed seeing the ship during a November storm. The Bannockburn reportedly forced the Hutchinson to change course, then rammed itself into rocks the Hutchinson would have otherwise hit. The Bannockburn then started breaking up and, suddenly, vanished. She is known as “the Flying Dutchman of the Great Lakes.”
Read more about theBannockburn here and here.
Zenith City Online

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Tuesday 11/20/2012

Indiana Harbor arrived at 02:15
Arthur M. Anderson departed at 02:30
American Century departed at 03:55
Algorail arrived at 06:25
James R. Barker arrived at 09:30
Paul R. Tregurtha departed at 13:00
Algorail departed at 16:10
Alder arrived at 16:45
Lakes Contender/tug Ken Boothe, Sr. arrived at 18:30

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Monday 11/19/2012

Walter J. McCarthy Jr. departed at 06:45
American Century arrived at 15:30
Arthur M. Anderson arrived  at 17:30
Paul R. Tregurtha arrived at 18:40

Harbor History - Nov 19th 1886: Sinking of the Wallace

The Robert Wallace, which sank in Lake Superior in both 1886 and 1902. (Image: Great Lakes Vessel Index.)

Sinking of the Wallace 

by Tony Dierckins - Zenith City Online
On this day on Lake Superior in 1886, the steam barge Robert Wallace—as well as her consort, the schooner barge David Wallace—sunk after over a day of being pounded by waves and running ashore at Chocolay, four miles east of Marquette on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, on November 18. They had been taking a combined 104,000 bushels of wheat downlake from Duluth when they encountered the storm. Initially all hands on both vessels were thought loss, and efforts to save them were hampered by the storm. U. S. Life-Savers stationed at Michigan’s Portage Ship Canal, 110 miles away, took a train through the storm—a blizzard on land—in order to reach the crews. Both vessels sank, their loads of grain said to have “fed the wildlife of the Michigan Coast.” All were saved, but elsewhere the storm cost forty lives and financial losses of over $620,000, $300,000 for the two Wallace vessels and their cargo alone Twenty-eight vessels were damaged and most, including the Wallace and the Wallace, were rebuilt and returned to work on the lakes. On November 17, 1902, the Robert Wallace sunk once again, just southeast of Two Harbors with a load of iron ore, but her consort, the Ashland, did not sink—and the Wallace was not raised. Read newspaper coverage here (wallace_11.19.1886_DWT, wallace_11.26.1886_DWT, wallace_12.3.1886_DWT) and read about the unlikely rescue here.

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Sunday 11/18/2012

Walter J McCarthy Arrival

James R. Barker arrived at 00:45
John J. Boland departed at 01:15
Lee A. Tregurtha departed at 03:30
James R. Barker departed at 10:10
Hon. James L. Oberstar arrived at 10:50
Walter J. McCarthy Jr. arrived at 16:50
Hon. James L. Oberstar departed at 20:40

Bentleyville 2012

In case you missed the opening of the Bentleyville 2012 "Tour of Lights", here is a short taste of this amazing  Holiday attraction in Duluth.

Composite Image (11/18/2012)

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Saturday 11/17/2012

John J. Boland arrived at 06:45
Bentleyville 2012 opening
Lee A. Tregurtha arrive at 19:50

Harbor History: November 17, 1966: Lift Bridge Lit for First Time

A photo from the Duluth News-Tribune taken on the evening of November 17, 1966, when the Aerial Lift Bridge was illuminated for the first time. (Image: Duluth News Tribune.)

On this day in Duluth in 1966, during a gala celebration, state representative John A. Blatnik threw the switch to light the Aerial Lift Bridge for the first time. The city’s Project Duluth Committee, chaired by John Grinden, led the effort to light the bridge. “The Aerial Lift Bridge is the symbol of Duluth,” Grinden said, “We want to do everything possible to promote it to dramatize Duluth to tourists.” The committee hoped lighting the bridge would help make it as recognizable a symbol of Duluth as the Eiffel Tower was for Paris or St. Louis’s Gateway of the West Arch. Everyone seemed to love the idea, which would use the same type of lighting that illuminated Egypt’s Sphinx and the Palace of Versailles in France. Soon it had the approval of the City, the Corps of Engineers, the Lake Carrier’s Association, and the Coast Guard. Costs spurred the creation of the Aerial Bridge Club. Membership was obtained by donating one dollar or more to the lighting fund, and each member’s card entitled its holder to one free bridge ride. On Friday, November 11, the group had collected $21,000 from 10,000 donors. On November 17 a crowd of thousands joined Bridge Club officials and city dignitaries to watch as state representative John A. Blatnik—who called the lights “a magnificent symbol of the rebirth of our area”—threw the switch to turn on the lights. The University of Minnesota Duluth marching band broke into “Hey, Look Me Over.” After that, the crowd joined the College of St. Scholastica’s choir in a rendition of “God Bless America.” Read the complete story about the lighting of the bridge here.

Membership in the Aerial Bridge Club cost one dollar, and the money went to purchase lighting. The card also allowed holders one free ride on the Lift Bridge. (Image: X-Comm.)
Tony Dierckins  -- Zenith City Online

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Friday 11/16/2012

Philip R. Clarke departed at 04:19

Duluth Harbor Traffic for Thursday 11/15/2012

American Mariner departed at 00:32
American Courage departed at 05:17
H. Lee White departed at 07:31
Saguenay departed at 14:10
Vikingbank (Dutch ) departed at 14:25
Philip R. Clarke arrived at 16:35
Algoma Quebecois departed at 23:00

Another Camera "Live Stream"

Dear Harbor Cam Friends,
Thank you for all the comments that I have received on the new Live Streaming Camera.  I do listen to suggestions and critiques and try to make adjustments when possible.   I can read between the lines your love for Duluth and the harbor and I appreciate that, since I feel the same way.

Technology has been advancing rapidly and although not perfect, it is now possible to "virtually" stand on a rooftop or hillside and get the feeling that you are truly here.

I have now upgraded a second camera for Live Streaming. This camera, located on top of the Great Lakes Aquarium, is a high resolution view of the Aerial Lift Bridge that also includes sound.  A truly live view, with sound has been a dream of mine for a long time, and is now possible (yet not perfect). While many of us can't live in Duluth, let alone afford some "Hillside" real estate, you can now tune into these new streaming camera for your daily nautical fix.

Although there will always be tweaking and adjusting on these cameras, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.  Also,  make sure to try out the "Full Screen" feature. Click on the second image on the right to access the camera.

Sincerely,
Dennis O'Hara - duluthharborcam.com

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Wednesday 11/14/2012

Indiana Harbor departed at 03:24
John G. Munson arrived at 03:49
American Mariner arrived at 04:15
H. Lee White arrived at 05:06
Paul R. Tregurtha arrived at 06:48
Mesabi Miner departed at 10:45
John G. Munson departed at 14:55
Paul R. Tregurtha departed at 19:00
American Courage arrived at 19:30
Saguenay arrived at 20:30

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Tuesday 11/13/2012

American Century Departure

Walter J. McCarthy Jr. departed at 05:30
Algoma Quebecois arrived at 08:45
Marietje Deborah (Dutch) departed at 10:08
Algosoo departed at 13:45
Indiana Harbor arrived at 15:40
American Century departed at 16:05
Mesabi Miner arrived  at 16:30
Vlieborg departed at 17:45
Vikingbank arrived at 18:00

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Tuesday 11/12/2012

American Integrity arrived at 02:20
James R. Barker departed at 06:30
Great Republic arrived at 07:00
American Century arrived at 11:55
American Integrity departed at 17:30
Great Republic departed at 17:30
Algosoo arrived at 21:30

New "Live Stream" camera feature

I am trying out a new video streaming service that may provide us a view from the LaFarge Camera that gives us a real-time view with little delay.  The new display can be selected from the "Live Stream" image at the top of column to the right.

Please take a look at the view. I would appreciate any feedback as to whether or not the service would be worthwhile for me to purchase.

If it is something that works for most of us, then I will take a look at adding it to the other cameras in addition to the existing views.

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Sunday 11/11/2012

Marietje Deborah Arrival

Cason J. Callaway departed at 01:40
American Integrity departed at 03:55
Lakes Contender/tug Ken Boothe, Sr. arrived at 07:05
Hon. James L. Oberstar arrived at 12:00
Marietje Deborah arrived at 16:40
James R. Barker arrived at 17:30
Lakes Contender/tug Ken Boothe, Sr. departed at 22:10

Harbor History: November 10, 1975: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

 A postcard of the Edmund Fitzgerald. (Image: X-Comm.)

This day on Lake Superior in 1975, as most readers are aware, the ore boat Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior, taking all twenty-nine hands down with her. The previous day she had loaded 26,000 tons of taconite pellets at the Burlington Northern dock in Superior, Wisconsin, and left port at  2 p.m. that day, taking its cargo to Zug Island on the Detroit River. Just 39 minutes later, the gale warnings came in. It took the Fitzgerald until 1 a.m. to get 20 miles south of Isle Royale, battling 52-knot winds and ten-foot waves. At 7 a.m. the Fitzgerald reported 35-knot winds and ten-foot waves. At 3:30 in the afternoon, Fitzgerald Captain Ernest McSorley radios the Arthur Anderson, who is trailing the Fitz, and tells Captain Cooper his vessel had sustained “some topside damage.” and asked the Anderson to keep the Fitz in her sights. Forty minutes later the Fitz radioed the Anderson once again, announcing that her radar equipment had failed and asking for the Anderson’s assistance. Things got steadily worse for the Fitzgerald, and by 6 p.m. it was listing badly. At 7:10 the Fitzgerald told the Anderson “We are holding our own.” At 7:25 the Edmund Fitzgerald disappeared from the Anderson’s radar. For more information on the Fitzgerald sinking, visit S. S. Edmund Fitzgerald Online.

Tony Dierckins | Zenith City 

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Friday 11/9/2012

Alpena arrived at 04:11
Kaye E. Barker departed at 08:00
Cason J. Callaway arrived at 16:15
Alder arrived at 17:00

Duluth harbor Boat Traffic for Thursday 11/8/2012

Herbert C. Jackson departed at 01:00
Frontenac arrived at 14:00
Roger Blough departed at 14:50
Frontenac departed at 23:35

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Wednesday 11/7/2012

Paul R. Tregurtha arrived at 00:16
Indiana Harbor departed at 07:55
Alder departed at 10:43
Roger Blough arrived at 11:28
Paul R. Tregurtha departed at 18:30
Mesabi Miner departed at 18:30
Herbert C. Jackson arrived at 19:00

New Camera Installed

I have completed installing the new LaFarge camera.  I still have some adjustments, but, the basics are up and running.

Camera Upgrade

Lafarge Camera Location

FYI, I will be replacing the camera located on top of the LaFarge Silos (fourth camera from left on homepage) this afternoon. Expect an outage of several hours. The new camera is state of the art and should give us an incredible view of the Aerial Lift Bridge and harbor for years to come.

November 7, 1913: The “White Hurricane” begins

                                A lithographic postcard of the Huronic in Duluth, made between 1915 and 1925. (Image: X-Comm.)

This day in 1913 marks the start of one of the biggest storms sailors on the Great Lakes have ever experienced. The so-called “White Hurricane” (also called the “Big Blow” and the “Freshwater Fury”) was essentially a blizzard producing hurricane-force winds and technically considered an “extrapolated cyclone.” Between November 7 and 10 the storm produced 90 mph wind gusts, 35-foot waves, and whiteout snow squalls, beaching many large vessels. A lull in the storm on November 8 caused many to think the storm was over, and shipping traffic that had been delayed was resumed, sending more vessels out into what would soon become the teeth of the storm. Ports around the Great Lakes raised gale-warning flags, ignored by many ship captains. Cleveland was hit with 22 inches of snow. A brand-new $100,000 breakwater in Chicago was swept away. On Lake Superior, the Leafield was wrecked near Angus Island, taking 18 people down with it; theHenry B. Smith sunk near Marquette, Michigan, with 25 lives lost. Neither vessel has ever been found. Stranded on Lake Superior were the Fred G. Harwell, the J. T. Hutchinson, the Major, the William Nittingham, the Scottish Hero, the Turret Chief, the L. S.  Waldo, and the passenger steamer Huronic (some newspapers  mistakenly reported the Huronicas the Hamonic, its sistership). In all, nineteen ships were destroyed, nineteen other stranded, and 250 people died. Read Wikipedia's description of the storm here.
Contributed by: Tony Dierckins - Zenith City Press

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Tuesday 11/6/2012

CGC Alder 

American Century departed at 06:59
Herbert C. Jackson arrived at 07:25
Alder departed at 13:30
Great Lakes Trader departed at 14:30
Alder (US) arrived at 16:45
Indiana Harbor arrived at 20:15
Federal St. Laurent departed at 20:30
Herbert C. Jackson departed at 21:00
Mesabi Miner arrived at 22:30

Harbor History - 1874: The Wreck of the Lotta Bernard

1874: The Wreck of the Lotta Bernard

Lake Superior in 1874, the wooden sidewheelerLotta Bernard foundered in a storm and was stranded at Encampment Island—off the North Shore near Castle Danger, between Two Harbors and Gooseberry Falls—where she broke up. She had been en route from Thunder Bay (Port Arthur) to Duluth. when they encountered a storm that soon turned to a blizzard. Lifeboats were launched, but one capsized, and two crew members were lost. Another later died of exposure. Captain Michael Norris and eleven other crew members and passengers and crew survived. Ten of them found food and shelter in a camp of local Ojibwe. Besides the three human lives, a horse, 200 sacks of flour, and 60 kegs of fish were lost. TheLotta Bernard was just six years old. The 125-foot long, 190-ton vessel was built in Sandusky, Ohio, and used by J. D. Howard and Edmund Ingalls of Duluth to ship lumber and small freight around communities along the western Lake Superior shores. (Her official home port was Superior.) The Detroit Free Presssaid she “was altogether unfit for the traffic she was employed in. Her route was a rugged and dangerous one, and no means being available for the few that traveled that way without the right of government necessary in such cases, she was permitted to receive passage permission on every opportunity.” She had experienced trouble before: In the fall of 1872 the Lotta Bernard ran aground near Octonagon, Michigan, and was stranded there until the following April. On October 30, 1874, the day after she ran aground on Encampment Island, she sank to the bottom of Lake Superior. Her wreck has not been located.
Story is compliments of Zenith City Press

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Monday 11/5/2012

Federal St. Laurent

Lakes Contender/tug Ken Boothe, Sr. arrived at 02:43
Federal St. Laurent (BWI) arrived at 06:28
James R. Barker arrived Duluth at 10:10
Lakes Contender/tug Ken Boothe, Sr. departed at 16:15
Copenhagen departed at 18:00
Great Lakes Trader departed at 18:50
American Century arrived at 20:30
James R. Barker departed at 21:10

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Sunday 11/4/2012

Federal St. Laurent

Great Lakes Trader/Joyce L. Van Enkevort arrived at 08:40
Spruceglen departed at 10:00
Tecumseh arrived at 13:35

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Saturday 11/3/2012

Spruceglen Arrival

Alder (US) arrived Duluth at 10:25
Spruceglen arrived at 20:40

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Thursday 11/1/2012

Saguenay departure

Saguenay arrived at 06:00
Cason J. Callaway departed at 09:25
Pochard departed at 19:00
Saguenay departed at 23:55

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Wednesday 10/31/2012

American Integrity Departure 

American Courage departed at 04:55
American Integrity arrived at 05:40
Mesabi Miner arrived at 08:25
Cason J. Callaway arrived at 14:55
American Integrity departed at 21:15
Mesabi Miner departed at 23:30