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_