Remembering The Fitzgerald

Today is the anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald on the big lake they call Gitche Gumee.

 

Did you know that the Mighty Fitz had Sturgeon Bay connections?

 

Two crewmen, sons of Sturgeon Bay (Door County), perished in the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald on November 10, 1975.  Oliver J. "Buck" Champeau - Third Assistant Engineer, age 41 and Russel G. Haskell - Second Assistant Engineer, age 40.

 

You can learn more about the story here at the Door County Maritime Museum and Lighthouse Preservation Society.  We Are Holding Our Own, is a highly personal temporary exhibit that opened in October at DCMM honoring the 50th anniversary of the wreck.  If you're here for a visit be sure to check it out as it will run thru the end of 2025.

Another Sturgeon Bay connection is this ice-breaking tug. 

The USCG tug Naugatuck was the first Coast Guard vessel to respond on the scene of the missing freighter.  The crew recovered life rings, jackets, life boat oars and other debris over their three days on the scene.

photo ChatGTP

The (former) Naugatuck is still working on the Great Lakes now as the Jimmy L of Sarter Marine Towing in Sturgeon Bay.

When she is not at work you can find her berthed along the west waterfront adjacent to the Oregon Street bridge.  Jimmy L is presently operated under charter by Great Lakes Towing Company.

Last, but not least, there is the Arthur M. Anderson, sister ship of the Edmund Fitzgerald.  The Anderson was the last ship to have contact with the Fitzgerald before the sinking and the first on the scene in a vain search for survivors.

I snapped these photos from the water in the port of Green Bay. 

 

 

The Anderson is still in active service and from time to time it is spotted in Sturgeon Bay.

Small maritime world around these parts.... 

Cobia Heads For Home

The Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company assembled and launched 28 submarines for the US Navy during the second World War.  They were nicknamed Freshwater Submarines as a consequence of being built on the Great Lakes.  They were ferried down the Mississippi river to New Orleans for final refitting and deployment to the Pacific Theater.  These included vessels like the Peto, Puffer and Rasher.  25 of these boats saw action sinking 132 Japanese ships.  4 were lost at sea.  

In early September Gato class WWII submarine USS Cobia (SS-245) arrived at the Fincantieri shipyard for dry docking to facilitate repairs, refitting and a makeover.

A couple of days ago she departed for her home port of Manitowoc where the boat serves as a museum ship and national monument.

Kevin O'Donnell synchronized in real time, drone video and the marine radio communications between tug captains, the dock workers, and the WWII submarine USS Cobia, as they gently nudge her from slip #1 at Bay Ship, tow her through town, and out the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal. 

 

The production value of this is really excellent.

 

And if you appreciate maritime history; worth a watch...

 

Cobia Comes To Town

It is not every day a submarine comes to Sturgeon Bay.

Towed the USS Cobia (SS-245), a World War II-era submarine and National Historic Landmark 55 nautical miles from Manitowoc to Sturgeon Bay.  Three decades have passed since her last check-up; she was towed by tugs Nickelena and Erika Kobasic of Basic Marine.   Basic Marine Incorporated is a sister company of North Shore Marine Terminal and Logistics Incorporated of Escanaba, Michigan. 

 

The Cobia will be in dry dock at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin for a routine inspection and 4 to 6 week restoration process.

 

Stay-tuned for updates and more on the history of the Cobia... 

Small Maritime World

Today marks the 48th anniversary of the most famous shipwreck to occur on Lake Superior.

 

Of the 29 sailors lost to the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald two were natives of Sturgeon Bay. And the connection to Great Lakes maritime shipping history goes a bit deeper yet.

 

The USCG tug Naugatuck was the first Coast Guard vessel to respond on the scene of the missing freighter. The crew recovered life rings, jackets, life boat oars and other debris over three days on the scene.

 

 

The Naugatuck is still working on the Great Lakes now as the Jimmy L of Sarter Marine Towing in Sturgeon Bay.

 

 

When she is not at work you can find her berthed along the west waterfront adjacent to the Oregon Street bridge.

 

Small maritime world.

 

Weight Lifter

Photo - Door County Sail and Power Squadron

 

Meet the Happy River.  She is one of four sister ships: Happy Rover, Happy Ranger and Sailer Jupiter. 

The Happy River is a heavy lift vessel and as a consequence can carry forest products, general cargo, containers, heavy manufactured items and other "mammoth" projects. It was built in 1997 by Merwede of the Netherlands and is operated by Mammoet Shipping. This ship is delivering custom LNG tanks from Spain.  

Photo - Door County Sail and Power Squadron

Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding is partnering with Crowley Maritime Corporation (Shell) on the largest LNG (liquefied natural gas) bunkering barge ever constructed in the United States. Inasmuch as the shipyard gantry crane hasn't the lift capacity; the Dutch vessel is going to shift these tanks into the barge for installation at Bay Ship in Sturgeon Bay.

 

You can learn more about this project here.

 

Sturgeon Bay shipbuilding rocks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great Lakes Economics

Further evidence of the arrival of spring is the clearing of ice from the sea lanes, the end of winter layup and refit and the departure of the Winter Fleet from the port of Sturgeon Bay.

 

At great peril of advancing my nerdishness I marvel at the beauty and economic efficiency of these big lakers as they ply their trade on the largest body of freshwater lakes on the planet.

 

If you were my client this recovering financial guy would share that every year more than 260 million metric tons of raw materials such as coal, iron ore, agricultural products and manufactured goods are transported on the Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Seaway System.

In one single shipping season the Great Lakes-Seaway system generates $77.4 billion ($100 billion CAD) of economic activity and 238,000 jobs in the US and Canada.

 

That, my friends, is a big freaking deal.

 

There’s a great deal of trickle-down happening too for all of the direct and tangential businesses that are engaged with Great Lakes shipping trade.

 

Consider this:

 

Great Lakes-Seaway shipping is 14 percent more fuel efficient than rail and nearly 600 percent more fuel efficient than trucking.

 

A laker can move one ton of cargo 607 miles on one gallon of fuel. That is more more efficient, with fewer emissions and a cleaner environmental footprint, than an EV and all of its nasty carbon manufacturing inputs and batteries.

 

Raising a toast to another season of moving bulk cargo from here to there at the breathtaking pace of 15 miles per hour.

 

Learn more about what's on tap for 2023 here.

Tall Ships

This isn’t a very timely post inasmuch as the festivities have passed almost a week ago.  Nevertheless, this event only arrives at three year intervals and now that the kids have returned home I have the time to make it worthy of mention – albeit late.        

A tall ship is a schooner, brig, barque or ship sporting traditional sailing rigging.  The masts to hoist the sail make then taller than their propeller-powered brethren.  Most all of the vessels pictured are used for purposes of educating crew in seamanship and traditional sailing skills.  They had been moored in Green Bay for a while and on Monday they returned to Sturgeon Bay in the late afternoon. Tuesday they sailed to Algoma to participate in the Tall Ships Challenge^© Race. 

Here are some photos taken of their arrival in Sturgeon Bay and a brief description of the vessel.      

Santa Maria – A replica of the original ship sailed by Christopher Columbus.  The vessel is crewed by seventeen men and women who departed Europe in November of 2018.  It is an educational vessel.           

Bluenose II – a replica of an undefeated sailing competitor from 1921.  Home port is Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.  It is also an educational vessel.         

Windy – home port is Chicago, Illinois and is a vessel constructed of modern materials.  Its principle use is pleasure sailing for the public.          

US Brig Niagara – from Erie, Pennsylvania.  A replica of the vessel sailed by Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry.   It is also an educational ship.       

Inland Seas – from Traverse City, Michigan is constructed in the style of a traditional Great Lakes schooner.  It serves in hands-on sailing education and Great Lakes scientific research.         

Pride of Baltimore II – is a replica of the original that has logged more than 250,000 nautical miles traveling to more than 40 countries and 200 ports.  It is used for both education and entertainment purposes.  It also makes profligate use of its cannon.

Amphicar - Model 770 is an amphibious automobile made in West Germany and sold in the US from 1961 to 1968.  It’s a descendant of the Volkswagen Schwimmwagen.   Home port - Sturgeon Bay.

John G. Munson

Built in 1952 at Manitowoc, Wisconsin the John G. Munson is a self-unloading bulk carrier that travels the Great Lakes hauling coal, limestone, taconite and more.   She has seven cargo holds with a capacity of 25,900 tons.  At the close of the shipping season in 2015 the Munson arrived at arrived at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding to have her original 7,700-hp steam turbine replaced with diesel propulsion.  Rededicated last week this venerable ship is undergoing sea trials before returning to work.  The John G. Munson is one of the nine freighters from Canadian National’s Great Lakes Fleet.  

 

You can learn more about this ship and the rest of the CN fleet here.

Spring Buoys

It is spring buoy-tending time.

And the U.S. Coast Guard working boat USCGC Mobile Bay has been out marking the shipping channels. 

By the middle of this month they'll have installed five-dozen buoys between Sturgeon Bay and Escanaba, MI.

The Door County Advocate has a most excellent photo array and story about life on a working boat here.