Monday, November 22

Maumee in Ashtabula Harbor Unloading Rock



I would like to thank David Walker of Media Magic for the shout out that  the ship was in port and unloading.  Thanks Dave :)

HOW CLOSE CAN YOU DOCK??

The Maumee docks in Ashtabula, OH next to the draw bridge to off load rock to a local dealer. This certainly draws alot of attention.

This photo was snapped from the Ashtabula river draw bridge.
History of the Maumee

Launched June 22, 1929 as the William G. Clyde for the Pittsburgh Steamship Company (a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Steel Corp.), this Great Lakes bulk carrier was built as hull # 804 by American Ship Building Co., Lorain, OH. The Clyde entered service August 15, 1929 when she departed on her maiden voyage light from Lorain, OH to Duluth, MN to load iron ore. Due to the nation's prosperous economy at the time, the William G. Clyde was one of three vessels built for the Pittsburgh Steamship fleet in 1929. The other two vessels were the Horace Johnson also built by the American Ship Building Co., Lorain as hull # 805, scrapped in 1984; and the Calumet (Myron C. Taylor, 1929 - 2001) built as hull # 269 by Great Lakes Engineering Works, River Rouge, MI, sold for scrap in 2007. At the end of the 1929 season, the Pittsburgh Steamship fleet consisted of 70 steamers and 14 barges.

The William G. Clyde was initially powered by a shipyard built 2,200 i.h.p. (1,618 KW) triple expansion, 3 cylinder steam engine with 3 coal-fired Scotch marine boilers. This large engine was replaced in 1964 by a Nordberg FS-1312-H5C V-12 cylinder 3,240 b.h.p. (2,383 KW) 4 stroke cycle diesel engine built by the Nordberg Manufacturing Co., Milwaukee, WI. This engine burns intermediate grade 180 fuel powering the vessel to a service speed of 11.5 m.p.h. Telescoping hatch covers seal the 19 hatches that service 4 holds where she is capable of carrying 12,650 tons (12,853 tonnes) at her mid-summer draft of 22' 03" (6.78m). As built in 1929, the William G. Clyde's capacity was listed as 12,000 tons (12,193 tonnes). Three years prior to the installation of her diesel engine; during her 1960/61 winter lay-up, she was converted to a self-unloader by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI. The self-unloading system is gravity-fed through gates to two 4-foot wide belts feeding a forward mounted chain driven bucket elevator leading up to a 250' (76.2m) discharge boom that can be swung 110 degrees to port or starboard. Also in 1961, a bow thruster was installed. She became one of the first vessels to be fitted with the bow thruster.

The William G. Clyde sailed primarily in the iron ore trade from Duluth and Two Harbors, MN to Chicago, IL, Gary, IN, Conneaut, and Lorain, OH under the Pittsburgh Steamship banner through until 1952. Effective January 1, 1953; as a result of restructuring, Pittsburgh Steamship Co. was renamed Pittsburgh Steamship Division, U.S. Steel Corp. Ownership of the William G. Clyde and her fleet mates were all transferred directly to U.S. Steel Corp., Cleveland, OH. The vessel's cargoes continued to be focused in the iron ore trade with the occasional spot loads of coal, slag, or stone.

The William G. Clyde was transferred to the U. S. Steel owned Michigan Limestone Division, more commonly known as the Bradley Fleet, in 1960. She was renamed Calcite II (or "C-2" as she was affectionately called) at this time with her hull color being painted Bradley gray from Pittsburgh red. The Calcite II was named in honor of the small self-unloader she was replacing in the Bradley fleet. The original Calcite was the first vessel to sail under the Bradley banner, giving reliable service from 1912 through until her retirement in 1960 and subsequent scrapping in 1961. The 436' (132.89m) Calcite was the first self-unloader built and operated by U.S. Steel Corp. The Calcite II's namesake is the town of Calcite, MI; the location of the world's largest limestone quarry. Under her new banner, the Calcite II's primary cargo became limestone with her loading ports becoming Rogers City and Cedarville, MI.

The Calcite II continued to sail for the Bradley fleet until July 1, 1967; when, for economic reasons, U.S. Steel merged the Bradley fleet into the Pittsburgh Steamship fleet. June 5, 1981 saw U.S. Steel further restructure when it turned its fleet into a wholly owned subsidiary renaming it the USS Great Lakes Fleet with the designation of the fleet being a common carrier. The Calcite II was repainted the new fleet colors of red with the gray and black stripes. Throughout her tenure with the new fleet, her trade routes continued to be focused in the lower Great Lakes limestone, stone and aggregates trades.


The Calcite II's long career on the Great Lakes has not been entirely without incident. Some noted early examples follow. On August 28, 1964; she ran aground off Big Point, St. Marys River. The C-2 grounded again October 26, 1964 in 13' (4.0m) of water on the St. Marys River on Crab Island Shoal off the southwest end of Drummond Island. Most of her cargo was lightered to fleet mate Irvin L. Clymer with the required repairs completed by the American Ship Building yard totalling $31,777.30. Then on April 24,1984, she allided with the seawall at Grand Haven, MI after being caught in a swift current causing $46,300.00 damage to the wall though the vessel was undamaged. On October 20, 1987, the C-2 was called upon to take on the coal cargo from her fleet mate George A. Sloan which had grounded in the Detroit River's Amherstburg Channel the previous day. In December, 1989 the Calcite II struck a projection from the pier at the limestone dock at Huron, OH resulting in a 2" x 6" (5cm x 15cm) hole in her shell plating and # 1 port ballast tank. The C-2 also ran aground on a sand shoal mid-channel while attempting to enter the Fairport, OH harbor traveling at a speed of 3.2 m.p.h. At the time, she was loaded with a split load from Cedarville, MI for Fairport and Cleveland. With the aid of the wind and waves, she was able to free herself and proceeded to Cleveland to unload, then return to Fairport to finish unloading. The Calcite II was not damaged.



Caught in the strong currents of the Saginaw River, the Calcite II grounded near Cheboyganing Creek. With the assistance of attending tugs Gregory J. Bush and Frederick T. Kellers, the vessel was refloated with no damage a few hours later. While anchored off of Stoneport, MI, the Calcite II was in receipt of a distress call from the burning vintage pleasure boat Malabar VI on July 17, 1991 in Lake Huron. Arriving on the scene shortly after receiving the call, the C-2's crew tried to extinguish the fire with their on-board equipment but were unable to stop the sail boat from sinking. The owner of the boat was saved by the crew on board the Calcite II while others from the pleasure boat were rescued by the responding fish tug Moms Money. On July 14, 1993; the Calcite II grounded in the Detroit River off Amherstburg, ON due to a steering system failure. Two days later, she was refloated with the assistance of tugs Stormont, Oregon and Patricia Hoey only after the lightering of a portion of her cargo. The remaining cargo was unloaded at the Nicholson Terminal, Ecorse, MI before proceeding to Toledo, OH for repairs. Resulting damage included both port and starboard bow damage, keel plates, and the portside anchor; all of which were repaired by September 13, 1993. On December 12, 1997; the self unloader was blown aground by the bow in mud in the Saginaw River due to strong currents and high winds. The vessel was freed with no apparent damage the next day with the aid of tug John Purvis. The C-2 grounded again on a sand shoal on April 19, 2000 while leaving Port Inland, MI loaded with limestone for Cleveland. After being refloated on April 20, the Calcite II proceeded to Cleveland for unloading and internal examination. She then sailed for Bay Shipbuilding arriving at Sturgeon Bay, WI on May 18, 2000 for repairs.


After 71 years of dedicated service to the various U.S. Steel fleets, the Calcite II and her fleet mates George A. Sloan and Myron C. Taylor laid up in Sarnia, ON for a final time under the fleet's flag in December, 2000. A deal was consummated whereby the ownership of the Calcite II passed in March of 2001 to the Grand River Navigation Co. of Cleveland, OH (and now also of Rogers City, MI); the U.S. affiliate of Lower Lakes Towing Ltd. of Port Dover, ON. The vessel was christened Maumee, an Indian name in keeping with the Company's naming policy (thus the Company's stack insignia) and in honor of Ohio's Maumee River; a river often visited by the fleet. The ceremony took place in Sarnia on April 21, 2001. After a refit and having her hull painted Lower Lakes gray, the Maumee departed Sarnia on her maiden voyage April 28, 2001 under the new management of Lower Lakes Transportation Co., Cleveland, OH bound for Stoneport, MI where she loaded stone for Saginaw, MI. The Maumee continued to be engaged in the stone, aggregates, limestone, and coal trades quite likely for some of same customers as she served prior to her sale. She and her long-time fleet mate Calumet, the former Myron C. Taylor remained sailing under the American flag whereas her other fleet mate Mississagi, the former George A. Sloan was reflagged Canadian as a fleet mate to the Cuyahoga and Saginaw under the Lower Lakes Towing Ltd. banner.


Shortly after entering service under her new colors; on May 4, 2001, the Maumee allided with a concrete abutment of the Columbus St. bridge over the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, OH on May 21, 2001 damaging an 8' x 10' (2.44m x 3.05m) section of shell plating on the starboard side about 10' (3.05m) above the waterline. Repairs were made at Toledo, OH. Then on July 1, 2001 back on the Cuyahoga River at Cleveland, the self-unloader's stern swung into several pleasure boats docked at the Shooters Restaurant. The Maumee received no damage and there were no injuries but a couple of the smaller boats were heavily damaged. On September 24, 2003, the Maumee grounded in Lake Erie near Dunkirk (Buffalo), NY with an inbound load of coal. The vessel was freed the same day and continued on to Dunkirk.


On January 10, 2004; the Maumee arrived at Sarnia, ON for what was supposed to have been just a winter lay up. After preparing to fit out in the spring, the Maumee failed an annual inspection and was not cleared to sail for the new season. The Maumee remained berthed at Sarnia's North Slip for the 2004 season. With much work being done on the veteran during the winter of 2004/2005 including tons of new sheet metal, the Maumee departed Sarnia under her own power arriving at Bay Ship Building, Sturgeon Bay, WI on April 15, 2005 for more work, new paint, and the all important 5-year survey. With little fanfare, the Maumee departed Sturgeon Bay on May 16, 2005 returning to active service. Now considered one of the smaller members of the U.S. flagged Great Lakes fleet, the Maumee remains second only to the 1906 built St. Marys Challenger as the oldest operating lake boat on the Great Lakes.



Overall Dimensions (metric)

Length 604' 09" (184.33m)

Beam 60' 00" (18.29m)

Depth 32' 00" (9.75m)

Capacity (mid summer) 12,650 tons (12,853 tonnes)

at a draft of 22' 03" (6.78m)

Power (diesel) 3,240 b.h.p. (2,383 KW)












Wednesday, August 11

The Battle of Bushy Run, 1763 Pontiac War


By 1763 the British had about a million and a half colonists on the North American continent. William Johnson, British superintendent of Indian affairs for the northern colonies, said that there were about 50,000 Indians with 10,000 warriors, though scholars consider his estimate low. General Amherst commanded about 8,000 soldiers, but only about 2,000 of them were in the western forts.




On April 27, 1763, an Ottawa chief named Pontiac held a meeting with a number of Indian leaders from different tribes near Ft. Detroit. He urged the chiefs to wage war against the British. According to a French chronicler, he said, “It is important for us, my brothers, that we exterminate from our lands this nation [Great Britain] which seeks only to destroy us. You see as well as I that we can no longer supply our needs, as we have done from our brothers, the French….Therefore, my brothers, we must all swear their destruction and wait no longer. Nothing prevents us; they are few in numbers, and we can accomplish it.”





Pontiac convinced various Ottawa, Ojibwa, Potawatomi and Huron groups to join his confederacy. On May 7, he tried to take Ft. Detroit by surprise, leading 300 warriors into the fort with concealed weapons. The British had been warned of the ruse, and the entire garrison was turned out, armed and ready. Allowed to leave the fort, Pontiac began a siege of the Detroit settlement two days later. The stalemate dragged on, until Pontiac finally lifted the siege on October 31.
 
 
 


However, other Indian groups were rather more successful. Between May 16 and June 21, 8 smaller British-held forts were either attacked outright or taken by subterfuge. They included: Forts Sandusky, St. Joseph and Miami in Ohio and Indian; Ft. Ouiatenon in Illinois; Ft. Michilimackinac in Michigan; and Forts LeBeouf, Venango and Presque Isle in Pennsylvania. [Fort Michilimackinac was taken when the entire garrison of 35 men went outside the fort to watch groups of Indians playing stickball, a forerunner of lacrosse.] In addition to Ft. Detroit, several other British strongholds resisted Indian attacks. They included Ft. Niagara in New York, and Forts Bedford and Ligonier in Pennsylvania.

The Battle of Bushy Run
 
 


At about 1 p.m. on the afternoon of August 5, 1763, Bouquet’s force had already marched some 17 miles that day, knowing they were drawing closer to Ft. Pitt, about 25 miles to their west (just north of the present-day city of Jeannette, PA). It was likely about 80-85° F, with muggy conditions and little prospect of rain. Their canteens were almost dry, but nearby was a stream called Bushy Run, which would help slake the men’s thirst. Then, the frontiersmen scouting ahead were attacked by Indians. Sending word back of the ambush, Bouquet ordered a few companies of the Royal Americans forward to assist them. Almost immediately, the entire force was attacked on both flanks and rear by a large force of Delaware, Shawnee, Mingo and Huron Indians who four days ago had left the siege of Ft. Pitt to attack this relief force. [Col. Bouquet estimated that the Indian force was equal to his own.]



Perhaps some of the British and Americans in the column remembered Braddock’s Defeat eight years previously. In a sense, the action of the Indians was “déjà vu all over again.” However, there was one major difference. General Edward Braddock was a career soldier, had fought on the European continent, and was disdainful of the “savages” that eventually killed him. Col. Bouquet, by contrast, had spent the previous decade recruiting troops in Pennsylvania and fighting the Native Americans. He knew their abilities and their tactics, and was prepared to fight them on their own ground, in his own way.
Bouquet ordered his force to form a hollow square, using the slight rise of Edge Hill as their base. Concentrated volley fire and selective bayonet charges kept the mercurial savages at bay throughout the long, hot, muggy day. Finally, near sunset after seven hours of fighting, the Indians pulled back for the night. Almost immediately, Bouquet ordered the construction of a redoubt on Edge Hill. Lacking any other material, the soldiers used the bags of flour to build their protective cover. [Since that time, the “Flour-Bag Fort” has passed into legend.] Inside the redoubt Bouquet placed his wounded, their few remaining supplies and the livestock. The majority of his force hunkered down in the woods, using whatever cover they could find.




As dawn of August 6 approached, the evening sentries noticed movement in the woods. The Indians had returned, and appeared to be massing for a final all-out attack. Informing their commander of this development, Col. Bouquet began to make his plans. After the evening sentries were relieved, Bouquet realigned his forces. He took the grenadier and light companies from his three regiments – primarily the Black Watch – and arranged them behind one section of his line. Then, as the Indians began their attack, Bouquet ordered that particular section of his line to fall back, as though in disordered, headlong retreat. Completely fooled, the Indians poured through the gap in the British line…



On cue, the hidden companies then delivered a tremendous volley into the Indians. Then, as a second round surprise, the hidden soldiers of the Black Watch arose from hiding and charged the Indians with bayonets and swords. After a fight of perhaps an hour, the entire Indian force melted back into the forests. The battle of Bushy run was over.




The 247th year anniversary of the battle re-enacted at the Bushy Run State Park in Harrison, PA.
 
See all my photos on my Fotki.com site.

Monday, July 26

Our Beautiful God Daughter - Allison

My wife and I had the pleasure of a visit from our God Daughter, Allison. She lives with her parents in Houston, Texas. She is a smart and beautiful person.

Thursday, July 15

Photographs of Tall Ships in Cleveland 2010

The following are more photographs taken at the Saturday, July 10th Cleveland Tall Ships Festival.































The Captain of all he sees.




The Cleveland Lighthouse provides a great backdrop for the tall ships.


"Skippy" the smallest mascot in the minor leagues was in the crowd visiting from the Lake County Captains baseball team.

Casting a line to shore crew. The Roseway comes back from a 1 1/2 hour cruise out on Lake Erie. Lucky Dogs......

It was a beautiful day. Low humidity, 85 degrees and blue skies. The Goodyear plimp from Akron was on-hand most of the day flying overhead.

Eastern Air Transport, a Ford TriMotor aircraft was flying from Burke Lakefront airport on 15 minute sight seeing trips.





Plenty of security was on hand with the United States Coast Guard and the Rocky River Police departments.


Casting off and heading out on another short cruise. This stern shot shows how wide the beam is on this twin masted sloop.

More photographs can be see on my website.




Wednesday, July 14

2010 Cleveland Ohio Tall Ships Festival

Tall Ships Festival in Cleveland, Ohio 2010. I had the previledge to attend the July 10th Tall Ships Festival at the Port of Cleveland. Many thanks to
 Media Magic Productions, Jefferson, Ohio and the Ashtabula News Network for their assitance.


The tall ships only visit Cleveland every four years. This year they are visiting 7 locations along with Cleveland. The fleet had just arrived from Toronto, Canada and would be sailing off to Bay City, Michigan. The tall ships are a thing of beauty and grace. Only a few luck people get to work these tall ships. According to a Coast Guard spokesman, each ship is required to have at least 10 crew members.



I took over 1,00o photographs at this special event. You can see them at my Fotki.com website.

Friday, June 11

Relaxing With My Doggies

After a hard days work and then cutting the lawn, I relax with Simon and Tiger (under the chair) in our backyard. Photo taken by my son Ryan.  :)