The Goderich Signal-Star, 1975-11-06, Page 1IM
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SIGNALSTAR
1 28 YEAR -4'5
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Public Library,
52 10 tx�0,1
Go e 'ich, Ont. N7A 2G4
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1975
, THIRD SECTION
The Harnonic, one of several ships to survive the Great Storm. The vessel continued in
service as "a passenger ship untik meeting an untimely end, burning at Point Edward,
Ontario, in 1945.
16
II I
Captain Robert Foote was the
man who brought the
Hamonic safely to Port
Arthur during the Great
Storm. Jlie went oil to the
,iOloronic in 1914 and retired in
1918.
The Wexford, owned by Western SS Co., British registry, built in 1883, 250' x 40' x 20'.
Found in recent°months just north of Goderich Harbor.
This tombstone in Maitland Cemetery, Goderich,
commemorates the Identified seamen who went down
with their ships in the.Great Storm= of 1913, 62 years ago
this coming Sunday on November 9.
BY WILLIAM HUMPHRIES
- . dig s tearners -iere t-ossecabout like-aggshe4is" -Sarnia-ObserverNov. 1 1 1913
LASS
2b9 lives lost
The appalling loss of lives and ships
during the violent storm of November 9,
1913 staggered even the wildest of
imaginations.
.Eleven ships lost and • only . one's
position was known. Where was the
Isaac M. Scott, Hydrus, Argus, Regina,
McGean,. ,Carrothers and Wexford?
These are in Lake Huron. The H..B.
Smith and Leafield with a combined
crew of 38 men disappeared in Lake
Superior and Light Ship 82 with a crew of
' six foundered near Buffalo.
Wreckage from the ships lost in Lake
Huron washed ashore from Goderich to
Sarnia as did the bulk of their crews.
Some ,in life -boats, some clinging to
wreckage, some raging to each other:
Information as to their locations can
only be calculated by taking into con-
sideration wind direction, currents, time
and thearea to which most floatsom
from any given vessel appeared.
James Carrothers, the newest and
largest vessel on the. lakes launched in
May 1913 at 550', Bodies and wreckage
came ashore from north of Point Clark
to the Goderich area.
John A. McGean, wreckage -and bodies
came ,ashore from Black's Point to Port
"Franks.
'. Argus, last seen 25 miles off Pointe
aux Barques, bodies came ashore near
Kincardine.
Regina' wreckage and bodies washed
ashore in the Port Franks area.
Hydrus°, bodies and wreckage came
ashore in the Bayfield area.
Isaac.M. Scott, floatsom ashore from
Goderich to Port Franks.
As a sidelight of the Scott, in the year
1906 the steamer Erin was sunk in the St.
Clair river by the John B. Cowie' . In
1909 the Cowie was sunk by collision with'
the Isaac M. Scott, all hands were lost.
And as is known the Scott was a victim of
The Hydrus, owned by Interlake SS Co., built in 1901, 404' x 52' x 20', 8,000 tons.
The Argus, owned by Interlake SS Co., built in 1901,404' x 54' x 8,500 tons.
r
e
the Great Storm. •
Wexford, ks .'i?t in England 1883 and
charter(. -,d• to •.:'r•..:it I...t: est by,
Western A Stearn Ship Co., Toronto.
Wreckage and bodies came ashore froth
Black's Point to Bayfield. This ship has
been located and due to technical
problems salvage operations have been
held up.,
SOME MADE IT THROUGH
At the peak' of the storm winds reached
hurricane force (force 12 on Beaufort's
wind scale, above 75.frrph) and a blinding
snow storm engulfed the lake. A
harrowing experience for. any man and
the ultimate test for any ship. •
Whether it be .luck, seamanship or a
•combination of any number of factors,
Some made it through.
The trip of a lifetime was in ,tore for
the passengers of C.S.L.'s 'HAN/IONIC'
under the skillful management of
Captain Robert Foote,.
The `Hamonic' left the Soo about noon
on Sunday, November 9 enroute to Port
Arthur, As •the storm set in Capt. Foote
headed to the north shore. ,Although the
Ship
had -tons of ice on her decks the
passengers landed safely at Port Arthur.
A news item in the Sarnia Observer
states :','passengers and crew were in the
hest of spirits" which I believe would be
understatement of the event.
The stearner `George .0 Crawford'
arrived in Detroit, November 15 under
the direction of Captain W.C. Her. After
Cocking, Capt. Her reported that after
running the length of the lake, "It's a
miraclewe ever got through it, but we
did, without the loss of a man and the
Ship undamaged."
The schooner 'Sephie' which was
Ge�t.' Storm
caught in the storm averted disaster by
running to Cape Smith for shelter. The
ship dr r ged' her anchor and the huge
seas water logged the vessel. Capt.
McKinnon and the crew safely made
-shore.
When .the storm subsided .a tug „and
steam pump was sent out from Wiarton
and the `Sephie' was pumped out.
November 27, 1913 the `Sephie' arrived
in Sarnia with her cargo of lumber for
the R. ti Laidlaw Lumber Company,
nearly complete. During the 193 season
the vessel had made ten trips bringing
over three million feet of lumber to
Sarnia.
These were just some of the ships who
survived. Strange things occur. on the
lakes during such times arid it is im-
possible to sumise why some are lost and
others saved. Perhaps it is luck, perhaps
it is fate or perhaps it is the will t f God.
THE LOSS & THE AGONY
By Novembe'4 ' 17. the number of lives_
lost had reached 269; the property loss
had been estimated at $5,457,500. These
figures do' not take into account any
losses ashore or to boats suffering minor
damage, small craft or docks. The total
(continued on page 713)
The .11ohn A. McGean, owned by Hutchinson Lines, built,in 1908, 440' x 52' x 23', 8,000 tons.
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it was a long and sad funeral, sion up West, Street on its wf'0 to Maitland Cemetery.ever,
CemetThe loss of life in that storm was the greatest and
is commemorated annually in a Mariners' Servide in Goderich..
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