The Buffalo Aqua Club

Last but not least here we have a nice bonus round. It's the Federal Rhine anchored out, 2 miles off Buffalo. Their crew was using channel 17 for on board comms..., but they're speaking some sorta moon man language so who knows what the hell they were saying. Anyway, her & the Andean are both swinging on the hooks out there now. Andean reported to Seaway Long Point that she was loaded with sugar so that answers that. Neither one seemed very deeply loaded so I'd love to know their drafts. Sure is weird to see two saltwater ships at anchor out there with another one in port here. This has never happened here before in my time on scene since 1989. It's different for sure. See more

The depths & elevations of the Great Lakes. It's fascinating to see how they make it to the Atlantic!

Well much is scrapped this weekend due to the virus. "2020 Buffalo Postcard Show", scuba show "Beneath the Sea", "Shipwrecks 2020" and many other things.

Stacks of lumber sit along the towpath of the Erie Canal at the turn of the century! This area of The Erie Canal was located near Niawanda Park looking towards... Tonawanda Island. If you look closely you can spy the team of six mules along the towpath pulling the barge to the right in the background. See more

On this day (11/29) in 1966, the ore carrier DANIEL J. MORRELL snapped in two and sank during a storm on Lake Huron. Without power in the pilothouse and with no... battery backup for the radio, her crew was unable to alert others to their situation. When the MORRELL failed to contact the fleet dispatcher as scheduled, the company figured she was having radio problems. It would be more than 34 hours before Bethlehem Steel notified the Coast Guard that the MORRELL was missing. Amazingly, one crewman survived 38 hours in the frigid water with air temperatures below freezing before being rescued. As a result of this tragedy, the industry would finally address the issues of brittle steel and an aging fleet. The DANIEL J. MORRELL was built in 1906 for Cambria Steamship, a recently created subsidiary of the Cambria Steel Company. A product of West Bay City Shipbuilding in West Bay City, Michigan, she was 580 feet long and had a 58-foot beam. With an overall length just over 600 feet, the MORRELL was one of six standard 600-footers completed that year. Cambria Steel traced its history back to the Cambria Iron Company, which was founded in 1852. It supplied iron rails to the fledgling railroad industry from a plant in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The mill produced its first rail in 1854. The next year, Daniel J. Morrell was brought in to manage the facility. Johnstown proved to be an excellent location. The region could provide the ore, coal, and limestone necessary to produce iron. Furthermore, the town was located on the Conemaugh River, which connected with Pittsburgh. It was also along the Pennsylvania Railroad’s just completed mainline linking Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Under Morrell’s direction, Cambria Iron invested heavily in the Bessemer process. By blasting air through molten iron, good quality steel could be produced in less than one hour instead of weeks required by other techniques. The Johnstown mill rolled its first steel rails in 1867. Four years later, Cambria was the largest producer of steel in the country. As the supply of local ore dwindled, iron ore was brought in from the Great Lakes to feed the furnaces at the mammoth Johnstown complex. The last local ore was mined in 1881. Cambria Steel was created in 1899 and took over operation of the mill. Cambria Steamship was organized in 1906 to manage the steel company’s marine operations. Bethlehem Steel would acquire both the steel company and its fleet in 1923. The DANIEL J. MORRELL served Bethlehem Steel well. She was a reliable hauler that made few headlines. It was late November 1966 and the MORRELL was headed home on what the crew hoped was her last trip of the season. She spent the year hauling ore pellets from Taconite Harbor, Minnesota, to the Bethlehem Steel plant in Lackawanna, New York (just south of Buffalo). While she was unloading at Lackawanna, word came down that the MORRELL would make another trip. With the boat scheduled to depart at 11:00 PM on November 26, two of her crew decided they had time for a quick visit with family. The two deckhands, Dennis Hale and John Groh, returned only to find the MORRELL had sailed without them. Not wanting to miss their year-end bonus, they made arrangements to meet the boat when she stopped for fuel near Windsor, Ontario. Also headed for Taconite Harbor was the MORRELL’s fleet mate, the EDWARD Y. TOWNSEND. Another 600-footer launched in 1906, the TOWNSEND was built by Superior Shipbuilding at Superior, Wisconsin. She departed Buffalo four hours after the MORRELL. Both vessels were delayed near Detroit because of weather. After taking on coal, the MORRELL departed Windsor at 7:30 AM on November 28. Her captain updated the fleet dispatcher in Cleveland at 9:00 AM as scheduled. She entered Lake Huron about 3:00 that afternoon. Westerly winds were light to moderate. The TOWNSEND was not far behind. Concerned about weather, the two captains conferred by radio. However, there was never any radar contact. By 10:00 that night, winds were from the north at 50 mph with seas running about 12 feet. Just after midnight, the captains spoke briefly. Both were having difficulty holding their course. That was the last anyone would hear from the MORRELL. As she crawled north on Lake Huron in the early morning hours of November 29, the MORRELL faced sustained winds of 60 knots (69 mph) and seas running at 20-25 feet. About 2:00, the MORRELL suddenly snapped in two. A crack started at hatch 11 and tore through steel plates as if they were paper. The bow section lost power. Lacking battery backup, the radio was useless. There would be no distress call. In his cabin, Dennis Hale was trying to get some sleep. He heard two loud bangs. Books hit the floor and his bunk light didn’t work. He grabbed a life vest and made his way on deck. The MORRELL was in two pieces and her stern section still had power. Wearing only a pea coat (heavy wool jacket) and underwear, Hale joined other men on a raft and waited for the bow section to submerge. The men and raft were washed into Lake Huron only four would make it back onto the raft. TOWNSEND’s captain tried calling the MORRELL. There was no answer. At 9:00 that morning, the MORRELL failed to contact the fleet dispatcher as scheduled. All assumed she was having radio trouble the storm probably damaged her antenna. On November 30, the TOWNSEND pulled into a fuel dock near Sault Ste. Marie. The MORRELL, which had been in front of the TOWNSEND, had not yet passed. While checking his vessel, TOWNSEND’s captain discovered a two-foot crack beginning at the corner of hatch number 10. He reported the damage and proceeded to Sault Ste. Marie where the TOWNSEND would be inspected. Again on November 30, the MORRELL failed to contact the dispatcher as scheduled. At 12:15 that afternoon, the company finally informed the Coast Guard that the MORRELL was overdue. A search was initiated using boats, helicopters, and fixed wing aircraft. Meanwhile, the MORRELL’s raft had washed up on rocks a short distance from shore. It was spotted about 4:00 PM on November 30 by a Coast Guard helicopter. Guardsmen counted four bodies. Then one appeared to raise an arm. Incredibly, Dennis Hale was still alive. He had survived 38 hours in brutal conditions. The lake temperature was about 40 degrees and the air temperature had dropped below freezing. Of the 29 men who sailed on the MORRELL, Hale was the sole survivor. The TOWNSEND never completed her journey. On December 2, she was inspected at Sault Ste. Marie. More cracks were found and the Coast Guard withdrew her certificate of inspection. She was lucky to have survived. The TOWNSEND would remain at Sault Ste. Marie until 1968. She sank in the Atlantic while being towed to Spain for scrapping. The MORRELL’s aft section was found in January 1967. Her forward section was not found until 1979. About five miles separated the two. Dennis Hale had told investigators that the stern section continued sailing, fully lit, after the bow section went down. There were changes as a result of this tragedy. Ships over 400 feet that were constructed before 1948 would have to be inspected and reinforced. An emergency power source for radio communication and lighting in forward quarters would be required. Pontoon-style rafts would be replaced by inflatable ones. A position reporting system would be developed. Dennis Hale never sailed again. His severely frostbitten feet required several surgeries. He endured constant pain and became discouraged by stories about his survival. After years of silence, Hale wrote a book and began speaking to groups about his ordeal. He died September 2, 2015 at the age of 75. NOTES: Cambria’s Johnstown complex remained the largest steel producer in the country until surpassed by Andrew Carnegie’s Edgar Thomson Steel Works in 1876. Daniel J. Morrell was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1866 and again in 1868. He lost his bid for re-election in 1870 by 11 votes. Morrell was very concerned about the South Fork Dam above Johnstown. He had his engineers inspect it and offered to make repairs. Morrell died in 1885 and nothing was done. The dam failed in 1889 flooding Johnstown and killing over 2,200 people. The MORRELL was the first lake boat equipped with a gyrocompass. It was installed in 1922. Unlike a magnetic compass, large iron deposits do not affect a gyrocompass. PHOTO CREDITS: Unless otherwise noted, Great Lakes Marine Collection of the Milwaukee Public Library and Wisconsin Marine Historical Society. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help keep history alive. Join the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society. For information email us at [email protected] or call 414-286-3074. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reminder. Scuba meeting changed to 630 instead of 7

On Saturday, September 21st, from 9 to noon, the Buffalo Aqua Club will participate in their Annual Cleanup, which began over 25 years ago with the Internationa...l Intercoastal Water Cleanup Campaign, locally sponsored by the Buffalo Niagara Waterkeepers Organization! We will be meeting at the boat launch at the foot of Ontario Street, off Niagara Street in Riverside, and cleaning metal debris out of Cornelius Creek, a storm sewer discharge location. We are looking for able-bodied volunteers to assist with hauling up the ropes & buckets of scrap, and moving it to the scrap trailer located on-site. If you are an experienced certified diver, you are welcome to assist us in the diving by attaching ropes to the metal scrap underwater, or filling 5 gallon buckets with loose scrap metal. The creek is 6’ deep, 40’ wide & 100’ long where it discharges into the Niagara River. It has boulders, rocks, gravel, often sharp metal scrap & broken glass. Silt can be stirred up, reducing the visibility so caution and awareness of your surrounding underwater environment is necessary. Everyone will sign a sign-in sheet and a waiver of liability; please bring protective clothing and both a pair of sturdy work gloves & work shoes to reduce the chance of injury. The Buffalo Niagara Waterkeepers will be hosting a lunch afterwards, at an offsite location, TBA! Members of the Buffalo Aqua Club will be on hand to answer any questions about scuba diving or becoming a member of the club. For further information, please contact Michael at (716) 440 9425 before the event. Thank you.

The environmental clean up was a success. Divers once again made a positive impact.

Dive meeting Tues 7 Lower Lakes. Also Envromental Clean up(with Niagara River Keepers) Ontario Street 10 am this Saturday.

Saturday Sept 7th 10 am we will be meeting at the Ontario Street Boat Launch. After the dive we will be eating out. Whether you are a member or not or even a diver come on down. Please RSVP