Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2017 All Rights Reserved USGenNet Data Repository Please read USGenNet Copyright Statement on this page: Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott for the USGenNet Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ =========================================================================== Formatted by USGenNet Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== The Advocate Sturgeon Bay, WI Thursday, April 20, 1911 MARINE OTTAWA'S CREW ARE LOST Five Lives Are Wiped Out In the First Marine Disaster of Season On Lake Michigan. TRY TO REACH SHORE IN YAWL Vessel Stranded Six Miles South of the Canal - Is a Total Loss - Entire Crew From Marinette, Wis. Lake Michigan exacted a toll of five lives when the schooner OTTAWA stranded on Stoney Creek reef, off Clay Banks, Thursday morning. The dead are Capt. Claus Weborg, age 32, married; Peter Buset, mate, age 35, married, family in Norway; Frank Vanefin, age 29, married; Carl Nyquist, age 20, and Victor Nordene, age 22, seamen, both single. All the crew with the exception of Buset were residents of Marinette. The OTTAWA, lumber laden and bound from Manistque, Mich., to Chicago, encountered the heavy southeaster that broke over this region with cyclonic force early Thursday morning, or during Wednesday night. Whether the vessel was endeavoring to get back to the canal or was attempting to weather the storm will never be known, but when dis- covered Thursday morning she was on the reef. It was foggy and for this reason the wreck was not observed by the lookout at the canal life-saving station. The disaster happened abreast of the Chris. Braunsdorf farm and the members of this family were the only living witness of the terrible catastrophe that wiped out the en- tire crew of the OTTAWA. Mr. Braunsdorf gives the following account of the tragedy: "About five o'clock Thursday morning I was awakened by the storm, which forced open a door. Getting up, I went out to the barn to see if everything was all right and on my way glanced out on the lake and saw what I thought to be the outlines of a ves- sel thru the hazy mist. She seemed to be headed out in the lake in a northeasterly direction. I got a range on the boat with a fence post and she appeared to be moving, though slowly. Suddenly the vessel disap- peared, a bank of heavy fog having drifted in and shut her from view. I rubbed my eyes to see if I was dreaming or awake. I went back to the house and thought no more of the vessel, which I supposed was all right. I went out on my farm to work about 9 o'clock. A little after ten o'clock my daughter came running and said there was lumber coming ashore. I quickly got a horse and putting the girl on his back told her to ride fast to our neighbors, Chan. Mackey, and tele- phone the life-saving station. She is a good rider and the old horse never was urged faster than he was this time, for the girl knew she was riding for the lives of the crew on the vessel. I ran down to the shore with my sons Christian and Joe and we signalled the men on the vessel by waving our arms so they would know that help had been sent for. Then the fog closed in around the boat and we couldn't see her any more. A big sea was rolling and as we had only a small skiff could do nothing. Pretty soon we saw an object coming ashore in the fog and as it got nearer the boys waded in and pulled it ashore. It was the OTTAWA'S yawl boat. We knew then that the crew were all lost if they tried to get ashore in the boat. "My wife and Mrs. Mackey walked down the beach and a little while after they saw the body of one of the crew on the beach and pulled it out of the water. Then a second and third came ashore. By this time the life-savers came, as well as a number of farmers. The fourth body did not come ashore until 9 o'clock at night and the last one four or five hours later. We tramped the beach all night. My family did what they could and nobody could have done more. I think the yawl boat capsized in the big sea as soon as the crew got into it. The wreck was half a mile from shore and the water so cold the men could not swim long in it." Just how the accident happened that caused the frightful loss of life is not nor never will be known. It appears that the vessel stranded about 6 or 7 o'clock. The crew had taken some bedding and food out of the cabin to prepare for a seige, these being found in the furl of the main sail. The yawl boat, which had a 6 h.p. gaso- line engine in it, had one of the planks knocked out of the stern and when picked up it was seen that an attempt had been made to repair the damage by putting a table cloth around a plank and strapping it in place, the nails and hammer being evidently where they could not be reached. The yawl boat was probably damaged when the schooner struck or in launching. The men put their belongings in the boat, which indicates that they did not expect the larger vessel to stand up much longer under the strain. The yawl either capsized or filled with water and sank soon after leaving the schooner. Benumbed with cold and probably exhausted from their battle with the storm they fell easy victims. The bodies were brought to this city by the life-saving crew Friday morning and deposited in Hahn's undertaking establish- ment. Saturday morning the remains of Capt. Weborg, Carl Nyquist, Victor Nordene and Frank Vanefin were shipped to Marinette on the train. The remains of Peter Buset was buried here by order of the head of the Roper Lumber Co., part owners of the OTTAWA, who paid the expense. Capt. Weborg was also part owner of the vessel. The disaster was a severe blow to the families and to the city of Marinette, where all resided. The schooner fitted out in Chicago and this was her first trip. This was Buset's first trip on the lakes. He was picked up in Chicago and came over from Norway last winter. He intended sending for his family as soon as he could earn the money to do so. The schooner OTTAWA was built in Grand Haven, Mich., in 1874, and is 125 feet long and 25 feet beam and was valued at $2,000. She was named for the county in which she was owned and constructed. The OTTAWA was the first vessel on the lakes to adopt wire rigging and when she came out was considered one of the finest ves- sels on the lakes. The lumber cargo on the OTTAWA was in- sured, being valued at $3,000, and by order of the companies carrying the risk the tug HUNSADER, with lighter DOHEARTY and crew of men and a 12-inch pump went to the wreck Saturday morning to save what they could. The deckload was put on the lighter and Sunday an effort was made to pump the craft out, but the big pump could not lower the water the slightest. This would indicate that the bottom was punched full of holes by the rocks on which she lies. Orders were then given to blow up her decks and save the lumber. The vessel was accordingly stripped of everything of value and yesterday the work of tearing her to pieces was com- menced. If the weather is favorable this can be accomplished in a short time. The schooner MARY E. COOK, Capt. Halgren, will take the lumber to Chicago, the cargo being transferred from the lighter. Capt. Halgren was personally and intim- ately acquainted with the crew of the OT- TAWA, both vessels having wintered in Chi- cago and been fitted out together this spring, each leaving about the same time, the COOK coming here for some work at the shipyard and OTTAWA going to Manistique to load. A brother of one of the lost crew - Vanefin - is a member of the COOK'S crew, and as soon as he and the captain heard of the wreck they went to Clay Banks overland and stayed until all the bodies were re- covered. A sailor's bag was picked up on the beach by one of the life-saving crew. On opening the recepticle it was found to contain $500 in money. Papers showed that it was the pro- perty of Ole Buset. Capt. Whelan will have the money forwarded to the man's relatives in Norway, where he leaves a wife and five children. In the bag were documents showing that Buset held first-class master's papers on the ocean. Diver Thos. Isabell will do the dynamiting job, and yesterday made an examination of the vessel with this end in view. -------------------------------------------- Depth of Water Readings. An item taken from the report of soundings taken in this bay and published last week, was misleading. It stated that the channel had the required depth of 21 feet and the shallowest spot was found to be 19.3 feet. To the average reader this is understood to mean that there is that depth of water in the channel. This is where it is misleading. The channel is dredged to a depth of 21 feet below the plane of reference, which the government engineers has established at a point 3.06 feet below the datum plane of 1838. All soundings are based on this plane and the readings given simply signify how far the bottom of the channel is below the datum plane, without any reference to depth of water. It is taken to find out whether the channel is filling in from the bottom up, which would readily show if the read- ings were found to be less than required below the plane of reference. It will be understood therefore that while the soundings may report 21 feet depth of channel there may be only 17 or 18 feet of water, or even less for that matter. The readings to ascertain the depth of water are taken at the canal, where a government gauge is maintained. Supt. Dier states that the water in the bay keeps up very well, there seldom being less than 19 feet, which may be said to be the minimum. The low stage of water at all the lake ports is becoming alarming and if conditions do not improve it will be found necessary before long to rebuild all the harbors. --------------------------------------------- ITEMS FROM CHICAGO. [Special Correspondence] All the craft engaged in fishing in the lake off this port are making good hauls of perch and chubs. The hull for a new tug is being construct- ed at South Chicago for the Great Lakes. It will be of wood. The tug W. L. MERCEREAU, Capt. Frank Butler, has returned from Ludington, Mich., where she was used as an ice breaker and tender for the Pere Marquette boats during the past winter. An unavoidable accident to her machinery put the tug FRANK R. CRANE out of commission pend- ing the making of repairs. The tug ANDY, Capt. Harmon, is kept unusually busy taking care of the stone carriers operating on the drainage canal. The G. & M. line steamer CITY OF BENTON HARBOR on Saturday resumed her place on the old route, and thereby inaugurated the season of navigation between Chicago and east shore lake ports. The other line boats have also re- sumed their runs, and business at the several landings is unusually brisk. The steamers NYANZA and CHEMUNG are in dock undergoing a general searching over, recalking and such other minor repairs and additions that shall be needed to make them entirely safe and seaworthy for the busy season. Both steamers are operated in conjunction with some big trunk line of railway. The tug ALPHA is here from South Chicago and was placed in the Dunham dock immediately afterward to have her hull looked over. Also to receive some needed repairs about the boiler. The tug PEERLESS has gone to South Chicago where she will do general overhaul- ing during the spring, and is now in the best condition for service. Capt. Gilbert Anderson is putting a bow- sprit and pawl posts into the schooner GEO. A. MARSH in Basin slip. The Dunham people are at work overhauling the barge JAMES MOWATT, comprising new starboard bulwarks, etc. Work on the tug HARRY LYDON is also being rushed forward as fast as expert artisans with an abundance of material can do the work, and another week or so will see her practically completed. Pending the receiving of a new crankshaft at the yards of the G.L.D.D. the tug ALERT will take the place of the tug R. SULLIVAN. The latter is also to be repainted and burn- ished up otherwise. The ALERT is one of the oldest craft on the lakes, having nearly forty years ago assisted materially in the work of constructing the Sturgeon Bay ship canal. She was owned by the late O. B. Green, one of the pioneer contractors of Chicago, and was always a money maker. --------------------------------------------- ITEMS OF GENERAL INTEREST. St. Mary's river and the foot of Lake Superior to Whitefish point is still blocked with ice. Capt. Christ. Christenson has been appointed master of the steamer J. W. WESTCOTT, succeed- ing Wm. G. Engalls. R. O. Hider, of Cleveland, engineer on the barge MARCELLO of the Pittsburg company, fell in the hold of his vessel at Cleveland and was killed. Masters of the Pittsburg Steamship company have received notice to be ready to take their boats out subject to specific instructions on and after April 4. The steamer PETERS has the distinction of being the first boat to pass thru the Straits of Mackinac for the season of 1911, this in- teresting event taking place on April 14. Chas. S. Kerr has been appointed deputy collector of customs at Green Bay to take the place of his father James S. Kerr, who has been sick for some time. The appointment is only temporary. The Gillen Dock, Dredge and Construction company has started operations on the Conneaut breakwater extension. Stone is being hauled from Cleveland to Conneaut with the tug JOHN LEATHEM and two big lighters. Cargo rates on wooden vessels, which have been increased about 100 per cent, on an average, will have, according to marine men, a big tendency to drive business to the smaller steel vessels. If so, it means the doom of the wooden carrier. Buoys have been placed in St. Clair river within the week. A bell and gas buoy has been placed on Corsica shoal to take the place of lightship 61, which is having her boilers re- paired at Detroit and will not be in commission for several weeks. Notice is given by the lighthouse commissioner that the Calumet bar gas buoy reported extinguished April 17, will be relighted as soon as practicable. The bell on this buoy is also out of order and can- not be relied on, but will be repaired as soon as practicable. The steamer J. S. CROUSE, Capt. C. ANDERSON, will be employed in fishing operations out of Michigan City, Ind., according to a dispatch from that port, having, within the week arrived there with an outfit. Nets are to be set and during the closed season in Wisconsin she will operate there. The new government lightship recently built at Muskegon for the New Jersey coast service will be taken to New York by Capt. Pennoyer of the steamer NYACK. The boat is equipped with her own power and will make the trip down the lakes, through the St. Lawrence and along the Atlantic coast to New York, where she will be turned over to the government. It is expected that the trip will require a month or six weeks and the lightship will start on the voyage as soon as the ice is out of the waterways. --------------------------------------------- GATHERED IN THE LOCAL HARBOR. The tug O. M. FIELDS, Capt. Clow, was in port Friday for a few hours. The schooner MARY LUDWIG occupied the boxes at the shipyard Friday for calking and minor repairs. A heavy NW blow prevailed Friday and Saturday. On Monday it blew hard from the south'ard. A new wheel is to be put on the gasoline schooner GLEN CUYLER as soon as the shipyard people can find time to dock the vessel. Surfman Louis Voight of the Racine station has taken the place of Bert LeClair at the canal station, the latter having resigned. Gasoline boats carried many people out to the wreck of the schooner OTTAWA on Sunday. She lies only about six miles south of the canal. The schooner J. H. MEADE, Capt. T. Lindale, was docked at the shipyard Saturday for a new centerboard box and minor repairs and calking. The steamer OGONTZ and tug ARTHUR lay in port Monday night while bound from Chicago to Cheboygan, Mich., where they will be engaged in the fishing business. The dredge of the Wisconsin Dredge and Dock Co. is on the boxes for a thorough overhauling and repairs, which will be carried to comple- tion as rapidly as possible. Capt. Chas. McClure, who was in the MATHEW WILSON last season, will sail the steambarge MARSHALL F. BUTTERS this year. The BUTTERS passed thru here, bound north, Monday evening. Carlyle Ramage has accepted a berth as assistant engineer on the steamer CITY OF NAPLES of the Gilchrist fleet. The steamer is at Milwaukee and Carlyle expects a call to duty almost any time. The steambarge NORMANDIE, Capt. Frank Johnson, passed thru here while bound to Green Bay with a salt cargo. She returned Saturday evening and lay in port over night, a heavy blow prevailing from the west'ard. Among the northbound passages thru the bay Monday morning was the steambarge O. E. PARKS. The schooner JOSES made her first appearance Tuesday morning passing thru under full sail, bound north in light trim. The schooner MARY E. COOK will not go into active service before the end of the month, Capt. Halgren having decided to take no un- necessary risk, which one is bound to do if he goes out with a sail boat before May 1st. The fishing steamer RALPH COOPER, Capt. H. Devine, was over from Algoma Sunday, the trip being one of pleasure as well as busi- ness. She returned the next morning. Fishing has not been very good for a number of weeks past. The government steamer SUMAC arrived in port Saturday evening. On Monday the craft began the work of setting buoys in Green bay and adjacent waters. The Peshtigo reef light- ship was taken out to her moorings on Tuesday. The steamer SAILOR BOY, Capt. Lars Madsen, made her first trip to Menominee Saturday, since which time she has been steadily on the go. The boats are enjoying a good run of business, being the only freight and pas- senger boats in commission at the present time on Green bay. The compasses of the steambarges I. W. STEPHENSON and MATHEW WILSON were adjusted by Clarence E. Long Friday. Both boats put on small jags of coal for fuel Saturday. The WILSON left for Manistee Sunday morning to load lumber for delivery at Muskegon. The STEPHENSON got away the same morning for Wells, Mich., to load for Chicago. While making a landing at Egg Harbor the steamer BON AMI bumped into a protruding spike and tore a hole in the covering board forward on the port side. Repairs were made by Boatswain Geo. Weis Saturday. No ice was encountered by the BON AMI in the ports along the east shore of the peninsula, a heavy southerly wind having cleared the harbors the day before. Capt. Sheen arrived here from Cleveland Friday to take command of the tug JOHN HUNSADER, which he will take below, together with the stone scow DOHEARTY, as soon as he can get through the straits without diffi- culty. This will probably be the first of next week as the ice was reported broken up Saturday and on the move. Frank Kimber will go as assistant engineer on the HUN- SADER with Julius Noil. The steamer BON AMI had a rough time of it Wednesday night of last week. She left here for Menominee early in the evening and getting out of the mouth of the bay encountered a large field of ice that was being driven along by a high southeast wind. Getting into the floe the steamer had difficulty in freeing herself the ice being quite firm. Capt. Hart kept the boat headed for her destination, but it was after 1 o'clock Thursday morning before she reached the west shore, the trip being one that will long be remembered by the several passengers on board. There was a raise of about 8 inches in the water the first of the week, which, however, is still a foot or more below normal. At the shipyard considerable dredging will be done, as soon as the out- fit is ready, to provide a greater depth for the boxes. It is likely dock owners will find it necessary to have dredging done also, unless there is a rise in the very near future. At Marinette and Menomi- nee the water in the river is so low that trouble is being experienced by the pass- enger boats in loading freights, the docks being so high above the decks of the steamers. ==========================================================================