Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2015 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. =========================================================================== Ludington Daily News Thursday, November 28, 1940 ADDED WITNESSES PROLONG INQUIRY Residents Near Novadoc Wreck Tells of Weather Condition During Storm -------------------------------------- HEARING ADJOURNED PENTWATER, Nov. 28. - (AP) - Coast guard hearing here was adjourned at 2 o'clock this afternoon after four witnesses, scheduled to be heard this afternoon, preferred not to testify. The hearing will reconvene at Ludington coast guard station at 9:30 o'clock Friday forenoon for further testimony. -------------------------------------- PENTWATER, Nov. 28 - Decision late Wednesday to hear four added witnesses kept a coast guard board of inquiry still in session here today with expectations that the board would complete its local work this afternoon and move on to Hart to take brief testimony there. The board of inquiry was convened at Pentwater coast guard station Monday to investigate all angles of coast guard activity in connection with sinking of two ships and grounding of two others in a gale Armistice night. Commanders A. F. Graza (sic) and G. B. Skinner of Chicago, in charge of the investigation, said the board would probably be convened in Ludington Friday to hear testimony of several witnesses there. Testifying this morning were Dr. L. P. Munger and his son, Robert C. Munger, both of Hart, and Walter Clayton, a farmer on one of the Munger farms near Juniper Beach, where the steamer Novadoc went aground with a crew of 19 in the gale. Seventeen survivors were taken off by Clyde Cross, Pentwater fisherman, about 36 hours later, on the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 13. Four other witnesses, Elwin Kent, Henry Koch, John Maynard and Cecil Stover, all of Pentwater, were to be heard at this afternoon's concluding session here. Tell Conditions. This morning's witnesses testified as to details of the geography and weather conditions at Juniper Beach, where the Mungers own con- siderable property, on the night of Nov. 11 and for the next two days. Witnesses were delayed this morning by blocked and drifted highways. Dr. Munger, first to be called when the public hearing got under way about 10:30 a.m., told of being at Juniper Beach the night of Nov. 11, saying the gale was the highest and worst he had ever seen. "Hearing that a ship had gone on the beach there, I returned to Juniper Beach about **:30 the next morning, Nov. 12," he explained. "I walked the shoreline about a half a mile to a position abreast of the Novadoc. The sand, wind and snow was such that you could scarcely see the ship. I met a coast guardsman and we discussed where it might be possible to get through with beach equipment. "I said I believed horses and tractors would be of little use due to steep dunes covered with crusty ice." Commander Glaza explained that coast guard equipment care is complete with pulleys, tackle and sand anchor for moving it in diffi- cult circumstances. Dr. Munger said that, in his professional opinion as a physician, the men on the Novadoc were safer in the pilot house of their ship during the 36 hours than they would have been had an effort been made to take them off in high seas. His son, Robert Munger, also told of being in his cottage at Juniper Beach during and after the storm. "It was the worst I ever saw outside of a West Indian hurricane off the coast of Florida," he related. Ship Awash He said it would have been exceedingly difficult if not impossible to get beach equipment to the scene. His cottage, he explained, was used by coast guards as headquarters while they were on duty at the beach. "The entire Novadoc, he concluded, "was awash with heavy seas all day Tuesday. So high were they that in some places the water washed inland a distance of 200 feet." Describing the condition of the beach, he said four sand bars exist at the place where the Novadoc went aground. "The Novadoc," he said, "cleared the outer bar, but broke up on the third bar, leaving her stern awash between the third and fourth bars and her bow pointed in toward shore. I do not believe a motor life boat could have done any good Tuesday, because the fourth bar, between the Novadoc and the **en water, was a seething mass of foam all day. Mr. Clayton, who took the stand just before noon, was scheduled to offer testimony to the effect that horses and tractors would have been available in the Juniper Beach region, had coast guard uses demanded them. On adjournement of the hearing, probably Friday, the testimony was to be returned to Chicago for perusal by district authorities there, after which it would go to Washington. Keeper Testifies Wednesday afternoon's session of the coast guard court of inquiry was given over entirely to testimony of A. E. Christoffersen, chief boatswain's mate, who took the stand at his own request. Mr. Christoffersen is commandant in charge of the Ludington and Pentwater coast guard stations and light houses at Big Point Sauble and Little Point Sauble. By virtue of his office as senior officer in command at the time of the wrecking of the Stmrs. Novadoc, Anna C. Minch and William B. Davock, he was named defendant for the sake of the board at the opening of the hearing. Later Alfred Anderson, boatswain's mate, first class, of Grand Haven, was named co-defendant as testimony showed him to be senior officer in direct charge of operations at Pentwater. Cmdr. Christoffersen told that the first call for aid came to the Ludington station from numerous vessels in the harbor on the afternoon of Nov. 11. At 6:45 that night he noticed from the ***** that the Carferry City of Flint was in a position where it did not belong north of the Ludington harbor breakwater. Investigation showed her to be on the beach a few hundred feet north of the harbor entrance. He ordered beach apparatus put out abreast of the Flint and, with members of his crew, stood by until about 9:30 that night when he was notified by Surfman Fred Ericksen that a steamer had been reported in distress north of Little Sauble light. Visited Beach Taking four surfmen, his testimony continued, he left by car for Pentwater where he visited the beach and then proceeded south stopping at two other places on the shore but could find no signs of the vessel. "Visibility was zero because of the terrific storm." he re- ported. He returned to Ludington at 3 a.m., first leaving orders at the Pentwater station for a beach patrol to proceed south as soon as it was daylight. Returning to Ludington, Christoffersen continued, he stood by the stranded Flint on the beach until daylight, when they shot a line over the carferry and took one man ashore by breeches buoy. Due to the lurching of the vessel, the lines slackened and it was necessary to pull the man through the water for some distance. He was found to be all right but was sent to the hospital for observation. At 3 a.m., the witness continued, he had dispatched a man to the Manistee station to secure assistance and about 5 a.m. on the morning of Nov. 12, Fred Wendell Jr., chief boatswain's mate, and his crew arrived in Ludington. At 9:30 that morning, he related, he returned to Pentwater and drove south to a point about one mile inland from where the stranded Novadoc had been located. There he encountered Alfred Anderson, boatswain's mate, and his crew from the Grand Haven station as well as guardsmen from Muskegon and White River. "I walked over the sand dunes to the beach," he said, "and had all I could do to get abreast of the vessel. Having had more experience than the average man of my rate of service, I used my best judgment and told Anderson and the other men present that it would be useless to try to do anything with the beach apparatus. Given Charge. "I told Anderson to take charge as he was the senior officer pre- sent next to myself and advised him to have the boat in readiness to go out as soon as possible. I did not know there was a living person aboard the Novadoc but there were 50 persons aboard the Flint and we were expecting a change in wind so I felt my presence in Ludington was required. She would be damaged by hitting the breakwater if the wind shifted and there was also possibility that our hawser might snap and I wanted to be there if such a thing should happen." "On my return to Ludington that morning I found our pulling surf boat was being swept through the gap between the City of Flint and the breakwater by the backwash and found the reason they had gone out was in response to a message from the Flint saying there was a man over- board. The surf boat finally got around the Flint and came ashore and we found it to be the body of a man off the Davock." Mr. Christoffersen related that great difficulty was experienced in handling the surf boat and shortly more bodies washed ashore so he dispatched details of men to follow the beach line and pick them up, many Ludington civilians helping in this work. On the morning of Nov. 13, between the hours of 8 and 9, the wit- ness continued, he went out to the City of Flint in a power surf boat where soundings were taken around the vessel at the request of officials of the Pere Marquette Railroad Co. Life Aboard Ship. "I had no information that there was life aboard the Novadoc until 9:30 that morning when retired boatswain Fred Staal of Pentwater arrived at the Ludington station and said people on the beach had counted 10 persons alive aboard the vessel and that the coast guards were then on their way out. "I immediately jumped in my car and proceeded to Pentwater arriving here shortly after the fish tug brought in the 17 survivors." Mr. Christoffersen explained that telephone communication had been broken to Pentwater on the evening of Nov. 11 and was not restored un- til the afternoon of Nov. 13. The weather began to moderate during the night of Nov. 12, he said. "When the wind and sea moderated did you consider proceeding to the Novadoc with the motor life boat from the Ludington station?" he was asked. "I did not know there were any survivors," was the reply, "and having left orders at Pentwater I thought either there had been no survivors or, if there were, they had been taken off as we had no difficulty in navigating our motor surf boat at Ludington on the morn- ing of Nov. 13." He said he sent no messages to Pentwater but expected he would have been notified if anything went wrong. Asked if he thought the motor life boat could have proceeded out of Ludington harbor on the morning of Nov. 12 and gone to the Novadoc, the witness replied that the trip could have been made in this boat but did not think it would have been possible to remove men from the vessel with safety at any time on that day. He also added, "If anything had happened to the City of Flint where I knew I had living people on board I would have needed that boat right there." Asked if he had left any orders with Anderson to keep him informed of developments, Mr. Christoffersen stated he did not recall doing so but took it for granted that Anderson was a competent man and would take charge of things. Cold Weather. Asked if he considered the question of the safety and well-being of the men on the Novadoc, should there be any aboard, Mr. Christ- offersen said he did. "I had been out on the beach with no protection from the wind all night and the temperature was such," he said, "that I thought if there were men on board they were in the cabin sheltered from the wind and would survive until the storm moderated. I did not think they would starve and I did not think they would be comfortable but I did think they would survive." Asked if he had received complaints relative to coast guard activity at Pentwater, Mr. Christoffersen said that two men, E. F. Kent and O. W. Osborn, introduced themselves to him on the morning of Nov. 13 and stated there seemed to have been some misunderstanding about the whole business but they hoped there would be no hard feelings. "Are you satisfied that Anderson put forth every effort to rescue the men?" he was asked. "Due to the fact I was not present, I do not know except by heresay what was done," he replied, "but I know if I had been here myself I would have made sure the motors were operating and possibly would have had a boat in the water on the 12th running the motor every hour or two to keep it from freezing so it would be in readiness for instant service." Christoffersen further continued that the boat could have been launched any time after midnight on the morning of Nov. 13 and sent out to the wreck at daybreak. Questioned as to why daybreak instead of trying to remove the men during the hours of darkness, he said he thought the rescue could have been accomplished with much less danger to the survivors after it was light enough to see. Mr. Christoffersen has served 29 years in the coast guard and during that time had participated in rendering aid in 13 major lake disasters, three of which were under similar conditions to those of the storm of Nov. 11. At conclusion of Mr. Christoffersen's testimony, Alfred Anderson, boatswain's mate, first class, named co-defendant, was asked if he wished to add anything to the record. He declined saying his testi- mony would rest as it had been given Monday. ===========================================================================