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 Tuesday, November 26, 1940 pp 1 & 3 HEAR WITNESS IN MARINE INQUIRY Testify NOVADOC Crew Could Not Have Been Rescued Before Nov. 13 PENTWATER, Nov. 26. - A coast guard board of inquiry resumed its investigation this afternoon of activities of coast guard crews after hearing four witnesses testify that rescue of seamen aboard the freighter NOVADOC, which grounded off Pentwater in the Armistice day storm, could not have been ef- fected before the morning of Nov. 13. The inquiry began Monday afternoon, resuming again this morning. Two witnesses were heard Monday and two more this morning. Continuing this afternoon at Pentwater coast guard station, it was expected the hearing would not be concluded before Wednes- day afternoon or Thursday. The inquiry is being conducted by Commanders G. B. Skinner and A. F. Glaza of Chicago, who said Chicago district headquarters sought merely to determine whether the coast guard had been negligent in its duty. "Nobody is on trial," Skinner said. For purposes of the proceedings, it was ex- plained, two officers, Chief Boatswain's Mate A. E. Christoffersen, in charge of the Ludington station, and Chief Boatswain's Mate Alfred M. Anderson, in charge of the Grand Haven station, are named as co-defendants of the inquirty. Christoffersen originally was named as sole defendent, but Anderson was added this morning as co-defendant. Interrupting this morning's hearing, Comman- der Glaza announced that, in view of evidence, Mr. Anderson would sit on the board of inquiry as a co-defendant with Mr. Christoffersen. He said that the Ludington man was senior officer at the scene, and that Anderson was next in rank. Anderson, second witness to testify at this morning's session, said he had been notified the night of Nov. 11 by the Muskegon officer of orders from Chicago to take his crew, motor surf- boat and equipment to Little Point Sauble where a steamer was reported in distress. Visited Point. He said that he left Grand Haven about 2 a.m. Nov. 12, reaching Little Point Sauble about 7 a.m. He told of visiting the lighthouse tower there, explaining that nothing could be sighted. He said he set up a patrol of surfmen north, in turn taking his boat and equipment by truck to Pentwater station. "Shortly after reaching the Pentwater station," he said, "a call came in from our patrol, saying the grounded NOVADOC had been sighted about a mile north of the point." He told of taking the boat and equipment to the vicinity, but of being unable to get it over the dunes. He said Captain Christoffersen arrived be- tween 9 and 10 a.m. and, after making an inspection of the surrounding locality, said it would be im- possible to do anything with the beach equipment. "I agreed with him," Anderson explained. "We thought it would be impossible to get a life line aboard the NOVADOC because it would be impossible, in turn, for the crew of the NOVADOC to make the line fast. The ship was awash and the seas high. If any of the crew had ventured from their haven in the pilot house, it would have been suicide for them." Commander Glaza asked if the motor life boat from the Ludington station might not have been taken to the scene prior to the time the rescue was made Wednesday morning by Clyde Cross and his crew of Pentwater. Anderson said he didn't believe it would have been possible, in view of high seas, to get a line from a life boat to the NOVADOC. Criticizes Tugmen Anderson in turn, in his testimony, criticized the crew of the fishtug THREE BROTHERS II for what he termed their lack of cooperation. "When we were endeavoring to launche our surfboat in Pentwater lake about 8 a.m. Wednesday morning, it became stuck in the mud," he related. "I called to Cross's tug - which passed within 100 feet of us on its way out, to help us, but they ignored our call." "With the help of the tug we could have got going in five minutes. As it was, we were delayed 20 minutes. "We arrived at the NOVADOC about five minutes after the Cross tug, but Mr. Cross signaled that he had the 17 survivors aboard his tug." Surfman Robert J. Peters of the Ludington station, first to testify this morning, told of coast guard demands Tuesday and Wednesday in connection with the grounded carferry CITY OF FLINT 32 and a fleet of naval vessels in harbor at Ludington. He said the Manistee crew was at Ludington assist- ing in the work. He reported that the current was so strong in the Ludington channel Monday night and Tuesday that the motor life boat couldn't have been launched. He re- ported that the Ludington crew stood by the CITY OF FLINT Tuesday to remove passengers and crew if neces- sary. Found No Signs "Wind was reported to switch from southwest to north- west," he said. "If it had, the carferry might have been driven onto the breakwater, in which case those aboard would have had to be taken off." He told of making a trip south to Pentwater and be- yond Monday night, with Captain Christoffersen and two others from the Ludington station, in search of the ship reported in distress. He said no indications were found that night. In answer to Commander Glaza's repeated queries wheth- er the crew of the NOVADOC could have been rescued earlier, Anderson, before completing his testimony, said he believed not. "The skipper of the NOVADOC told me himself," he stated, "that he was glad we didn't try to shoot out a line. He said the men would have interpreted the move as the last and only means of rescue and would have undoubtedly been washed overboard in the attempt. The United States Coast Guard court of inquiry into the Armistice day disaster when three Great Lakes freight- ers, the NOVADOC, ANNA C. MINCH and WILLIAM B. DAVOCK, were wrecked in Lake Michigan in the vicinity of Pent- water, got under way at the Pentwater coast guard station at 3 o'clock Monday afternoon. The hearing was open to the public but was attended by few except coast guard personnel and members of the press. Commander A. F. Glaza and Commander G. B. Skinner, both of the Chicago district office, U.S.C.G., presided over the hearing. Glaza announced at the opening of the session that the inquiry was being held simply to ascer- tain if members of the coast guard on duty at the time had been in any way negligent of their duty or if they had done everything within their power to render aid to the stricken freighters and seamen on board. Commander Glaza further stated that for the purpose of the record A. F. Christoffersen, chief boatswain's mate, keeper of the Ludington station, was named de- fendant in the case. This is not because any specific charges are made against him but because he was the senior officer present in charge of the coast guard activities at the time of the disaster, said Commander Glaza. Under the present set-up, the station at Pent- water and lighthouses at both Points Sauble are in charge of Keeper Christoffersen. The first witness called was William B. Krull, keeper of the light at Little Point Sauble where the Steamer NOVADOC went on the beach, her crew remaining trapped on the wrecked freighter for 36 hours before they were finally rescued and taken to safety by the fish tug THREE BROTHERS of Pentwater, manned by Clyde Cross, local fisherman, and his crew, Gustave Fisher and Joe Fontain. Keeper Krull said that he first noticed a boat in distress about 8 o'clock on the evening of Monday, Nov. 11. It was then dark and the wind was blowing from the southwest at about 75 miles an hour. When he first sight- ed her, she was about one half mile south of the light and headed in for shore. He said he rushed into the tower to display flares to warn her off the beach and kept watch of her until she seemed about a half mile north of his light; then suddenly all her lights were extinguished. This had consumed perhaps 30 minutes of time. Krull related how he tried to call Ludington and report but found telephone lines were down. He then managed to get a call through to Muskegon reporting to the lighthouse keeper there and finally called headquarters in Chicago, receiving instructions from there to go through by car and report to the command- ing officer at the Ludingon station. He drove to Lud- ington where he reported to Alexander Rouleau, chief boatswain's mate, Keeper Christoffersen being absent on dutyin connection with the grounding of the Pere Marquette Carferry CITY OF FLINT. He said that shortly after midnight, coast guardsmen from Grand Haven, Muskegon and White River, altogether about 25 men, had arrived on the scene but were unable to do any- thing because of high seas and the raging gale ac- companied by a blinding snowstorm. He said, in his opinion, a surf boat could not have been launched from the beach that night or at any time during the following day, Nov. 12. The second and last witness for the afternoon was Raymond G. Chapman, boatswain's mate first class, of Muskegon station. He told of receiving the call from the lighthouse keeper telling of the boat in distress and immediately calling in to district headquarters in Chicago for instructions. There he was told to proceed to the Grand Haven station and direct them to proceed with power surfboat on trailer and beach apparatus to Point Sauble, releasing four of his own men to assist members of the Grand Haven crew. Chapman traced his trip through the storm to Grand Haven, back to Muskegon and then to Point Sauble, stopping enroute at Montague to get men from the White River station. He said the beached NOVADOC was discovered shortly before daylight Tues- day, Nov. 12, by Surfmen Ernest Pratt and Hector Monroe of the White River station who were patrol- ling the beach. He said the sea was very high; the wind blowing a gale and a snow storm raging. The Grand Haven equipment had arrived as far as it could come by motor but was not taken to the beach, first because it seemed impossible to get it there. Second- ly, it seemed inadvisable to try to use it because so far as they could ascertain the NOVADOC was in no danger of breaking up and members of her crew would be safer on board than by a rescue attempt during the storm. Chapman further testified that early that morn- ing he was informed that Keeper Christoffersen had been down to the scene and placed Alfred Anderson, chief boatswain's mate of Grand Haven, highest rank- ing officer present, in charge of rescue activities. Questioned as to the advisability of trying to launch a surfboat from the beach opposite the wreck, Mr. Chap- man stated that the boat would have been smashed in the attempt. Regarding the use of the beach equipment, the witness stated that it would probably have been impos- sible to get a line out to the stranded vessel because of the high wind and, if they succeeded in getting it out there, it would have been unlikely if it could have been secured there by one of the crew as the seas were breaking over the entire vessel. Asked by Commander Glaza if he would have done anything further if he had been in command of opera- tions, Chapman replied that he likely would have attempted to put the beach apparatus in place so they could have tried to get a line out to the boat in case she started to break up. On questioning by Keeper Christoffersen, he admitted that it likely would have been impossible to get the equipment to the beach as there was no beach at the time which was not awash with high breakers. Discussing the happenings of the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 13, when the fish tug left the harbor ahead of the coast guard boat and rescued the marooned men, Mr. Chapman said that early that morning coast guardsmen attempted to start the Pent- water surf boat but found that it would not operate because of a faulty motor and repairs could not be made as there was no competent personnel present to do so. He said the Grand Haven surf boat was then taken on its truck to be launched on Pentwater lake, where it got stuck in the mud and was detained for a few minutes until it could be released. He saw the tug THREE BROTHERS pass the station on its way into the big lake ahead of the coast guard boat and was present when the tug returned with the rescued men on board. He understood the Grand Haven surf boat was about a quarter-mile from the wreck when they met the THREE BROTHERS returning with the sur- vivors. Mr. Chapman further told of finding wreckage on the beach that day which was identified as coming from the ANNA C. MINCH and this was the first know- ledge they had that she had been anywhere in this vicinity during the storm. ===========================================================================