Maritime
Features
Courtesy Ellora Martin
Is a Maritime Career Waiting for You?
It may soon be one of our industries most in need of new recruits. We tell you how to embark on the career of a lifetime in the maritime industry, whether it's aboard a ship or in port. more
Feb 1, 2017 12:00 AM Maritime
Three-Fingered Reilly
Veteran surfmen on Lake Superior's Shipwreck Coast always made it a point to teach the new men the gory details of the ghost of Three-Fingered Reilly. They wanted them to know that when they walked the lonely night patrols, they were not alone! more
Oct 13, 2016 10:44 AM Maritime
Courtesy Jim Dan Hill Library / University of Wisconsin-Superior
Great Lakes Fleet’s Ties to Duluth Stretch Back to 1901 and One Man’s Refusal to Leave the Big Lake
In early 1901, Augustus B. Wolvin told executives at the newly formed U.S. Steel Corporation that if they wanted him to manage the “Steel Trust” fleet, he’d only do it from his adopted hometown – Duluth. more
Jun 1, 2016 12:00 AM Maritime
Looking for the America: The Life, Death and Afterlife of a Storied Vessel
In the early part of the 20th century, the America was an elegant, 182-foot package freighter that served fishing families, businessmen and tourists. All of that came to an abrupt halt June 7, 1928, when the steamer sank off Isle Royale. more
Feb 1, 2016 12:00 AM Maritime
David Conklin
A Night to Remember: A Newsman and a Sailor Recall When the Fitz Went Down
Remembrances of the night the Edmund Fitzgerald sank from former TV anchor Dennis Anderson, who broke the story, and from retired sailor Lon Calloway, who that day rode out his first Great Lakes gale just 15 hours ahead of the ill-fated Fitz. more
Oct 1, 2015 12:00 AM Maritime 5 Comments
Alan Haraf / U.S. Coast Guard
54 Years After Tragic Explosion, Coast Guardsman Returns to Stannard Rock
Walter Scobie will always remember June 18, 1961, when his quiet morning was shattered by an explosion that ripped through Stannard Rock Lighthouse, where he was stationed. This summer, Walter returned for the first time. more
Aug 19, 2015 4:18 PM Maritime
Bill Howe
How the Soo Locks Were Made
On June 18, 1855, the steamer Illinois locked through upbound and ushered in a new era in Great Lakes shipping. But the Soo Locks didn’t come easy. The planning and building of the locks were as fraught with obstacles as the waterway they traversed. more
Jul 27, 2015 3:18 PM Maritime
How Underwater Detectives Found the Henry B. Smith: An Excerpt from “The Last Laker”
The Henry B. Smith was found on May 24, 2013, by a small team of shipwreck hunters. She had been missing almost a century, but through decades of effort, the team put it all together and solved one of the biggest mysteries of the Inland Seas. more
Jun 1, 2015 12:00 AM Maritime
Felicia Schneiderhan
Lake Superior Journal: Iron Man
Fe, our family's little Iron Man, always wears a life jacket by the water. But on this day, when we stopped briefly at the boat before a hike, he was not. And on this day, our 2-year-old tumbled from the dock and fell in. more
Jun 1, 2015 12:00 AM Maritime
Jim Marshall Collection
Lake Superior Journal: Paul Flynn, Hard Hat Diver
Still fully dressed in his diving suit, lacking only his brass helmet, Paul felt the barge capsizing beneath his feet. The storm had come out of nowhere, and now he was headed for the bottom loaded with weights and iron shoes, and no way to breathe. more
Dec 1, 2014 12:00 AM Maritime
Diane Hilden
"Why Are the Boats Sitting Out There?" We Answer A Few Landlubber Questions
Want to show off your knowledge about the latest maritime activity and season around our Big Lake? This story will put you in the know. more
Oct 1, 2014 12:00 AM Maritime
Elle Andra-Warner
Lighting the Northern Edge: Lake Superior's Ontario Lighthouses
On the Ontario shores of Lake Superior, there are more than 32 lighthouse sites, some abandoned, moved or destroyed, but others still active aids to navigation or year-round emergency lights. more
Aug 15, 2014 10:44 AM Maritime
In Memoriam: Captain Dudley J. Paquette
Captain Dudley J. Paquette, who served for 30 years as an officer in the Inland Steel Company fleet and was on Lake Superior as captain of the Wilfred Sykes on the day the Edmund Fitzgerald went down, has died. He was 88. more
May 20, 2014 10:38 AM Maritime
Patrick Lapinski
Inside Fraser Shipyards
On Lake Superior, the call for help to fix any mechanical, structural or electrical woes often goes to the sole U.S. site on the Lake that can handle repairs, maintenance and modifications to the giant “lakers” – Fraser Shipyards in Superior. more
Dec 1, 2013 12:00 AM Maritime
Konnie LeMay
James R. Barker on a Foggy Duluth Morning
The James R. Barker, one of the largest vessels on the Great Lakes, gliding out of the fog and into the Duluth Ship Canal on a July morning. more
Jul 18, 2013 3:42 PM Maritime
A Tall Tale: What It’s Like to Sail on a Tall Ship
Collecting experiences is my hobby, and I knew this one would be a winner even as we boarded Barque Europa for a six-day voyage across Lake Superior after the Tall Ships Duluth festival. more
Jun 1, 2013 12:00 AM Maritime
National Safe Boating Council
Safety First
Lapses in judgment on Lake Superior can turn fatal, no matter how savvy the boater or user. But proper precautions – which always start with a life jacket – can rein in perilous situations, keeping boaters safe and allowing for a worry-free day. more
Mar 26, 2013 10:07 AM Maritime
Phil Bencomo
Safe Harbor
For more than 40 years, the Twin Ports Ministry to Seafarers has provided services to the globe-trotting crews of foreign vessels that venture to the most-inland port of the Great Lakes system, helping make a hard life a little easier. more
Feb 12, 2013 2:29 PM Maritime
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Keepers of History
As the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center celebrates its 40th anniversary, it’s one of the most-visited attractions in the Lake Superior basin and an anchor of a hopping Canal Park. Annual visitation has even topped half a million in recent years. more
Feb 1, 2013 12:00 AM Maritime
