Re: Bow Sinkings

From: Franz
Location:
email:
Remote Name: 205.188.116.198
Date: 04.30.07
Time: 11:36:48 PM

Comments

Well depends on what you mean by salvaged. It can be used again - sure, her steel is in perfect condition. The tug was top notch when we lost her. It was running - we had used it that morning. We weren't far off shore - about 5 miles or so, just beach-combing bound for Grand Marais, running day hops, across the bottom of the lake with a day-crew only, bound for Duluth. It was supposed to be blowing from the South all night with calm seas building to 2 to 3' late. Beautiful night. Perfect window so we left that morning from the Soo, running the Seneca and towing the Susan Hoey. Once we got to Whitefish, we fired up the Susan, shut the Seneca down and switched tugs - reason being simply, we'd been running the Susan for weeks and all our stuff and provisions were on it. The Seneca I ran that day just to stretch her legs a bit as she'd been sitting for a month or so. Anyway, that evening the weather changed, unexpected - came around to the North and within an hour we had 16-footers and it was just wild out there, came out of no-where. The hawser was sliced on a piece of broken rub-rail on the Susan - new towing gear too. So the Seneca disappeared on us in a heartbeat and we weren't about to turn back - it was ugly! Poor old tug. She was a good ol' girl. There's a chance she may become a museum tug - or we might scuttle her in an Underwater Preserve OR hang on to it for an eventual rebuild. I've got a spare 16-cylinder EMD that would fit into her nicely. Who knows, we'll see. Like I said, I'm open to offers / ideas. If anyone wants her, email me.