SS Cayuga
45°43′14.34″N 85°11′24.06″W / 45.7206500°N 85.1900167°W
Cayuga on the ways, prior to her launching
| |
History | |
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United States | |
Name | Cayuga |
Namesake | Cayuga Creek |
Operator |
|
Port of registry | Buffalo, New York, United States |
Builder | Globe Iron Works Company, Cleveland , Ohio |
Yard number | 24 |
Launched | April 2, 1889 |
In service | 1889 |
Out of service | May 10, 1895 |
Identification | US official number 126556 |
Fate | Sank in a collision on Lake Michigan |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Package freighter |
Tonnage | |
Length | |
Beam | 40.66 feet (12.39 m) |
Draught | 16.5 feet (5.0 m) |
Depth | 23.5 feet (7.2 m) |
Installed power |
|
Propulsion | 1 × 4–bladed fixed pitch propeller |
Speed | c. 14 miles per hour (12 kn) |
Capacity | c. 3,000 long tons (3,000 t) |
Crew | 30 |
SS Cayuga was a steel-hulled American
On the morning of May 10, 1895, Cayuga while bound for Buffalo with a cargo of oats, flour and general merchandise. A thick fog hung over
The wreck of Cayuga was located later in 1895. Due to her value, multiple attempts to raise her were made between 1896 and 1900 by Captain James Reid of Bay City, Michigan. His efforts were plagued by problems such as decompression sickness, the loss of several steel pontoons, a derrick barge and the alleged death of a hard-hat diver. Cayuga's wreck was re-discovered in the spring of 1969 by John Steele and Gene Turner.
History
Background
In 1843, the gunship
Design and construction
Cayuga (US
Cayuga's overall hull length was 308.8 feet (94.1 m) (some sources state 306.8 feet (93.5 m) or 308 feet (94 m)) with a length between perpendiculars of 290 feet (88 m) (one source states 292.2 feet (89.1 m)).[7][9][18][19] Her beam was 40.66 feet (12.39 m) (some sources state 40.8 feet (12.4 m) or 41 feet (12 m)) wide, while her hull was 23.5 feet (7.2 m) (some sources state 22.6 feet (6.9 m) or 25.5 feet (7.8 m)) deep.[7][8][9][18] Cayuga's gross register tonnage was 2,669, with a net register tonnage of 1,939.[7][8][18][20] She had a cargo capacity of about 3,000 long tons (3,000 t); when Cayuga was fully loaded, she had a draft of 16.5 feet (5.0 m).[9]
She was powered by a 1,500 hp (1,100 kW) 85
Service history
Commissioned by Buffalo's
Throughout her career, Cayuga was involved in several accidents.[8] The first serious incident occurred on April 9, 1890.[8][23] She was unladen and left Buffalo harbor at around 4:00 p.m. towed by the tug S.W. Gee. Upon clearing the breakwater in a full gale, Cayuga became unmanageable.[23] She drifted onto a shoal, broke free and onto the rocks at the foot of Georgia Street.[23] Due to the storm, the life saving crew could not shoot a breeches buoy to Cayuga until the weather had abated and her stern was firmly aground.[23] Cayuga was freed at around 9:00 a.m. by six tugs.[23] Several of her keel plates were damaged; all of her propeller blades broke off; and she lost her rudder shoe.[8][23]
In November 1891, Cayuga collided with the wooden package freighter Delaware off Cheboygan, Michigan.[8]
Final voyage
On May 10, 1895, Cayuga, under the command of Captain George Graser, was bound for Buffalo with a cargo of 35,000 or 38,000
A thick fog obscured visibility as the wind distorted the sound of the vessels'
Aftermath
The crew of Cayuga and Joseph L. Hurd escaped in lifeboats and were picked up by the bulk freighter Manola.
Lloyd's of London libeled Joseph L. Hurd's owners for $200,000 (equivalent to $6.15 million in 2023[C]).[34] The collision was determined to have been caused by mistaken passing signals.[35] Captain Graser stated in a letter to supervising inspector general James Dumont that if Joseph L. Hurd had also reversed her engine, the collision would not have occurred.[36][37]
Cayuga wreck
Salvage attempts
The day after Cayuga sank, the Chicago Tribune stated that:
Among practical marine men, it was believed that the steamer [Cayuga] could ultimately be got afloat again, but it was thought the expense would amount to nearly all she was worth. The work must be done with pontoons, and will be a long, tedious job.[22]
The first expedition attempting to locate Cayuga on May 13, 1895 was cancelled due to a gale.[19] Several people searched for Cayuga after she sank.[19][22] Five days after the incident, Captain Cyrus H. Sinclair of the Chicago based C.A. McDonald & Company spent a day unsuccessfully searching for her.[22][38][39][40] He concluded that her wreck lay in between 102 and 120 feet (31 and 37 m) of water, and doubted whether she could be raised.[22] By June, the underwriters had offered a $1,000 (equivalent to $30,729 in 2023[C]) reward to anyone who could find Cayuga's wreck.[41] On June 18, Captain Wilbur of the package freighter City of Grand Haven abandoned his search for Cayuga after ten days.[19]
On June 28, Captain Sinclair travelled to Cheboygan, to begin a new search.
By August 22, the underwriters had received bids from the Murphy Wrecking Company of
Captain Reid planned to position eighteen 8-inch (20 cm) thick cables under Cayuga's hull, which would then be attached to a scow with a carrying capacity of 1,000 long tons (1,000 t).[31][46][47] He also planned to attach eight steel pontoons (25 feet (7.6 m) (or 30 feet (9.1 m)) long and 13 feet (4.0 m) wide, with a lifting capacity of about 500 long tons (510 t) to Cayuga's wreck with thick cables, partially fill them with enough air to lift the wreck 8 to 10 feet (2.4 to 3.0 m) off the lake bottom, and then tow it into shallower water in Little Traverse Bay. There it would be patched up and pumped out.[17][22][31][46][48] Most of the oats in Cayuga's cargo hold were recovered.[31][46] In November, Captain Reid suspended the salvage operations, but claimed he would resume them in spring 1897.[49] By February 1897, Captain Reid claimed to have spent more than $40,000 (equivalent to $1.22 million in 2023[C]) on his salvage efforts.[31][50] On June 9, Captain Reid managed to break Cayuga free from the mud where she was embedded.[31][51] He continued to work on Cayuga's wreck until 1900, when he abandoned the salvage attempts.[20][30][52][53]
Reid's salvage efforts were plagued by problems.[17][22] The pontoons attached to her hull frequently broke free.[17] Captain Reid and several of his divers sustained severe injuries and decompression sickness.[22][31] One diver allegedly died when a derrick barge reportedly sank on top of him.[17][54] The barge later sank completely when one of the air-filled pontoons broke free and shot to the surface.[10][17] One tug used in the salvage operation burned.[55] The salvage attempts nearly bankrupted Captain Reid's company.[10][17][18][30]
Cayuga today
The wreck of Cayuga was re-discovered in spring 1969 by John Steele and Gene Turner of
Notes
References
- ^ a b Bugbee (1962a), p. 24.
- ^ Bugbee (1962a), p. 26.
- ^ Bowlus (2010), p. 85.
- ^ a b Thompson (1994), p. 32.
- ^ Bugbee (1962b), p. 48.
- ^ Bugbee (1962b), pp. 49–51.
- ^ a b c d e Bowling Green State University (2021).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library (2021a).
- ^ a b c d e The Marine Record (1889a), p. 4.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Kohl (2005), p. 284.
- ^ a b c d e Straits of Mackinac Shipwreck Preserve (2021).
- ^ Colton (2021).
- ^ Berry (2021b).
- ^ Berry (2021c).
- ^ Berry (2021d).
- ^ Berry (2021e).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m McGreevy (2014).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Berry (2021a).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Maritime History of the Great Lakes (1895a).
- ^ a b Swayze (2001).
- ^ a b Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library (2021b).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Kohl (2005), p. 281.
- ^ a b c d e f g Buffalo Evening News (1890).
- ^ The Marine Review (1892b), p. 5.
- ^ The Marine Review (1895a), p. 10.
- ^ The Marine Record (1889b), p. 1.
- ^ Inland Lloyd's (1894), p. 10.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Kohl (2005), p. 279.
- ^ The Marine Review (1892a), p. 6.
- ^ a b c d e f Harrington (1998), p. 254.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Maritime History of the Great Lakes (1895b).
- ^ a b c d Kohl (2005), p. 280.
- ^ The Marine Record (1895a), p. 6.
- ^ The Marine Record (1895c), p. 2.
- ^ The Marine Record (1895b), p. 6.
- ^ The Marine Review (1895b), p. 11.
- ^ The Marine Record (1895c), p. 4.
- ^ The Marine Review (1895b), p. 3.
- ^ a b c d e f The Marine Review (1895d), p. 5.
- ^ The Marine Review (1896a), p. 15.
- ^ The Marine Record (1895d), p. 2.
- ^ The Marine Review (1895d), p. 10.
- ^ The Marine Review (1895e), p. 11.
- ^ The Marine Review (1895f), p. 23.
- ^ The Marine Review (1896a), p. 10.
- ^ a b c The Marine Review (1896c), p. 13.
- ^ The Marine Review (1896d), p. 11.
- ^ The Marine Review (1896e), p. 13.
- ^ The Marine Review (1896f), p. 14.
- ^ The Marine Review (1897a), p. 11.
- ^ The Marine Review (1897b), p. 13.
- ^ The Marine Review (1897c), p. 11.
- ^ The Marine Review (1898), p. 14.
- ^ a b Kohl (2005), pp. 281–284.
- ^ The Marine Record (1899), p. 3.
- ^ a b c Harrington (1998), p. 255.
- ^ Hanakova (2021).
- ^ The Marine Review (1895c), p. 11.
- ^ Beaver Island History (2021), p. 3.
- ^ Beaver Island History (2021), p. 4.
- ^ Beaver Island History (2021), p. 6.
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