SeaWaves Today in History December 29, 2007 ********************************************************************* December 29 1669 - Mary Rose successfully defended a convoy of merchantmen against seven Algerine pirate ships 1708 - The first eight gubernias (regions) were formed in Russia, including Moscow, Petersburg, Kiev, Smolensk 1758 - A squadron of Royal Navy ships under Commodore Keppel, with an Army detachment embarked, captured Goree in Senegal from the French 1798 - First annual report by Secretary of the Navy, sent by Benjamin Stoddert 1812 - USS Constitution (Captain William Bainbridge) captures HMS Java off Brazil after a three-hour battle 1813 - British burned Buffalo NY during War of 1812 1837 - Royal Navy Commander Andrew Drew 1792-1878 and a group of Canadian militiamen cross the Niagara River to Fort Schlosser, and capture the American supply steamer Caroline used by William Lyon Mackenzie and his rebels on Navy Island. They set the ship ablaze, cut her adrift and send her toward Niagara Falls. This incident almost causes war between Britain and US. Legend says she went over the Falls 1845 - Texas was admitted as the 28th state. For Mexico, this was the last straw, because though Texas had fought and secured independence in 1836, Mexico still considered it a province in revolt, and had never accepted Texas independence at all. The Mexican War ran from 1846 until 1848, and the US got not only Texas, but also the huge western region that came to include the states of New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah and Nevada 1860 - Australian forces were deployed for the first time overseas, a detachment of sailors from the steam sloop Victoria taking part in an engagement ashore during the closing stages of the Second New Zealand War. In Britain, the Royal Navy's first ironclad warship, HMS Warrior, was launched at Blackwall on the Thames. The French had built the first armored warship, Gloire, the previous year, but had proved unable to build an iron hull, resorting instead to armor plating over a wooden hull. Warrior in contrast boasted an iron hull, wood only being used for shock absorption behind the armor 1897 - Congress prohibits killing of fur seals in the waters of the North Pacific Ocean 1903 - Executive Order extended the jurisdiction of the Lighthouse Service to Guantanamo, Cuba 1917 - Cruiser HMS Dragon launched 1917 - Destroyer HMS Viscount launched 1917 - Destroyer HMS Vivacious commissioned 1919 - Destroyer USS Clemson commissioned 1920 - Submarine USS S-45 laid down 1925 - Destroyer FS Trombe launched 1928 - Submarine HNLMS O-14 laid down 1932 - Destroyer USS Worden laid down 1933 - Ion Duca, leader of the Liberal Party and Prime Minister of Romania since November 1933, is assassinated by three members of the Iron Guard, a fascist organization led by Corneliu Codreanu. The new government, under George Tartarescu, proclaims martial law and arrests the leadership of the Iron Guard 1934 - Soviet submarine SC-124 launched 1934 - The Japanese Government formally renounces their participation in the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930. The 1922 treaty established the maximum tonnage of capital ships that could be built by the five signatories, the British Empire, France, Italy, Japan and the US The 1930 treaty aimed to regulate submarine warfare and limited military shipbuilding. The Japanese will no longer have to limit their fleet to the ratios prescribed by these agreements and can begin a massive arms building program 1936 - Soviet submarine SC-212 launched 1936 - Destroyer HMS Hotspur commissioned 1938 - U-57 commissioned 1938 - Groundbreaking for Lake Washington Floating Bridge takes place 1939 - US steamship SS President Adams is detained at Port Said by British authorities. The cargo suspected of being contraband is discharged at Alexandria 1939 - Submarine HMS Narwhal departed Halifax as escort for Convoy HX-14 1939 - RAF Bomber Command daylight anti-shipping sweep over the North Sea. Two a/c from each of 77 & 102 Sqn. No enemy shipping sighted 1940 - Destroyer HMS Cottesmore commissioned 1940 - Destroyer HMS Derwent laid down 1940 - Soviet submarine K-56 launched 1940 - President Roosevelt was reported authoritatively today to have drafted a $17 billion budget for the fiscal year 1942, including $10 billion for the armament program. In a "fireside chat" on radio, Roosevelt called for the US to become "the arsenal of democracy." The President made "the direct statement to the American people that there is far less chance of the US getting into war if we do all we can now to support the nations defending themselves against attack by the Axis than if we acquiesce in their defeat" 1940 - Greek submarine RHS Proteus (Y 3) torpedoes and sinks the 11,452 ton Italian troop transport SS Sardegna about 51 nautical miles east of Brindisi, Italy, in position 40.31N, 19.02E. RHS Proteus is rammed and sunk immediately after this attack by the Italian torpedo boat RN Antares 1941 - The seaport town of Feodosia, on the shores of the Black Sea on the eastern Crimea, is the scene of new Soviet landings with troops of the 51st and 44th Armies. These forces along with those of the 26th Army at Kerch will pose a serious threat to the German Eleventh Army. The Germans will halt their advance on Sevastopol to eliminate this threat 1941 - U-602 commissioned 1941 - U-647, U-714 laid down 1941 - Light fleet carrier USS Monterey laid down 1941 - Fishing vessel Fifer requisitioned as patrol vessel HMCS Fifer 1941 - Submarine tender USS Canopus is damaged in Mariveles Harbor, river gunboat USS Mindanao is damaged by near misses off Corregidor 1942 - Minesweeper HMCS Clayoquot began refit Halifax. Later moved to Liverpool & Pictou NS 1942 - Twelve USAAF Tenth Air Force B-24 Liberators attack shipping in the vicinity of Rangoon 1942 - Frigate HMS Bann launched 1942 - Eleven USAAF Ninth Air Force B-24 Liberators sent to bomb Tunis harbor during the night of 29/30 December find the target obscured by clouds and attack Sousse instead 1942 - 14 RAF Bomber Command Lancasters lay mines in the River Gironde 1942 - Six USAAF P-39 Airacobras and USMC SBD Daunltesses attack cargo vessels in the New Georgia group. Despite Allied bombing raids, the Japanese complete Munda Airfield on New Georgia Island 1942 - Destroyer HMS Armada laid down 1942 - High speed minesweeper (ex-destroyer) USS Wasmuth was escorting a convoy through a heavy Alaskan storm when two depth charges were wrenched from their tracks by the pounding sea, fell over the side, and exploded beneath the ship's fantail. The blasts carried away part of the ship's stern and the ship began to founder; in the gale, the pumps could not make headway against the inexorably rising water below. Despite the heavy sea, the oiler USS Ramapo came alongside the crippled and foundering Wasmuth in a display of seamanship and daring. For three and one-half hours, the tanker remained with the sinking high-speed minesweeper, battling the waves while proceeding with the ticklish business of transferring the latter's officers and men (134) and two passengers. After completing that heroic rescue, Ramapo pulled away; Wasmuth eventually sank early on 29 December 1942 - Battle for Convoy ON-154 continued unabated. U-123 sank SS Baron Cochrane & damaged Empire Shackleton; U-336 sank SS President Francqui; U-435 sank SS Empire Shackleton & Norse King; U-591 sank SS Zarian; U-628 sank SS Lynton Grange; U-662 sank SS Ville de Rouen 1942 - U-225 captured the master of the sunken ship President Francqui 1942 - U-349, U-1194 laid down 1942 - U-713 commissioned 1942 - At 2356, SS Ingerfem was hit by one torpedo from U-631 amidships. The ship had been in the convoy ONS-156, but had engine problems and lost the convoy after three days. The most crewmembers abandoned ship in two lifeboats, while the master, third mate and a gunner were seen struggling with a third lifeboat midships, but before it was launched the ship broke in two and sank ten minutes after the hit. One of the lifeboats, carrying 33 men, was later lost. The other with eight men in it, also had problems in the bad weather, it was taking water and finally capsized three days later. All men get into it again, but the first mate and two crewmen died, standing upright in the boat, that same day. After one week, the boat had taken too much water and turned over again. The remaining men managed to straighten it out, but that night four of them died, leaving the gunner Ole Nęss (age 22) alone in the boat. He "buried" the dead in the sea, but it had all been too much for him and he jumped overboard, but a wave immediately washed him on board again. Then he drank large amounts of seawater in an attempt to end his life, but that did not succeed either. On 11 January, the lifeboat was spotted about 500 miles west of Scotland by the American steam merchant Staghound. The sole survivor was then unconscious and could not be straightened out so he was lifted in sitting position onto the vessel, where the doctor on board gave him the best care possible, until he could be taken to the hospital in Ards District near Belfast two days later, suffering from severe shock and salt water sores. He was nursed back to health again, though his legs for a long time were threatened by gangrene, but he was spared from amputation. 1943 - U-515 saved 33 survivors from the sunken German torpedo boat T 33 1943 - U-530 was forced to return to base after being rammed by the tanker Esso Buffalo 1943 - Destroyers HMCS Haida, Huron & Iroquois arrived Kola Inlet with Convoy JW-55B 1943 - Frigate HMCS (ex-HMS) Annan launched Aberdeen, Scotland 1943 - Minesweeper HMCS Kalamalka launched Vancouver BC 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Naifeh laid down 1943 - Escort carrier USS Makassar Strait laid down 1943 - Minesweeper USS Eager laid down 1943 - Frigates USS Key West & New Bedford launched 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Riley & Martin H Ray launched 1943 - Escort carrier USS Ommaney Bay launched 1943 - French submarine FR Protee was disarmed at Alexandria and interned by the British on 22 June 1940. The ship rejoined the Allied fleet and was rearmed on 30 May 1943. Today, the submarine is sunk by German aircraft while on patrol between Toulon and Marseilles 1943 - Submarine HMS Sturdy commissioned 1943 - Minesweeper USS Swift commissioned 1943 - U-300, U-1167 commissioned 1943 - Submarine USS Silversides sinks a Japanese transport, an army cargo ship and a merchant cargo ship and damages an army cargo ship about 63 nautical miles northwest of the Palau Islands 1943 - Three B-25 Mitchells on a shipping sweep along the Yangtze River sink an army cargo ship and a merchant cargo ship and damage an army cargo ship southwest of Wuhu 1943 - RAF Bomber Command Stirlings lay mines off Bay of Biscay ports, four off La Pallice and three off Gironde 1943 - RAF Bomber Command Stirlings lay mines, seven in the Frisian Islands and four off Texel Island 1943 - In the Adriatic Sea on the north side of the Peljesac Peninsula in Yugoslavia, USAAF P-40s damage a vessel 1943 - B-24 Liberators fly a light attack against Manokwari, hitting the town and shipping 1944 - Destroyers USS Rowan & Vesole launched 1944 - Minesweeper USS Murrelet launched 1944 - Minesweeper USS Fixity commissioned 1944 - Submarine USS Quillback commissioned 1944 - U-3518 commissioned 1944 - U-2360 launched 1944 - SS Arthur Sewall was travelling in the two column convoy TBC-21 as the fourth ship in the port column (listed as station #18), when the convoy was attacked by U-772 seven miles SE of Portland Bill Lighthouse. The two Liberty ships Arthur Sewall and Black Hawk were torpedoed and damaged beyond repair. The Arthur Sewall was struck by one torpedo on the port side in the engine room. The torpedo entered the machinery space and traveled over ten feet before exploding. The blast demolished the engines and the port boilers and created a hole 20 feet long. Five men were burned badly and one officer was killed on watch below. The keel remained as the only structural member holding the ship together. The vessel settled by the stern four feet and remained on even keel. The crew of eight officers, 32 men and 29 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, one 3in and eight 20mm guns) did not abandon ship. One injured fireman died next day. The tug Pilot took the vessel in tow and she arrived at Weymouth nine hours later, where she was declared a total loss. After the war she was towed to Portland, where she was temporarily repaired before she was towed to Bremerhaven. She was loaded with obsolete chemical ammunition, towed to sea and was scuttled in the North Sea on 26 Oct 1946. SS Black Hawk was travelling in the two-column convoy TBC-21 as the last ship in the starboard column, when the convoy was attacked by U-772 seven miles SE of Portland Bill Lighthouse. The Black Hawk was struck by one torpedo two minutes after the Arthur Sewall was hit 500 yards off the bow. The torpedo struck on the port side at the #5 hatch, set off the after magazine, completely destroyed the after section of the ship and shot flames and smoke 150 feet into the air. The engines were immediately secured as the ship sank by the stern. A crack appeared at the #3 hatch and water entered #3 and #4 holds and the engine room until only the forward two compartments kept the ship afloat. 30 minutes after the attack, the seven officers, 34 men and 27 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, one 3in and eight 20mm guns) and one Army security officer began to abandon ship in four boats and two rafts. The men were picked up by corvette HMS Dahlia & landed at Brixham at 2030. Four men were injured and the cook died ashore in a hospital. A salvage crew later boarded the vessel to prepare her to be towed to Warboro Bay, where she was beached an declared a total loss 1944 - Soviet ASW trawler T-883/No 37 (ex-RT-45 Dvina) sunk by U-995 in Convoy KB-37 1944 - While the FS-349 was participating in "U plus15, L-13" resupply of the Mindoro force, in the Philippines, the convoy was attacked at 0815 by several enemy aircraft. It was a single-engine plane, similar to an enemy "HAP," and approached the convoy from the port side. The port twin 50 caliber machine guns opened fire. The plane's apparent objective was to crash dive into the USS Porcupine (IX-126) 700 yards on the FS-349's starboard beam. Tracer projectiles from the FS-349's machine guns were observed entering the fuselage of the plane about the cockpit. The plane crashed about 300 yards off the FS-349's starboard bow at 0819 without inflicting damage to the convoy. Later at 2130 on the same day the convoy was attacked by an undetermined number of enemy aircraft and one of these was destroyed as a result of gunfire from the FS-349 1944 - During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 16 Lancasters to attack the E-boat pens at Rotterdam; all bomb the target scoring several hits 1944 - 11 RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos lay mines in the Oslo Fjord 1945 - Minesweeper USS Minivet mined & sunk Tsushima Straits. 31 crewmembers died 1945 - Lavrenty Beria was relieved from the duties of the minister of the interior and entrusted with work to supervise the implementation of the USSR nuclear weapon program 1945 - FS Richelieu departs from Indochina 1945 - The Department of National Defense releases World War II casualty statistics: 41,371 Canadians in service killed, 43,178 wounded, 10,844 made prisoners of war, 32 missing in action 1956 - HMCS Magnificent sails for Port Said, Egypt with Canadian troops and equipment to monitor the ceasefire between Franco-British and Egyptian forces. It is Canada's first experience with peacekeeping - an idea of Canada's Minister of External Affairs and Nobel Prize laureate, Lester B. Pearson 1967 - USS Ranger port call Subic Bay 1974 - USS Coral Sea port call Subic Bay 1992 - Fisheries Minister John Crosbie of Canada bans capture of beluga whales for export; after pair die in a Chicago aquarium 2002 - USNS Bob Hope laid up 2004 - International Forest Products Limited announced it has concluded the sale of property representing 70% of the Company's former Fraser Mills property in Coquitlam BC 2004 - President Bush orders Maritime Prepositioning Squadron Three to deploy from Guam to assist in Asian Tsunami relief operations 2005 - The local emergencies commission in the Russian Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk has decided to end the high alert status when the benzene slick in the Amur River moves past the city, experts said. The water supply for the residents of Khabarovsk, home to about 600,000, has been declared safe to drink mostly due to double purification measures using absorbent carbon. Experts have left for the city of Amursk in the Khabarovsk Territory, where the slick is expected to reach January 2-3. "Everything is in place to monitor and control the local water in the Amur," the spokesman said. The emergencies headquarters has moved to Komsomolsk-on-Amur, 360 km from Khabarovsk. Officials will be monitoring the movement of the slick along the Amur, testing ice samples and fish, and evaluating the environmental damage 2005 - The influx of illegal fishing boats off the Kimberley coast is continuing, with another Indonesian vessel apprehended by the Navy. The vessel with 19 crew on board was caught near the Bedford Islands, at the mouth of King Sound - about 30 nautical miles from the mainland. It is understood the boat was equipped to fish for the highly valuable trochus shell. Customs district manager Peter Constantino says aerial surveillance detected the boat near the Bedford Islands, about 30 nautical miles from the mainland, on Boxing Day. He says the authorities then called in the HMAS Fremantle. "They apprehended this foreign fishing vessel with 19 Indonesian crew on board on the afternoon of the 27th and they were brought into Broome this morning at seven o'clock, where they were handed over to the investigation and interviewed by Customs and federal Fisheries officers," he said 2005 - TBS International Limited announced today that it has reached agreement to expand its fleet of vessels through the planned acquisition of MV Kibishio Maru. MV Kibishio Maru is a 19,777 dwt multipurpose tweendecker that was built in 1984 2005 - Acting US Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England has relinquished his post as secretary of the Navy, Defense Department officials announced. He will continue to serve as acting deputy secretary of defense, officials said. England has served as Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's deputy since May, when former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz left the Pentagon to head up the World Bank. Over two terms as Navy secretary, England served a total of 48 months. His terms were separated by his service as the first deputy secretary of the Homeland Security Department. For the past eight months, he has served in both the Navy post and as acting deputy secretary of defense 2005 - A Hercules plane and a Cormorant helicopter from CFB Greenwood, as well as two coast guard vessels, searched the waters around Rainbow Haven near Cole Harbour. A woman called emergency officials around 1600 saying she was sure she saw a man in an orange jacket in the water, waving his arms. Air searches were eventually called off, but eight ground crews continued to comb the marshy areas near Cole Harbour looking for any sign of what could be a lost windsurfer. Two zodiacs, or fast rescue crafts, kept the search going on the water. The larger coast guard ships could not get in close enough because of the marshy water. Capt. Brian Degeer, air controller with Halifax RCC, said some objects that could be balloons, buoys or lobster pots were spotted during the search 2005 - Dive companies in Wellington are reporting a huge boom in trade since the ex-HMNZS Wellington frigate was sunk. It might be 21 meters down in the ocean, but it has become the region's number one dive attraction, pulling in scuba enthusiasts from across the world. 2005 - The Ryongnam Ship Repair Factory of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has been reconstructed on an expansion basis. The factory successfully constructed a large dock, three wharves to repair big cargo ships, a combined repair workshop, an acetylene generating workshop, oxygen generating workshop, a heavy oil power plant, a wind and solar power station over the last four years. The newly built Dock No. 2 can repair several ships of tens of thousands of tons simultaneously. The repair processes are automated and controlled by computer. There are in the dock a horizontal jib crane, gantry crane and general control room. It is divided into the main sluice, operated by computer, and the middle one. The combined repair workshop which covers the floor space of over 17,000 square meters specializes in making ship-body pipes while repairing propellers and power system. The acetylene-generating workshop does not produce any industrial spent water. The wind and solar power station turns out stabilized electricity for the general control room, dwelling houses and cultural welfare facilities. Its expansion on a modern basis has consolidated the material and technical foundation for developing water transport 2005 - The Alaska Marine Highway System's MV LeConte departed Bellingham enroute to Ketchikan following emergency repairs to its propulsion shafts at Todd Shipyard in Seattle 2005 - E.A. Technique (M) Sdn Bhd (EAT) appointed Sumber Samudra Sdn Bhd (Samudra) to design and construct two new tankers as part of its fleet expansion exercise, according to a report on www.biz.thestar.com. The company expects to take delivery of the first 4,200 dwt product tanker by the first half of 2007, followed by a 6,000 dwt chemical tanker six months after that. Perak-based Samudra has completed two harbor tugs and a security boat for EAT since 2004. The new vessels, which will be financed through bank borrowings, will increase EAT's fleet to 10 ships from the current eight 2005 - The China Shipbuilding Corp said in a report that the company currently has orders totaling more than $2.68 billion, according to a report on TaipeiTimes.com The written report was presented by the CSBC to the Science and Technology Committee of the Legislative Yuan which is set to review the CSBC's budget for next year. The CSBC said that it currently has orders for building 51 commercial ships as well as orders for building 30 military vessels 2005 - MISC Bhd has secured two long-term charters for its LNG carriers with Yemen LNG Company (YLNG) for the transportation of the commodity from Yemen to the US and Mexico, according to a report on www.theedgedaily.com. Under the charter party agreement, MISC will provide two 157,000 cu. m. LNG carriers to YLNG for the shipment of LNG from Balhaf in Yemen to Total Gas & Power Ltd facilities at Sabine Pass, Louisiana and Altamira in Mexico. The duration of the charter parties is 20 years each with the option to extend for one plus five, plus five years (1+5+5 years), MISC said in a statement. The LNG carriers under construction in Japan now were scheduled to be delivered in the first quarter of 2009 and start operations between April and September the same year 2005 - ROK Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries said an international distribution center catering to ships will be established at Namhang (south port) in Busan. The ministry said the International Ship Supplies Distribution Center would drastically improve the distribution system of ship supplies and develop Busan port as a hub of ship supplies in Northeast Asia. The planned center with a 49,500 square meter floor space on a 17,800 square meter plot will be built on a site, where the Korea Institute of Maritime and Fisheries Technology and other fisheries-related organizations are located. The ministry hopes the center's establishment will create economic effect worth 1.71 billion won a year in the form of reduced cost and prices as well as job creation 2005 - The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System announced that the 47th navigation season for the St. Lawrence Seaway closed with passage of the tanker Maria Desgagnes though the St. Lambert Lock. The seaway was open for 280 days during 2005 2006 - More than a day after a crowded Indonesian ferry broke apart and sank in the Java Sea, the vast majority of the nearly 640 passengers are still missing. The ship went down in a violent storm that sent massive waves crashing over its decks. Rescue efforts have been hampered by continuing rough seas, and so far only 66 survivors have been found -- most plucked from lifeboats drifting at sea. No bodies have been found, leaving almost 600 people unaccounted for 2006 - Two ships each carrying 150 tons of refined oil arrived in southwest China's Yunnan Province from neighboring Thailand via the Mekong River, marking the trial launch of China's oil shipping program with its Southeast Asian partners 2006 - Two crewmembers of an American submarine have died after falling overboard in Plymouth Sound. They were among four crewmen who were working in poor weather on the outside casing of the USS Minneapolis-St Paul off the Devon coast. A rescue helicopter from RNAS Culdrose, a tug and a lifeboat were sent to the men's aid while they were tied on to the side of the 110m (362ft) vessel. The sailors were brought back to shore and taken by ambulance to hospital. They were taken to Derriford hospital in Plymouth. They were tied on but getting battered about by the weather Brixham Coastguard spokesman The two other men were transferred to the sick bay at the HMS Drake and later released 2006 - At 1430 Shetland Coastguard received a call from the Gibraltar registered general cargo vessel `Fehn Mistral' advising she had lost 20 empty containers overboard 8 miles east of Stronsay, Orkney. Weather conditions at the time were SSE force 10 winds with very rough sea conditions 2006 - Taiwan’s legislature approved the first reading of a controversial arms budget for equipment first promised by the Bush administration in 2001 2006 - 86th officer commissioning parade held at the Pakistan Naval Academy, PNS Rahbar 2006 - Stolt-Nielsen S.A. completed the sale of its 25% shareholding in Marine Harvest N.V. to Geveran Trading Co. Ltd. (which in turn contributed the business to Pan Fish ASA) after the recent approvals of the transaction from U.K. and French competition authorities 2006 - The consortium responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Öresund Bridge has recommended people to avoid travelling under the bridge because of the risk off falling concrete. Fishermen, boaters and wind-surfers have all been advised to stay away from the bridge that connects Sweden and Denmark 2006 - Kalmar, the business area providing container handling solutions within Cargotec, has won order from Finnsteve of four ship-to-shore (STS) cranes to the new Vuosaari Port in Helsinki 2006 - General cargo Fehn Mistral (2478 grt, built 1993), bound Kirkwall, lost 19 20-ft containers and one 40-ft container overboard in lat 59 09.2N, long 02 16.9W, at 1430, UTC, today. Weather: Wind south-south-east, force 10 2006 - Montrose Port Control alerted Forth Coastguard to the general cargo Emsland (1857 grt, built 1984) which had gone aground in the channel just outside Montrose as it was heading to sea. The vessel is carrying 2000 tons of log timbers. There was no danger to the six crew aboard, who have remained on the vessel throughout. The weather on scene was force 5 to 7 (fresh breeze - near gale) at the time of the grounding with the wind on its starboard side. Checks around the vessel which is listing at 5 degrees on the Annat Bank identified that it was not losing any oil and there was some hope that with a further three meters of tide due to come in she might have floated off at high water. The Montrose lifeboat was launched and along with two pilot boats attempted to tow her off the sand. This proved fruitless and the tow attempt was abandoned after one of the vessels lost a guardrail ============================================================= Sources: Colton Shipping Report, NOAA, MARAD, Marine Digest, Leo Pettipas, Kommersant, Samuel Loring Morison, Frank Pierce Young, Navy Times, Naval Institute Proceedings, www.uboat.net, Andrew Etherington, John Nicholas, US Naval Historical Center, Ministry of Defense, US Coast Guard, Thomas N. Carlson, Jack Arrowsmith, Allan Snowie, Ken Hansen, Andy Barber, John Weiss, Jack McKillop, Bernard de Neumann, Sympatico Today in History, Washington History Link, Lloyds List, Fairplay, New York Times, I-Newswire and other news sources in the public domain. Additions, submissions and corrections are always welcomed. ============================================================= Today in History Archives at: http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/today_in_history_archive.htm Copyright 2007 Shirlaw News Group ISSN 1710-6966 Photos courtesy of US Naval Historical Center, US Coast Guard Historical Center, Wikipedia Encyclopedia or Naval Museum of Manitoba unless otherwise noted. Images may be subject to copyright. Ask before you right-click.