| came in 1909. The
steamer
James H. Hoyt was passing Wisconsin's Apostle
Islands in a storm on Nov. 13, 1909, when its engines became
disabled. The 353-foot freighter began drifting toward Outer
Island and became stranded on a previously uncharted
shoal
2 miles northeast of the island. The first mate and some
of the crew launched the lifeboat and went to get help. They
spent a frightening 13 hours on the stormy seas before they
reached Bayfield.
 |
The
crew of the Ottawa |
Three
tugs and a
lighter
responded
to their pleas for help and worked all day in terrible conditions.
They lightered the Hoyt's iron ore cargo and pulled on the
steamer, but it didn't budge. For a full week, they tried
to free the Hoyt. Finally the ship was turned over
to its underwriters, who contacted Reid Wrecking Company.
Reid sent the Ottawa and its partner the tug Manistique
from Ontario to the scene. It took more than a week -- until
Nov. 29 -- for the wrecking tugs along with another tug to
free the Hoyt from the shoal. The tugs brought the
rescued steamer into the shelter of Red Cliff Bay, near Bayfield,
Wisconsin.
continued
|
