SS Isaac M. Scott (1909)

The Isaac M. Scott in 1910
History
United States
Name:	SS Isaac M. Scott
Owner:	Virginia Steamship Co.
Port of registry:	Lorain, Ohio, USA
Builder:	American Ship Building Company
Yard number:	369
Launched:	12 June 1909
Completed:	2 July 1909
Maiden voyage:	12 July 1909
In service:	12 July 1909
Out of service:	11 November 1913
Fate:	Sunk in Great Lakes Storm of 1913
General characteristics
Class and type:	Great Lakes Freighter
Type:	Bulk Carrier
Tonnage:	6,372 GRT
Length:	524 ft (160 m)
Beam:	54 ft (16 m)
Depth:	30 ft (9.1 m)
Installed power:	Triple expansion steam engine
Propulsion:	Screw propeller
Crew:	28

SS Isaac M. Scott was an American Great Lakes Freighter that sunk during the Great Lakes Storm of 1913 in Lake Huron, 6 to 7 miles northeast of Thunder Bay Island (45°03′N 83°02′W / 45.050°N 83.033°W / 45.050; -83.033Coordinates: 45°03′N 83°02′W / 45.050°N 83.033°W / 45.050; -83.033), while she was traveling from Cleveland, Ohio, United States to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States with a cargo of Coal.^[1]

Construction

Isaac M. Scott was built in 1909 at the American Shipbuilding Co. shipyard in Lorain, Ohio, USA and launched on 12 June 1909. She was completed on 2 July 1909. Named for the president of the La Belle Iron Works, she served from 12 July 1909 until her demise on 11 November 1913. The ship was 159.7 metres (523 ft 11 in) long, with a beam of 16.5 metres (54 ft 2 in) and a draft of 9.1 metres (29 ft 10 in). The ship was assessed at 6,372 GRT. She had a triple-expansion steam engine driving a single screw propeller. At the time of her completion the Toledo Blade called her One of the handsomest of the large freighters on the great lakes.^[2]

Maiden Voyage Disaster

Isaac M. Scott's maiden voyage was marred by tragedy. At 4:00 AM on 12 July 1909, while traveling northwest about 2 miles off the Whitefish Point lighthouse in a dense fog, the Isaac M. Scott rammed the SS John B. Cowle. The John B. Cowle sank within a few minutes taking 14 of her 24 crewmen with her to the bottom. The survivors were picked up by the Isaac M. Scott and taken back to port. The Isaac M. Scott suffered damage to about 25 plates, which cost $30,000 in repairs.

In March 1910, the Virginia Steamship Company settled claims filed by relatives of men lost in the sinking of the John B. Cowle in the amount of $20,000. Following an investigation and hearings, the United States Steamboat Inspectors at Marquette suspended Captain Rogers and Edward E. Carlton, Pilot, of the John B. Cowle for 30 days ruling that the John B. Cowle and the Isaac M. Scott were sailing too fast for the weather conditions and that the John B. Cowle had failed to properly signal. F. W. Wertheimer, Pilot of the Isaac M. Scott. The Isaac M. Scott was subsequently beached for one year.^[3]

The Great Lakes Storm Of 1913 And Sinking

In the pre-dawn hours of 9 November 1913, the Isaac M. Scott, loaded with a cargo of coal worth $22,000 bound for Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States left Port Huron, Cleveland, Ohio, United States for the last time. She was one of several big freighters that passed out of the St. Clair River into Lake Huron and straight into the path of the deadliest storm in the Great Lakes history. Captain A. McArthur had been master of the Isaac M. Scott since her maiden voyage back in 1909 and sailed with 27 other men on the Isaac M. Scotts last voyage. Had he known how ugly the weather was about to become he surely would have never left port.

On Sunday 9 November 1913 at around 10:30 a.m. the H. B. Hawgood was running before the storm when they spotted the Isaac M. Scott, still heading North and making heavy weather of it, off Tawas Point, Michigan, just hours before the brunt of the storm struck. When communication was restored and newspapers began carrying accounts of the storm the Isaac M. Scott was only listed as missing. The body of Capt. A. McArthur washed up at Southampton, Ontario, Canada on 11 December 1913 while still wearing his life preserver. One of her lifeboats was found 23 miles north of the Chantrey Island lighthouse, off Southampton, Ontario. All 28 crew members perished in the disaster.^[4]

The sinking of the Isaac M. Scott resulted in increased efforts by the U.S. Weather Bureau toward better weather forecasting and more rapid communication of storm warnings.

The Isaac M. Scott goes down in maritime history as one of twelve vessels lost during the Great Lakes Storm of 1913. A storm described in the book: Lore of the Lakes, as "The most disastrous that has ever swept our Great Lakes, both from loss of life and property this unprecedented.". The storm of heavy snow, bitter cold winds and frightening high waves took the lives of an estimated 235 mariners, 178 of which were lost on Lake Huron alone. ^[5]

Crew

Wreck

Wreck location

The Isaac M. Scott remained missing for 63 years. Located by divers in 1976 about 6 miles off Northpoint, Michigan, she rests upside down and is half buried in mud under 55 metres (180 ft 5 in) of water with her nose still pointed into the storm. Her final resting place is now part of the 448 square mile Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve. The wreck lies at (45°03′N 83°02′W / 45.050°N 83.033°W / 45.050; -83.033).

References