ISAAC M. SCOTT

The careers of some vessels seem tailor-made to illustrate the hazards of lakes shipping. The ISAAC M. SCOTT is one of these. This steel-hulled propeller was built at Lorain, Ohio in 1909 by the American Ship Building Company. The vessel was launched on June 12, 1909 and enrolled at Cleveland on June 29 with the following dimensions: 504' x 54' x 30' and 6,372 gross/4,840 net tons. The SCOTT was powered by one triple expansion steam engine with 1760 horsepower and two 14'6" x 11'6" coal-fired scotch boilers. Both the engine and boilers were also built by the American Ship Building Company.

The ISAAC M. SCOTT was built for the Virginia Steam Ship Company of Cleveland, Ohio and was managed throughout its career by the M.A. Hanna Company, also of Cleveland. The vessel's home port was Fairport, Ohio. The SCOTT's name came from Isaac MacBurney Scott (1866-1942), who was President of the La Belle Iron Works, presumably a customer of the M.A. Hanna Company.

The ISAAC M. SCOTT underway.

On July 3, 1909, the vessel entered commission under command of Captain A. McArthur. The SCOTT's first trip was from Lorain to Toledo, where approximately 9,500 tons of coal was loaded for Milwaukee. From there the boat went on toward Duluth/Superior to load iron ore for the trip back down. The Toledo Blade called the new boat "one of the handsomest of the large freighters on the great lakes." This was a period of rapid growth in the size of lake boats and so the classification of the SCOTT as large quickly faded. By May of the same year the propeller Shenango became the largest vessel on the lakes at 607'.

The SCOTT did not even complete its first round trip before it made the headlines again. On July 12, 1909, while upbound from Milwaukee, in heavy fog on Lake Superior off of Whitefish Point, the SCOTT collided with and sank the propeller JOHN B. COWLE with the loss of fourteen lives. The COWLE was a total loss, but the SCOTT was able to limp back to Sault Ste. Marie for temporary repairs before proceeding to Superior, Wisconsin, where repairs were made to its damaged forepeak. The captain and mate of the COWLE and the mate of the SCOTT had their licenses suspended as a result of an inquiry that found both vessels had been operated at an immoderate speed given the poor visibility.

The SCOTT continued to operate in the iron ore and coal trade throughout its career, making weekly trips from the lower to the upper lakes. This trade consisted of the northward and westward movement of coal, and the southward and eastward movement of iron ore to the steel mills of the southern lakes.

The ISAAC M. SCOTT was one of eleven vessels lost during the Great Storm of 1913, a catastrophe often described as "the most disastrous that has ever swept our Great Lakes, both from loss of life and property" (Dana Thomas Bowen, 1940, Lore of the Lakes, p. 189-190). This unprecedented storm took the lives of an estimated 235 mariners, 178 of whom were lost on Lake Huron alone. The storm brought high winds, heavy snow, and bitter cold that paralyzed road and rail traffic ashore, downed power lines, and interrupted communications.

The ISAAC M. SCOTT left Cleveland on or about November 7, 1913 with a cargo of coal upbound for Milwaukee. The vessel departed Port Huron early on November 9 and ran right into the path of a cyclonic storm boasting 60 mph winds and gusts up to 70 mph. The gale reached its height on Lake Huron on Sunday, November 9, when high winds from the northeast followed a lull that lured many vessels - including the SCOTT - out from sheltered harbors. The SCOTT was last sighted at about 10:30 AM north of Tawas, Michigan just a few hours before the brunt of the storm struck Lake Huron. Other sources indicate the vessel was seen about six miles north of Port Huron at 3:30 in the afternoon (Frederick Stonehouse, 1992, A Short Guide to the Shipwrecks of Thunder Bay, p. 65).

Lake mariners at the time assumed the SCOTT headed north or northeast into the storm and that sometime within the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours, the vessel foundered with all hands. The final enrollment was surrendered on January 9, 1914. The vessel was valued at $340,000 and insured for $325,000. The SCOTT and the CHARLES S. PRICE were lost with twenty-eight lives each, tying for the greatest number of individuals lost in a single sinking during the Great Storm of 1913.

The Lake Carriers Association reported that the 1913 storm "threw a great pall on lake shipping and practically demoralized lake trade for the balance of the season." Initial blame was aimed at the United States Weather Bureau for not predicting the ferocity of the gale, as well as lakes shipbuilders and shipping companies who had demanded and produced ever larger vessels over the previous decade to fulfill the needs of the iron ore and coal trades. However, the Lake Carriers Association pointed out that at least two vessels lost in the storm were British tramp freighters that represented the abilities of Scottish and English shipyards. The Lake Carriers instead characterized the storm as a freak of nature:

No lake master can recall in all his experience a storm of such unprecedented violence with such rapid changes in the direction of the wind and its gusts of such fearful speed. Storms ordinarily of that velocity do not last over four or five hours, but this storm raged for sixteen hours continuously at an average velocity of 60 miles per hour, with frequent spurts of 70 and over. Obviously with a wind of such long duration, the seas that were made were such that the lakes are not ordinarily familiar with. The testimony of masters is that the waves were at least 35 feet high and followed each other in quick succession, three waves ordinarily coming one right after the other. They were considerably shorter than the waves that are usually formed by the ordinary gale. Being of such height and hurled with such force and such rapid succession, the ships must have been subjected to incredible punishment. Masters also relate that the wind and sea were frequently in conflict, with the wind blowing one way and the sea running in the opposite direction. This would indicate a storm of cyclonic character. It was unusual and unprecedented and it may be centuries before such a combination of forces may be experienced again.

The lessons of the storm, however, will not be lost. It had not been thought possible hitherto that a bulk freighter, with its great flat bottom, could be forced to turn turtle, but some unknown combination of circumstances certainly caused the CHARLES S. PRICE to do so...As stated, the whole subject will undoubtedly be investigated to determine whether modification of structure or increase in power in our larger vessels is necessary.

The final tally of financial losses included $2,332,000 for vessels totally lost, $830,900 for vessels that became constructive total losses, $620,000 for vessels stranded but returned to service, and approximately $1,000,000 in lost cargoes.

In the short term, the loss of so much vessel tonnage during the storm caused immediate difficulties in moving enough raw bulk products to meet the needs of domestic commerce. Industry had difficulty obtaining enough coal and iron ore. Food and feed industries could not obtain enough grain to fill their needs. Prices for consumer products rose all over the country.

The long term consequences of the storm and the sinking of lake vessels such as the SCOTT were several. Complaints about the U.S. Weather Bureau led to increased efforts toward achieving better weather forecasting and more rapid communication of storm warnings. Criticism of the shipping companies and shipbuilders led to a series of conferences with insurers and mariners aimed at seeking safer design and construction of vessels. The result was the construction of vessels with more longitudinal strength and greater stability.

In 1976, the wreck of the SCOTT was discovered in 175 feet of water about six to seven miles northeast of Thunder Bay Island. The vessel is reported to be upside down and half buried in the mud.

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