"Sea Stories"

[Jonah]

Thank you Captain Metz for your reply.
Happy New Year to you!

[captrmetz]

Darryl - The Mapleglen's beam was 75'00". I would think that would be the biggest ship to go through the waterway. She was 715' 03" in length a 730" Ft. could make it through also but no 1000 footers.She would be to long and to much draft.

Jonah-
Canadian ships carried women galley crews for years and they all got a long very good sometimes when they went ashore drinking there might be a little trouble but anther then that when they went ashore the deck hands would watch over the gal's.

[Darryl]

Capt., What's the widest beam a ship can have to make it through the Keeweenaw? And was the Mapleglen 75 feet or 72? Thanks

[Jonah]

Merry Christmas Captain Metz and all.
With regard to ships being 'she', what are your thoughts on she's as part of the crew?

[ohcaptainmycaptain]

Captain Metz,

Hi, my name is Brett Ortler; I'm an editor at Adventure Publications, which is based out of Cambridge, Minnesota. I saw that your Sea Stories are out of print, and the company I work for is interested in talking with you about producing a new version of them. Can you send me an email at brett@adventurepublications.net if you're interested?

Thanks, and I love the stories,

Brett

[captrmetz]

To RCRVRP
I had no ship handling experience at all. I was Captain of a 45 ft. Tug Boat for 7 years before I decided on sail the lake ships. But I had years of watching other Captains do the ship handling and I wrote down every thing I saw and every thing he did. When I got my first command I walked up to the wheel house and sat down looking at everything and thought how the other captains did it and looked in my book. I said this ship will act like my tug but being a 550 long it will take a little longer, with this in mind I let go of the lines turned the ship around and rang up full ahead and went right through the piers. I bet the steamboat company's do not do that today. A year before I retired the Captain that would take my place I trained for one year. I let him do all the ship handling and watch him very closely but I could tell he had the KNACK !

[RCRVRP]

Capt. Metz,

How did you learn to handle the boats?
Do you practice some manuvers in open water?
Would someone be at your side ready to intercede when you were first learning in confined spaces?

Tell us about the learning process please.
Your commentary is fascinating.

[BobG]

Capt. Metz's comments on ship-handling are extremely interesting! Other than MAPLEGLEN, the lakers he commanded were low-powered and lacked bow-thrusters, so were especially demanding of a captain's skill. I'll bet he could write a textbook on the subject and still not exhaust all the knowledge he had acquired.

Another captain once explained (with a meaningful wink) that the reason the revolution-counter was placed high above his position in the wheelhouse was that, when he rang for astern power, he could clasp his hands and raise his eyes to heaven in prayer!

[captrmetz]

Captain, thank you for all the great stories! I guess I'm not real sure how to ask this, but here goes.

Alex:

Will you share some things such as tricks to boat handling, or as how you had to plan your moves?

Ship handling is a very long topic but I’ll try to answer it as short as possible. You have to have a knack to be a good ship handler. I believe I was blessed with such a knack. I always said if you don’t have the knack you won’t be a good ship handler. Case in point, I was 3rd mate with a captain one time and he wanted to turn the ship around in the St. Mary’s river so he put her full ahead and hard to port and he asked me if we were going to make the turn. I said, yes, if you keep on going full ahead she’ll swing and miss the reef. The captain said, it’s not going to make it. Right then I noticed that there was a puddle at his feet and at the same time he rang up slow ahead and the ship lost her swing and therefore ran aground. Another case in point: same ship, same captain. we were going into Thunder Bay piers and we had the wind on our beam and the ship setting down with the wind so I spoke up and said Captain the ships setting down you’ve got to give her full ahead to get her back into the wind. At that point he lost all bodily functions and he said, you take her in – I’m going down below to my cabin. So I rang up full ahead and I went about 20 degrees into the wind and when I got close to the piers I let the wind set the ship down and then we went through the piers. As soon as we got her inside I went full astern and when the ship slowed I made the dock. This captain never had a knack for ship handling. All ships handle differently and you have to know the characteristics of each ship – what they could do and what they could not do. And you have to know how a ship works. On a single screw ship with a right turning propeller, when you go astern the stern will always move to port if there is no wind. The main thing is never be in a hurry. An old-time captain told me at one time ‘if you think you are going too slow, go full astern’ because a ship is large and you may think you’re not moving through the water very fast but when you get close to the shore or a wall the ship is moving faster than you thought it was. Some tricks with boat handling: the best tool on ships is the anchors. You can stop with them and you can turn a ship with dropping an anchor. I once went into burns harbor with about a 25 knot north wind and when I got lined up for the piers I put her head into the wind. And then I let the wind set her down and went through the piers at full speed. When the stern cleared the piers I dropped the stern anchor and I went full astern. When she stopped I picked up my stern anchor and at the same time dropped the port anchor. Because the dock was to the port side, I gave hard port wheel to bring the ship around 90 degrees to line up the dock. When she was lined up I picked up the port anchor. Then I proceeded to line up the dock but the wind was pushing me so I had to drop the starboard anchor; so that’s 3 times I had to use the anchors to make that dock. With ship handling you’re the boss, you tell the ship what to do. I never allowed myself to think ‘am I going to make it, I always knew I was going to make it.


I'm curious of things like making docks or locks, how much time lag was there between your orders to the engine room and the reaction of the boat to what you wanted.

On the old ships reaction time was slow. When I rang up full astern it would take several minutes for the ship to react. That’s because the engine had to slow down. The engineers would have to turn off the steam to slow the ship down and then they pushed a lever and turned the steam back on again to go full astern. And when I was going into a loading port, I would ring up half ahead from 5 miles out. At two miles out, I would ring up slow ahead taking current and wind into consideration. Once I got inside and heading for the dock I would put her dead slow ahead. When the ship was even with the dock, I would put her slow astern until they landed the men with the mooring cables and tied her up.

What challenges of boat handling did you like taking on?

When I had a bow thruster backing out of an elevator without the use of tugboats; backing her out 180 degrees and backing up the river for about 3 miles for another elevator. I liked all aspects of ship handling. I liked turning my ship around in Detroit river 360 degrees and tying up at Windsor. For years all my ship handling was done without a bow thruster but when I got on the Mapleglen she had an 850 horsepower diesel bow thruster and that made ship handling a lot easier.

Why are ships called she?
“A ship is called a she because there is always a great deal of bustle around her; there is usually a gang of men about; she has a waist and stays; it takes a lot of paint to keep her good-looking; it is not the initial expense that breaks you, it is the upkeep; she can be all decked out; it takes an experienced man to handle her correctly; and without a man at the helm, she is absolutely uncontrollable. She shows her topsides, hiders her bottom and, when coming into port, always heads for the buoys.”

Guest 2:
How'd you ever get your hands on a picture of you passing under the bridge?

That must've been special to get a picture of a memorable moment like that from someone that was on the shore as you passed.

I called the bridge tender to see if he could take a picture of my ship going under the bridge. He said he had a camera and he would take a picture and send it to me.

Do lakers still use this shortcut from time to time?

The waterway is used during the fall for deliveries of salt and coal to the ports of Houghton and Hancock.

Answering Guest 1: The book Sea Stories has been out of print for several years. Sorry!

I hope I've answered most of your questions.

[Guest]

Captain Metz, I'm interested in buying your book, Sea Stories. The only one I've been able to find is on Amazon. Is it available anywhere else? Thanks

[Guest]

No one tells great Sea Stories better than our beloved Capt. Metz!!

Keep them coming Capt. Metz Merry Christmas!!

[Alex]

Captain, thank you for all the great stories! I guess I'm not real sure how to ask this, but here goes. Will you share some things such as tricks to boat handling, or as how you had to plan your moves? I'm curious of things like making docks or locks, how much time lag was there between your orders to the engine room and the reaction of the boat to what you wanted. What challenges of boat handling did you like taking on? Thanks in advance Captain.

[JohnH]

A few years back I went over to Houghton-Hancock to do some electronic repairs on an Army-Corps-of-Engineers tug. When I got there the crane from their crane-barge they were pushing was laying over on top of the tug. They came in the west end of the waterway with the crane up, thinking that they had enough clearance to get under the high-voltage wires that ran across there. However it was a hot day and the wires sagged more than usual, and they snagged them with the result that all power was out for several hours on the Upper Keweenaw Peninsula. Don't think they ever tried that again.

[Guest]

Thanks for the great story.

How'd you ever get your hands on a picture of you passing under the bridge? That must've been special to get a picture of a memorable moment like that from someone that was on the shore as you passed.

Do lakers still use this shortcut from time to time?

[captrmetz]

The storm was out of the West and I could of anchor in Bete Grise but rounding the point she would rolled. The storm lasted about two days so I had lots of time to go through the waterway plus it is shorter. When I got to the North Entrance I headed west till the sea calmed then alter course for Superior WI. Yes with P&H shipping CO.we did our own navigation. The company always knew we would try to make best possible speed.
I knew we would make it under the bridge because I have seen bigger ships then the Mapelglen go though my only concern was that we were light on fuel making the stern rise a few inches but if I was wrong and hit the bridge I would of gotten my walking papers. I do not know about today but when I sailed the Captain made all the decision. The office never interfered with my decisions they just told me the next port to load & unload. My crew sailed together for years and they never griped . The same thing years after years trip after trip. In bad weather I would set out what course I would take and always asked their opinion. They always agreed.
When I started sailing the mate & captain never gave you a break so when I became Captain I all ways treated my crew with respect and I gave them all the breaks that I could like going home and catching the ship at another port the next day and with pay, I treated my crew very well and I was well liked.

[lahey]

It's wonderful to hear a story about the Mapleglen(2). Thank you.

[RCRVRP]

Wonderful story, thank you.

A few questions... since going through there seemed to be out of the normal route would you have had to get permission from someone above you at the home office to do that? Or does the captain have absolute discrecion to do as he sees fit?

If so what happens if the worst happens? Lets say the boat did not clear the lift bridge? Would that be a career ending moment for the captain?

If you have the time it would be interesting to have you lay out what the captain can and cannot do and how that works out in real life. For instance are there sometimes armchair sailors in the home office second guessing and criticizing the captains decisons?
How about on board, do the captain ever have to put up crew members grumbling that they would do things differently?
What else can you tell us about the human dynamics of being the captain?

Thanks again for your great stories.

[captrmetz]

Keweenaw Waterway

The Keweenaw Waterway was built in 1868, is 25 miles long, and cuts across the Keweenaw Peninsula connecting Keweenaw Bay to the East and Lake Superior to the West. The last 2.5 miles were manmade. The waterway runs between Houghton & Hancock in Michigan's UP. When I was skipper of the Tug J.E. Colombe for the Nat’l Park Service at Isle Royale my shipmate and I towed barges from the island to Houghton and made many trips. And I always enjoyed the waterway with its breathtaking beauty. When we were towing two gas barges we had to tie up at Lily Pond to load gasoline, diesel, or propane but with the 125 foot crane barge we towed it to Houghton to load construction material. On one trip after we loaded the crane barge we went back to Lily Pond to take in tow the two fuel barges plus a Navy LCM that was loaded with a dump truck. All total for the tow back to Isle Royale were three barges and the LCM. It was a 1000 ft tow with a 45 ft. Tug and making 2.5 knots for speed. I really had to pick & choose my weather.

When I quit the Tug job and went back on the lake boats every time I passed the Keweenaw Waterway I would raise my binoculars and look toward the waterway and say some day I will take my ship thru that waterway. I knew Skipper's that lived in the UP use to take their ships through in the fall to see the beautiful display of the maple and oak trees colorful leaves that would display themselves for miles on end.

In 1996 I was Captain of the S/S Mapleglen and I received orders that after we were unloaded at Burn's Harbor to proceed to Superior WI to load a cargo of grain. I welcomed the trip to see the Keweenaw again. It had been 23 years since I had last seen it. We had an uneventful trip up bound on Lake Michigan with calm winds & sea. But the weather did not hold after we locked through the locks at the Soo. As we rounded Whitefish Point I looked over toward the light house and sure enough the USGC was displaying two red pennants, ‘GALE WARNING!’ was up for Lake Superior from the West. I decided to follow the south shore of Michigan and if the gale did not blow itself out I would drop anchor in Keweenaw Bay. The west gale did not blow itself out. In fact the west wind went to Whole Gale; 48 to 55 Knots. We got to Keweenaw Bay and I thought I picked out a good place to drop anchors but because of the strong wind the anchors would not hold; they kept on dragging. So I went to a different place to anchor right next to the East break wall and we anchored again. She held so I went to bed saying to the mate, keep an eye on her and call me if she starts to drag the anchor. I really needed that sleep and I was out a minute later. I got up at 0600 and went to the wheelhouse for a cup of hot coffee. I checked the weather report and gales were still up. As I sat drinking my coffee I looked over to the east break wall. Hmm? I thought this was my one and only chance to take the waterway. I asked the mate & wheelsman if they had ever been through the canal, the answer was no. Well you will see it now, it is October and the leaves should be in full color. The 2nd mate and I looked at the schematic of the Mapleglen to see what the heights of the masts were, our draft, and the height of the draw of the bridge. I have seen large Lakers use the waterway but I wanted to make sure we would fit under the bridge. The mate and I both came up with six feet clearance for the bridge. I called the bridge to see if it was operational and the bridge tender said it was. I gave the tender my plan and called the engine room to warm up the engines. We hove up the hook, backed away and went through the east entrance. I could not wait to see all the leaves in color. It was in late October but what I saw I did not like; snow and it came down hard. Soon the decks were covered with the white stuff. It came down so heavy we had to turn on the radar. We did not have GPS at that time. I rang up half speed, the mate was looking for buoys and I was in the radar giving out courses to steel to the wheelsman. I looked away from the radar and all I saw was complete whiteout. I told the mate that we would go to anchor and I picked out a good spot in Portage Lake, off from the little town of Chassell MI, and dropped the anchors. I called the engine room and told the chief we will anchor till the storm blows itself out. I also called the Houghton - Hancock Bridge and told the tender the same. He asked, Captain have you ever transited the canal before and I said yes with a 45 ft. tug boat and said I had worked for the Nat’l Park Service. He then asked me what was my name and I told him my name. About 20 minutes later I got a call from the NPS saying that I was remembered when I was skipper on the Tug Colombe! Well, if that isn't something they remembered me after 20 some years. He told me the names of some of the people that I probably knew and we had a good conversation. We were at anchor for 24 hours and finally the west winds started to die down. I notified the engine room to warm up the engines again and called the deckhands to stand by and I called the bridge to let him know we were raising up the anchor and should be ready for the bridge in one hour. He said we will be ready for you. It started snowing and sure enough we had whiteout again; back to the radar. We came around the last bend in the river and I aimed the steering pole for the center of the bridge. About 1/4 of a mile from the bridge it cleared and I made a small adjustment of course for the center on the bridge, but wait a minute the bridge was not raised. I hurriedly called the bridge and said, "RAISE THE BRIDGE!!" The bridge tender said in a calm voice, "Cap the bridge is up." My God that bridge looked low. Just then the chief called and said, "Cap we will not clear the bridge!" Well we were too close to do anything at that point. I kept praying, I hope I am right on my calculation, 6 ft, 6 ft. The people that were in the wheelhouse to see the pretty leaves left and just me and the wheelsman were left alone. Just before the bridge the wheelsman said, 'Cap?' As soon as he said Cap, I knew he was worried so I said, 'Don't worry, we will make it.’ The last thing I wanted to do was to scare the guy steering the ship. Then as I passed the NPS I saw everybody was standing outside waving to me so I blew them a salute and walked over to the door and waved. As we went under the bridge I looked up, six feet it was. I blew a whistle salute to the bridge tender and he blew me one back. There were people walking by; the people in cars and trucks were getting out of their vehicles waving and honking a salute so I also blew them a salute. The Mapleglen had two steam whistles of different sounds and they had a nice sound to them. I sat their thinking it was really nice to meet old friends and one new friend, the bridge tender. I was also thinking about the height of the bridge which was 103 ft raised where I am use to the Seaway bridges that are 120 ft vertical raised. We continued our trip to the north entrance and left the bridge behind me. I had traveled this river many times in a 45 ft Tug but not with a 715 ft ship. I was quite surprised at how many hairpins turns there were in this river. Several times I had to kick the stern around to line up with the buoys; we were going too fast for the bow thruster to be any help. Finally we passed the old Lily Pond where I used to load the fuel, it still looked the same. The only thing that was not the same; all the pretty leaves were gone.