Jump to content

Why I don't fish on Superior


danc

Recommended Posts

Thanks Dan, some great pictures there and there's nothing more impressive or powerful, than BIG storms on BIG waters, and Superior certainly comes by her name honestly !!

 

I've had the pleasure (usually) of crossing the Atlantic Ocean quite a few times and it's absolutely incredible how rough it can be sometimes. Storms can, and often do, last for days and the worst I ever saw was 75' waves, which is pretty undaunting when your ship isn't much more than 300'

 

One minute your riding the top of the mountain, and then seconds later your bow is stuffed under a wall of water the size of an apartment building.

 

Not sure if the term to describe massive waves is exhilarating or terrifying :w00t:

 

Again Dan, thanks for the great pictures and rekindling some awesome memories.

Edited by lew
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Only questions I have

Did tha boat sink or come out from under the wave?

I'd imagine so, we probably wouldn't be seeing pictures otherwise. I've seen some pretty wild footage on TV and unless they break in half, they'll go through just about anything!

 

-Brian

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WOW! :(:(:(

 

 

The legend lives on from the chippewa on down

Of the big lake they called gitche gumee

The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead

When the skies of november turn gloomy

With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more

Than the edmund fitzgerald weighed empty.

That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed

When the gales of november came early.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awsome pic's, reminds me of the good old days. USS Parle and USS Daniel A Joy. They were both the flagships of the, now get this, Great Lakes fleet. WW2 DE's 1500 tons 300 ft long. The "fleet" consisted of one of them, a few mine sweepers and believe it or not a sub. Parle was the last US Navy ship stationed in the lakes. Homeported out of Detroit.

 

I saw some rough weather on Erie and Ontario but nothing like the pictures. Worse I ever saw was off Hatteras when the Parle took a 45 degree roll. The old hands said that she'd go to 55 degrees and still come back but I would not want to see that. Talk about walking on the bulkheads and some soiled skivvies

 

 

thanks for the pic's

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also lived on the shores of Lake Superior all of my life and have a lot of respect for the power of this vast lake. I've been caught in waves large enough to launch a 23 foot boat clear out of the water and even more scary is the fog. On one trip, several 20 ft+ boat went to Isle Royale for several days of fishing. When I got back I happened to tell my dad and did he get mad saying,"Was I nuts...that lake gets rough!' He used to be a helmsman on the lakers that Dan pictured and said the wheelhouse on the laker was 32 feet above the waterline and he had seen waves break over it. Its 'fair weather fishing from now on".

Alan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"found out after I posted this pictures that were taken on the North Atlantic-not Superior as I was lead to beleive. Sorry about that!! "

 

Still neat shots though...

 

 

Could very well be Nemo. The photos arrived in my e mail stating that they were taken on Superior. But you know how the stories get twisted around on the internet these days. On the other hand, if Superior can snap the Edmond Fitzgerald in half, (one of the theories) it can certainly wash over a boat as the photos show.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also lived on the shores of Lake Superior all of my life and have a lot of respect for the power of this vast lake. I've been caught in waves large enough to launch a 23 foot boat clear out of the water and even more scary is the fog. On one trip, several 20 ft+ boat went to Isle Royale for several days of fishing. When I got back I happened to tell my dad and did he get mad saying,"Was I nuts...that lake gets rough!' He used to be a helmsman on the lakers that Dan pictured and said the wheelhouse on the laker was 32 feet above the waterline and he had seen waves break over it. Its 'fair weather fishing from now on".

Alan

 

I met an older guy at lebarons in missasuaga a few years ago and he was telling me that he was on on the crew of the anderson and said that the 2 scariest things he has gone through is fog on superior and storms on superiour. He then went on to tell me how he would take the north atlantic's rough waters anyday over superiors rough water!

 

Cheers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Angus Graham was a Esso Captain and a customer of ours after he retired. He was out the night the Fitzgerald went down and heard the inter ship communications. He claimed that in all his years on the Great Lakes he never saw a storm as bad as that day. He also felt that the mistake the Fitz made was trying to save time and outrun the worst part of the storm by cutting through an area that in calm conditions took skill and manuaverability as there was a rocky bottom that was shallow in spots and required constant monitoring. He said the ship probably came into contact with the bottom and fractured the hull and eventually stressed to the point where she broke. His feelings I believe have been confirmed by underwater photos and video's over the years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you like this sort of stuff, go down to your library and see if they have a copy of the video, I think its called Around Cape Horn, by Irving Johnson.

 

Irving took a movie camera on one of the last clipper ships way back when the cameras where a new thing. He shows a storm on the north Atlantic but the real storm was going around the horn. You got huge waves going over the ship and this guy films it from the top of the mast.

 

Its a great video showing life at sea at the turn of the century and the numbers on the ship are amazing as one sail would weigh into the tons and all rigged by hand.

 

Gary I don't think the Fitz had a depth finder. Radar was the amazing new technology of the day so the didn't bother with a depth finder.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recent Topics

    Popular Topics

    Upcoming Events

    No upcoming events found

×
×
  • Create New...