Posted by Sam Cannon on October 02, 19102 at 18:33:07:
Just pull this off of www.gue.com. Thought it might make an interesting post.
In Search of the Judge Hart
By Terry Irvine
There are few experiences that compare to diving a "pristine" shipwreck. The Great Lakes offer many wreck sites, each with their own peculiar adventure; however, some of these sites provide the underwater explorer with a sense of actually "being there," offering them a site that seems "suspended in time." Like the Gunilda, located approximately 200 kilometers to the west, the Judge Hart is precisely such a site.
We had heard of the Judge Hart when we started exploring the Gunilda four years ago. Unlike the luxury yacht, the Judge Hart was a working boat. The 250-foot "canaller" was built in Great Britain specifically to navigate through the Welland Canal and ply the in-land waterways of the Great Lakes. Sadly, its destiny was to be similar to many such boats trying to navigate the big lake during the "Gales of November."
Captain Frederick Burmeister thought he had been careful in delaying the ship's departure from Port Arthur to allow the weather to improve. The Judge Hart had been a good ship and had been sailing the Great Lakes for less than twenty years. Feeling that the bad weather had passed, Captain Burmeister sailed the Judge Hart with its cargo of grain east along the northern shore of Lake Superior. Unfortunately, the worst of the weather had yet to hit.
November 25 and 26, 1942 saw gale force winds, high seas and freezing rain. It was time to head for the shelter of Ashburton Bay; however, the accumulation of ice on the wheelhouse and the windlass made navigation almost impossible, and the lake's depth could only be ascertained with an unfortunate sailor using a lead shot line.
Suddenly, out of the deep water reared Fitzsimmons Rocks and the unlucky Judge Hart soon found herself beached. After two days of struggling to keep the vessel afloat against the rocks, the Captain gave the "abandon ship" order, and with all the sailors safely evacuated to the James B. Eads, the ship was allowed to slip off the rock and finally sink between Fitzsimmons Rocks and Barclay Island. Another chapter in maritime history had been written.
To dive and document the wreck, Diane Cashmore had become proficient at acquiring the requisite government documentation. However, as we quickly found out, finding the Judge Hart would not be as easy as finding the Gunilda. The Judge Hart had been found only eleven years ago, and her location could only be pinpointed by a combination of old Loran numbers and some compass bearings to key land marks. Little did we know the adventure we would encounter in our search for her.
The plan seemed easy enough. We would take the first week of July and travel to Marathon, Ontario. The Neys provincial campground would provide us with a base of land operations. We would utilize the Loran coordinates, locate the wreck and prepare for the next three days of diving and video activities. Admittedly, the water would still be cold in early July, but the weather would be warm, and the lake calm. That time of year would also provide us with almost sixteen hours of daylight. All we had to worry about were the legendary black flies! We couldn't have been more wrong!
Friday evening a cold front moved into Eastern Lake Superior, and by Saturday morning a thick fog blanketed the surface of the lake. Despite the best efforts of Captain Mike and Cindy, navigation around Barclay Islands and Fitzsimmons Rocks was too treacherous. The search had to be abandoned for the morning. That afternoon, we encountered our next setback. Both Loran units were malfunctioning and became unreliable in locating the wreck. The first day had passed and we had yet to locate the Judge Hart.
That night, the Ministry of Natural Resources officer for the area, Paul Dennis, came to the campsite to check our progress. Armed with a more detailed topographical map provide by Paul, we decided that we would try running grid patterns using the bottom finder. With the map and the compass headings, perhaps we might get lucky. The temperature outside continued to drop.
Over the next two days, we combed Ashburton Bay searching for our target. The endless hours of monitoring the bottom of Lake Superior on a screen gave me an appreciation for the "Wreck Hunters" who do this for the first two months of each dive season. The cold air that whipped up from the lake cut through our dry suits. The temperature continued to drop.
Sunday night over dinner we discussed our options. We had been searching for three days and had not found our target. Despite low spirits amongst the group, we decided to search for one more day, and if we did not find the wreck, we would pack up camp and head for Rossport to dive the Gunilda. That night I crawled into my sleeping bag wearing my dry suit underwear and thought, "We need to find this wreck!"
The following day we woke to sunshine and warmer temperatures. Summer had finally returned to Lake Superior. With a flat calm lake the task of running the ever-tedious grid patterns became easier. For the next seven hours, we religiously motored back and forth across Ashburton Bay. Then suddenly. the bottom rose up 40 feet, held for a moment, and dropped. Could this be it?
Several crisscrosses confirmed that something big was definitely below us, sitting in approximately 190 to 200 feet of water. It seemed a little shallow for it to be the Judge Hart. Previous reports placed the wreck in 240 feet of water; however, the bearings were close. Excitement once again gave way to disappointment, as we unsuccessfully tried to hook the wreck for the remainder of the day. With the GPS coordinates locked in, we headed back to camp. Day four, and still we had no video of the Judge Hart. Despite this latest setback, the group's resolve had steeled, especially Captain Mike's and Cindy's. "I will go out there in the morning and get a line on the wreck," Mike proclaimed.
By 8:30 A.M. the next morning, Mike and Cindy were back at the campsite announcing that the wreck had been hooked and it was indeed the Judge Hart. This was our very last day. We would have only one chance to video the wreck; we would then have to break camp and head off to Rossport for our next diving activities on the Gunilda. The plan was to focus our dive on the photogenic bow. The remainder of the wreck would have to wait until next summer. All the highs and lows of the trip would culminate in this dive. We were not to be disappointed.
The buildup of ice on the wooden wheelhouse during the storm had preserved the structure in nearly immaculate condition. The wheel, binnacle, and the telegraph stood at the ready. Plaques, which provided vital information to the sailors, still hung on the walls. Amazingly, a table sat upright in the one corner of the room with an old radio directional finder perched on top. The radio directional finder had been used prior to radar. There was only a slight covering of silt on the apparatus. Outstanding! Both the port and starboard running lights were intact, complete with colored backboards. A spot light had withstood the sinking and sat proudly on the top deck. We headed aft.
The spare binnacle stood on the deck, behind the wheelhouse. It, too, was intact. The mast and crosstree still had rigging and mast lights. Behind a thin veil of silt, Jeff's HID lights were able to distinguish the name on the bell. Perfect! After a quick examination of the first two hatches, our planned time had run out and we started the slow return to the surface.
This expedition had been unlike any other. Our group had experienced an entire spectrum of emotions as we persevered through numerous setbacks to finally locate and film this elusive wreck. It had been rewarding. As always, Diane Cashmore's indefatigable efforts helped us through the many logistical snags that seemed to present themselves. Captain Mike McKay and Cindy provided essential boat services and support throughout the week. Paul Dennis from the Ministry and Natural Resources also provided some key information to make our location of the wreck a success. My thanks to all who made it an unforgettable trip.
As we headed to Rossport and the Gunilda, we were already planning our return trip to our newest adventure in Lake Superior, the Judge Hart.
REFERENCES:
1. Turchi M. and Ertel D." The Hart of Lake Superior." Deep Tech Magazine, Spring 1997, Issue 8.
2. Wolff J.F. Jr. "Lake Superior Shipwrecks." Lake Superior Port Cities Inc. P.O. Box 16417, Duluth, Minnesota 55816-0417. p. 198.