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Ship of the Month - cont'd. 12. though it happened outside the high passenger season. She was downbound for Windsor on October 15th when she struck a hidden obstruction and broke her propeller. She went on the drydock at Detroit on October 16th for the neces­ sary repairs. She apparently suffered no other damage in the incident and went back into service when she came off the dock. HAMONIC's 1918 season was successful and uneventful. In 1919, Capt. Foote retired from NORONIC and Capt. Campbell was promoted to take his place. HAMONIC then was placed under the command of Capt. A. M. Wright, who moved up from HURONIC. Chief Smith remained in the engineroom. That spring, the N. N. Co. announced that it would commence its service on May 1st, with the sailing of HURONIC from Sarnia. HAMONIC was to follow into service a few days later, while NORONIC, which normally did not participate in the spring and autumn freight service, was not to begin operation until July 1st. (Any time NORONIC ran in other than the high summer season, it usually was to handle special charter business. ) The 1919 season was rela­ tively uneventful for HAMONIC but, on August 15th, HURONIC ran aground on Angus Island, some 40 miles from Port Arthur, whilst en route from Port Ar­ thur to Duluth. She was freed the following day but, as a precaution, all of her passengers were transferred to HAMONIC and returned to Port Arthur. HAMONIC did not spend the winter of 1919-1920 at Sarnia where she normally was laid up. Instead she wintered at Collingwood where, according to the January 1920 issue of "Canadian Railway and Marine World", she underwent propeller repairs. For the 1920 season, new officers were appointed to HAMONIC, as Capt. Wright moved up to NORONIC and Chief Smith left the fleet. HAMONIC's new master was Capt. 0. M. Wing, while in charge of the machinery was Joseph W. McLeod. Neither had appeared previously on N. N. Co. appointment lists. Captain Wing's time in HAMONIC was to be short, however. The August 1920 issue of "Canadian Railway and Marine World" reported: "The Northern Navigation Co.'s s. s. HA­ MONIC grounded on a reef near Harbor Beach (Michigan), July 7, during high winds and fog, while on her way to Sarnia. She was released a few hours later, without damage. " That same issue contained the report of the Wreck Commissioner's enquiry into the accident. Judgment was swift. "Held at Sarnia, Ont., July 21, before Capt. L. A. Demers, Dominion Wreck Commissioner, assisted by Capts. C. E. Millard and W. A. Glass as nautical assessors, into the cause of the grounding of the Northern Navigation C o . 's s. s. HAMONIC off Hardwood Point, Lake Huron, (Wednesday) July 7. The master, Capt. 0. M. Wing, stated that he had been in command (although not of HAMO­ NIC -Ed. ) since 1913, without accident. On July 6, he had occasion to alter his course to counteract leeway caused by a strong breeze off the port side. His compass was but imperfectly adjusted in the spring and as a result he had found an error by observing ranges. He also stated that the towing (pa­ tent) log had a new propeller ("tin fish") and he had not had the opportuni­ ty of verifying its running. The sounding machine was in order but was not used, one reason being that one of the crew would have to be called from his sleep if it had been used. He was advised by the second officer that he had passed the s. s. HURONIC inside and assumed from that he was steering a cor­ rect course and was in a proper position as to location. "The second officer called him when fog came on, with the information that he had seen a light once, but had not had time to take a bearing. He had not heard the fog horn at Port (Pointe) aux Barques, but kept up his speed until the ship struck. Soundings showed that there was 18 ft. forward and 16 ft. aft, and interior soundings revealed a leak in No. 1 hold. The ship was re­ leased by the use of tugs. The second officer, Andrew Allan, stated that the ship was steered correctly and that he had not offered any suggestion as to reduction of speed or soundings, assuming that the captain was master of the situation. The master was recalled and notified that on his own evidence, the court would likely find him in default and deal with his certificate,