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The Big Storm of 1913 - Part II Prologue - 7 As was mentioned in the preceding issue of the "Historian", this fall marks the 75th anniversary of q this catastrophic weather phenomenon. To continue our attempt at its description, we reproduce portions of its story from the March, 1914 issue of "The Marine Review", highlighting two specific accountings by crew members of vessels directly involved in the maelstrom. Captain Hagen - Steamer HOWARD M. HANNA, JR. We left Lorain, bound for Fort William, Ont., on Saturday, Nov. 8, 1913, about ten o'clock a. m., loaded with 9,120 tons of soft coal, and with a full complement of officers and crew, 25 men, including myself. On leaving, the vessel was in ideal trim for encountering heavy weather. The cargo had been loaded so that it was flush with the hatch coamings, with the exception of 6, 7 and 9, and the way the cargo had been loaded there was no chance of cargo shifting. Everything movable had proper lashings and the vessel was as staunch and seaworthy as possible. Upon getting out into. Lake Huron the weather was good, the wind was west of north, maybe a 15-mile breeze off the land. We passed Fort Gratiot Lightship at 5:12 a. m., of Nov. 9. The weather continued fair and clear until after passing Harbor Beach, but had shifted, first S. E. for a few minutes, then N. E., then N. N. E., and then continued about that direction with increasing velocity. We passed Harbor Beach at about 11:30 a. m., but at this time the wind was increasing gradually from a N. N. E. direction. Up until three o'clock there had been slight flurries of snow. At three o'clock it began to snow heavily, so we couldn't see more than a mile or two and the wind was N. N. E. and increasing. We passed Pointe Aux Barques. somewhere about 2 p. m., and about five miles off that point, our compass course being N. x W. % W. We had changed our course at Harbor Beach to this and as the wind increased we had hauled more to the northward to hold her head to the wind. Between 7 and 8 p. m., with it snowing so we couldn't see the land and could not tell just where we were and could not tell just how fast we were going, but we were possibly 15 miles above Pointe Aux Barques. The wind and sea had increased so that the vessel began dropping off her course, although the engines were being worked at full speed ahead. Tremendous seas were coming over our bow and our starboard quarter and over the whole vessel in fact, and the seas had carried away part of our after cabin and had broken in our pilot house window and torn off the top of the pilot house. Then shortly after eight o'clock she dropped off so that she came around into the trough of the sea. We had been taking seas over us right along and we had been using our siphons and pumps, but we knew she was taking in water by the way the pumps worked. After she got into the trough of the sea she commenced to roll and tumble and the seas were washing over her, and on account of throwing her propeller wheel out of the water and losing her headway it became impossible for us to bring her back so as to head into the sea or keep her off before the sea, although we made every effort to do so that was possible. We lay in the trough of the sea, rolling heavily, with the sea washing over. Shortly before ten o'clock we could see Port Austin light and the bearing of the light was nearly S. W. off our port bow and as we saw that we were pretty close to Port Austin reef, I ordered the first mate to drop our anchors. The first mate went down into the windlass room and let go to the port anchor to try to bring her head to the wind. She didn't come up only about a point and in a very short time, about ten o'clock p. m., she drifted broadside onto Port Austin reef. As she lay on the rocks, she was headed N. W. x W., and the light was bearing S. W. The port side fetched up on the rocks first and the seas and wind pounded her until the vessel went up onto the reef, leaving a list to starboard of >