Hickory Stick

Saturday, November 29, 1958, off of Avon Point, east of Cleveland, Ohio. Swayze states: "Foundered in a gale in 15 foot waves and 75 miles per hour winds after being left at anchor by the tug Black Marlin. The wreck lies 1.75 miles, 23 degrees from the tank at Avon Point in 42 feet of water."  

FROM: THE LORAIN JOURNAL, DECEMBER 1, 1958

"Fifteen foot waves, churned by 75 mile-an-hour gusts of wind made kindling wood of a $100,000 derrick barge floundering in Lake Erie yesterday near Avon Point and were believed to have sunk a $15,000 companion tug which broke loose from anchor Saturday afternoon. Coastguardsmen called off their search for the tug. Lorain Coastguardsman early Saturday morning rescued the tug's skipper and first mate and left the tug at anchor about four miles northeast of Lorain. Efforts to locate the missing barge which had broken loose from the tug just before midnight Friday were hampered by heavy seas and icing conditions. Pieces of the uninsured barge were found about 9:00 a.m. yesterday scattered from one to two miles along Avon Point. The Coast guard reported that a large chunk of the bow was jutting from the water about 50 feet off Rice Park. The tug has not been sighted. Captain David Dyche is president and fleet captain of the Dyche Salvage Company of Lakewood. A deep sea diver who worked on U.S. Navy ships sunk in Pearl Harbor, Saigpan and Guadalcanal during World War II. Dyche said the six-inch rope hawser between the tug and barge parted about 11:30 p.m. Friday. Minutes later the engine stopped."

1. Swayze, D. 1999-2000. The Great Lakes Shipwreck File: Total Losses of Great Lakes Ships 1679-2000. http://www.oakland.edu/boatnerd/swayze/shipwreck

2. Great Lakes Historical Society/Peachman Lake Erie Shipwreck Research Center Files

3. Lorain Journal, December 1, 1958.

4. Kohl, C. 2001. The Great Lakes Diving Guide. Seawolf Communications, Inc., P.O. Box 66, West Chicago, IL, 60186.