Postcard from the John Stefani Collection
The poor old Aquarama, which met her fate in the scrapyards in Turkey in November, 2007 had acquired the nickname “Crusherama”, due to her terrible turning radius in the narrow ports of the Great Lakes. In her day she smashed into a few different docks.
While pouring though some old Windsor Star Microfilm at the library, I came across some news reports from the day she made Dieppe Park her victim.
The photos below appeared in the Wednesday, August 22, 1956 issue of the Windsor Star. By odd coincidence the day I decided to post this story that I’ve had for a few months, it works out to be, 52 years to the day since the incident happened. It must be a sign of some sort…
3 FISHERMEN FLEE… AS AQUARAMA BEARS DOWN
Crunches Concrete – A moment before the S.S. Aquarama rammed a seawall this morning on Windsor’s waterfront, Star Photographer Cecil Southward realized what was about to happen and caught the impact from the newsroom window. The Great Lakes passenger ship is seen crunching its way through the breakwater as fishermen scramble to safety. No one was hurt aboard the Aquarama and there was no panic among the 1,200 passengers. It took about five minutes to free the ship, which backed away without assistance. The luxury liner had been attempting to make a U-turn in the Detroit River as it moved from its mooring on the Detroit waterfront where it had been a featured part of the Riverama. The ship continued its voyage into Lake St. Clair.
Three fishermen had to jump to safety as the 520-foot cruise ship Aquarama crashed into the Civic Centre seawall at the foot of Ferry St. today.
A. H. St. Louis, of Windsor, and two young companions, Stanley and Terry Jackson of North Bay, were sitting on the seawall quietly fishing when the cruise ship neared the Canadian Shore.
“We saw the ship turning and realized it was coming right toward us.”
“Someone in the bow of the ship shouted through a megaphone and told us to run.”
They were fishing from some steps which form a break in the decorative fencing and were only about 75 feet from the point where the ship struck the wall.
“We jumped off the wall and ran back in time to see the ship strike the wall,” Mr St. Louis added.
“We probably had a good minute to get away, but that is the closest I ever want to be when an ocean-sized ship is coming in my direction.”
Charles Neilson, a Parks Department employee, was working in the area directing trucks which were hauling backfill to the site.
One truck was unloading dirt at the point where the ship struck the wall.
He saw what was likely to happen and shouted to the truck driver to get his truck out of the way.
SEAWALL DAMAGED – A 25 foot hole was torn in the breakwater by the Aquarama. Windsor Parks Department employees were dumping fill behind the seawall at the time of the accident, but they managed to race away in a truck moments before the ship’s prow cut through the solid reinforced concrete wall. Persons fishing nearby also escaped.
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The next day, August 23, 1956, featured the following photo with the headline:
CRASH DELAYS CIVIC CENTRE
SURVEY RUINED SEAWALL – Damage to the city’s breakwater caused by the S.S. Aquarama Wednesday morning, was inspected today by William Gravett, parks manager, left, and Raymond J. Desmarais, Commissioner of Works. It is estimated that it will cost $30,000 to repair the hole and Mr. Gravett said work on the Civic Centre waterfront park may be delayed to next year.
Place Cost of Repairs at $30,000
Ships Owners Pledge To Repay in Full Any Claim by City
Not only will it cost $30,000 to repair damage caused to Windsor’s breakwater by the S.S. Aquarama Wednesday, but the Civic Centre park development will be delayed until next year.
The estimate of damage was made this morning by Ray J. Desmarais, commissioner of works, who emphasized that it was impossible to make an accurate calculation.
“All we can do is take the amount that it cost us to build it per foot, and estimate how much it will cost to tear out a section and rebuild it. Right now it looks as though we’re going to have to take out about 50 feet of the breakwater.”
“It may cost twice as much to repair it as it did to build it because of the extra work involved.” Mr. Desmarais added as he completed his personal inspection of the damage caused by the ship’s crash Wednesday. He said “That figure I gave you may be too low.”
William Gravett, parks manager, also made a tour of the waterfront this morning. “We won’t be able to finish work on this end of the park this year,” he said indicating that portion west of the broken breakwater.
“This is where part of the material from the Old City Hall was to have gone. Now we’ll have to leave room for construction truck to move around in, and we won’t be able to fill in this area until after the wall is rebuilt, and that probably won’t be this year.”
Prompt settlement of any claims was promised Windsor Wednesday by Lee J. Barrett president of the Michigan-Ohio Navigation Co., owners of the Aquarama. “I called up the Mayor to express our concern, but he was out of town,” Mr. Barrett said.
“However I talked to the City Solicitor and assured him we would do everything that’s necessary. We’ve already turned the matter over to our underwriters.”
Mr. Barrett said the ship’s invasion of Canada was due to natural conditions and not because the Aquarama is unmanageable.
Earlier marine experts said the new superstructure on the converted C-4 freighter acts like a huge sail and since it is concentrated at the front of the ship, the vessel cannot be turned against the wind. They cited earlier problems in Detroit and in Cleveland.
“The area in the Detroit River has something to do with it,” Mr. Barrett said. “You’ll notice there is a shallow area not far from where our ship sails out, marked by a buoy. Usually, too. there are some ships docked there.”
“The Captain found himself because of these conditions, out too far.”
“As far as stability goes, the Aquarama’s gone though two very severe storms in Lake Michigan, and it rode like a duck. The best marine engineers in the country have planned this ship, and we have every confidence in it.”
Mr. Barrett said the in leaving Cleveland’s harbour “could have happened to anything bigger than a yacht. You ask any yachtsman on the lake, and he’ll tell you the same thing.”
No estimate has been made of the damage to the ship’s prow, which was slightly buckled in the accident. Mr. Barrett claimed it could be repaired with a can of paint.
The Aquarama owner denied water had seeped into the hull and the ship left on a morning cruise today on schedule. However when the Aquarama docked in Detroit after Wednesday’s accident, the landing ramp had to be lowered 18 inches, indicating that the boat was riding that much lower in the water.
Followed with the above editorial cartoon by Ivan Johnson 🙂
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You know as well as I do, if an “accident” like that took place in 2008, there’s no way the boat would have backed out of the seawall, and sailed away 🙂
Also of note, Commissioner of Works Raymond Desmaris, is the man the senior’s high-rise at Riverside Drive and McDougall, in front of the new Casino addition is named for.
Well looks like someone had the canal idea back then!!!!!
I remember my dad and I going to see that!
very cool post andrew!!!
now, what is that building in the first picture of the damaged breakwall??
Finally it is revealed to the citizens of Windsor, the reason for the Cleary failure, the Canderell building stuck with vacant spaces, the fire that razed the Holiday Inn, and the real reason the arena could not be built downtown, it was that damn Aquarama.
*slaps forehead* cpike….you my freind are a genius! ( lol did i even spell that right?)
it’s all so damn clear now, it’s a curse!!! that’s where they were dumping WHAT as landfill???? uhhh-huh….the old city hall, you know…the one that they made the right decisions in?!?!!?
and now that i think of it……she’s probly the reason all of ojibway and brighton beach failed! sitting there, all mad and tied up, hidden from the world to rot in her slip. leaching her pain into the soil.
gotta love that though, eh? “capt. we just destroyed a 25 ft section of windsor with the bow” “that’s alright. continue the voyage” lol
man, did she even drop anchor trying to stop??? how fast could it have been going in a u-turn??
A ship that large does not have to be going fast to break up some concrete. I wonder what would have happened if they dropped the anchor? Would that have sent the stern into the seawall?
I just looked through the previous entries on this thing. Quite interesting, and I wish I had known about it when it was here. It would’ve been fun to see it. Oh well… Now, what other treasures are lurking in the shadows of this area? Maybe shining some light on these things before they disappear will make a difference next time.
not too sure david II. i would think so long as both of them dropped she would have stayed straight. i think the stern would have swung in towards the wall if just the right anchor dropped, and by the looks of the picture from the moment of impact, she was backpeddling pretty hard which i would imagine kept her straight. i guess if i were piloting a ship that big the best way to hit something is dead on as opposed to destroying X amount of the hull.
does anyone know how often google earth is updated?? because she’s apparently still moored at the corner of fuhrmann blvd and tifft street lol
uh….in buffalo lol
me again. did you guys know what took the aquarama’s spot at the grain elevators in buffalo when she left???
the LANSDOWN !!! why do all our old ships go there?? lol
Well, I’ll defer to those with more experience regarding the steering of ships since I know bubkis about it.
Thinking about ships and cruising and such, I was reminded that some years ago a plan was floated to run a fast “cruise” service using two (I believe) Russian boats. At one time, at least one of them was also parked on the west side. I wonder what happened to them.
yeah, i don’t know anything either lol i was just guessing.
i remember this idea as well. wern’t they supposed to be those hydrofoils or something like that? the kind that the whole hull comes out of the water at high speeds.
we really should have something like that or aquarama type service around here. something with a “wow” factor when it pulls up…not like the dinky black thing we have right now, but a real ship.
Sadly, the Aquarama was really not suited for this purpose, despite the money poured into it. It does sound like a great thing, though.
The problem with having a real ship here is the economics of it. There are way too many challenges, in my opinion. Aside from the “wow” factor, why do you think we need a ship like that — and who/why do you think would use it?
well to make some use of all this water we have of course lol. but yeah….i know practically noone would ride it, not enough to keep a ship even half the aquaramas size running. nobody takes the time out to just relax anymore. i know i would ride it, how often do you get to see the shore from the water unless you own a boat? i’m sure the casino could find some folks who may want to go for a cruise/ watch a live preformance en route by some celebrity…..meh, maybe not.
i guess i can’t come up with a very good reason…..and that’s disappointing because it makes me see the huge obsticals. i guess in the end, i just wish i were born in a different age. the only memories i have of this fine lady are going down to russel street with my grandpa and watch them gut her.
and there’s just something elegant about seeing a nice huge beautiful passnger ship on the river and in the lakes.
you’re totally right of course. it’s just one more thing on this site that makes me wish for a better time.
Aaron, 5yr. too late, but to answer your question…I think that building in the background along the river was ‘Canada Cement Co.’, with the round tower/cylinder building.
That’s it!! Thanks, Jay!
I’m still here. Not too late. lol