|
''Queen of the Lakes'' is the unofficial but widely recognized title given to the longest vessel active on the Great Lakes of the United States and Canada.〔The source of data for this article, unless otherwise cited, is the book ''Queen of the Lakes'' by Mark L. Thompson or the vessel files included in the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio. Where contradictions in records have been found, the data from Mark Thompson's book has been given preference.〕 It is also the name of an annual festival in Ballinrobe, County Mayo, Ireland, and the winner (Eimear Gorman) of a scholarship competition held in connection with the Minneapolis Aquatennial, of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Lake George in New York is called by some "The Queen of the Lakes".〔The Summit at Gore Mountain (Area Activities ) Accessed Feb. 28, 2011〕 The Brazilian city Capitólio has also been given this title. This article features the use of the title on the Great Lakes, usually for lake freighters. ''Queen of the Lakes'' has been used as the name of three vessels that sailed on the Great Lakes, but none was the longest on the lakes at the time. The first was a three-masted Canadian schooner built in 1853 as the ''Robert Taylor'', measuring 133 feet. It was renamed ''Queen of the Lakes'' sometime before 1864.〔Boatnerd (Great Lakes Shipwrecks Q ) Accessed Feb. 28, 2011〕 She sank nine miles off Sodus Point, New York on November 28, 1906. The second was a propeller driven vessel launched in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 12, 1853, measuring 196 feet. She was lost to fire in port on June 17, 1869.〔Lewis, Walter ( Queen of the Lakes (Propeller) ) Maritime History of the Great Lakes, Image search; Accessed Feb. 28, 2011〕 The third was a small side-wheel steamer built in Wyandotte, Michigan in 1872, measuring 108 feet. While anchored near South Manitou Island she caught fire and burned in 1898. The iron hull was later scrapped.〔BGSU () Accessed Feb. 28, 2011〕 The title has been bestowed upon vessels that were especially liked〔Modderman, Mary; March 27, 1998 (Requiem for a Ferry Queen ) Accessed Feb. 28, 2011〕 or those considered to be especially beautiful or richly appointed. Such was the case as late as 1949, at which time the ''Noronic'' was so honored.〔Death of a Great Lakes Queen () LostLiners.com; Accessed Feb. 28, 2011〕 It has been applied to the United States Coast Guard Cutter ''Mackinaw'' for its long and significant role in facilitating Great Lakes shipping and safety.〔United States Coast Guard, April 21, 2006 () Accessed Feb. 28, 2011〕 The most common use of the title, however, at least since the early 1940s, is to honor the largest vessel on the lakes. On April 20, 1841, the ''Detroit Free Press'' referred to the steamer ''Illinois'' as "Queen of the Waters",〔Detroit Free Press ( Illinois (Steamboat) 20 Apr 1841 ) Maritime History of the Great Lakes; Accessed March 3, 2011〕 but given that three vessels in that century were named ''Queen of the Lakes'', its use as a title for the longest ship was not then common. The title is applied retroactively to vessels launched before this use of the title became popular. While some use gross tonnage, capacity, or length between perpendiculars as the criterion, the most commonly accepted standard is length overall (LOA). This article uses LOA as the standard. ==Early Queens== The earliest vessels on the Great Lakes were human powered canoes and bateaux. Sources differ as to what vessel qualifies as the first real "ship" on the lakes. Many say it was ''Le Griffon'', built by LaSalle through the winter and spring of 1678 and 1679, and launched in May of that year to sail the upper lakes (above Niagara). Reports of its size vary from 40 to 70 feet long. Contemporary chroniclers called it both a bark and a brigantine. The ''Griffon'' was soon lost. It was last seen on September 18, 1679 and was lost with all hands. Her final location is unknown. Those who consider the ''Griffon'' to have been the first ship on the lakes—and hence, the first Queen—also consider her to have been the first lost.〔See ( LaSalle's Griffin ) and Thompson, pp. 13-14〕 Other sources say the first ship was a smaller vessel built by LaSalle at Fort Frontenac beginning in September, 1678, for the purpose of conveying supplies and material to Niagara. This vessel, which is called the ''Frontenac'' in some reports,〔Mansfield, John Brandt (ed.), ''History of the Great Lakes'', J.H. Beers & Co., Chicago, 1899, p. 81〕 is said to have been about 10 tons burden, measuring from 35 to 45 feet long. Expedition journalists called it a brigantine. It departed Fort Frontenac under La Motte's and Louis Hennepin's leadership on November 18, 1678, and arrived at the east bank of the Niagara River on December 6, 1679. Shortly thereafter, LaSalle and Tonty came with more supplies, and the their vessel (carrying the anchor, rigging, and guns for the ''Griffon'') foundered in the surf less than thirty miles from Niagara. Hennepin called this vessel a "great bark." One source says the loss occurred on January 8, 1679. Supplies and extra clothing were lost, but LaSalle and his men rescued material for the ship, dragged them to the mouth of the Niagara, rested a few days in an Indian village, and arrived at the settlement above the falls on January 20.〔Cox, Isaac Joslin; (''The journeys of Rene Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle. Volume 1'' ), (hosted by the (Portal to Texas History ))〕 Some say the lost vessel was the ''Frontenac''. Historian Francis Parkman says that by 1677, there were already four vessels on Lake Ontario between 25 and 40 tons burden.〔Parkman, Francis; ( LaSalle and the Discovery of the Great West ) ; Little, Brown, & Co.; Boston; 1879; p. 109〕 He does not say if any of them were named. Tonty's journal indicates that the vessel he and LaSalle used was a 40 ton vessel, but he does not associate a name with it.〔Cox, p.2〕 Records of ship sizes on the lakes between 1678 and 1816 are rare. According to the ''Detroit Tribune'', the vessels ''Gladwin'', ''Lady Charlotte'', ''Victory'', and ''Boston'' were on the lakes in 1766 and the ''Brunswick'', ''Enterprise'', and ''Charity'' were launched in 1767, 1769, and 1770, respectively, but no dimensions are given.〔About the Great Lakes (Early Sail and Steam Vessels ) Accessed March 3, 2011〕 The HMS ''Ontario'', at 80 feet, was launched on Lake Ontario on May 10, 1780, and sank in a storm on October 31, that same year.〔About the Great Lakes ( History and Development of Great Lakes Ships ); Accessed March 3, 2011〕 A history of Washington Island in Door County, Wisconsin notes that the schooner ''Washington'', used to supply the fitting out of Fort Howard at the head of Green Bay in 1816, was the longest ship on the lakes at the time, but no details are given. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Queen of the Lakes」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|