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25th Annual Gales of November Benefit - Speaker Details:

LSMMA is working to coordinate an exciting and informative Gales of November schedule featuring dynamic educational speakers.  Please check the website often to learn of additions and changes!

Brendon Baillod – “The Evolution of Great Lakes Steel Ships”
The presentation will provide an overview of the development of iron and steel hulled ships on the Great Lakes from the early iron hulled revenue cutters of the 1840s to the modern 1000 footers of today.  Baillod will I discuss the technological and economic factors that drove the changes in design and shares images of ships that marked important turning points in Great Lakes vessel design and technology.

Curt Brown – “The Faces Behind the 1905 Gale”
Within two dozen boats out on Lake Superior just before Thanksgiving 1905, a wicked storm whipped up that old-timers insisted was the worst storm ever to smack Duluth and the big lake. Curt Brown takes us behind the drama of the Mataafa, Crescent City, Ira Owen and other doomed freighters with rare photos of captains, meteorologists, moguls and journalists. Bringing long-dead characters to life with their own words and images, Brown will discuss some of the human emotion and a legacy of changes prompted by the storm – including Congress’ decision to fork out $75,000 for the construction of the Split Rock Lighthouse.

Steven Daniels – “Bringing Maritime History Back Into View”
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Preservation Society (GLSPS) sponsors a program that allows scuba divers and others who may have shipwreck artifacts to return them so that others may enjoy them.   The GLSPS program, called Put-It-Back, has resulted in many historic artifacts being returned to shipwrecks or displayed at locations in Duluth, St. Paul and several places along the North Shore, as well as in the Apostle Islands.  Daniels will share the projects that the GLSPS has conducted over several years with interesting results that you may now enjoy.

Patrick Labadie – “The Evolution of Great Lakes Ship Construction”
Labadie, a past Gales of November speaker, will share ship design and construction methods from the War of 1812 (200 years!) to the highly-efficient self-unloading bulk freighters of today’s fleet, evolving from primitive wood construction to iron and steel.

Dr. Darby Nelson – “For Love of Lakes”
America has more than 130,000 lakes of significant size. Ninety percent of all Americans live within fifty miles of a lake, and our 1.8 billion trips to watery places make them a top vacation choice. Yet despite this striking popularity, more than 45 percent of surveyed lakes and 80 percent of urban lakes do not meet water quality standards.  Dr. Darby Nelson’s presentation is an affectionate account documenting our species’ long relationship with lakes — their glacial origins, Thoreau and his environmental message, and the major perceptual shifts and advances in understanding of lake ecology.

Terry Pepper – “Serving Time at Stannard Rock”
Be sure to attend the Executive Director of the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association's presentation as he recounts the story of building the most isolated lighthouse in the US, its premature and deadly end a few short months before it scheduled automation, and hear one of the survivors tell what happened as you join Pepper on a rare tour through the lighthouse’s shattered remains.

Fredrick Stonehouse – “Pirates, Crooks & Killers – The Dark Side of Sailing the Great Lakes”
While the Great Lakes never had swashbuckling pirates like those that swept the Caribbean Seas, there were low-lifes willing to rob and pillage when opportunity presented itself.  Others were not above “moon cussing” or showing false lights to lure ships to wreck on inshore reefs where they pillaged the cargos and murdered the crews.  Even while ashore sailors were not safe from the clutches of evil doers.  This presentation focuses on a fascinating aspect of Great Lakes maritime history little explored.

Special Saturday Keynote Luncheon Speaker:  Dr. James Delgado, Director of Maritime Heritage, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - (Luncheon admission tickets required)

Dr. James Delgado - “The Museum Beneath the Seas”
Join maritime archaeologist Dr. James Delgado as he takes us on a global tour of some of the most significant, fascinating and tragic shipwreck sites of the last few thousand years, many of them sites that he has helped explore and document.  From ancient wrecks in the Mediterranean, the lost fleet of Khubilai Khan's failed invasion of Japan, Civil War submarines and Great Lakes schooners to Titanic, his illustrated presentation will explore shipwrecks and discuss the lessons they offer, how they add to our understanding of the past, and why they are special places -- virtually museums in the sea - that merit protection, preservation and study. 

LSMMA would like to extend a special thank you to the following Canal Park and Duluth hotels for providing complimentary lodging to Gales of November speakers: