The Benjamin Noble Mystery

[@DendriticWolf]

It's deeply saddening to see that so many of these stories come down to putting safety aside in the pursuit of profit.

[@EraZero250]

Employee safety is a relatively new idea, only becoming widely adopted and promoted in the last 3 decades.

[@jimkoonce6574]

Money over meat!

[@tessaducek5601]

Still this way. Amusement parks truckers motels etc. Upkeep is costly and profit is the bottom line.

[@musicstewart9744]

Wait till you see what happens once Trump is President. This sort of accident will be a daily occurrence.

[@micadean1600]

Nothing has changed.

[@literallyjusts0meguy]

I love it when you cover disappearances on the Great Lakes. Brings me back to when I was just a kid, staring at an old map of shipwrecks on the lakes and seeing those that only had points where they were last seen. Keep going!

[@stacypeterson3685]

Wow the picture of the ship was incredible! Definitely looked overloaded

[@felixcat9318]

There's a documentary on KZbin about a German, family owned shipping line, sailing under flags of convenience, which lost a ship and its entire crew, and whom was known for having decrepit, outright dangerous and unseaworthy ships which they always heavily overloaded and bullied Captain's to set sail into known storms! The incident ship was known to have a hole in its hull which they plugged using concrete, and to be in an extremely poor state of repair, with multiple, long term mechanical failures even before she set sail. The company also failed to pay the bereaved families of the dead Crew, or even to communicate with them. The documentary maker filmed one of their ships being loaded with cement, and when it set sail, the decks were literally awash, as she sat so low in the water! Upon checking the cement loading documents, it was found that the ship carried 160 Tons in excess than she was legally/safely permitted to carry! That additional cargo earned the company 10,000 DM (this was pre Euro) which is why they overloaded their ships and bullied the Captain's to set out into known storms. The company couldn't have cared less about the Crew they'd killed, treating them as irritating, worthless, easily replaced scum. The company that owned El Faro were as odious about their lost Crew as was the German shipping line! I have never before or since seen a commercial vessel set sail with her decks awash with seawater... I cannot understand why people Crew such dangerous ships in the first place, needing to earn money is impossible if the unseaworthy wreck you're aboard capsized in the night...

[@stephenbarker5162]

I agree, as a layman can anyone tell me if the ships on the Great Lakes had Plimsoll Lines painted on their hulls to indicate safe loading levels. Having watched a number of these videos I do wonder what the insurer's attitude to the owners of these ships was especially regarding sailings in November. That said despite many of the freighters looking very simple in design compared to ocean going ships and seemingly underpowered especially in violent storms, some of them seem to have long careers.

[@daleslover2771]

I've always wondered how these shipping firms stayed in business... Watched a documentary on a super tranker (crude oil carrier) leaving the Middle East, heading to the East Coast, NY. Carriers that carry million barrels of oil transverse back to the Middle East in less than 2 trips they the owners have made all of their investment back, Why would these shipping firms take a chance to lose their ships, especially in the winter months? Unless there was one huge insurance scam with Lloyds of London. ? Just doesn't make sense.

[@999theeagle]

OSHA does NOT approve.

[@LotsofLisa]

It looked like it was already sinking before it even left.. So sad.

[@nil525]

"The Noble was built to be a workhorse" Only had an 800hp power plant. It's never not deeply unsettling to me to be reminded of just how absurdly underpowered these vessels were. So many men died because of how much cost-cutting was done, it's a crime, an utter crime. An outstanding video, as always, man!

[@stevenboulay8593]

My car got 717hp😢 poor guys. Not VIP.

[@timfagan816]

Horsepower is insurance.

[@LudicrousTorpedo]

To me, the Daniel J. Morrell being the last ship to see the Benjamin Noble before the waves overtook her was probably a foreshadowing of her own fate decades later.

[@michaellorah9051]

It was definitely an ironic twist of fate, that's for sure.

[@Madhouse_Media]

Kinda sorta not really. The Morrell was one of the busiest ships on the lakes in her early years.

[@Weretyu7777]

Seems to be a pattern, that the last ship to see a doomed vessel suffers a similar fate later on.

[@nlwilson4892]

@@Weretyu7777 Or just that ships that regularly sailed in stormy weather because their companies demanded it, were more likely to see another before it sank and more likely to sink themselves.

[@JoanneRogers-z1n]

Morrell was also last to see Adella Shores

[@tgfabthunderbird1]

The case of the Noble has fascinated me. That photo says it all: the boat was overloaded and sailed into a storm Eisenhardt knew nothing about. His decision to overload cost them.

[@claytonparfumorse3101]

No. This was on the company, not solely the captain

[@skullsaintdead]

@@claytonparfumorse3101 Mostly on the company but the captain, no matter how young, or how inexperienced, must prioritise the lives of his crew above all else. He/she should think "what if the crew was my family and friends?". I know it must be terribly difficult to put your job on the line, but that is the responsibility a captain bears (just like the captain of a plane). Yes, the company should be held liable for their deaths and pay out to the families for having a workplace culture that pressurise captains (prob. preying on the younger captains esp.) to prioritise profits over safety. I'm also a proponent of CEOs and board members that knowingly risk the lives of employees, for those managerial-types to go to jail (fines aren't enough of a disinsensitive to millionaires/billionaires, esp when they just get bailed out like during the GFC and with no corporate *criminals* going to jail!).

[@randomlyentertaining8287]

​@@claytonparfumorse3101 Both parties are at fault. The company for coaxing him to take a bad load and his for accepting to do it. He had final say. It was his choice to risk his life and that of his crew that killed them. He knew what the owners wanted to do was insane and he did it anyway.

[@claytonparfumorse3101]

@@randomlyentertaining8287 i did say not solely his fault. He does get some blame, but significantly less than if there hadn't been major coercion by the company

[@foo219]

@@claytonparfumorse3101 The captain has - as was pointed out in the video - the final say. It was up to Eisenhardt how much to load, and whether to sail or not. But yes, the safety culture of that company was seriously flawed. I have refused to allow my people to work for security reasons before, and I'll continue to do so. No amount of profit is worth the life of a colleague.

[@Nature_guurrll]

I live in Duluth, about 3 miles from the canal. Love watching the ships coming in & out of the harbor. I think it’s a miracle that more ships didn’t go down before meteorology and modern technology could predict storms. Lake Superior is incredibly powerful and can change on a dime. Thank you for telling this story!

[@primigenius623]

"But the Noble's managers were eager as possible to deliver as much as they could on this first trip..." Once again, decisions made by people who aren't at the sharp end of the stick.

[@dianab3585]

I am so happy to wake up to this first thing. Thank you Big Old Boys!🎉

[@DFAMPODCAST]

Your channel is amazing and your a true artist. Your ability to breathe life into the tragic stories of these great ships is truly a gift! Living on the lakes makes these videos even more amazing. Swimming in the waters, knowing that sometimes the hulk of one of these vessels is nearby under the water is wild too!

[@BLD426]

Nothing better than waking up to a new BOB episode.😁 Well, when you're old that is.

[@garbagebanditdayz819]

A haunting story, yet another of many. What a terrifying final minutes that “little” freighter and its crew endured before it was most likely swallowed by Lake Superior. The fact that several from various points and locations witnessed the lights of what was most likely the Benjamin Noble as she attempted to traverse that horrific storm then suddenly… Disappear. Really puts into perspective just how dangerous the lakes are.

[@Sailor_alan]

The tragic thing is that the majority of accidents at sea still occur due to commercial pressure. I dont think the crew would have been a happy bunch knowing how low she was sitting. Such a tragedy that could have been prevented.

[@Sisehebeiwowu]

Idk why but these videos are so addicting to listen to when im cleaning my room

[@charlottemcbrearty1849]

It always ends the same way but I can't stop coming back.

[@rightmadmod9416]

I was stunned how immense the Great Lakes are. Like being on the sea… amazing!

[@Crashed131963]

I can see lake Superior from my living room window . Pointe des Chênes Sault Ste. Marie Canada. Love watching lack of fresh water YT videos as it is pouring rain outside.

[@hilaryfijolek4608]

I actually saw an interview once with a meteorologist, who said that weather and waves on the Great Lakes indeed behave more like they are inland seas than typical lakes. Their massive size affects that belabor significantly.

[@hilaryfijolek4608]

Behavior. Stupid spellcheck.

[@rightmadmod9416]

@@hilaryfijolek4608 lol

[@rightmadmod9416]

@@hilaryfijolek4608 my family was a sea faring one going back donkey’s years. Point is: ‘thought’ it was the sea for a moment. So beautiful! (My family is British Newfoundlander, so hello to Canada!❤️)

[@kimfleury]

5:15 Great footage of the J.W. Westcott US Mail Delivery! It looks like that's at the Detroit station. At that time there was also a station in Port Huron, about 60 miles north of Detroit. (Sidetrack story -- in the 1950s, my Dad and some of his brothers decided they were going to swim across the St. Clair River to Canada, about a mile across... but the J.W. Westcott mailboat captain scooped them out of the water and gave them what-for for putting their lives at risk in a major, very busy shipping channel). The J.W. Westcott is the only "floating post office" in the US, and has its own zip code. If you happen to know someone who works on the ships, you can send them cards and packages by addressing them to the crew member, the ship, and using the J.W. Westcott zip code.

[@parsleypalace3272]

Glad I read this. I was just going to ask what was up with the rowboat guy! Had no idea what went on there.

[@thomas1910]

48222, got it memorized. Boys on the J.W. Wescott are lifesavers, especially during COVID!

[@KingfishStevens-di9ji]

Westcott has it's own zip code

[@northerncaptain855]

As a professional mariner now retired, that mail transfer was a nice piece of seamanship.

[@KingfishStevens-di9ji]

@@northerncaptain855 they still do that till this day in the Detroit River

[@juanrambo7634]

These videos are great. Thank you for producing them. Info without bullshit is hard to find

[@Electriceye1984bySam]

Great to have a new vid from B.O.B. for listening while doing Saturday morning chores 👌🏻 thanks sir!

[@rogerallen6644]

Never fails to amaze me how safety was and is often ignored for a few more dollars that amounts to nothing in the long term. Excellent video.

[@bcc5701]

This is exactly what we’re doing right now- destroying the planet for a few extra dollars that won’t mean anything in a few decades

[@johannderjager4146]

That's because corpos are so concerned with short-term profit that they don't see past it to notice the long-term consequences.

[@mikehenthorn1778]

Safety rules are written in blood on the bodies that didn't follow them.

[@craigcook1571]

As long as the decision makers (companies) aren’t the ones in danger they will never change. If they were required to sail with the ships in those kind of storms they would look at different

[@grantpringle8950]

Nearly 3 decades in oil and gas construction. "Safety is our primary concern... unless it interferes with the schedule." There's a reason they pay the way they do. Who do you think is going to go do that work in horrific conditions? Hard, skilled, men that nobody else wants.

[@stuartwhelan233]

You make brilliant documentarys l really enjoy them listening over in Carlisle Cumbria England 🇬🇧 Rest in peace to all who lost there lifes in the great lakes. So sad profit comes before lifes yet again...

[@oliviaedwards5763]

I'm from Michigan grew up on lake St. claire, can still remember where I was when the FITS went down😢

[@sdcoinshooter]

My Father was a Merchant Marine in the 40s on the Great Lakes, he served on a freighter called the Harry T. Ewig, built in 1902 and sunk as a barge in 1962

[@miapdx503]

Your videos are all outstanding. But this one...the footage and photos are stunning, but that shot of that grossly overloaded ship is terrifying. How they could imagine it succeeding is just insane. Looks like an insurance scam. 😒⚓🌹 Around 16:30, that shot of the Daniel J. Morrell with her crew assembled below her...priceless. I had to pause, and study it. We see you Sailors! I wish you calm seas and good fortune 🌹⚓

[@mssixty3426]

Just what I needed this morning, something to listen to and glance at while working in the kitchen👏🏼😄

[@evolveausevolveaus]

Thank you as always B.O.B's for the upload . Hello B.O.B gang, happy christmas to everyone.

[@colettemccoy2921]

You sir are a great story teller 😊

[@Lemmon714_]

HOT DANG!!! A new BOB video!

[@AllegraBottlik]

Great way to wake up in the morning, thank you for your incredibly high quality work and research, no generative A.I., and of course the solemn respect for all victims of tragedy. Rules and regulations are written in their blood and if we forget history and its lessons and the hard work then and now to keep up safety and appropriate treatment of workers, we're doomed to repeat them. Your calm yet emotional, clear voice and writing is one of my favorites on the Internet.

[@heikedrakakis8988]

One, if not the, most soothing voices on youtube telling some of the most touching stories makes this one of my top 5 channels!

[@michaellorah9051]

I want to take a moment to say that the music you use for your videos is always top notch.

[@sirridesalot6652]

Seems as though a common contributing factor to many sinkings on the great lakes was the ships being overloaded for the conditions they faced.

[@Roger-fs5yo]

Ya know? I know nothing about great lake shipping, but even I can see that thing is overloaded😦

[@Peter-z5f]

Steel is a load that obviously doesn't float at all, same as ore, if that type of ship starts going down it doesn't linger at the surface, it sinks like a stone. There's a video called "Iron Ore Carrier Sinks in 2 Minutes," and when this massive ship crosses the tipping point and starts to go down, it goes down scary fast, maybe 30 seconds, it just keeps accelerating downward.

[@jjhendo]

My god!! Growing up in Duluth, I can't believe that photo..

[@jorodo299]

When it comes to atmosphere this channel has no equal.

[@willsbugroom]

thanks for covering stories like this, I was born and raised in Michigan and I love the local history!

[@markplane4581]

Another outstanding story! I love the musical selections as much as the storytelling and images in these videos. Whatever you do, please don't change the closing music, I find it oddly comforting, a nice counterpoint to the preceding tragedies.

[@ts.elliot5870]

Greed and Hubris sank many ships.

[@PeterMigliorini-x4o]

Once again, thank you for sharing another riveting midland marine tale. How sad, yet how fascinating!

[@Skaitania]

Waterline Stories and Big Old Boats release within an hour? Time for a cup of coffee, bowl of cookies and a comfy chair...we are setting sail and it's going to get wet.

[@thomasharper4166]

So love these stories!Never stop story telling!

[@justinbarion2269]

❤ big old boats!

[@jaynorris3722]

Thank you all your hard work on the research and the videos. It's easy to see this is your passion and joy. Thank you for sharing it with us.

[@Falloutfanforever-b5h]

You and Songs of the Great Lakes are my favorite channels!!! 🎉😁

[@TheGratefulDeadhead]

The Daniel J. Morrell seemed to have foreshadowed its own impending doom. The wooden lakeboat Adella Shores, also sinking in 1909, the same year the Noble was built and the 1 year anniversary of the Morrell being in service, was briefly following the Morrell in the locks of Sault Ste. Marie before she tragically sank on Lake Superior. It's crazy to me that the Morrell is in the stories of ships which also saw the same fate she would.

[@markthompson2079]

Love your channel!! Please keep up the amazing work you do!!

[@richdandrea9413]

the music and narration gives a creepy vibe to the content..harkens ones thoughts to the last horrific moments of the crew...well done BoB!!

[@kamokev_92]

It was no fault of the captain for the loss of the ship back in those days, but the fault of the owners and their greed for making profit. The lessons of yesteryear came too late for many on the lakes. RIP to the lost brave sailors on the Great Lakes 🫡 Fair winds and following seas.

[@JH-th9th]

Really glad I found your channel ! Your stories are interesting and really look forward to notifications. THANK YOU !!!!

[@Trappedinatriangle]

This channel is gold teir

[@cseivard]

Very effective narration. Thanks.

[@leonaheraty3760]

Love your channel! Merry Christmas everyone! 🎄🎁🧑‍🎄🎁🎅

[@babyswheels54]

Really enjoying these stories and I’m sorry for so many sad endings. Not being from the Great Lakes region I had no idea of the fury those lakes could wreak on the ships that sailed those waters. Thank you for a job well done.

[@propman3523]

Excellent research. Great post! I grew up in Milwaukee, so this post hit home, as I loved watching the ships on Lake Michigan. Yes, look deep enough and you'll see greed as the cause of most disasters. Why didn't they head for Superior? So sad that human lives are not as valueable as the cargo they carried. How terribly tradgic and sad. I've also been to the locks-very impressive. God bless all those who perished. Yes, I guess Lake Superior never gives up her dead. Where we know ships have gone down, the public should fund bouys to mark the final resting paces of these brave sailors. We do the same for those killed in battle.These brave men deserve no less.

[@jez6208]

Nobody tells tales of nautical nightmares as calmly as you old son. 😊

[@steveshattuck8128]

Those poor sailors trying to make a living and end up paying with their lives 😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢 great video Bob 👍

[@The88Cheat]

I really enjoy this channel

[@Ilix42]

It’s weird to think of a lake being as dangerous as the ocean, having lived in SoCal my whole life.

[@Brandyalla]

Well, they're really, really _big_ lakes

[@kimfleury]

In some ways more dangerous, because on the ocean a wave travels far before hitting a shore, and when a wave hits the shore it returns in roughly the same direction it came from. On the Great Lakes, the waves do the same thing, except sooner, and when they roll back on the return, they meet the waves behind them. It churns things up. Basically, the ships are pummeled by waves from both directions, and the metal has to flex in response. You know what happens when you bend a paper clip back and forth repeatedly? The waves act like that on the ships. Nowadays insurance companies make it a condition that they're not paying claims for vessels that are sent out in conditions of extreme waves, so shipping companies pressure risk-taking captains to wait the storms out.

[@garymckee63]

These videos are totally professional and better than anything on TV today 👍

[@AML-FRL]

Great job!!! Very informative video. An aside, the section of an operating engine [starting at 4:02] doesn't appear to be part of a triple expansion engine for a screw propeller, but more likely part of an engine for one of the lakes' large sidewheel boats. Again great work!!! 🚢🚢🚢

[@ShadowDragon8685]

That photo of the ship departing... That's... That's just horrifying. Either they fiddled the paperwork pertaining to how much that cargo weighed, or they fiddled the paperwork pertaining to how much she could safely have. Either way, the crew of that ship paid for the company's greed with their lives, and it's infuriating.

[@ninamaria5409]

Fresh cup of coffee + a new BoB

[@KingfishStevens-di9ji]

Thanks, you do a great job on these.

[@augustosolari7721]

Omg... The photo shows the waterline reaching the anchors... The Ship was obviously overloaded.

[@leahcole8672]

Someone bring this man to Michigan so he can visit the lakes! Not now but like...in summer 😂

[@Crashed131963]

Not Now. We have 10 feet of snow and -10c in Sault Ste. Marie Canada now . Its a nightmare . Snowing for almost 2 weeks .

[@irisandhoney]

Just woke up and there's a new Big Old Boats, don't mind if I do :)

[@cyberleaderandy1]

When they guy in the row boat at 5:25 puts something in the bucket and its taken onto the boat. Whats in the bucket, fish ?

[@csolivais1979]

Mail. Just search U.S. Wescott. Still delivery mail about the same way.

[@rmmvfazbearentertainment1054]

The fact that the S.S DANIEL J MORREL was the last ship to see the S.S BENJAMIN NOBLE is interesting 🤔

[@fhwolthuis]

Great video ❤

[@bansheemuse4794]

I just read an article about the Adela Shores that was 2 miles behind the Daniel J. Morel in 1909 that disappeared with all of her crew.

[@NihilusShadow]

I never understood why safety was always overlooked. I get that the owners were greedy and needed their cargo as soon as possible, but if they were really that greedy then safety should have been their number one concern. I mean what hurts profits more: Your cargo arriving a little late or your cargo not arriving at all because it's at the bottom of the lake? Perhaps insurance payouts in the day made losing the cargo more profitable than not getting it on time?

[@Fr.Savage_McKiligan]

The age old tale of profit over safety. I have dozens of trucker stories that mirror this on a small scale. Too many new, younger truckers who are too nervous to say "no" when they know some other guy will pull 5 tons overweight with a worn out truck with bad brakes and hald tires for less money than they will, so they do it, hydroplane or jack knife, and lose their job or worse. If the company ever tells you "it'll be fine!" that's when you need to find a new company or go into business for yourself.

[@easycamperdandog]

I would have thought the marker lights in Duluth would have been red and green so if either one went out a captain could still determine which was north and south. Any ship coming in could keep the green to starboard and the red to port. Having them both the same color was just asking for it.

[@piedpiper1172]

Bosses far away from the work and in zero danger insist workers are wrong about risks and send them into danger to die for profit. This summarizes almost every single one of your videos. I’m so glad you keep telling these stories because it so viscerally shows a simple truth: The rich really aren’t like us.

[@AllegraBottlik]

Great way to wake up in the morning

[@JonathanAlbright-wc9sh]

Jesus! Her anchor is touching the water in that photo! Corporate greed in its most supreme.

[@GanzotheSecond]

poor men lost for a rich man's greed, a story as old as capitalism

[@plasmaburndeath]

People need to start to nail their barometers down, always falling in these stories

[@Cloud30000]

With so many cargo ships on the Great Lakes lost to severe weather and\or overloaded cargo, it surprises me that the insurance companies didn’t refuse to cover them. If they did, then it surprises me that the owners didn’t enforce stricter safety reps to prevent losing ships and eating the cost. Maybe the profit from that one extra run each month or 25% extra cargo per run was lucrative enough to buy a dozen replacements for each ship lost, but that seems unlikely considering that if the cargo was so valuable then the cost of losing that cargo would be devastating.

[@chrisschanbacher9061]

There's a saying on the railroad. Uphill slow, downhill fast, tonnage first safety last.

[@luketdrifter2100]

Great video on a forgotten wreck.

[@rustyrideon]

Good video. Thank you

[@CAROLDDISCOVER-2025]

Captain had no choice to die that was his choice

[@cherimolina2121]

Never noticed this about lake Superior before. At 16:32 it looks just like a hand with finger pointing, the thumb closed inward and the other fingers tucked under at varying positions.

[@shaundrahammond3282]

Boat man back. Hell yeah.

[@timothycoyne5874]

It's completely tragic that so many lives have been needlessly lost on the Great Lakes due to the greed of shipping companies who dictated captains and their crews take unnecessary risks in the name of profits. I can understand sudden storms taking ships down during the summer months, but pushing their luck during early spring and late season runs - especially in November - is just a recipe for disaster.

[@jaysonmiller6540]

Never thought I’d hear of little Port Clinton Ohio in a video. Rest in peace to those lost. Fair winds and following seas sailors.

[@debbiejarus1723]

Great video! Thank you :)

[@scottdunn9087]

Yes!

[@jupetownsend4171]

Oh this was a great one!

[@bitey-facepuppyguy2038]

Interesting that before I even clicked on this, I could see that the lack of free-board was a problem.

[@stargazer5784]

Yes... Obviously grossly overloaded.

[@guyk768]

5:19 For a second I thought the man in the boat was throwing something at the ship, for being so close to him. 20:47 This is ever accurate now, as it was then. Managers don't see the horror or risk, and can say whatever on paper, even if it isn't true, should be punished severely, for putting people's lives last, and their profits first.

[@BenNoble]

felt like i had to watch this one

[@steinskotmyr2194]

These stories are indeed very interesting. I have not yet seen all the stories about bad weather losses on the Lakes, but I have one question. One can fairly easy see that the Great Lakes freighter designs would not do well in a North Atlantic winter storm. But on the other hand has any of the deep sea cargo ships, that frequently sails on the Lakes, ever been lost due a Great Lake storm? I am not thinking about any of the numerous collisions that has occurred.

[@PereMarquette1223]

John’s sister getting that letter after the boat was already gone and reading about his fears knowning that deep down they absolutely came to fruition must’ve been an absolutely sickening feeling. If evidence like that came up in a shipwreck case today, you’d win millions in a wrongful death lawsuit. Knowing his account and feelings leading up to the wreck and how the captain was pressured into loading his ship is not a good recipe no matter the era.

[@michaelsnodgrass1808]

Would love to get model plans for the Benjamin Noble. Any suggestions? Thanks

[@pfadiva]

Poor naive captain. Thinking his owners would know how much the ship could carry. Or would care.

[@PsychoMatt6061]

9:17 😨 yeah no, I’m stepping off that ship if i saw it that low.

[@alastairward2774]

Waterline Stories coincidentally uploaded today as still, another story of a ship sunk with no regard for the crew before departure.

[@steventhomas8964]

Could you do a Great Lakes playlist?