My vote for 'most bizarre thing' was the lack of any serious stability tests through some number of refits and mods. I mean, anytime you add any significant weight above the CG, you check the effect on stability. That's not a no-brainer question; it's not even a question to be asked. And if the vessel's *already* got a wide reputation for excessive rolling -- it's insanity not to. [Afterthought: You need to check the stability after adding weight *below* the CG too. But this merely makes the vessel's handling stiffer by increasing the metacentric height and righting arm, which incurs a significant hit on the occupants' comfort. That's not a big safety concern until it degrades crew performance in working the vessel or brings too much water over the deck too often; very few ships have ever sunk because they were *too* stable. A designer might well trade crew comfort for speed and stable maneuverability in, say, a racing yacht or a destroyer.]
My great grandfather was one of the firemen that jumped on the bottom of the hull to cut a hole in it to help people escape. Always great to see another awesome video from you, especially one that my family was connected too! Did some research through family. His name was Richard E Cassidy he eventually retired as a battalion cheif for station 13 in 1946.
Wow! What a great bit of family history, one of those legendary things that get passed down the generations. (Like how my great-uncle, once removed, was supposedly a bootlegger running boats full of booze from Vancouver to Seattle. Not quite as admirable as your gramps, eh?) I love family stories like yours! Very cool. Cheers!
My great grandmother lived in Chicago in 1915, and she wrote about the disaster in her diary, which I've inherited. The day after the disaster, she took 5 pictures of the ship (which have since been lost) from the LaSalle St docks at 6am. She wrote about her feelings, about crying later on, and about having some nightmares.
@@hansofaxaliaI know right? It’s *such* a *completely* outrageous claim that someone who was alive at the time the ship sunk would be horrified enough to write about it and have enough empathy to cry for those lost! In case you missed the obvious sarcasm, I’m joking. Jesus Christ, it’s not at all infeasible. Are you just dense or something? 🤦🏼♀️
As the descendant of a Great Lakes sunken ship survivor, I have watched many videos of sunken ships in the Great Lakes and the Eastland as well. Your video is the most detailed I have ever seen and it is obvious that you put a lot of work into it. Thank you. It’s much appreciated 😊
My grandfather had a sister. That worked for Western electric. She was a survivor LV eastlaccident. Accident. When the boat turned over, she hung on to the rail. And waited when help came. That was a horrible accent. They have all pass now. My mother left me an album with pictures and newspaper clippings. That's all I remember until today. I saw this video. This was very impressive. I thank you for making this video.
The irony is that she made a great ship in Navy service. Granteed that was Once they cut off most of her top weight, and made her basically unrecognizable.
The plaque isn't that brief, although if you mean it's less commemorartion than it deserves, I agree. (I've seen it while taking my little one for walks during a stay nearby.) While it's a tragedy from start to finish, you really have to feel for Erikson. Dude did little (or nothing) wrong and even was fairly heroic during the disaster. Even without external blame, he would probably have carried a lot of guilt, but for others to have added to it is so cruel. (Conversely, the owners and inspectors who put profit ahead of safety once again got away basically free and clear.)
You and Part-Time Explorer are my favorite maritime disaster content creators. Eastland disaster still amazes me, as horrible as it happened if they had been out and open water it would have been a lot worse. It's just one of those things that really makes you think about what could have been done different how the scenario could have gone better or have gone a lot worse if certain factors were different
Joseph Erickson was one of the few heroes aboard the ship and arguably did nothing to cause, and risked his life to do everything possible to minimise a disaster he couldn't reasonably predict or prevent. May his legacy be redeemed.
Thank you for sharing this excellent account of the disaster. It is definitely in the top tier. I grew up in Cicero, Illinois, and heard first-hand accounts from some of our elderly neighbors, two of whom were aboard and survived. One of them paid every kid who earned their swimming certificate from the park district five dollars, a lot of money to a grade school kid in the early 80s.
I was surprised to hear of the concrete deck repairs around 44:00. Was this common practice? The only other time I've heard of concrete ship repairs was filling in the dent on a British aircraft carrier's flight deck from a bomb.
its cheaper to do than wood and i bet people in charge made the choice without asking anybody that knew better or even cared about the ship weight, they knew it was prone to roll over and still added all that weight to it
Awesome video, as always. A couple of other historical disaster channels have gone over the Eastland disaster, but nobody I've seen has gone so much into the design and construction details as you have, and it really makes a difference. The main story is terribly tragic, but understanding all the 'whys' explains it so much better. And just as a general note, I really appreciate you using both Imperial and Metric since I 'understand' the latter better (and many won't understand the former at all I'd think), and also the interesting little details like the Great Lakes using mph and not knots- I'd have never expected that. It's a neat little thing to stick into my massive pile of useless but interesting facts ;)
I think the only other one that comes close is Part-Time Explorer (who does a lot of ship videos, too). The generic disaster channels never are quite as good.
@@blahsomethingclever Wait, what? His Great GrandMOTHER was a child? How did she have her own children- your Dad's Grandmother- if she died as a child?
Please don't apologize; this was a great video and I enjoy your straightforward and matter of fact storytelling, avoiding the manipulative techniques so beloved by television producers for cheap sensationalism. Great show.
Excuse me Mr. Horrors, I wanted to ask if you'd ever do a video on Unsinkable Sam, the ship's cat that survived 3 different ship sinkings. Specifically the German battleship Bismarck in May 1941, the HMS Cossark in October 1941, and the HMS Ark Royal in November 1941. As a fan of both naval history and feline history I think this story would make a FANTASTIC video.
Unfortunately, unsinkable Sam really can't be proven nor disproven to exist, dracinifel (another youtube naval historian) did a long form on the history of ships cats and covered a few of the more famous ones, but when he looked into unsinkable Sam there was no official records or documentation to back up the story, all the accounts he could find were anecdotal and the survivors from Bismark that were later asked about the cat didn't believe that there were any cats on the German ship to begin with But by way of the same argument there is no solid evidence to prove he didn't exist either But either way, there isn't really much to go on to make a video 🤷♂️ Maybe a shorter October spooky story?
Glad to see the Eastland disaster getting the documentary treatment it deserves. I once read a terrible book on it and thought, “Lord, I hope someone does a better job!” And you have-a _great_ job!
I was once on a fishing boat in Long Island Sound for the bluefish run (mmmm, bluefish, yummy), when we found ourselves passing a Trident sub inbound to Gales Ferry. Everybody aboard promptly moved to the starboard side to check out this impressive sight, and the boat rolled until the gunwale was less than a meter from the water. I'd say it was somewhere around 15°. The mates promptly started herding people back to port to correct this ... but if that's necessary, the underlying problem is obvious to anyone who actually understands boats. I remembered the *Eastland* -- my grandfather was an engineer and a connoisseur of accidents, and made one out of his granddaughter too -- and I never went fishing on that boat again.
She'd always been considered a "tender " ship since her launch. Her height to length ratio was considered problematic, plus the terrible layout of her ballast system.
A company I worked for knocked down an Interstate bridge leading to 14 deaths. Under similar maritime law their liability was essentially zero. The court determined we were not at fault due to an undiagnosed medical condition with our captain. But even if we had been liable the cap on liability was tiny compared to nonmaritime tort law.
Glad to see that the SS Eastland has been getting attention lately. In the last year I've seen several videos by reputable channels covering the SS Eastland.
I only learned about The Eastland tragedy a month ago and I’m 49 years old, it’s such a sad thing that what happened to these poor people barely gets remembered or passed down to younger generations… Thank You for telling their tragic story in such a detailed and respectful manner ❤
I'm a deck hand on the river taxis here in Chicago, born a raised here. It amazes me how many people who are from Chicago, even my fellow deck hands, have never heard of the Eastland
Great maritime video! Interesting hearing about this ship from this angle. In case if anyone is interested, if you want to hear more about the passengers themselves that were on the Eastland, Caitlin Doughty did a video on the Eastland disaster.
1:02:55 Another TH-cam channel named "Part-Time Explorer" did a documentary of their own on the Eastland about a year prior to this one. in it, it is stated that the Eastland Disaster Historical Society contacted the living relatives of Peter Boyle to talk to them about Peter (I'm assuming for their documentary). Living in Ireland, they had no idea that Peter Boyle had died a hero until contacted, up till then, they had assumed he was merely a victim of the ship sinking. If you have time after this one, i'd recommend watching their documentary too, as is a fantastic supplementary to this one (also, it got sacked with a false 'self-harm' warning & demonetized, so i'd recommend showing it some love too). Thanks for reading, you are all wonderful, and i hope you have a nice day :)
OUTSTANDING Outstanding review of this ship and her history. A most in depth assessment of the things done wrong.......and that went wrong leading to the disaster. In the end, decisions taken....and mistakes made by human beings....... Congratulations and thanks for all the hard work you put into producing this..... I am watching it a second time. Funny how you take in something new with each viewing. James Hennighan Yorkshire, England
I, for one, really appreciate the great detail that you went to in this episode. I would not cut out anything to try to make it shorter. Indeed, I would encourage longer episodes if it adds to the content quality and not worry about the length. Great story; thank you for your posts!
Anyone making such fantastic videos on any Great Lakes disaster deserves a huge round of applause. Just based on where I'm from, I love the stories involving Superior the most (I'm Minnesotan, I can't help it) but you always manage to put together a compelling narrative based on your research no matter what the subject is. I guess I'm just stunned that I watched an hour and a half of TH-cam and didn't notice. Nicely done!
I known about the disaster for decades but the detail you’ve provided was by far the best account of a ships history,disaster and rebirth! Great memorial to the victims of this foreseeable tragedy.
Mate, discovered your excellent channel just yesterday. First class work, but as a sailor not familiar with all the waters you describe - a few charts highlighting relevant passages might enliven the viewing experience. Just a thought. Fair winds.
I had heard this story enough to not be very enthusiastic about giving this video a chance, but you definitely added more details and insight into the little things that culminated with the disaster in the end. The clusterf...that was the legal finale to the disaster was a bitter cherry on top. That all makes this stand out for the others, and was still enjoyable. 👍
An excellent video, I really like this long format, even if it means videos less often. This was very informative and I already knew about the Eastland. Now I know a whole lot more about the Eastland.
Another great video as always MH! Staying on the great lakes, I would love to see a video documenting the Great Lakes Storm of 1913. "The White Hurricane" is deserving of a video all on it's own, especially with how many ships and sailors were lost.
This is amazing. Fantastic work. I’ve seen other stuff on the Eastland disaster but never this detailed, and it was certainly cool to learn the ship had such a long life after the incident.
Thank you for giving this disaster the time and attention it deserves, but has been denied. It reminds me, in terms of the owners basically getting away with murder, a huge death toll and then basically being forgotten, of the General Slocum which I would love to see you cover.
It’s wild that I’ve never even heard of this disaster. So many people dead and it’s almost completely forgotten only 100 years later. Great video, man!
It's been fantastic to hear your voice again. I knew the basic story but not to the degree that you showered us with today. It turned out to be well worth the hours of hard work you put into this. Thank you. 😊😊😊❤❤❤❤❤❤😊😊😊
Very detailed and well-researched piece on the Eastland. I particularly admire the part on the difficulty of evacuating a ship quickly, something that is rarely touched upon in accounts of lost liners.
Thank you for the in depth documentary. I'd heard of this incident before as an example of stability when I was training for subs, but not in this amount of detail. I really love your presentations and always look forward to the next one. I realize it's not your day job, but it is nice the amount of effort you put into it and the wait is always worth it.
Great video man. Loved the discussion about center of gravity. Maybe it’s the engineer in me but I think being able to explain this disasters in detail like this is very immersive. Keep it up!!
This was fantastic, I appreciate the time you had to have put into this. This channel, Brick immortar, Part-Time Explorer, Oceanliner Designs and Waterline Stories have tapped into something I didn't know interested me so much.
Great video as always, You do a great job at your research both historically and technically, and thank you for going into detail about why this tragedy happened as well as explaining balancing for a maritime craft. Keep up the great work
Ask A Mortician did a video on the Eastland which is where I learned of the disaster so it was interesting to take more of a deep dive into the ship and her history (I just hope you're not hit by the same problems Caitlin was when TH-cam took issue with her content).
Well, he did censor the photos and didn't refer to some rescuers defying police orders to stay away when the police themselves were really doing nothing but crowd control, so he should be safe.
i’m visiting chicago this upcoming week for my birthday. i’ve heard the story before while on the river, but i didn’t know there was a historical society to visit. thank you for your video and thank you for giving me another place to stop!
not to offend your content is so informational and i learn a lot from every video, but these videos have helped my insomnia so much. thanks for all you do man!
Fascinating .This is an excellent documentary. I can't imagine how much time and effort it must have required to create it! Excellent. Thank you so much.
Honestly, the conversion to the U.S.S. Willamette feels like a redemption arc for the Eastland. Like she was saying "SEE?! I can be a good ship." Which to be fair, her accident was more a product of human error than anything else.
what a fantastic video - extremely informative, very well told - i often watch your videos while drawing and i didnt even notice its almost 1,5 hours long! as a historian and a person with a lifelong fascination with ships i really, really love your videos. never sensationalistic (as topics like this are often treated on youtube), with the necessary respect for the people affected but still with a sense of humor and, most importantly, based on facts, which is really appreciated too. one can easily tell how much work and effort you put in each and every video on this channel keep up the good work, thank you so much!
Amazing video! I laugh that you apologize for lack of content, at the end of an hour long video. Thanks for your time in creating these for us, you're amazing!
I'm sure you get a million suggestions on every video, but I'd love to see a video on the Esso Northumbria. There seems to be very little about it on TH-cam.
Another great video. Ever thought of doing the General Slocum fire sometime? Just read a book about it, fascinating and morbid story. Anyway, thanks for your hard work in making these!
Good stuff! This is the second video I've seen on the subject, the first one being from the perspective of a mortician. The technical and legal perspectives are, as per usual, clearly described. Have a like!
Thank you for another great video. I have a thing for trains and planes, and it looks like ships are getting added to that list. Definitely looking up Mr Hilton's book. Keep safe :)
This is fantastic. I’ve seen this covered quite a few times but yours is the most detailed. I didn’t know that this wasn’t well memorialized. The Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones starts with a similar disaster. The Eastland is what reminds me that the first chapter of the first book is incredibly dark especially for its time.
Incredibly researched video. Also hearing Jeff is good, I was a fan of his long before I discovered your channel, hopefully he will feature more in future videos.
Hah! I'm working on an Eastland Disaster documentary right now and I love that every major channel is basically doing its own version. Love love love seeing this. Also slight correction the description says July 25th 1915.
What a devastating way to have your life cut short but cheers to those citizens on the pier and nearby who leapt to help. That said, great story telling, I really enjoyed the novel approach.
Most bizarre thing here was that A. The deck rotted from spilled drinks and B. That the solution was to cover the deck in concrete is even more insane
My vote for 'most bizarre thing' was the lack of any serious stability tests through some number of refits and mods.
I mean, anytime you add any significant weight above the CG, you check the effect on stability. That's not a no-brainer question; it's not even a question to be asked. And if the vessel's *already* got a wide reputation for excessive rolling -- it's insanity not to.
[Afterthought: You need to check the stability after adding weight *below* the CG too. But this merely makes the vessel's handling stiffer by increasing the metacentric height and righting arm, which incurs a significant hit on the occupants' comfort. That's not a big safety concern until it degrades crew performance in working the vessel or brings too much water over the deck too often; very few ships have ever sunk because they were *too* stable. A designer might well trade crew comfort for speed and stable maneuverability in, say, a racing yacht or a destroyer.]
my actual response to hearing this was "WHY?!?"
lmao its like a manager from hotel hell designed this boat
Talk about "RotGut" booze. If the whiskey can rot out Oak planks from just "spilled" drinks maybe acid resistant stainless steel was needed instead.🥴🫗
@@Tindometari You listen to enough of these and you begin to think everyone back then was insane.
My great grandfather was one of the firemen that jumped on the bottom of the hull to cut a hole in it to help people escape. Always great to see another awesome video from you, especially one that my family was connected too!
Did some research through family. His name was Richard E Cassidy he eventually retired as a battalion cheif for station 13 in 1946.
Wow! What a great bit of family history, one of those legendary things that get passed down the generations. (Like how my great-uncle, once removed, was supposedly a bootlegger running boats full of booze from Vancouver to Seattle. Not quite as admirable as your gramps, eh?)
I love family stories like yours! Very cool.
Cheers!
@@bholdr----0Still, your granpa was doing good work for the people 😅
Wow small world isn’t it?
Wow!!!!
@switchfoot8813
Haha nice, I'm all aboot Cahnaduh, eh?
Cheers!
I can't believe that I now get such joy binging lectures on shipwrecks. I've become my father.
Same here mate, though thankfully not in every way.
And I’m only 19!
Check out Ric Mixter for some great shipwreck stories.
Thanks, I'll try him out.
My great grandmother lived in Chicago in 1915, and she wrote about the disaster in her diary, which I've inherited. The day after the disaster, she took 5 pictures of the ship (which have since been lost) from the LaSalle St docks at 6am. She wrote about her feelings, about crying later on, and about having some nightmares.
just a question i thought of after hearing the photos were lost, have you thought of digitizing the entry about the disaster to preserve the story?
@@heliveruscalion9124 Certainly, but I wouldn't know where to host it long-term for anyone to find. Any suggestions?
My grandma was that diary, but she said your story is fake. She took eight pictures to prove it (which have since been lost)
@@hansofaxaliaI know right? It’s *such* a *completely* outrageous claim that someone who was alive at the time the ship sunk would be horrified enough to write about it and have enough empathy to cry for those lost! In case you missed the obvious sarcasm, I’m joking. Jesus Christ, it’s not at all infeasible. Are you just dense or something? 🤦🏼♀️
Super fascinating case from beginning to sad, bitter end. Thanks for inviting me to collab on this. Let's do it again!
So summary sadly the people got screwed. Damn sounds about right
Made the legal side of this much easier to understand. Much appreciated to the both of you
@@tylerzidron1367 Thank you!
@@tylerzidron1367what other option is there? Hold the owner or government liable? No thanks.
SOP with settlements. The creditors and corporations take everything first and leave the dregs and scraps to the peasants who were actually hurt.
As the descendant of a Great Lakes sunken ship survivor, I have watched many videos of sunken ships in the Great Lakes and the Eastland as well. Your video is the most detailed I have ever seen and it is obvious that you put a lot of work into it. Thank you. It’s much appreciated 😊
Happy your ancestor made it out. What was the ship if you (if you are comfortable answering)?
@@danny_rags they wouldn't have been much of a survivor if they hadn't gotten out.
My grandfather had a sister.
That worked for Western electric. She was a survivor LV eastlaccident.
Accident. When the boat turned over, she hung on to the rail. And waited when help came.
That was a horrible accent. They have all pass now. My mother left me an album with pictures and newspaper clippings. That's all I remember until today. I saw this video. This was very impressive. I thank you for making this video.
The SS Eastland: giving a whole new meaning to the phase “sunk cost fallacy” since 1903.
OnRamps english is ruining my life
The irony is that she made a great ship in Navy service. Granteed that was Once they cut off most of her top weight, and made her basically unrecognizable.
Literally
"I paid for the whole ship, so I'm going to use the whole ship, dammit."
it didn't really sink, though... it rolled over, but I'll allow this pun
for now...
The plaque isn't that brief, although if you mean it's less commemorartion than it deserves, I agree. (I've seen it while taking my little one for walks during a stay nearby.)
While it's a tragedy from start to finish, you really have to feel for Erikson. Dude did little (or nothing) wrong and even was fairly heroic during the disaster. Even without external blame, he would probably have carried a lot of guilt, but for others to have added to it is so cruel. (Conversely, the owners and inspectors who put profit ahead of safety once again got away basically free and clear.)
You and Part-Time Explorer are my favorite maritime disaster content creators. Eastland disaster still amazes me, as horrible as it happened if they had been out and open water it would have been a lot worse. It's just one of those things that really makes you think about what could have been done different how the scenario could have gone better or have gone a lot worse if certain factors were different
There is also Big Old Boats.
@@RyderFlo I knew I was missing one! Thank you!
Brick Immortar is another good channel
@@Rougefrog300 haven't heard of that channel but I'll check them out. Thanks for the recommendation
Give The Shipwreck Archive a shot as well. Good people over there.
Joseph Erickson was one of the few heroes aboard the ship and arguably did nothing to cause, and risked his life to do everything possible to minimise a disaster he couldn't reasonably predict or prevent. May his legacy be redeemed.
Thank you for sharing this excellent account of the disaster. It is definitely in the top tier.
I grew up in Cicero, Illinois, and heard first-hand accounts from some of our elderly neighbors, two of whom were aboard and survived. One of them paid every kid who earned their swimming certificate from the park district five dollars, a lot of money to a grade school kid in the early 80s.
I bet those children didn't realise that that elder was trying to save their life. :(
I was surprised to hear of the concrete deck repairs around 44:00. Was this common practice? The only other time I've heard of concrete ship repairs was filling in the dent on a British aircraft carrier's flight deck from a bomb.
Yes it was common. I live across from a shipwreck, the Squall in maine. I've frequently explored that ship and it has concrete decks
its cheaper to do than wood and i bet people in charge made the choice without asking anybody that knew better or even cared about the ship weight, they knew it was prone to roll over and still added all that weight to it
During WWI and WWII, ships were built out of concrete.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_ship
I too prefer mashed potato’s over boiled
Yeah but boiled potatoes with melted cheese and ranch are pretty bomb but even better with a good Cajon seasoning lol
No, arrest me if you want but i need these mashed taters. Lol
Boiled potatoes are great, because i only ever boil potatoes in order to mash them.
Baked.
You have to boil potatoes to mash them anyway.
Love the detail you put in the ship's design (good and bad), it's the most important part of the disaster, not just the disaster itself ❤
I've never heard it put so clearly: "adding mass causes the centre of gravity to move towards the new mass".
Awesome video, as always. A couple of other historical disaster channels have gone over the Eastland disaster, but nobody I've seen has gone so much into the design and construction details as you have, and it really makes a difference. The main story is terribly tragic, but understanding all the 'whys' explains it so much better. And just as a general note, I really appreciate you using both Imperial and Metric since I 'understand' the latter better (and many won't understand the former at all I'd think), and also the interesting little details like the Great Lakes using mph and not knots- I'd have never expected that. It's a neat little thing to stick into my massive pile of useless but interesting facts ;)
I think the only other one that comes close is Part-Time Explorer (who does a lot of ship videos, too). The generic disaster channels never are quite as good.
@@vstr4276 can't forget about Oceanliner Designs, Mike pumps out great content
My dad told me his great grandmother passed away on that ship when she was only a child. Really sad:(
Part-time explorers Eastland video is solid
@@blahsomethingclever Wait, what? His Great GrandMOTHER was a child? How did she have her own children- your Dad's Grandmother- if she died as a child?
Please don't apologize; this was a great video and I enjoy your straightforward and matter of fact storytelling, avoiding the manipulative techniques so beloved by television producers for cheap sensationalism. Great show.
Excuse me Mr. Horrors, I wanted to ask if you'd ever do a video on Unsinkable Sam, the ship's cat that survived 3 different ship sinkings. Specifically the German battleship Bismarck in May 1941, the HMS Cossark in October 1941, and the HMS Ark Royal in November 1941.
As a fan of both naval history and feline history I think this story would make a FANTASTIC video.
Still has 6 lives left!
Unfortunately, unsinkable Sam really can't be proven nor disproven to exist, dracinifel (another youtube naval historian) did a long form on the history of ships cats and covered a few of the more famous ones, but when he looked into unsinkable Sam there was no official records or documentation to back up the story, all the accounts he could find were anecdotal and the survivors from Bismark that were later asked about the cat didn't believe that there were any cats on the German ship to begin with
But by way of the same argument there is no solid evidence to prove he didn't exist either
But either way, there isn't really much to go on to make a video 🤷♂️
Maybe a shorter October spooky story?
No
Hawty
Unsinkable Sam, Schrödinger’s cat.
You're really coming into your own as a documentarian, I think you'll have a long and successful career in the business. Much deservedly.
Glad to see the Eastland disaster getting the documentary treatment it deserves. I once read a terrible book on it and thought, “Lord, I hope someone does a better job!” And you have-a _great_ job!
I was once on a fishing boat in Long Island Sound for the bluefish run (mmmm, bluefish, yummy), when we found ourselves passing a Trident sub inbound to Gales Ferry. Everybody aboard promptly moved to the starboard side to check out this impressive sight, and the boat rolled until the gunwale was less than a meter from the water. I'd say it was somewhere around 15°.
The mates promptly started herding people back to port to correct this ... but if that's necessary, the underlying problem is obvious to anyone who actually understands boats.
I remembered the *Eastland* -- my grandfather was an engineer and a connoisseur of accidents, and made one out of his granddaughter too -- and I never went fishing on that boat again.
She'd always been considered a "tender " ship since her launch. Her height to length ratio was considered problematic, plus the terrible layout of her ballast system.
also her width was a huge issue.
A company I worked for knocked down an Interstate bridge leading to 14 deaths. Under similar maritime law their liability was essentially zero. The court determined we were not at fault due to an undiagnosed medical condition with our captain. But even if we had been liable the cap on liability was tiny compared to nonmaritime tort law.
Glad to see that the SS Eastland has been getting attention lately. In the last year I've seen several videos by reputable channels covering the SS Eastland.
Well next year I got one coming out, with an ungodly length over three hours and with some original research too.
I only learned about The Eastland tragedy a month ago and I’m 49 years old, it’s such a sad thing that what happened to these poor people barely gets remembered or passed down to younger generations… Thank You for telling their tragic story in such a detailed and respectful manner ❤
I'm a deck hand on the river taxis here in Chicago, born a raised here. It amazes me how many people who are from Chicago, even my fellow deck hands, have never heard of the Eastland
Great maritime video! Interesting hearing about this ship from this angle. In case if anyone is interested, if you want to hear more about the passengers themselves that were on the Eastland, Caitlin Doughty did a video on the Eastland disaster.
Yeah her version is excellent 👍...
This video was very well researched with good visual aids. It was definitely worth waiting for!!
1:02:55 Another TH-cam channel named "Part-Time Explorer" did a documentary of their own on the Eastland about a year prior to this one. in it, it is stated that the Eastland Disaster Historical Society contacted the living relatives of Peter Boyle to talk to them about Peter (I'm assuming for their documentary). Living in Ireland, they had no idea that Peter Boyle had died a hero until contacted, up till then, they had assumed he was merely a victim of the ship sinking. If you have time after this one, i'd recommend watching their documentary too, as is a fantastic supplementary to this one (also, it got sacked with a false 'self-harm' warning & demonetized, so i'd recommend showing it some love too). Thanks for reading, you are all wonderful, and i hope you have a nice day :)
OUTSTANDING
Outstanding review of this ship and her history. A most in depth assessment of the things done wrong.......and that went wrong leading to the disaster.
In the end, decisions taken....and mistakes made by human beings.......
Congratulations and thanks for all the hard work you put into producing this.....
I am watching it a second time.
Funny how you take in something new with each viewing.
James Hennighan
Yorkshire, England
I, for one, really appreciate the great detail that you went to in this episode. I would not cut out anything to try to make it shorter. Indeed, I would encourage longer episodes if it adds to the content quality and not worry about the length. Great story; thank you for your posts!
Anyone making such fantastic videos on any Great Lakes disaster deserves a huge round of applause. Just based on where I'm from, I love the stories involving Superior the most (I'm Minnesotan, I can't help it) but you always manage to put together a compelling narrative based on your research no matter what the subject is. I guess I'm just stunned that I watched an hour and a half of TH-cam and didn't notice. Nicely done!
I known about the disaster for decades but the detail you’ve provided was by far the best account of a ships history,disaster and rebirth! Great memorial to the victims of this foreseeable tragedy.
Mate, discovered your excellent channel just yesterday. First class work, but as a sailor not familiar with all the waters you describe - a few charts highlighting relevant passages might enliven the viewing experience. Just a thought. Fair winds.
I had heard this story enough to not be very enthusiastic about giving this video a chance, but you definitely added more details and insight into the little things that culminated with the disaster in the end. The clusterf...that was the legal finale to the disaster was a bitter cherry on top.
That all makes this stand out for the others, and was still enjoyable. 👍
Thank you for all your awesome videos. Would you consider doing a video on the Felicity Ace?
An excellent video, I really like this long format, even if it means videos less often. This was very informative and I already knew about the Eastland. Now I know a whole lot more about the Eastland.
Another great video as always MH! Staying on the great lakes, I would love to see a video documenting the Great Lakes Storm of 1913. "The White Hurricane" is deserving of a video all on it's own, especially with how many ships and sailors were lost.
Mike Brady with Oceanliner Designs did.
Correction - the TH-cam channel Big Old Boats has done one.
@@ladyzapzap9514 I have watched that video, and it is really well done, but sometimes multiple videos on the same subject is a good thing.
I've seen a good number of videos about this disaster but none of them covered it as thoroughly as this, and I learned so much!
This is amazing. Fantastic work. I’ve seen other stuff on the Eastland disaster but never this detailed, and it was certainly cool to learn the ship had such a long life after the incident.
Thanks for the straightforward, gimmick-free production and narration. It's a rarity on TH-cam. Good work!
Thank you for giving this disaster the time and attention it deserves, but has been denied. It reminds me, in terms of the owners basically getting away with murder, a huge death toll and then basically being forgotten, of the General Slocum which I would love to see you cover.
A forgotten disaster that this city doesn’t forget. Thank you for covering this
What a stupid sentence
Isnt that an oxymoron??
Is it forgotten or not then?
OMG a new video I was so into these last year. Watched all of the disaster videos.
It’s wild that I’ve never even heard of this disaster. So many people dead and it’s almost completely forgotten only 100 years later. Great video, man!
It's been fantastic to hear your voice again. I knew the basic story but not to the degree that you showered us with today. It turned out to be well worth the hours of hard work you put into this. Thank you. 😊😊😊❤❤❤❤❤❤😊😊😊
Very detailed and well-researched piece on the Eastland. I particularly admire the part on the difficulty of evacuating a ship quickly, something that is rarely touched upon in accounts of lost liners.
Thank you for the in depth documentary. I'd heard of this incident before as an example of stability when I was training for subs, but not in this amount of detail.
I really love your presentations and always look forward to the next one. I realize it's not your day job, but it is nice the amount of effort you put into it and the wait is always worth it.
Great video man. Loved the discussion about center of gravity. Maybe it’s the engineer in me but I think being able to explain this disasters in detail like this is very immersive. Keep it up!!
Incredibly well researched video! Its a long wait but well worth it for the quality of videos you produce!
This was fantastic, I appreciate the time you had to have put into this. This channel, Brick immortar, Part-Time Explorer, Oceanliner Designs and Waterline Stories have tapped into something I didn't know interested me so much.
Great video as always, You do a great job at your research both historically and technically, and thank you for going into detail about why this tragedy happened as well as explaining balancing for a maritime craft. Keep up the great work
Horrific story but I was so excited to see that you covered it! Great video as always!
Ask A Mortician did a video on the Eastland which is where I learned of the disaster so it was interesting to take more of a deep dive into the ship and her history (I just hope you're not hit by the same problems Caitlin was when TH-cam took issue with her content).
Well, he did censor the photos and didn't refer to some rescuers defying police orders to stay away when the police themselves were really doing nothing but crowd control, so he should be safe.
thank you for this video. although I've seen several videos about this accident, yours is by far most detailed
i’m visiting chicago this upcoming week for my birthday. i’ve heard the story before while on the river, but i didn’t know there was a historical society to visit. thank you for your video and thank you for giving me another place to stop!
not to offend your content is so informational and i learn a lot from every video, but these videos have helped my insomnia so much. thanks for all you do man!
Fascinating .This is an excellent documentary. I can't imagine how much time and effort it must have required to create it! Excellent. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for keeping these going.
I’ve seen other documentaries on this, but none nearly as in depth! Just as I would expect from your awesome channel
Ive read many books on the disaster & still learned a wealth of knowledge from your show. Great job on your research and & finished product.
Honestly, the conversion to the U.S.S. Willamette feels like a redemption arc for the Eastland. Like she was saying "SEE?! I can be a good ship." Which to be fair, her accident was more a product of human error than anything else.
Excellent work as always! That poor Chief Engineer, God rest his soul.
Could you cover the SS Sultana? It's another forgotten tragedy
You should check out Big Old Boats. I believe he does.
I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this disaster. Thank you for the thorough coverage.
Here from @Legal Vices. Liked and subscribed!
Really glad to see you back. You detailed look at these disasters are great.
what a fantastic video - extremely informative, very well told - i often watch your videos while drawing and i didnt even notice its almost 1,5 hours long! as a historian and a person with a lifelong fascination with ships i really, really love your videos. never sensationalistic (as topics like this are often treated on youtube), with the necessary respect for the people affected but still with a sense of humor and, most importantly, based on facts, which is really appreciated too. one can easily tell how much work and effort you put in each and every video on this channel
keep up the good work, thank you so much!
Great video, it truly was worth the wait for the music ;)
My Grandfather was one of twelve kids from Marquette Michigan, your Great Lakes videos got me to your channel.
This is an absolutely superbly done documentary. I really appreciate the effort you put it - and it really shows.
I don't like it
I clicked thinking 22min story of the ship, not realizing it was actually a hour longer documentary and it was fantastic! Good work, so much detail.
Very appreciative of the work and respect you put into these videos and always eagerly await to see what you next upload will be. Keep it up! :)
Great video, I also like the different background music you used, adds a unique environment to it. Good job as always.
Amazing video! I laugh that you apologize for lack of content, at the end of an hour long video. Thanks for your time in creating these for us, you're amazing!
I'm sure you get a million suggestions on every video, but I'd love to see a video on the Esso Northumbria. There seems to be very little about it on TH-cam.
Another great video. Ever thought of doing the General Slocum fire sometime? Just read a book about it, fascinating and morbid story. Anyway, thanks for your hard work in making these!
Good stuff! This is the second video I've seen on the subject, the first one being from the perspective of a mortician. The technical and legal perspectives are, as per usual, clearly described. Have a like!
Oh shit, you put loads of effort into this. Thanks mate!
Love your videos and all the effort put into them. Sidnt know much about the SS Eastland. But its greatly appreciated.
Fantastic video. The most detailed examination of this tragedy produced so far.
Thank you for another great video. I have a thing for trains and planes, and it looks like ships are getting added to that list. Definitely looking up Mr Hilton's book. Keep safe :)
This has got to be one of the most detailed and intricate documentary that covers all the contributing factors in a tragedy.
This is fantastic. I’ve seen this covered quite a few times but yours is the most detailed. I didn’t know that this wasn’t well memorialized.
The Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones starts with a similar disaster. The Eastland is what reminds me that the first chapter of the first book is incredibly dark especially for its time.
*Tragic.
Not fantastic,
Satan.
Thank you for this. I appreciate all of the detail and all of the history.
A video this long from you is a Christmas present.
Thanks!
Great video as always. Really enjoyed this one thankyou for all your efforts to keep us entertained.
I have never seen this much information on the Eastland.... Nice job. 👍
Wow! What an awesome, detailed video. You put so much effort into this. Kudos to you, my good man.
I really prefer these long and in depth episodes. Well Done 👍
Awesome video. Super in depth. Wish I'd watched this while studying stability.
I love how much detail and background you put into this! Thankyou
Saving this one for one of those nighta you cant sleep. Nice vids!
Incredibly researched video. Also hearing Jeff is good, I was a fan of his long before I discovered your channel, hopefully he will feature more in future videos.
Hah! I'm working on an Eastland Disaster documentary right now and I love that every major channel is basically doing its own version. Love love love seeing this. Also slight correction the description says July 25th 1915.
great video I'll have to watch this one several time to absorb it all thank you.
Heyyy. The maritime horrors guy is back. Thanks for another great video
What a devastating way to have your life cut short but cheers to those citizens on the pier and nearby who leapt to help. That said, great story telling, I really enjoyed the novel approach.
Good to see you back with another one!
Holy moly, it's an hour+
This going to be good
You're the best dude . This is one of my favorite ocean channels