- Date
- 1971-03
- Kind
- Transportation
- Where
- Saint James Harbor
- Participants
- Lt. Cmdr. Burl Williams (captain)
- Carried out by
- Sundew
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- maritimeshippingcommunityheritage
- Within
- Saint James Harbor
Summary
In mid-March 1971, the Coast Guard cutter Sundew made two visits to Beaver Island to deliver gasoline, fuel oil, bottle gas, and a new radiator for one of the generators at the island power plant. The Beaver Beacon says the cutter had to break through about 2½ feet of blue harbor ice and took several attempts to reach the dock.
At the request of Jewell Gillespie through Representative Phil Ruppe, the visit also became a community event: school was dismissed and Lt. Cmdr. Burl Williams gave the children a tour of the cutter. The article calls Sundew the first vessel in the harbor since the end of December.
Evidence and limits
The source gives only a mid-March date and says there were two visits. It does not identify the Coast Guard unit number, exact berth, generator, fuel quantity, or official request and port-call records.
Open questions
- Which Coast Guard log identifies the two visits, crew, and exact dates?
- What power plant and generator received the radiator?
- What fuel quantities and harbor conditions were recorded?
See also
Sources
- Reports two mid-March visits by Coast Guard cutter Sundew at Jewell Gillespie’s request through Representative Phil Ruppe, delivery of gasoline, fuel oil, bottle gas, and a radiator for a power-plant generator, icebreaking through approximately 2½ feet of blue ice, and a schoolchildren’s tour led by Lt. Cmdr. Burl Williams; it does not provide exact dates, a port log, or the generator’s identity.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1971-03_Beaver-Beacon
- The held six-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1971-03_Beaver-Beacon
Added 1 August 2026 · revised 3 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Sundew fuel and icebreaking visits to Beaver Island, 1971”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/sundew-fuel-and-icebreaking-visits-1971/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, March 1971, “Sundew Visits.” (and 1 further source listed on the page).
Last revised 2026-08-03. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.
BibTeX for “Sundew fuel and icebreaking visits to Beaver Island, 1971”RIS for “Sundew fuel and icebreaking visits to Beaver Island, 1971”