Lake Loop 7: West Across the Top

American Integrity is one of 13 ore boats on the Great Lakes called the “thousand-footers,” whose length ranges from 1000′ to 1013′.  They represent the most recent upgrade in ore boat capacity.

She was launched in 1977.  The newest 1000-footer was Paul R. Tregurtha, launched in 1981.  As the fleet ages, are there discussions of building the next 1000-footer or another upgrade in capacity?  Maybe the next large investment should be in a super lock at the Soo.

Calumet, a boat I’ve crossed paths with an uncanny number of times recently, headed south after negotiating the Straits.

On the hard in St. Ignace, it’s an unidentified blue trap net boat and fish tug Richard E. 

I had to get a photo of this log truck northbound on the Mac.

A few miles west of the Bridge is St. Helena Light. 

Burns Harbor left White Shoal Light behind as

it headed for the Bridge and then Lake Superior.

 

Lansing Shoals Light is about halfway between the Bridge and the Garden Peninsula.

Closing out this post is Seul Choix (pronounced “say shwah”) Light.  This light appeared–with the gentleman who paints it and othersr–in this post from last December. 

All photos by Will Van Dorp.

 

CB16

Let’s follow Calumet out of the Calumet.

There”s a turning circle farther up, so she was able to enter and leave bow first.

The draw bridge drawn up to the right . . . that’s what remains after the Pontokratis incident in 1988 that threatened to delay traffic all the way to the Mississippi, according to this article. 

 

This traffic shares the river with speedboats like the one in the foreground.

 

Here’s the last bridge–frozen up–before Lake Michigan.

Hmmm . . . “largest inland US container port . . .”  Here are the numbers.  About a century ago, this port was built to take  stevedores and longshoreman away from the urbanizing Chicago River.

The big red dot with the white center is what Calumet passes on her way out of the Calumet.

And at the mouth, you can see Chicago 20 miles away.

Looking east around the bottom of the lake, it’s the refinery and steel mills in Indiana.

All photos by Will Van Dorp.

 

CB11

I’ll delineate a new region here . . . the Greater Strait of Mackinac, 20 of so miles on either side of the bridge.

First we met Michigan with its barge Great Lakes.  To see her light and still sporting the AMOCO logo on its stacks, click here and scroll to 6/21.  Photos from 11 years ago.

Calumet was crossing under the bridge westbound.  Little did I know we’d cross paths again soon.  More on that later. Here are previous locations I crossed paths with Calumet.

Then Cuyahoga allowed a great profile view until

 

we got a 3/4 stern view.  Note the steering pole on the bow, like a bowsprit.

The next two were Indiana Harbor and

Mobile Bay.

All photos by Will Van Dorp.

 

 

Port of Ashtabula 1

“one of the toughest ports in the world, sharing that distinction with Shanghai and Calcutta . . .”  I believe that’s “tough” as quantified in black eyes, missing teeth, and blood spat out onto the gravel.  I wonder who had the breadth of experience to render this judgement.  Why would such ports as Rio, Murmansk, and Oswego not be included . . . or others?

Besides that, those few sentences render a great description of mechanization.

Mississagi is wintering over here in Ashtabula. She’s appeared on this blog a half dozen times . . . working.   I’m coming home is Norfolk Southern’s mantra.

I believe this archway is a coal conveyor belt.

That’s all you get of GL tug Rhode Island.  Mississagi (1943) is only a year younger than Alpena.  But Rhode Island dates from 1930.   The white tug in front of it is Nancy Anne. based in Cheboygan, MI.

A bit farther east in Ashtabula, Calumet winters over.  Previous posts including Calumet can be found here.

and off its stern, it’s the upper portion of tug Olive L. Moore (hull launched in 1928) and barge Menominee.  I caught them on Lake Huron in August 2017.

If you wanted to start reading that historical marker from side one, here it is, then if you want, you can go back to the beginning and read that in proper context.  If you want the short history of Ashtabula, click here for a review of a good book.  If you want the juicy details or at least the gritty ones, buy Carl E. Feather’s Ashtabula Harbor:  A History of the world’s Greatest Iron Ore Receiving Port.  My copy is on order.

All photos by Will Van Dorp.

 

Random Ships *8

We continue along the Great Coast, now on Lake Erie, a place of

dramatic early morning skies.

And lakers against the canary daybreak.

Calumet has just left the Cuyahoga,

Italcementi Essroc has the very best logo . . .

and Stephen B. Roman has worn it for some time now, as it also has the distinction of being the first vessel to break out of the Toronto winter ice most years.

The engineering department catches some air and ambience entering Cleveland on a late summer evening.

See the hatch in the hull of Buffalo directly below the ladder on the port side?

J. S. St John (1945!) is a sand dredge I’d love to see under way.  I caught these two slightly different angles in Erie PA.

 

And finally, American Mariner–possibly transporting grain to ADM in Buffalo–makes her way into port and up the ship canal after dark sans assistance.  Two details not captured by these photos include the sound of crew opening hatches and the effect of three spotlights picking up a variety of landmarks along its path in.

Here’s the scoop (pun intended!) on the purple lights on the Connecting Terminal elevator.

All photos by Will Van Dorp.

 

Random Ships *5

My staying with this * thread leads me to wonder how to refer to this long peaceful international boundary between the US and Canada, and after rejecting a few like “third coast” (It would be disputed with the Gulf of Mexico) and “fresh coast” (Fresh has too many negative connotations) I’ve settled –for myself–with “great coast.”  Keep the Lakes Great stems from great partnerships.  Check out this great short video.

So let’s continue with this cataloging of a finite set of vessels from both countries along the great coast.

  CSL Laurentian (1977) is a fleet mate of my erstwhile crush . . . Alice Oldendorff.  We’ve we’ve both moved on;  at least I have.  I can’t speak for Alice of the stone heart.

Kaye E. Barker is one of the classics, to me.  Launched in 1952, she went back to work in spring 1976 after experiencing  a 120′ growth spurt that allowed her to lug 6000 more tons of cargo.

Adding a self-unloader shortened her in-port times, making her more profitable in the steel-related trades.

Here she’s at the south end of Lake St Clair, Detroit river bound.

Atlantic Huron‘s story here details just how much of an panAmerican boat she is, having worked from the Orinoco to Newfoundland.

As a former resident of Indiana, I’m amazed by the diverse usage of that state’s 40-mile shoreline along Lake Michigan from national lakeshore to national leader in steel production.

As such, it’s not surprising to find this name on one of the Great Lakes 1000-footers.

Can you tell the direction of travel?

Can you “read” the prop wash of Calumet?

Here the 1973 “river class” boat has backed out of the stone dock in Holland MI and is heading through Lake Macatawa out to Lake Michigan.

All photos and sentiments by Will Van Dorp, who will continue to unpack the summer (and fall) gallivants, along with a few diversions.