Sault Ste. Marie trip

Still catching up.

In early August my friend Ken and I went to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan to do some ship watching  Our first stop was Mackinac City.

I think this is the old foghorn building.  It currently housed the gift shop.

The Bridge.

A view of the lighthouse.

We made a quick stop at Detour.  I'd never been there and Ken said it was a good place to watch the boats pass.  As luck would have it, the Edgar E. Speer was about five minutes behind us. 

Heading towards Sault Ste. Marie.

We got to Sault Ste. Marie just as the sun was setting.  We headed to Sherman Park.  This boat had just left the locks and was heading into Lake Superior.  I don't recall which it was.

This one is docked in Canada.  I seem to recall Ken saying she's headed for scrapping.

The International Bridge from Sherman Park.

We were up early the next morning.  We stopped at the park where the Sugar Island Ferry is based out of.

First up was the Cedarglen.

Downbound. 

Next up was the Great Republic a short time behind the Cedarglen.

The crew was busy loading the supplies they'd picked up while going through the Locks. 

Down the Saint Mary's River.

Afterwards, we headed to the Locks.  There were two ships locking down.  The James R. Barker was already in the lock as the American Courage approached.

The American Courage lines up.

After the American Courage got into the lock we headed back to the park for a couple of pictures.

Downbound.

After the James R. Barker passed, we headed to Four Mile Beach.  Ken told me that this was another good spot to see the boats.  He was not wrong.  This became our pattern for the weekend.  We'd shuttle between the two parks getting pictures as they passed.

The American Courage heads towards Lake Huron.  One of the great things about Four Mile Beach is that as the boats approach, the water is drawn out away from shore.  As they pass, it comes rushing back in.  On the day we were there, it seemed like the water change was about 8 inches.  It is pretty noticeable, in part because the beach has such a gentle slope to it.

The Birchglen followed by the Honorable James L. Oberstar.

The Birchglen passing Sugar Island.

The Honorable James L. Oberstar heading north.

The power station at Sault Saint Marie.

The power plant was built between 1898 and 1902.  It is a beautiful building.

The Lee A. Tregurtha heading down. 

Downbound with the Paul R. Tregurtha in the distance.

The fleet mates approach each other.  We got to hear them salute each other.

The Paul R. Tregurtha.

The Kaye E. Barker.  I think this was her first trip after being converted to diesel power.  She was also sporting a new paint job.  At least on her starboard side.

Heading on.

The night before I'd noticed this fountain.  That night, I went out and tried to get some images.

The lights in the fountain would change color.

The shift to red didn't last long.

Most of the time, it was this color.

I don't remember anything about this fountain.

I shot a lot of pictures of this fountain.  I don't do much night photography so I was trying a lot of different things.

The American side of the International Bridge, lit up to celebrate it's 50th anniversary.

The Candian side.

The next morning the Roger Blough was heading down.  Since she was ahead of schedule and this is Ken's favorite ship, we stuck around.

This old ferry was sitting along the river.  I don't recall her name.

She's awaiting scrapping.

The Roger Blough.

Back at Four Mile Beach.

One last shot.


All in all, it was a great weekend.  We put about 850 miles on the car and did a lot of running around, but it was a great week to be up there for boat watching.  I need to do something like that more often.

U.S.S. Edson

It took me a long time to get my trip pictures posted.  I'm working on getting caught up.


In early August, the U.S.S. Edson  was towed to Bay City where she'll become a floating museum. 

I was working the weekend she passed up the Detroit River.  I got out of work just as she became visible down the river.  This was the second picture I took as she move past Wyandotte.

Taken from the area of the marina behind Wyandotte Hosptial.

Next, I met my friend Ken at Del Rey Park.  We decided to chase it up the river since it is a rare occurrence to see a warship on the Detroit River.  While waiting, the HHL Congo passed downbound.  This ship is new and only in her second shipping season.  She was launched in 2011 and originally called the Beluga Fealty.


 

Turning upriver led by the tug Colonel.  The Edson's engines are inoperative, so she had to be towed to her destination.

Passing Del Rey Park.  The U.S.S. Edson is a Forrest Sherman class destroyer.  It was launched in 1958.  In  1988 she was decommissioned and for a time was docked at the Intrepid Museum in New York until she was replaced by the Concorde.


 

A shot of her two rear 5" guns.  There were people on the Edson.  Here you can see one standing behind the rear gun wearing orange.

The bow 5" gun.

The Colonel.

Assisting in the move was the Manitou.

Our next stop was Riverside Park.  Although 'closed,' there is a blatant disregard for this.  People are there fishing and enjoying the waterfront.  Unfortunately, being closed means that the park isn't being maintained.  Trash was abundant.  The few trash cans there were, were overflowing with garbage.

The procession passes under the Ambassador Bridge.

Next, we headed to Milliken State Park in Detroit.

The Curtis Randolph, Detroit's fire boat saluting the Edson.  I didn't know Detroit had a fire boat.  I find the fact that it is operational more surprising than the fact that Detroit has it.

Lastly, we went to Belle Isle to catch her before she headed into Lake Saint Clair.

Not far behind the Edson was the Garganey.  The Garganey was built in China and is operated by the Canadian Forrest Navigation Company.  She is and ocean going vessel and can carry 37,000 tons of cargo.  The Garganey is also the name of a small duck.