Update from Denny

[Guest]

Well Boatnerds here's another quick update from your dear friend Howie before we head off to practice our social distancing and catch what traffic is moving on the river. We have been out for exercise on our bicycle three days in a row now and caught a whole bunch of ships. Yesterday we caught the Joseph H. Thompson and Frontenac, and the day before that we got the G3 Marquis. On Wednesday we got the Clyde VanEnkevort and Presque Isle. So far this makes seven runs to the river in our goal for 150. As long as this crazy virus doesn't get in our way, we'll make that goal easily. Howie is ready to party!

Clyde S. VanEnkevort/Erie Trader was up on Lake Superior on Wednesday. Better check your days.

[Howard Sprague]

Well Boatnerds here's another quick update from your dear friend Howie before we head off to practice our social distancing and catch what traffic is moving on the river. We have been out for exercise on our bicycle three days in a row now and caught a whole bunch of ships. Yesterday we caught the Joseph H. Thompson and Frontenac, and the day before that we got the G3 Marquis. On Wednesday we got the Clyde VanEnkevort and Presque Isle. So far this makes seven runs to the river in our goal for 150. As long as this crazy virus doesn't get in our way, we'll make that goal easily. Howie is ready to party!

[Denny]

Okay everyone as I'm sure some have questioned what happened to me late last year and during the shipping season and Winter Lay-Up time as I went "dead silent for a while!" Well, here is an update and recap for you as far as what happened. First, after having a rough and difficult first half of November due to weather issues I did make it back to the river for two trips on November 22 and again on November 25. The trip for the 22nd was very cold then a bit breezy as I frozed then! Without looking up my information, I recall seeing the Algoma Conveyor then and later on I also caught their fleetmate Algoma Harvester as well both of which headed upbound. I also caught the Edgar B. Speer upbound late in the day and in the morning I caught the tug Clyde S. VanEnkevort/Erie Trader as they were downbound. The best was yet to come though. Some of you may have heard of singer Vanessa Williams and her hit song Save the Best for Last. Well, other than the Paul R. Tregurtha of course what other ways to end the 2019 shipping season and a great decade of shipwatching out on the St. Clair River? Well, check it out and see for yourselves as we closed the year on a grand note. The grande finale if you will went down like this as I started off with the tug Olive L Moore/Menominee along with the Karen Andrie and Endeavour both down. Then it gets better as the Arthur M. Anderson came down and they gave me a thundering blow and salute with this their horn! Later on the Great Republic came up and we got them. But, the best was still yet to come! What a better way and end of 2019 then to go out with believe it or not a true classic than the Wilfred Sykes! Yup, the Sykes was nice boat fans and we got her from Marine City all the way up the river to Port Huron with great salutes from Captain Eric Treece at every location. Believe it or not it was the first time that I saw the Sykes on the river since 2005 and it was the first time ever that I got her on digital film. So after closing out the river then, I went into hibernation made spending the winter working on my entire set of 2019 photos. It took me the entire winter to do them after putting them off for so long and I still don't have it all done yet but, that's a story for another day! So, with the new season here I am slowly getting things done and coming back to life as I still have lots to catch up on. Had this been a normal year without the virus thing, I probably would've had a late start up probably not going to the river until mid to late Spring maybe even the summer for 2020. So, that's it from this end as far as how late last year and winter went. Hope everyone is doing well and staying safe. Take care everyone!

[Denny]

Hey everyone just checking in to let you know that in spite of the crazy COVID-19 virus unfortunately that’s going around on in our country, I am still here thank goodness and surviving luckily and fortunately for me thank goodness. Well here we are as we all anxiously await the opening of the Soo Locks and the start of the 2020 season. It’s just so hard to take it all in right now with so much other things happening all around us for now. Thank goodness for our ships and the brave crews that are on them and sailing them now. God Bless them all and may he be with them and their families right now! I pray for everyone that we all have a good and safe along with profitable season inspite the virus and also our struggling economy right now! Have faith everyone and pray for good and safe health as we will beat this and we will be victorious and this will make us stronger than before. In time, we will rise up above the rest of the world and one day when this passes our country will be very strong once again! Well I’ve yet to put my champagne on ice for the big celebration tonight when the Soo opens but don’t worry as I got it and it’s ready to go. I’m so glad that we’re starting again as we all need some hope and sunshine and good news right now so let’s be all very thankful for our ships and crews right now and may they be safe also. While this virus thing is happening, I’m abiding by the Stay At Home order unless of course I need groceries or gas and medical stuff also. There’s no way I’m going near the river for any boat right now I don’t care who it is no matter what! Better to be safe than sorry with this virus thing. In some ways it’s good as I didn’t get much done over the winter months as I worked on photo editing all winter long. So am I ready for the 2020 season and opening yet? Nope not yet but give me time and I’ll be ready and roaring out of the gate at some point later this year! Hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy. My thoughts and my prayers are with you, your family and friends and everyone as we get through this and fight this terrible virus. We are all in this together as one and we will prevail and win. Stay Safe and Be Safe everyone also.

[Howard Sprague]

Well Boatnerds, Howard is back and ready to party! We got back on March 1 and have made three trips to the river already, getting the Prentiss Brown, Alpena and Iver Bright so far. We had never seen the Prentiss Brown before so that was a nice treat to get last week.

We had a great time in Florida, visiting Mother and Aunt Nora, as well as her friends Mrs. Mendelbright and Mrs. Lesch for several weeks in the warm Florida sunshine. We deep sea fished several times and went to a couple of spring training events before leaving to head home for the spring.

Mother is concerned about our river trips with this coronavirus going around, but we told her not to worry about her Howie because he's going to be safe and party like it's 2020! Our goal is 150 river runs this year and we're well on our way!

[Guest]

Since your last photo is from 2014, would you post some more recent ones to share your photographic skills?

[Denny]

No way am I sitting inside and editing my photos today Guest as I’ve been outside twice already to shovel snow today and I’m beat down and No I’m not yet done with my snow shoveling yet and No I don’t have a person to come and do it for me either although I wish I could have a person shovel me out. Looks like now I may have to put and throw my 2019 photos on a stick drive and save them for maybe 100 or more years down the road until I can someday find time to edit them all.

[Guest]

Why the secretiveness on what photo editors? And the snowstorm sounds like a great time to sit inside and edit photos?

[Denny]

Well boatnerds I just completed and wrapped up another set of my 2019 Shipping photos as now I’ve completed nine sets of them or to better understand it, I’ve now finished up on nine trips to the river as far as the 2019 photos go. As I mentioned previously, it is surely not an easy job working and editing so many photos with so little time in a day and a week to work on them. Due to this weekend’s snow storm, I will not be able to get anything done as far as any new sets until hopefully next week at some point? Now I’m going to have to somehow put it into overdrive and do some overtime work to make up for lost time as far as working on my photos go. This may mean either very long late nights of staying up very late or else getting up real early in the mornings to try and get a head start on them. Basically I use two photo programs to edit the photos and NO I will not disclose what they are! I will say that one is used mostly to straighten a photo while another is used as far as color and brightness goes. The last step is the tough one as each photo “must be in near perfect form and condition as far as straightening of them goes without any errors or mistakes period!” I take great pride and joy in my photos as I consider them the best of the best and all one has to do is look at KYS 2014 Book for the Algoma Equinox and you’ll see my photo there. Of course this is with an older digital camera and not my new one. You can also find a few of my past pics by going to the Duluth Shipping News’ website and doing a search on their website.

[Denny]

I second Marc’s comments as well and wish my good friend Howard a very happy and safe trip as well. Howard, we’re all counting on you to bring us back some of that nice warm Florida sunshine and weather when you return from your trip. Now that the Soo has closed for the Winter and most of the Shipping has ended until Spring, I am FINALLY trying to get caught up on my 2019 stuff that I’ve been putting off all year long until now. I have also started to work on my 2019 ship photos but, let’s hold it here folks as I got lots to do and a very long way to go as it takes lots of time and energy to edit my photos. The good news is that I’ve already got 8 sets done meaning 8 river trip photos but I’m also editing the easiest sets first. Many sets still have more than 100 or more photos to edit. On average it takes about 1-2 days depending on how busy I am and how I feel. Whenever I get to the bigger and large sets of 100 or more photos, these will surely take longer and more time and energy as I’m anticipating just for a set of 100 or more photos it may take up to 3 days or more. I’m not complaining as this is what I do every winter to help pass the time away until Spring Fit Out returns! Until my next update, everyone have a good and safe Winter Lay Up.

[MarcE]

Take care, and have a safe trip sir!

[Howard Sprague]

Well Boatnerds, and especially our good friend Denny D, we ended the season this year with 111 runs to the river, smashing our record and establishing a new benchmark for seasons going forward. Our final ship of the season was the Kaye E. Barker yesterday and wow, was she a great boat to end the season on!

Today we're leaving in a couple of hours to take our RV and go see mother in Florida for about five weeks. Hopefully something will be moving on the river when we get back. To everyone, especially our good friend Denny D, take care and we'll see you all soon outside on the river!

[Howard Sprague]

Well Boatnerds it's been a while but here's a quick update for you from your good friend Howard before we head out.

We have smashed our record and are up to an astounding 104 river runs so far, including every day so far in 2020. We were out yesterday and got some great photos of the Wally Mac passing the Cheyenne. It sure was good to see the Cheyenne in action again.

We spent Christmas with our friends Andy and Helen and some of their friends, including their son who we hadn't seen in a long time. On New Year's Eve we rang in the new year with the Magruders and Mrs. Magruder's cousin before we headed to the river Wednesday to make the Frontenac and the PRC our first official ships of 2020. I hope everyone's holiday went well and wish everyone a successful boatnerd campaign in 2020. In about ten days we're off to take our RV to Florida for a few weeks to see Mother. When we come back at the end of February we hope there's something moving so we can get a run in during February and say we've made river runs every month of the year. We didn't get out during February last year and it's the first time in a while that's happened. Everyone take care.

[Denny]

Okay everyone it’s that time of year again as we start to enter the days and weeks to come of Winter Lay-Up time we will start to see some odd and funny sayings on ships’ AIS as they prepare for Winter Lay-up soon. What I mean is stuff like Tony Packos in Toledo and Gone Fishing and stuff like that. So, I’m trying to come up with if you will my own goofy sayings IF I had my own AIS like the ships do. For right now at least now that I’m done at the river for the 2019 season and won’t return now until Spring 2020, I got a good one for you all. This is what I came up with “Gone With the Wind!” For now at least I like the idea and I may at some point change it or even add more if I think of my own at least personal AIS sayings but for now at least I like the saying and ideas. This sort of if you will goes with theme of Autumn Thunder and then in the Spring it’s Spring Hunger and in the Summer then Summer Fury. Just some ideas I’m tossing around as we near the end of the season!

[Howard Sprague]

We made our 86th run to the river for 2019 today Boatnerds, after having been out almost every day since last Friday, and we had a great day getting the Manitoulin and, get this Boatnerds, we saw the Big PRT for the 13th time this season! Last year we saw her 10 times and this is definitely a new record for us. I hope everyone is doing well. We are well on our way to smashing our record for river runs which we hope to do before the end of 2019!

[Howard Sprague]

We just got back from the river, Boatnerds, and this is the fourth day in a row we were out. I will keep you in suspense about the details but needless to say we got the Ojibway and John G. Munson right in a row this afternoon. It was a great day!

[Howard Sprague]

Well to all my Boatnerd friends reading this, Howard has done it again! For the fourth time in 45 years of Boatnerding, we have made an astounding 75 runs to the river in a season. We were out Friday and Saturday for 73 and 74, and this morning before we went to hear Reverend Tucker preach we ran to Marine City to see the Paul A. Desgagnes for number 75! We did this in 1979, when we got 78 runs, 1987 when we got 82 runs, and in 2017 when we were out on medical leave from our job we got 93 runs in the season. With a few weeks to go before the locks close we are hoping to top 93 runs and set a new record. After the Soo Locks close we are going to load up our motor home and go see Mother in Florida for a few weeks. These are the perks of being retired.

We won't be able to be out to the river tomorrow due to our appointments, but we hope to be out Tuesday for number 76 for sure! For now, though, it's back to our football.

[Denny]

Hi Howard. Yes I did make it to the Maritime Center on Saturday of last weekend for Books and Boats as I had some business there to take care of with a couple of the authors and their books. I did not get to spend as much time as I would've liked too mainly because the Radcliffe R. Latimer came downbound at lunch time and I had not seen the Raddy all season long. So, I left the event and went down and got photos of her in both Marysville and later in St. Clair. By the time I got done in St. Clair with the Latimer, it was around 2 P.M. and I only had an hour left before Books and Boats event had ended and closed in Port Huron. So, I raced back to Port Huron to finish up what I had started there earlier. After that I did not see or notice any other traffic in the river and I hadn't had any lunch yet so I was starving. I don't count that as an official river trip as I was out there mainly for Books and Boats only in Port Huron it's just that I got lucky when the Radcliffe R. Latimer happened to end up coming through at that same time. So, I end 2019 officially with 22 trips for the year on the river. There were however 6 to 7 other times when I went out there but those were for special occasions like with the Latimer and the Boats and Books signing event so to make a long story short, in reality I consider the year as getting out there 22 times which was much better than the 10 official trips and times I had in 2018. So now I feel like I'm climbing back on top of the boatnerd mountain but I also feel like I'm not up on the summit if you will of the mountain top just yet. Next year with my countdown to my 500th all time river trip it will definitely give me some inspiration and something to look forward to in 2020 that's for certain. Another thing I mentioned this to Roger of KYS at the book event last Saturday. My favorite date April 14 the date that I first started on the river will fall during the weekdays now for the next four years beginning in 2020. So hopefully the weather in the Spring will be good enough for me to make it out there on that date for me. I even have a title as I call that Mariner Day as this is my Anniversary Day of when I officially started at the river and saw the PRT there for the first time in 1992! You take care my friend.

[Howard Sprague]

So happy to hear you squeezed in two more runs, Denny. Did you get a chance to do any boat watching on Saturday at the event at the maritime center? If so you could probably consider it 23 runs to the river and put yourself even closer to 500!

We are headed out in a little bit to go spend a few hours at the river before we have to go with the preacher on his visits. It looks like it will be a great day. We didn't get to watch as much football as we wanted to at Mrs. Magruder's yesterday, because Mrs. Magruder had too much whiskey to drink while cooking and Mr. Magruder and I had to finish cooking the Thanksgiving supper. We did get to watch part of the game where your beloved Buffalo Bills whooped the Cowboys!

Tomorrow we are meeting with a realtor about possibly buying Mother's house as she has decided to stay in Florida full time. If we do that means we will only live a block from the river and can walk to the river instead of driving. That would really increase our river runs next year if we decide to do so. You take care my friend.

[Denny]

Happy Thanksgiving First off to everyone. Well just when you all along with myself included thought that my 2019 year at the St. Clair River was over with, think again! As the boat Gods if you will opened up the heavens for me and thankfully I took advantage and got and squeezed out two more runs all in November giving me a final total this year at a season best of 22 official river trips. Not a record and not in the elite class of 28 trips set in 1994, 1999 and again in 2013. It was not at a high point either of 26 trips or 25 either but still good enough to make me happy and satisfied. And what a way to close out the year 2019 for me. For right now, I’ll give you only what I saw on Friday, November 22 as that was my 21st trip of the season. However and unfortunately thanks to Mother Nature’s doings plus the fact this being the 4th coldest November on record here, I went 25 days without a river trip from the last trip I made in late October. Not a record but not a good thing either to have on my resume and records. So listed below was what I saw on November 22 at only four a very slow day and cold and windy as well. Saw the tug Clyde S. Van Enkevort and Erie Trader downbound and just below South of St. Clair. The remaining three were in St. Clair itself and they were the Algoma Conveyor my first Ship for 2019 as it was third time I’d seen them for 2019. Also the Algoma Harvester as well which made the third time for her as well. At the end of my day on Friday came the 1,000-footer Edgar B. Speer downbound. I tried to wave for a salute but they didn’t acknowledge which made me a bit disappointed! With the cold, windy, dark and gray day and weather I was hoping for a salute from the Speer to brighten up my day especially after going so long without a river trip. The best was saved for this past Monday as we closed out 2019 in Grand Fashion but you will all have to sit, wait and be patient as the best was saved for last and I’ll tell you how it all went down next week as you’ll love this story. One thing I will tell you all is among the many good things and highlights for 2019 for me is the fact I started on May 21 and ended on November 25. So what’s so special as far as those two dates you may ask me? I’ve never been to the river on either of those two dates before this year and those two were great days at the river for me but again, the Grand Finale if you will is going to be next week when I tell you about it. I only wish I’d taken my music CD along of Vanessa Williams’ song Saved The Best For Last but I wanted to listen to Christmas music instead. Happy Thanksgiving everyone here!