Boatnerd Discussion Forum

PS, I did get the "Know Your Boats 2010" and it Is worth it's weight in gold. As a history buff it is amazing to me how many old ships are still out there doing great things. Unfortunately we had to return home but we were only a couple hours away from seeing the Arthur M. Anderson pass through the locks. I hope I get the chance again.

Niels

Thank You all very much! I feel kind of dumb, started digging into the website and found the daily reports, great info. Also stopped at the Lock visitor center and they also were able to ID what ships passed through. What was also amazing was driving home we stopped at the Mackinac Lighthouse at the instant the Privateer Lynx (http://www.privateerlynx.com) was sailing under it. I took my daughter on it in Charlevoix. They are sailing back to the east coast. Amazing sight to see, an 1812 fighting ship sailing under the majestic bridge.

For a guy who spends most of his time staring at computer screens and dealing with chaos from above, a great reminder of how amazing life can be.

Thanks again everyone.

Niels

As for maritime related things to do in the Detroit area, take a look at the Links page on the main Boatnerd site http://links.boatnerd.com/. Look under a) Museums and Societies, b) Museum Ships and c) Tour Boats, Ferries, Charters & Cruises.

Besides the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle, I'd suggest the museum ships Willis B. Boyer in Toledo, as well as the lightship Huron and the buoy tender Bramble in Port Huron. And take a cruise on one of the Diamond Jack tour boats. They offer several longer cruises each year for boat enthusiasts as well as their regular 2 hour public tours. The next on is on September 25th http://www2.boatnerd.com/media/WhistleBlowFlyer10.pdf

I always enjoy a ferry ride, so whenever I travel to Ontario, I try to take either the ferry at Algonac or the one at Marine City. Nice relaxing, if short ride, and the line at customs is never more that a boatload of vehicles long. There's also the ferry to Harson's Island near Algonac that doesn't cross the border.

If you just want to sit back and watch the ships pass in a park like setting, there is Belle Isle in Detroit, as well as numerous parks along the St. Clair River in both the US and Canada. Stop by the Boatnerd World Headquarters in Port Huron http://www.boatnerd.com/about/worldHQ/default.htmto get a cup of coffee and see what boats are in the area.

As for research, most of the large public libraries in Michigan have a good selection of books and reference material on Great Lakes shipping. The Toledo-Lucas County Library has a good selection as well, but the largest shipping related collection in the area is the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes housed in the archives at Bowling Green State University. http://www.bgsu.edu/colleges/library/cac/page38714.html

Thirty dollars a year gets you membership in the Marine Historical Society of Detroit, which includes monthly newsletters as well as an annual calender plus numerous gatherings and presentations each year.

Finally the annual Know Your Ships bookhttp://www.knowyourships.com/ is almost worth its weight in gold for boat watchers, considering all the information it contains.

An addictive hobby? That's an understatement! I tried to cover the most popular family-friendly things within an hour or so drive of Detroit, but I'm sure I missed some. Expand that range outward and you could say busy every weekend and never see it all.

Herbert Jackson was there for a couple of days also.

Looks like the Ojibway and the American Spirit. Both were reported to be anchored at Whitefish Point. See News Channel Port Reports Sept. 4.

Vessel at anchor is the bulk freighter Ojibway. Vessel underway is American Spirit. Full information about both of these vessels is available in this site's Fleet Photo Gallery: http://www.boatnerd.com/pictures/fleet . American Spirit is listed under the American Steamship Co. fleet. Ojibway is listed under the Lower Lakes Towing fleet.

Don't know much about the Detroit area, but the first place you could check out is the excellent Dossin Great Lakes Maritime Museum up on Belle Isle http://www.glmi.org .

I took my family to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum today around noon. While there a freighter was steaming west in to (what seemed to this plebe) pretty heavy seas. A second ship was anchored a bit further south in Whitefish Bay. Any help in identifying this (and perhaps the other ship in the bay) would be appreciated. We were able to see the Montrealais transit the locks heading east / south yesterday, easily an addicting hobby! I have attached a photo of

I live in Metro Detroit area so any advice on historic sites, must-see locations or research facilities in the area would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

CPT Niels Hansen
US Army