Tuesday on the St. Clair River (2015-10-20)

[garbear]

I've posted before about my youth, but I grew up in Arcadia, MI. Our house was 5 blocks from Lake Michigan. I got interested in the boats because my Dad had sailed during the first half of the 40s and he would tell me stories, plus we'd go down to the Lake and there was(is) a scenic turnout north of town and after my Dad was done with work we'd go up there to see the boats heading north on the Lake. In the late 50s early 60s I don't think we ever went more than a day or 2 without seeing boats heading up the Lake from southern Lake Michigan, plus the Ann Arbor carferries coming and going from Elberta/Frankfort was only 10 miles north of us, so you'd always see them in the Lake. Then our summer vacations usually consisted of going to Mackinaw City or taking the ferry across the Straits and heading to the Soo. Even though I don't get out that much to see the boats anymore, I've been hooked for probably 56 out of my 63 years.

[Bookworm]

Keep up the great work with the photos. During my sailing days and for about 25 years after, taking boat photos was my hobby. Needing a walker to get around has pretty much eliminated my "beating around the bush" here in Duluth/Superior. I look forward to your posts. Bookworm, thanks again.

Sounds like you have quite a history with the Great Lakes, Garbear. I knew they existed but didn't get interested in their role in ships and shipping until this century when I came from out-of-state on a mini-vacation. The rest is history. The saltie Makeevka was my first great capture on film (she seemed enormous, making the St. Clair River appear to be a narrow channel) but playing pass and catch-up with Algorail from Sarnia to below Lambton was a lot of fun, too. What would we do without good memories?

[garbear]

Keep up the great work with the photos. During my sailing days and for about 25 years after, taking boat photos was my hobby. Needing a walker to get around has pretty much eliminated my "beating around the bush" here in Duluth/Superior. I look forward to your posts. Bookworm, thanks again.

[Bookworm]

My guess on the Solina is the Montreal stop is either to top-off what it loaded in Thunder Bay or to stop for fuel, supplies, etc. You'll probably not see a saltie load on the upper lakes to unload down the Seaway. The grain cargo is destined for overseas.

I'm always glad to see a foreign port named with saltie information, but most of my sources (AIS or traffic reports) show only the intermediate stop in Montreal. I agree its likely for fuel and supplies before crossing the Atlantic to their logged destination port.

[garbear]

My guess on the Solina is the Montreal stop is either to top-off what it loaded in Thunder Bay or to stop for fuel, supplies, etc. You'll probably not see a saltie load on the upper lakes to unload down the Seaway. The grain cargo is destined for overseas.

[Bookworm]

More saltie traffic than usual, in both directions, as well as gale warnings in the forecasts earlier, are signs the end of the 2015-2016 shipping season is only a few months away. Yesterday's gusty winds have died down and Lake Huron's wind-whipped waters are very calm today.