The Walter J. McCarthy in Duluth

This is a ship that saw while I was on the cruise.

 I managed to catch her as she was entering the harbor while I was on the boat.  It's amazing to watch these giant ships make what appear to be a pretty tight turn.  While I was on the cruise, I found out what the symbol on her bow means.  That is the location of her bow thruster.  I would imagine that would be important for a tugboat captain to know.

She is also equipped with bow thrusters on her stern.  This is what allows her to make the tight turns.

 She makes her turn towards the main part of the Duluth Harbor.

 And of course she has her entourage of seagulls.

 She slowly works her way around the harbor.

 She is about to pass the Elbeborg.

 She slowly works her way towards the coal docks.  I believe she is picking up coal for either the St. Clair Power Plant or the Monroe Power Plant.  I'd like to think I have a chance to catch her as she goes down the St. Clair but that isn't likely.

 She gets closer to the dock.

 And here she is loading.  If there were a plane behind her, I could have hit my trifecta.

 A shot of her stern.

 And her stack.  You can see a little of the paint wearing off.

 A shot of her pilothouse.

 A guy on the ship supervising the loading.

 A shot of the loading boom.   Based one when I saw her leave, it seems like it takes about 6 or so hours to load.  That's pretty amazing when you think about the amount of coal that requires.

 A shot of the lighthouse as I was waiting for the McCarthy later in the day.

 A sunset shot of her.

 The water was almost calm enough to get a nice reflection of her.

 She approaches the lift bridge.

 She gets closer.

 It's hard to realize just how big these beasts are until they are on top of you.

And a shot of her as she leaves the channel.