Saying Farewell to an Old Friend

One of the ships that I ended missing yesterday was the subject of this post.  I wasn't too worried about missing her because I did the math of when she'd arrive at her destination, finish unloading and heading back up to Port Huron. 

 The Algomarine was delivering a load of cargo to somewhere on the Rouge River.  I assumed that it was the stone dock but it could have been a salt dock.  She arrived there last night and it typically takes a while to unload, so I figured she would be heading back up sometime today.  And I was right.

 Since this was rumored to be her last self powered voyage, I wanted to follow her all the way up the River.  I managed to catch her at Algonac.  It's not my favorite spot to catch an upbound ship, but I wanted to catch her along the river.

 A shot of her stern.

 And she continues on her merry way.

 I next caught her at Marine City. 

 For this series of shots, I wanted some closeups.

 A shot of her bow.  You can see the toll, shipping takes on the ship it self.  You can see the scars from her trips through the locks and canals.  You can also see the wear from the water.

 A shot of her pilothouse.

 Her deck cover crane.

 I kind of liked the tattered Canadian flag.  Part of the reason for her demise is that Canada eased up its tariffs on ships, so now it is cheaper for the companies to buy them from overseas.  It is part of the reason why I'm glad the United States still has the Jones Act.

 A shot of her stern.

 And one more as she continues her trek up the River.

 Next I caught her at St. Clair.  The sun was actually starting to come out here and I was happy about that.

 Mainly because it was still cloudy enough that it was a like a pinpoint light.

 And she continues on her way.

 Then I caught her at Marysville.  There was a nice cloud formation but it wasn't over the river.

 A sort of beam shot.

 And finally, I arrived at Port Huron.  I looked over to Lake Huron and I loved the lighting that would be on her as she was heading out.

The light was a little better here, especially since it was more direct.

 The headshot.

 I loved the way the light was hitting her, especially since the sky was still fairly dark.

 She's framed by the Blue Water Bridge.

 Probably my favorite of the day.

 Another shot with the bridge.

 And she heads off to Lake Huron.

 I loved the way this shot turned out.

 A nice well lit ship.

And she continues on her way to Goderich.  She is most likely going for her layup but there are a few people that say she may one or two more loads left in her.  I think that depends on how the winter go.    If the winter remains as it is, there wont be the demand for salt.  If it gets worse, there may be a demand for salt but the lakes could be frozen by then.
Anyway, come spring, it is likely that she will be towed out from Goderich to wherever she is going to be scrapped.  So I'm glad I was able to catch her under her own power.