Catching Up With the Sykes

As I was starting my journey, I saw a post on Facebook that the Wilfred Sykes was heading into Grand Haven.  I didn't think I'd have a chance to see her coming in, but I was pretty sure that I would see her leaving.

 As it turned out, she ended up staying outside the harbor for a while because it was pretty windy.  She arrived near Grand Rapids before I started to take pictures of the Clarke and she waited about 6 hours before entering.

 The winds were dying down, so she started to enter the Grand River.

 I believe this particular journey started with her loading the last load of iron ore from the Escanaba docks.  The mine that was feeding Escanaba closed earlier, so CN decided to close the docks there.

 She then headed down to Indiana Harbor where she deliver the ore to the steel mill there.

 She is one of the few ships that seems to carry a backload (at least part way).  Typically she will pick up a load of iron slag for the dock in Grand Haven.  Most ships will return to their port in ballast.

 This probably helps her company make money.

 A shot of her stack.

 It was in the low 70's when I left Detroit, by the time I got to Grand Haven it was in the high 40's.  As you can see from the flag, there was still a pretty stiff breeze making it feel even colder.

 She continues down the river.

I thought she was going to the dock across the river where I could get decent pictures.  It turns out that she was headed to the other dock.  Oh well, the fog made for a decent picture.