Ghost Ships

I did some other messing around in Lightroom tonight.  I've heard some news in the boatnerd community lately.  And it's not good in my opinion.

 The first bit of news that I heard was that the St Marys Challenger would be converted into a barge.  If you will recall, she was the oldest self powered freighter on the Great Lakes (if not the world).  At 107 years old, she was something special and would attract a following anywhere.  As a barge, she wont be so special anymore.  So I decided to make her into a ghost ship with some messing around in Lightroom.

 Then I heard that Algoma Quebecois was being towed to the scrapyard.  She's not quite as old as St Marys Challenger but I think she was one of the older Canadian built vessels on the Lakes.  She's a fairly beautiful boat at any rate.  Soon she will be a ghost ship (even more so than the Challenger).

I haven't heard anything about Algoma Transfer (or Frankenship as I call her) in a long time.  Based on the other news above, I do not think her fate is much better.

The Algoma Quebecois Passes St. Clair

I saw that there was one more ship heading upbound.  I was pretty sure I had a chance to catch her if I took M-29 home.  I saw her just south of St. Clair, so I stopped the car to take some pictures.

 In the background, you can see the Mesabi Miner heading further downbound.  I didn't think I'd catch her again before it got dark.

 An almost clear background for.  The lack of a self-unloader makes her another true classic.

 I kind of like this view.

 I like the plume from the factory in the background.

 Another nice angle of her.

 A shot of her pilothouse.

 And her deckhouse.

And one more shot as she moves towards Port Huron and points beyond.

Another From Algoma...the Quebecois

So my next ship was the Algoma Quebecois, although many people still prefer to her as the Quebecois.   She has appeared on this blog in the past, but I do like the looks of her.

 Here she is as she starts to approach the channel for the Detroit River.  It's amazing how many twists and turns the ship seems to make as they approach.

 She enters one final turn before entering the channel.

 And my chance to get a front on shot.  I don't normally get shots from this angle.  I suppose if I had a boat, it would happen more often.

 She starts to approach my spot and you can see her better.  You can also see the stains from her loads.

 One more shot against an empty background.

 A shot of her pilothouse.

 Having never seen the Edward Ryerson in person, I would have to say that she is the sleekest looking ship I've seen.

 The clouds were merely threatening rain.

 Another shot of just her bow and pilothouse.

 One more straight on shot.  This time with a less cluttered background.

 A shot of her stack.  I'll have to admit that Algoma has my favorite logo.

A shot of her deckhouse.

 A shot of her nationality flag.  The flag flown from the stern is typically the country the ship is registered in.  This case, she is registered in Canada.

 If you see a flag at the front, it is typically flown as a courtesy to the waters she may be passing through.  In this case, the United States.

 A shot of her stern.

I was hoping that the Diamond boat would pass by quicker so that I could get one more clean shot before she passed the trees.  But alas, not to be.

If I had been able to stay longer, I could have gotten about three more ships.  Oh well.

The Algoma Quebecois

The next ship is a repeat visitor to Michigan Exposures.  Except that the last time she visited with us, she wasn't wearing Algoma colors and her name was only one word.

 As I mentioned in the linked post, she was purchased by the Algoma Central Corporation last year and she was renamed the Algoma Quebecois.  So she basically got to keep her name.  Her she is rounding Belle Isle.  As I said, if I would have gone to the other end of Belle Isle, I would have caught her passing American Courage.  Oh well.

 They painted over the Quebecois on her pilothouse.  However it looks like she is mostly sporting the same paint as last time.  They added the bear though.

 Here she is getting a little closer.

 I probably say this too much on this blog, but I like the look of the classic lake freighters.

 A closeup of her but she is kind of obscured by the buildings behind her.

 My favorite shot.  It was actually a pretty nice day for photographs.  You can see the nice blue of the Detroit River in this shot.

 A close up of her bow.

 And her pilothouse.

 Her stack was also painted to the Algoma colors.

 In case you forgot her name.

 Her mast.

 Some of her cargo hatches.

 A shot of her pilothouse as she moves on.

And one last shot.