The Prentiss Brown/St Marys Challenger Passes By

 I think this was another last journey of the season, but I'm not sure.

She was heading to Toledo as I was taking this picture.

I assume that means she was delivering to the cement plant there.

As I look her up on AIS, I see that she is in Cleveland now.

I think that means she's got at least one more trip in her because ships don't typically lay up in Cleveland.

The Prentiss Brown/St Marys Challenger Makes an Appearance

 The next vessel was actually moving.

As I was about to take pictures of the Frontenac from another spot, I saw this vessel moving by.  The vessel in question was the Prentiss Brown pushing the St Marys Challenger.  The barge used to be the ship St Marys Challenger (amongst others), she was the oldest self powered freighter on the Lake at 106 years old.  I think her owners tried to save her as a freighter but found it to be economically unfeasible (I suspect she needed work in the engine room).  She was then converted to a barge and soldiers on as such.  She's not nearly as pretty as she was as a freighter but she's doing what she was built to do, so that's good I guess.

The Prentiss Brown/St. Marys Challenger Passes By

 As I was taking pictures of the Alpena, the next ship passed by.

The tug Prentiss Brown was pushing the now barge St. Marys Challenger.

The St. Marys Challenger used to be the oldest self powered freighter on the Lakes.

But I think she had issues, so they ended up converting her to a barge.

That keeps her in business I guess.

She is being pushed by the tug Prentiss Brown.

She passes by.

A shot of the Canadian side of the Gordie Howe bridge.

A shot of the tug.

And she continues on her way to Toledo.

The St Marys Challenger Makes an Appearance

 The next ship was kind of a bittersweet catch.

The St Marys Challenger used to be the oldest self powered freighter on the Lakes.  When they decided to convert her into a tug/barge she was 106 years old.

Many boat nerds were upset to see her converted into a barge and I was one of them but then I realized that the company that owned her must have had their reasons.

She was a well cared for ship and cement is a pretty easy cargo for ships.  She also tended to stay on Lake Michigan.

Still 106 years is a long time for a ship.  When you consider that most salt water vessels last about 20 to 30 years.

The Canadian ships last around 50 years.

Many of the American boats are in their 70s but they aren't going to be around much longer.

I would imagine that the company that owned her looked into all possibilities and at the end, converting her to a barge was the best option.

She still has pretty nice lines.

The Prentiss Brown that is pushing her looks pretty nice.

I switched over to my drone.

It was pretty cool

The beam shot.

She was moving slow enough that I was able to get some different angles.

You can see how well the tug fits into her.

And she continues on.

She was heading to Charlevoix.

The Prentiss Brown With Her Barge the St Marys Challenger

The next vessel was kind of bittersweet for me.  When I last saw her in 2013, she was the St. Marys Challenger and the oldest self powered freighter on the Lakes.  Little did I realize, that voyage was probably part of her swan song as it was revealed she was going to be converted to a barge at the end of that season.

 I was hoping that I would catch her as she was downbound since she is not a frequent visitor to this area.  I believe she was heading to Cleveland for some new cables.  She was probably also delivering cement.

 She was actually a beautiful ship in her day.  It was sad to learn that she was being converted to a barge.  I'm pretty sure that the company that owned her didn't want to do  that to her but they probably had no alternative.

 I'm sure her owners kept good care of her but there is alot that can happen in 107 years.  I'm going to guess that the plates supporting the engines were worn out and they couldn't replace her steam engines with diesels.

 I'm sure there were a few that wanted to see her converted into a museum but at least this way she is still providing jobs for people.  Based on the other tug/barges, she will probably be doing that for a long time.

 It's still a shame to see a one proud laker like this though.

 Her tug is named the Prentiss Brown.  She was built by Gulfport Shibuilding in Port Arthur, Texas in 1967.  At one time she was also known as the Betty Cullbreath.

 And she heads up to Lake Huron.  I believe she is on her way to Charlevoix.

 I guess she's not bad looking as tug/barges go.

 She's framed by the Blue Water Bridge.

I'm going to guess it will be a while when I see her again though.

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.

Michigan Exposures Top Ten Boats

If you've followed this blog for any length of time, you know that I love ships (or boats).  Some people may say I love them too much at the expense of other things and I tend to agree with them.  At any rate, after some careful thought, I've decided to list my 10 favorites (and a couple that could make the list).

 Starting at Number 10 is the Paul R. Tregurtha.  I figure that I have to put the current Queen of the Lakes somewhere in this list but there are ships that I like more, so I'll put her at 10.

 Number 9 is kind of a surprise candidate in the Algorail.  She is a pretty neat looking boat and there are some funny stories that surround her.

 I'm not a fan of the rear pilothouse ships but I do like the Kaministiqua.  For as long as I've watched her, she's had the appearance of a tramp freighter.  Some don't like the look but I do because it gives her character.

 At number 7 is the Michipicoten.  She's a nice looking ship and has a pretty cool name.

 At number 6, we have the first 1000 footer of the Great Lakes and also the only 1000 footer that has the classic laker configuration.  This of course is the Stewart J. Cort.

 Number 5 is the classic freighter Algosteel.  I just love her looks.

 At number 4 is the ship that was built in my home town, the Ojibway.

 Number 3 brings us the war veteran, the Lee A. Tregurtha.

 At number 2, we have the ship that stayed behind....the Arthur M. Anderson.

 And was anyone surprised what ship would be number 1?

 I'll give an honorable mention to the Gott.  It was tough choosing between her and the Tregurtha because I like this style of 1000 footer more but the Tregurtha won out on points.

Another honorable mention has to go out to the oldest freighter on the lakes, the St. Mary's Challenger.  She would rank higher but I've only seen her in person once.