The Annual Boatnerd Detroit River Cruise

So yesterday I went on the Annual Boatnerd Cruise.  It goes from Wyandotte up the Detroit River and back.  I think they mirror one of the Diamond Jack cruises wtih a few differences.

 This is the boat that would be taking us on our adventure.  Not sure where the boat comes from but it was pretty nice but a little smaller than normal.  That made the trip a little more interesting at points.  I think they run normal cruises as well.

 I don't remember what Church this was but it is in Wyandotte.

 This is the tip of Grosse Ile.

 The Diamond Jack.  This boat offers cruises out of Wyandotte that are similar to the one we took.

 The Wyandotte Power Plant.

 This is Tug Pioneer.  She was built in 1932 for the Corps of Engineers.  I believe she is for sale for the low price of $35,900.

 This house looked like some sort of pilothouse and it turns out that it was the front of some Riverboat.  I think that would be kind of cool to have.

 I just liked the looks of this scene.

 Molten slag at the Great Lakes Steelworks.

 Looking down at Wyandotte from the boat.

 The rail cars in front carry molten steel to other parts of the plant.  They are designed with pivots so that they can be taken wherevere.

 A switcher diesel engine.  I believe it is an EMD NW-2 engine, but don't quote me on that.

 We went into the Nicholson Docks.  This is the steamer Ste Clair.  She was one of two boats that would take people to Boblo Island.  Currently she wallows until someone decides they want to restore her.

 The steamer Columbia.  Her fate may be a little clearer than the Ste Claire.  I believe she was bought by a group in New York but I haven't heard anything else since that.

 This is the motor yacht Helene.  Originally built in 1926 for Charles Sorenson (one of Ford's top engineers).  She was built at the Defoe Shipyards in Bay City, Michigan.  Sadly, she wallows.

 Another view of the two Boblo boats.

 Bellanger Park from an angle I'm not used to.

 Zug Island.  This is the home of another steel mill.  It pretty much is all private property, so it's hard to get other views.

 Entering the mouth of the Rouge River.

 One of several railroad Bridges.

 The Great Lakes tug Nebraska.

 Another view of her.

 The Idaho.

 The Superior.

 All three of the Great Lakes tugs moored in the Rouge River.  I was really happy to see these on the cruise, since I don't normally get to see them.

 The Jefferson Avenue Bridge with a bow shaped gash in her.  I'm not sure if they got the funds to fix this bridge yet but I think it needs it.  Sadly, I think they are going to replace it  rather than fix it.

 It remains in an open position.

 A leaf bascule Bridge.

 Another view of that bridge.

 The Shiela Kaye, another tugboat.

 The Patricia Hoey.

 And the William Hoey.  William Hoey was the owner of Gaelic Tugboats.  Sadly, he passed away about a year ago.

 The Dix Avenue Bridge.  Currently this is the only working bridge across the Rouge.

 The Rouge River Steel Plant.  It was originally built by Ford and sold to Severstal.  Recently it was sold to AK Steel.

 The tug Shannon.

 To the right is the remnants of a dock that used to serve a paper mill.  I believe this is the original part of the Rouge River. 

 Looking up towards the Detroit Skyline.

 A picture of people taking pictures.

 The Mistersky Fuel Docks.

 One of the original Boblo Docks.

 A view of the Ambassador Bridge that I don't normally get.

 A set of Ferry Docks.  These were used for railroad ferries before the construction of the railroad tunnel under the River.

 Another view of the Ambassdor Bridge.

 The Ren Cen.

 A view of the skyline with Algoma Enterprise.

 A better view of the skyline.

 One of the highlights of the cruise was having pizza delivered by the Westcott.

 I think they were having a powerboat race of some sort.

A better shot of the helicopter.

I saw a few ships on the cruise.  I will post pictures of those separately.  I have alot of fun on the cruise and it was interesting hearing some of the history.  I will definitely go next year.