The Manitowoc in Grand Haven

So the ship I was following was the Manitowoc.  She is owned by Lower Lakes Towing.

 The Manitowoc was delivering coal to the SIMS Plant on Harbor Island in Grand Haven.  The power plant is owned by the Grand Haven Bureau of Light and Power.  It was built in 1983 and can generate 65 Megawatts of power.  It was the first in the nation to sell it's gypsum byproduct.  Grand Haven also has a power plant that uses a diesel engine.  At one time it was the largest in the country.

 The Manitowoc arrived at roughly 4:00 in the morning.  She can carry about 20,000 tons of cargo.  She was basically designed to navigate some of the windier and smaller rivers.

 I found a little park next to the Power Plant.  This gave me a chance to get closer to the ship.

 A shot of her stack and pilothouse.

 One of her lifeboats.

 Her cargo being unloaded.  I'm generally never this close to a ship.

 A close up of her pilothouse.

 Her rudder.  Based on the fact that her keel was 16 feet under water, I figured she was pretty close to leaving.

 One of her crewmembers manning the hatch crane.

 She started to leave at about 10:00AM.  I wasn't sure how long it would take her to unload, so I arrived in Grand Haven fairly early.  Which also meant that I left Ypsilanti pretty early.

 I think most ships end up backing out of Grand Haven.  There isn't really a spot where they can turn around.  But that's cool because when they do get out, I can pretend that they are coming in.

 A puff of black smoke as she uses her engines and bow thrusters to maneuver the river.

 I think this person is calling out distance to the pier.

 And this guy is relaying orders to the pilothouse.

 Another shot of her pilothouse.

 And her plimsoll lines.

 Another pull of smoke as she adjusts her course.

 A shot of her bow.

 Another shot of her pilothouse.

Another shot of her pilothouse.

 She almost clears the channel markers.

 Another puff of smoke as she makes her turn.

 She starts to turn after she clears the light house.

 And she's almost off.

and she's off.  It's amazing how quickly she can disappear.