And the Main Attraction

So the ship that made me decide to head out to Grand Haven was the Wilfred Sykes.  In my opinion, she is one of the nicest looking ships on the Lakes.  Her company certainly has the best paint scheme.

 I think she was delivering rocks to Burns Harbor.  She would then shift over a dock and pick up some iron fines for one of the places in Grand Haven.  Normally, this is a 7 hour journey.  However, she started to slow down to two knots.  I think she didn't want to go to anchor and so she took the slow run to Grand Haven.

 She made her first attempt to enter the channel but I think it was still too windy for her, so she turned to the northwest and took a lazy route to a point out there.

 A couple hours later she made another run for the channel.....

 It even looked like she was lined up properly.

 Only to turn away....

 Again...but it made for a nice beam shot.

 After the Bradshaw McKee had passed, she made another attempt for the channel.    The winds had calmed at this point (but they were still there).

 Given the lighting, I was glad she waited although I wasn't terribly happy about the drive home.

 I was on the channel marker side.

 The sun was hitting her just right.

 And probably my favorite picture in a long time.

 Her spotlight reflecting off the water.

 She passes the lighthouse.

 Like I said, she's a beautiful boat.

 And it looks like they take pretty good care of her.

 I'm not normally a fan of stern shots but I do like this one.

And one more.