Catching the Wilfred Sykes in Grand Haven

I has been close to a year since I was last in Grand Haven.  That's kind of surprising since I have tried to get there once or twice a year.  The main reason is because the Syke's schedule and my schedule have not really lined up until today.

It seems like when she's gone to Grand Haven this year, it has been on a weekday and I am usually working on weekdays.

Granted there are more reasons than the Sykes to go to Grand Haven, but the Sykes is a pretty good reason.

Like I said in my last post, I saw that she was leaving Burns Harbor last night.  When I plotted it out, I saw that she was going to to arrive in Grand Haven by 10:00 in the morning.

I really wasn't in the mood to wake up early enough to get there when she arrived but I probably should have as the light would have been better for me then.

But I figured I could catch her as she was leaving.

I saw that she was unloading, but it was in a spot where I could only get pictures of her with my drone.

I wasn't sure if she was in range but she was and I'm happy.

I really like these shots.

I believe she is unloading iron fines from Burns Harbor.  These are typically used for cement.

She starts to get ready to depart.

It gave me a little time to get to my other spot.

she pushes out.

Her boom all tucked away.

She starts to back away.

I return my drone to the car.

I like this shot.

One more here.

So then I headed to my spot on the north pier.  The light from this direction wasn't too bad.

Unfortunately, I'm not a huge fan of stern shots.

But she's got a nice stern.

One more with my camera before switching the drone.

I kind of like this shot.

Unfortunately, I was shooting into the sun.  If I had gotten up earlier, I could have gotten these shots as the sun was facing her.

But I was able to move the drone around to get the shots I wanted.

I really like this shot.

I call it the Exocet view.

She continued to pull out.

She was moving slow enough that I could keep up with her.

And move around a little bit.

This is probably my favorite of the bunch.  She is framed by the two piers and they kind of make leading lines.

One more before switching to my other camera.

Unfortunately, I couldn't too much about the sun in these shots.

But I was able to lighten it up enough to make out the ship.

She continues to back out.

Missed the head shot because of the big boats in front of her.

She starts to make the turn to head north.  She started to head up to Drummond Island.  I think that means I might get to see her pass this way again.

A Cormorant in the Grand River

 As I was looking at Marine Traffic last night, it looked like it was going to be a pretty bleak day today.  It seemed like every ship on the lakes was heading north today.  Or if they weren't heading north, they are passed Detroit and wouldn't be heading back this way today.

As I was about to give up hope of seeing any ships today, I saw that a certain ship was making her way to Grand Haven.  Since it was a Sunday, I decided to go catch her.

And the Chessie

 I realize it has been a while since I've posted a picture of Chessie.

She was just sitting there and I decided to snap a picture.  Enjoy.

Return of the Leitch

 It has been a while since I've caught this ship.  Usually when I see her, I can't catch.  When I saw that she was passing at a time where I could catch her, I decided to head down.

The John D. Leitch is a favorite of mine.  Mainly because she is a fairly unique looking ship.

Many in the boatnerd community like to call her ugly.

I don't think she's ugly, just unique.

One of the reasons for that is that she can carry more cargo.

The pilothouse moves the cargo hold a little forward and that gets just a little more cargo.

For some reason, she reminds me of Lurch.

She makes the turn for the channel.

In the background was a ship waiting in the anchorage.

Love the looks of the water.

I think she was heading down from Thunder Bay.

She was heading to Quebec.

She passes Windsor.

For some reason, my drone switched into a different mode.  By the time I figured it out, this was the only picture I could get.  Not bad, but I wish I could have gotten more.

And she passes the Gordie Howe Bridge.  I can't wait for this to finish because it looks fairly nice.