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.