Catching the Sykes Passing Port Huron

 I was planning on going to the Battle Creek Air Show with my dad today.  He messaged me and told me that he wasn't feeling well.  I didn't really feel like going alone and I wasn't sure if I wanted to sit in a hot car all day, so I decided not to go.  Besides, I will be going to the Willow Run Airshow in two weeks and I've already seen the Thunderbirds this year.

After deciding not to go to Battle Creek, I pulled up Marine Traffic and saw that the Sykes was heading for Detroit.  It was early and I didn't feel like heading out then.  I figured I could catch her in Port Huron.

I was still kind of waffling about going up to Port Huron and then I saw that the Frontenac was leaving Windsor, so I figured she would be heading up that way.  I ended up putzing around until it was time to go.

So I headed up to Port Huron.  I-94 was a zoo.  Is there a law that if you own a big truck you have to drive it like an asshole?

I arrived in Port Huron intact and I was waiting for the Frontenac because she would be passing first.

Or so I thought.  She ended up stopping in Sarnia but the Sykes was coming.

I thought the Sykes was going to be about an half hour behind the Frontenac but she had slowed down a bit, so it was closer to an hour.

And I was fine with that because the light was just about perfect at this time.

So the Sykes was in Cleveland where I think she delivered iron ore to the steel mill there.

Then she went to Toledo where she picked up iron fines, I think.

From Toledo she was heading over to Burns Harbor.  So she was loaded for these shots.

I was fine with that too because I think ships look better when they are loaded.

Anyway, I think she is the best looking ship on the Lakes.

Some people will argue that point but I don't consider the Ryerson on the Lakes unless she is active.  That is not likely to happen, so the Sykes it is.

One more shot with my regular camera.

And then I switched to my drone.  If you look in the background, you can see a nice column of smoke.  I'm not sure what was on fire but I saw it from the freeway.

It was a pretty nice day and there was a nice breeze blowing so it wasn't too hot.

The Sykes making her way to Lake Huron.

From this point, it is almost two days for her to get to her destination of Burns Harbor.  This is probably my favorite angle with the drone.  

Pulling up to pull back.

Trying to get the long shot.

Almost a beam shot.

The beam shot.

She continues out to Lake Huron.  The boats were giving me challenges trying to not have them in the picture.

But I didn't have much choice with this one.

The almost stern shot.

One more shot with my regular camera as she heads on her way.

Always Happy to See the Sykes

 It wasn't long for the ship I wanted to see appear.  Although it took her roughly two days to get this point.

The Sykes was coming in from Burns Harbor and I think she was carrying iron fines.

She was heading to Cleveland but I'm not sure where in Cleveland she was heading.

At any rate, I was happy to see her.  She is probably becoming my favorite ships on the Lakes.

I love her color scheme.

You rarely see rust or wharf scrapes on her, so it seems like she is taken care of.

I'm not sure what her design is, but she is definitely a classic laker.

She even had a hand in the Edmund Fitzgerald night.

While it she's not as well known as the Anderson, she still has a part in that night.

Namely, her captain at the time was the last one to actually see the Fitzgerald.

He has a pretty good book about that night but he is a little on the arrogant side.

Anyway, she's a nice looking ship.

After a threat of rain, it kind of went away and I had a nice sunny day.

But that also made it a hot day.

I was able to get my drone out.

I like this shot.

She gets a little closer.

Trying to get a beam shot.

She passes.

One more in Port Huron.

Because I saw something else in Port Huron, I wasn't quite able to chase her but I did pick her up again in Marine City.

I think I was getting a little heat haze here.

But I love the blue of the river.

The sky looks pretty cool.

A clean shot.

And I got my drone out here too.

The water looks really blue from the air.

One more shot with my drone here.

And then I headed down to Algonac to catch her one more time.

It was little sunnier here.

But a little less windy.

She's a nice ship.

A couple more with my regular camera.

A relatively clean shot again.

One more with my regular camera.

And then I took to the air.

I really like the blue water here.

she passes by.

The beam shot.

Passing.

And as I type this post, she is almost to Cleveland.  Meaning it is about 12 hours from this point to Cleveland.