Anyway, It's the Algoway

I was not expecting to get any boatwatching in.  I was just planning on catching the Marine demonstration and then head home.  That was especially true since it didn't seem like there would be anything passing by while I was down there.

 Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised when I looked down the River and saw the Algoway approaching the Ambassador Bridge.

 I'm not sure where she was coming from but I knew that she was heading to Goderich.

 I assume that she would be picking up a load of salt in Goderich.

 I didn't know where she was heading after that when I took these pictures but someone posted a picture of her on the Saginaw River.

 Based on that information, I'm going to say that she was delivering a load of salt to either Bay City or Saginaw.  Based on the fact that the picture showed her passing under the Veterans Bridge in Bay City, I will say that she was likely headed to Saginaw.

It was good to catch her because I'm getting more convinced that her days are numbered.

Catching Up With the Algoway

On Friday I saw that the Algoway and Paul R. Tregurtha were going to be making an appearance.  I kind of want to catch the Algoway as much as possible because I don't think she's long for this world.  I have yet to catch the Tregurtha this year, so I decided to head up to Port Huron.

 I started in St. Clair.  I wasn't sure if I'd have enough light to catch her in Port Huron.  The light was pretty good in St. Clair though but I almost missed her.

 As you can see, she's looking pretty rough.  I don't think she's been painted in a while.

 She passes by St. Clair.

 I then headed up to Marysville to catc her there.

 The beam shot.

It was a good thing I didn't wait in Port Huron because she stopped for fuel in Sarnia.

Catching Up With Another Old Friend

The next ship is another one that is probably not too long for this world.

 It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that they painted the bow of the Algoway.  I thought that was going to lead to a new coat of paint for the rest of her.

 But they only painted her bow.

 She is starting to look rough.  Although she was looking pretty rough last year.

 I think she is looking even rougher this year.  She is another one of the Algoma boats that is going to replaced by a Chinese built ship.  I think she got an extended lease on life because the cargos are starting to pick up on the Great Lakes.

 So I guess I'll enjoy her while I can.

 I decided to head over to Riverside Park to catch her at the dock she would eventually go to.

 I think she picked up a load of stone in Marblehead.

 And is bringing it to one of the stone docks in Windsor.

I wasn't entirely sure which one though.

But this is another ship that I will try to catch.  I'm hoping that her sister, the Algorail, gets pressed into service too.  I would like to see her a couple of times before she leaves too.

The Algoway Makes an Appearance

Next up is the ship that made me want to go shipwatching.

 I have a feeling that the Algoway is not much longer for this world.  Last few times I've seen her, she's looked pretty rough.  As I watched her pass by today, she was starting to sound pretty rough too.

 She started the morning in Lorain, Ohio.  I'm not sure what she delivered there but I managed to watch her on AIS and figured that I would be able to catch her around Marine City before it got too dark.

 She was heading up to Owen Sound which is basically across Lake Huron from Alpena on that peninsula in Canada.  I believe her AIS said that she was going for layup.

 I'm hoping that it's not her final layup but something tells me that depends on how soon some of Algoma's new builds get finished.

I'm pretty sure she has one more season left in her but that probably depends on how the trades are going.

Ending with the Algoway

Despite my disappointment of not getting on the Detroit, I still had a pretty good day.  I got to see the Tregurtha and Algorail.  As I was getting ready to leave, I saw that the Algoway was pretty close so I stuck around a bit to catch her.

 I think the Algoway is related to the Algorail.  They look very similar to me but there are probably some differences.

 I think that the Algoway is also on her last legs.  If not, it seems like she sure could use some loving.

 I don't even think they bothered to paint her bow.

 And I think I need a tetanus shot after watching her.

 I loved the look of the clouds.

 A better angle of all her rust.

 She approaches the Blue Water Bridge.

 I think she was on her way to Goderich.

One more shot before heading home.

The Algoway enters the Saginaw River

Next up was the Algoway.  I ended up going to a boat launch near the mouth of the river.  I wasn't quite sure what dock the Algoway would be using, so I wanted to make sure that I caught her at one spot.

 It turns out that I've caught the Algoway on the Saginaw River before.  That time, she was heading up from Zilwaukee.  I was pretty sure she wasn't going that far down the river.  But I still couldn't miss it because the Saginaw River is pretty photogenic.

 She passes the power plant.

 And she heads down the River.

 I went to a park in Essexville.  I was hoping that I would catch her as she was passing. 

 It turns out that she was heading over to the aggregate dock.  so I caught her as she turned into there.

 She works her way into the dock.

And she continues to move into the dock.  It is still amazing to watch these ships maneuver in the river.

Catching the Algoway

I took today off because I thought that possibly I would head up to the Soo today with my Dad but it turned out that he had jury duty.  I saw that there were a couple of ships that I could catch.  One of them is a ship that I think has a date with the scrappers in the near future.

 Algoma has been modernizing their fleet lately and I think they have a few more ships on that way.  Given that the Algoway is over 40 years old, that can only mean one thing for her fate.  It's kind of a shame because it seems like she has alot of life left in her.

 Until that day actually comes, I will try to enjoy her as much as possible.

 I'm not sure if she qualifies as a beautiful ship, but she certainly qualifies as a neat looking ship.

 She was going from Calumet Harbor to Windsor.  As I type this post, she's in Windsor.

 She's framed by the Blue Water Bridge.

 And she continues down the river.

 I didn't think I would catch up with her again, but I stopped in St. Clair to catch another ship and she was approaching.

 A couple more pictures couldn't hurt.

 A shot of her pilothouse.

And she continues down the St. Clair River.