The Sam Laud Passes Riverside Park

So I got a bonus ship today.

I didn't think she was that close behind the Jackson, so I wasn't sure I would catch her.

She was coming over from Burns Harbor.

I think that means she was carrying iron fines because she was heading for the St. Marys Cement Plant on the Rouge River.

Iron fines are used in the cement process and they are mixed with the other materials to make a stronger cemement.

I do know that it is a long loading process.

 The trip is roughly 48 hours.

She passes Windsor.

A relatively clean shot.

She starts to pass under the Ambassador Bridge.

I love this shot.

She is approached by the M.S. Westcott.

She continues past the Bridge.

She starts to work her way towards the Rouge River.

If I had more time, I would have tried to catch this one at the Jefferson Bridge.

And she passes under the Gordie Howe Bridge.  Looks like it is getting closer.

The Atlantic Huron Passes By

It has been a while since I have posted and I apologize for that.  I've been pretty busy at work and have only really wanted to relax during the weekend.  It didn't really help that the weather hasn't been particularly cooperative, so I really haven't felt like going out.  It was a nice day and I forced myself to go out.

I had hoped to get more ships but I got kind of a late start.  I had to get some paints for my models and it seemed like they were working on every street on my way to Belle Isle.

By the time I reached Belle Isle, the last ship in the string of ships I hoped to catch had passed.  I saw that this one was coming down and I hoped to catch her at Belle Isle but Belle Isle had other plans for me.

So off to Riverside I went.  Riverside was busy but I was able to get a parking spot.

The Atlantic Huron was heading down to Sandusky.  I assume that she is going to pick up coal there but I am not sure where she is going to take it.

The Atlantic Huron has a special place for me.  It was in one of my early pictures.  That picture made me realize I could do ship photos.

It seems like she is not long for this world though.

She approaches the Ambassador Bridge.

She starts to pass the Ambassador Bridge.

I like this shot.

She passes the Ambassador Bridge.

She continues down the Detroit River.  From this point, it about 7 hours for her to reach Sandusky (which means she is approaching as I type this).

She passes the American Century and approaches the Gordie Howe Bridge.

Catching Up With the Munson

Last night as I was checking Marine Traffic, I saw that the Munson was heading down.  She was coming from Brevort and I think that means she had a load of sand, but I'm not sure.

She was heading over to Buffalo.  I think this is the third Great Lakes Fleet ship to head over to Buffalo.

Last weekend was the Anderson's turn.  The Clarke headed over there too.

I'm not sure what they are taking over there.  I think Buffalo might have a cement plant or something like that.

She was in Calumet Harbor which is near Chicago.  If I had known that, I could have shot a picture of her from the Blues Brothers Bridge.

Anyway, she is a nice looking ship and I had a relative that worked on her for a brief period of time.

She used to operate out of Rogers City quite a bit.

In fact, I think she carried stone then mostly.

You can see a fisherman getting a last trip out before it gets too cold.

Switching to my drone after she passed the Ambassador Bridge.

Letting her get a little closer.

I'm still not brave enough to get the close up frontal shots.  I'm not sure how quickly my drone can move out of the way.

And honestly, that would be a bad time for it to act up.

It was actually kind of nice today, a little on the chilly side but I'll take what I can get in the middle of November.

The beam shot.

And she passes on.

She approaches the Gordie Howe Bridge.  I can't wait for this bridge to be complete, it is going to look nice.

Switching back to my normal camera.

One more shot as she continues on after being serviced by the Westcott.  The Westcott on her stern.  From this point, it is roughly 18 hours to Buffalo.
 

And Then There was the Alpena

 A couple of these pictures are out of order relative to the other posts, but since I group the pictures together by subject, they will go in here.

I had a chance to catch Alpena in the golden light, which was a bonus.  If you look to the left, you can see the Coast Guard Fast Response boat.

The Alpena was coming to Detroit after doing an unload in Essexville.  It has been a while since I've seen her.  If you look to the top of the picture, you will see the Dolphin.

I saw her earlier on Marine Traffic but I wasn't sure she would be passing in enough light.

Not only was she passing in enough light but she was passing the golden light which is the perfect time to take pictures.

The sun is at such an angle, it will make subjects pop.

The Dolphin still in picture.

I probably could have caught her sooner, but I wanted to do planes.

I like this shot.

She continues on her way, it looks like she has a little rust on her hull but that might be from a scraping.

A relatively unbusy background.  As you can see, the colors in this area are pretty close to peak.

She starts to pass Windsor.

The Windsor skyline in the background.

Showing off her flags.

Again, another relatively uncluttered background.

the bow shining.

She approaches the Ambassador Bridge.

I think she was turning towards the Windsor shore so that she could make her docking turn.

She's about to pass the Ambassador Bridge.

She passes.

Showing off one of the towers of the Gordie Howe Bridge.

I like this shot.

And a nice stern shot.

All in all, I had a good weekend.  Catching a train but sadly not a steam engine.  A hawk.  Some planes and I finish with the Alpena.