The American Century at Mistersky Fuel Docks

 I thought I would have a fuller day of boatwatching today but I got kind of a late start.  There was construction all over the place.  It looks like they are doing something along the shoreline of Belle Isle, so they had it blocked off with some kind of fencing.  Since it was a nice day, I found it hard to get a parking spot.  So I decided to head over to Riverside to catch the ship I was going to end up catching.

While I was at Riverside, I saw that the American Century was fueling at Mistersky.  She had just delivered coal to Monroe and was heading back up to Superior.

The docks are part of the property next to the Mistersky Power Plant.  The plant itself was built in 1927 and originally generated 60,000 kilowatts of power.  Over the year that was tripled.  It was closed down in 2010 when it was determined that it was cheaper to get power from Detroit Edison.  I'm not sure what they are going to do with the plant itself but the docks remain viable.

Barely Catching the American Century

 I headed down to Riverside yesterday.  It was a nice day and there were a couple of ships I could catch.  This one is kind of a bonus.

The American Century was refueling at Mistersky.  I think she was at Monroe before.  Lately, they have been doing a split load with deliveries to St. Clair and Monroe.  So I think she was finishing that.

She was moving past as I was pulling into the parking lot but I was able to get my drone to get a shot of her.  I like this one a little better than the other one.

She was heading up to Superior, presumably to pick up more coal to start the cycle again.

One more shot before the next ship.

The American Century Waits Her Turn

 It was a bit of a foggy day yesterday.  The Paul Tregurtha was at Mistersky refueling.  The American Century was coming up.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get a clear picture of her because of the fog.

But I do like this picture.

The American Century Upbound at Port Huron

 There was one more ship coming up.  I was going to catch it a little earlier in the river but I missed her, so I decided to head back to the Blue Water Bridge.  Besides, that's a better spot anyway.

The American Century was heading up from Monroe.  I think she did a split load of coal for there and St. Clair.

But in between there and here, she made a stop at Mistersky Fuel Docks for some fuel.

She was on her way up to Superior.

She should be there sometime on Saturday.

She makes the turn for the channel.

It was starting to cloud up.

The bow shot.

I kind of wish I had brought my drone.

I kind of like this shot.

But I like this one more.

Framed by the Blue Water Bridge.

She continues on her way.

One more of the Blue Water Bridge.

This shot shows off just how big she is.

A shot of her pilothouse.

Another.

One more.

She continues on her way to Lake Huron.

For some reason, this reminds me of a Star Destroyer.

And Then There Was the American Century

 The next ship wasn't too far away either.

Except the next ship was heading downbound.

I think she was heading from the Midwest Energy Terminal in Superior with a load of coal.

I say that because she was heading to St. Clair and coal is the only thing they take.

As I type, she is there right now.

The makes the turn for the channel.

It was a pretty nice day out.

Another turn.

the bow shot.

She makes another turn for the channel.

She is about to pass under the bridge.

Framed by the bridge.

She continues on.

The full extent of her thousand feet.

Her pilot house.

She passes by.

One more shot before heading off.

The American Century Heading Upbound at Port Huron

 I wasn't sure what I wanted to do today.  Then I looked at Marine Traffic and saw that I could catch three thousand footers.

First up was the American Century.

I'm not sure where she was heading up from since Marine Traffic listed her origin as Detroit.

I'm pretty sure she stopped in Detroit for fuel, so I'm not sure where she was before that.

I'm going to guess that she was either at Conneaut or Cleveland.  Likely Conneaut since Cleveland had a thousand footer there.

Either case, she would have been carrying taconite.

The bow shot.

She makes the turn for Lake Huron.

One more shot with my regular camera.

And then I switched to my drone.

I've been trying to get lower for better angle shots.  I like this one.

But I like this one too.

I had to get higher to catch the ship.

She makes the turn.

I didn't catch what the tugboat was though.

The beam shot.

And she heads out into Lake Huron.

One more as she continues on her way to Superior.