The CSL Welland Passes By

 As I was getting the drone ready to take more pictures of the Alpena.  I saw this ship heading up.

The CSL Welland was heading up to Thunder Bay.

She is probably going to pick up grain.

She is the other CSL ship with a mural.  It is for the Canada games.

I wish more ships had murals.

And the CSL Tadoussac

 To catch the next ship, I went to the other end of the Detroit River.  It was getting late in the day and it was kind of overcast, so I wanted to make sure I caught her.

So I headed down to Belanger Park.

It is at the other end of the Detroit River.

The ship in question was the CSL Tadoussac.

She is the other classic laker that is owned by the Canada Steamship Lines.

It rare that I catch one of them and it is even rarer when I catch both of them.

I'm not sure where she was heading from.

But she was heading up to Duluth Superior.

I think that means she is going up to get coal.

I think that means she is heading back to Nanticoke.

Based on the distances of the Great Lakes and shipping times, it means I might have a chance to catch her on Saturday.

I hope so because I would like to catch her loaded.

As I was finishing, the sun started to come out.

Which looked cool against the gray sky.

Catching Classic Canadian Boat

So this is the ship that I was interested in catching.

She is one of three classic Canadian Lakers left on the great lakes.  There is her, the Frontenac which is a fleet mate and the John D. Leitch which is owned by Algoma Central.  I lump the Leitch in that category because she has the forward pilothouse.  I don't lump the Lower Lakes boats in that category because they are former American boats.

Algoma Central scrapped the Algoway, Algorail, Algosteel and Algomarine.  All three of them were nice looking boats but like so many other Canadian boats, they get used hard.

Pretty soon, the last of the Canadian built boats will be gone as they get replaced by the Chinese built boats.

I think the CSL Tadoussac was heading down from Thunder Bay but I'm not sure where she was heading to.

I want to say she was going to Nanticoke but for some reason I don't think so.

She's a nice looking boat and if you look from the side, you can see that she has an interesting wake pattern.

She hits some of the wave spray.

A relatively clean background.

Windsor in the background.

She is framed by the Ambassador Bridge.

Another shot of the bride.

the tower in the middle.

And she just about passes the Ambassador Bridge.

She gets a visit from the Westcott.

the Westcott at her side.

The Westcott gets buffeted by some of her waves.

The Westcott holds up against her side.

I think she is almost pulling away.

And almost stern shot.

 And she continues down the river.

The CSL Welland Passes By

It's a shame that the ship I caught wasn't an American ship because it would have been appropriate for the holiday.  Oh well.

 The CSL Welland was making her way downbound past Detroit.  I think she was coming down from Thunder Bay.

 Because of her configuration, she would have been loaded with grain.  One of the reasons for this configuration is that they can carry more cargo.  The self unloading apparatus takes up space (and weight).  Grain is typically unloaded by a giant vacuum or a giant claw.

 She was passing the REnaissance Center.

 This is one of the spots in Detroit where I can get a headshot.  Unfortunately, it was hot enough and there was some heat haze.

 She starts to turn away.

 I think she was heading to Montreal but don't quote me on that.

 Typically when they go to Montreal, they unload there and a bigger ship will take the grain to the European market.

 She almost passes me.

 And she starts to pass under the bridge.

 I liked the clouds in this picture.  The almost matched the curves of the suspension wire.

 Another picture.

 She continues on her way.

If I remember correctly it is about two days to Montreal from this point (thereabouts).  That makes it about a 5 day trip.