A Surprise Visitor Part Whatever

 The next ship was definitely a surprise.

As I was watching the Puna go down river, I saw another ship moving.

At first I wasn't sure if it was a Coast Guard cutter or the Iver Bright.

But then I looked at the bridge and realized that it was a cutter.

Turns out that it was the Mackinaw.

I think she was doing aids to navigation.

Catching the Bristol Bay in Action

It was pretty cold the last week, so some ice was starting to form.  Leading our pair of ships was the Coast Guard tug/icebreaker Bristol Bay.

I thought that was I wasn't going to see her get much closer than this.  I saw a another icebreaker working its way north and I thought that ice breaker would replace the Bristol Bay to continue south.

Fortunately, that wasn't the case as I like to see these guys in action.

Although it wasn't so much in action, as there wasn't much ice and the ships would be able to navigate this will little trouble.

You can see the subject on my next post behind her.

She continues to make way.

And another subject in the background.

The lighting was perfect for me.

She starts to pass Windsor.

Downtown Windsor in the back ground.

A relatively clean shot.

One more before moving on to the next ship.
 

the Samuel Risley Hangs Out in Sarnia

As I was taking pictures of the Saginaw, I looked across the river and saw a vessel that I wouldn't mind having another picture of.

I think the Samuel Risley is busy doing aids to navigation work before the lakes start to freeze over.  Here she is  taking a break.  Soon, she will be breaking ice.

The Hollyhock at Rest

 As I was taking pictures of the ships, I had a little downtime between ships.

I decided to take a picture of the Hollyhock as she was sitting there.  I haven't seen her in a while and I think she was busy up near Sault Ste. Marie breaking ice.  I think she will be doing buoy tending next.

Missing the AlgoCanada but Catching the Morro Bay

 When I checked Marine Traffic, I saw that the AlgoCanada was heading over to Green Bay.  I decided to go catch her at Port Huron.  When I got to Port Huron, I saw that she had stopped for something.  I'm guessing either fuel or it's going to get ugly tonight.  Either way, I didn't catch her.

But sometimes life throws you some sugar to go with the lemons.

As I was figuring out what to do, I saw that the Morro Bay was heading up.

I think she is normally stationed in Cleveland.

Accoring to her destination, she was heading up to the St. Marys River.

I think there is quite a bit of ice up there, so she is needed there more.

The head shot and I loved the way she was pushing the waves.

She makes the turn for the channel.

the Hollyhock in the background.

It was a little on the cold side though.

And she's about to pass.

The beam shot.

And she continues on to Lake Huron.

Catching the Limnos

On Thursday, I decided to go boatwatching.  There was at least one that I was interested in catching.  It wasn't too bad weather wise, so I headed up to Marine City to catch her.

As I was catching the first ship, this Canadian Coast Guard vessel was heading downbound.

The vessel in question was the Limnos.  She was performing buoy work.

Many of the Canadian buoy tenders are busy dealing with the ice up in Whitefish Bay.

She passes the ship I wanted to catch.

I'll have to admit she is a pretty cool looking ship.

I think she is normally based in Amherstburg.

She continues her trip down the river.

One more picture of her.

The Bristol Bay Heads Up to Lend a Helping Hand

 As I said in the last post, there is a nice sheet of ice over Whitefish Bay.  I think I read somewhere that it is 12 feet thick.  It is causing some trouble for the ships that are trying to start the season.

The Bristol Bay is normally stationed in Detroit.  She is across from Belle Isle at the end of McNichols Street.

She is a Coast Guard tug but can be used for ice breaking.  She has a bubbler near her bow that is used to push the ice up and away.

She is also used for buoy tending.  When she is doing that, she is pushing a barge.

But at any rate, she is heading up to Whitefish Bay to lend a helping hand up there.  Currently, there is the Mackinaw, Griffon and a couple of other ships.

She might be used for other spots where there is ice, like the St Marys River.

At any rate, she is pretty nice looking.

I love this shot with a pair of swans in front.

More of the beam shot.

She continues on her way.

I was hoping that I would catch her as as she passed under the Blue Water Bridge but she ended up stopping where the Hollyhock normally docks.  I think she took on fuel and got some rest for her crew.  She ended up continuing today.

Welcoming a Ship Back to the Great Lakes

 On Saturday I thought that I would be catching this ship as she passed Belle Isle but she ended up stopping at Mistersky for fuel.  She continued on the next morning.  I saw that I could catch her at St. Clair, so I decided to head up there.

The ship in question is the US Coast Guard Cutter Spar.   I thought she was new to the Great Lakes but it turns out that is not true.

The Spar's keel was laid on December 15, 1999 at Marinette Marine Corporation in Wisconsin.  It is the place where the Littoral Combat Ships are currently being built.

She was launched on August 12, 2000 and then sailed to the Aleutian Islands in March of 2001.

She was homeported in Kodiak, Alaska and was commissioned on August 3, 2001.

Her main function is placing aids to navigation, but she also serves as maritime border security, maritime environmental protection and some icebreaking.

She sailed from Alaska to Baltimore earlier this year and underwent some maintenance activities.

She will continue onto Duluth, Minnesota where she will replace the Alder who went to Baltimore last year.

She is 225 feet long and 46 feet wide.  She has a 13 foot draft.

She is powered by two Caterpillar diesel engines.

Her top speed is 15 knots.

She is crewed by 8 officers and 40 enlisted personnel.

I was going to catch her Marysville too but I had to get a new windshield wiper for my car, so I missed her there.

So I headed up to my spot in Port Huron.

I like this spot because it gives me multiple angles.

Getting close to the bow shot.

And the bow shot.

She makes the turn for Lake Huron.

Some seagulls pass in front of her.

Framed by the Blue Water bridge.

I think she is a pretty nice looking ship.

I'm pretty sure I'll see her again because I've seen the Alder before.

Another shot with the bridge in the back ground.

She continues out to Lake Huron.  I will say that she was booking because she was creating a bit of wake.

I probably could have caught her with my drone but it was bit on the windy side.

She continues into Lake Huron.

You can see the waves kicking against her side.

One more picture before moving on.