The End of an Era

It was purely chance that I caught the next ship but it turns out that it was a moment.

 This was the Daldean of Chatham Ferry which was the larger of two ferries that was used to connect Marine City, Michigan with Sombra, Ontario.  It was sold to a group that runs a ferry between Amherstburg, Ontario and what used to be Boblo Island.

 Two years ago the docks in Sombra, Ontario were damaged by an ice floe.  The owner of that dock claims the damage was from one of the icebreakers that was operating at the time.  It was estimated that the dock would cost $4 million to repair.

 After raising the money, it was uncertain whether the border station in Marine City would be manned, so efforts to repair the dock were halted.  I think they still hope to repair the dock someday but that depends on whether the customs office in Marine City gets occupied.

It's a shame that service may not re-open as it was a nice place to cross the border into Canada.  It didn't have the long lines of the bridges and the guards seemed much friendlier.

A Couple Shots of the Sugar Island Ferry

The Sugar Islander II goes between Sault Ste Marie and Sugar Island.  It seems like it always full or pretty close to full.

 One of these days, I may go to explore the island and see what it has to offer.

But it wasn't this day.

Shots of the Sugar Island Ferry

This is the boat that is always at Mission Point.

 I think it goes between Sault Ste Marie and Sugar Island every 30 minutes.  Generally it doesn't take that long for it to cross.

 It pretty much runs all day.

 And usually when it goes to the island, it lets the current take it in.

 Sometimes it photographs well.

 Especially in the sunset.

And it flies the Stars and Stripes proudly.

the Lake Express Entering Muskegon

As I was taking pictures of the lighthouse, I noticed that a ship was coming in.

 It turns out that it was the Lake Express.

 It is a car ferry that regularly runs between Muskegon and Milwaukee.  It is also the main competitor to the Badger.

 I think it is actually faster than the Badger but because of its design, there are times when it can't make the crossing.

 It is a pretty cool looking boat at anyrate.

Still not as cool as it would have been seeing the American Mariner.

The Drummond Islander Ferry

Just a couple of pictures of the Drummond Island Ferry.

 It was kind of neat to watch this time.  Normally, the ferry will go straight across over to Drummond Island but this time there was a ship in the way.

But she still made it.

Things Around Muskegon

These are just some things that I encountered as I was wandering around Muskegon.

 This is an abandoned railroad bridge.  I presume it was used by the Pere Marquette but I'm not sure.

 The tracks leading to that bridge.

 This is a tug that I've seen before, the Barbara Anne.  Normally, when I see her, she is in the middle of a river and doesn't look that large.

 The Candace Elise.

 A shot of the Silversides from the other side of the river.  I kind of wish they had a different paint scheme on the building so that the sub would stand out a little more.

 The Silversides from another angle.

 A shot of the McLane which is a Coast Guard cutter that served in World War II.

 The Carol Anne.

 A tree in the State Park.

 The Lake Express is a ferry service that operates between Muskegon and Milwaukee.  I'm not sure how many crossings it makes in a day but I'm pretty sure it makes more than the Badger.

 The Ferry itself was constructed in 2004 in Mobile, AL by Austal USA.  It looks similar to the catamaran style that is used by the LCS constructed by them.  She can travel at a speed of 34 knots.  It is capable of carrying 46 cars and 253 passengers.

 She may be faster than the Badger but she's not as nice looking.

One more shot of the Carol Ann.

The Sugar Island Ferry

Just some shots of the ferry.

 One thing nice about Mission Point is that if you run out of ships to shoot, you can always take pictures of the Sugar Islander II.

 She's not really anything to write home about.

 But in the right settings, she can look nice.

 She crosses back and forth between the Soo and the Island several times a day.

 A shot of her in the setting sun.

 She makes a trip back.

...and forth.

The Return Trip on the Ferry

And it was time to head back to the United States.  I enjoyed my brief stay in Canada and I will have to do it again sometime.

 The Ferry wasn't too crowded for the return trip except I ended up on the side that got let out last.

 I was in the front however, so I got to take some pictures on the way back.  Here is another shot of Marine City.

Looking up the St. Clair River again.  To the right you can see the approaching Jackman.  As I was taking this shot, I was hoping that it wouldn't be too bad getting back through customs.

As it turned out, it wasn't too bad getting back through customs.  A few questions and I was on my way.

So Ferry Crossed the St. Clair....

Normally when I go over into Canada, I will cross on either the Blue Water Bridge, Ambassador Bridge or the Windsor Tunnel.  I've seen the ferry often enough but I never thought of taking it.  As I look at the traffic crossing any of the other points, I figured that the ferry might prove to be the least amount of hassle.

 They loaded a couple of us so that they could make some room for the cars leaving the ferry.  I was actually kind of excited about this.

 A shot of the ferry's pilothouse.

 Marine City from the River.

 It turns that this was the ferry that I would be taking back.

 Looking up the River towards St. Clair.

A view of Canada.

I proved to be correct.  There wasn't a huge line at the customs station on the other side.  He asked a few questions and let me go on my way.  It was pretty nice.  There is a pretty nice highway that seems to be the Canadian Complement to M-29.

The Badger Passes By

One of the neater aspects of the Ludington fireworks is that you get a chance to see the Badger under pretty good lighting conditions.

 The sun is low in the sky and the Badger passes during what is called "the Golden Hour".  The sun is at such an angle that it makes everything have a golden color.

 Everything looks nice at this time but especially ships.  And I think the Badger is an especially nice looking ship.

 At one time, she used to delivery train cars across Lake Michigan but that business became unprofitable, so she sat for a while.

 A local Ludington Businessman took ownership of her and converted her to an auto ferry.

 I believe she is one of the last coal fired ships on the Lakes and that is a point of contention with some.  While I don't agree with the pollution aspect, in the scheme of things what harm can come from one ship?  I think the owners plan to convert her to natural gas or something in the future but like many things...that costs money.  Besides, I think some of the people fighting her have connections to the rival ferry company....not that anything like that would affect politicians.

 Still, she is a beautiful ship.

 In a beautiful setting.

 And she passes the lighthouse.

 Before she gets in place for the fireworks, she does take a little cruise around the Ludington Area.  Normally,  I wouldn't post a shot like this, but I liked the effect of the longer term exposure.

And I leave you with the Badger in position for viewing the fireworks.