The Katmai Bay Makes an Appearance

 I don't usually see the vessel in these parts.

The Katmai Bay is one of the U.S. Coast Guard tugboats.

They are used for icebreaking, placing aids to navigation, homeland security and they can act as a command vessel during search and rescue operations.

She is normally stationed up at the Soo but I think she was going around the Great Lakes on a tour of sorts.

I'm not sure where she is heading next but I think she hanging out in Algonac.

Anyway, it was nice seeing her because I like seeing these vessels.

She gives a beam shot.

And then she passes by.

And one more shot.

The Katmai Bay Returns

 I was back down at Belle Isle on Sunday.  This time I didn't have any time to do any stopping.

And I made it just in time.

The Katmai Bay was ahead of another ship and she was heading back to Detroit.  I think she went up to the St. Clair River to help that ship get out.

Anyway, it was nice to see the Katmai Bay again.

I'm not sure how many more times I will be able to see her again as the ice isn't as thick this year.

I saw pictures tonight that the ice on the Detroit River is breaking up but that doesn't preclude another freeze.

It was still a pretty sunny day although it was a little on the cold side again.

And there was still a bit of ice.

I kind of like that all the signal flags were flying.

And she begins to pass.

I could see a couple crew members on the front deck.

The sun was just about perfect.

The almost beam shot.

The beam shot.

And she passes me.

One more before moving on to the next ship.

Catching the Katmai Bay

 And now the warm up act to the main attraction.

As you can see, there is quite a bit of ice around Belle Isle.  Although this was before there was a warming week.  I think the ice is breaking up now.

The Katmai Bay was coming down to Detroit and she was preceding a tanker.

I think she breaks the ice by shooting up bubbles and forcing it up to break it.

She doesn't have to make much of a track because I think there is some open water in the main channel.

Plus, the tankers that work through the winter have limited icebreaking capability.

The Katmai Bay is normally homeported in Sault Ste Marie but I don't think there is much traffic up there, so they sent her down here.

I think she has also been helping in breaking the ice around the lower St. Clair River.  The ice has been bunching up around there and causing some flooding.

Even though she is a tug boat, I think she is pretty nice looking.

The almost beam shot.

And she continues on her way but she doesn't have too far to get to where she was going to dock.

The Katmai Bay Passes Mission Point

The Katmai Bay was following Zeus pretty closely.

 The Katmai Bay is one of the tugboat/icebreakers/buoy tenders that are position around the Lakes.  She is stationed in Sault Ste. Marie.

 I kind of like these vessels.

 A shot of her profile.

And she moves on.  I presume that she was heading home.

The Katmai Bay at Rest With a Passing James R. Barker

As I was getting on the Valley Camp, I looked over towards the Coast Guard dock and saw the Katmai Bay.  When I was taking pictures of her, I didn't notice the James R. Barker entering the locks behind her.  If I had, I may have tried to go over to the Locks to get pictures of her.

 Once again, this past winter proved busy for the Katmai Bay.  Ice levels were a little thicker than normal, which meant that she was busier than normal.  She is also used for buoy tending at the beginning of the shipping season.

So she is taking a well deserved rest.

The Katmai Bay Leaves Detroit

Next up in our series of ships leaving Navy Week is the USCGC Katmai Bay.

 The Katmai Bay is the little icebreaking tug stationed out of Sault Ste. Marie.  Here she is seen putting the Motor City behind her.

 In case you didn't realize the above picture was Detroit, here is a more familiar building.

 She passes the stone docks of Windsor.

 And some of the same scenes as the other vessels.

 A more straight on shot of her.  This is about the angle that I like her looks.

And one more shot as she continues on.

A Couple More Shots of the Katmai Bay

It was much busier yesterday than I expected it to be and the line for the De Wert was fairly long.    This gave me a chance to take a few more pictures of the Katmai Bay.

 I don't think I got a shot of her rear last time.

 In case you were curious about her name.

 And kind of an oblique shot.

And one more shot of her stack.