Catching the Philip R. Clarke in the City that Rocks

 I looked at AIS last night and I saw that the Philip R. Clarke was heading down to Cleveland.  I've never caught her there and it looked like a good day to go down there.

She ended up getting there a little faster than I had planned but I didn't miss too much.  I was hoping to catch her as she entered the breakwater but oh well.  She was turning around as I was heading to the park.

She was heading to the bulk terminal area.  I think she was coming down from Duluth and I think that means she was carrying a load of ore.

I know that ships will bring ore to the bulk terminal.  Other ships will take it from the bulk terminal to carry it to the steel mill on the Cuyahoga River.

I don't think the Clarke can make it down the Cuyahoga though.

Or maybe she can with a tugboat.  I would imagine it would be a pretty cool sight.

She gets a little closer to the dock.

Sadly I was shooting into the sun, so the pictures may look a little washed out.

Fortunately, I wasn't shooting directly into the sun.

I kind of liked this shot.  If you look closely, you will see that I got a 737 in it.  I just wish there was the normal train in it, then I could have had my trifecta.

I saw this as I was heading back to the car.  I liked the angle.  I also liked the fact that her boom was out.

One more shot before moving on.

The Thomas Jefferson Makes an Appearance

 I got a little bonus yesterday.

As I was looking out a Lake Erie on occasion, I saw a ship coming in.  It kind of looked like a military ship, so it caught my interest.

I looked it up on Marine Traffic and found it was the hydrographic survey ship, Thomas Jefferson.

The ship was originally built as the USNS Littlehales in 1992.  It served as a survey ship for the Navy.

In 2003, it was transferred to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  It was renamed the Thomas Jefferson.   Thomas Jefferson formed the coastal survey group in 1807.  It is homeported in Norfolk and is pretty active.

A Coast Guard Response Boat

 I also get a pretty decent view of the water from my spot.

This response boat was patrolling near the air show area.

They were keeping it clear.

One more shot.

And the Lake Erie

 The next ship was following fairly closely, so it didn't take long for me to catch it.  In fact, I think you can see her in at least one of the drone shots of the last ship.

the Lake Erie was heading down to Detroit.

I think she may have been carrying coils of steel to be unloaded at Nicholson dock.

I'm not sure who she is owned by.

But she looks to be the same style as the last ship.

I didn't stay long because I was hoping to catch the next ship further up the river.
 

The Lake Erie Inverted

 I've seen this phenomenon before but not here.

I have seen ships where it looks like the bottom is missing.  I don't think I've ever noticed there was a reflection there.  This is a type of mirage.

This is caused by the different air densities and they make the waves act like a reflection.  It is kind of cool.
 

The Huron Lighthouse

I decided to take a picture of the lighthouse.

A lighthouse was first put on this spot in 1830.  This current tower was built in 1936 but the top was removed at some point.  I'll have to say it's an interesting lighthouse and probably would be more interesting with the lantern room.

The John G. Munson Visits Ashtabula

As I was checking out AIS to figure out when the Blough would arrive in Conneat, I saw that the John G. Munson was heading to Ashtabula and I saw that she would be a little later.  Ashtabula is the next town to the west from Conneaut, so it gave me the opportunity to catch a ship coming into another port.

The area around Ashtabula was long settled by Native Americans but it was established as a European American settlement in 1803.  Because it was across Lake Erie from Ontario, there were several stops of the Underground Railroad here.

With it's location on the mouth of the Ashtabula River, it made a natural point to establish a port.  It would start to receive iron and coal from Minnesota in the late 1800's.  It continues to serve as a stone and coal unloading point.

 The John G. Munson makes her way past the lighthouse and enters the breakwater.

 I think I had some pretty cool shots from here, especially since I could get some trains in the foreground.

 A shot of her pilothouse.

 With the presence of a major port, it is also a major hub for the railroads.  I lost track of how many trains were there.

 I kind of like this shot.

 I wandered around town a bit to get a cleaner shot of the Munson.  I kind of like this one but I think I'd like it more without the lines in the front.

Ashtabula's first lighthouse was built in 1836.  It was a wooden structure that used oil fired lights.  It was replaced by a new tower with fresnel lenses.  In 1905, the mouth of the Ashtabula River was widened and this light was added.  This was the last lighthouse on the Great Lakes to be manned and was automated in 1973.  It is currently in the hands of a preservation group.

The Roger Blough Enters Conneaut

For as long as I've been following the Roger Blough, I have been meaning to head to one of the ports that she calls on.  She normally splits her time between Gary, Indiana and Conneaut, Ohio.  Since there really aren't too many places where I could catch her entering Gary, it would have to be Conneaut, Ohio that I would visit.  Since I was already basically there, it worked out for me.

Conneaut was formally settled in 1799 on an old Native American trail.  There used to be a Missasaugua village that was located near there that was founded in 1747.  Originally Conneaut was named Salem and the surrounding areas were named Lakeville.  These areas were combined to the area of the current city.  Sometime the outlying parts of the city are called Lakeville or Amboy by the locals.
Conneaut is located at the northeastern corner of Ohio and almost borders Pennsylvania.  It is in Ashtabula County.

 Because of the arrangements of the docks in Conneaut, the Blough has to back into the harbor.  The lighthouse in this picture is fairly new but there have been some others there previously.  The first lighthouse was established in 1835 but that had deteriorated to the point where it had to be replaced in 1885.  The current lighthouse was built in 1917.  In this picture the Blough is turning to get in line with the channel.

 I believe the ore docks in Conneaut end up supplying the steel mills in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and that makes for a lot of rail traffic.  It seemed like I would hear train horns constantly.

 I couldn't quite get the shots of the Blough that I normally like but these will do.  As I said, I've always wanted shots of her coming into one of the ports she services.

 Sometimes ships will use this area to turn and face the Lake, but I'm guessing those would be ships that aren't backing into the harbor.

 She approaches the dock.

 An almost shot of her pilothouse.

And the shot of the pilothouse that I like.

I will have to make a trip back here at some point.  Maybe I can figure out a way to get different shots.

The Manistee Pays a Visit to Cleveland As Well

When I arrived, I saw that the Manistee was waiting out on Lake Erie.  Well, it wasn't so much waiting as turning around to enter the channel.

 This was a pretty slow process for her, as she was only doing about 1 knot.  I'd imagine that was her minimum steerage speed.

 This picture shows why I like taking pictures of ships on the Lakes.  Typically I am in a fairly peaceful location while doing it.  It makes for a relaxing moment especially after chasing a train.

 She gave me a nice profile shot.

 She finally made the turn towards the channel and was heading in.  Again, she was taking it pretty slow as she had to wait for the American Courage.

 A nice shot passing the west lighthouse.

 And the three quarters shot.

 A boat passing by.

 The other lighthouse.

 The Manistee gets bigger as she gets closer.

 The light was hitting her just right.

 And she starts to pass by.

 A shot of her pilothouse.  I was amazed at the amount of rust on her.

 Another skyline shot.

 A shot of her deckhouse.

 Her stack.

 She passes by.

 Another skyline shot.

 She passes under the rail bridge.

 And starts to make her turn for the river.

One more shot.