The Ken Boothe Sr./Lakes Contender Make an Appearance on a Blustery Day

I decided to go boatwatching today as it's been a while since I've gone boatwatching.  Well at least it's been a while since I've gone boatwatching here.  There were a couple of ships that I wanted to catch and it's been a while since I've seen them.  This first one was kind of a bonus.

 First up was the tug Ken Boothe Sr. and her tug the Lakes Contender.  They were on their way to Cleveland.

 As you can see, it was pretty windy today and the weather was pretty ominous.

 In fact, it was windy enough that the Ken Boothe Sr. ended up pulling into the Belle Isle Anchorage.  I kind of wish I would have known that was going to happen.

 Oh well, nasty weather makes for nice pictures, I think.

I would have stayed but I had another ship to catch.

The Ken Boothe Sr. and the Lakes Contender in Port Huron

The next ship wasn't too far away, so I decided to stick around for her.

 That ship was actually a tug/barge in the form of the Ken Boothe Sr. and Lakes Contender.  While I'm not a fan of tug/barges in general, they are actually growing on me and this one isn't too bad looking, I guess.

 They were on their way to Cleveland but I'm not sure what they were carrying. 

 She's framed by the Blue Water Bridge.

 A shot of her bow.  I didn't notice the person on the front as I was taking pictures.

 and her tug.

She continues on her way to Cleveland.  Her crew got almost a front row seat for the Air Show yesterday.

The Ken Boothe Sr/Lakes Contender Makes an Appearance

Next up is a tug/barge combination.

 I'm not a huge fan of tug/barges but I do like this one.  I think it is one of the nicer looking ones out there.  But then again, this was designed to be a tug/barge and wasn't built out of an older ship.

 The Ken Boothe Sr/Lakes Contender has been on this blog before, so I wont go into their details much.  They are run by American Steamship.

 The Ken Boothe was returning from Ashtabula and she is heading up to Calcite where she will pick up a load of stone.

 I'm not sure where she is headed after that.

 Here she is framed by the Blue Water Bridge.

 I liked her assortment of flags.

 A shot of her pilothouse.

 A shot of the tug itself.

 And she heads out into Lake Huron.

 As I was taking shots of the boat, I noticed one of the crew members hanging out on the back of the pilothouse.  I thought it was kind of neat.

One more shot of the boat.

The Ken Boothe Sr./Lakes Contender a Little Later

So I went and grabbed lunch and waited a while for the next vessel.

 And that vessel was the tug/barge combination Ken Boothe Sr./Lakes Contender

 The combination is owned by American Steamship is actually quite nice looking for a tug/barge.

 She makes her turn towards Lake Huron.

 And is framed by the Blue Water Bridge.

 A closer shot of the combination with a little bit of the golden light.

 The pair under the Blue Water Bridge again.

 And they get a little closer.

 A shot of the tug portion.  I think it is actually a pretty nice looking tug. The blue is pleasing.

 and she starts to head out into Lake Huron.  Not quite sure where she is headed though.

 A shot of the rear of the tug.

And one more shot.

The Ken Boothe Sr./Lakes Contender Passes Milliken State Park

I had yesterday off.  I had originally planned to go over to the Welland Canal this weekend but other things cropped up and put the kibosh on those plans.  I looked at AIS and saw that the river wasn't particularly busy but it was busy enough, so I headed down to Detroit.

 So first up was the tug/barge combination Ken Boothe Sr./Lakes Contender.  She's been on this blog a few times before but not before this year.

 This is rapidly becoming my favorite tug/barge.

 The tug is called the Ken Boothe Sr.  I believe both the tug and the barge were built in Erie, PA.

 The pair passes under the eye of Sauron.

 Another shot of the tug.

 Kind of a shot of her pilothouse.

 And she passes by.

 A shot of the Renaissance Center.,

And the Ambassador Bridge.

And the Lakes Contender

It's funny, I saw her the first time about two weeks ago.  Since then I have seen her two times.

 What I'm talking about is the tug Ken Boothe Sr and her barge the Lakes Contender.

 She starts to make her turn towards the Lake.

 One of the things that I like about this spot is the opportunity you get for a headshot.

 She starts to move past.

 A person enjoying the breeze at the front of the ship.

 Another shot.

 A closeup of her front.

 The tug.  I kind of like the color scheme on this tug.

 A shot of her profile.

 And a shot of the pilothouse.  I like the box of Cheez-Its in the window.

 Her stack.

She works her way into Lake Huron towards Calcite where she will pick up a load of limestone.