The Helena G on the Maumee River

As I was heading to Ohio Route 2 to continue on my way to Ottawa and Magee, I saw that one of the bridges was open on the Maumee River.  I knew that meant there was a ship heading through.

 As it turns out there was a salty heading outbound on the Maumee River.  she was being escorted by a pair of tugs, which was pretty neat.

 I'm not sure if the tugs are in lieu of a pilot.  But the lead tug was the Colorado.

I kind of like the looks of these tugs.

 I'm not sure who the Helena G is owned by but she is flagged out of Portugal.  At one time she was called the Gargeny and I think she was on this blog as that ship.

 Another shot of the Colorado.

 A picture of the Helena G without the tugs.

 I love the looks of these.

 One more shot of the Colorado.

 An almost beam shot of the Helena G.

 She was being trailed by the Ohio.  the Ohio is the newest addition to the Great Lakes Towing fleet.  She was commissioned earlier this year as the old Ohio was commissioned for the Museum.

 A better beam shot of the Helena G.

 The horse under the window is the old logo of Great Lakes Towing.  She's got a different looking pilothouse and it looks like more freeboard.

 Another angle.

The trio continues up the river.  The Helena G is heading up to Venice, which is in Louisiana.  I suspect she is going to take a load of grain for somewhere overseas.

And the Alpena

So I bounced between the deck of the Schoonmaker and the ground in an effort to get some pictures of the Alpena.  She was taking her time getting down the river.

 She is passing one of the railroad bridges on the Maumee.  She was making pretty decent time in this picture.  It wasn't too hazy out, so I was able to get some decent shots of her.

 She's being approached by a pleasure boat.

 As the boat is passing her.

 Just before this picture, she started to turn around.  I thought for a second that she might end up going to what looked like another cement dock.  It turned out that she was just turning around to back down the river.  I think it is easier for captains to back into the dock.

 It took a while for the bridge to open.  I was about ready to head home when I saw that she was starting to go through the bridge.  At this time, the Schoonmaker was closed, so I had to find another spot.  Fortunately, there is a decent spot along the river.

 And she passes through the bridge.

 At this point, she was picking up speed.  I was actually hoping to see some tugs but I guess not.

 The beam shot, this working in the opposite direction of what I normally shot.

 And she passes giving me the shots that I prefer.

 Because I was now shooting into the sun, I had to adjust things a bit.

 Another shot of her bow.

 A shot of the skyline again.

And one more shot before heading home.

From the Deck of the Colonel James M. Schoonmaker

On Memorial Day, I decided to head down to Toledo because I saw that the Alpena was heading down there.  Since I got a membership, I decided that I was going to watch her from the deck of the Col. James M. Schoonmaker.

 I was last on her deck when she was known as the Willis Boyer and was a little further down the river.  If you look in this picture, you can see the towers of the Anthony Wayne Bridge and that is where she was.  A few years ago, they decided to move her to her current spot and built a museum nearby.  This is looking back towards her engine room.  I didn't tour that this time because I was hoping to catch the Alpena on her deck.

 Looking up at her pilothouse.

 Looking from inside the pilothouse.

The decks below the pilothouse were used to entertain guests of the ship.  Typically, they were shareholders or other influential people.

 A view of the pilothouse.  She was the only ship on the lakes to have two wheels.  I think one of the wheels was added when they improved her steering and other things.  They kept the second wheel as a backup.

 Her radio direction finder.  In the days prior to GPS, they had radio stations around the lakes.  Ships could get directions to them and triangulate their position.  If I remember correctly, it was fairly accurate.

 Her radar.

 Her compass.

Looking out from the pilothouse.  I think if you look just below the suspension bridge, you can see the Alpena peeking around the corner.

The Saginaw Passes Toledo

I was about to head out when I saw the Saginaw appear behind a couple of train bridges.

 Visual contact is all that I needed since catching ships on the Maumee River is pretty cool.  And the railroad bridge made a pretty nice backdrop.

 I haven't photographed on the Maumee enough to realize that there are headshots.

 I just wish there were a train passing through.

 She makes a turn for the Bridge.

 And gives me a nice three quarters shot.

 I kind of wish I could have gotten the whole self unloader in this one.

 She starts to pass through the Bridge.

 And she passes through the bridge.

 A passing CRJ at the top of the picture gives me a bifecta at least.

And one more shot before moving on.

The Manistee at Rest

Part of our reason to head down to Toledo was to get some pictures of the Manistee.

 The Manistee is currently laid up in Toledo and from what I hear, her situation is not good.

 Apparently, she needs alot of work and she may end up getting replaced by another boat.

 That would be a shame because she's a lovely boat.

 But she is also over 75 years old and despite maintenance, it's tough to keep something that old in shape.

I hope she sails again, but if she doesn't, I'm glad I've got these pictures and few others of her.