Another Surprise Visitor

 Marine Tracker uses the tug color for this one, so I don't usually see her on the tracker.

I saw her coming down as I went to my spot for the next ship.

The State of Michigan is used by the Great Lakes Academy as a training ship.

She goes around the Great Lakes.

I didn't have my drone ready, so no drone shots.

I kind of like this shot.

she heads to her next destination.

Which turned out to Port Huron.

Catching the State of Michigan

 The next ship was sort of a bonus.

I heard a different sounding horn as the Leitch was passing.  After the Leitch passed, I looked up.

I saw the State of Michigan heading upbound.

The State of Michigan is used by the Great Lakes Maritime Academy as a training ship.  I thought they were done with their tours but I guess not.  It was pretty cool to see though.

Watching the State of Michigan Pass By

The next ship was kind of a surprise for me as I didn't notice her on the AIS.

 The State of Michigan belongs to the Great Lakes Merchant Marine Academy out of Traverse City.  Every summer, this ship will take cadets out on their summer cruises to help them prepare for becoming Merchant Marine officers.

 The curriculum at the academy is geared towards being a merchant mariner but I think there is some core curriculum that would be offered at other colleges.

 I think the Michigan academy is one of the few that gives both a salt water and fresh water certification.

 I have a couple of friends that went through the academy.  One of them is currently a mate on the Alpena.

This particular ship was donated by the Navy.  It used to be used for towing sonar arrays for detecting Soviet submarines.  With the end of the cold war, it was used in different missions until donation to the Academy.

Catching the State of Michigan

I didn't realize the State of Michigan was in the area.

 There are actually a couple of people on her that I know through facebook, so it was kind of neat to see them pass through the gaggle of boatnerds.

 The clouds were especially nice looking.

 A beam shot.  She was heading down to the Detour area, I think.

And she continues down the river.

A Surprise Visitor in the State of Michigan

I was not expecting to catch the next ship but then again I wasn't really looking for her.

 The ship in question was the State of Michigan which is the training ship used by the Great Lakes Maritime Academy.

 Every summer, she travels around the Great Lakes training the next folks for the boats.

 I will have to say that she is a pretty neat looking ship.

And she continues on into Lake Huron.

The State of Michigan Passes Belle Isle

I'm still catching up with my pictures from Memorial Day weekend.  This pictures are still from that weekend.

 I didn't really feel like doing much on Sunday since I had a pretty whirlwind tour on Saturday.  It's not often when you go from one side of the state to the other.  I took a look at Marine Traffic and saw that there was a ship I was interesting in catching.

 So I headed down to Belle Isle because that was where I could catch her and this wasn't the ship.

 This is the State of Michigan, she was following the ship I was interested in catching pretty closely.  I was kind of happy to catch this one since I don't see her all that often.

 The State of Michigan belongs to the Great Lakes Maritime Academy in Traverse City.  It is used as a training ship for people that are interested in joining the merchant fleet.

 The State of Michigan is converted from the USNS Persistent which was an ocean surveillance vessel and it was used to track Soviet submarines.

 In 1998, she was used to enforce drug laws but it was determined she was too slow for that role.

 In 2002, she was transferred to the Great Lakes Maritime Academy and received her current name.

 The ship was starting to conduct lifeboat drills.  It was pretty cool to watch.

 The beam shot.

And she continues on her way.  I'm not sure where she docked though.

The State of Michigan Again

I was not expecting to see the next ship either.

 I'm guessing that since these guys had the opportunity to train in the fog, they took it.  They were heading down past Belle Isle.

 I'd imagine this also gave them a chance to work in heavier traffic.

 At any rate, it was pretty cool to see her.

Even if she is an odd looking ship.

The State of Michigan Passing Algonac State Park

I decided to head up to the St Clair River on Friday night.  I saw that I would have a chance to catch one of the nicer looking ships of the Great Lakes.

 The first ship I caught was kind of a surprise.  She was the State of Michigan which is the training ship run by the Great Lakes Maritime Academy. 

 This ship has appeared on this blog before.  She's a pretty unique looking ship and she provides a pretty valuable service as I hear the Lakes are going to be needing sailors in the near future.

 She looks pretty nice in the setting sun.

 Kind of a shot of her profile.

She continues on to Port Huron (I think).  I'm not sure how long she will be in the area.

DeTour Village Again

So my mom and I decided to head over to DeTour Village instead of going over to Crisp Point.  It was a pretty nice day for it. 

I believe this is an old range light.

There is a pretty nice state harbor there.  I am not sure when it was establish.  In the background is Drummond Island.  One of these days, I would like to get over there.

The State of Michigan circling around in the Passage.  This is the training ship from the Great Lakes Maritime Academy.  She's been sailing around the Great Lakes lately.

The Great Lakes Maritime Academy

After Point Betsie, we headed over to Traverse City to get a bite to eat.  We at a really good burger place.  As I was travelling along the water, I noticed a ship docked at the other side of town.  Well me being me had to head over that way.

 Turns out the ship was called the State of Michigan it was docked at the Great Lakes Maritime Academy.  The ship is a former Navy ship that was used as an Ocean Surveillance Ship and was called the USNS Persistent.  She was built in 1985 and was used to track Soviet Submarines.  With the end of the Cold War, she was decommissioned.  In 2002, she was given her current name and transferred to the Maritime Academy.

 The Maritime Academy itself was established in 1969 to train those wanting a career in the maritime field.  It is the only freshwater maritime academy and grants licenses for either the Great Lakes or the oceans.

 A look at the ship from the back.  It goes out to do sea training for the cadets.  It is powered by 4 Caterpillar diesel engines for a total of 3,200 Horsepower.

 Another shot of the ship.

 This is the Northwestern and is used as a research vessel.

 I believe this ship is called the Anchor Bay.  She began life as a tugboat for the Army Corps of Engineers.  She is 45 feet long.    She is the first ship the cadets will see and is used to teach vessel maintenance and repair.

 Another angle of the Northwestern.

 Another angle of the Anchor Bay.  Unfortunately, I was shooting almot right into the sun, so the picture isn't as nice as I would have liked.

 Looking at the Anchor Bay from the front.

 And the other side.

 Another angle of the State of Michigan.

 Looking towards the bow.

 Unfortunately, this angle was into the sun as well.  But I liked how the little sparkles of light came through.

 You can really see the effects of the sun here.

 Closer to the bow.

 One more shot of the Anchor Bay.

Leaving the Michigan.

I liked how the reflection was showing in the water, so I leave you with one more shot.