Catching the Bristol Bay in Action

It was pretty cold the last week, so some ice was starting to form.  Leading our pair of ships was the Coast Guard tug/icebreaker Bristol Bay.

I thought that was I wasn't going to see her get much closer than this.  I saw a another icebreaker working its way north and I thought that ice breaker would replace the Bristol Bay to continue south.

Fortunately, that wasn't the case as I like to see these guys in action.

Although it wasn't so much in action, as there wasn't much ice and the ships would be able to navigate this will little trouble.

You can see the subject on my next post behind her.

She continues to make way.

And another subject in the background.

The lighting was perfect for me.

She starts to pass Windsor.

Downtown Windsor in the back ground.

A relatively clean shot.

One more before moving on to the next ship.
 

A Robinson R44 Flies Overhead

 I decided to head down to the river today.  I saw that there were a couple of ships that were stirring about.  I think a couple of them were making their last trips of the season.

As I waiting for the first ship to pass.  This Robinson R44 passed over.

I think it was heading over to Grosse Ile.

One more shot.

Passing Cincinnati

 As we were heading to Georgetown, we ended up passing Cincinnati.  Since I wasn't driving, I had to get a picture or two.

A shot of the Cincinnati skyline from I-75.  I will have to admit, it has a pretty cool skyline and if I remember correctly, it had the first skyscraper.

This bridge crosses the Ohio River.  I saw a barge but I couldn't get a picture soon enough.  I was amazed at how busy it was here though.  I kind of liked the way the girders appeared in the picture.

A Stop in Wapakoneta

 I was heading down to visit a supplier in Georgetown, KY.  The people I was with found a restaurant in Wapakoneta to have lunch.  It was pretty good.

The restaurant was downtown and for all the times I've passed Wapakoneta, I've never actually stopped there.  I was hoping that they would have a statue or something for Neil Armstrong.  This stone was pretty cool.  It commemorated the moment that he stepped out onto the moon.

Again, it wasn't quite a statue but still pretty representative.  It is a pretty good likeness of the helmet that Neil Armstrong wore on the moon.

The Walter J. McCarthy Passes Marine City

 I wasn't sure if I would be able to catch this ship.  She was about an hour behind the Oberstar and I thought it might be dark when she passed based on the time and the cloudy sky.

But that wasn't the case.

The Walter J. McCarthy was heading to Conneaut, Ohio.

I think that means that she would have been loaded with taconite.

I'm not sure if this is her last load either but it is getting pretty close to that time.

It might be if she is laying up in Erie.

Anyway, it was nice to see her as I haven't seen her in a while.

She passes by.

And it was snowing pretty hard now.

One more shot before moving on.

The James L. Oberstar Passes By

 I headed over to Marine City to catch  the next ship and it wasn't too long before she appeared.

The James L. Oberstar was coming down from Marquette.

She was heading to the steel mill on the Rouge River.

That meant she was loaded with taconite pellets.

I'm not sure if this is her last trip of the season but it is getting close.

Sometimes Interlake Ships will layup at the Nicholson Dock just off the Rouge River.

But I'm not certain that is the case.

It was starting to snow.

Her pilothouse.

Her stack.

A sort of stern shot as she continues down the river.

The Alpena on the Last Trip of her Season

 I decided to go boatwatching today even though the weather didn't look the greatest.  There were two ships I definitely wanted to catch and one that I was hoping to catch (but I didn't have to).

I didn't get started early enough to catch her where I wanted.  I was actually hoping to catch her at Port Huron but Algonac will work.

I saw the Alpena had Cleveland as her destination, sometimes that means she is heading for layup but not necessarily.

I asked a friend and he told me that she was going for layup.

Since this was my last time to see her this season, I decided to go catch her.

I'm not sure if she is carrying anything.

But I do know she is not completely empty.

That will happen when she reaches Cleveland.

They will drain her ballast and she will be almost out of the water.

I think they are going to do some work on her too.

And off she goes.