Saying Farewell to an Old Friend

One of the ships that I ended missing yesterday was the subject of this post.  I wasn't too worried about missing her because I did the math of when she'd arrive at her destination, finish unloading and heading back up to Port Huron. 

 The Algomarine was delivering a load of cargo to somewhere on the Rouge River.  I assumed that it was the stone dock but it could have been a salt dock.  She arrived there last night and it typically takes a while to unload, so I figured she would be heading back up sometime today.  And I was right.

 Since this was rumored to be her last self powered voyage, I wanted to follow her all the way up the River.  I managed to catch her at Algonac.  It's not my favorite spot to catch an upbound ship, but I wanted to catch her along the river.

 A shot of her stern.

 And she continues on her merry way.

 I next caught her at Marine City. 

 For this series of shots, I wanted some closeups.

 A shot of her bow.  You can see the toll, shipping takes on the ship it self.  You can see the scars from her trips through the locks and canals.  You can also see the wear from the water.

 A shot of her pilothouse.

 Her deck cover crane.

 I kind of liked the tattered Canadian flag.  Part of the reason for her demise is that Canada eased up its tariffs on ships, so now it is cheaper for the companies to buy them from overseas.  It is part of the reason why I'm glad the United States still has the Jones Act.

 A shot of her stern.

 And one more as she continues her trek up the River.

 Next I caught her at St. Clair.  The sun was actually starting to come out here and I was happy about that.

 Mainly because it was still cloudy enough that it was a like a pinpoint light.

 And she continues on her way.

 Then I caught her at Marysville.  There was a nice cloud formation but it wasn't over the river.

 A sort of beam shot.

 And finally, I arrived at Port Huron.  I looked over to Lake Huron and I loved the lighting that would be on her as she was heading out.

The light was a little better here, especially since it was more direct.

 The headshot.

 I loved the way the light was hitting her, especially since the sky was still fairly dark.

 She's framed by the Blue Water Bridge.

 Probably my favorite of the day.

 Another shot with the bridge.

 And she heads off to Lake Huron.

 I loved the way this shot turned out.

 A nice well lit ship.

And she continues on her way to Goderich.  She is most likely going for her layup but there are a few people that say she may one or two more loads left in her.  I think that depends on how the winter go.    If the winter remains as it is, there wont be the demand for salt.  If it gets worse, there may be a demand for salt but the lakes could be frozen by then.
Anyway, come spring, it is likely that she will be towed out from Goderich to wherever she is going to be scrapped.  So I'm glad I was able to catch her under her own power.

Algomarine in the Clearing Fog

As the day moved on, it seemed to start to clear up a bit.

 Although it was still a bit hazy, which is kind of like the future of the Algomarine.

 I keep hearing that the Algomarine is destined for the scrap heap.  Well that is probably true but I hope it's not too soon.  I don't remember if it was the Algomarine or Algosteel that is due for their 5 year inspection next year.

 If it is the Algomarine, that probably will seal her fate, especially with the new builds coming on line.

 It would be a shame if that were true because she's such a nice looking ship.

 So I guess I need to make sure I catch her when I can.

 Here she is framed by the Blue Water Bridge.

 And she makes her way to Lake Huron.

 A shot of her bow, as you can see, she is looking pretty rough.

 Another shot of her front.

 And her stack.

One more shot as she heads out into Lake Huron.

The Fleeing Algomarine

The ship that was really bringing me out of my shell was the Algomarine though.  It seems that she has become my official ship of winter.  It also seems that I should try to catch her as much as possible.

 Sadly, I spent too much time taking pictures of the Barker and I caught her at one of the last places where I could possibly catch her.  This is from the park that is next to the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse.

Oh well.  It was a nice day.

And The Algomarine

The next ship is the one that actually got me to head up to Port Huron.  With the various new ships coming from China, I have a feeling that her days are numbered.  Algoma doesn't seem to be one of the companies that will sell ships to other companies.

 It would be a shame to see her meet up with the torch though because I think she is a beautiful looking ship. Except for that hideous looking self unloader, she has very nice lines.

 She comes in under the cover of those cool clouds I mentioned in the last post.  Unfortunately, they made it difficult for some shots.

 She passes under the Blue Water Bridge.

 Another shot of that.  It's amazing that even under a gray sky, the water is still fairly blue.

 A shot of her pilothouse.

She continues down the St. Clair River as she heads down to Toledo.

And Now...the Algomarine

Next up is another ship that I can't get enough of.

 The Algomarine as she comes off of Lake Huron.  She is a fairly pretty ship and would be prettier if she didn't have that hideous self unloader on her stern.

 I was in the spot where I could get a pretty good headshot.

 She turns and makes her way into the River.

 A shot of her pilothouse.  I think she has one of the better looking pilothouses out there.

 A shot of her deckhouse.

 And she moves on.

 I decided to head over to Marysville to catch her next.

 And I got a little surprise.

 She continues down the River.

And then I decided to head to St. Clair.

 This is one of the spots where I can get a beam shot of a ship.

And once again, she continues on her way.