The Escanaba Leaving Detroit

This part was kind of a bonus for me.

 Since I was at Milliken State Park, I decided to get some more pictures of her.  She is a cool looking cutter.

 I ended up walking closer to her to get some other pictures.

 Some of her ribbons.  I assume these represent drug busts.  I think she is mostly used for enforcement.

 Sadly, I couldn't get a tour of her but I noticed they were getting ready for her to leave.

 I think the tug was more there as a guide.

 She pulls out of the dock.

 and starts to get up to speed.

 The New Jersey following along.  Like I said, it didn't seem like the New Jersey was doing anything except acting as a guide point.

She starts to head down river.  She is returning to her home port of Boston.  As I type this post, she is in Toronto.  She will head to Quebec City next.

Escanaba Under the Sunlight

It wasn't too much longer before the ship I wanted to see appeared.  Rather the cutter I wanted to see appeared.  The Coast Guard calls their ships cutters.

 The USCGC Escanaba (WMEC-907) which is a medium endurance cutter is based in Boston, Massachusetts.  She was built by Robert Derecktor Shipyards in Middletown, Rhode Island in 1987.  She is one of the Famous Class Cutters that have been in service since 1979.

 She was returning from her visit to the Grand Haven Coast Guard festival is sort of named after a previous Escanaba.  She is equipped with two Alco V-18 Diesel engines for propulsion and two V-12 Diesel engines for power.  She has a top speed of 19.5 knots and has a crew of 14 officers and 86 enlisted personnel.  She is equipped with the same 76 mm cannon that the Oliver Hazard Perry ships used to use.  Her range is almost 10,000 nautical miles.  They are mostly used for drug enforcement but I think they can fulfill other Coast Guard missions.

 The previous Escanaba was also a Coast Guard cutter that was built at the Defoe Shipyards in Bay City, Michigan in 1932.  She was stationed in Grand Haven and they considered her their cutter.

 In the time while she was stationed on the Great Lakes, she was an ice breaker and search and rescue ship.  In the winter of 1934, she helped rescue the crew of the Henry Cort.

 In 1941, she was transferred to Boston, where she participated in the anti-submarine work of the convoy escorts.

 In 1943, she was sunk by either a mine or torpedo.  They are not sure of her circumstances.  Later, her mast was recovered and is now in Grand Haven.

 The people of Grand Haven helped raise some of the money to built the replacement to their cutter.  That particular Escanaba served from 1945 to 1974.

And this particular Escaba is the third one.  I hope the name Escanaba lives on like the name Enterprise.

The Sam Laud Enters Escanaba Harbor

As I was progressing through the day, I noticed that there was a ship heading to Escanaba.  I was hoping that I would catch her as I was passing through.

 I scanned the harbor and was about to give up when in the corner of my came the Sam Laud.

 I'm not sure if she was picking up or dropping off cargo but it is always nice to see a ship in a new place.

One more shot before moving on.