The Herbert C. Jackson In Ferrysburg

 As I was looking at Marine Traffic this morning, I saw that the Anderson was sitting off of Muskegon, the Jackson was heading to Grand Haven and the Tregurtha was also heading to Muskegon.  I saw that i had a few hours to get over there, so I dilly dallied a little bit.

Unfortunately, I dilly dallied a little too much as I missed the Tregurtha coming into Muskegon.  Pretty much once they pass the channel there is not really a good spot to catch them until they come back out.  Well, I decided to wait to catch the Anderson coming out because I thought it would be soon.  Well, my light was starting to wane.

I looked at AIS, and I thought the Jackson was starting to back out, so I headed over to Grand Haven to catch her.  As I passed over the bridge where I could see her, I saw that wasn't the case.  So I went to the park where I could get pictures.  They aren't the greatest.

A shot of her deckhouse and crane as she unloads.  It looked like she had a while yet.

Her pilothouse.

I went to another spot, I kind of like this shot but it is still not the greatest.

One more shot of her pilothouse.

As I got somewhere where I could look at my phone.  It looks like the Anderson left about an hour after we left.  The Jackson left after that.   Either way, I wouldn't have had enough light to get either.  I wish I would have taken my drone with me.  I could have gotten some better shots of the Jackson at least.  Oh well.  Maybe tomorrow will bring some shots.

Catching the Wilfred Sykes in Grand Haven

I has been close to a year since I was last in Grand Haven.  That's kind of surprising since I have tried to get there once or twice a year.  The main reason is because the Syke's schedule and my schedule have not really lined up until today.

It seems like when she's gone to Grand Haven this year, it has been on a weekday and I am usually working on weekdays.

Granted there are more reasons than the Sykes to go to Grand Haven, but the Sykes is a pretty good reason.

Like I said in my last post, I saw that she was leaving Burns Harbor last night.  When I plotted it out, I saw that she was going to to arrive in Grand Haven by 10:00 in the morning.

I really wasn't in the mood to wake up early enough to get there when she arrived but I probably should have as the light would have been better for me then.

But I figured I could catch her as she was leaving.

I saw that she was unloading, but it was in a spot where I could only get pictures of her with my drone.

I wasn't sure if she was in range but she was and I'm happy.

I really like these shots.

I believe she is unloading iron fines from Burns Harbor.  These are typically used for cement.

She starts to get ready to depart.

It gave me a little time to get to my other spot.

she pushes out.

Her boom all tucked away.

She starts to back away.

I return my drone to the car.

I like this shot.

One more here.

So then I headed to my spot on the north pier.  The light from this direction wasn't too bad.

Unfortunately, I'm not a huge fan of stern shots.

But she's got a nice stern.

One more with my camera before switching the drone.

I kind of like this shot.

Unfortunately, I was shooting into the sun.  If I had gotten up earlier, I could have gotten these shots as the sun was facing her.

But I was able to move the drone around to get the shots I wanted.

I really like this shot.

I call it the Exocet view.

She continued to pull out.

She was moving slow enough that I could keep up with her.

And move around a little bit.

This is probably my favorite of the bunch.  She is framed by the two piers and they kind of make leading lines.

One more before switching to my other camera.

Unfortunately, I couldn't too much about the sun in these shots.

But I was able to lighten it up enough to make out the ship.

She continues to back out.

Missed the head shot because of the big boats in front of her.

She starts to make the turn to head north.  She started to head up to Drummond Island.  I think that means I might get to see her pass this way again.

A Cormorant in the Grand River

 As I was looking at Marine Traffic last night, it looked like it was going to be a pretty bleak day today.  It seemed like every ship on the lakes was heading north today.  Or if they weren't heading north, they are passed Detroit and wouldn't be heading back this way today.

As I was about to give up hope of seeing any ships today, I saw that a certain ship was making her way to Grand Haven.  Since it was a Sunday, I decided to go catch her.

The Wilfred Sykes Unloading in Grand Haven

After getting pictures of the Alpena, I headed down to Grand Haven to get pictures of the Sykes.  I waited at the park near the end of the channel for her to come out.

I saw that it was probably going to be a while, so I headed over to the park where I could catch her unloading.

It was still pretty nice and the light was just about perfect.

And then I decided to launch my drone.  I would be able to get better pictures.

Since she was stopped, I was able to get some angles that I wouldn't normally get.

It wasn't particularly windy today, so I took my drone up.

I kind of like this angle.

But I think I like taking my drone low.

Another bow shot.

I think I really like this one.

Pulling away.

The reflections looked pretty nice.

Shooting from down low again.

Pulling back.

Getting some altitude.

I like this one.

I think she was unloading iron fines.

Going down again.

The bowshot from down low.

I think I like this one.

I started to bring my drone back.

I had to bring it high because of trees and stuff.

Pulling back.

And one more.