During a week in Duluth there were other ships that came to or left the harbor. Most of the days it was cold and rainy and the winds were blowing in off of Lake Superior. Ships leaving the harbor were running into some large waves.
Roger Blough
American Mariner
The American Spirit was putting out a lot of smoke as it headed toward Duluth.
American Spirit
American Century
So far this summer I’ve not had good luck in my ship watching endeavors. I’ve been to Duluth a number of times but either there were not many ships coming in or they came in during the night or I missed them. This past week I had a very successful day watching ships. I don’t know if eight ships is a record or not but it was the most that I can remember.
It all started just before sunrise when the Paul R. Tregurtha came under the Aerial Lift Bridge. A short time later the Joseph L. Block came down the harbor.
Paul R. Tregurtha
Joseph L. Block
After the Block exited through the Duluth Ship Canal I went for a walk down the Park Point Beach. After a couple of miles I noticed a ship was heading for Duluth so I returned to Park Point and watched the Baie Comeau sail under the Lift Bridge.
Baie Comeau
The Mesabi Miner was scheduled to exit Duluth Harbor within the next hour but I decided to stop at the newly opened Endion Public House in Canal Park for an early lunch. In the middle of a cold one I saw the Miner heading out into Lake Superior.
Late in the afternoon I headed back down to the Waterfront Plaza to watch the fishing boats come in from their afternoon trip. While I was watching them I noticed another ship heading into the Harbor. It was the Algolake. About the same time the American Mariner headed out under the Lift Bridge.
Algolake
American Mariner
I knew that several more ships were schedule to exit the harbor early in the evening so I walked back home for a quick snack. Sure enough I had just gotten home when I notice another ship had pulled away from the docks. A quick hike down to the Harbor and I setup to watch the CSL Tadoussac head toward the Lift Bridge. I was in such a hurry to get down to watch the ship that I didn’t realize that a big storm was coming over the hills above Duluth. There were a few sprinkles in the harbor but it looked to be raining to the northeast. About the same time I noticed a rainbow forming over the Lift Bridge.
CLS Tadoussac
Right behind the Tadoussac was the Baie-Comeau. There was a beautiful rainbow over the Baie Comeau as it exited the harbor. The Baie Comeau had arrived mid morning and made a quick turnaround. It loaded Tackonite and stopped at the fueling station to take on fuel before exiting the harbor less than 12 hours after arriving. The ships seem to be making a quick turnaround this summer in an attempt to make up for the time lost during the terrible spring.
Baie Comeau
We were down at Canal Park this summer when not one but two ships came into the harbor within ten Minutes of each other. This was the first time that we have seen two large ships come into the harbor during one lift of the Aerial Lift Bridge.
St. Clair
St Clair
American Mariner
The first ship in was the American Mariner built in 1980 and is 730 feet long. It was followed by the St. Claire which was built in 1976 and is 770 feet long. Both ships were built in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin and fly the U.S. flag. There was a large crowd on hand to greet both ships.
Philip Schwarz Photography Blog 