• Wednesday-What'sUP January 25 - 08:04 pm

Freighters on Lake Superior are taking their annual break from delivering cargo into ports along the Great Lakes route. With the closing of the Soo Locks from January 15th until March 25th, the shipping season is at a standstill for a much needed break, both from the sailing and the harsh weather the winter season tosses their way. Lee Rowe was on hand earlier in the season, when the Mesabi Miner pulled into a snowy Marquette Harbor, in unison with the sunrise. Nice way to end the shipping season with a backdrop like this!

Great pictures!

Wow those are very nice shots. Great sunrise. Morning Ms. Debra

Cool pictures.

If you are a boat nerd Lee Rowe's album has some fantastic pictures!! Great job Lee!! Love them all - especially the Mission Point photo of the Burns Harbor. Many memories of that area from being born and raised there. JUST LOVE THOSE SHIPS.

Those are awesome photos! Morning from Fayette...pictures helped my head cold feel better.working on a puzzle ship wrecks of the Great lakes...20 % done.

Those photos are great! As many photos as I've taken of those ships, none beat those. Growing up up there, you saw them quite regularly as when I was a child they'd pull up outside of Dollar Bay to unload or refill. We couldn't wait to see if there was one there when we rode past. Oh course, all of that is in the past now but it was an exciting part of my childhood. Now I look forward to reaching Duluth on my way home and seeing ships and of course on my trips to Copper Harbor in the summer. It's really cold today, brrrrr! Not used to this winter stuff! Have a great day!

Oh wow! They look unreal!

Pretty cool shots Lee, I have a few new ones from on board the MV COLUMBIA STAR on my page.

Wow those are really some great shots,truly the work of an artist. We should take time to appreciate those great ships as they are getting to be a bit of an endangered species. More and more the shipping companys are cutting off the stern of the ship,and much of the crew,to make these giants into what they call a tug/barge conversion. A notch is cut in and a tug will push the now powerless ship.Less maintenance,less crew=less cost.

I beg to differ John, the tug barge conversions are actually more maintenance, with less man power to get the job done right.. thus there is a higher turnover rate with employees and there is also more injuries that happen on a tug barge. But I do agree with you, endangered they are.

When I see the Mesabi it brings back memories of our summer trip to Copper Harbor and our Sunset Cruise by Capt. Donnie took us out to the shipping lanes and got us 100 ft. from the Mesabi waving to her Capt. and crew and they were all waving back! That was a great time indeed!

Ptorms,I think you are right as well.I was just regurgitating what I have heard as an explanation for the conversions. I am sure it is money driven though.

Great shots Lee.

If you like getting shots of or just watching the Big boats. the last saturday in June is always engineers day at the Locks. Only day where the public is allowed right on and around the locks for some up close and personal encounters with the big boys.

I recommend you all take your kids at least once.

Yes it is money driven, and driven br regulations. The USCG has less regulations and required manning for tug barges. Therefore, companies do not have to have as many people on board the vessel. It is a process the companies use to make it cheaper to opperate the vessel and not have to pay as many guys to man them. Though the guys on the ITB's work harder and longer hours, also alot of them have un-manned engine rooms. So with less crew not as much preventative maintenance takes place, it is more of a fix it when it breaks mentality. Not a very good practice.

One of either shot: nominee for the 2007 calendar.
And don't we wish that the folk$ on top would listen to those on the bottom who really know what the safety score is.

Seeing the ship reminds me of a Christmas not that many years ago when a boat was waiting out a storm in Keweenaw Bay. They had decorated the boat with Xmas lights! It was amazing...what a site to look out at on Xmas Eve. Turns out our neighbor from Houghton was on the boat! Fond memory for sure.

WOW!

This picture just about knocked me over this morning when I logged on. My father, Fred Marsy, sailed the Great Lakes for many years. He passed away on Sat. and his funeral is today. Thank you from the Marsy family for choosing this picture on this day. May he rest in peace.

John & Peter
Thanks for the info. I'd seen more of these going by in front of our place up in Cheboygan but didn't know why they had tugs in back. I'd assumed that the engine gave out but the hull was still servicable. As the body/hull was being animated by an outside force, my private name for these is "zombie ship".

It does sound like a short-sighted practice...like my company going from having a full staff of programmers to outsourcing most of the work to India, with a few harried programmers trying to ride herd on them. Problem is the outsourced work has many errors & we're having to re-do work---the equivalent of more break-downs. And, as the converted ships have to face the Great Lakes, we have to face the FDA. Seems like a survival issue rather than a purely monetary one in both cases.

Anita ..I just had the same feeling as I checked here and saw the pictures come up, I was thinking of your father and his stories. Peace to you all today.Brad

Anita Marsy-Bosley (Anitamb)....any chance he was a Jacobsville resident? In any event, I am sorry to hear about your dad.

What awesome photos. A real "taste" of the U.P.

Those boats look so serene sailing off to another shore. I agree the second picture should be on next years calendar. Sorry to hear about Fred Marsy's death. He loved those boats.I saw in Fred's obituary that he spoke of the friends he had on the Edmund Fitzgerald & how he missed them. My father was one. I spoke with him once & he had tears in his eyes when he talked about them. Now 30 years later he is reunited & at peace with them. The Marsy family are in my thoughts. God bless them in this sorrowful time.

Great Pictures! Pic's of the freighter's are the best.

Hello! I have been a pasty fan for some time now. I check in to see daily photo every morning! Always makes me feel good! I love the site. I feel I am getting a real feel for you all and am turning into a boat nerd! So today's pics were awesome! Thanks!! I cannot imagine what it would be like to be able to see such a site. No "big boats" here in West Virginia!!!

http://miningjournal.net/news/story/0120202006_new08-n0120.asp
Oglebay Norton is selling its great lakes fleet

Wonderful photos of the freighters. One of my
fondest memories is of being taken onboard a
freighter in Detroit by my uncle. Every time I
would see a freighter as a child I was
convinced it was his freighter. The cook,
"Cookie," gave me a special treat, I got to walk
around the deck, and when it was time for me
to leave, my uncle gave me a Tam O'Shanter
from a foreign land--Canada. I wore it with
pride for years, until I lost it. My uncle, like Mr.
Marsy, is dead now, but I know he's the
reason I'll always love freighters.

Anita,
I am sorry to hear the passing of your father. He is still out in the Great Lakes guiding the boats all over the Lakes!

beutifullllllllllll picture i remain walter p tampa

In memory of Ray Yarbrough of Hancock who died last night...Rest eternal grant to him, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of all the departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

I miss the freighters, and the Soo Locks, and Calumet and the snow!

Tracy,

I bet you do. Me too!