• Monday-What'sUP November 22 - 04:20 pm

This past Friday there was another high wind warning out there and the winds did start picking up in the afternoon, so there were three freighters waiting it out in the safe harbor near between the lighthouse out at Jacobsville and Chassell Bay. Taana Kalliainen withstood the gusting winds to set up her tripod and snap a few shots of one of those freighters all lit up and looking rather festive, actually. It's always a neat thing to see them anchored so close to shore like this.

While she was out, Taana also decided to capture the moon glow that was reflecting on the water surface. You can just make out some clouds in the darkened sky, too, and if you're wondering what the small green light on the left is... I asked Taana and she replied that she believes it's the channel marker. Quiet beauty in the night.

Superior pictures today!!

I love to see the freighters lit up at night. Nice pics! I also love the moonlight on the clouds as well as the water in the last photo.

As a kid in the 30s and 40s my Dad would often drive us down to big Portage to see the ships lined up waiting out a storm on the big lake. It was really pretty viewing them at night when they had their deck lights on. This was before ships had radar so it was not unusual to see up to 5-6 ships lined up at anchor.

One morning in the late fall of '57 there were 7 at anchor out there. 2 more along the piers in the Entry and 5 more on Portage. I remember thinking, "WOW a city came and parked in the bay over night".

Absolutely beautiful photos,Taana. Thanks for braving the storm.

Thanks all! I wanted to get more but it was so cold and windy I had to head inside. :D

It's so cool to see them out there when the winds and waves chase them off the big lake. :)

The Fresnel Lens now housed in the front room of the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse came from this Lower Entry Lighthouse a year ago. The light there was changed to a solar one, and fortunately no one threw the old one out of the tower to get rid of it as sometimes happened with the old Fresnel Lenses elswhere. Our lens is beveled glass made in France in the 1800's and has only a very few chips. It is a thing of beauty.
I am delighted to collect any and all pictures of this isolated spot and will share this one with the board of trustees.

I love to see the 'ships passing in the night' all lit up. When we used to vacation in Mackinaw City it was always hard getting to bed because of being afraid I'd miss the lights of another passing ship. Of course that was when shipping was more plentiful than today.:)

Dear Ginny: That place is not isolated. It's the center of the known Universe. I can provide other testimonials if required.

Has anyone ever heard the song "Harbor Lights". It was popular many years ago. Those lights lit on the boat are called the harbor lights & they are so beautiful. I think of my Dad every time I hear that song.It's a sad but pretty song about your loved one leaving you on the boat & you watching the harbor lights going away from you on shore.

This reminds me of a time I saw a Great Lakes Freighter in Grand Traverse Bay waiting out a storm.

Cheryl...I know exactly what song you're talking about. My Grandma used to play it on the piano and I would sing it with her then. It is kind of a sad story, but the melody is pretty, like you said. I can see why it makes you think of your Dad. Thanks for the memory for me, of singing it along with my Grandma way back when. :-)

Oh my gosh..I love Harbor Lights! Have you heard the Lennon Sisters version?

If you don't recall or have never heard Harbor Lights check on Youtube. There are several renditions of the Lennon Sisters singing it. It is a beautiful song.

Great photos! The first one needs to be a "WOW".

"I saw those Harbor Lights, they only told me we were parting, those same old Harbor Lights that once brought you to me; I watched the Harbor Lights; How could I help if tears were starting;
Goodbye to tender nights beside the silv'ry sea;

I long to hold you tight and kiss you just once more;
But you were on the ship and I was on the shore;

Now I know lonely nights;
For all the while my heart is whisp'ring
Some other Harbor Lights will steal your love from me"

Harbor Lights was written in 1937 by Wilhelm Grosz and Jimmy Kennedy. Grosz had escaped from his native Austria in 1934, following an unsuccessful Nazi coup attempt. He relocated to England, where he sometimes wrote using the pseudonym Hugh Williams.

He teamed with Northern Irish lyricist Jimmy Kennedy to write many popular songs, among the best known of which are Harbor Lights and Red Sails in the Sunset.

One of the best versions of Harbor Lights was released by the American group The Platters in 1960. If you have Spotify, it has a very clear recording of the group. If you don't have Spotify, there are several recordings on Youtube.