• Friday-What'sUP April 15 - 11:28 pm

Easly season shipping is in full swing again and so is Rod Burdick with his trusty camera. Those of us that enjoy seeing the freighters are lucky that Rod spends as much time boat watching as he does. Gives us all the opportunity to be there at the Marquette Harbor docks, without really being there. Today's boats are the steamer, Herbert C. Jackson, as it's coming into port and then loading its dusty cargo. Then in the third photo, we see the laker, James R. Barker in port with a load of coal for the Presque Isle power plant. Yes indeed, it's good to see these gigantic boats sailing into our U.P. ports once again.

Excellent up close pictures, of theses lakers! One of my favorite subjects of the U.P.!

You forgot "sitting" on the dock of the bay.

Love these pictures today!! Does the lake look a little low?? Or is it always like that??

Thanks, Rod!!

So right you are Alex! "sitting on the dock of the bay watching the lakers sailing all day".....and I spelled *these* wrong in my first posting. One of the pitfalls of going back to work for me, I guess.

Deb...I don't know the official answer, but the lake level here is WAY down. There's much more beach this Spring than there was last Fall!

Deb --

Superior is down 14 inches below long-term average for this time of year.

Great photos, Rob! Love those big beautiful boats.

As a young lad these are the "coal boats" that sailed into Hubbell, Mason Location, Dollar Bay and Houghton-Hancock docks. They opened the world to a kid that could study about where they sailed to when they left town. By the time I was 20 I had sailed on 3 freighters and made it into 43 great lakes ports.

The first photo is just beautiful.

Eddy I wish I had known you when you were a young man. How great that you were able to follow your desires to travel esp. by freighter! Now I'd love to just listen to your stories of experiences and your dreams as a boy. Any chance of you writing of these times and adventures? If you do I'd be the first to buy a copy of that!

I'd want to buy it too.

Love that style of Great Lakes freighter.

LOVE TO SEE THE BIG BOATS ON THE THE LAKES. HOW MANY FREIGHTERS PLY THE GREAT LAKES THESE DAYS?

I also love the style of these ore boats. Memory of boats are like these.I'd still LOVE to take a trip on one of these boats before my end of life comes. Anyone got any pull to get me on one?????

Capt. Paul..I like your ideas better for that $30-35 thousand!

Oar boats? Aren't they kind of big to row?