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By Amy Ryan | Source: Wausau Daily Herald

Dan Dillabough spent 14 years cooking on freighter ships on the Great Lakes, so when he opened his restaurant in the Cedar Creek Mall, he wanted it to reflect that experience.

Dillabough decorated The Galley Cafe, which opened Sept. 17, with charts of oceans and lakes and photographs he took while working on the ships.

The menu, however, is all land-based, with a selection of gourmet hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken sandwiches. Although many of the items are your typical sandwiches, some, such as the Hawaiian burger with grilled pineapple, are more exotic.

“Everybody loves burgers,” Dillabough said. “I wanted to offer a lot of different varieties and combinations you don’t see everywhere.”

The Galley Cafe is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays. Call 262-298-3118 for take-out orders or delivery.

Read more about the places Dan visited and his galley favorites at the Wausau Daily Herald >>

Crystal Nelson | Source: The Alpena News

Alpena residents will have the opportunity to step back in time through myriad activities and events during the 13th annual Great Lakes Lighthouse Festival beginning in October.

The festival, which begins on Oct. 9 and ends Oct. 12, is declared the largest lighthouse festival in the world by the American Lighthouse Foundation.

The Alpena Area Chamber of Commerce will kick off the festival with a welcome party Oct. 9 at the Thunder Bay Recreation Center from 5-9 p.m. with the dinner beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Folk singer and author Carl Behrend will perform at the dinner as well as at the lighthouse festival. Behrend also will perform at the lighthouse dinner Oct. 10 and at the keeper’s dinner Oct. 11 at the Holiday Inn. Read the rest of this entry »

Press Release

After one of the busiest summers in its 34-year history, the Michigan Maritime Museum has announced new hours and staffing adjustments for the coming winter season.

As of October 1 the museum will be open to the public from 10 AM – 5 PM Friday, Saturday and Sunday and by appointment.  The Maryalyce Canonie Great Lakes Research Library located at the Keepers House will be open Thursdays from 10 AM – 5 PM and by appointment.

All of the facilities on the museum campus will be open including the main gallery, the VanOort Coast Guard boat house, the US Lifesaving Service crew quarters, the fish tug Evelyn S. and the Padnos boat building shed.  Dockside tours of the tall ship Friends Good Will will be available until the weather prohibits boarding. Read the rest of this entry »

by Carol Martin | Source: SooToday.com

At 9 p.m. on Friday, Essar Steel Algoma Inc.’s recording station on Wallace Terrace was indicating a fine particulate matter reading of 60 micrograms per cubic metre over 24 hours.

That’s 20 percent above the provincial limit.

… The previous day, Thursday, Essar Steel Algoma reported three incidents at its coke-making ovens.

Two of the incidents involved emergency ‘pushing’ of coke ovens for safety reasons and to ensure structural integrity.

No visible emissions occurred from any of the pushed ovens, the company said.

The third incident was a stack emission resulting from charging coke ovens 9 to 14.

This was resolved by cutting heat to the oven walls.

…When Essar took over Algoma Steel just over a year ago, it announced that it intends to significantly ramp up production at the century-old steelmaker over the next few years.

Freeman said the company looked at ways it could reduce emissions across its operations, not just in the blast furnaces, when it applied for a certificate to restart No. 6.

“Our goal is to achieve a net reduction in emissions overall,” Freeman said.

Read the full story at SooToday.com >>

by Richard Palmer | Source: The Crooked Lake Review Blog

During the mid-19th century, Oswego was a major port on the Great Lakes. More than 100 schooners were owned here and the harbor was a beehive of activity. There were also several shipyards.

Such stirring scenes as a half-dozen ships sailing into the harbor have long since vanished. But this heritage is being reborn in the form of the Oswego Maritime Foundation’s pride and joy, the “OMF Ontario,” which is to proudly sails out of the harbor into Lake Ontario as in days of old.

Excellent detailed article on the history of this great port at Crooked Lake Review Blog >>

Source: Sault Boat Watching

The Valley Camp Museum Ship is one of our favorite spots to bring visitors to our cabin in the summer. Young and old love the chance to see a Great Lakes freighter. Plus, the Valley Camp has great exhibits including the lifeboat from the Edmund Fitzgerald and an aquarium of Great Lakes fish.

Other museum ships, vessels available and great photos at the Sault Boat Watcher >>

Peter Passi | Source: Duluth News Tribune

If you’re in the market for a retired Coast Guard buoytender, this could be your lucky hour.

The Coast Guard Cutter Sundew soon could go up for auction.

The vessel’s current owner, the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center, has quietly been shopping the Sundew around in recent weeks.

… the Sundew has proven less of a tourist draw than he hoped. The DECC initially tried charging visitors individual admission to the Sundew but decided to package it with the more popular William A. Irvin, a retired laker, because of sparse ticket sales.

Even though people who pay for admission to the Irvin now can tour the Sundew for no additional fee, Hom said only about 5 percent of visitors have set foot aboard the retired cutter in recent years.

Read the full story, options at the Duluth News Tribune >>

Source: USCG

CLEVELAND - HMCS Charlottetown, a 442-foot Canadian frigate, will arrive at Dock 32 behind the museum ship William G. Mather at 10 a.m., Sept. 10.

HMCS Charlottetown recently completed a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea as part of Canada’s continuing contributions to the campaign against terrorism known as Operation Enduring Freedom. The frigate helped to deter threats to maritime security - illegal migration, smuggling, and piracy - that harm legitimate commerce in the Gulf region. While deployed, she boarded three vessels with known ties to terrorists, intercepting 2000 cases of alcohol and six metric tons of narcotics. The ship also rendered assistance to three vessels in distress, saving the lives of 23 mariners.

The Coast Guard Cutter Alder, a 225-foot buoytender homeported in Duluth, Minn., will escort the Charlottetown into port. Both ships will be open to the public from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 11. Read the rest of this entry »

by Jennifer Sattler | Source: The Voice News

“Freighter Frank” Fisk will share his insights on life aboard a freighter when he kicks off the Friends’ First Thursday series at 7 p.m. Thursday at the St. Clair Library.

… Fisk … is a plethora of knowledge when it comes to the vessels that ply the St. Clair River and Lake Huron.

He will present a PowerPoint presentation about the year he spent working and living aboard the freighter, the Paul R. Tregurtha.

At 1,013 feet, six inches long, the Tregurtha is the largest ship plying the Great Lakes and is known as the “Queen of the Great Lakes.” It is owned and managed by the Interlake Steamship Co. Fisk spent a year on the freighter as a cook, and his presentation is full of interior ship shots.

“I spent a year traveling around the Great Lakes, with all of the security measures nowadays, being on a ship is exclusive,” he said. “I will also present menus of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and other holiday fare.”

The St. Clair Library is located at 310 S. Second St. in St. Clair.

The program is free and all are welcome.

Web: Great Lakes Cruise Co. website

Susan Glaser | Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer

Two small, high-end cruise ships - one new, the other newly refurbished - will make their debut next summer on the fresh-water waves of lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron, Michigan and Superior.

“It’ll be a great summer,” said Chris Conlin, owner of the Great Lakes Cruise Co., an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based travel agency that specializes in Great Lakes cruises. “We have lots of choices that we haven’t had before.”

The Clelia II, an all-suite ship with room for 100 passengers, will sail seven-day itineraries between Toronto and Duluth, Minn., starting in late June. Ports of call include Niagara Falls, Ontario (via the Welland Canal); Mackinac Island, Mich.; Houghton, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula; and Thunder Bay, Ontario. All sailings will offer educational themes,

Read the rest of this entry »

by Sue Clark | Source: Lighthouse News

The entrance at the base, however, remains open for a look inside, but no one can climb the tower of Michigan’s oldest lighthouse. It’s definitely not a case of the museum falling down on the job, though. The money is there in the form of a grant, waiting, unfortunately, for the GSA to get off its rear and transfer the lighthouse to the museum officially.

But it’s not totally the fault of the GSA. The Environmental Protection Agency is mostly at fault here.

Sue Clark boils it down to the bottom line at the Lighthouse News >>

Source: The Bay City Times

There are still a few days left to see the exhibit ”Great Lakes Titanics: Shipwrecks on the Inland Seas” at the Herbert D. Doan Midland County History Center.

Artifacts, photographs and information about shipwrecks on the Great Lakes will be featured, including that of the Edmund Fitzgerald, in which 29 men perished during a storm on Lake Superior in November of 1975. In addition, visitors can learn about diving and recent shipwreck dives and about the U.S. Life Saving Service, the forerunner of today’s Coast Guard.

The exhibit may be viewed through Sunday. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. The History Center is at 3417 W. Main St. in Midland. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children. For more information, call (800) 523-7649, (989) 631-8250, or log on to www.mcfta.org.

Related:

• Coast Guard Days: Port Huron says thank you - Times Herald
• Port Huron celebrates the Coast Guard - Times Herald

By BOB GROSS | Source: Times Herald

On Saturday, residents and visitors watched the U.S. Coast Guard demonstrate a helicopter rescue — not once, but twice — in the St. Clair River near the Great Lakes Maritime Center at Vantage Point.

They also toured the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bramble Museum at the Seaway Terminal as well as the Bramble’s replacement, the USCGC Hollyhock; the U.S. Navy Sea Cadets vessel, the Gray Fox; and the Huron Lightship at Pine Grove Park.

The U.S. Coast Guard Station at Omar Street also was open for tours.

Awesome pictures of Dolphin Helicopter rescue demonstration with this story at the Times Herald >>

By BOB GROSS | Source: The Times Herald

[T]ourists and visitors no longer can climb the 86 feet to the top of the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse.

The lighthouse tower, which was built in 1829 and increased to its present height in 1861, was declared off limits to the public by the U.S. Coast Guard on Friday because of “deteriorating brickwork, falling debris and questionable structural integrity.”

The lighthouse was supposed to be one of the centerpieces of Port Huron Coast Guard Days, which started Friday evening and continue through Sunday.

Visitors instead were greeted Friday by bright orange safety fencing keeping them away from the tower.

Source: Herald Times Reporter

LUDINGTON, Mich. — The S.S. Badger … resume[d] its regular twice-daily Lake Michigan crossings [Friday] after completion of repairs at Bay Shipbuilding.

The ship experienced a problem with a stern bearing last Sunday that could not be repaired at the dock, forcing it to sail to the shipyard in Sturgeon Bay.

Because no dry dock space was available, a team of underwater repair specialists was flown in from California.

Badger officials said Thursday the California team worked around the clock to get the ship back in service, and able to transport vehicles and people between Ludington and Manitowoc.

Full story, photo at the Herald Times Reporter >>

by Jeff Alexander | The Muskegon Chronicle

GRAND HAVEN — Cleaning up Great Lakes toxic hotspots and restoring damaged fisheries could lay the foundation for Michigan’s economic recovery, according to business leaders and environmentalists.

That was one of the messages delivered this morning at a Grand Haven press conference for the Healthy Lakes, Healthy Lives boat tour. A 60-foot trimaran called The Earth Voyager is visiting 13 cities this summer to promote the benefits of environmental restoration; the vessel is in Grand Haven through Sunday.

Read the full story, lots of specifics at the Muskegon Chronicle >>

Chris Thompson | Source: The Windsor Star

Unmanned U.S. Customs drone planes could be flying the skies over the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair if a project on the western border due to begin in weeks is successful.

The confirmation came Friday from Michael Kostelnik, the assistant commissioner of the Office of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Air and Marine, during the dedication of a new customs air and marine base at Selfridge Air National Guard base north of Detroit.

“[A]t the end of the day, flying late at night, over the Great Lakes, a system like this would be of tremendous benefit working with small boat traffic, augmenting the U.S. Coast Guard,” said Kostelnik.

“It helps to add security, it adds tremendous humanitarian support, they can do a lot of things that the manned things just cannot do.”

The new customs unit began operations on June 23, patrolling 1,850 kilometres along the border between northern Michigan and Lake Erie.

Read about the timing, proposals and program at The Windsor Star >>

Mike Fornes | Source: Cheboygan News

A week of festival activities behind them, the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw sailed from Grand Haven on Sunday for Chicago, where a buoy problem awaited their attention before a week of training was to begin.

In addition to the icebreaking tug Biscayne Bay from Coast Guard Station St. Ignace, the Mackinaw was joined by the Samuel Risley, and icebreaking cutter from Canadian Forces.

The ship is traditionally the centerpiece of activities on the pier and this year was no exception.

“We’ve hosted 4,200 guests in tours over just the first three days and there are more to come,” Smith reported on Thursday. “I expect we’ll have 12,000 total by the end of the week.”

Much more about the cutter’s, crew’s activities at the Cheboygan Tribune >>

See Also:

• Tall ships to arrive between 4 and 6 p.m. Thursday - Duluth News Tribune
• Duluth Maritime Festival Official Website

Steve Kuchera | Source: Duluth News Tribune

The Twin Ports will be treated this week to a spectacle not seen in decades — three stately tall ships sailing into harbor.

“You would probably have to go back to the late 1800s or early 1900s before you had a number of tall sailing ships in the harbor at the same time,” said Gene Shaw, director of public relations for Visit Duluth, which is helping sponsor the Duluth Maritime Festival.

The three-day festival will feature entertainers, crafts, food and a focus on Duluth’s maritime history. Its centerpiece will be the ships Madeline, Niagara and Pride of Baltimore II.

The Niagara and Pride of Baltimore II are replicas of ships from the War of 1812, while the Madeline represents the type of schooner that was widely used to carry cargo across the Great Lakes during the mid to late-1800s.

“They are wonderful, wonderful tools to teach us about our past,” Pat Labadie said. “In 1870, there were 2,000 sailing ships on the Great Lakes. There were a consistent stream of them in the 1860s and ’70s.”

What happened to the old schooners, more about the Festival at the Duluth News Tribune >>

by Kim Schneider | Source: Michigan Travel News

I’m sitting at the helm of a 100-ton, two-masted schooner, trying to keep Fisherman’s Island near Charlevoix in northern Michigan to the right of the bowsprit.

It may not sound that tough, but then wind power can be pretty impressive when it catches my 3,000 square feet of canvas, on one of the largest sailing vessels on the Great Lakes. And it’s not like driving a car. Or so crew member Kent Gorham reminds me when I steer too sharply, then overcorrect, to the peril of a couple dozen passengers I may just have made a bit seasick.

Take a breather

The motto on the tall ship Manitou, based out of Traverse City, could be “forced relaxation.” On this replica of a 19th-century schooner — a floating bed and breakfast — passengers spend their days sipping coffee on the glistening deck, learning a new rope wrapping technique or settling into a nook with a book as the ship gently rocks them to a state of calm.

… I surrender the wheel only after ship chef Carey Draeger squeezes by with a platter of mint chip cookies, fresh from the fickle woodstove she calls Leo. Close behind is a pot of homemade gumbo, a platter of fresh cornbread. This will hold us over until we reach the Charlevoix harbor where we’ll savor some marinated shrimp spring rolls paired with aromatic white wines of the 45th Parallel before a dinner of Moroccan roast chicken, spiced couscous and pecan pineapple upside down cake.

On this wine-themed cruise, you see, our foray into shipboard life of the 1800s comes with a decidedly modern gourmet twist.

Other themed sails include music, astronomy, fall foliage and an unusual chocolate and storytelling combo being offered for the first time this fall. But our “wine” theme has drawn foodies from around the country….

Awesome story, photos, and link to Manitou’s website and schedule at Michigan Travel News >>