greatlakesshipwatchers.com

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Source: International Lake Superior Board of Control

The International Lake Superior Board of Control, under authority granted to it by the International Joint Commission, has set the Lake Superior outflow to 2,050 cubic metres per second (m3/s) (72.4thousand cubic feet per second (tcfs)) for the month of October. Read the rest of this entry »

by Bob VandeVusse | Source: Holland Sentinel

After two and a half weeks of inactivity, we finally had a freighter on Lake Macatawa on Thursday, as the Wilfred Sykes delivered coal to the James DeYoung power plant. It arrived shortly after midnight and departed after 8 a.m. The departure was a lengthy endeavor, as the captain seemed to avoid using the bow thruster to turn around so as not to damage the dock repairs that are nearing completion at the Verplank dock. This was only our second delivery in the last month.

As the season winds down, we expect to see two more coal deliveries and several more loads of stone. Once the construction is finished on the Verplank dock, we should see the east end of the facility fill up. Brewer’s should see some more activity, as well.

Read more about expected deliveries in Holland at the Holland Sentinel >>

by Bob VandeVusse | Source: Holland Sentinel

There is a federally maintained shipping channel that runs the length of Lake Macatawa, from just west of the entrance near Big Red, almost all the way to the River Avenue bridge. It is roughly 150 feet wide and 20 feet deep.

As part of that channel there is a widened area, or turning basin, where vessels of up to 700 feet in length can turn around.

Read the complete explanation, location and more at the Holland Sentinel >>

Source: USCG

U.S. Coast Guard Station Sturgeon Bay medically evacuated a 52-year-old male experiencing a swollen calf from the Wilfred Sykes 14 miles offshore Sturgeon Bay Monday at approximately 3 p.m.

“There was concern he may have had a blood clot,” said Jonathan LeBeau, Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan Operation Unit Controller.

A 41-foot utility boat crew transferred the man safely from the 667-foot laker to awaiting Emergency Medical Services on shore. He was transported to Door County Memorial Hospital.

Source: Lake Carriers Association

Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 4.4 million net tons in August. While the total represents an increase of 12 per cent compared to a year ago, shipments in August of 2007 were sluggish, said the Lake Carriers’ Association.

“The five-year average is the better barometer,” said the Association, “and in that regard, this August was off the pace by nearly 100,000 tons.”

Although water levels have risen, the dredging crisis continued to limit the amount of stone vessels could deliver to customers. Read the rest of this entry »

Source: Sault Star

The St. Mary’s River won’t run quite as high this month, as the International Lake Superior Board of Control responds to August’s Lake Superior water level decline.

Lake Superior, which normally rises by one centimetre in August, dropped by five centimetres last month.

Water supplies to the basins of Lake Superior and lakes Michigan-Huron were well below their long-term averages, said the board of control in its regular outflow update.

The reduced rate will mean decreased water levels on the St. Mary’s Rapids this month.

Read the rest of the story at the Sault Star >>

The Walter J. McCarthy, a 1000-footer, anchored above the Rock Cut Wednesday evening, likely due to low water levels. The St Marys River was well below datum at that point. The McCarthy had long since departed anchorage and cleared the River as of mid-day Thursday, September 4th.

Loaded freighters often anchor above and below the Rock Cut when water levels drop. Failing to wait could have disastrous results; without enough water, they may strike bottom, run firmly aground, damage the hull, and even possibly spill some of their cargo in the waterway.

It is more common to see ships anchored in the St Marys in the autumn and early winter months, as water levels tend to run lower in the lakes and therefore the river during that time of year. ##

Web: NOAA Great Lakes Online - live water level readings around the Great Lakes

Source: Duluth News Tribune

The level of Lake Superior declined by 2 inches during an unusually dry month of August, the International Lake Superior Board of Control reported Tuesday.

The lake dropped 2 inches during a month in which, on average, it goes up by a half-inch.

… The level of Lakes Michigan-Huron now sits 14 inches below normal but 7 inches above their level at this time last year.

Read the full story at the Duluth News Tribune >>

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 »

Source: Dredging News Online

The Lake Carriers’ Association in the US says shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 4.2 million net tons in July, a decrease of 4.8 per cent compared to a year ago, and a drop of nearly 9 per cent compared to the month’s five-year average.

“Although water levels are rising, not all ports are benefiting to the same degree,” said the Association. Read the rest of this entry »

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 >>

Source: Lake Carriers’ Association

Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 4.2 million net tons in July, a decrease of 4.8 percent compared to a year ago, and a drop of nearly 9 percent compared to the month’s 5-year average.

Although water levels are rising, not all ports are benefitting to the same degree. For example, a large integrated tug/barge unit was able to deliver 34,442 tons of stone to a customer at the southern end of Lake Michigan, yet when destined for Lake Superior docks, its cargos fell to 30,411 tons and 30,144 tons. The water level on Lake Superior has been rising quickly, but lack of dredging still forced the vessel to lightload by 4,000 tons or more.

For the year, the Lakes limestone trade stands at 16 million tons, a decrease of 4.4 percent compared to the same point in 2007. Shipments are more than 10 percent behind the 5-year average for the January-July timeframe.

By SCOTT DUNN | Source: Owen Sound Sun Times

Changes to the St. Clair River bed are responsible for a 13-centimetre drop in lakes Huron and Michigan and in Georgian Bay, according to preliminary finding of an extensive binational scientific examination.

The preliminary results were discussed Tuesday night at a public meeting attended by some 75 people at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre and hosted by the International Upper Great Lakes Study group’s public interest advisory committee.

… this summer’s unusually wet weather has resulted in Lake Huron and Lake Michigan levels 22 centimetres higher than a year ago, the meeting was told. Huron, however, is still 36 centimetres below its 1918- 2007 average for early July.

Ted Yuzykj, the Canadian co-chair of the study group, suggested at the meeting it doesn’t appear the dredging of the northerly mouth of the St. Clair River is the main concern as some suspected.

“There is something going on there,” he said. “Almost 90 per cent” of the area responsible for increased flow is at the south end of the river, he said.

More quotes, details in the full story at the Owen Sound Sun Times >>

By ELIE DOLGIN | Source: Journal Sentinel

The invasive New Zealand mud snail, first detected in Lake Ontario in 1991, now inhabits four of the five Great Lakes, scientists reported Friday at the Ecological Society of America’s annual meeting in Milwaukee.

The pea-size, spiral-shaped snails, which reproduce by cloning themselves, are on the march across the country after being introduced by fishing activity in western U.S. rivers and by ship ballast water in the Great Lakes.

…The mud snail is the latest species in a string of crustaceans, mollusks, fish, plants and microbes to invade Lake Michigan.

A parasitic fluke keeps mud snails’ growth at a true snail’s pace in New Zealand. But in the United States, they have few parasites or predators.

Details from Penn State biologist, more at the Journal-Sentinel >>

Sharon Hill | Source: The Windsor Star

Lakes St. Clair, Huron and Superior are at their highest levels in the last four years.

“They’re all up,” Ralph Moulton, manager of the water level information office at Environment Canada, said Tuesday.

Lake Superior, which affects the levels of the other Great Lakes and had dropped to record lows a year ago, is 41 cm higher than it was last year at this time, Moulton said.

Lake Huron is 23 cm higher and Lake Ontario is 31 cm higher than a year ago.

… David Cree, president of the Windsor Port Authority, said he’s hoping lake levels will keep rising.

“The higher water levels this year are good news for everybody in the industry,” Cree said. “If the trend of the last four to five years had continued … it would have been a real issue this year and next year. We’re hoping now that’s bottomed out and we’re on an upward trend in lake levels.”

The same amount of cargo goes through the Windsor port but during times of low lake levels it takes more ships to move goods on the lakes because the ships have to carry less.

Read the full story, with more stats & quotes at the Windsor Star >>

by Tina Lam | Source: Detroit Free Press

Heavy snow and rains since last winter have made the lakes rise. Scientists aren’t sure whether this will last, but they’re hopeful. The temperatures, moisture and ice cover next winter will be critical.

“If we get two more good, normal winters with normal precipitation, then we’d have a turnaround,” said Cynthia Sellinger, deputy director of the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Lake Superior, which beat its 1926 record low last fall, rebounded to within 4 inches of its long-term average in July. Lakes Erie and Ontario are 2 and 4 inches, respectively, above their July averages.

Lakes Michigan and Huron are up 8 inches, though still lagging more than a foot below their normal July levels. Lake St. Clair is up 10 inches from last year and down just 2 inches from its normal for July.

… Ships on the Great Lakes that carry coal, iron ore and cement for industry moved slightly more cargo in June than they did a year ago, but they’re still loading light because some harbors still are too shallow, according to the Lake Carriers’ Association in Cleveland.

Despite 16 inches more water in Lake Superior last week compared with a year ago, the Wenonah ferry from Grand Portage, Minn., to Isle Royale National Park still is not running. Last summer was the first in 30 years the 149-passenger boat couldn’t get to the island.

Read why the lakes rebounded, further impacts and mid-term forecasts all at the Detroit Free Press >>

by Bob VandeVusse | Source: Holland Sentinel

Things got started on Friday, Aug. 1, with the arrival of the Manitowoc with a load of coal for the James DeYoung power plant. It arrived early in the morning and departed late in the afternoon.

… Later in the day [August 3rd] or early tomorrow, the Manistee will deliver more coal at the power plant. If you head to Grand Haven today, you may see the Coast Guard fleet departing from the festival. Both the Mackinaw and the Biscayne Bay will head out, as will the 228-foot Canadian cutter Samuel Risley, which has been in port since Wednesday, July 30.

On Monday, Aug.4, we may see a boat at Verplank’s, but that is tentative at this time. It may divert to St. Joseph instead if soundings show sufficient depth there. There has been dredging going on there for much of the summer.

Sailing Regatta and more later in the week, see the Holland Sentinel >>

Source: USCG

MARINETTE, Wisc. - The Coast Guard is providing security for a new Navy Ship in Northern Lake Michigan, Thursday.

The Littoral Combat Ship, USS Freedom, built in Marinette, Wisc. is currently conducting sea trials as Coast Guard Station Sturgeon Bay Response Boat crews provide security for the 379-foot combat ship.

The Coast Guard crews are responsible for enforcing a Naval Vessel Protection Zone, which is a 500-yard regulated area of water surrounding large U.S. naval vessels that is necessary to provide for the safety and security of these U.S. naval vessels.

• All vessels within 500 yards of a U.S. naval vessel must operate at the minimum speed necessary to maintain a safe course.
• Vessels are not allowed within 100 yards of a U.S. naval vessel
• The official patrol can be reached on VHF-FM channel 16

“The Naval Vessel Protective Zone does not limit people from viewing the ship but it does identify a no-travel buffer zone for everyones’ safety,” said Cmdr. Billy Mitchell, Assistant Branch Chief for Enforcement of the Coast Guard Ninth District.

Coast Guard Crews from Stations Michigan City and Wilmette Harbor are also assisting with the security details.

Area residents and vacationers have reported the USS Freedom was conducting high-speed trials in the bay of Green Bay on Saturday, August 2nd.

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 >>

by Tom Skilling | Source: Chicago Tribune

Lake Michigan’s water level has risen 8 inches above the same period a year ago. Once just 6 to 12 inches above all-time lows, lake levels are up in response to the same downpours that caused many area rivers to flood. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which monitors the Great Lakes, predicts the higher levels are to hold through the coming months, though, barring new waves of heavy rains, the biggest rises have probably already occurred. Interconnected Lakes Michigan and Huron are unlikely to change significantly in the next month.

The corps reports other Great Lakes have experienced increased levels as well, with Lake Superior 16 inches higher than a year ago.

Full story at the Chicago Tribune >>

Jeff Alexander | Source: Muskegon Chronicle

Strong storms that moved across Lake Michigan Wednesday produced a seiche that caused water levels to rise rapidly in Chicago.

A seiche (pronounced saysh) is a phenomenon that causes the Great Lakes to slosh back and forth like water in a giant bathtub.

Lake Michigan’s water level near Chicago dropped 10 inches and then rose 20 inches between noon Wednesday and midnight, according to government data collected at Calumet Harbor, Ind.

Kompoltowicz said rapid changes in air pressure and wind direction, with winds swinging from southerly to northerly during the afternoon Wednesday, contributed to the seiche.

According to the National Weather Service in Chicago, Wednesday’s storms produced a change in air pressure that pressed down on the surface of Lake Michigan north of Milwaukee. That sent a surge of water toward Michigan, where it essentially bounced off the shoreline and raced toward Chicago, causing a rapid rise in water levels.

Wednesday was the second time in a month Lake Michigan has had a seiche, according to the National Weather Service.

Full story at the Muskegon Chronicle >>