Happy New Year from Boatnerd
Boatnerd wishes all our readers a very happy and successful 2022. Thank you for your support.
Thank you to our reporters!
A big three long and two short goes out to all who send news to this page or contribute to the Port Reports, among them Gary A. Putney, Scott Bjorklund, Gordy Garris, Todd Shorkey, Arthur Pickering, Rene Beauchamp, Ron Beaupre, Rod Burdick, Bruce Douglas, Stephen Sostaric, Bill Kloss, Barry Andersen, Ron Walsh, MKE Marine Reports, Brian R Wroblewski, Tyler Fairfield, Port of Monroe, Bill Van Appledorn, Capt. Mike Nicholls, Fred A. Tijan, Jeremy Whitman, Brendan Falkowski, Marc Dease, Tom Brewer, Graham Grattan, Sam Hankinson, Matt Miner, Denny Dushane, Ken Borg, Bill Bird, Al Miller, Tom Hynes, Roger LeLievre and anyone else we’ve inadvertently left off this list, including those who wish to remain anonymous. It is the contributions of all these volunteers, and many others, that make Boatnerd possible.
We are always seeking contributions to this page from readers around the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. If you see news in your area or want to offer your observations of vessel arrivals and departures, please send to news@boatnerd.net. If you spot an interesting shipping-related story in your local news, please take a moment to forward a link so that we may share it with our audience. Thank you!
Seaway closes with downbound Helena G
On Friday, the downbound saltie Helena G was the last ship through the Seaway for 2021. She was preceded by Federal Bristol and Ojibway.
Pat English
Grand Haven marine reporter Dick Fox honored by his successor
Grand Haven, MI – It has been a busy end of December in Grand Haven’s harbor, but before we get into that, I’d like to pay tribute to my dear friend, Richard “Dick” Fox, who recently passed away. Mr. Fox, as he was known to me, wrote this column from 2002 to 2016. As a kid, I was so excited to attend one of his “ship talks” at the Tri Cities Museum and finally meet him. We communicated frequently through email after that and he helped me learn a lot about the ships that were coming and going out of the Grand Haven harbor.
I enjoyed any time I could spend with him talking about his career, and of course, ships! He transitioned from being the writer of the column to a reader when he passed it along to me, and always had nice things to say about my articles. I am forever grateful for Mr Fox’s friendship.
In other news, the steamship Wilfred Sykes paid a visit to Meekhof’s D&M on Harbor Island on Sunday with a load of slag.
Port City Marine’s articulated tug/barge Caroline McKee/Commander arrived at the St. Marys Cement terminal in Ferrysburg on Monday afternoon to discharge a cargo of cement. The pair departed the next day.
Interlake’s articulated tug/barge Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder came in early Wednesday morning with a load of slag for the Verplank dock in Ferrysburg and was outbound for the lake a few hours later. Later that afternoon, Grand River Navigation’s motor vessel Manitowoc delivered a cargo of slag to Meekhof’s.
Samuel Hankinson
Lay-up reports needed
As the end of the shipping season approaches, please send reports of vessel lay-ups to news@boatnerd.net. This will help us compile our annual lay-up list. Include vessel name, date, port and name of lay-up dock. Click here to view the Lay-Up List: https://boatnerd3.jasonbowlerdesign.com/winter-layup-2021-2022/
New address for BoatNerd donations
Great Lakes and Seaway Shipping Online Inc., the nonprofit organization that operates the BoatNerd website and vessel tracking service, has a new mailing address to accept donations. The change was made after one of our longtime volunteers decided to start spending winters in another (warmer) state. Maintaining the old address would have required seasonal address changes each spring and fall. The new address can be maintained year-round.
Great Lakes and Seaway Shipping Online is a 501c(3) non-profit organization incorporated and registered in Michigan. Our primary purpose is to enhance the general public’s knowledge of maritime commercial operations and history on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. To that end, we operate the BoatNerd website and vessel tracking service. In pre-pandemic times, we also sponsored multiple ship-watching gatherings and day cruises around the lakes, and hope to resume those soon.
Monetary donations are greatly appreciated and can be made via check (in US funds) made out to Great Lakes and Seaway Shipping Online, Inc. and sent to:
Great Lakes and Seaway Shipping Online, Inc.
PO Box 304
Paris, MI 49338
Monetary donations are also accepted via PayPal at the DONATE link on the BoatNerd home page. Please note that PayPal deducts a nominal processing fee from all donations made via PayPal.
