Tying Things Up

After the Paul R. Tregurtha went by on Monday afternoon, my day on the St. Clair River was nearly over, and I just had a few things to tie up before heading home.

I start by heading downriver a bit to the Seaway Terminal (Bean Dock). Next to that is this pretty sweet backyard.

This old sign reads “Thomas Edison Inn”, which is odd because up until last year there was a much larger Thomas Edison Inn all the way across town. It’s now a Hilton Doubletree. I wonder what the connection is.

This dude is pretty creepy. I’m not sure what he’s doing down there…

I’m not so sure that dock looks steady…

Sitting at the Bean Dock is the Bramble, the former Coast Guard buoy tender that’s now open as a museum.

Making her way up the river is the Algorail.

The veteran self-unloader is on her way to Meldrum Bay from Sombra, where she unloaded a cargo of stone. I passed her early in the morning driving through Marine City, but figured she’d be up here later so I didn’t stop.

This is surprisingly my first Algorail sighting since last July… likely a function of her spending a few months in lay-up last summer and fall.

The 640 footer is getting quite long in the tooth, but she continues to provide value in the salt and stone trades for Algoma.

Which is nice for me, since she’s both pretty and Canadian, which automatically makes her a favorite of mine.

Okay, if that was me down there, I would be right next to the Algorail getting some sweet pictures… some people just don’t know how to use boats!

Oh wait, there they go…

The demise of the Algorail has been rumored for about five years now, and eventually, the rumors will come true. But hopefully not quite yet. She has some usefulness left.

Yep, there’s our pontoon family. Hope they brought their cameras.

I’ll leave the Algorail to do her thing, and finish tying up those last few things.

There’s an unusual guest at the Malcolm Marine Dock  a bit further down… the William C. Gaynor.

Manitou, Malcolm’s big tug, is finally back home after working in Alpena, Charlevoix, Sturgeon Bay, Ludington, and Bay City during the winter to break ice and dock ships.

The handsome Gaynor is the big tug of MCM Marine, and is based out of the Soo. I’m not sure what she’s doing here in Port Huron.

Regardless, it’s nice to see her.

Two more quick stops – Bluewater Aggregates in Marysville is first. Here the giant tug Gregory J. Busch is docked with the deck barge STC 2004 to load a cargo of stone. The stone is destined for a construction project in Lexington, MI on Lake Huron. Busch doesn’t bring out the STC 2004 very often, but when they do it’s typically for stone cargoes. The Busch herself is a heavily rebuilt U.S. Shipping Board tug from 1919, which is usually used on the Saginaw River for ship assistance.

Chrysler Beach in Marysville is the last stop, as the salty tanker Nordic Oslo is docked across the river in Sarnia.

Whew – it took five posts, but I’m finally finished with Monday’s photos. Now onto the shots from this weekend. Stay tuned…

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