Seaway Traffic (BRUCE, ALGOMA NIAGARA, WHITEFISH BAY, ALGOMA BUFFALO, DAMIA DESGAGNES, RUDDY, ALGOMA HANSA, NACC ARGONAUT, SPARTAN & SPARTAN II, CANADIAN EMPRESS, PEYTON LYN C)

Busy day on the St. Lawrence Seaway. Was able to catch ten of the sixteen vessels that transited the system.
There was pretty much (at least) one ship in view for the entire day.

Unexpected rain to start, water was considerably calm... Fog everywhere, could barely see any of the islands.
Happened to see a bright red dShip Carrier BRUCE when I got to the river.

BRUCE is downbound

The ALGOMA NIAGARA had been anchored (along with G3 MARQUIS) off Ault Island at 4AM.
(The G3 MARQUIS was on my list for yesterday, but never materialized)
Figured it would be neat to see it today instead...
Missed the MARQUIS, but the ALGOMA NIAGARA was an unexpected surprise.

The ALGOMA NIAGARA made her way upbound

Have another grey day (in December) with pics of WHITEFISH BAY - although that day may have been a tad brighter - and had cool sea smoke.

WHITEFISH BAY was downbound.

Such a busy day in the channel that I'd completely forgotten about ALGOMA BUFFALO.
For the second day in a row, got to see a couple of ships pass (or meet) each other.

WHITEFISH BAY meets the ALGOMA BUFALO  near Goose Neck Island Shoal.

When the ALGOMA BUFFALO passed by, she was travelling incredibly slow - Seeming to indicate that she was waiting for other ship(s) to clear the lock. Also noticed a "wind sock" on her self unloading boom.

ALGOMA BUFFALO upbound

Anticipated another downbound ship in about an hour....

Downbound tanker DAMIA DESGAGNES.

Another big green ship with a cool sounding one-word name...

Saltwater vessel RUDDY heading downbound.

RUDDY appeared to anchor just off Ault Island.

After swinging on her chain for a while, RUDDY continues eastbound.
She's approaching the Eisenhower Lock, located several miles downriver.

RUDDY departing the Wilson Hill Anchorage and back into the channel.
It's unusual for me to ever see a ship at this angle.

ALGOMA HANSA would also head to Ault Island and anchor there - However she spent the rest of the day there, presumably for crew rest, as she's often known to do.

The ALGOMA HANSA heading downriver

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Cement carrier NACC ARGONAUT upbound for Oshawa

SPARTAN & SPARTAN II upbound for Detroit.

After the SPARTAN tug & barge, was still waiting for PEYTON LYN C, hoping she hadn't been delayed. But there was a ship on the horizon...

ALGOMA HANSA anchored at Wilson Hill, just off Ault Island.
PEYTON LYN C makes her way upbound navigating past Cat Island Shoal.

Also encountered the downbound CANADIAN EMPRESS which appeared to arrive at Crysler Marina.






Was originally going to swing by Ault Island to see the HANSA at anchor... But couldn't resist continuing upriver to catch the bright red PEYTON LYN C.

Less than two hours before sunrise provided some spectacular colors.

First couple times I saw PEYTON LYN C, she had a large number of colorful containers visible... During this leg of her trip, she only had about one row of visible containers - Making her not look much like a container ship at all.

PEYTON LYN C with a lot more scuffs and scratches than the last time I saw her

Seaway Traffic (CAPTAIN HENRY JACKMAN, FLORETGRACHT, MICK, ATLANTIC SPIRIT, WHISTLER, FEDERAL WELLAND)

The "new" CAPTAIN HENRY JACKMAN (2) downbound for Quebec City,
with he asphalt of Old Highway 2 visible in the frame.

With mist and fog on the river, FLORETGRACHT is upbound for Toledo.

The upbound ATLANTIC SPIRIT meets the downbound MICK.
The red-hulled dShip Carrier has just cleared Cat Island shoal, several miles west of Eisenhower Lock.

Surprise ship of the day was WHISTLER of Monrovia.
The vessel headed downriver after loading grain at Johnstown.

FEDERAL WELLAND of Majuro, up, cargo, for Picton.
So many ships to keep track of, forgot that I even saw this one.
Any day with six ships in the Seaway channel during daylight hours is fine by me.

White Herons in the Shallows

Saw White Herons in the shallows, normally spread out...
As not to disturb each others' hunt?

A "family" of Canadian Geese

Butterfly enjoying thistle flowers.

Suspecting that the grey weather meant fewer people around to disturb this Bald Eagle, so I could be lucky enough to drift by him, relatively close. Saw him hunting earlier in the day, here he is back at one of his "favorite" trees.

Seaway Traffic (FEDERAL ALSTER, HINCH SPIRIT, MISS LIS & JMC258)

FEDERAL ALSTER downbound. My first encounter with this vessel.

HINCH SPIRIT is downbound, appearing fully loaded as usual.

Tugboat MISS LIS & barge JMC258 upbound.

More Underwater...

Another ridiculously calm and glassy day, couldn't resist drifting over the ruins.
Much of this was once farmland. Divers have reported finding picket fences.

Raptors' Nest...

Can't believe I never noticed the huge Osprey nest at the railroad tracks...

Close enough to the river for the birds to quickly grab a fish breakfast.

Ironic because on the previous trip, just before dawn, I happened upon a group of young raptors feeding on a fresh kill.

My favorite quote from Jurassic Park:
"You are alive when they start to eat you..."

Ruins of the Lost Villages...

When the water levels are low, the ruins of the Lost Villages can become more visible...
Especially when the water gets displaced by a large passing cargo vessel.

Water gets pulled from the shallows with the displacement caused by the big ship

As the water rolls back in the stone foundations disappear once again.

Seconds later, only the tops of the highest stones are visible.

Seaway Traffic (CANADIAN EMPRESS, ALGOMA INTREPID, CSL ASSINIBOINE, WILF SEYMOUR & ALOUETTE SPIRIT)

Didn't have my camera with me to capture the ATLANTIC HURON - Which I'm sure has a crumpled bow since the last time I saw her.

CANADIAN EMPRESS has just departed Crysler Marina.

Always neat to see the ALGOMA INTREPID.
Still without an amazing snapshot of this vessel, but at least I get to add a new favorite to my collection.

Looking at the forward-mounted boom crane.

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Favorite snapshot of the day has to be CSL ASSINIBOINE.
She's one of the old "classics" from the 1970s, still chugging along.
Could hear the engine from an incredible 5 miles away, the sound reverberating off the water, the land, seemingly everywhere.

WILF SEYMOUR & ALOUETTE SPIRIT downbound

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At the river shortly after sunrise. Today's first ship was an upbound FEDERAL FREEDOM, seen from the highway en route. An omen - a reminder. Finally experiencing some FREEDOM.

Smoothest, glassiest morning yet this far in 2022.

FEDERAL FREEDOM upbound

Checked the AIS at about 4.30 am, it appeared as if ALGONORTH was moored just off Ault Island, as the ship often tends to do for crew rest. It departed downstream mid-morning as the CSL WELLAND was approaching.

I expected to see the colorfully painted superstructre of the ST LAURENT... But it appears as if the CSL WELLAND was also given similar treatment with a mural.

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Following closely afterwards, was the CSL ST-LAURENT.

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Ralized that I did not have my camera with me to snap pictures of downbound tanker SFL MESSER. Had to appreciate the ship oldschool style...


Calm enough in the morning to explore the huge foundation remains of a possible building. It's a huge structure, and although I know it's there, I didn't expect to be fortunate enough to drift right over it while fishing.

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Another "Perfect" day by the river.

Morning sunrise over the islands

 

Spectacular view of upbound tanker IVER BRIGHT

Downbound EVANS SPIRIT passing the upbound IVER BRIGHT