Monday, February 29, 2016

Ships in Port

On one of those errand trips into Owen Sound I dropped by the harbour to see if any lake freighters were in for the winter.  Usually ice keeps the freighters port-bound for 3 months or so, but even without the ice this year, crews need their winter break.

There were two big ships in the harbour, the Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin on the east shore, and the Algoway docked by the grain elevators on the west.  Both riding light (or empty) as you'd expect.  They probably both have skeleton crews staying on board for the winter.

The Algoway, out of Sault Ste. Marie,  is a self-unloading bulk carrier which can handle a variety of cargoes, from coal to grain.  Like all Great Lakes freighters, it spends its life moving bulk cargo between bigger ports around the Great Lakes.  Cargo moving around the Great Lakes is mostly bulk raw materials like coal, ore, salt, aggregate, or grain, rather than containers, as you might see in ocean ports.

Both ships usually carry a crew of about two dozen, but there will just be a few staying for the winter.  If you look closely, you can see two pick-up trucks and a van, a short gangway, and the heavy hydro cables running overhead to shore beside this ship.  There's a small crane for loading too.  Winter is a time for maintenance and restocking.

The other ship is the slightly bigger Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin, named after one of our recent Prime Minsters (whose family owns Canada Steamship Lines).  They're both about 45 years old, but this ship has quite a different history, sailing first as the H.M. Griffith until it was dry-docked in 1999 for major reconstruction.  Basically the entire cargo and bow sections are new, with only the old stern and engine room kept from the former ship.  Ships on the Great Lakes last about twice as long as saltwater ships, simply because freshwater is less corrosive.

The unloading system is quite amazing, a series of moving belts in the hold that can bring up whatever cargo it's carrying, transferring it to that long unloading boom which reaches out to deposit the cargo on the dock.  Loading would be the opposite, with an onshore boom bringing cargo out and dropping it through the hatches into the ship's hold.  On modern ships like this one or two men can handle the entire unloading in a matter of a few hours.


Later I drove down the shoreline to drive around Balmy Beach Road, almost the only place near Owen Sound where the road goes right along the water.  I remember bringing my grandmother for drives here, to see the scenery of the bay; it was a favourite for her.  Today I just stopped for a quick 'out-of-the-car-window' shot.

But if you look closely you can see the two ships in the harbour, through the distant haze.  I'm intrigued with the rhythm of life on board the big Great Lakes freighters (and other ships around the world).  There's the daily rhythm of watches, round the clock when sailing, and the annual rhythm of months on board and months to go home and see family.  As with the military, it takes a special kind of spouse to handle a family when one partner is away for months on end.  I sympathize with all the Phillipino crews who spend often more than a year away from their families, sending money home.  Not many North Americans want that life anymore, in spite of the reputation for great meals that sails with these ships!Check out a site like 'boatnerd', 'marinetraffic', or 'vesselfinder' to find out more about Great Lakes ships and where they might be located at any point in time.

Have you ever thought about the logistics of restocking food on these ships, or even more challenging on a navy ship with a large crew?  Our daughter works for a company that does just that, juggling trucks carrying the supplies with ships in different ports, heading out to sea for times as long as several months.  Somebody better have a good mind for what's needed for all the crew to eat well over that time!


21 comments:

  1. My wife and I would spend two weeks on the North Shore of Superior and we loved watching those boats, ships, coming in to the Duluth, Minnesota port. I never knew what they did with them in the winter. I think I might like to ride one some summer as they rent rooms for the curious. Great, interesting post for me today. Thanks.

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  2. They both look like good working ships.

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  3. My cousin worked on large cargo ships for 30 years and was away for months at a time , my uncle also worked on the oil rigs for over 40 years out in the baring sea off the coast of Scotland and was also away from the family for months at a time , I cant imagine being away for long periods of time from my family like that . Lovely photos and post . Thanks for sharing , have a good day !

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  4. HI Furry....
    Very similar to Port Colborne, out near our cottage...
    We love to watch the freighters go by from our beach deck...
    Have a great week....
    Cheers!
    Linda :o)

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  5. I live in a place that is land locked. I find these photos and the narrative that you add fascinating. Thank you for sharing your part of the world with us.

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  6. Being from St. John's and now living in PEI, the only ships I know are the ocean-going ones. I enjoyed learning about the Great Lakes' vessels! Thank you.

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  7. Have seen the Algoway in the Goderich harbor quite a bit & I'm pretty sure I've seen the other one as well. Years ago driving for the Stratford Airporter I occasionally had Great Lakes sailors to pick up off the boats in Goderich to take to the Toronto Airport & vice versa. Always nice fellas to talk to. Back in the mid 60's while in the Canadian Navy I was stationed aboard the destroyer H.M.C.S. Saguenay for awhile in Halifax NS. Certainly is a different kind of lifestyle alright.

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  8. Many years ago, when Hugh had a carrying business, once a month he would put higher sides on the flat deck truck, and we would go to the wharf in Auckland.There, the wheat from Canada would be loaded, and then he took it to a poultry farm. We shoveled about 8 ton of wheat by hand, well with shovels!!! Now,all that is done with bulk hopper trucks.The large ships , empty for the winter, are fascinating, as is the logistics of their travels.

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  9. The harbor was empty except for a couple of fishermen the morning we visited.

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  10. It all seems a long way from ski-trails and hidden waterfalls. A friend of mine used to be a helicopter pilot servicing lighthouses and North Sea oil rigs, a tricky and dangerous business.

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  11. Love looking at the great ships, I remember as a child watching the ships being built and a couple launched in The Collingwood shipyards not far from Owen Sound in the late 1950's always and amazing sight.

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  12. Your daughter has a very important position, to feed all those people for months on end. I enjoyed looking at these enormous ships and thinking about what it would be like to go on a long sea voyage. :-)

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  13. I LOVE stuff like this. It's the reason I love to visit Duluth. And one of the best family trips we ever took was to Sault Ste. Marie. It was fascinating! and no, I'd never thought of the logistics of food and supplies. So much we take for granted.

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  14. Those are some mighty big ships. Must be quite a job getting them stocked up for a trip.

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  15. Amazing pictures. COLD pictures.

    Our spring is not completely here yet but there are many warm days, spring bulbs bloom and I heard a few bull frogs singing last night. There will still be freezes and maybe some snow, we've had little this year, but it's time to have early crops in.

    Have a great day and thanks for visiting.

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  16. I do love your photos of the lake. I much prefer lakes to the sea and try to visit as many lakes in Switzerland as possible. Extra points if we can take a boat on the lake which is always fun. I would be so interested to visit your part of the world. We plan to (maybe) visit Whistler BC next year (because the Chef's son teaches skiing there but perhaps not for much longer) but I don't know when I'm likely to see your lake. Oh well. You never know what will happen.
    I have posted a couple of Gardens to Visit so thank you for the inspiration. I'm sure I have lots more to come.

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  17. Great photos of the lake and ships. Such an undertaking to run one of those for a long trip.

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  18. What enormous ships! A very informative post!

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  19. So happy to find you, and adding you to my caravanserai list! You live in one of my favorite corners of the province.

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  20. I used to love watching the big ships come into Kingston on Lake Ontario. It's an interesting place because at any point we could have sail boats, fishing boats, big vacation yachts, and then in the distance these big freighters coming into dock. A busy waterway! I dated a fisherman long time ago, and it definitely is an interesting life. They work very hard!

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