• Thursday-What'sUP December 4 - 08:30 am

Brenda Leigh was recently in the Sault Ste. Marie area and snapped these pictures of what she said is an "ocean going salty". In the first shot, it just looks like a regular freighter, making it's way on the St. Mary's River, but then you get a side view of the vessel and you see that it's not your ordinary boat. It looks like it has two self unloaders there on deck. Perhaps one of our regular "boat nerds" can fill us in some more on this one. Back to the first photo now... in case you were worried about those snow covered dolphins up on the shore, don't fret. Brenda assured me that those were really just fishing boats being stored upside down for the winter months. Interesting observation she made, too... that out of three boats in the photo, only one is functional, this time of year.

Hi
Even in the first shot, it's short length is a give-away that it's not your standard laker. I wonder what ice conditions on the Great Lakes will be like this winter, and how the new ice-breaker Mackinaw will do.

I wonder if sailors are as concerned about the weather in December as they are in November.

Cool pictures today!

Winter is definetly showing itself here in NW Illinois. When I looked out to check the view of the Mississippi there were areas of what looks like slush! It's starting to freeze up and winter is here for sure. Plus it's about 15 degrees out.Oh my I'm not ready!

Near as I can tell, that's the Rosaire A. Desgagnes, which (last year, anyhow) carried the Antigua flag. She was also just built in 2007, and was in Duluth about this time last year as well.

For more information on the vessel, go here:

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2007/12/c6017.html

Cheers!

Yes this would be a Salty! It wont be long now and they will be heading back to Lake Ontario and out to sea as they dont want to be stuck on the lakes for the winter months.

Great picture-yes one look at the vesel tells you it is not your typical great lakes vessel.
Does anyone out there know if Susan Kallio has a E mail address.

This is a test. (copied from above and pasted here):
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For more information on the vessel, go here:

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2007/12/c6017.html

Cheers!
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(see next message)

Just a little idle curiosity:

How does one post a URL as in Mel, MN (Mehollop)'s note above, and have it not turn into a clickable link?

As shown in my previous note, I can copy a portion of his note and paste it verbatim as a message, and I get a link!
(Even though that is not the preferred way to post a link!)

The Cyprus boat "Irma", built in 2000, is due at Duluth on Saturday. It looks a lot like the one in the picture above, although it's difficult to tell for sure.

http://www.duluthshippingnews.com/shippages/shippic901.html

FRNash.....huh?????????/ This is a foreign language to me. Glad you folks know what you are talking about. This is way over MY head. I like the language I was raised with...loved diagraming sentences, it was fun! See what I mean, a different generation. I'm not even going to TRY learning that language ha-ha

James Nykiel (Jnykiel):
"The Cyprus boat 'Irma' …

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know what the orange "escape capsule" is that appears to be poised at her stern in preparation for launch?

Jnykiel: Though the two boats do look similar, if you look a little closer, the Irma has three cranes, whereas the Rosaire A. Desgagnes has only two. Also, the Irma appears to have a much wider base and a less pronounced 'beluga bump.'

I was able to zoom in close enough to one of the photos in Brenda's original gallery to nearly read the "A. Desgagnes" part on the bow, and from there it was a search through the Duluth Shipping News foreign ships list for something that looked right. :)

Also, thanks for making the plain text alteration to the link from my previous post!

Mel, MN (Mehollop):
"…thanks for making the plain text alteration to the link from my previous post! "

I was just trying to figure out why I got a clickable link and you didn't (using the same syntax!) I think I finally "figger'd" it out though.

FRNash
When I zoom the picture breaks down too much to get a clear look at the "escape caapsule" to positively identify it. Could it be one of these?
http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/launching-of-a-free-fall-lifeboat/

This is a container vessel in light condition with a few contianers on deck. Containers are stowed under the deck and also stacked on the main deck to nearly as high as the bridge.

To FRNash
The orange object is a free fall life boat. The boat free falls from the position it is in. When it hits the water, surprisingly it does not totaly go under, but it makes one big splash. Most sailors do not look forward to dropping in this things when the are tested during boat drills.

Bob Jewell, Farmington Hills (Rjewell) & Truman G Hagbloom (Truman):

Thanks, Bob & Truman!

That site wouldn't render any pictures for me in my Firefox browser, so I had to view it in IE, only to find a further link to an extremely interesting discussion of the free-fall lifeboat, from (PBS) Nova Online: Pioneers of Survival.

It sure looks like a brilliant design, certainly a quantum leap from the lifeboats of the Titanic, although that must be one heck of an "E-ticket" ride for the occupants!

Truman: "Most sailors do not look forward to dropping in this things when the are tested during boat drills." — I can just imagine!

Two points from the article that I found particularly interesting, even clever [emphasis is mine]:

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Quote:

"These aluminum free-fall lifeboats are designed to get 45 people safely away from any hazards, like a platform or a ship. So they simply go to the far end of the boat, take their seat, and when they all do it simultaneously the aisle is completely free for the new range of people. Using this procedure, it only takes three minutes to board the lifeboat completely.

The boat is released hydraulically. One person could easily do it, but we have chosen to have it be done by two people in order to avoid the possibility this lifeboat is launched by someone who simply wants to get away from the platform[/ship]."

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Tom, Susan Kallio as in her maiden name, or is there a Susan married to a Kallio? I went to high school with Susan Kallio. She lived on the Gay road. Either way, I don't have her e-mail address. I was just wondering.

Happy Birthday, Saint Barbara! December 4th is the day that
miners around the world traditionally recognize St. Barbara as
their patron saint. European immigrants brought the tradition to
America and the UP iron and copper mining areas.

Last June, after a hearty pasty lunch at The Hut, my wife, Pat, a
genuine Yooper, and I were reminded about the role immigrant
miners played as we hiked around the remains (restored and
otherwise) in Central Mine and several of the other mining
towns in the Copper Country.

As winter snows begin again in the UP and the Christmas season
is upon us, it is easy to imagine how the new arrivals in the
copper mining camps clung to the holiday traditions that they
brought with them from back home in the "old country,"
including St. Barbara's Day!