• Monday-What'sUP December 15 - 10:53 pm

If you're in the Sault Ste. Marie area and you want a good view of the freighters, then do what Philip Odum did recently. He parked himself along the St. Mary's River and near the rock cut at Neebish Island. The result is what you see here today.

He spotted the Arthur M. Anderson, looking like it's in "full steam ahead" mode, with all the smoke/steam billowing out of her. In case you don't remember, the Anderson is the last ship to have had contact with the Edmund Fitzgerald that fateful night of Nov. 10th, 1975, when it disappeared in the depths of Lake Superior. It's nice to see her still sailing the Great Lakes.

The next shot is the Whitefish Bay out of Montreal, with what I think is the Anderson in the distance. While sailing the St. Mary's and Neebish cut, the boats seem like you could almost reach out and touch them. I bet when they pass by each other like these two must have, the crew can converse back and forth for a few minutes in passing.

That's the James R. Barker in the third photo, looking a little chilled with a coating of ice on her bow and along her sides. I think it's pretty amazing that these vessels can still be out in the cold Lake Superior waters like this. I'm not sure I'd like to be out their braving the wintry weather.

In the last picture, you see the Army Corp of Engineers tug Owen Fredrick pushing the crane/barge on the St. Mary's River as it makes the rounds tending the buoys.
Again, I have to say... sailing on Lake Superior and the Great Lakes seems like a dream job…in the summer months, but I don't think it would be "my cup of tea" in the wintry months like now. Those sailors have some real SISU out there right now!

Very cool pictures :-)

Pretty neat to catch the two styles of Lakers at the sametime!

While there is some icing on the James Barker, they are not covered in ice like I have seen in the past. December is half over and so far the temps have been agreeable. Great pics thanks for sharing.

Very nice! One word comes to mind, "Behemoth"!

Have never seen the Whitefish Bay but have seen the Anderson and Barker up close and personal. It's nice to see them again even if it's only in photos.

Thanks, Philip!!

Aside: Love your horses in the fog, Janie, that would make a terrific calendar photo.

I was just thinking I'll bet Ed Chaput (EddyFitz) would be sharing a comment with us today.

I agee with you, Alex ~ he usually always popped in when there were ship pix. He'll certainly be missed here and on Boatnerd.

thanks everyone for your compliments..certainly
just love driving to the soo to see the freighters
and snapping a photo of them..have a great week
ahead
thank you mary.!!and pasty central..phil

Great Pic's!

Yes, the Anderson. I thought that was the one that heard the Fitzgerald's last radio contact.

Thanks for reminding us of the Anderson's role
that fateful night, Mary. I knew the name rang a
bell but didn't remember why until you explained.

Great photos, Phil; thanks for sharing with us.

Love the Arthur Anderson, and all the "oldstyle " freighters!

Arthur M Anderson: the prettiest ore boat ever built. Was she laid up for a while? I've been looking for her online for months!