Beginner's Guide to Ship Watching on the Great Lakes: What to Look for, Ship-watching Destinations, Ports, Whistles and More - Softcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Brett Ortler is an editor at Adventure Publications. He is the author of “Minnesota Trivia, Don’tcha Know!,” “The Fireflies Book,” and “The Mosquito Book.” His essays, poems, and other work appear widely, including in "Salon," "The Good Men Project," "The Nervous Breakdown," "Living Ready" and in a number of other venues in print and online. He lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and their young children.

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The Soo Locks, Sault Ste. Marie, MI
What better place to ship watch than the key passage that enables ships to travel from Lake Superior to Lake Huron? During the shipping season, the Soo Locks are one of the premier ship watching destinations on the Lakes, as you can get up-close and personal with the ships at the Soo Locks Visitor Center.

Soo Locks Visitor Center: One of the best places to boatwatch on the Great Lakes, the Soo Locks Visitor Center has been a ship watching destination since ships began passing through the first locks in the 1850s. Open every day from Mother’s Day until mid-October, the visitor center boasts an observation platform, exhibits, a theater, ship schedules and much more. Every June the Soo Locks opens its doors on Engineers Day, a special treat for ship watchers, as it’s the only day visitors can walk across the lock walls.

Ship Watching Hotline: Soo Locks Visitor Center, (906) 253-9290

Tracking Ships Online: Visit ais.boatnerd.com or www.marinetraffic.com

Hidden Gems of Ship Watching: The Soo Locks Boat Tours are a wonderful way to see the ships from a completely different perspective―from on the water. These tours allow you to travel alongside lake freighters and ocean-going vessels and to actually pass through the locks themselves. Dinner cruises and other special events are also offered.

Another popular spot in Sault Ste. Marie is Clyde’s, a drive-in restaurant located near the Sugar Island Ferry Docks. Both sites offer great views of the passing ships.

Located about half an hour from Sault Ste. Marie, Dunbar Park is located along Lake Nicollet and isn’t far from the West Neebish Channel, a man-made portion of the seaway that was blasted from rock. Known colloquially as “the rock cut,” ships headed “downbound” (toward Lake Huron) must pass through this channel, making it a great place to boatwatch.

Nearby: The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum is based in Paradise, Michigan, about an hour from Sault Ste. Marie. Dedicated to the maritime history of the Great Lakes, the museum is especially well known for its exhibits and artifacts pertaining to shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. The museum famously houses the bell recovered from the ill-fated Edmund Fitzgerald, the huge ore boat that sank in 1975. And if you have a passport, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, is just across the St. Marys River!

Addresses:

• The Soo Locks Visitor Center: 312 W. Portage Avenue, Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783
• Clyde’s Drive-In: 1425 Riverside Dr, Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783
• Dunbar Park: 12878 S Scenic Dr, Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783
• Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum: 18335 N Whitefish Point Rd, Paradise, MI 49768

Contact Information:

• The Soo Locks Visitor Center: www.lre.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/SooLocksVisitorCenter.aspx; (906) 253-9290
• The Soo Locks Boat Tours: www.soolocks.com
• Clyde’s Drive-In: (906) 632-2581
• Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum: www.shipwreckmuseum.com; (906) 635-1742
• Soo Locks Boat Tours: (800) 432-6301

Featured U.S. Vessels
At 767 feet long, the Arthur M. Anderson is not the largest ship operated by its parent company, the Great Lakes Fleet. Nonetheless, the Anderson is undoubtedly one of the most famous ships in the Great Lakes Fleet. In service since 1952, the Anderson is famous because of its connection to the Edmund Fitzgerald, the lake freighter that sank in a storm on November 10, 1975, taking its 29 crew members with her. The Arthur M. Anderson was the last ship to see the Fitzgerald or communicate with her crew.

November 10, 1975
Both the Anderson and the Fitzgerald were transporting taconite on November 10, 1975. The Fitzgerald left Superior, Wisconsin, at about 2:15 p.m. on November 9 and was headed to Detroit. The Anderson left Two Harbors at 4:30 p.m. on the same day and was traveling to Gary, Indiana. Given their similar destinations, they were headed along a similar course and only 10―20 miles apart, close enough to maintain visible contact with one another. They knew a storm was forecast, as the National Weather Service had sent out warnings in advance. As the day progressed and headed into the 10th, the storm strengthened, and a full-fledged storm warning was announced. After consulting with one another, both captains decided to alter their course and avoid the traditional shipping lanes, in the hopes of avoiding some of the wind. This left them on a course that essentially headed out directly east across the lake. By the late afternoon of the 10th, the Fitzgerald, which was ahead of the Anderson, had taken some damage topside. In a radio call with the Captain of the Anderson, Captain McSorley of the Fitzgerald indicated he had a slight list and his pumps were running. Later, he radioed in asking for navigational assistance, as both of his radar units were out; the Fitzgerald soon slowed its speed, in an attempt to let the Anderson catch up. The last radio conversation between the two ships took place at about 7:10 p.m. when the Anderson radioed the Fitzgerald, telling them about a ship approaching in the distance; as an aside, the Anderson’s first mate asked how the Fitzgerald was doing; Captain McSorley responded, “We are holding our own.”

At that point, the storm was reaching its peak. Wind speeds have been estimated at 60―70 miles per hour, with gusts reaching hurricane force. The waves the Fitzgerald encountered were almost certainly colossal. Average waves were an estimated 22 feet, and the storm may have produced much larger waves, perhaps up to 44 feet, taller than a four-story building.

A few minutes after the last radio contact with the ship, the Fitzgerald was picked up on radar, but when the visibility cleared shortly thereafter, its lights were nowhere to be seen and the Anderson’s crew couldn’t find it on radar. The Fitzgerald was gone; after radioing the Coast Guard several times, the Anderson was able to sound the alarm about the missing ship. In the interim, she had made her way to relatively safer waters, but the Coast Guard soon asked the Anderson to turn around and head back into the storm to look for the Fitzgerald. Heroically, its crew did so, spearheading the search despite the awful weather. Over the course of the coming days, debris from the Fitzgerald and two empty lifeboats were discovered, but no survivors were found. The ship was eventually located in 530 feet of water.

The Anderson has continued its service on the Great Lakes ever since.