Freighter Watchers

[ESOX]

I don't know what it is about them, but I have been a freighter watcher all my life. (I remember laying in bed as a kid at night listening to the horns as they made their way up and down LSC, thinking of the far off places they came from and were headed to.)
Anyhow, here is a link to a site with a ton of info on our Great Lakes freighter fleet, as well as Salty visitors.
http://www.boatnerd.com/

[jimbos43]

I watch them also. I like to pull up to those Chinese flagged tramp steamers, and flip them off with 2 of the stiffest middle fingers I can muster.

[ESOX]

LOL Jim, you are incorrigible!

[jimbos43]

True story there Paul.

I got a yuck one time, I was fishing right at the downbound channel into Erie. Here comes a Russian flagged freighter. What's lashed down on their decks?????? Used American cars. They must of picked up a Tradin Times and went to town. Natasha, was going to be happy as hell driving around in that 1990 Ford Escort.


I won't mess up your thread further, freighter watching is cool. Those lake freighters are some real beasts, and it's amazing they even float. Those foreign ocean freighters can just go back to where they came from.

[mich buckmaster]

I have few stories about freighters:

One was this year out of St. Joe I got to the pier around 4:00AM and I was the first. I saw hundreds of lights in front of me and had to look twice. The freighter was coming into the channel and it was such a cool sight to have this HUGE boat, on a warm morning come right by you and be so gigantic.

Second I was also on the pier and after the freighter came through, I noticed about a ten year old boy fishing off the back of it. If I only had a camera I would have been able to take one of the coolest things I have ever seen.

Third a freighter was stuck out in front of the pier two years ago. He came in to the South of the pier which is a little bit shallow, I hear.

Anyhow they sure are incredible, and I hear that when they go by they break up the bottom muck and the fish follow eating up the grubs and stuff.

[ESOX]

One night a few years back, I was staying at a friends place on the South Channel at Harsens Island. I was sleeping on the screenporch, when the stillness of a muggy August night was shattered by a BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. It echoed across the water, seemingly forever. I looked out and coming up the Old South Channel was a freighter that had missed the St. Clair Cutoff. I guess it was the propeller hitting bottom I heard, but the Freighter managed to make it back into the channel without further ado. (glad I didn't have to pay to recondition THAT prop!!!).

[jimbos43]

Esox, don't these freighters have pilots from the Bluewater bridge on down to Erie?

[ESOX]

Thats what I thought Jim, but to err is human...........

[WALLEYE MIKE]

Was fishing one night at the head of Russels is. in the St. Clair river, it got fogging and we were the only ones there. Could not see 200ft. We were catching walleyes one right after another. Anyways we could hear the freighters coming and blowing thier horns but could not see them. We were just hoping they stayed on course. They past probably within 200-400ft. from us.At the time we were fishing in a 14ft.alum. boat.

Last year I observed a freighter coming down the river in Marine city. All of a sudden it started doing a 180 right in the middle of the river. It was about to dock at the dunes with a load of gravel. Very interesting seeing how it docks there.

Also saw one just idling in the river waiting to dock, another was already unloading.

[Doughboy]

It's amazing how quiet they can be. They seem to slide right up to ya before you know it. Anyway a scarey site on the St.Clair one night. An upbound freighter just blowing his horn constantly. I looked out to see a boat floating downriver in the shipping lane with 2 guys laying over the side paddling with their hands in an attempt to clear the ship. Their motor had seized(didn't add oil) and they had no paddles. They just barely made it(the freighter almosted came to a stop for them. They then got into the chugger and whippers fishing for walleyes(language was pretty bad toward them). I threw them a rope and towed them to the St. Clair launch.

[knockoff64]

Remember 2 years ago when that freighter was stuck in the St Clair river for 3 days! jammed up all the shipping!

We were fishin out of Lexington, there were about 20 ships moored in a line from the St Clair light almost to Sanilac.

I heard LSC and Erie had similar sights to be seen.

[trout]

I grew up in Marysville and spent alot of time fishing the St. Clair river.
I watched the 1st 1000 footer make it's journey up river too.
Laying in bed hearing the engines and horn blast in the night was a part of life we came to accept.
I once was startled on the river in my Monkey wards fishin boat by the sight of a Bow coming at me. I was looking up at i......
thats too close.
Well I pulled the cord, she never failed to start.....til then,
second pull and a pray...........we were off and running away from that ol ship!
Although I moved I still hit Marysville at least once each summer to fish, mostly we watch the ships tho.
Paul , I tok a picture at the BWB of that freighter you and Ian saw.
Funny how ya mentioned the ship and I took a pic too

[trout]

SFK I do remember when 60% of the fishing boats were wood though
Very few were aluminum and fewer were glass

[rookie1]

Jimbo, they do use pilots in that area. My wifes mother lives in Port Huron so when we go to visit I spend a lot of time watching the big freighters go by.

[ESOX]

Kids do the DUMBEST things. When I was 15 I had a 15'6" Lone Star with a closed bow and an Evinrude 35 on it. One of our pasttimes was "Wake Hopping". We'd catch up with freighters around Peche Island and jump the wake as close to the freighter as we dared. One fine evening my buddy decided to sit on the bow, leaning against the windshield while we pulled this stunt. When we hit the wake, the windshield broke, and he went flying into the back seat, smashing his head on the back of the back seat, creating a gash that needed 5 stitches to close. Needless to say, my Dad was less than impressed.......lost two months of boating.(The rest of the summer). Thank God everything turned out ok, and I learned my lesson.