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Beginner's Guide to Ship Watching on the Great Lakes: What to Look for, Ship-watching Destinations, Ports, Whistles and More
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About Beginner's Guide To Ship Watching On The Great
Product Description Start Ship Watching on the Great Lakes Today! Ship watching on the Great Lakes is fascinating! It’s hard to fathom how big a 1000-foot-long ship is until you see one navigating on the Great Lakes or passing under a lift bridge. Immediate questions come to mind: Where is it from? What is it carrying? How fast does it go? What do all those ship markings mean? Why did it blast its whistle? With this beginner’s guide by Brett Ortler, you’ll discover: helpful tips on where to go to view ships and what to look for how to spot a “laker” vs. a “saltie” a longtime mariner’s take on life aboard ship which ships have succumbed to storms information about the U.S. Coast Guard, tall ships, Canadian ships and more About the Author 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. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. 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; (9
