Fans of the freighters which glide throughout the Great Lakes, a cruise to view the salvage efforts of a grounded ship near Gros Cap yesterday was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
For over a week, the 858-foot Roger Blough was grounded on the Gros Cap Reef in Whitefish Bay, an event closely monitored online by a loose-knit group of boat enthusiasts who self-identify as ‘boatnerds’.
Once it became apparent the Roger Blough would be grounded for days, followers of the Boatnerd.com web site , along with Soo Locks Boat Tours, organized a trip to the site of the freighter by way of the 'Le Voyageur' tour ship.
Roger Lelievre, who manages the news feed for the Boatnerd website, is originally from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan but now lives in Ann Arbour.
He also publishes the long-recognized boatnerd bile, Know Your Ships, as owner of the Marine Publishing Company.
Like many within the subculture, Lelievre became hooked as a kid, watching the big boats run up and down the St. Mary’s River.
“There’s something majestic about these big ships gliding by. They are little cities all on their own. At nights the lights are on, they look pretty. We wonder where they are from and where they are going,” said Lelievre.
The interest in the grounding of the Roger Blough has been through the roof, said Lelievre, both on the Boatnerd website and on social media.
“There’s a lot of armchair captains that post a lot of things online about what they are absolutely sure what happened, because of their vast experience, or whatever. I’m sure when the truth comes out, it’s not going to be any of those theories,” said Lelievre.
The incident which led to the grounding is currently under investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Gordy Harris, a college student from Saginaw, suggested it was human error.
“From the sounds of it, initially we were wondering if it was a mechanical failure, but it seems to be a matter of trying to pass another boat that was in the channel under tow and he went a little too close to the shoal, we’re all human,” said Harris.
In his twenties and clearly the youngest person on the boat, Harris also became fascinated with the freighters, tugs and other big boats he saw transiting the Saganaw River when he was a young child.
“When I was growing up, my mom had a boat — it was a 30-foot carver— and we’d go out sailing on it all the time. Of course, being around them as a kid, I got into it,” said Harris.
He woke up at three o’clock to make the four hour drive to be part of yesterday’s tour group.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see something like this, that’s why I’m here,” said Harris.
He became active with the Boatnerd site about 12 years ago, when he would send in reports and photos for the news feed.
Lelievre says boatnerdery transcends age, gender and has fans in every tax bracket.
“I think there is a culture around a lot of hobbies. My brother is a bird-watcher, I call him a bird nerd. He basically does the same thing I do, but he’s chasing birds. I’m chasing boats. There are people that chase railroad trains and airplanes and tornadoes,” said Lelievre.
Rachel Hanson dragged her husband from Algoma, Wisconsin to be part of the tour group.
She also became hooked on the big ships when she was growing up, her uncle often brought her to the U.S. Navy ship yard to see the ships up close.
“He would take us, and we would see the side-launches and be right up close. You used to be able to get wet, but they can’t do that anymore,” said Hanson.
She was wearing a baseball cap adorned with an embroidery of the S.S. Arthur M. Anderson, a 647-foot freighter which is owned by the Great Lakes Fleet, Inc., the same shipping company that owns the Roger Blough.
The 40 or so passengers were able to see the Roger Blough, listing slightly from the grounding, and observe the rare ship-to-ship offloading of cargo in open water.
The U.S. Coast Guard enforced a 700-yard perimeter around the Roger Blough for any vessels, including Le Voyageur.
Lelievre said as lake freighters become less frequent, the fanbase of boatnerds keeps growing.
“There’s a fascination about the boats that has sprung up over the years. A lot of it because of the internet, a lot of it because Boatnerds has kind of connected everyone together,” said Lelievre.
He attributes the lower number of ships making transits, in part, to the economy.
For those living in communities along the shipping channels, getting into the hobby is easy.
“The salt trade has dropped off because of the mild winter, the ore trade has gone down. The coal trade has really gotten really bad because of the conversion of power plants to natural gas. You’re going to see fewer and fewer boats as time goes on,” said Lelievre.
“After a while you see the same boats over and over again, so you get to know who the captain is, who owns it, whose brother or sister is on it. It gets to become like a family. Everyone has their favourite. A buddy of mine said it’s like NASCAR on the water,” said Lelievre.
Earlier today, the U.S. Coast Guard announced the Roger Blough was no longer grounded and making its way to port for repairs under its own power.