Thursday, February 9, 2012

Winter Freighter and BoatNerd

Yesterday, there was some ice:








There was still a bit of open water:








Today, there was more ice. I noticed a freighter under the bridge:




It kept moving towards the south end of the bridge:












I thought it would be crazy to pass through here- there's decent ice from the bridge to the lighthouses. Note- the Mackinac Bridge:




Note- the Round Island Lighthouse:




I assumed the freighter was going to get stuck somewhere in all that ice. Then, I discovered www.BoatNerd.com where you can track the movements of freighters in the Great Lakes! Turns out this freighter was the Captain Henry Jackman and had required coast guard assistance already. The USCG Thunder Bay led the way for the Jackman to pass through the ice west of the Mackinac Bridge and through the Round Island passage.




Not much ice on the roads though!




I got to bike to and from school again today!




The next time our apartment vibrates with the passing of a freighter- I can look it up on www.BoatNerd.com and likely find out its name, origin, destination, and cargo. Awesome? I think so!

Location:Mackinac Island

2 comments:

  1. That IS cool!! I think we might need to try that, even though we're not close enough to the lake to see any freighters.

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    1. I learned about it just as the ice became too much for freighters to pass our way. I love this site though and look forward to "stalking" passing freighters when the passage clears again!

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