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| Thunder Bay Island Light |
We stayed far enough from shore to avoid shoals around the northeast corner of the Lower Peninsula. We approached Calcite, an industrial port just east of Rogers City. Several freighters crossed north of us heading toward Mackinac, and I steered well south of them, out of their way. One ship seemed to be heading closer and closer to us, in the same direction we were headed. I realized he was headed to the port of Calcite. Since we were ahead of him heading to Rogers City, I decided to call him on the VHF radio to see what his plan was so we could avoid crossing in front of him. The freighter was the Joseph H. Thompson. The conversation ran as follows:
Breathin' Easy: Joseph H. Thompson, this is the motor vessel Breathin' Easy, over.
Freighter: This is the Joe Thompson, go to channel 8, over.
Breathin' Easy: Joseph Thompson, this is Breathin' Easy. It looks like you are headed to Calcite. Can you tell me where you would like me to go to stay out of your way as you come in?
Freighter: Are you that little white boat off my port bow? Well, I guess you can go anywhere you want, like a flea buzzing around! Anyway, I have to wait out here until the ship at the dock is finished loading before I can go in...
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| Joseph H. Thompson (dlund.20m.com) |
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| Joseph Thompson, stern view of dedicated tug (images.mitrasites.com) |
The freighter Joseph H. Thompson was initially built in 1944 as a 515 foot cargo vessel named Marine Robin. During World War II she made trans-Atlantic voyages for the war effort and was present at the Normandy Invasion on June 6, 1944. In the 1950's she was given a new 199 foot midsection making her the largest freighter in the world at the time at 714 feet long, and she was renamed the Joseph H. Thompson. In the 1980's she was remodeled again into a self-unloading barge. Her aft and fore cabins were removed and her stern was redone to make a notch for her push vessel. A dedicated tug was constructed with left over steel from the larger vessel's hull. She is now 706 feet long with a capacity of 21,200 tons. As a self-unloading barge-tug combination she is efficient enough to compete with newer freighters. (From www.boatnerd.com).
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| Rogers City Marina |
We docked at the Rogers City Marina. A waterfront park has a bandshell where a concert was given this evening by a community band. The theme was "patriotic music" in honor of the Forth of July. We sat in the park next to the trombone player's wife. The music was great and the audience appreciated the performance. Wonderful small town Americana!
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| Rogers City bandshell |
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| Sunset at Rogers City Marina |
