Take a break, I need to sleep!
This could go on all night.
Round the clock operation. From mid-March to January 15, it just keeps going. I was getting tired and needed to get some sleep but it's hard to lie down with all the activity. After the Algoway cleared up I had a few minutes to go get some things out of the truck. No sooner did I get back in the room than I hear the buzzer and a short blast of a horn. I peeked out but couldn't see anything so I sat back down. After about ten minutes I got curious and looked again.
I stood at the window for a while and noticed something moving. It was a white light but I couldn't see anything else. In about 10 minutes, I saw the bow of the Walter J. McCarthy, Jr. emerge from the Poe Lock. It was a "footer" one of 13 plying the lakes today. These huge monsters were built to take full advantage of the size of the then new Poe Lock. As a result they are landlocked, unable to pass through the Welland Canal and leave the Lakes. In total silence, it just kept coming out of the lock. These things are HUGE!
After nearly 20 minutes, I looked back over the restaurant and a ghostly image loomed out of the darkness. The pilot house of the McCarthy was finally coming into view. No question that this is one big boat. The sodium lights cast an eerie glow over the whole scene. Like something out of a "B" movie, the leviathan slips quietly out of it's lair and disappears into the night. It's the first footer I've ever seen and I am impressed.
Walter J. McCarthy, Jr.
American Steamship Company
Launched: 1977
Capacity: 78,850 tons
Length: 1,000 ft.
Beam: 105 ft.
EMD 20-645 (4)- 14,400 bhp
Twin Screw
Self Unloading
American Steamship Company
Launched: 1977
Capacity: 78,850 tons
Length: 1,000 ft.
Beam: 105 ft.
EMD 20-645 (4)- 14,400 bhp
Twin Screw
Self Unloading
It still wasn't quieting down. The McCarthy exited at 12:15 am. Before long the James R. Barker another footer, this one working for the Interlake Steamship Co. slipped into the the Poe and continued her journey down the St. Mary's river. By now, it's after 2am in the morning and I need to go to bed. It's hard to sleep knowing that things are still happening just outside the window.
James R. Barker
Interlake Steamship Co.
Launched: 1976
Capacity: 63,300 tons
Length: 1,004 ft.
Beam: 105 ft.
Pielstick 16PC2 (2)- 16,000 bhp
Twin Screw
Self Unloading
Interlake Steamship Co.
Launched: 1976
Capacity: 63,300 tons
Length: 1,004 ft.
Beam: 105 ft.
Pielstick 16PC2 (2)- 16,000 bhp
Twin Screw
Self Unloading
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