Another big ship - Pathfinder

[JayC_783]

Well, I got a chance to get some pictures of a Great Lakes ship unloading coal. I was driving through town when I noticed that there was a ship docked at the Detroit Edison plant unloading coal. I walked out onto the pier of our city's marina to get some photos. I wish I had a boat to get some better shots!

Actually, it is two ships bundled into one. This is what's known as an articulated barge. It is a growing trend on the Lakes. One that I'm not too fond of. I don't like it because they turn a good ship into nothing more than a shell of its former self. They basically take a ship, and strip it of its ship bits like the pilot house, living quarters, and engine plant. They notch out the rear end so a ship called an articulated tug can tuck itself in there to move the "barge" around. The ship in the photos is about 700 foot long. The barge is named Pathfinder and the tug is named Dorothy Ann. If anyone is interested, here are a couple links on the duo.

http://www.boatnerd.com/pictures/fleet/pathfinder.htm

http://www.boatnerd.com/pictures/fleet/dorothyann.htm

I hope you enjoy the photos! I took them earlier today, about 7pm.









This is the lighthouse at the entrance to the harbor. That's where large vessels like the one in the photos pass through.











This is a good shot that shows the self-unloading boom of the barge. I don't know when the ship arrived, but it takes about 8 hours (give or take) to fully unload itself. Of course, depending on how much coal is in the ship, times can vary.



This is a sunset photo of the marina.



If you look real close you can see the tip of the Pathfinder's boom unloading the coal.

[geoper2]

This is a cool looking scenery and a huge ship. I see some really nice colors in yours shots. I wonder if you took some closer shots of that lighthouse ?

[JayC_783]

That's about as close as I could get with the FZ35. I guess the photos don't really show it, but there is a gap in the breakwall you can walk on and the breakwall the lighthouse is on. Without a boat, that's about as close as is possible.

[jjdog2]

Very nice series of shots, enjoyed viewing.

jj

[csa]

Love seeing large vessels like that; however, my favs are #4 (great infinity shot!), and the sunset one!

The FZ35 really did a tremendous job on all the photos!