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Gales of December send vessels to anchor
Gale and freezing spray warnings in effect for much of the Great Lakes Friday have sent many vessels to anchor. Others have chosen more sheltered courses or remained docked.
Friday morning found the Potaganissing Bay anchorage north of DeTour, on the lower St. Marys River, offering safe harbor for American Spirit, John G. Munson, Indiana Harbor, Victory/Maumee, CSL St-Laurent, Edgar B. Speer, Robert S. Pierson, Lee A. Tregurtha, John J. Boland, and Dirk S. VanEnkevort. American Mariner, along with the tug Sharon M 1 and barge Huron Spirit were stopped near Lime Island. Others many join them as the night goes on.
Goulais Bay, above the Soo Locks, played host to Mesabi Miner, Hon. James L. Oberstar, Kaye E. Barker and Joseph L. Block Thursday into Friday.
Stewart J. Cort was tucked in behind the lower end of the Keweenaw Peninsula. American Integrity was at the north end. Great Republic was anchored south of the Apostle Islands.
Herbert C. Jackson, bound for Toledo, dropped the hook in southern Lake Huron, The wind is expected to drop water levels on the western end of Lake Erie. Polsteam Dabie, also Toledo-bound, chose to wait out the weather and water levels off Port Colborne.
Historic Replica Vessel To Be Moved
Quite a scene today near Port Byron, NY as the Lois McClure, a replica canal schooner, will be moved to the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park here. A tractor trailer will pull the boat, with escort, on a small portion of the NYS Thruway to the park once inspection is passed. The boat had been worked on for months to get it ready for public display. It’s a full-scale replica of the 1862 Erie Canal schooner which was used to educate folks on the background of the historic waterway. The vessel will be placed into old Lock 52 in Port Byron—first time a boat will be in that lock since 1917. It will be part of a land based exhibit here at this terrific Heritage Park.
The Lois McClure was built in 2004 at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vermont. The vessel had been used as an educational boat for years throughout the northeast and was named after Vermont philanthropist and educational advocate Lois Jean Howe McClure who passed away last January at the age of 98. Her rich legacy lives on in a multitude of ways and this is one of them at the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park in Port Byron, NY.
New Seaway visitor BBC Felix on first inland trip
Montreal, Que. – A new Seaway visitor arrived at Montreal on Dec. 18 on its first voyage to the Great Lakes. The BBC Felix, built in 2025, IMO 1060497, is on its maiden voyage from China where the vessel was built for the BBC Chartering fleet.
BBC Felix was expected to head for Duluth but may be diverted to Hamilton. They are coming from their most recent port stop in Port Everglades, FL.
The vessel is registered in Portugal and flies that country’s flag.
The BBC Felix may also be the last new visitor to enter the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway system for the 2025 shipping season. The Seaway is expected to close on Jan. 5, 2026.
[Denny Dushane]
