New Ferry Being Built for Christian Island, Ontario
An infrastructure upgrade project is underway on Christian Island, Ontario, and one of the main components of the project is the construction of a new double-ended ferry (DEF) – a so-called “Floating Bridge” from the mainland to the island. Christian Island is located in Canada in Lake Huron’s Georgian Bay. Beausoleil First Nation (BFN) will be the owner and operator of the new ferry.
The DEF will be constructed at Fraser Shipyards Inc. in Superior, Wisconsin, on Lake Superior, and then will be transported to the Georgian Bay community on Lake Huron after commissioning.
The new vessel will use Voith Schneider Propellers (VSP) for its propulsion, and the units are expected to be delivered to Fraser Shipyards Inc. in 2021 for installation.
“To meet the needs of BFN, Voith worked very closely with the shipyard and designer during the project phase,” said Ivo Beu, Director of Sales, Marine Business Americas, Voith Turbo. “Together with our research and development department, we supported the optimization of the hull form in many ways to have an efficient overall concept which will meet BFN’s needs for decades to come.”
The ferry has a diesel-electric power plant, which means the VSPs are directly driven by an e-motor. The ferry design and VSP configuration take into account the most effective way to operate a vessel under many different environmental conditions – namely cold, icy conditions.
The project scope includes two size-18 VSP units, which were reinforced for operation in icy water during the late autumn and early spring, and the Voith electronic control system, which is used for safe navigation of the ferry. The ferry itself will use two VSP units, with the third held by BFN in case of a grounding, accident or maintenance issue. The ferry has been designed so that a VSP can be exchanged while the vessel is still afloat, which saves cost and time during the exchange procedure.
Mariners’ Church of Detroit honors Gordon Lightfoot with ringing of bells
Detroit, MI – At 3 p.m. Tuesday, the bells at Mariners’ Church rang out – chiming 30 times to honor those perished sailors along with the artist who famously memorialized them in song. Lightfoot made the Detroit church bells famous in “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” Tuesday they chimed an additional time to mark his death. View it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIq1ELxH2do
Split Rock Lighthouse pays tribute to Gordon Lightfoot with beacon lighting
The beacon at Split Rock Lighthouse on the North Shore was lit Wednesday night from 9 to 11 p.m. to honor the late singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, who died Monday at the age of 84.
Lightfoot’s song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” — about the 1975 sinking of the freighter Edmund Fitzgerald in the frigid waters of Lake Superior, killing all 29 crew members — has played an outsized role in the programming and number of people who visit the historic site north of Two Harbors, Minn.
Years ago, former Split Rock Lighthouse site manager Lee Radzak was driving home on Nov. 10 — the anniversary of the sinking — when Lightfoot’s song came on the radio.
Radzak felt so moved by what he heard that he turned on the beacon when he arrived back at the lighthouse, recounted current lighthouse site manager Hayes Scriven. And that started an annual commemoration of the tragedy every Nov. 10 at the lighthouse.
Every year since 1985, the names of the crew members are read as a ship’s bell tolls 29 times. Then it tolls once more, in memory of all lost mariners, as the lighthouse beacon shines out over the lake. “And it was all because (Radzak) heard Gordon Lightfoot’s song all those years back,” said Scriven. “We thought it would be a fitting tribute to light it in honor of Gordon.”
Scriven said the song has not only had an impact on the historic site’s programming, but also on how many people visit. He estimates that up to 40 percent of people who come to the lighthouse are drawn at least in part by the lore of the shipwreck and Lightfoot’s iconic song.
“In the summer, every few days we’re hearing ‘The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald’ playing on people’s phones as they’re walking through, people humming the tune,” Scriven said.
“That song has had a tremendous impact on our visitors and program, with people coming here to learn more about Great Lakes shipping.”
Duluth News Tribune
Iconic Port Huron bridge officially removed
Sarnia, ON – An iconic fixture along Port Huron’s skyline is no more. The nearly 100-year-old Pere Marquette Bridge has been completely removed, according to officials in Port Huron, after more than a month of dismantling that captured the attention of residents in Sarnia.
The bridge, located adjacent to the Port Huron Yacht Club, was completed in 1931 and provided rail access to businesses north of the Black River for decades. It was placed in its upright position and abandoned in 1975.
According to the Port Huron Times Herald, the yacht club received a permit to remove the rail bridge from the Army Corp of Engineers in 2020. Per the permit, the yacht club was required to remove the bridge my April 30.
