Kaye E. Barker Threads the River Before Noon

The Kaye E. Barker cleared Vantage Point at Port Huron at 4:27 this morning and was tracking toward Detroit with an ETA of 10:56, making her the most watchable downbounder in the lower lakes on this Monday. She ran the St. Clair River in the dark and will pass the Dossin Museum stretch in full daylight, a clean waterfront shot for anyone on the Windsor or Detroit side by mid-morning.

She is one piece of a bigger picture. At almost the same hour, the American Mariner was riding the Keweenaw-to-Soo lane downbound with an ETA at the Soo Locks of 14:16, and the Algoma Sault was behind her with an ETA of 15:22. Both moving, both trackable, both showing up at the locks this afternoon. The Paul R. Tregurtha was already working the lock chamber itself at 3:45 this morning, latest position at 3:35. Three chokepoints, Port Huron, the Detroit River, and the Soo, all busy before sunrise on a Monday in August.

Harbor Notes

The Sam Laud, whom we tracked Thursday on a different leg, showed up again in the AIS overnight, upbound through Grassy Island at 3:36 this morning with an ETA at Port Huron of 9:36. He was in Monroe on August 16 delivering limestone for DTE; this upbound run follows that call.

In Toledo on August 16, the John J. Boland arrived at Ironville and then departed for Alpena. The Algoma Compass made a full round trip in the Toledo data, arriving to Kuhlmans and departing later for Goderich.

At the Straits of Mackinac, the H. Lee White was eastbound at 4:55 this morning and Victory II was westbound at 2:34, the two crossing the Straits in opposite directions in the same overnight window. Neither the eastbound nor the westbound movement is linked to the other in the data; they simply share the same narrow water at nearly the same hour.

The Joyce L. VanEnkevort and her consort Great Lakes Trader returned to load at the Amrize dock in Lorain after departing Marblehead on August 16. A separate report has them departing Marblehead for Lorain; the Lorain return is a distinct call.

The Levels Ledger

Lake Huron sits at 2.48 feet above Low Water Datum at Harbor Beach, the lake that matters most for anything transiting the St. Clair River today. Lake Superior is at 1.61 feet, modest but workable. Lake Erie at 3.00 feet gives the southern tier a little extra margin. The spread from Superior to Erie is more than a foot and a half, which means vessels dropping from one lake to the next are moving through measurably different draft conditions on a single trip.

Weather on the Water

A 29.80-inch low is tracking east across Ontario today and will drag a cold front across the central Great Lakes late this evening. Lake Huron watchers should note that 6-something follows in the forecast text, likely a wind shift, though the current wave height is 1 foot. Lake Superior and Lake Michigan are under a 30.1-inch high with light and variable winds and 1-foot seas. Lake Erie is choppier at 2 feet. The front crossing Huron tonight is the one item worth watching from a deck chair this afternoon.

Looking Astern

The Thunder Bay Maritime Festival runs August 21 through 23 in Alpena, inside Michigan's shipwreck alley. Eight tall ship excursion slots are on the schedule, along with the Battle of the Paddles river race, deck tours, and a new community boat parade on the Thunder Bay River. Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, which sits atop one of the densest collections of freshwater shipwrecks on the continent, is the organizing anchor. For anyone who watches the freighters from shore and wonders about what is below the surface, Alpena next weekend is the place to be.

Tomorrow's Watch If the cold front crossing Lake Huron tonight moves on schedule, watch for wind-shifted conditions on the St. Clair River by Tuesday morning when the *American Mariner*, expected at the Soo Locks by 14:16 today, would be well into her southbound run toward the lower lakes.

Vessel Spotlight: The *American Mariner* was downbound from the Keweenaw corridor at last report, 1:47 this morning, with an ETA at the Soo Locks of 14:16 this afternoon. She is running the longest straight leg of the U.S. laker circuit, and if her speed holds, lock watchers at the Soo will have her in the chamber in the early-to-mid afternoon hours.