Steel coils and skids arrived at Cleveland's Dock 24W on Tuesday, and the vessel that carried them, the Gardno, is the day's most specific story on the lakes.
Cleveland sees ore come in and stone move through, but a laker arriving at 24W to unload steel coils is a different kind of call. The data names the berth, the vessel, and the cargo; the receiver is not listed in the record. What the record does confirm is that the Gardno came in from somewhere with finished or semi-finished steel, which puts it in a different trade lane than the bulk carriers dominating the rest of today's port log.
Toledo contributed three departures to the morning's ledger. The Kaye E. Barker finished unloading at Torco and cleared for Stoneport. The John G. Munson, which the Gazette tracked arriving at Ironville to unload ore Monday, departed today for Port Inland. The Stenheim left for Hamilton. Three boats out of one river mouth in a single report fills the regional picture behind the Cleveland lead.
Monroe, MI: The Undaunted/Pere Marquette 41 departed Tuesday for Port Colborne after arriving from Alpena on Monday to load gypsum. She is eastbound.
Sandusky, OH: The CSL Niagara cleared for Nanticoke, Ontario, on Lake Erie's north shore.
Toledo, OH: The tug and barge Albert/Margaret weighed anchor and moved to George Gradel to load gasoline, according to Tuesday's report.
Marblehead, OH: The Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder is anchored in Lake Erie today. Monday's record shows the vessel arriving at Marblehead to load limestone at Amrize; Tuesday finds her at anchor offshore.
Lake Ontario leads the system at 3.83 feet above Low Water Datum at Rochester. Lake Erie follows at 3.18 feet at Cleveland, a useful margin for loaded approaches to its southern ports. Huron reads 2.33 feet, Michigan 2.26 feet, Superior 1.88 feet at the Sault. Nearly two full feet separate the lowest and highest gauges across the chain right now.
High pressure at 30.10 inches holds over the Great Lakes today before departing toward the Appalachians tomorrow. Lake Michigan runs near calm, waves around one foot. Erie carries a weak trough and two-foot seas. A cold front crosses Lake Huron on Thursday; the same system reaches Lake Erie on Friday. Today and Wednesday offer the clearest window before conditions shift on either lake.
The history file this week arrives from Marquette. Capt. Steve Hughes retires in December after three decades in the lakes trade, finishing as pilot of the M/V Paul R. Tregurtha, the longest vessel operating on the Great Lakes. Hughes grew up watching ore boats work the Marquette docks alongside his father, John, a former Northern Michigan University geography professor now 97 years old. Hughes lives in Duluth. He told reporters the distinction of running the longest boat matters more to the watchers than to him, which sounds right coming from a man who learned the lake from the shore.