Two downbound lakers are working the Keweenaw corridor this Tuesday, and the Soo Locks will feel them both before the dinner hour.
Algoma Intrepid was the closer of the pair, reporting at 02:50 this morning with a 14:44 ETA at the locks. Spruceglen followed, reporting at 05:00 with a 17:11 ETA. That is a two-hour-and-twenty-seven-minute gap on paper; by the time both boats complete their lock cycles the afternoon queue could compress considerably.
The upbound side was just as active before first light. James R. Barker was at 9 Mile Point with a 05:47 ETA at the Soo. American Integrity was coming from Detour with a 05:45 ETA. The Hon. James L. Oberstar, downbound from Point Iroquois, carried a 05:00 ETA, putting her stack on a collision course with both upbound boats in the narrow hours of the morning watch. The St. Marys had traffic moving in both directions before sunrise, which is exactly how September is supposed to go.
Algoma Endeavour was downbound through the Detroit River at 04:49 this morning. Erieborg was pushing upbound past Southeast Shoal with a 07:21 ETA at the Detroit vantage point. Two boats, opposite directions, the river earning its keep in the dark.
Calumet was southbound from Harbor Beach, carrying a 09:50 ETA at Port Huron and a 14:31 ETA at the Detroit River crossing. A single boat giving watchers on both shores a reason to look up this morning.
At the Welland Canal, Federal Ruhr was inbound at Port Weller as of 05:00, with MRS C outbound just behind it at 04:27. Salt and lakes traffic threading the same canal entrance a half-hour apart.
Sam Laud was upbound past Stag Island Upper with a 05:34 ETA at Port Huron, Wilf Seymour upbound from Grassy Island with an 08:20 ETA at the same vantage point. Two boats reading the same course, the river filling steadily.