Lake Superior

Retired Lake Superior captain enjoys life on the water

glbm — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 20:57:17 +0000

Jenae Peterson

April 25 2013

When you drive along Park Point, Duluth, about three blocks after the stop sign, you will pass a house with a big lake freighter wheel in the front yard.

The owner, Tom Mackay, is a retired captain from the Vista Fleet, who bought the wheel at an auction. If you ask him what ship it comes from, he will reply, “What ship do you want it to come from?”
Capt. Tom Mackay, a retired captain from the Vista Fleet, stands with a big lake freighter wheel in the front yard of his home on Park Point. Photo by Jenae Peterson.

Capt. Tom Mackay, a retired captain from the Vista Fleet, stands with a big lake freighter wheel in the front yard of his home on Park Point. Photo by Jenae Peterson.

Mackay loves boats. He owns several, including a kayak, a flat-bottom boat, a 14-foot aluminum boat, a 22-foot boat and an iceboat. Some sit in his back yard, facing Superior Bay. Others are in storage.

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Water supply down, Lake Superior drops

glbm — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 23:32:35 +0000

: News Tribune staff, Duluth News Tribune

April 3 2013

Lake Superior dropped two inches in March, a month it usually drops only a half-inch, the International Lake Superior Board of Control announced Tuesday.

The lake now sits 13 inches below the long-term average for April 1 and 3 inches below the level at this time last year.

The board said water supply to the entire Lake Superior basin was down from usual, even though snowfall in some areas was up.

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Duluth prepares for its Tall Ships to come in

glbm — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 20:28:08 +0000

Dan Kraker

April 2 2013

DULUTH, Minn. — Tickets will go on sale Monday for this summer's Tall Ships festival, which can attract about 250,000 people to Lake Superior.

That's how many came to the port city in 2010 to see, board and sail on grand sailing ships that evoke the nation's nautical past in the largest event ever held in northeast Minnesota.

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So, apparently it's Spring? Milder weather is coming

glbm — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 19:30:41 +0000

Jake Cormier

March 25 2013

A funny thing happened this morning as the snow squalls pounded down and the cold wind whipped through the city. The spring equinox began at 7:02am.

Even now, seven hours into this supposed "spring", there is no sign of it. The heavy squalls continue with a brisk 40km/hr wind from the northwest.

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Lakes shipping season to start this week

glbm — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 17:21:51 +0000

News Tribune staff, Duluth News Tribune

March 19 2013

The 2013 shipping season will get under way in the Twin Ports late today or Wednesday when the 1,000-foot laker Mesabi Miner is expected to be the first departure of the season.

The Miner is scheduled to begin loading coal this morning at the Midwest Energy Terminal in Superior after which the ship will move to the Port Terminal to load and install a drive motor for its conveyor system before making a Lake Superior delivery to Marquette, Mich.

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North shore conservation groups worried about stormwater pollution

glbm — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 22:50:20 +0000

CBC NEWS

March 20 2013

Members of conservation groups are worried about the effect of stormwater runoff on Lake Superior.

About two dozen people attended a meeting at Prince Arthur's Landing in Thunder Bay on Monday night, hosted by the North Shore Remedial Action Plan.

They were concerned about what's in the water running off the streets and ending up in the lake, especially after a rainfall.

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Canadian National wants approval to fill 24 shallow acres at Duluth-Superior Harbor

glbm — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:33:37 +0000

whbl

March 14 2013

SUPERIOR, WI (WTAQ) - Canadian National wants to fill 24 shallow acres at the Duluth-Superior Harbor, so it can have a larger place for storage and loading.

The company also says Dock Number 6 on the site needs to be stabilized.

It was built in 1918. The firm plans to use dredged material from the harbor and the nearby Lake Superior shoreline, to fill in a shallow area on the Duluth side.

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Cruise ship set to make 2 stops during summer

glbm — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 19:09:01 +0000

Steve Schulwitz

March 8 2013

ALPENA - For two days in August Alpena will play host to the visitors who are taking a Great Lakes cruise on the Travel Dynamics International cruise ship Yorktown. The 257-foot cruise ship will stop in Alpena for a half day on Aug. 2 and again on Aug. 14 and while here the guests will have a chance to get to know Alpena, as well as visit its attractions.

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Coast Guard warns of dangerous ice conditions on Lake Superior, harbor

glbm — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 16:51:15 +0000

News Tribune staff, Duluth News Tribune

March 7 2013

Warming conditions, shifting winds and a sun higher in the sky are starting the annual spring thaw, and causing ice on Lake Superior, the Duluth-Superior harbor and rivers entering the lake to be unsafe, the Coast Guard said today.

The Coast Guard warns of the possibility of ice breaking apart, endangering ice anglers and others moving around on the ice.

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Given disposal options 50 years ago, U.S. Army decided to dump munitions-filled barrels in Lake Superior

glbm — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 17:29:50 +0000

John Myers

March 6 2013

The 25 barrels recovered last summer from the depths of Lake Superior were dumped there 50 years ago under orders from the U.S. Army. Inside were scrapped cluster bombs — a new weapon considered top-secret by U.S. officials who didn’t want the design to fall into enemy hands at the height of the Cold War.

But exactly who floated the idea of dumping the scrap bomb parts into Lake Superior remains unclear.

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Thunder Bay Coast Guard radio station's closure raises concerns

glbm — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 22:15:50 +0000

Michael Purvis

March 4 2013

A federal plan to close Thunder Bay's Coast Guard radio station and monitor Lake Superior waters out of Sarnia is raising concerns among mariners and volunteer rescuers.

The Thunder Bay Coast Guard marine communications and traffic centre, which keeps a listening watch over the Canadian waters of Lake Superior, is one of 10 centres across the country slated to be closed in what Fisheries and Oceans Canada says is a move to adopt new technology. The cuts will reduce the number of stations nationwide from 22 down to 12 and the union representing radio operators in Thunder Bay says staffing is not expected to increase in Sarnia to handle the extra load.

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Dozens brave the cold and snow at Lake Superior - to surf

glbm — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 16:10:56 +0000

Dan Kraker

February 13 2013

DULUTH — In a rocky bay about 15 miles up the North Shore from Duluth, eight-foot waves curl gracefully before breaking and smashing against ice-coated boulders along Lake Superior.

A thriving scene has emerged on the beach, where about 50 surfers are braving the water for waves they swear can compare to some of the best surfing in Hawaii. Wearing neoprene wet suits, they congregate at a cove, where 15-foot waves can curl and break.

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Nukewatch: All Lake Superior mystery barrels should go

glbm — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 20:21:53 +0000

Mike Simonson

February 11 2013

An official with Nukewatch in Wisconsin says all of the Department of Defense munitions barrels dumped during the Cold War into Lake Superior should be removed.

A week after the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe released a preliminary report saying there are live explosives in 22 of the 25 barrels they raised last summer, Nukewatch researcher John LaForge says it’s time for the Department of Defense to clean up their mess.

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