CLIPPER LANCER, PRESQUE ISLE, W.N. TWOLAN Due; Boom Over the Bay: An Inside Look

The latest ETA for the next biodiesel tanker, CLIPPER LANCER, is 1300 hours on Thursday. Meanwhile, on Friday the PRESQUE ISLE is due in Erie for repairs, and the W.N. TWOLAN and McALLISTER 132, loaded with lumber and paper products from Thunder Bay, is also expected. Current plans call for all three vessels to be moored at the Mountfort Terminal at once; the PRESQUE ISLE, though, would end up sticking about 700 feet off the dock, so these plans may change.

And now, the long awaited inside look at the preparations for Boom Over the Bay.

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1910 hours: Lakeshore Towing tug FLATTOP leaves the rest of the Lakeshore fleet behind as we depart Wolverine Marina. The rest of the fleet won't be stationary for long, however. Both tug DON HENRY and towboat ENDURANCE will be underway within the next ten minutes, and towboat TITAN will be underway about an hour later.


1912 hours: Clearing the West Canal Basin, we head for the Parade Street slip to pick up barges 501 and 502, moored on the east side of Erie Shipbuilding to load fireworks..


1916 hours: FLATTOP inbound the Old Ore Dock. The J.S. St. JOHN, in the distance, is resting for the holiday weekend.


1918 hours: DON HENRY catches up with us.


1919 hours: DON HENRY slides up behind the 502.


1920 hours: Fireworks on the 502.


1924 hours: DON HENRY, under the command of Lakeshore Towing President, Capt. Eric Guerrein, slides the 502 away from the wall.


1927 hours: 502 comes alongside the 501.


A closer look at the J.S. St. JOHN.


1931 hours: The grand finale and the opener were loaded onto the 501.


1932 hours: Securing FLATTOP to the tow before departing the dock.


1945 hours: Backing 501 and 502 away from the wall.


2003 hours: Westbound in Presque Isle Bay at a leisurely three knots. In the distance, towboat ENDURANCE marks the spot where the barges will be anchored.


2012 hours: Having arrived in position and turned the barges, the bow anchor is dropped to keep the barges in place.


2017 hours: The stern anchor is loaded onto DON HENRY. It will be taken out and dropped to hold the barges in place.


2020 hours: DON HENRY returns


2024 hours: Barges anchored, FLATTOP leaves to drop buoys marking the Coast Guard safety zone. No boats are allowed within 100 feet of this area until after it is determined that there are no live fireworks left on the barges after the show.


2028: First buoy goes over the side. Within 15 minutes all four will be dropped, leaving an hour of downtime before the fireworks begin.


2145 hours: Fireworks begin.


2240 hours: In the wheelhouse of FLATTOP preparing to get underway for Erie Shipbuilding. While we're underway, the traffic on the Bayfront Parkway is snarled due to the crowds.