Erie Shipping News: Unicorn

Showing posts with label Unicorn. Show all posts

Thursday, September 5, 2013

TALL SHIPS ERIE KICKS OFF; ALGOMARINE DUE

ALGOMARINE, with stone from Bruce Mines, Ontario, makes a rare visit to Erie when she arrives in Erie at 0330.

This afternoon around 1400 PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II got underway from Dobbin's Landing and headed out into Lake Erie. The rest of the tall ships followed PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II out, and the ships proceeded to line up behind U.S. Brig NIAGARA. NIAGARA led the parade inbound beginning at 1600, escorted by the Erie Power Squadron and local law enforcement. A surprise visitor to the rear of the parade was Coast Guard Cutter MORRO BAY (WTGB-106), which just visited Erie last week.

Of note, ST. LAWRENCE II did not make the parade due to weather on Lake Erie delaying the vessel in Port Colborne, Ontario yesterday. ST. LAWRENCE II is upbound on Lake Erie at this time, expected at Long Point at 2300, and should arrive Erie sometime tonight.

PEACEMAKER, STV UNICORN, NIAGARA, and SØRLANDET are docked at the Convention Center and expected to be joined by ST. LAWRENCE II. PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II and LYNX are at the Erie Maritime Museum, and FRIENDS GOOD WILL, APPLEDORE IV and HINDU are docked at Dobbin's Landing to conduct day sails over the weekend. MORRO BAY is moored on the north face of Dobbin's Landing. The tall ships are docked and open for tours this weekend. Visit Tall Ships Erie's website for more information on tickets and a schedule of events.

PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II outbound.

Stern view of the ship, commanded by an Erie native.

LYNX follows the PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II.

Stern view of the LYNX. Note the huge American flag flying.

NIAGARA passes the crowd on the South Pier.

Stern view of the NIAGARA.

PEACEMAKER departing.

Stern view of PEACEMAKER.

Two vessels originally built in Erie, ENVIRONAUT and LADY KATE, meet in the channel.

Slowly making her way through the channel, APPLEDORE IV prepares to head out and fall into line.

APPLEDORE IV heads out of the piers under full sail.

FRIENDS GOOD WILL departs.

Stern view.

HINDU outbound following FRIENDS GOOD WILL.

Stern view.

NIAGARA leads the parade into the channel.

Side view of the 1988-built NIAGARA.

Stern view.

Portsmouth, New Hampshire's 2004-built LYNX follows the NIAGARA inbound.

Stern view.

PRIDE OF BALTIMORE is the third ship in the parade.

1988-built PRIDE OF BALTIMORE is the flagship of Maryland and homeported in Baltimore.

PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II fires a cannon shot at the North Pier while inbound.

FRIENDS GOOD WILL, of South Haven, Michigan, is the next ship in the parade.

The 2004-built topsail sloop fires a cannon while passing through the channel.

The small schooner HINDU, built in 1925 and homeported part of the year in Provincetown, MA and part of the year in Key West, follows FRIENDS GOOD WILL inbound.

Stern view of HINDU.

STV UNICORN, built in 1947, follows HINDU inbound.

Stern view of UNICORN. Crewed by an all-female crew, the gaff-rigged topsail schooner calls Bridgeport, Connecticut home.

PEACEMAKER is the next ship in the parade.

Side view of the 1989-built barquentine.

PEACEMAKER, of Brunswick, Georgia, has an interesting history, having been built in Brazil by Italian boatbuilders.

APPLEDORE IV inbound. The vessel was built in 1989.

APPLEDORE IV hails from Bay City, Michigan.

Stern view.

1927-built SØRLANDET, the oldest full-rigged ship still in operation, is the last of the tall ships in the parade.

Close up of the only sailing ship in the parade to not be under sail. SØRLANDET is homeported in Kristiansand, Norway.

Stern view of SØRLANDET.

MORRO BAY brings up the rear of the flotilla.

Close up of MORRO BAY. At one point last year there was talk of a Navy frigate attending the ceremonies; however due to the budget sequester that didn't happen this year.

East Erie County Fire/Rescue Marine 1 inbound following the MORRO BAY.

Lakeshore Fire/Rescue 509 following the MORRO BAY inbound.

Stern view.

UNICORN, PEACEMAKER and NIAGARA at the Convention Center this evening.

APPLEDORE IV and MORRO BAY at dock.

Tall Ships Day

0700 Thursday found LYNX, UNICORN, PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II, and PEACEMAKER anchored in Presque Isle Bay. NIAGARA is at her berth in Erie's East Canal Basin, and around Dobbin's Landing are APPLEDORE IV, FRIENDS GOOD WILL and HINDU. SORLANDET is not in the harbor at this time.

Unfortunately, it appears that one of the scheduled ships, ST. LAWRENCE II, may not make it to Erie in time for the Parade of Sails. ST. LAWRENCE II is currently waiting weather in Port Colborne, and with Erie several hours away via sail may not make port in time.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

UNICORN Inbound

UNICORN is currently inbound Erie.

TALL SHIPS BOUND FOR ERIE

U.S. Brig NIAGARA arrived at her homeport of Erie yesterday afternoon to prepare for Tall Ships Erie, which kicks off with the Parade of Sail from 1600-1800 on Thursday.

This morning finds some of the other members of the flotilla that's about to invade Erie underway. As of 0715 this morning PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II is abeam of Ashtabula, Ohio, making 8.6 knots. Behind her, APPLEDORE IV is cruising across Lake Erie at 6.4 knots. Abeam of her, PEACEMAKER is at the Canadian border making a speed of 5.6 knots.

UNICORN is sailing nearby as well. At 0830 the UNICORN and ALGOLAKE had a short conversation on the marine radio.

As of 1025 this morning FRIENDS GOOD WILL is off of North Kingsville, halfway between Conneaut and Ashtabula, making 6.5 knots.

The tall ships will probably cruise around the Lake tonight, and, if they do the same thing as 2010, will be found in the morning anchored off of Beach 11 waiting for the Parade of Sail to begin.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Lineup for Tall Ships 2013

Flagship Niagara League officials just finished announcing the lineup for Tall Ships 2013.

The following nine vessels will be attending:

APPLEDORE IV
LYNX
UNICORN
St. LAWRENCE II
PEACEMAKER
FLAGSHIP NIAGARA
FRIENDS GOOD WILL
SORLANDET
PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II

I will continue to cover this story. Watch tomorrow for a look inside the PEACEMAKER, which is making its first visit to the Great Lakes.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Tall Ships Erie 2013 - Vessel lineup begins to take shape

With the 2013 Tall Ships Erie festival scheduled for September 5-8, the vessel lineup has begun to take shape. Several vessel websites have indicated that the vessels will be in Erie for the festival. U.S. BRIG NIAGARA will headline the festival.

Tall ship PEACEMAKER, based on Long Island, visited Savannah, Georgia in December. Onboard, the vessel had posted a map of the ports at which the vessel would call in 2013. Erie, Pennsylvania was among them.

PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II, a 2010 visitor, is scheduled to be back. Toronto-based PATHFINDER and PLAYFAIR, both of which cancelled in 2010 due to weather, have listed Erie on their 2013 sailing schedules. - Updated 4/1/13: Neither vessel will be attending

UNICORN and St. LAWRENCE II are scheduled as well. I will continue to update as more vessels are announced. There are reportedly about eight vessels scheduled for the ceremony this year.

PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II inbound Erie, September 9, 2010.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

St. JOHN Breaks Down, is Towed in; Tall Ships Erie Wraps Up; 100 foot Motor Yacht Stops at Wolverine Marina

J.S. St. JOHN departed Erie Thursday afternoon on its first sand-dredging trip since suffering engine problems and returning to port empty on July 22. The vessel loaded sand and was headed inbound Thursday night when the number eight cylinder head blew off of the vessel's diesel engine, forcing the St. JOHN to drop anchor about three miles north-northwest of Gull Point. There the vessel remained through the night as her crew worked to get the engine up and running. By 1330 Friday afternoon that was deemed useless, and Lakeshore Towing was called. Lakeshore Towing dispatched tugs DON HENRY and FLATTOP to the scene.

DON HENRY arrived first, followed by FLATTOP. The tow was hooked up and underway by 1515 hours and arrived in the channel at 1715, making about 2.5 knots. The tow arrived at the Old Ore Dock at 1815, where towboat TITAN was waiting to assist DON HENRY and FLATTOP in docking the St. JOHN.

It's far too early to tell what this breakdown, while will require major repairs, or possibly an engine replacement, will mean for the 65-year-old sand dredge J.S. St. JOHN, which has dredged for Erie Sand & Gravel since 1968.

It's also too early to tell what this means for Erie Sand, which relys on the St. JOHN for the sand it uses in its operations. The longer the St. JOHN is out of operation, the more it adversely affects the company's operations and their ability to stockpile sand. This leaves the company with, seemingly, three options for its sand needs, provided the St. JOHN will be out of operation for any length of time. The first option is to buy sand elsewhere and have it shipped in. The second option, and one that Erie Sand has used in the past when they needed an extra dredge, is to charter a sand dredge from somewhere else to dredge for them. In 1997 the company had both of its dredges, the St. JOHN and JOHN R. EMERY, in operation and also chartered the F.M. OSBORNE from Osborne Materials of Fairport Harbor, Ohio.

The third option is to charter a tug and use the St. JOHN as a barge. The fourth, and likely least attractive option, is for the company to go without the sand.

Tall Ships Erie wrapped up on Sunday, and UNICORN, BOUNTY, and ROALD AMUNDSEN departed Sunday evening. LYNX and PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II are spending the night behind the Erie Maritime Museum and will depart on Monday morning.

A 100-foot long Broward motor yacht, SHE'S MY LADY II, of Palm Beach, Floriday, spent Saturday evening at Wolverine Marina. The vessel had come in from Cleveland.