Essayons Update

A while back I did a post about the Tug Essayons that had sunk in the harbor. Today, I turned one of the harbor cams for a closer look. Sadly, the mighty tug remains sitting on the bottom of the harbor in one of the slips near Duluth Timber.
Hopefully, someday, it may be raised and restored.  I have posted the original post at the bottom of this one.

Here is the old post! If anyone has any old photos of the Esayons, I would love to post them the the blog.
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The other day when I happened to be out taking pictures, I ran across the remains of the old Essayons tugboat resting on the bottom of the harbor with only the pilot house and smokestack sticking out of the surface like a grave marker.

Once the pride of the fleet, the Essayons was the historic retired Army Corps of Engineers tugboat that had been a Twin Ports fixture since 1908. The tug's engine is on display at the Marine Museum in Canal Park. 

The tug's owner was hoping to turn the boat into a floating bed and breakfast. However, vandal damage postponed the plan in 2004 and the tug was than docked near the Duluth Timber Company.

In 2009, shifting harbor ice pushed by a strong northeast wind, punctured the hull and the boat sank the the bottom, where it still rests today.

Perhaps someday it will be raised, but, for now, it quietly rests in peace, out of sight, and unnoticed.

"ESSAYONS" means - "Let Us Try" and is the branch song of the Army Corps of Engineers.

THE U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS BRANCH SONG "ESSAYONS"

Essayons, sound out the battle cry
Essayons, we'll win or we'll die
Essayons, there's nothing we won't try
We're the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Pin the castle on my collar
I've done my training for the team
You can call me an engineer soldier
The warrior spirit has been my dream
We are builders, we are fighters
We are destroyers just as well
There've been doubters who met with the sappers
1 - We know our sappers will never fail
OR
2 - And then we blew them all straight to hell
Our brothers fighting on the battlefield
Look to us to point the way
We get there first and then we take the risks
To build the roads and the air strips
And bridge the mighty river streams
We don't care who gets the glory
We're sure of one thing, this we know
Somewhere out there an engineer soldier
Designed the plan for the whole darn show
Essayons whether in war or peace
We will bear our red and our white
Essayons we serve America
And the U.S. Army Corps of engineers
Essayons! Essayons!

Return to the old site format

Through trial and error, I have decided that the original duluthharborcam.com website is preferable to the new formatting.
Sometimes new, isn't always better.
Thanks for your patience and support over the past several weeks as I tried some different designs -- maybe I will try again during the off season next year.

Dennis

Heritage Marine - Helen H at work

The Helen H. was built in 1967, and initially named the W. Douglas Masterson. The Hellen H was the 3rd tug included with the Heritage Marine fleet belonging to Mike Ojard in 2011. She joined up with the Nels J. and Edward H. inside the Heritage Underwater fleet of pulls. This mighty tug pushes its 82 foot lengthy steel hull through the waters of St. Louis Bay in all types of climate and ice conditions.

This particular picture of the Helen H was taken the last day of shipping in January of this year as it assisted the John G Munson into port .

John Munson Arrival 1/25/2013

A sunny winter afternoon greeted the John G Munson as it entered the Port of Duluth and was given the honor of finishing the 2012/2013 shipping season. To all those who have enjoyed the Duluth Harbor through this website for the past year, I truly hope it has given you a moment of pleasure and relaxation by viewing a most beautiful place to live and visit. Duluth is a true gem of a city and whether you have visited in person or "virtually" I hope you will return. Until the shipping season opens again in a few short weeks, stop by and watch the Lake Superior sunrises and the change of the season. Best regards, Dennis O'Hara [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] John G Munson[/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] John G Munson[/caption]   [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] John G Munson[/caption]

American Victory

While the American Victory has not sailed in the past several years, it is still a great ship with a wonderful
nautical heritage. The boat is tied up at Fraser Ship Yard until further notice.

Perhaps an unlucky omen, she was launched on Halloween--October 31, 1942--as the tanker Marquette. She was built by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation's yard in Sparrows Point, Maryland as an oiler for the U.S. Navy. The vessel was commissioned, however, as the USS Neshanic (AO-71), and entered service in April 1943. During her first year, she was involved in several close encounters with both enemy submarines and air attacks on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. On June 18, 1944, her luck ran out, as she was hit with a bomb from a Japanese plane while refueling a destroyer. She tied up alongside a sister ship, the Saranac, and some of the Saranac's injured crew (she was also attacked) were treated aboard the Neshanic. The Neshanic was later repaired and was decommissioned in December, 1945.
You can read more about the American Victory over at boatnerds.com

Lakers on Ice

Now that we have entered "Real Winter" with temperature finally dropping below 0 F, it is a great time to do some photography around the harbor.
The Roger Blough and John Boland are moored at Fraser Shipyard until spring.  While there is much work being done on them while they are bedded down for the winter, this morning, they seemed at rest locked in the icy slip.

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Wednesday 1/16/2013

Roger Blough arrived at 11:21

Shipping Slideshow (Lakers)

As the shipping season winds down for a few months, let these images be a reminder of the beauty of the Duluth Harbor.
(The slideshow will shortly)

Sunrise Spectacular!

Just caught a glimpse of the Lake Superior Sunrise this morning.  This is why I have the Harbor Cameras!
Enjoy! The temperature was 3F with a windchill of -10F.