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By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
Nearly 15 years ago, I launched Mason County Press in an effort to bring another news source to our area. Those of you who regularly follow MCP are probably aware that I have a keen interest in local history, particularly maritime history, as well as the maritime industry itself. Naturally, many of the stories I write about these subjects have appeared on MCP.
As my interest in the maritime industry has grown, so has my desire to tell more of its stories.
There are some excellent resources available for those interested in Great Lakes shipping. Boatnerd.com and Shipwatcher News (shipwatcher-news.com) provide information about the industry and vessel movements, while the classic “Know Your Ships” book remains a valuable reference for ship enthusiasts.
But I wanted to create something a little different — a platform that combines my interest in preserving maritime history with my desire to tell the stories of the industry, particularly the people who work in it and the vessels they sail aboard.
I also want to use these stories to promote the maritime profession and the career opportunities it offers.
As a result, I have developed Great Lakes Boat Blog, available at www.greatlakesboatblog.com through Substack, a publishing platform that combines a website, email newsletter and subscription service.
The most effective way to receive these stories is to subscribe. The publication is available for free, but paid subscriptions are also offered. Naturally, those of us who create content need to earn a living, and I would certainly appreciate your consideration of a paid subscription. As Great Lakes Boat Blog continues to develop, I plan to offer additional benefits to paid subscribers, including exclusive content.
While Mason County Press focuses on community news, Great Lakes Boat Blog takes a broader look at maritime subjects throughout the Great Lakes region.
My goal is to tell the stories of the ships, the people who sail aboard them and an industry that continues to play a vital role in the American and Canadian economies. Equally important is preserving the history of Great Lakes shipping and sharing the stories of the men and women who helped establish its traditions.
More than a boat blog
Despite its name, Great Lakes Boat Blog is intended to be much more than a collection of photographs and vessel sightings.
Certainly, I enjoy photographing ships. Those who know me are well aware that I’ve been known to adjust my schedule when an interesting vessel is approaching Ludington, Manistee, Muskegon or Grand Haven.
But there is much more to this industry than watching a freighter enter a harbor.
Great Lakes shipping is a major component of North America’s transportation network. Ships transport the raw materials that support steelmaking, construction, energy production, agriculture and manufacturing.
It is an industry with an extraordinary history, one that continues to evolve through advances in technology, changes in commerce and new mariners entering the profession.
I want Great Lakes Boat Blog to help readers better understand that industry, appreciate its history and recognize the people who keep it operating.
Rather than simply reporting industry announcements or vessel movements, I want to focus on original storytelling, firsthand experiences and the human side of Great Lakes shipping.
I also want to share my experiences through photography and storytelling, whether that involves visiting a maritime museum, researching a shipwreck, traveling to a Great Lakes port or spending time aboard a working freighter.
Recently, I had the opportunity to spend several days aboard the steam-powered freighter Wilfred Sykes, traveling on Lake Michigan and spending time with her crew. That experience resulted in an 11-part series exploring life aboard the vessel, the work of her crew and the traditions of Great Lakes shipping.
Those are the types of stories I want Great Lakes Boat Blog to tell.
Preserving the stories of the carferries
Another major focus of Great Lakes Boat Blog is the history of the Great Lakes carferries, particularly those that operated out of Ludington.
The Lake Michigan carferries hold a special place in my interest in maritime history. For more than 150 years, vessels operating between Michigan and Wisconsin have transported freight, railroad cars, automobiles and passengers. They helped shape the economic and cultural history of communities on both sides of Lake Michigan.
Ludington was once home to one of the largest railroad carferry fleets on the Great Lakes. The vessels of the Flint & Pere Marquette, Pere Marquette and Chesapeake & Ohio railroads became familiar sights along the waterfront, and the men and women who worked aboard them helped establish a maritime tradition that continues today.
The SS Badger, the last coal-fired steamship operating in the United States, continues to sail between Ludington and Manitowoc, Wis. Her history, along with that of her sister ship, the Spartan, and the many carferries that preceded them, provides countless stories worth preserving.
I have spent considerable time researching the captains, chief engineers and other mariners who served aboard the Ludington fleet. That research has become the foundation of a book project, “Masters of the Ludington Steamers: The Captains, Engineers and Others Who Powered a Great Lakes Tradition.”
Through Great Lakes Boat Blog, I am sharing some of that research, telling the stories of the people who commanded and maintained these ships, the challenges they faced and the roles they played in Great Lakes maritime history.
The carferries are not just a part of Ludington’s history. Their stories are an important chapter in the development of transportation and commerce throughout the Great Lakes region.
And while the historical vessels are a particular interest of mine, I also want to document the carferry traditions that continue today, including the people who keep the Badger sailing, along with her “sister” operation the Undaunted/Pere Marquette 41 articulated tug/barge.
A place for maritime enthusiasts
Great Lakes Boat Blog is published by Sable Points Media, a nonprofit news and information organization, in partnership with Media Group 31, LLC, which operates Mason County Press and Oceana County Press.
For Mason County Press readers, nothing is changing. Stories about Great Lakes shipping that are relevant to our audience have appeared here in the past and will continue to appear here in the future. In fact, many of the stories published on Great Lakes Boat Blog will also appear on MCP.
Great Lakes Boat Blog simply provides another option — a place for readers who are specifically interested in maritime subjects to find those stories together, along with additional features, historical articles and photography that may not appear on MCP.
My hope is to build an audience that includes maritime enthusiasts, historians, active and retired mariners, people interested in maritime careers and anyone who has ever stood along the shore of a Great Lake and wondered about the ship passing on the horizon.
I have spent much of my professional life telling the stories of my community. Great Lakes Boat Blog gives me an opportunity to expand that storytelling to an industry and a history that have fascinated me for most of my life.
And there are still plenty of stories left to tell.
To read Great Lakes Boat Blog and subscribe to receive new articles by email, visit www.greatlakesboatblog.com.
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