| Sat. August 24,1996 We pulled into Duluth earlier than usual, but it did little good, ship watching would be poor today, only one ship due to arrive at 15:30, The St. Clair. I was disappointed.
The wind would be blowing off the land all day, keeping the temperature in the high 80's, but that also meant there would be no waves crashing on the beach this trip. I love watching and listening to the waves. I figured it was going to be a peaceful and uninteresting day.
We hit Canal Park before the crowds, easily getting a parking space, and headed for the museum. I picked up a VERY fresh copy of the Duluth Shipping News and checked the TV monitors for the latest update on todays ship traffic. Very disappointing, only the St. Clair due to arrive late in the afternoon at 15:30. (The D.S.N. said to load coal.)
Well, I thought, this would be a good day to visit the zoo, and we did; spending several hours and many $ on a years membership, stuffed (toy) animals from the gift shop for the kids, and an iguana t-shirt for me. (looking remarkably like the one we have roaming our basement.) By then it was so warm I was ready to take the kids to the beach to cool off. They actually went swimming, there being spots of warmer water near shore. After several hours relaxing, as I was scanning the horizon (an automatic habit I have), I realized that white spot I had been keeping my eye on was a large ship coming in. I knew it was heading for the Duluth Entry by the angle of it's approach. As it was almost 15:45, it must be the St. Clair. From previous experience I was able to estimate that we would have just barely enough time to get to Canal Park to see her. Off we went, and as we neared our destination, I saw she had already entered the canal.
Our last chance to catch her entering the harbor was to swing around the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center (DECC) and stop along the road. It all worked out just perfectly, as we got there just in time to see her pass under the Lift Bridge, make a sharp turn to port, enter the harbor and head for the dock on the Wisconsin side.
OK, I thought, we only saw one ship today, let's make it count, let's follow her!
Back in the van we jumped and started heading back to Wisconsin over the Blatnik Bridge. Just as we approached the bridge we took the Garfield Ave exit to the boat launching/ship observation/fishing pier area. The St. Clair was moving fast. I almost thought we would be too late, but we were able to walk to the end of the fishing pier and position ourselves for the best possible view. The St. Clair was appearing from behind the obscuring storage silos to the left of us and slowing to begin what I assumed would be a turn to starboard, to pass under the Blatnik Bridge which was now almost over our heads. I didn't realize what was happening at first, and I'm still not sure why, but the St. Clair made a hard turn to port, and almost within her own length, presented her stern to us and started BACKING UP! "Most unusual", I thought. I had never seen this before. She was going to back all the way under the bridge, all the way to the loading dock. I was impressed. I never knew a ship that large (770 ft.) could be so maneuverable! Those bow thrusters are really handy! I am only guessing at this point, but I think this backing-in procedure was a safety move, as there was a VERY brisk and steady wind blowing under the bridge and towards the ship, (with accompanying wave action) and I'm thinking that that empty ship, which was riding very high in the water, might have been pushed into one of the bridge supports. I have no idea if my theory is right, but it is the only one I have at the moment.
Well, now I was in a good mood, having seen something new and impressive. Although we should have been heading for home, I decided to take the kids to the beach on MN Park Point , the beach that the dredge had been building up on our last trip. Off we went again, back to Canal Park, over the Lift Bridge and pulled into a tiny parking lot that gives public access to the beach. The first thing I noticed were the people; lots of people out enjoying the heat. The second thing I noticed was the vast expanse of beach that had not been there before! The dredge had been hard at work! As we moved past the crowds, and walked down the beach to the shoreline, I became aware of four more things; first, the sand was very fine and very clean, wonderful to walk on; second, the water was very cold, but felt very good on hot, tired feet (we were wading); third, the water was very shallow near shore, being knee deep or less even fifty feet out; fourth, seen through the crystal clear water, the fine sandy bottom was rippled all over with a texture that was so perfectly even and continuous that it looked artificial, but was more wonderful because it was all natural. Needless to say, we stayed longer than I had intended, being unable to remove ourselves from such a pleasant environment.
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