It’s one thing to encounter a storm with 8-10ft waves and 50mph winds on the open water. There it doesn’t matter so much if the ship is blown sideways a bit by the wind or if the ship rises and falls in large waves. You have almost endless room to compensate and correct things, and assuming nothing unexpected happens, you’re generally alright, even if the waves are coming close or even going over the railing. Next to shore is another story, and in a tight canal only a couple hundred feet wide and only a few spare inches between the hull and the bottom, there’s no room for error. Aside from the waves, currents are also a major factor. Throwing a large vessel against the natural water movement in a confined space where it can already change and move unpredictably can be a major challenge. Add in the fact that you’re sailing a nearly 70 year old vintage ship measuring 806ft long, 75ft wide and is extremely low in the water (30ft depth in a canal that’s also about 30ft deep) filled with 31,000 tons of iron ore and it becomes a whole different ball game.

And yet the crew of the Oberstar makes it look downright easy. Most ships, even the largest and most modern ones stay out of the canal during high winds and waves, usually they wait for calmer conditions to shoot the gap. The lakers, unlike many vessels, usually err on the side of caution following the Edmund Fitzgerald incident, so nobody was expecting them to leave. The most common topic of conversation on the piers, even among the diehard boat watchers was “this crew is crazy, very risky move!” (Thus the title) Had she rolled or dipped into the waves at all she would most likely have scraped the bottom of the canal. They knew what they were doing, her weight kept her stable and showed off the age-old drama of ship vs nature; far, far closer than what is usually seen. While in the canal the waves nearly broke over her railing near her mid section, and a mile or two offshore they were high enough to roll over her deck on a couple occasions (I’d stopped filming by that point unfortunately). Not an unusual occurrence for sailors, but for those on land it’s an incredibly rare sight that usually happens far out over the horizon.

Not certain why they didn’t wait, they would have had a smoother ride and probably would have arrived on the other side of the lake at about the same time due to slower speeds and detours around the worst of the storm, but they did make it safely to their destination in Ohio without much incident, and got to show off some of their skill in dramatic fashion! Safe sailing to the crew, and we all enjoyed the show!

10/13/23