John D. Leitch - A Troubled Visit to Superior

It's always nice to add a ship to this channel that I haven't previously captured on video. Here we have the John D. Leitch arriving light in Superior, Wisconsin on the afternoon of August 1, 2020 for a load of iron ore from the Burlington Northern dock. The 730-foot Leitch was originally named the Canadian Century when she was launched in 1967. As you might have guessed, 1967 was the year of the Canadian centennial, so the name seemed fitting. She obtained her current name in 2002 to honor the chairman of the Upper Lakes Group. And even though the Upper Lakes fleet was sold to Algoma Central in 2011, she still retained her name.

The Leitch is one of the more unique looking lakers. While she is technically of the classic design, with the forward pilot house, that pilot house stands much taller than is typically seen for a forward pilot house. Some have referred to it as "the little bank building that floats," according to the Boatnerd website. In 2001, the Leitch received a major re-fit that saw most of her cargo hold being replaced, while the bow and stern sections remained mostly intact. Her self-unloading system was also upgraded to be more efficient. More recently, the Leitch received a frest coat of paint in 2019. The wear and tear on the paint job in little over a year is a testament to the elements these ships are exposed to. As a regular traveler of the Welland Canal, the Leitch is also subject to lots of scrapes and bumps as she passes through each of the eight locks on the canal.

This ended up being a problematic visit for the Leitch, as the video title indicates. She was scheduled to load iron ore and depart again in roughly 12 hours time. Instead, a mechanical problem delayed the loading. Rumor had it that she had issues with her unloading system. Three days later, the Leitch left Superior without a load, anchored briefly in Lake Superior, then entered on the Duluth side to get some repairs. Later that day, she left the Duluth side and anchored again, waiting her turn to come back into Superior. She eventually did load in Superior on August 5 and departed with the ore she came for.

Sadly, there was no salute from the Leitch during the time I recorded her. You might be able to hear a little girl nearby who was shouting "Honk! Honk!" as the Leitch passed by. While she was no doubt disappointed, I noticed several deck hands took time to give her a wave.

Also note that around 5:15 in the video we see a couple of deck hands ride the Bosun's chair down to the dock to help tie up the Leitch. While most lakers will set up a ladder or stairs once the ship is moored, the Bosun's chair is the quickest way to get crew members to the dock while the ship is still moving.

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